L Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 January 10 to January 16, 2002 United We Stand Vol. 113. No. 2 = DALLAS POST 50 Cents SPORTS Dallas and Lake-Lehman boys and girls meet on court. Pg 9. SCHOOL Ashbridge honored for service to Dallas School Board. Pg 11. COMMUNITY New members named to BMT Catholic Youth Council. Pg 5. Back Mountain will see change in U.S., state representation BY TIMOTHY J. RAUB Post Staff: BACK MOUNTAIN - Back Mountain voters will see quite a change in politi- cal representation on the state and na- tional levels over the next few months. State legislators finalized plans to re- align congressional districts last week, in a move that has changed the shape of congressional representation in the Back Mountain. “I am frankly disgusted to DeRojas kept busy caring for casualties J Local surgeon volunteered for call-up By Sean E. Cobb Kaiserslautern bureau European edition Stars & Stripes See LANDSTUHL, GERMANY — After the Sept. , 11 terrorist bombings, many Americans searched for ways to help their country. One Army reservist knew exactly what to do — he asked for active duty. Army Reserve Dr. (Lt. Col.) Juan DeRojas, called the Army personnel center in St. Louis, Mo., and volun- teered to serve wherever the Army needed his skills as a vascular or gen- eral surgeon. DeRojas, a Cuban refugee whose family emigrated to the United States in 1961, felt compelled to help. “I called because of a sense of duty to serve my country,” he said. “We fled Cuba for the freedom this country stood for, and I couldn’t stand by while those freedoms were under attack.” “We fled Cuba for the freedom this country stood for, and I couldn’t stand by while | those freedoms were under attack. > Dr. Juan DeRojas Lt. Col, Army Reserve When the war on terrorism began, medical officials in Europe looked at the types of doctors needed to support casualties of Operation Enduring Free- See SURGEON, pg 3 Officials frustrated with response to tire dumps By ELIZABETH ANDERSON Post Correspondent Luzerne County split into two different (U.S.) Congressional districts,” said 110th District State Representative Phyllis Mundy, who saw her district cut down in the Back Mountain to only Kingston and Jackson townships. ‘I know that I will do everything I have to do to see that my constituents get what they need.” Reapportionment will mean new rep- resentation for the Back Mountain on the national and state levels. The Back Mountain had fallen under the repre- “I think that it works out to the best interests of Back Mountain residents to have Don Sherwood represent ng them. Joseph Moskovitz Dallas Borough Manager sentation of U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a Democrat from Nanticoke, but with the new boundary lines,, Republican Rep. Don Sherwood from Tunkhannock will — represent all of the Back Mountain. State Senator Charles Lemmond Jr. said over 500 region maps were drawn up before the right one was finally se- Slip slidin’ away Chris Taylor, 12, of Shavertown, shows that bigger i is truly better as he rides his inflarle s sled down the hill at Center Street Park on January 7. More photos of the storm’s fun and pain on page 4. Patriot game Ellie Thompson JACKSON TWP. - Jeffrey Malak, township solicitor, is frustrated by his ongoing, and thus far, unfruitful, letter writing campaign to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Two tire dumps were reported to the DEP in October 2001. One, on Chase Road, contains at least 2,000 tires and the other on Follies Road, over 8,000. Besides being an eyesore, the properties present a potential health risk to the township, he said at the town- ship meeting Jan. 7. Malak received a letter informing the board the DEP was looking into the matter. “However, they (DEP) want the municipality to be the one to clean it up,” Malak said. Both sites have been increasing in numbers for over 10 years, he said. “Still they're telling us we have to use tax- payers’ money, municipality money, to fight it if we want to. They have bigger fish to fry.” Malak said the supervisors had informed him the prop- erty owners had received compensation for placement of the tires, which might be legal if the owners had proper “They may have permits,” Malak “But it seems to me if they did have permits they would have showed either the DEP or they would have come here and said ‘You guys are barking up the wrong tree. We have a permit.” He added, “No one has done that and it's been going on for about a month and a See TIRE DUMPS, pg 8 permits for the tires. went on to explain. stands for the singing of the national an- them prior to the start of the Dallas/Lake- Lehman girl's basketball game last week. The Mountaineers defeated their backyard rivals 44-33. Thomp- son is the grandmother of Jackie Hard- wick, a Dallas player. Story, photos on sports page. POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS Regional police force put on hold, for now By TIMOTHY J. RAUB Post Staff DALLAS - The dream of a regional police force in Dallas Township and Dallas Borough will remain just that - a dream, at least for now. Officials from both municipalities have been unable to meet in recent weeks to discuss the possibility of a re- gional police force, since the township is currently going through arbitration with the Dallas Township Police De- partment over salaries. “Everything is on hold right now,” said Dallas Township Supervisor Frank Wagner. “We are going into arbitration with the police, and it will be a. while until we can start talking about region- alizing again.” But the issue is not dead. Joe Moskovitz, Dallas Borough manager, said he believes it is only a matter of time before the borough and the town- See REGIONAL POLICE, pg 8 lected, pointing out just how time-con- suming the process was. On the state level, Mundy will no longer represent Dallas Township and Dallas Borough. Those municipalities are now part of 111th District Repre- sentative George Hasay'’s district. Hasay, a Republican, is not new to the Back Mountain. His legislative dis- trict already includes Jackson Town- ship, Harveys Lake Borough and See REPRESENTATIVES, pg 3 Regional rec complex plans move forward A Baseball league now part of the mix BY TIMOTHY J. RAUB Post Staff LEHMAN TWP. - The future of the Back Mountain Recreation Associa- tion's $14 million plan for a regional recreation facility is bright. Ground breaking, originally set for sometime in 2002-03, is going as planned, with construction of outdoor facilities beginning this spring, said Dave Suttton, association president. Back Mountain Recreation Associaton Everyiiting is right on schedule” said Sutton. “The land has already been purchased, and right now we are just waiting for the results of topo- See REC COMPLEX, pg 8 16 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar... ..ccilerasetnns 16 Classified.................. 13-15 'CrOSSWONQ.... cc. i vecssrensirs 10 Editorials.......... iii cosn 6 Obituaries............ ccveivess 2 Shook... itis 11 SPOONS. ic iiss nvnississines 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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