® Vol. 110, No. 50 Dallas, Pennsylvania SIS EAALN CHE oI =NOI@1\V/\V IS NINE =SNG] il Bw | =5 DAY BM WVARS TR WAY (=5 B= 2 [VAN NEST 0] (010) MBI IST Rai (OR BS December 15 thru December 21, 1999 'Dr. of Autosports’ will be featured commentator on TLC special By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff TRAVERSE CITY, MI - When Mark Howell was growing up, his father intro- duced him to the joys of auto racing. Now he’s made it a career, but not behind the wheel. Howell, 34, will be a featured commen- tator when The Learning Channel pre- sents a special documentary, “The Secret World of Monster Trucks,” Saturday at 8 p.m. He was interviewed for more than an hour by the producers, and his com- (J ments will be used to open the documen- At extremes In age, helping “sone another Seniors provide extra help for elementary kids By KASIA McDONOUGH Post Staff DALLAS - Sometimes school children 9... trouble learning fundamentals, like reading and arithmetic, at the same pace as their peers. Sometimes senior citi- zens, who have contributed greatly to their families, professions and communi- ties throughout life, feel alone and unap- preciated as retirees. The Luzerne and Wyoming County Borough for the Aging’s Retired Senior . Volunteer Program (RSVP) offers one so- lution to both problems. “I just have to tell you, I'm enjoying this immensely,” said Shirley Weidner, RSVP participant. “I can only hope the children are getting as much out of this as I am.” Weidner, Toby Grossman, and Dr. Joseph Ichter visit Dallas Elementary School on a weekly or semi-weekly basis. The three senior volunteers provide as- sistance to students who need it. “I'm in two classes, the first one is kindergar- ten,” said Weidner. “I also meet with a WB little girl in third grade who just needs a bit of extra help with reading. I review vocabulary words with her; I ask her to spell and define them. Last time we were together she told me she made a 100 percent on her test and I was just so thrilled. There aren't words to describe that feeling.” See SENIORS, pg 8 tary. He was an impor- tant source because “I'm about the only PhD working in professional motorsports,” he said in |% an e-mail message sent to The Dallas Post. Auto racing “has al- ways been a part of our lives,” Howell said dur- ing an interview last week. “The credit goes to my dad,” Glenn Howell, of Shupp Rd. in Dallas, Mark said. His father is well-known as a Dallas Township supervisor for more than 30 %: MARK HOWELL, PhD years. Mark Howell said everyone in his family was a big racing fan, watching races at Pocono Raceway in the 1970's and following the fortunes of drivers in various events. That's how he met Brett Bodine, who wrote an introduction for “From Moon- shine to Madison Avenue: A Cultural History of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series,” Howell's most recent book, pub- lished in 1997 by the Bowling Green State University Popular Press. The book received honorable mention in the “schol- arly monograph” category of the 1997 Ray and Pat Browne National Book Award of the Popular Culture Association. While he was a big racing fan, Howell's participation was limited to road rallies and autocross competitions. Still, he managed to compete actively with a 1976 Ford Elite. “It was big and heavy, but I held my own,” he said. But his real interest was in bigger things. “We were always NASCAR fans,” he said, and now he is busy in several aspects of the nation’s most popular rac- ing circuit. After graduating from Dallas High School in 1983, Howell earned a BA in English and an MA in American Studies POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK The evil magician, played by Wendy Narcum, and his unruly rabbit, Hocus Pocus, played by Liz Faux, hatch a plan to steal the magic hat in the show, "Frosty the Snowman," presented last weekend by the Parent Enrichment Group at Trucksville Nursery School. The group has performed a skit for children and parents each year, and decided to retire the long-running "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" after several years. By KASIA McDONOUGH Post Staff DALLAS TWP. - What comes around goes around. A few years ago, Lynne Michaels needed some help from her friend Betty Piskorik. “My husband was dying from cancer and my horse Tausha had founder in her hooves,” said Michaels. “The vet said I should think about putting her down but I wasn’t ready to do that. Betty told me to let her take care of Tausha for a while. Three times a day she put cream on Tausha’s hooves; she fed her, kept