L Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 December 19 to December 25, 2002 United We Stand Vol. 113 No. 51 COMMUNITY Saying goodbye to the man who waved at Dallas. Pg 3. yo ¢ Middle School students DOWN ON THE MAT Hundreds of wrestlers coming to Dallas for TL Invitational meet. Pull out section inside. 50 Cents Local artisan’s ornament graces Achievement pays off for Dallas schools White House Christmas tree By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent When Marianne Bump-Lurie goes to sleep Christmas Eve, she won't be dreaming of sugar plums or fairies. The vision she'll have is of one special Christmas orna- ment hanging on the White House Christmas tree, the one that she made. A Franklin Township arti- san who de- #8 signs ornamen- tal “Pysanky” eggs, Lurie was selected as one of nine Penn- sylvanians to create an orna- ment for the of- ficial White House tree, which is erect- ed in the Blue Room. | Pysanky is a traditional Ukrainian egg- decorating technique, us- ing beeswax to draw designs and dyes to add color. Lurie learned the craft from her mother, Mary Ann Bump, originally of Swoyersville, and her late Russian grand- free, father, John Bronsberg. She pro- fessionally sells and exhibits her eggs and egg shell jewelry and is a juried member of the Pennsylva- This Pysanky egg ornament, made by Marianne Bump-Lurie of Franklin Township, is hanging on the official White House Christmas nia Guild of Craftsmen. The artisans were feted at two gatherings; a luncheon given by First Lady Laura Bush at the White House on December 4, and Post Staff A Wycallis, Middle School win $8 for state test scores By ERIN YOUNGMAN SCOres. points. a tea given by Pennsylvania's First Lady, Kathy Schweiker, at the governor's residence in Harrisburg September 26. awarded School monies for increasing its In July, John System of School K. Robinson, the press secre- tary of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Com- mission, ap- proached Lurie at a craft show and asked her to create the or- nament. “Well sure, absolute- ly,” she replied casually. But she hardly be- lieved him. “He was a very nice and well- dressed man, but many peo- ple come up and promise lots of things at art shows.” Two weeks later she re- ceived a letter from Robinson with guidelines, a list of birds, and the theme for this year’s Christmas “All Creatures Gredt and decor, Small.” See ORNAMENT, pg 11 Early publication for Christmas Because Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, next week's issue of The Dallas Post will be printed early, so that local subscribers can re- ceive their copies on Christmas Eve. The Post will also be available at newsstands Tuesday, December 24. As a result, all submitted news and community items for the next is- sue must be received by 2 p.m. Friday, December 20. Display advertis- ing should be ordered by 5 p.m. Thursday, December 19, and classified advertising will be accepted until 4 p.m. Friday, December 20. The office of The Dallas Post will be closed all day December 25. The following issue will adhere to a similar publishing cycle. DALLAS TWP. — For the second year in a row, the Dallas School District has been Performance Funding Assessment Pennsylvania (PSSA) Lk if Established in 1998, the incentive pro- gram awards money to schools that im- prove their PSSA scores 50 or more This year Wycallis Elementary raised its math score 20 points to 1400 and its reading score 30 points to 1440. The middle school raised its scores by 10 points in math to 1360, and by 40 points in reading, to 1410. According to Dr. Michael Speziale, As- sistant Superintendent of Dallas, last year the senior high, Wycallis Elementary and Dallas Elementary collectively earned ap- school i lite, ha POST PHOTOS/SANDY PEOPLES Lori Kowaleski, Bill Cuff and Heather Wertman filled baskets with toys for tots, purchased with tip money gathered throughout the year. Deli employees exchange tips for toys Christmas Ian Williams played Joseph and Anna Layaou was Mary in the Gate of Heaven School production of “Shepherds, Stars and A Sav- ior” presented December 15. Michael Stachnik played a shepherd at Joseph's right. Standing behind Joseph and Mary were three stars, played by Michelle Ash, Michele Fromel and Lucia Walkowiak. By SANDY PEOPLES Post Correspondent DALLAS - The employees and management of J&J Deli in Dal- las could do anything they want with the tips they receivg from dine-in customers, take-out or- ders, and office deliveries. What they have chosen to do with the money they have received in the past six years is a heartwarming Christmas story. John and Heather Wertman, the owners of J&J Deli, joined the Toys for Tots project in 1997 and asked their employees if they wanted to participate. “Bar none,” said John Wertman, “all of them wanted to then, and the tradition has continued with all of our new employees through- out the years. Some of them are young people who could just as easily put the money aside for college, a car or for gas, but these kids from Dallas and Lake-Lehman high schools really get a good feeling by putting their tips in the jar when they get them.” “We really enjoy helping the kids out,” said Bill Cuff, one of the deli cooks. “We've seen the See TOYS, pg 3 is coming Accident rate down despite huge increase in traffic By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff Although a rash of accidents, including two resulting in fatali- ties, have recently besieged the area, a closer look at accident statistics in the Back Mountain reveal that over a 10-year peri- od, collisions are down in both Kingston and Dallas townships. Local officials and the state De- partment of Transportation (PennDOT) say a series of road improvements is the reason. According to PennDOT, the Back Mountain is experiencing more through traffic and higher overall volume than ever, but since 1996, accidents have de- “clined an average of 9.3 per year in Dallas Township and three per year in Kingston Township. Local officials and PennDOT credit a string of road improvements throughout the late 1980s and 90s for the de- crease. In 2001, an average of 41,598 cars were counted passing along Route 309 in any 24 hour period. “That's almost a 100 percent increase,” said Tom Ochal, PennDOT Traffic Study Supervisor. The average num- ber of cars entering the Back Mountain in 1988 was 27,000. “The area is growing and the See TRAFFIC, pg 10 Deadly strip draws attention By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff SHAVERTOWN — The area of the deadly November accident that killed the drivers of both cars involved is being studied for possible road improvements, said James Balavage, Kingston Township Chief of Police. Deborah Evans and Joyce Sickler, both Back Mountain residents, died of injuries result- ing from the November 26 acci- dent. Evans's car was struck by Sickler while attempting a left turn out of the Texaco gas sta- tion across from Rave’s Garden Center on Route 309. Because that area of Route 309 has historically been prone to accidents, including other fa- talities, Balavage is currently in the process of gathering acci- dent statistics, from 1996 on, to send to the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for review. Chuck Mattei, PennDOT Dis- trict Engineer, said he would be happy to look at the data to see if possible road re-engineering is See DEADLY, pg 10 proximately $80,000 in award money that was used for a variety of uses. This year Wycallis Elementary and the middle earned a Wycallis was awarded $9,672 and the middle school $15,120. Kathleen McCarthy, principal of Wycal- lis, said the award reflects well on the school and its teachers. “It's a reflection that we have a good combined $24,792. See TEST SCORES, pg 11 POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK 24 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar. ..............cuieees 24 Classified.................. 21-23 Crossword...........cc...vves 14 Editonials.............co.coiiass 6 ObIUAMES.............. cvseniees 2 SChOOL......co.uuuiiviiasins 15-16 SPOS, veenssessskinssion 13-14 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dallaspost@Ileader.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
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers