L Dallas, Pennsylvania The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 June 13 to June 19 2003 No. 24 DALLAS POST SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS SPORTS Between the rain, BMT Baseball action. Pg 9. SCHOOL Sarah Killian honored for work with Sem drama. Pg 11. COMMUNITY Fehlinger receives Kiwanis Kozemchak golf award. Pg 5. A ray of sun for Dallas Editor's Note: Each vear, The Dallas Post asks a mem- ber of the junior class to write about graduation through the eves of a rising senior. By NICOLE JACOBS Special to The Dallas Post After a week-long bout with cold weather and ever threat- ening rain clouds, Friday night in Dallas turned out to be beautiful for the Class of 2003, as the 82 young women | in light blue caps and gowns, and the 96 young men in dark blue, strutted across the foot- ball field. This class was an excep- tional one, which was shown throughout the night beginning ried sunflowers, their flower, and the class had some- how convinced Mr. Galicki, principal, to wear a matching suit of blue whieh was somewhere be- tween the light and dark of the gowns. The Senior Class Vice President, Joel Lesins- ki, began the ceremonies by giving the wel- come, and saying what everyone seated before him was thinking, “There is no beginning with- out an end.” That one sentence surely sent chills down the spines of the seniors as the real- ization that their high school years were com- ing to a close, and the future anticipated since childhood had finally arrived. The real surprise of the night, though, came just after Dr. Griffiths gave his words of encour- agement. When grades were tallied in the third quarter to determine the Valedictorian, John Gilligan, Class President and future cadet at An- napolis, was clearly ahead. Yet, at the close of grades this past week, Michael Yenason, Saluta- torian and Class Secretary, had fought back and managed to tie Gilligan for top honors, proving that the class mascot, a centaur, was in perfect metaphor for these students. Michael, all smiles, then gave a very touching speech reminiscing over the past 13 years of school. He shared with his fellow students the knowledge he had gained that while they had all set out to learn the three R’s in kindergarten, by this night so much more had been taught to them during their years at Dallas. As the crowd roared at his first, “Thanks,” he quickly hushed them and continued with an all too typical, “You only get to do this once,” as he finished thanking his classmates. John Gilligan came next in speeches, with his signature bad jokes that everyone laughed at nervously. Beginning his speech, though, he did something incredibly admirable. He acknowl- edged that classmate Adam Morgan, who had spent the past year, senior year, at Penn State POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK with the march, as the girls car- Devin Kelly wrapped his arms around classmates Amanda Hayes, left, and Niki Winters after graduation class ceremonies June 6 at Dallas High School. More photos on pages 3-4. Main Campus, eliminating him from the run- ning for Valedietorian, should truly be in his place, and called him “number zero” of the Class of 2003. John went on to recall the past four years of high school, saying that “was all I could remember.” He talked ghout everything from hall monitors, to dentist appointments at the hot dog place, and finally ended by thank- ing his classmates and his parents who he stat- ed, “without whom I would not be here, which I learned in Wellness class, and without their love, would not still be here,” going out on one of those jokes for which he will always be re- membered. The time had finally come for each student to cross the stage and receive the diploma he or she had worked so hard to earn. Friends screamed the names of other friends, Devin Kel- ley ambushed Mr. McGovern with an enormous See GRADUATION, pg 3 Jolley honored for efforts against DUI Horror unfolds In back yard Staff Reports KINGSTON TWP. — Investigators have found the remains of five people buried in the back yard of a home at 479 Mount Olivet Road, and have not ruled out the possibility more will be found, Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas said earlier this week. Forensic experts and cadaver dogs continued to comb the property, and on Wednesday state police investigators brought a man in handcuffs there, carefully shielding his face from reporters. News reports have indicated the man is some- one with direct knowledge of activities at the home. Lupas has not said if police have specific infor- mation regarding more bodies, but a source said investigators are checking information that leads them to believe the number could be in See HORROR, pg 2 New size, new look for the Post This week’s issue of The Dallas Post is printed on a format that makes