. 8 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, June 28, 2000 Marchakitus (continued from page 1) Marchakitus as a great com- municator and motivator who ex- pected the best from his staff and supported them through thick and thin. He recounted a meeting Marchakitus held with all the sports coaches in the school’s tiny locker room. Some clothing and equipment was strewn on the floor, and Marchakitus launched into a lecture about the room looking like a pigpen. “To this day I clean up my office when he’s coming down to a Friday night game,” Curry said. John Zaleskas, former high school principal, credited Marchakitus with the success of the Lake-Lehman jointure in 1963. The combination of Ross, Lake-Noxen and Lehman-Jack- son schools was difficult. Before the first year of the new district began, Marchakitus put out a “Knights Code” handbook for teachers, students and parents that gave everyone clear guide- lines for how the new school com- munity was supposed to work. The Back Mountain was con- sidered way out in the country by the valley schools, Zaleskas said, but Marchakitus quickly led Lake- Lehman to prominence, in part by giving John Milauskas, band di- rector, plenty of opportunity to develop the music program at the new school. Within a few years Lake-Lehman boasted the pre- mier marching band in the re- gion, a program that continues to exhibit excellence today. Frank Murfchinski, a former social studies teacher, said Roberts “He was a builder and a giver. He can get 100 percent out of anyone.” George Curry Berwick football coach, who got his start at Lake-Lehman Marchakitus demanded total dedi- cation from his teachers. But, “He was never too busy to listen to us,” he said. “He seemed to get the best out of us.” Given the opportunity to ad- dress the audience, Marchakitus first thanked his family for their support. Then he sounded every bit the principal he was. “A good school is one that is always get- ting better,” he said. He described how much he learned while work- ing the farm fields behind his father’s pair of draft horses. © ‘Son, plow and make the furrows straight and deep,” my father ad- vised.” After doing that through a long day, “You can develop a phi- losophy not to be what you just did for 10 hours,” he said. A 1940 graduate of Lehman High School, Anthony Marchakitus began his career in 1947 as a social studies and physi- cal education teacher. He was appointed principal of the Leh- man-Jackson-Ross High School in 1955, then took the top slot at the new Lake-Lehman High School in 1963. In 1978 he was named assistant superintendent, where he served until his retirement in 1988. (continued from page 1) the spot as Middle Level school principal. “It's going to be very busy between now and August,” he said. Lake-Lehman is hiring special education teachers and filling positions left open by re- tirements or movements within the district. Roberts is taking the place of Dr. William Price, who announced his resignation last month. Price has been superintendent since 1995. “Bill has left big shoes to fill,” said Roberts. “I felt comfort- able that the board knew who I was and what I stood for. They know me.” Roberts has taught some school board members and their children. Roberts has served in many positions during his 29 years in the district, including teacher, coach, advisor, and administra- tor. Roberts started as a teacher, and later became the chairman of the social studies department. He was selected to be trained in a staff development program called Essential Elements of Instruction, and after his training he was re- sponsible for teaching EEI to the entire staff. Roberts has a Master's degree “If I can prove my leadership and value to the board, I hope they'll consider me.” ~~ BobRoberts Interim superintendent in secondary administration from the University of Scranton, and received his superintendent’s cer- tificate of eligibility from Temple University in 1996. He served as assistant principal of the high school from 1986 to 1990, when he moved to the Middle Level build- ing as principal. Being superin- tendent follows the natural pro- gression of his career as an ad- ministrator, he said. Roberts will be superintendent for as long as the search for a new one takes, and he will apply for the superintendent’s position. “If I can prove my leadership and value to the board, I hope theyll consider me,” he said. The school board may use an outside consultant to help them search for a permanent replace- ment for Price. : Trout Derby for kids July 1 The Bowman's Creek Watershed Association and the Noxen-Monroe Sportsman's Association will be sponsoring a Trout Derby for children ages 2 to 14. The derby will be held on July 1, starting at 11 a.m. The derby will be at the Noxen-Monroe Sportsman's Hall on Main Street in Noxen. Prizes will be awarded in three groups, ages 2-5, ages 6-9, and ages 10-14. There will be no fee for children to enter. Refreshments will be served. For information call 639-1723. Theatre-on-the-Green at College Misericordia . presents Be A Repercussion Theatre's Friday to Monday - July 14. 15. 16. 