Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 SPORTS Both Back Mountain football teams went down to defeat last weekend. Pg 9. SCHOOL College Misericordia sup- ports LCCC scholarship program.. Pg 11. DALLAS P COMMUNITY Dance group ‘Honey’ wins awards at Performing Arts Al- liance competition. Pg 13. 2 stories from the streets of New York Dave Townsend was near ‘Ground Zero’ By HEATHER B. JONES Post Staff NEW YORK - The clothes he wore to work the morning of September 11 lie in a pile on his New York City apart- ment floor. Covered by the soot from what was once the World Trade Center, those few pieces of clothing are now a symbol of survival. Dallas native David Townsend start- ed his day like any other on Tuesday, September 11. He brushed his teeth and got dressed for work. He went into the office at a little after 8 a.m. and prepared for a day of trading on the floor of the American Stock Exchange. As Townsend was sitting with co- workers he:heard and felt the impact that rocked the world. From the 15th floor of his office building, he saw peo- ple running in every direction below. With his co-workers, Townsend left his office. “We came out on Broadway and there were filing cabinets and pa- pers everywhere,” he said. When he looked up, he saw the smoke pouring from the World Trade Center. As Townsend stood on the street he called a friend on his cell phone and as he was telling him what was happening, “I just saw a big fire- ball come out of the second tower,” he said. His first thought was to run into the American Stock Exchange to call his company’s office in Chicago and his family. Townsend was detained in the ° building for a time because everyone was being kept inside, away from See TOWNSEND, pg 7 Helen Speziale struck by smoke, ash, and eerie silence By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent NEW YORK - On Tuesday, Septem- ber 11, Dr. Helen Speziale, Director of the Center for Service Leadership and a professor in the nursing department at College Misericordia, was on the sub- way in Manhattan heading for her sec- ond of three days of meetings at the United Nations Building. She was there to represent Misericordia and the Sis- ters of Mercy at meetings for non-gov- ernmental organizations. She was trav- eling with three members of the Sisters of Mercy, all older than her and one of whom was a diabetic. This is her story. “Just before 14th Street a woman got on the subway and she was crying and @ sic told us about an airplane accident at the World Trade Center. Shortly af- ter, a man who had a cell phone told us there was a second plane crash,” said Speziale. The four travelers discussed the situ- ation and agreed to return to the sis- ters’ residence in Brooklyn. “That was difficult because I am a nurse by trade,” said Speziale. She was con- cerned . about her companions and knew there was a police station a few blocks from the residence. “We figured we could just go back in with the po- See SPEZIALE, pg 7 POST PHOTO/M.B. GILLIGAN Jared James and Nicole Ford worked on a project during “Red, White and Blue Day,” last Friday. The students at Lehman- Jackson Elementary decorated windows and worked on art projects to demonstrate their patriotism and support for the vic- tims of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Some schools told children, others did not By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent BACK MOUNTAIN - Schools through- out our area handled Tuesday's terror- ist attacks in a variety of ways. “We took the children to church and we said the rosary,” said Mary Tigue, principal of Gate of Heaven Elementary School in Dallas. Father Jack Lambert, the pastor of GOH, spoke to the chil- dren then, and later in the day, Mon- signor Peter Crynes of St. Therese’s parish addressed the students at a pre- viously planned prayer service. “I think it is very difficult for adults to comprehend, so it is even more difficult for children. I think we're lucky be- cause we are a Catholic school and we can talk about Jesus and we can pray,” said Tigue. Lakeside service attracts hundreds By SANDY PEOPLES Post Correspondent HARVEYS LAKE - They came from all walks of life to join together in prayer and song. Firefighters, law en- forcement officers, rescue personnel, pastors, parents and children gathered by the hundreds for a beachside can- dlelight service at Old Sandy Bottom Beach last Friday evening. Fire trucks and rescue vehicles lined the perimeter along the fence. Many local fire compa- nies had come to pray for their fallen comrades and their families. The idea for the prayer vigil came from Harveys Lake resident Evelyn Walsh. “I was listening to the radio and heard about the prayer service and candlelight vigil on Montage Mountain. I was thinking that I should go there. Then I said ‘Why?’ We have a beautiful lake at our back door. I felt an over- whelming feeling that as a community we should do something here. I walked down to the beach and saw our flag See SERVICE, pg 3 “Teachers told the students the very basic information and also told them to go home and talk to their parents.” oc Robert Kunkle Principal, Lehman-Jackson Elementary The school concentrates on teaching a virtue each month and this month’s “virtue is friendship. “Part of what it means to be a friend is that you bring peace to other people. We talked about people who do not do that, but told the children it is important to be a peace- maker,” explained Tigue. 3, i ) £ Most students in the middle and ele- mentary schools in the Dallas School District were not informed of the situa- tion while at school. “Due to individual situations at home we felt it would be better handled by the parents,” said Dr. Michael Speziale, Asst. Superintendent of the school district, whose wife was in Manhattan on Tuesday morning. (See separate story.) “We put the teachers on alert for kids who might be strug- gling with this. The kids need a sense of safety and routine right now,” he added. Elementary students in the district were kept in for recess and took a note home to their parents explaining that the situation should be discussed at See SCHOOLS, pg 5 POST PHOTO/SANDY PEOPLES Rev. Larry Reed from the Emmanuel Assembly of God church at Harveys Lake led the faithful as they gathered at the lakeside. Special service planned for Sunday, Sept. 23. See page 3. : : Blood drive triples its goal A Collection had been pre-planned for September 12 By HEATHER B. JONES Post Staff DALLAS TWP. - Long lines and hours of waiting did not discourage the more than 200 people who turned ‘out to give blood at the Irem Temple Country Club’s Blood Drive. Blood drives conducted in the Back Mountain always have strong turnouts, said Barbara Wilson, direc- tor of Development and Communica- tions with the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. But this one was different. “We've doubled what we expected for this drive,” said Wilson. The drive was scheduled weeks ago for Wednesday, Sept. 12, from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Red Cross originally expected about 75 people to give. But with the high num- ber of casualties from the terrorist at- tacks on New York City and Washing- ton, D.C. the day before, the Red Cross saw more than twice as many people as it usually does at this location. “We aren’t turning anyone away. We are giving them options,” Wilson said. Some dedicated people sat for up to three hours to give blood, she said. Many people who came out said this was their regular rotation to donate and they wanted to stay despite the long wait. At 5:30 p.m., people still poured through the doors. Some chose to sit for two hours, while others took schedules for other blood drives in the area. “The Red Cross thanks the commu- nity for their overwhelming response,” said Wilson, but she would also like See BLOOD DRIVE, pg 5 18 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar.............eicivenss 18 Classified........ccc........ 14-17 Crossword... 10 EQHOMIAIS........oeceiiaiunrninnes 6 ObHUAIES...... ni. iets 2 SChODIS....ioity i cities 11 SPOONS. ...coeskiiicnismennsnses 9-10 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
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers