2 "The Dallas Post Friday, September 19, 2003 Rains wash out section of trail By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff TRUCKSVILLE — Improve- ments made to the Back Moun- tain Trail just last spring have been washed away by heavy rains said Mark Albrecht, Presi- dent of the Back Mountain Trail council. The organization will have to spend $15,000 dol- lars on repairs. As joggers, bicyclists and dog walkers passed by Tuesday morning, Tom Johnson of Tom Johnson Excavating cleared what was left of a rockslide on the trail about one-half mile from the Luzerne entrance. As he maneuvered his ma- chinery to scoop up debris that had slid down the mountain and covered not only newly constructed drains, but the width of the trail as well, John- son explained that it was the second time in three months he had to clear the area. He said the first occurred in July and the most recent in the last few weeks. Along with the rocks came unusual finds — or trash, depending on your per- spective — plates from another era, antique bottles, boots, old Ford hubcaps and lots of glass. “We're clearing the path to make it safe for people to get through. The amount of rain we've had is so unusual; it has really caused a lot of damage,” said Johnson. Albrecht agreed, adding that the culprit was either extra wa- ter being directed to the area from Bunker Hill or just really bad luck with mother nature. “It's more wiped out now than when we started working there,” he said. “We’re having 100 year flash floods twice a year.” Some areas of the trail fared better than others, but Albrecht said the entire of the trail from Luzerne to Trucksville suffered various degrees of washout. No other area sustained the same At the Farm Brace Road, Orange Pick Your Own Pumpkins, Hayrides, Corn Maze, and Fall Produce 333-5011 Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Visit 751 N. Memorial | | Tom Johnson, of Tom Johnson Excavating, and Albert Cooper, volunteer, work to clear rock slide debris off of the Back Mountain Trail. degree of damage, however, as where the rock slides occurred. Albrecht attributed the slides to the general instability of the hill. In addition to being a nui- sance, the rock slide has caused other complications. With that volume of matter coming down off the hillside and covering the drains, water has no choice but to make its way across the trail’s surface causing another problem — erosion. After the earlier storms, large ruts had been cut into the trail and piping was exposed. Johnson said he cleaned up the leftover rock slide matter by dumping the material over the edge to fill in the ruts. But by Tuesday, the newly packed material had been washed away and once again the ruts and bare piping were left sticking out of the side of the hill. “It’s frustrating because we have to figure out a way to make something that can han- Highway For Fresh Baked Goods, Fresh Produce, Candies, Gifts 675-1696 Open Mon. - Sun. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. IA = dle these types of washouts,” said Albrecht. Still the spirits and determi- nation of those connected with the association have not been dampened. “It’s not insurmountable, it’s just a setback,” commented Al- brecht. This week Johnson said he would work on clearing the path and making it safe. Over the next few weeks, he will dig ditches and put additional drains in. “It should be in beautiful condition in about three weeks,” said Judy Rimple, Pres- ident of the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association. Just in time for fall foliage. Trail (continued from page 1) trail association. The goal, is to have all of the right-of-way issues resolved by this coming spring, at the lat- est, said Rimple. yy i POST PHOTO/ERIN YOUNGMAN Trail notes The Back Mountain Trail Council is conducting fundraising to help pay for updates and repairs. Donations can be sent to: Anthracite Scenic Trails Association c/o The Back Mountain Trail P.O. Box 212 Dallas, PA 18612 Volunteers are needed for Back Mountain Trail fall clean up days. To partici- pate, meet at the DAMA bridge on the following dates: October 18 and 25 from 9 a.m. to noon and Novem- ber 9 and 16 from 11 a.m. to2 p.m. Families are welcome. Bring equipment such as shovels, rakes, gloves and blowers. * DARLING & SONS’ FARMS & GREENHOUSES “Growin 53. 