| el ed Bull D000 SE Ball BA Sal Rol BR Seal SOAS SERS Re SR ) Aa NR heb The Dallas Post Dallas, PA February 20, 2003 3 eruginos ntinued from page 1) her family. “You didn’t go out back then and, always, when you would visit there would be a brother or a sister to sit between you,” ex- plained Mrs. Perugino. John Perugino served two years in the Italian army before he was able to marry. His duty included guarding the excava- tion site at Pompeii that was started by Mussolini. After his tour of duty, the Pe- ruginos married in a civil cere- mony before a justice of the peace in August, but did not start their true married life to- gether until their church wed- ding in February 1933. They moved to Kingston on December 6, 1934 under the sponsorship of John Perugino’s sister who was already living there. “I got out just in time,” he said. “They were trying to call me back into the army when Mussolini attacked Ethiopia.” \Victoria Perugino was already citizen of the U.S. because she was born here. Her family had moved back to Italy when she was only 2 years old, so she did- n't know any English. She, her husband, and their five-month old daughter moved into the Pringle Street home of his oldest sister who is still living there and will celebrate her 101st birthday this March. John Perugino’s family mem- bers were blacksmiths, which en- tailed all forms of construction in Italy. So, during the lean Depres- sion years he supported his fami- ly with any kind of construction work that was available. They eventually bought an old house on Pringle Street for $3,000 and remodeled the whole thing. The couple had four children, Betty, Jimmy, Joe and Sarah, and lived in Kingston until the 1972 flood. After the flood, they Scholar lived in a trailer for three years before moving into the home that John Perugino built in Dal- las. John built up his construction business over the years and at one time had as many as 15 em- ployees. His late son, Jimmy, worked with him as a plumber. Victoria Perugino sewed all of the clothes for her family and even made outfits for her grand- children. She spent a lot of time on embroidery and knitting, has made afghans for all of her chil- dren, her seven grandchildren, and is now making them for her five great-grandchildren. This past Christmas was the first holiday that she agreed to leave home for dinner. Up until then, she provided holiday din- ners for up to 30 people three times a year. The family always gathered at a long table specially made by Mr. Perugino. “We were responsible for desserts and cleanup,” said her daughter, Betty Levitsky, Dallas. “But she did everything else.” The Peruginos are well known throughout the Wyoming Valley for two other reasons. The fami- ly owned and operated the Pocono Drag Lodge in Bear Creek from 1960-1972. “We all worked there,” said, son-in-law Dan Levitsky. “And it was noth- ing for her to prepare dinner for 25 people after the races on a Sunday night.” Mrs. Perugino also worked with her son, Joe, in his potato pancake business. “We started out with a tent and one time the storm was so bad I had to hold onto the tent pole with one hand and the frying pan with the oth- er,” she recalled. Later, Joe bought a specially equipped truck that they used to travel from New York to New Jersey to Philadelphia and all around. “It POST PHOTO/M.B. GILLIGAN John and Victoria Perugino recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. The couple first met in Italy, and has lived in the Back Mountain for 30 years. was hard work but I met a lot of lovely people,” she said. Mr. and Mrs. Perugino took their second trip back to Italy three years ago where they cele- brated John’s 90th birthday. He took the opportunity to visit the ruins at Pompeii. “There are re- ally beautiful things there,” he said. Although the couple has easily earned the right to relax a little these days, Mrs. Perugino, who will be 90 in April, still offers fresh, home-baked cookies to her visitors. Mr. Perugino still creates beautiful handmade wrought iron furniture like the matching bed and end tables he recently completed for a grand- son. “I like to keep busy,” said John. “I want to die with a ham- mer in my hand.” Harveys Lake chief steps down, will be patrolman By DAVID WEISS For The Dallas Post @ from page 1) John’s father, Frank Yamrick adds, “It's a system (the Russ- ian school system) that works for smart children; everything is thrown at them, if they get it ‘that’s okay.” Frank Yamrick contributes to the gene pool with some strong ‘math abilities himself. He's a ‘machinist who knows the alge- ‘bra and trigonometry needed to (figure those arcs a machinist needs to plot so precisely. Joan Yamrick, John’s mother, agrees that the Russian system is accelerated and can be arsh, “The Russian children 'e not coddled, things are not repeated over and over again as in this country.” Joan Yamrick has home - think because I struggled with the Russian language so much, math became the one thing I could do well.” John Yamrick Lake-Lehman senior, National Merit Scholarship Finalist schooled her children on and off. over the years, but noticed her son John had a special love of math and numbers from the be- ginning. “I remember taking him, as a 4-year-old, to a group of college students and they were amazed he could do dou- ble digit multiplication in his head while they struggled to fig- ure out if his answers were right. “I never bought games like -Nintendo,’. she said. “I always rented them because John would figure them all out in a weekend and then be bored with them.” The one game he still enjoys is Zelda. John hopes for scholarship support to schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Carnegie-Mellon, but he already has a fully-paid scholarship to Wilkes Universi- ty. He earned that by winning the junior division of the 54th Annual Luzerne County Council of Teachers of Mathematics no- calculators-allowed test. John admits he has a special love for the challenge and intel- lectual excitement mathematics gives him, and an ability to test well. He has never taken a test- prep course to improve his scores. He feels has an innate and special God-given talent. His advice to students taking the college board exams is sim- ple; “People shouldn't get too nervous about taking these tests, there are different types of intelligence.” HARVEYS LAKE — Police Chief Jeff Butler resigned from his position February 11, after borough officials said he was negligent in handling certifica- tion of police officers. Mayor Richard Boice said the two full-time officers who were not certified will likely have all the proper paperwork processed soon and should be back on pa- trol in a few weeks. Boice and council President Betty West announced Wednes- day, Feb. 12 that Butler had is- sued council his letter of resig- nation the day before. West said Butler will remain a full-time police officer with the borough, making $1,000 less than the ap- proximately $30,000 he made as chief. His resignation comes after re- ports surfaced showing two bor- ough officers, Charles Musial and John Mendygral, were not certified to be police officers. Later, reports surfaced that three former part-time officers. also were not certified in Har- veys Lake. Butler, who became chief in 1996, has said he believed the proper paperwork was sent to state officials and thought there might have been a mix-up at the state commission. Boice said he has no reason to doubt Butler's statement, but the chief should have followed the certification process more closely to make sure it was com- pleted. “The fact that he didn’t follow through with it is the key to the whole situation,” Boice said. “He should have been on the phone. He should have been calling. He should have redone the certifica- tion, done whatever he had to do to see that the officer got it.” West said the mayor and council launched an investiga- tion into the reports and found that Butler was negligent in handling the Musial and Mendy- gral certifications. They approached him about the findings, and he later re- signed. “He didn't do administrative duties as chief as he should have done,” Boice said. “There is neglect. He needs to be pun- ished.” Boice said borough officials recently reprocessed the certifi- cation paperwork for Musial and Mendygral. The state will put a rush to get the certifications to the officers, Boice said. He also conceded the depart- ment is still faced with the pos- sibility of having Musial's ar- rests dismissed because of the mix-up. But, if that does occur, the department could likely re- file the charges and call the ar- resting officer as a witness, Boice said. West said mayor and council will oversee the department un- til a new chief is appointed. “There’s no one that’s perfect,” Boice said. “Everyone’s entitled to mistakes.” This article appeared in origi- nal form in the Times Leader. gant! Legion funds military books American Legion Daddow-Issacs Post 672 recently made a dona- tion to the Back Mountain Memorial Library for the purchase of books pertaining to history and the Armed Services. In the photo, from left: William Kupstas, Commander; Martha Bul- ter, Librarian; Tom Reese, Adjutant General; Edward Buckley, Fi- nance Officer. Lake-Lehman (continued from page 1) property taxes. School Board member Joseph Kapitula questioned why the gas station is the only entity to reap the spill's benefits when others, including residential properties, were affected. The leak contami- nated drinking water at a volun- teer fire company, grocery store, mobile home park, nursing home, at least five residences and the Lake-Lehman Junior High School. The school still uses bot- tled water because of the spill, according to board President Michelle Coombs. Members Sheila Gionfriddo, Angelo DeCesaris Jr. and Coombs, all of whom voted ainst the boycott, questioned if @: proper to punish the new er because of something that happened prior to him. “If we have to get gas, I don't have a problem getting it from him,” DeCesaris said. The boycott would include the district's vehicles that now gas up at the station. Boytin, Kapitula, James Ma- hon, Moderno Rossi and Charles Balavage voted in favor of the boycott; Lois Kopcha was absent. Balavage also asked that Solicitor Charles Coslett look into what rights the district has to chal- lenge the assessment. Board members also agreed to table discussion of possibly hir- ing an additional industrial tech- nology instructor for the 2003-04 school year. Mahon said the board needed to hear specific plans from high school Principal Michael Gokay before discussing the matter. Gokay was snow- bound Tuesday and could not at- tend the meeting. “I don’t want to start reinvent- ing the wheel,” said Boytin, who questioned if the program would overlap classes offered at the West Side Area Vocational-Tech- nical School. In other business: e The board authorized the purchase of a softball backstop from Sportsman's of Johnstown for $1,655; an aerial work plat- form-type life from NES Rentals of Scranton for $5,946; and a gymnasium floor cover and stor- age rack for the senior high gym- nasium from M. Putterman & Co., Inc of Chicago for $8,135. e The bid for the senior high school stadium seating Improve- ments was awarded to Recreation Resources, Inc., Kennett Square, Pa., at $158,300. * Spring coaches for the 2002- 03 school year were appointed as follows: Jeris Baranowski, assis- tant boys volleyball, $1,150; Je- remy Baranowski, volunteer boys The Montessori School understands how important your child’s education is. Come to our Open House on February 25th, 9:30-11:00 a.m., and see for yourself volleyball; Larry Rittenhouse, as- sistant girls soccer, $1,944; Dave Elston, volunteer girls soccer; James Manzoni, assistant track, $2,160; John Sobocinski and Robert Mitkus, junior high track, $2,160 each; Jennifer Cross, as- sistant softball, $1,810; Lori Mikeleski, volunteer assistant softball; Stacey Stack and Lisa Stack, junior high assistant soft- ball, $2,160 each; Beth Morgan, junior high volunteer softball; Frank Carey, assistant baseball, $2,160; Marty Straub, volunteer assistant baseball; Scott Carter and Charles Kopetchne, junior high assistant baseball, $1,810; and Tim Sutliff and Mike Carey, volunteer assistant track. This article appeared in original form in the Times Leader. pr MARTZ im Just think! You can still link pink with the ‘red, white and blue’ at Washington’s Master Gardener program for spring LAST CALL EXTENDED! RESERVED SEATS FOR THE PARADE, TOURS, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, MOUNT VERNON The Penn State Cooperative Extension of Luzerne County will be conducting the Master Gardener program through April 9. Classes will meet every Wednesday from 1-4 p.m. at the office in West Pittston. This program consists of a volunteer training course de- signed to provide experienced home gardeners with the information and skill necessary to share their experience and knowledge with others. In exchange for 30 hours of indoor instruction, candidates must agree to donate 50 hours of volunteer service to Penn State Coopera- tive Extension within the first year. Volunteer activities might in- clude conducting garden clinics, demonstration gardens, answering home horticulture calls in the office and more. For more information call the Penn State Cooperative Extension at 825-1701. Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post Call 675-5211 to subscribe. TOURS Cherry Blossom Festival April 4-6 * BROADWAY: “PRODUCERS” Mar. 22 “MOVIN' QUT” April 5..“LA BOHEME” May 3...“LES MISERABLES” May 3 “HAIRSPRAY” June 7...“MAMMA MIA” June 7...Check our web site for updates. + PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW 1-DAY TRIPS MULTI-DAY TOURS * SENECA LAKE WINE AND CHEESE WEEKEND April 26-27 Wine-tasting with Treats, Boat Tour on Seneca Lake, 3 Meals + CAPE COD “SHIP AHOY” May 15-18 Martha's Vineyard, 10-Mile Ocean Drive to Newport, Battleship Cove, Hyannis MYRTLE BEACH AND CHARLEST! Latin Theme. Daily trips March 2 thru 8¢ ON + SIGHT AND SO March 15 “Daniel”} May 18-24 Full Tours of both Sich Shopping, * Enrolling children 18 months through 6th grade SPORTS yg ON YALL id ol Meal ls aioli Cruise, 3 Jog os * Individualized attention * Small class size * Before and after school care * Full day and morning pre-school * To learn more, call to visit anytime » LILY LANGTRY’S DINNER THEATRE April 5 “Tribute to America” * 3 LITTLE DINNER THEATRE “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” April 6 « ELLIS April 12, May 17 + WASHINGTON July 9 DC Sightseeing, Arlington National Cemetery, Union Station TV's “Cheers” Pub, Stage Play, Pops Concert, Boston Tour, Cambridge Tour, Fenway Park * BRANSON, ST. LOUIS AND PASSION PLAY IN EUREKA SPRINGS June 22-28 Three big shows in Branson! « BILOXI, ATLANTA, NEW ORLEANS Sept. 20-27 Casino, Shrimp Boat Cruise, superb sightseeing, Underground Atlanta * HOCKEY: Colorado Avalanche at Philadelphia Flyers March 8 » BASKETBALL: Philadelphia. 76ers at NJ Nets March 16 * BASEBALL: Twins at Yankees April 7 (Yankees Opening Day)... Tampa Bay at Yankees April 13... Wyoming Valley MONTESSORI SCHOOL Braves at Phillies Sept. 28 (last h game for Phillies ar Vets Stadium- Charter Fons group 851 West Market Street * Kingston, Pennsylvania 18704-3344 call early for reservations!) MARTZ ¥ OURS with Call : for details & ideas. 570-288-3708 821.3855 —~www.martztrailways.com —800-432-8069 Anh \/4 % " \
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