17 Curtain at 8:00 pm Grounds Open at 7:00 pm For Information and Reserved Seating Tickets % (570) 674-6719 Reserved seating $10 to $15 COLLEGE 3RORS Lawn seating $5 at the door BMusitsion | Little League — (continued from page 1) past, too. We could only do that because the fields are all together. It really makes a differ- ence,” she said. Dougherty said BMT Baseball does all of the work on the fields, but doesn’t have ultimate control over the facility. “The school dis- trict owns it and the high school plays here sometimes, but we pay for it,” he explained. Back Mountain Baseball is currently selling raffle tickets for a drawing to be held on July 3. The 61 prizes include cash, gift certificates and merchandise from local businesses. “I solicit those prizes. I know that we do a lot of fundraising but we need to raise money if we want to buy these fields,” Dougherty said. Tickets can be purchased from players, coaches or by calling 696- 9645. Chances are $2 each or three for $5. One of Dougherty’s main re- sponsibilities is to maintain sup- plies for the refreshment stand. “I order everything and stock the shelves but, more importantly, I've shopped around for the best prices,” he said. “It’s really impor- tant to me to get a good deal for the league. I put in a lot of volun- teer time but I do it for the kids.” “Tom is here every night. I'm here alot, too,” said Jo Dougherty, A Cd en R Jack Snyder can usually be found strolling the grounds whenever games are being played. \ i i 3 ® : 1 ’ PHOTOS BY M.B. GILLIGAN Peggy Lacey is an active volunteer with Back Mountain Baseball as league officer, coach, umpire and parent. Brian Corbett and DAN McCabe, background, were coach and umpire this day. Tom's wife. “We're open seven days a week and we just want to make sure everything runs smoothly.” Although their youngest son is in his last year of Little League play, the couple plans to stay involved. “We ‘three amigos’ will be back next year,” Jo says, refer- ring to herself, Tom and full-time volunteer Donna Samanas. The Little League stand relies solely on volunteers, which are increasingly difficult to find. This year BMT Baseball was forced to initiate a rule that if a player's parent fails to do a required stand duty the player must sit out the next three games. “We really don’t want to hurt: the kids,” said Tom Dougherty. “We just can’t get people to help.” “Itran alot smoother this year,” said Samanas, who has handled the job of staffing the stand for years. “I'm here just about every night. I don’t mind really, but it would be so nice if parents would just volunteer a little more than the required minimum.” At one time, stand managers worked additional shifts and handled the details. They could train parent volunteers, who need extra help when they first work the busy stand. But stand man- agers have also become harder to find, and have been dropped. It takes dedicated volunteers in all areas to make BMT Baseball the successful organization it is. “I may put in a lot of time but I wouldn't want his stressful job,” Tom Dougherty said, pointing to League President Jack Snyder. “He gets all of the phone calls and complaints.” “I really like to walk around the fields and talk to everybody,” said Snyder. “I could spend eightto 10 hours up here every Saturday and enjoy it. I don't like it when I end up working at the stand, though. I think it is really sad when you see 5 percent of the people work- ing 95 percent of the time. Par- ents have to understand that they need to help out.” About 1,100 Back Mountain children played on 75 different teams this year. That's a lot of volunteer time for coaches and umpires, too. The five baseball fields are almost continually in use during the season. Mark and Peggy Lacey, hus- band and wife, are usually found at the fields during baseball sea- son. They are both league offic- ers, umpires and coaches. “I'm here a lot,” said Peggy on one recent Saturday. “I coached a 10 a.m. game, watched the next game to see possible all-star play- ers and I worked the stand for my daughter's team. I might have to umpire the next softball game, too.” “I really didn’t have too many problems with getting parents for stand duty this year, but we al- ways need more people to help,” she said. “Everybody has to help a little more,” said Karen Arnaud. “Last year, all five of my children played and I did stand duty for all but the team I was coaching. It isn’t so hard, though, when my other chil- dren were playing in the same area. It is really a great set-up.” Dougherty says he’s full of ideas for improvements to the facility, but only if the organization owns the fields. He'd like to spruce up the food stand, too. “I'd love to add french fries and hoagies to our menu,” he said. Some parents have even sug- gested a mini-stand for the top fields. Such expansion only makes sense if the organization owns the property. “We've had some scares when we thought we might be put out. Where else could we go where we could have all of these fields to- gether and be this close to where the kids live?” Tom asked. “This is such a great place for the kids. They are safe here. It's wonderful for the families. It doesn’t have to be limited to baseball either.” or —RET —
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