the newspa- per easier to handle. This narrower page has been adopted by hundreds of newspapers across the nation in recent years and is the modern standard for “broadsheet” papers. At the same time, we've taken the opportu- nity to make some changes in design and arrangement of pages. Obituaries, which had appeared on page 2 in recent years, have been moved to the last right-hand page in the first section. This frees up pages 2 and 3 to carry continuations of front-page stories and other original articles. All pages will now be labeled at the top to identify their content, whether news from the schools, community items or sports. Changes also have been made in the typography for “standing heds,” the words and artwork that identify recurring features, such as Library News. : We hope you enjoy the new format. We'd be delighted to hear from you either way. 16 Pages, 2 Sections POST PHOTO/ERIN YOUNGMAN Chief Robert Jolley, of Dallas Town- ship, holds the certificate he received as a “DUI Top Gun.” By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff DALLAS TOWNSHIP — Dallas Township Chief of Police Robert Jolley is one of two police chiefs in Luzerne County to be honored with a newly-cre- ated DUI enforcement award. Jolley and Hazelton Police Chief Mike Strenchock received the DUI Top Gun Award May 30 in front of approxi- mately 100 members of the law enforce- ment community at the Pennsylvania DUI Association conference at Luzerne County Community College. Carol Crane of the state Department of Transportation, who helped coordi- nate the award, said Jolley’s name came up immediately for the honor that was created to recognize officers and de- partments “that go over and beyond with DUI enforcement.” “We were looking at the police de- partment that was always there; We were looking for a department that nev- er said ‘No’,” said Crane about the se- lection process. Pete Quinn, who coordinates the DUI Checkpoint program, an offshoot of the Highway Safety Program, said Jolley and his officers have always been very committed to the DUI Checkpoint pro- gram. He said the initiative the Dallas department takes in administering the program is one of the aspects about the department that stands out. “They take it upon themselves to do these things. They did a roving patrol last August and they made nine DUI ar- rests in a four-hour period. “To my knowledge, I don’t think any- body in the state has done that.” Jolley said although he is honored to receive the award, his officers deserve much of the credit. “The thing about an award like this is they call the chief, but really it’s for the department — for the guys,” he said. Trucksville UMC dedicates new educational facility By SANDY PEOPLES Post Correspondent TRUCKSVILLE — The long-awaited sunshine came through on Sunday morning, June 8, and provided a warm atmosphere for the much-an- ticipated dedication of the new two-level addition of the William and Melba Dickson Educational Facility at Trucksville United Methodist Church. Rev. Michael Bealla con- ducted a service of consecra- tion and dedication for the many faithful who looked for- ward to a day that was more EL RAT than 150 years in the making. The church was founded in 1844. “On my first day at this church, on March 1 of this year, I was handed a hard hat and was told to hit the ground running,” said Bealla in his weekly sermon. “But a hard- working group of lay people led by Bill Long, Campaign 2000 Chairman, had already completed most of the work. And now we can look to the heavens and say ‘Lord, look what Your people have done. Jeffrey S. Dickson, Sr., son of William and Melba Dickson, See CHURCH, pg 8 Yankovich primary lead holds By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff KINGSTON TWP. — The recount for three Kingston Township Supervisor nomina- POST PHOTO/SANDY PEOPLES The Dickson family, from left, Jonelle, JoAnn, Jeffrey S., Sr, Jeffrey S., Jr. provided the lead gift for the construction v« Of the new William and Melba Dickson Educational Facili- ty and the renovation of the existing wing of the education- al facility in memory of the late William Dickson and in honor of Melba Dickson, a member of the church. Daugh- ter Jodi Dickson was unavailable for the photo. tions is complete and although vote totals have changed, Chris Yankovich has retained his spot on the November ballot. It has been several weeks since the May primary and vote totals continue to be un- certified. Recounts com- Calendar............ccccei runes 16 Classified Crossword Editorials Obituaries CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dallaspost@leader.net Please enclose this label with any address changes, and mail to The Dallas Post P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612-0366 See RECOUNT, pg 7
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