"nN » L Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 November 14 to November 20, 2002 United We Stand X Vol. 113 No. 46 | SPORTS Cyclones win U-12 Travel championship. Pg 11. 50 Cents COMMUNITY ‘Locks of Love’ aids cancer victims. Pg 7. ki Monday night. Hl POST PHOTO/ERIN YOUNGMAN ‘@ Crowds of people reached into parking areas at the Disque Funeral Home all through the viewing service for 16-year-old Casey Zalens- Robbery gone sour said to lead to shooting death From Staff Reports FRANKLIN TWP. — A botched robbery appears to have led to the death of a 16- year-old Dallas High School student, who was shot and killed November 8 after a man and woman stormed into his home de- manding money, police said. The teen’s 14-year-old brother, who told police he recognized the woman, jumped out of an attic window to escape and called 911, but by the time they arrived, his brother had been shot three times and died. Police said Casey Zalenski and his broth- Eagles lift off from Troop 155 By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff DALLAS - Could it be some- thing in the water? On average 2 percent of Boy Scouts make it to Eagle rank. Why is it, then, that Troop 155 has made 10 for 10? To get to Eagle rank, each boy has to go through six ranks, 21 merit badges, an Eagle scout ser- vice project and pass a board of review. Ask Scoutmaster Charlie Sta- jewski where the success of his troop comes from and he'll say it's the parents and kids. Ask the parents why their troop had such great success and they'll credit Stajewski. Either way, the road to Eagle er, Thomas, were home alone Friday when Tina Marie Young, 33, and Larry Daniel Tooley, 46, stormed into their wood-frame home on Demunds Road. Thomas Zalenski, who was unhurt in his escape, provided police with information about the intrud- ers, said state trooper Tom Kelly. Police said Young and Tooley entered the Zalenski home at about 10:20 a.m. Thomas told police he saw Young and a man he didn’t know pull into the driveway then enter the home minutes before his brother's altercation with the man. The brothers ran to hide in the attic when the pair entered the house, but Casey left the hiding spot to find out what was going on, according to an affidavit filed with state po- lice investigators. Hiding in the attic, Thomas Zalenski heard a loud male voice tell his brother, Casey, “I want your money.” Thomas heard his brother say he didn't have any, but the man kept repeating the same phrase “I want your money. I want your money." Thomas told police he then heard a “loud noise” and Casey scream then start to cry before the man said “If you don’t give me See ROBBERY, pg 10 POST FILE PHOTO Community mourns loss of beloved teen By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff “He cared a lot ab DALLAS - People attending the everyone. He 1 viewing for Casey Zalenski on s avul of Monday said everyone s j they weren't He had no enemi surprised SO a many turned out to show support for the Zalenski family and to say good Miller. bye to a friend. “He cared a lot about everyone. Several hun- He was everyone's friend. He had ls dred class- no enemies,” said Miller. Casey Zalenski mates, teachers, Friends stood in line waiting to friends, team- get into the viewing for hours in some cases, talking about who Casey was, the shock of his mur- der and how he’ll be missed. They painted the picture of a talented, hard-working teen with a good sense of humor. “He was really quiet, but once you got to know him, he was a re- See CASEY, pg 10 mates and members of the com- munity lined up to pay their re- spects to the teen who was mur- dered in his home Friday, Novem- ber 8. “It's great to see how everyone cared about him,” said Stephanie Yachim, a Dallas junior class- mate. “But I'm not surprised,” chimed in Dallas junior Cassie Fund drive begun to aid family People from several organizations wanting to do something © he | the family of Casey Zalenski have started a memorial fund. = ‘It's an outpouring of the community to do something,” Said Ji Goeringer who is helping to coordinate the fund. Goeringer said parents involved with Boy Scouts, Dallas Junior Mounts Football and the Back Mountain Wrestling Booster Club have all expressed the need to do something for the family. . Goeringer said Casey was involved in many sports and activities from baseball to scouting, and that many different families have been | touched by Casey's death. . “Everyone's known them (the family}, even those who haven't, those of us who have kids — our hearts go out to them.” . To contribute to the fund send or take checks to: The Family of Casey J. Zalenski Memorial Fund c/o Luzerne National Bank, Dallas Branch, 509 Main St., Dallas. For more information contact Jan Goeringer at 675-7415. Dallas Middle | mrss school proj ect 18 Pages, 2 Sections Calenaar........... i vices is 18 . Classified...........cccorss 15-17 CrosSWOrQ.... cc. seuevaieien 12 now on time, | comodo : ObitUanes.....ciivuiivesies iuses 2 under budget BONOON ms irdrerireiens 13-14 SPOMS.......occsvrichinsvte 11-12 Staff report CALL 675-5211 DALLAS TWP. - Renovations FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING at the Dallas Middle School pro- E-mail: dallaspost@leader.net ject will be done before new fur- niture arrives. That's what Len Gallo, repre- senting Reynolds Construction Management Company, told school directors at the Novem- ber 11 meeting of the Dallas School Board. Gallo went through a list of items that are in the works, then said, “We're looking to get everything back on track and complete it by April, as originally scheduled.” Anthony Martinelli, principal of the school, said a shipment of new furniture would arrive in July, and wanted to be sure the work would be done. One school started early. The majority of the kids got together in first grade as Tiger cubs. “We made it a family affair,” said Anne Marie Stajewski. “Everyone from siblings, moms, dads would get involved. We al- ways had extra projects for the brothers and sisters.” The group said Charlie and Anne Marie have been pivotal to the group's success. “The two of them were such a good team it was like we were along for the ride,” said Nadine Charles Stajewski is surrounded by Eagle Scouts from left: Peter Van Loon, Matt Katyl, John Gilligan, Michael Yenason, Brian Cornia, Peter Yurchison, Dan Piccillo, Sean Smith and Chuck Stajewski. Miss- ing from photo is Chris Young. Young, scout Chris mother. Charlie Stajewski said he couldn't have asked for a better group of parents. “They weren't afraid to get their hands dirty,” he said. He believes that, in the end, the parents had just as much fun as the kids. Many of the parents agreed. “All of the parents just got Young's along so well. The parents would go along to help. It was just like a wonderful family,” said Jean Piccillo, mother of scout Dan Pic- cillo. All of the parents and Stajews- ki talk about how wonderful the kids are. Mary Barbara Gilligan, mother of John Gilligan, called the boys “the leaders of tomor- row” and said many are already leading the way. Within the group there is an EMT, a volun- teer firefighter, a licensed pilot, a class president and class vice president. The boys have also won numerous academic schol- arships and awards and many are active in sports. Stajewski said that his scouts See EAGLES, pg 3 a £ \ val LY Ps director joked that Martinelli should have said the furniture was coming sooner, to keep the pressure on the contractors. Among the facets of the pro- ject yet to be completed are the library, auditorium, industrial arts room and home economics room. The natatorium, which had been a thorn in contractors’ sides, is in the final stages of finish work. “We're very happy and proud of finally getting it See MIDDLE SCHOOL, pg 13 Please enclose this label with any address changes, and mail to The Dallas Post P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612-0366
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers