SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Vol. 112. No. 32 Dallas, Pennsylvania August 8 to August 14, 2001 . Neighbors fearful after breakout from group home J Resident gets away, calls 911 from home he broke into By HEATHER B. JONES Post Staff JACKSON TWP. - Neighbors have had a hard time sleeping since the Morris home on Jackson Church Road was bro- ken into on July 21 by a mentally dis- abled man. Sandy and Tom Morris arrived home from vacation on the morning of July 23 to find drawers opened, clothes thrown around and cigarette butts on the floor of their home. The Morrises called the po- lice, but found their call was not the first from their home in recent days. The incident began on the morning of Saturday, July 21, around 9:30 a.m. Ac- cording to the police report, Jackson Township Police Department received a call from 513 Smith Pond Road, a home for the mentally disabled operated by Step By Step, Inc. Resident Warren Ren- sa, who was committed to the facility and not permitted to leave, was missing. Ren- sa was said to have a mental handicap and was reported as a missing person - disabled. Almost 12 hours later, the Luzerne County 911 Center received a call from 175 Jackson Church Road from a man stating he needed an ambulance because he broke his leg. When the police and EMS arrived, the caller turned out to be the missing Rensa. He was transported to a local hospital and was found not to have any broken bones, said Police Offi- cer Scott Davis. When Sandy and Tom Morris contacted the police, they were told about what had happened while they were on vacation. “Everyone's scared. Sandy doesn’t sleep at night,” Tom said. It's not just the idea that Rensa broke into the Morris home and took a few things, but the fact Rensa tried to set fires and is known to be violent, that real- ly scares Jackson Township residents. Evidence found on the Morris property shows Rensa set fire to papers at a num- ber of locations. Burnt papers were found in a secluded cabin, a vehicle, and a shed. Also a questionable liquid was poured around the perimeter of the Mor- rises’ home, Davis said. Police went to’ the residence at 513 Smith Pond Road to informed William Huhn, lead worker and acting supervisor See NEIGHBORS FEARFUL, pg 8 Rezoning asked for 8th | St. property By HEATHER B. JONES Post Staff AY KINGSTON TWP. - A request to rezone the Yagloski family property from C-1 Conservation to A-1 Agricultural zoning was the topic of the July 30 special meeting of the Kingston Town- ship Supervisors. Raymond Yagloski, the execu- tor of Helen Yagloski’'s estate, has asked the township to re- zone the family property. The land his mother left to her six children is currently a C-1 Con- servation zoned area and there is not much the family can do with the land, Yagloski said. If the 70 acres at 1576 West Eight Street is rezoned as A-1 Agricultural, houses can be built on two acres lots and the land could be farmed, explained Benjamin Gorey, zoning officer. Due to lack of public com- ment, the board of supervisors voted to continue the rezoning hearing at the August 8 supervi- sors meeting. : The board of supervisors also voted to apply for a municipal seatbelt and child restraint edu- cation and enforcement grant through the Pennsylvania De- partment of Transportation. Kocis hearing delayed again By HEATHER B. JONES Post Staf Saft DALLAS TWP. - A third date for liminary hearing for Bryan Kocis of 60 Midland Drive has been set. Kocis faces a variety of charges stemming from lisged 8 Sexual con- tact with a ‘minor boy. Joa ie Koc ; pp sid i. Al Flora and he has been away. The hearing was originally sched- uled for July 23. A continuance was granted due to vacation sched- ules and a reassignment from the district attorney's office. The next date set for the prelimi- nary hearing was August 3, but due to Flora now representing Ko- cis the date has been changed to Wednesday, August 22, at 10 am. at Tupper's office in Trucksville. Kocis, 39, was arrested July 12 at his 60 Midland Drive, Dallas Township home for statutory sexu- al assault, aggravated indecent as- sault, indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corrup- tion of minors, sexual abuse of children, and unlawful contact or communication with a minor. According to police a 15-year-old boy from South Whitehall Town- ship said he met Kocis through the internet. The boy told investigators Kocis had performed sexual acts with him on two separate occa- sions at Kocis’ s home. Kocis is currently $75,000 bail. free on All among friends Matt Ruch of the Back Mountain American Kubis All-Star team, slapped hands with members of Back Mountain National before the start of the first game between the two teams. National surprised American Aug. 1, whipping their rivals 20-5. But American came back the follow- ing night to win the championship by a 13-5 score. Ruch made the difference with a grand slam home run. More photos on sports page. POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS Blueberries are the best to farmers, fans By HEATHER B. JONES Post Staff VERNON - Blueberry up- side down cake, blueberry pie, blueberries on cold cere- al, blueberry shakes, blueber- ry muffins, blueberry pan- cakes, blueberry wine, blue- berry jam . . . the list goes on and on of what the people at Sickler’'s Blueberry Farm, Vernon, said they were going to do with all the blueberries they pick. The blueberry is a wonder- ful fruit to Dorothy and James Sickler, owners of the farm. Blueberries aren't just great in muffins and cakes, but any way they can think to eat them. The Sicklers operate about 16 acres of pick-your-own blueberries. The berries are ready to pick throughout the summer, with the first rows usually ready after the 4th of July. James, or Jimmy as his friends call him, said people will be out at the farm picking blueberries into September. Helping her grandparents on the farm has made 8-year- old Alicia Sickler somewhat of an expert on the blue fruit. She likes to help with the stand and weigh the blueber- ries when people come in from the field, but she also likes to eat the berries. “The good thing is that you don’t pay for what you eat,” said Alicia as she put a big ripe blueberry to her lips. As a tour guide around the farm, Alicia shares tips about what to pick and what not to. Pick the berries that are pure blue, she advises, and don't force the blueberries off the bush. The way to know if a blueberry is ready for the pickin’, Alicia said, is to roll it very gently. If it comes off easily, it should be sweet and ready to eat. The easiest way to pick the best berries is to get a blan- ket’ and pick from the very bottom of the bush. Alicia's grandfather Jimmy taught her that secret. The purplish berries that grow in the shade ' are the sweetest, Alicia said. Don’t pick the ones with brown spots, Alicia warns, the birds have already gotten to them. Also, leave the green berries behind. Last year, Alicia said she picked a blueberry from her grandparent’s field that was as big as a quarter. Walking through the fields on a warm summer day, fel- low pickers are eager to share recipes. Sue Aita of Orange is a regular at the Sicklers’ farm and’ was happy to share her quick and easy recipe for blueberry jam. Sue also offers a tip on freezing berries; “Don’t wash the berries,” she said. Spread the berries on baking sheets See BLUEBERRIES, pg 8 POST PHOTO/HEATHER B. JONES Sue Aita searched for the best berries on a recent afternoon. Her recipe for blueberry jam appears on page 8. Warren Rensa left his prelimi- nary hearing August 2. Jamboree memorable for local Scouts By JOHN GILLIGAN Special to The Dallas Post FORT A.P. HILL, VA - Re- cently the United States First Army held a training exercise in which they practiced running a 40,000 person refugee camp. What ‘makes this exercise so - special? Why does this exercise get a $4 million congressional grant? Because the Army's training is the Boy Scouts of America’s National Jamboree. Held every four years since the first one in 1937, the National Jamboree brings together Boy Scouts, Sea Scouts, Varsity Scouts, Explorers, and Ventur- ers from across the United States. The 2001 Jamboree also included some 300 International Scouts from 26 of the member nations of the World Scouting Organization. The Scouts, organized into Jamboree troops representing their home councils, spent most See JAMBOREE, pg 3 18 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dalpost@epix.net 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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