PRR A Sk WEEN 8 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 8, 2001 Neighbors fearful (continued from page 1) of the Step-By-Step facility, of pending charges. According to the police report, when police ad- vised Rensa of the charges, he told police he knew he was not supposed to be in the house and was not supposed to take items from the home. Rensa was found with $10 cash, a few cassette tapes and a cassette recorder from the Morris home. The Morrises still have a number of items which are still unaccounted for, such as a dia- mond wedding ring set, a man’s gold ring and a hatchet. When police told Rensa he could turn himself in at the dis- trict justice's office the next day, Rensa became violent and began threatening to “kill” and “hurt” when he gets away again. Ac- cording to the police report, Step- By-Step workers had to restrain Rensa at that time. “I've never been scared here,” Sandy Morris said. Even though the home she has lived in almost her whole life is only a hop, skip and a jump from the State Cor- rectional Institute in Dallas, she has never felt like this. Sandy's husband Tom is now called to check upstairs before Sandy will venture up the steps on her own. She is very aware of her surroundings and does not go outside alone to check on her 11 cows. The fear has definitely affected her life. About 30 Jackson Township residents showed up for Rensa’s A 5 opr ) “center will Linclude: Name(s) A NERS AA SA POST PHOTO/HEATHER B. JONES Supervisor Al Fox, police officer Scott Davis and supervisor John Wilkes addressed the crowd outside District Justice James Tupper’s office after a hearing for Warren Rensa. | Community Service ‘projects in thew, fnew educational, us August 2 hearing before District Justice James Tupper. In the pri- vacy of Tupper’s office, Rensa waived the charges to court and may plead guilty to felony bur- glary, felony trespass, misde- meanor agricultural trespass, and a summary criminal mischief charge, said Scott Davis, Jackson Township Police Officer. “Is he dangerous? Yes,” said Davis, “Can he burn your house down? Yes,” he told residents as they asked questions regarding: Rensa and their safety after. “Neighbors have to keep their eyes open and report anything suspicious,” Davis advised resi- dents. Concerned residents were first told by authorities that Rensa would be equipped with an elec- tronic monitoring bracelet within 30 days. The monitoring device will alert authorities directly if Rensa leaves the Step By Step fa- cility. But according to District Justice James Tupper, it may take more than 30 days. “They are working as fast as possible on getting it done,” said Tupper. The holdup is due to the sentencing process. Rensa must first be sentenced in criminal court before the electronic moni- toring bracelet is issued. Crimi- nal court in not in session right now and that may delay the sen- tencing process. Step By Step has been a pri- vate non-profit human agency since 1977, said Michael Berna- 0) tovich, Step By Step northeast regional director. He said the agency has operated more than 30 homes in Northeastern Penn- sylvania in that time. Step By Step took over opera- tions of the home at 513 Smith Pond Rd. in the spring, said Bernatovich. Human Services Consultants had operated the home for the mentally disabled from January of 1999 until the company went out of business earlier this year. Since Step By ‘Step assumed the Smith Pond Rd. residence there have been two residents at the facility, Bernatovich said. “For whatever reason, residents have chosen not to contact me,” said Bernatovich. “I know they have questions.” Bernatovich said he would be happy to try to answer those questions if asked. At the Jackson Township's Su- pervisors meeting on Monday, Aug. 6, residents condemned Step By Step and their lack of co- operation with the police and the community. “(Step By Step) needs to brush up on the golden rule and get some communica- tion skills. They should treat (Jackson Township) residents like they lived in their neighbor- hoods,” said Sandy Morris. Residents packed the meeting room on the second floor of the municipal building. “They are here because something has hap- pened in this community they don’t like,” said Al Fox, supervi- SOr. The supervisors have asked Jeffrey Malak, township solicitor, to research and report back on group homes and what the mu- nicipality can or should do. The township provides for resi- dences such as group homes through a special exception in zoned areas Residential R-1 and Agricultural A-2. Malak said spe- cial exception statutes still need -to be applied for by whoever is operating such a home. Malak said he will be able to advise the supervisors on what course of action can be taken at the September meeting regarding homes operated by companies like Step By Step. Concerned residents can con- tact Michael Bernatovich, Step-By-Step northeast region- al director, calling 829-3477 with concerns and questions. 