her dry and nursed her back to health.” Piskorik, who grew up on a farm learning all she could about horses, was confident she could save Tausha’s life. “If it wasn’t for her, Tausha wouldn't even be here, but if you look her at now, you'd never know anything was wrong,” said Michaels. Tausha was not the first horse, or the last horse, Piskorik saved. “I started Lucky Star Horse Rescue officially about eight years ago,” she said. “But even before that I took in horses who were sick or old just as a hobby.” Over the years, dozens of horses, which otherwise may have been euthanized or sold at slaughter, have been spared thanks to Piskorik’s ef- forts. “When I was a little girl, I went to the horse au<tions with my father and Iwas devastated to find out people were buying these beautiful animals for meat. As 1 got older, I knew I would have to do POST PHOTO/KASIA McDONOUGH Lynne Michaels, who has been helping feed and care for rescued horses at Lucky Star Stables, prepares to tuck Chief in for the night. something to try and make a difference.” Rescuing horses from certain destruc- tion is not easy and it’s not profitable. “My accountant laughs at me because we are always running in the red,” said Piskorik. “But with these horses, you have to be patient and committed to see them through until they're well.” Many of the horses that find their way to Lucky Star have been neglected or abused. “Sometimes, you wonder ifyou're helping at all,” said Piskorik. “It breaks See HORSE HELPER, pg 8 Horse helper benefits from others’ assistance in her time of need Ill, injured horses recover at Lucky Star Horse Rescue Lucky Star Stables and Horse Res- cue was named for Betty Piskorik’s first horse. Her equine family has grown over the years and now includes sev- eral aged horses who are not good candidates for adoption. Chief is low-key spotted male who enjoys attention from visitors, feeding time and a warm night in the shelter of the stable. Willie is a pony who is too old to be ridden but young enough to flirt with the “girls” in the barn. “Willie thinks he’s got a harem down there,” said Lynne Michaels. Dugan is only five years old but suffers from broken bones he incurred while racing at Pocono Downs. “Race horses are forced to run too soon,” said Piskorik. “Their legs are fragile and they can’t take the pain of running on a hard track with so much force.” Dugan earned over $100,000 for his previous owners but was sent out to pasture when he could no longer com- pete in top form. An herbal supple- ment which aids in his recovery costs $131 monthly. Blossom, an arthritic paint horse, See HORSE RESCUE, pg 8 i fam I Vo at Penn State, beginning his college years at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. He took a PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowl- ing Green and is now a professor of communications and popular culture at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. His area of academic spe- cialization is automobile history and popular culture. But that’s his day job. Howell also writes about NASCAR for SpeedFX.com and will cover nine Winston Cup events in 2000 for a companion web site called See HOWELL, pg 8 For Redmond, Peace Corps is lifetime commitment By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent SHAVERTOWN - When most people think of Peace Corps volunteers, they probably picture a recently graduated college student who has made a commit- ment to serve for two years. Dr. Brian Redmond, of Shavertown, began his Peace Corps career that way, spending five years searching for ground- water supplies in the Dominican Repub- lic. After taking a year off to complete his doctorate, Redmond returned for another year of Peace Corps service and an addi- tional year outside the Peace Corps. Along the way, he met his wife, Lois, who now teaches Spanish at Dallas High School. Three years ago, the Peace Corps initi- ated an offshoot called the Crisis Corps, to take advantage of former volunteers who could only commit for two to six months of service. They are informed via anewsletter when the need for help arises due to catastrophes around the world. As a result, Redmond, a Wilkes Uni- versity professor of Geology and Engi- neering, spent two months this summer in Honduras, helping the country recover See REDMOND, pg 4 16 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar... .....soesvi sees 16 Classified............. 14-15 Crossword................ 16 Editorials.........ci... i... 4 Obituaries.......... 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