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Back To School Special After a long summer of kids vs. carpet, let us help you celebrate back to school by bringing your carpets and [oo STORE-WIDE CLEARANCE SALE 50-75% off most items through September Books — Video — Puzzles for adults and children at pro me mm me the BACK MOUNTAIN MEMORIAL LIBRARY DALLAS, PA “The best book bargains in the Back Mountain” This coupon good for $1.00 OFF any purchase at our already low prices Expires December 22, 2003 — vv 1 -l Conviction, life sentence® | in murder of teenager By DAVID WEISS For The Dallas Post WILKES-BARRE — Prose- cutors said they agreed to let Tina Young plead guilty to a lower charge of murder in the death of a teenager because her testimony was a key part of convicting Larry Tooley. Both Young and Tooley un- doubtedly played a role in the killing of 16-year-old Casey Za- lenski, prosecutors said. Young planned the burglary to steal money for drugs and drove to the Zalenskis’ Franklin Township home Nov. 8. But Tooley turned the burglary into a murder when he fired three shots into the teen. And prosecutors believed it was necessary to make an agreement with Young to get her testimony to deliver justice. Now, Tooley will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him of first-de- gree murder. Young faces 20 to 40 years in prison — at the most — on a third-degree mur- der charge. A judge will impose the sentence, which could be lower. “When you're looking to make sure that the person who ultimately committed this heinous act is held account- able, you want to make sure that you have everything that you can to get that conviction,” Assistant District Attorney William Finnegan said Monday evening, shortly after jurors said they could not unanimous- ly decide if Tooley should be put to death for the killing. “There would have been a lot of unanswered questions if she was not put on the stand.” The jury convicted Tooley September 11 of first-degree murder in the case. But after three hours of deliberating about Tooley’s sentence the jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of the death penalty. The dead- lock called for a life jail term. Young, who was once a babysitter for the Zalenskis, was initially charged with sec- ond-degree murder, which car- ries a life jail sentence, in the case. But Finnegan, who prosecut- ed the case with Assistant Dis- trict Attorney Paul Galante, said prosecutors made the plea agreement with Young to help ensure Tooley’s conviction. “Any time you have a case like this, you have to make judgment calls,” Finnegan said. “And in a case like this, I think that the jury would have want- ed to hear from the other per- son who was principally in- volved.” Her credibility was chal- lenged by Tooley’s attorneys, Jonathan Blum and Mark Bu- falino. Blum accused Young, 33-year-old mother of four former Army reservist and fos- ter parent, of killing Zalenski and lying to police to pin the blame on Tooley. Young admitted lying to po- lice. Finnegan said she lied be- cause she was “afraid” and ini- tially tried to protect Tooley. But she had told police all along that Tooley was the only person inside the home when she saw Zalenski dead on the floor, he said. It was that testimony, along with Tooley’s statements to po- lice, that played the crucial ele- ments of the conviction, Finnegan said. A juror said the panel didn’t think prosecutors had a “slam dunk” case. They deliberated for nearly two hours before finding Tooley guilty. “I think (Tooley) deserved it (execution),” the juror said. “I feel sorry for the Zalenski fami- ly. Words can’t describe the sor- row I feel for the Zalenskis.” “All I could say is we tried, the juror said. “The only good note is at least (Tooley’s) going to spend the rest of his life in prison.” Thais article appeared in orig- inal form in the Times Leader. Send The Dallas Post to a friend. It makes a great gift. Call 675-5211 for information. 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WEDNESDAY, SePT. 24 1:00 Spellbound 1:00 The Man Without a Past 3:00 Together 3:00 Spellbound 5:00 Whale Rider 21 I pe hound AT THE MOVIES Showtimes effective Friday 919/ 03 BERT 1} F a 5 | 8 all Jism Py A \& 2 Sept. 19 1 Oct. 2, 2003 ~ FriDav, Seer. 19 Opening Night Gala Monpay, Sept. 22 5:00 Blue Car 5:00 Whale Rider Bl SW D, 7:00 Swimming Pool 7:00 Nowhere in Africa 9:00 The Man Without a Past SUNDAY, Sept. 21 1:00 Respiro 3:00 Nowhere in Africa 5:00 Spellbound 7:00 Whale Rider THURSDAY, Sept. 25 5:00 Spider 7:00 Swimming Pool Festival continues through Oct. 2 WYOMING COUNTY CULTURAL CENTER FOR INFORMATION CALL 996-1500 LIVE ON STAGE! An Evening of One-Act Plays by Tom Flannery Oct. 3 (WITH OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION] ~ OcT. 4,8,9 Tickets $15 ~ ALL PERFORMANCES AT 7:30 PM. OPEN AUDITIONS FOR Romeo and Juliet i 13420 for Bigh School Students 03M: LEI Daily 7:15 'TORCE Sat/Sun/Wed 1:15/ 4:15 Yoga for You | Pottery and NEW 6-WEEK SESSioN | Sculpture for Adults Sept. 17-Oct. 22 10:00-11:00 a.m. Children free. Adults $10. Sept. 17-Oct. 22 9 a.m. to 10:30 $50 for all 6 sessions Fri/Sat 9:30 THEATER BES a dat=1a1a]=1 14 “MORE THAN THE MOVIES” 836-1022 www.dietrichtheater.com “The Origin of Place Names in Northeastern Pennsylvania” A lecture by Tuesday, Oct. 7 - 7:00 p.m. Dr. Sheldon Spear $5.00 THEATER BESI5] 4at=1a1a]=114 “MORE THAN THE MOVIES” 836-1022 www.dietrichtheater.com by to order. P.O. BOX 366, DALLAS, PA 18612 * 570-675-5211 Coverage Area: The Dallas Post covers the “Back Mountain” area of Luzeme County, including Dallas, Kingston, Lehman and Jackson town- ships, Dallas Borough, Harveys Lake and the Dallas and Lake-Lehman school districts. 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