74", To our Friends in the Back Mountain: Since January, 2001, the members of Trucksville United Methodist Church have worked tirelessly to raise funds for a 14-room addition to the education wing of our Knob Hill building at the gateway to the Back Mountain. The expansion will provide much needed space for Our community services supporting children, youth, adults and the needy of the Back Mountain. rucksville | Methodist Church Blueberries (continued from page 1) and let the berries freeze individually. Then put and rinse the berries them in freezer containers, when taken out of the freezer to be used. The blueberry is the leader of fruits and vegeta- bles when it comes to anti-oxidant content accord- ing to a Tufts University and a USDA Center for Aging report by Dr. Ronald L. Prior. Anti-oxidants have been credited with reducing the effects of ag- ing, and Jimmy Sicker likes the sound of that. said Jimmy. “I like blueberries,” a half pint to a pint a day.” The Sicklers bought the blueberry farm in 1972. “It’s an awful lot of work,” Jimmy said, but he still Sue Aita’s Easy 15 minute blueberry jam (lower sugar recipe) 6 1/2 cups blueberries 4 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup of water 1 box of sure gel 1 tsp. butter Place blueberries in bowl and mush the berries, but don’t puree. In a pot add water to berries and heat. In separate bowl, mix 1/4 cup of sugar and the box of sure gel together. Add mixture to pot and bring to rapid boil. Add remainder of sugar and boil for one minute. Add 1 tsp. butter to stop foam- ing. Takes about 15 minutes. Blueberry Facts e Blueberries are the second most popular berry in the U.S. e The blueberry is native to North America and 95 percent of the world’s crop is grown in the U.S. and Canada. e Over 200 million pounds of blueberries are grown in North America every year. * One cup of blueberries has 15 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and 14 percent of recommended fiber. ‘e Blueberries contain no fat or cholesterol and are low in, calo- ries. e Blueberries were once called “I eat probably ———————————————————— “I like blueberries. I eat proba- bly a half pint to a pint a day.” Jimmy Sickler Farm owner loves his blueberries. The farm is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to pick your own blueber- ries. Items to bring are buckets, baskets, mosqui- to repellent and sunglasses. Alicia Sickler also ® suggests adding sun screen and a hat to the list. POST PHOTO/HEATHER B. JONES ‘star berries’ because of the star : 6 shaped calyx on the top of each Alicia Sickler, 8, enjoys what she picks on her grandparents’ blue- berry. berry farm. Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post. Call 675-5211 to subscribe # improved conditions for volunteers and the 130 local families it serves. Site for V.L.S.I.LO.N. Homeless Program - Providing meals, recreation and overnight housing for 20-30 men each year. Address I/We wish to remain anonymous EDUCATION BUILDING CAMPAIGN PLEDGE CARD I/We wish to make a gift/pledge City, State, Zip_ Amount of gift enclosed $ Year 1$ Donor Signature Phone Amount of gift pledged $ Billing Mo.—— Year 2 $—— Billing Mo.—— Year 3 $ — Billing Mo.—— Year 4% BillingMo.——— Year5%———_ Billing Mo. —— _. 1 | All contributions are tax-deductible. Make checks payable to: Trucksville United Methodist Church 40 Knob Hill Road, Trucksville. PA 18708-9683 (For more information call 696-3897) Fd | We are grateful for the generosity of our contributors to date. Pledges now total $1.2 million §- Now we are asking you to Help Us Better Serve our Community and raise an additional $500,000 The non- denominational Trucksville Nursery School - serving children ages 272-5 since 1969. Enrollment stands at 140. Boy Scout Troop 155, Cub Scout Pack 155 and Girl Scout Troop 657 - serving nearly 150 Scouts annually. Back Mountain Food Pantry - Organized in 1977, it has been housed in the former Kingston Township Municipal Building. ~ With the completion of the new educational center, the food pantry will move to the new facility and provide much We invite you to be part of the improvement and growth of the Trucksville United Methodist Church as we continue to serve the entire community. (This Ad is underwritten by a friend)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers