L Vol. 115 No. 1 : & New coach + off to fast start at Lake-Lehman Page 7 Newspaper Since 1889 January 25 to January 31, 2004 SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS College spotlights top local eteachers By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN — Every- one has a favorite teacher — whether it was Mrs. Smith who in kindergarten taught you how to tie your shoes, or Mr. Robin- son who in tenth grade made you realize you could do anything you put your mind to. College Misericordia recently honored six such teachers from Back Mountain schools with Ex- cellence in Teaching Awards. “It's a way of saying ‘Thank you,” ” said Dr. Rita Mundy of Misericordia who coordinated the awards. “The things these people do with their classrooms are phenomenal.” The award recipients were Janet Ghannam, Gate of Heaven; Lee Sikora, Lake-Lehman High School; Catherine Cortegerone and Carol Williams, Lehman- on Elementary; Maureen | acks i en, Dallas High School and Elaine Moran of Wycallis Ele- mentary. In other years the college spread the excellence awards throughout the valley. This is the first year the Back Mountain has been singled out. “Many, many, many of our stu- dent teachers are welcomed into these schools every year. There are many excellent teachers here who work very closely with Mis- ericordia students,” Mundy said. One of those is Wycallis first grade teacher Elaine Moran. “She’s an outstanding teacher,” said the school’s Principal, Kath- een McCarthy. } “She does everything with ex- ~ tra special caring and love.” Moran said she had tears in See TEACHERS, pg 2 —_— | © GROCERIES 00K Jc VARIETY qo roar 8 IL He SURREAL GLa, HRN URE LN ay | Soldier’s mom trying to help Iraqi students By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent are,” she said. If you want to help Operation Pencil Box welcomes do- nations of school materials and cash in support of young students in Iraq. Call Joy Bird at 675-7785 to ask how you can help. those missions. FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK What lurks in the woods Creating a scene that wouldn't have been out of place 100 years ago, several trappers turned out January 11 at Cook's Store in Lehman to sell pelts to a buyer from LTA Fur Trading Co. of Union Hill, New York. They brought a wide variety, including grey and red fox, raccoon, beaver, mink, opossum and coyote. Timmy Myers of Dorrance had a rack of coyote skins that he said he would sell for $25 each. Additional photo on page 3. Ass’t principal appointed for Junior-Senior High School By VICKI KEIPER Post Correspondent LEHMAN TWP. — The Lake- Lehman school board filled some job openings and approved changing the look of the dis- trict’s financial statements at its January 20 meeting. The board appointed Tracey L. Halowich as assistant secondary principal of the Junior-Senior High School at a salary of $50,000. Halowich, a 1993 Lake- Lehman graduate, said she would be responsible for disci- pline and for overseeing the day- to-day operations of running a school. “Tll be out and about, in the lunchroom, the hallways, by the buses, making sure that every- thing is operating smoothly,” she said. “Tll be very visible and ac- cessible.” A Spanish teacher with the dis- trict for the last four years, Halowich filled in for Frederick E. Sponenburg last year while he was on leave. She applied for the assistant principal position when it opened this year, she said. The board also agreed to hire Mountain Top resident Greg My- ers as head football coach for the 2004-2005 school year at a salary of $6,468. In a short speech, My- ers expressed his enthusiasm for his new job. “I will start work tonight,” said Myers, a former player at Crest- wood High School and Virginia Tech. He also called for support from the students, parents, and teach- ers to “bring some football pride back to the community.” Before accepting the coaching position See PRINCIPAL, pg 2 LEHMAN TWP. — Joy Bird just wants to help the chil- dren in a small Bedouin school in Tikrit, Iraq, but she is giving us all a wakeup call. “During this time of financial hardships on our school districts, let’s sit back and ‘evaluate how lucky we really Joy’s son, Jonathan, a 2000 graduate of Lake-Lehman High School, was activated in January 2003, to serve with an Army Reserve unit (442 QM CO) out of Williamsport. They shipped out to Iraq after an extensive training period at Fort Drum. They are part of the 4th Infantry Division, which started Operation Pencil Box this past summer. Initially, the idea was to have units build a small number of schools in the three cities where the 4th Division is stationed. It has since grown to involve over 300 schools and many donations from families back home. The idea is to engage families here and the soldiers in something other than armed raids. Jonathan’s unit has picked a small elementary school in Tikrit, one of the current hotspots for attacks on Americans. Jonathan Bird is a mechanic who often works 12-14 hour days. He is also assigned to field retrieval of broken-down vehicles and frequently serves as an escort (gunner) on “He doesn’t have a lot of free time so he isn’t directly in- volved in Operation Pencil Box, but I read about it in our weekly newsletter from the commander of his unit,” said Joy. “I just wanted to help.” Servicemen’s families in the Williamsport and Bellefonte areas have already collected items and received a great deal of support from the Frito Lay Company located there. “I was hoping some of our local businesses would help also. It doesn’t matter how little, even a box of 10 pencils See PENCIL, pg 3 tion Pencil Box. FOR THE POST/M.B. GILLIGAN Joy Bird and her daughter, Shannon, hold a picture of her son, Jonathan, as they request support of Opera- Dangerous curve Dallas Borough Police investi- gated a two-vehicle accident the smorning of January 21 on Pinecrest Avenue. According to police, a Chevrolet pickup driven by David Sheply was traveling north on Pinecrest when it and a Chrysler Voyager van driven by Donna Zapoticky collided in the northbound lane at a sharp curve just off Machell Avenue. Both ve- hicles suffered severe damage to the left front ends and had to be towed from the scene. Zapoticky was treated and released the same day at Wilkes-Barre Gener- al Hospital. The van’s airbags deployed. Nei- ther driver was wearing a seat belt. A preliminary police report said no charges will be filed. Of- ficer James Drury investigated. POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK Tax collector steps down after 36 years on job By VICKI KEIPER Post Correspondent DALLAS — Tax collection was the emphasis of the Dallas Borough at its council meeting January 21. The council agreed to “accept with regret” the resignation of" borough tax collector Thomas Reese due to a familial obliga- tion. Reese has worked for the borough for 36 years. “We don’t like to accept,” said Councilman Robert Post. “But due to his wife’s condition, we will.” The council then filled the va- cancy by appointing Mark Van Etten, who was recommended by Reese and participated in the 2001-2002 tax audits. Van Etten will hold the full-time position until the next municipal election in 2006. “It’s unfortunate. He’s been selfless,” said Councilwoman Kathy Kupstas of Reese before saying that Van Etten was famil- iar with the tax office’s setup and qualified to do the job. The council also passed a “ten- ant ordinance,” which states that property owners must register their rental units with the bor- ough starting March 15 of this year. The purpose of the ordi- nance is to ensure that earned in- come tax revenue is distributed correctly among municipalities. “This isn’t a new tax,” said Manger Joe Moskovitz. “People See TAX, pg 2 V INSIDE THE Post 12 Pages, 1 Section Calendar..................... 12 No increase in trash pickup fees at Harveys Lake Fon an i Good sign for Page 3 set? workers in Back Mountain Local graduates from Penn State campuses Page 3 Page 10 |__| *Docksas ¥ How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre PA 18711 Advertising: 970-7102 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000 _
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