Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 December 20 to December 26, 2001 United We Stand Vol. 112. No. 51 SCHOOL Lake-Lehman students make Christmas bright for kids. Pg 5. DALLAS POST COMMUNITY Church youth bake cookies for needy. Pg 15. 50 Cents SPORTS Black Knights take team title at invitational meet. Pg 11. More nice than naughty, kids write Santa Claus Editor's Note: Each year The Dallas Post asks elementary school teachers in the Back Mountain to share their stu- dents’ letters to Santa and holi- day artwork with readers. The letters appear unedited, and filled with childish charm and hopefulness. Dear Santa, I would like anything you have for girls. Love, Kelsie Kindergarten, Dallas Elemen- tary Lehman-Jackson School 2nd grade Dear Santa, I have been working hard in school this year. May I please have a sleeping bag, roller skates, and a horse poster. I can’t wait for you to come. Your friend, Kristen Dear Santa Claus, I have been a good girl in school and at home. For Christ- mas, I would like a live bunny (if you can). I want a Polly Pock- et too. The last thing I want is a couple of bones for my dog, Bandit. I can’t wait for you to come! Love Hope Dante Dear Santa, I have been a good girl this past year. I would like a chapter book for Christmas and I would like a puppy. I am looking for- ward to you coming to my house! Your friend, Kirsten Stayer Dear Santa, I have been a good boy this past year. I want transormers (especially Q-Rex), legos, and Thomas trains. I'm looking for- ward for you to come. Have a great Christmas, Santa. Love, Brent Oliver Dear Santa, Can I have some of these things lik AARON Carter CD, a fish and a bowl, fish food too. Oh, and one more thing, a lava lamp. I am excited! Love, Carly Hislop Dear Santa Claus, I have been a very good boy this year. Santa, if you could, get me Super Smash Brose Me- tel and a Nintendocube travel- ing pack. I can’t wait until you come. Love, Troy Lehman-Jackson School 5th grade Dear Santa, How are you doing? How is Mrs. Claus? I bet the elves are . getting pretty tired from making RE a de Smiling santa toys and getting the reindeer. ready! I bet you're hungry. If I was you I'd save my appetitie for the cookies when you give people their presents. Speaking of presents I'd like a Nintendo game cube for Christmas. Your friend, Bryan Poepperling Dear Santa, If I got to have anything for Christmas the first thing would be a giraffe, (a stuffed one) be- cause then I could slide down on his neck, or just sit on him. But I don’t think he would real- ly fit in my room. I think I have been pretty good this year. If I got to have a second thing, it would be a swingset. It would be one with four swings. I used to have one, but it broke. Sincerely, Amanda Austin Continued on page 4 Franki Castrignano, a sixth grader at Lehman-Jackson Elementary School, portrayed a smiling Santa Claus about to empty out a sack of gifts under the Christmas tree. More kids art appears with the letters to Santa starting on page 4. By SANDY PEOPLES Post Correspondent DALLAS - The residents at the Meadows Assisted Living Center waited all afternoon with excite- ment. More than a dozen children from Gate of Heaven Brownie Troop 631 were coming to sing Christmas carols for them again this year. Under the direction of their co- leaders Mary O'Donnell, Lisa Valenti, Colleen Pomfret and Bar- POST PHOTO/ELIZABETH ANDERSON Santa’s helper, Ellen Warunek of the Meadowcrest Tenant's Asso- ciation consults with the Big Man (Don Fleschert) as she hands » him a large bag of presents meant for a good little girl or boy. Santa pays a visit to Meadowcrest kids KINGSTON TWP. - Christmas cheer and laughter filled the air Sunday afternoon at the hugely successful Christmas party for the kids of the Meadowcrest Housing Development, thanks to the generosity of the Back Moun- tain community. Each of the more than 30 needy children re- ceived loads of toys and each family received a gift certificate worth $20, $15 or $10 donated by local area businesses. Food and gifts overflowed thanks to Toys for Tots, Curves For Women, College Misericordia, Trucksville United Methodist Church, John Plucenik of the ARC and the American Legion of Dallas among numerous other Back Mountain organizations, businesses and individuals. Ellen Warunek and Marion Hazeltine, the organizers of the party, were bowled over by the response. The pair stayed up late wrapping last-minute gifts for Santa to give to the kids. After eating pizza donated by Renee's of