re d _ i ya Vol. 110 No. 17 50 Cents April 28 thru May 4, 1999 He can see clearly how “Science Expo,” which was held last week. Students in all grades Adam Besecker, a fourthgrader at Dallas Elementary School, demonstrated a spiffy set of eyeglass wipers at the school’s annual Cold water stymies lake rescuers' best efforts By KEVIN CURCIO and RONALD BARTIZEK Post Correspondent HARVEYS LAKE - Ryan Foley and Pete Anzalone, seniors and soccer players at College Miseri- cordia, were deep in preparation for their finals when a distur- bance that couldn't be ignored beckoned them from their lakeside apartment a little after 9 p.m. POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK displayed their science prowess. More photos on page 7. Sunday night. “We heard a sploosh!” said Foley. “We ran to the window and saw a car in the water. We dialed 911. After calling 911 we ran out- side. The car, which was sinking, capsized and popped out of the water. It kind of floated on its side.” The vehicle, like so many be- See COLD WATER, pg 8 More respect, ‘more security sought in schools By KASIA McDONOUGH Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN - A ripple of horror has spread from the foot- hills of the Rocky Mountains to the Back Mountain leaving stu- dents, teachers, administrators and parents here shaken. Littleton has become another painful reminder to area educa- tors that schools are not immune to violent confrontations. “You have the attitude that something as tragic as that can never hap- pen here, but of course, it can happen anywhere,” said Dr. Will- iam Price, Lake-Lehman Super- intendent of Schools. Preventing violence as a réso- lution to conflict is a priority in both districts, but in Lake-Leh- man the superintendent believes real changes in the way schools operate may be necessary to ac- complish that goal. “I think we need to create more positive role models in the schools,” said Price. “Authority figures are either viewed negatively or ignored by many students.” The Lake-Lehman Administra- tion is considering changes in its See SECURITY, pg 8 Suspended student will be evaluated By KASIA McDONOUGH Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN - School dis- trict officials, preferring to err on the side of caution, have sus- pended three students who alleg- edly threatened violence against their peers. A Lake-Lehman high school student, who had no record of disciplinary problems in the past, stands accused of threatening to detonate a bomb on school prop- erty. “Several of our students re- ported the threats to a faculty member and we notified the po- lice,” said John Oliver, principal. Lehman Township law enforce- ment officials arrested the youth Saturday and charged him with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. Heis currently being detained at the Luzerne County Juvenile Detention Cen- ter: After a hearing Tuesday morn- ing before Judge Mark Ciavarella, the boy was released into the cus- tody of his parents without objec- tion from the school district or prosecutors. He is under house arrest for two weeks, during which time he will be evaluated through a mental health agency, accord- ing to Sandra Brulo, Chief Juve- nile Probation Officer for Luzerne County. The student, who has been suspended from school for 10 See STUDENTS, pg 8 Post Staff TRUCKSVILLE - The atmosphere in the courtroom was tense as the “prosecuting ~.-attorney” made his case to “the “jury.” Theithree "defen- ~«.dants” had been charged with - possession of drugs, and now - it was time for a verdict. But ~~ this time there really was no “.*crime, just a group of Boy « «Scouts learning firsthand _- about the American justice system, and in the end =. ‘everyone went home with 5 mom and dad. .' Scouts from Troops 281 ¥ I'mbasically trying to prove :-reasonable doubt.” Michael Miller “Defense attorney” TT 4 X and 693 held the mock trial «at the Trucksville office of ". “District Justice James : ~.- Tupper. Tupper helped them ‘.prepare for the event, and selected Scouts for roles as defendants, defense attor- neys, prosecutors, judge and jury. Some seemed to relish + their roles. Michael Miller was a defense attorney, as he was at last year’s trial. “I had so much fun. I have a good strategy planned,” he said, The "jury' speaks, and the verdict is guilty as charged >. By RONALD BARTIZEK POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Rick Blaine, playing a prosecutor, made his case to the jury as he questioned Tommy Van Horn, as a policeman, before "Judge" Eric Pimm. declining to furnish details because prosecutors Joe Bednash and Andrew Van Loon were listening. “I'm basically trying to prove Y reasonable doubt,” was about as specific as Miller would get. For his part, Bednash was confident of a conviction. “We're going to book em,” he said. Tupper said after the trial that the outcome surprised him somewhat. “The defense put on a good show,” he said. But when the defendants took the stand to testify in their own defense, they hurt their own case. “The jury didn’t find them credible,” Tupper said. The defense argument was that the three boys, who had been driving around in a car owned by a brother, didn’t notice the drugs on the console. But the prosecution successfully removed any doubt in the jurors’ minds, in part by getting one of the boys to admit that he had put on a seat belt, which required that he reach over near the console. “So, we had a good jury,” Tupper said. “I enjoyed it.” So did the Scouts, who started the day with breakfast at Pickett’s Charge courtesy of Tupper, then toured the Luzerne County Courthouse before arriving at Tupper’s office for a box lunch, then the trial. 14 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar.................. 14 Classified............. 12-13 Crossword...............- 14 Editorials............ciae. 4 Obituaries. ...........viu., 2 SCHGOL 4... siesta 1i SPOS... iin 9-10 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dalpost@aol.com The Dallas Post MAILING LABEL- Please enclose this label with any address changes, and mail to The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612-0366
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