L December 13 to December 19, 2001 S| SCHOOL DISTRICTS Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 United We Stand Vol. 112. No. 50 50 Cents COMMUNITY Rev. Reed celebrates 20 years at Emmanuel AOG. Pg 7. SCHOOL Dallas High School French Club hosts cafe experience. Pg 15. SPORTS TL Wrestling Tournament this weekend at Miseri. Pg 11. - Lake-Lehman struggles with effect of tax challenges By ELIZABETH ANDERSON Post Correspondent LEHMAN - A large refund of property taxes announced at the latest Lake- Lehman school board meeting brought to the forefront a growing issue. The district has been ordered to re- fund a tax overpayment of $12,195 to Richard Maslow, who recently won an appeal for reduced assessment on a roperty in Lehman Township. Reduced tax assessments such as this are taking a big bite out of the school district's pocket. The district's main income — approx- imately two-thirds of it — comes from real estate taxes. “Our basic subsidy from the state is about $5.8 million out of an $18 million budget,” said Robert Roberts, Lake-Lehman Superintendent of Schools. “The majority of school dis- trict funding comes through the proper- ty tax.” When large reductions in tax assess- ment are granted, it hurts the school district. “When people go and have their assessment reduced it automatically re- “The majority of school district funding comes through the property tax.” Robert Roberts Superintendent of Schools duces the amount of tax dollars the dis- trict receives,” said Roberts. He went on to say the board solicitor is looking into the Maslow reassessment. Two other tax appeals were on the agenda for the last school board meet- ing. Peter Savage, solicitor for the Lake- Lehman board described the usual pat- tern these assessment reductions fol- low. “As these things wind through, the first avenue is the exception board. They make a determination and they have been, in my experience, fairly strict as far as reductions are con- cerned,” he said. “But then the next step is abatement and that decision gets appealed. Then it ends up in front of a judge.” This alarming increase in assessment reductions is affecting school districts throughout the county. “Wilkes-Barre Area School District has been getting clobbered lately, I do mean clobbered, by some of the busi- nesses,” said Roberts, citing the Wood- lands’ reduced assessment. “Wilkes- Barre is in the toughest shape because they are in that KOZ (Keystone Oppor- tunity Zone) zone,” he added. “This See LAKE-LEHMAN TAX, pg 10 Terror warnings bring changes for local police Here comes Santa Claus Gate of Heaven School students performed in the school’s annual Christmas performances last Sunday. The kindergarten and first grade plays are a highlight ot the season for faculty, parents and on page 3. POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS friends. Playing elves above, from left, were Julian Maffei, Ryan Marshall, Matt Schaeufele and Christian Maculloch. More photos By HEATHER B. JONES Post Correspondent BACK MOUNTAIN - Terrorism in the Back Mountain? Many be- lieve it just won't happen. But for local law enforcement, being alert to anything that may pass through the region is a top pri- ority. With an average of nearly 40,000 vehicles passing through Kingston Township each day, Police Chief James Balavage's officers are on alert for anything out of the ordinary. At a time when the FBI regu- larly puts 18,000 law enforce- ment agencies on the highest By HEATHER B. JONES Post Correspondent DALLAS - Two schools in the Dallas School District are reap- ing the financial rewards of in- creased test scores on the Penn- sylvania System of School As- sessment Tests. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the gov- ernor’s office will award Dallas Elementary with a $24,016 grant for an average increase of Jackson Township picks planner, promises public hearings By ELIZABETH ANDERSON Post Correspondent JACKSON TWP. - G. and Albert Con- sultants of Pittston were awarded the contract for the new comprehensive plan for Jackson Township at the board of su- pervisors Dec. 3 meeting. The new plan will cost $19,250 and is expected to take 2 months to complete. Dallas Rotarians Play Santa Claus By SANDY PEOPLES Post Correspondent The state requires that city comprehen- sive plans be updated every seven to 10 years, but this will be the first update in 22 years for Jackson Township. The Jackson Township Planning Com- mission received proposals from three planners and met with each of them sep- arately over the last few months to review their plan outlines. Each gave the plan- ning commission a comprehensive plan BACK MOUNTAIN - Last Saturday 25 children from the Back Mountain area were treated to food, fun, clothing and toys as the Dallas Rotary Club hosted their annual Shopping Spree for Children. For more than two decades, the Rotari- ans have raised funds each year to host a special day for children who are selected to participate in the event. The day began at 8:30 a.m. at Wycallis Ele- entary School. The excited children and their Q... or guardians met with members from the Rotary to discuss the needs and wants of the children. The children and the Rotarians pro- ceeded to McDonald's in Shavertown for a com- plimentary breakfast for the little ones. The next stop was The Bon Ton store in the Wyoming Valley Mall. The children and their chaperones combed the aisles for just the right colors and sizes of clothing. Each child was given a certain amount to spend and a generous dis- @ unt from the store. They shopped for more See ROTARY SANTAS, pg 15 Candie Watkins applies the last touches to Chelsea Andrews’ makeup before the show begins. outline, according to community redevel- opment requirements, said Al Fox, Jack- son Township supervisor. The proposals outlined the number of persons each company employs, their qualifications, the cost of the proposed plan and the time frame in which they could have the plan completed. G. and Albert Consultants’ proposal was accepted by unanimous vote after re- aa i SE POST PHOTO/ELIZABETH ANDERSON Ra view at the Nov. 19 planning commission meeting, said Charles Repotski, chairman of the planning commission. The recommendation was then passed to the board of supervisors, who voted to accept the planning commission's recom- mendation with specific amendments, in- cluding a survey form and a work ele- Quality of performance IS no mystery By ELIZABETH ANDERSON Post Correspondent LEHMAN - Was it the butler in the parlor with a monkey wrench? Not this time. The fun in last Friday evening's Lake-Lehman Theater Ensemble’'s production of “Murder’s In The Heir” was the audience's ability to choose the murderer via ballot at intermis- sion. Based on the game Clue, this comedic whodunit by Billy St. John, has a few new twists. Rich Simon Starkweather has called all his heirs together at his isolated mansion to announce he is changing his will. The tyrannical billionaire is leaving his vast fortune to himself! His See MURDER IN THE HEIR, pg 4 alert, Balavage believes it is even more important now for his offi- cers to be a visual presence in the community. “We don’t need to decrease traffic stops or per- son-to-person contacts, actually increase them,” he said. In the third alert issued by the government since September 11 Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said that now is not the time to back off. Since the attacks the Dallas Borough Police Department has made some changes in the way it does business. Police Chief John Fowler said See POLICE RESPOND, pg 10 Schools will be rewarded for high test performance 95 points and Dallas High School with a $58,968 grant for a 195 point increase in a base line year. Dr Gilbert Griffiths, superintendent, said this was the first time Dallas schools qualified for the incentive funds. “What the Department of Edu- cation and the governor are go- ing to do is they're going to set a baseline year. If you maintain those scores at or above, then See DALLAS TESTS, pg 3 20 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar..............c...eie 20 Classified.................. 16-19 Crossword.......c... veins 12 EAHONRUS. i evs viiniivariissnees 8 Obituaries................c.s... 2 School........... coi 13-14 SPOS: veining 11-12 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dallaspost@leader.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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