Swoyersville, then munching on the abundance of Christmas treats made by par- ents, stockings stuffed . with treats were passed out to each child. Warunek passed out song- books she had created of Christ- mas carols and all joined in singing as they waited for the se- cret guest. Santa Claus himself! “They had a blast singing,” said Warunek. Santa’s arrival was the high- light of the party. Don Fleschert, a ringer for the rosy-cheeked fel- low, played Santa and called each child to him by name. One young boy was overheard anx- iously asking his mother, “Does he know my name, Mommy?” Mom reassured him that Santa bara Kreidler, the girls sang many traditional songs the resi- dents know so well. Many of the residents sang along as the famil- iar words came to mind. They swayed with the music and ap- plauded with enthusiasm at the end of each carol. At the completion of the pro- gram, the girls gave the residents ornaments they had had made. They walked around the room and wished each resident a Merry Christmas. They also shared re- Meadows rings with joy as Brownies sing freshments of ice cream and punch. Sean O'Donnell from Cub Scout Pack 281 came to see his sister sing. Soon he noticed the train under the Christmas tree. He turned it on and let it make its way around the track. The girls gathered around the tree, and the residents smiled and laughed as they watched the children play. Ruth Curtis, Lillian Forred and See BROWNIES, pg 10 knows every little boy's name, of course. Santa passed out large bags of toys to each child. Some sat on his lap, even whispered in his ear, but a few were a bit terrified of the jolly elf. One persistent young lad asked Saint Nick re- peatedly where his reindeer were. “There’s no snow for my reindeer to land on!” Santa explained. “I had to leave them at home to- day.” The older kids politely an- swered Santa's questions, then dashed out the front door as quickly as possible to tear open their presents on the lawn. Warunek, Hazeltine and all the parents of the Meadowcrest Housing Development want to say thank you to all the people who played such a big part in making this a great holiday for the kids. by Elizabeth Anderson Sean O’Don- nell from Cub Scout Pack 281 enjoys op- erating the train for the enjoyment of the Brownies and the resi- dents. POST PHOTO/ SANDY PEOPLES Borough to take a long look ahead By ELIZABETH ANDERSON Post Correspondent DALLAS BOROUGH - This is the time of year when most mu- nicipal governments look ahead to the next year. Officials in Dal- las Borough are hoping to take a longer view. Dallas Borough Council mem- bers invited a diverse group of community leaders to the inau- gural Dallas Borough Communi- ty Visioning meeting Dec. 12, for a presentation and discussion on the future of the borough. Community visioning is a process by which a community envisions the future it wants, and plans how to achieve it. It is a tool for the community to as- sess, evaluate, and implement far-reaching and long-term plans affecting the quality of life in the community. It is an op- portunity for all aspects of a community — government, edu- cational institutions, residents, businesses and non-profit orga- nizations to get involved in pro- jecting a municipality into the future and determining how the community will look 10, 15, even 20 years from now. “Community visioning is at the cutting edge of community building across the nation to- day,” said Joseph Moskovitz, Dallas Borough manager. “It's not a master or comprehensive plan. It is far beyond that.” “We are a fast food society. Everything is drive through. A visioning program is not a drive- through exercise,” explained Moskovitz. “We are talking about generational change. For me, as a professional full-time manager, that is the exciting part.” When Moskovitz was hired a year ago as the first full-time Dallas Borough manager, he saw the need for a main street program. “Our main street area could be far more than what it is,” he said. “Without discussing See VISION, pg 10 16 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar..........c..coeseserss 16 Classified.................. 13-15 CroSSWOId.........cciessnsvases 10 Ediforials......c.....ii.rneiivons 6 ODbItUNIES.......... costes iduets 2 SONOOL.. .. iiss tii shen siviess 11 SPOS: .:.oniiiiiriinsnans 9-10 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dallaspost@leader.net The Dallas Post 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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