k @vo. 115 No. 9 She works hard, : then gets a nice reward Page 2 The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 February 29 to March 6, 2004 SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Notes from home kept %pirits up By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff HARVEYS LAKE — There were times, Eric Pimm admits, when he would think about the mission in Iraq and wonder why he was there and whether the pain, discomfort and death would produce anything of val- ue. Then a letter would arrive, and in it an elementary school child he had never met would express gratitude for the sacrifice Pimm and thousands of other soldiers were making. That mes- sage would lift his spirits and inspire him to keep his focus on the mission, and the day he would return to the States. That day came Saturday, Feb. 21, when on a typical mid-winter after- noon a small parade wound its way around Harveys Lake, saluting Pimm and Ricky “The people Blaine, two lo- : cal veterans of are g enuinely the war in Iraq interested in Who have re : turned home what we did safely. . For most of and what it pa was like.” Specialist Pimm was in Spc. Eric Pimm Iraq, entering from Kuwait on the first day of the war as his unit began a jour- ney that took it almost to the border with Turkey. An early objective was to protect a dam that held back a large reservoir west of Baghdad. “Our battalion was one of the [ee that made the Race for the Parbala Gap,” Pimm said. Aleng the way, they had to fight the Iragi army’s elite Medina tank division. By May, 2003, Pimm’s 2nd Battalion of the 101st Airborne had made its way to the Quyarah West Airfield, near Mosul, where he was based until he left on Feb. 2. “We basically cov- ered the whole northwestern part of Iraq,”he said. A crew chief for an attack helicop- ter, Pimm kept an Apache Longbow flying in very difficult conditions. Only three aircraft were lost, none to enemy fire. More dangerous was the sand, which he said would be blown up when a helicopter landed, completely blocking the pilot's view of the ground. That led to hard landings, or setting down on a slope, and the See PIMM, pg 3 Harveys Lake vy FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Eric Pimm and Ricky Blaine relaxed under their division colors before a parade in their honor Feb. 21. Brandon Pritchard, in hat, and Brian Wright along with members of Cub Scout Pack 693 of Harveys Lake helped them celebrate the day. Ricky Blaine saw worst of Iraq By RONALD BARTIZEK less friendly than Pimm’s. “It really depended Post Staff on the day,” Blaine said about that relation- ship. Some people seemed to appreciate the soldiers’ help, such as when they repaired an elementary school. “But there were quite a few Saddam loyal- ists” in the region, he said. The compound was attacked several times, and once a suicide bomber got inside the walls, killing one sol- dier and wounding 16 others. His other contact came when he accompa- See BLAINE, pg 3 HARVEYS LAKE — When he heard Eric Pimm was coming home, Corporal Richard “Ricky” Blaine wangled a four-day pass so he could join the celebration for his best friend. Blaine returned from Iraq in mid-January af- ter a tour that started in September, 2003. He won't divulge exactly where he was based, other than to say that it was west of Baghdad in a bombed-out palace complex. His experience with the local people was No action on tax note, but @upervisors seek spending cuts By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff KINGSTON TWP. — There was lots of talk but not much action at the Feb. 25 special meeting of super- visors. What was expected to be the main topic of discussion — consideration of taking out the township’s first-ever tax anticipation loan — received lit- tle attention. Instead, the number of police cars became a hot issue as su- pervisors sought spending reduc- tions. Supervisors chairman Chris Yankovich was visibly annoyed that township Manager Eddie O’Neill had not prepared material describing the options for a loan against expected tax revenues. The supervisors called for the special session two weeks ear- lier, when it appeared the township might come up short of the funds Another step forward for roundabout plan Ad PennDOT official says | funds will be added for study By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff DALLAS — The construc- tion of a roundabout in the center of Dallas Borough is soon to pass its first hurdle. Bob Doble, Acting District Engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transporta- tion said last week a $400,000 study to evaluate the traffic pattern’s feasibility there will be added to its four-year, $236 million dollar Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The project — aimed at al- leviating traffic congestion at the intersection of state Route 415, Lake, Church and Main streets — was one of two in the Back Mountain to be added to the plan. Pen- nDOT will also set aside about $400,000 to study a stretch of Route 309 in Kingston Township where several fatal accidents have occurred. Several other projects that vied for monies will go with- out any funding, said Doble. | “The projects added (to the TIP) primarily deal with safe- ty issues. Plus, there’s a lot of interest in the (roundabout) project,” he said. The roundabout has been championed by several local leaders including College Misericordia President Michael MacDowell and members of borough council. It is viewed by many in the community as a key compo- nent of Dallas Boroughs on- going revitalization efforts. Most of the projects select- ed for state and federal fund- ing have already been placed on the plan. Doble said. the Back Mountain projects are two of a handful that will be put on by May in time for See ROUNDABOUT, pg 2 Developer says no plan yet for former farmland by ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff DALLAS TWP. — A nec- essary permit for the develop- ment of land at the intersec- tion of Routes 415 and 118 may soon be granted, but the developer says he will not start work any time soon. The state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said last week it is reviewing developer J. Naparlo’s updat- ed permit application for a development on the former Yalick farm property. The de- veloper cannot break ground on the 48-acre property until he is granted a highway occu- pancy permit. PennDOT Permit Engineer Bob Hassel said his office re- ceived the application Febru- ary 17 and that it will be re- “Unfortunately, I think tonight's meeting was a waste of time for Grant sought | to save on master plan cost viewed and returned to the developer with an approval decision by February 26. “If he meets all the require- 4 ments, we'll issue the permit in about a week,” said Hassel. Naparlo said he is review- ing a contract to purchase the | closed Sunoco gas station in ST Sm the center of Dallas Borough. The purchase is one condi- tion of the permit, and would make possible the construc- \ tion of a roundabout there. ! Naparlo said Feb. 25 he does not yet have a plan for what he will put on the Dallas Township property, let alone a timetable. His initial pro- posal to the township super- visors projected a “big box” retail store along with smaller outlying shops. See DEVELOPER, pg 2 By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN — In Novem- everyone.” Chris Yankovich Supervisors chairman needed to cover expenses as it await- ed tax receipts. O'Neill said he had requested infor- mation on a loan from several organi- zations, but none had arrived. He did explain the terms offered by one bank, which carry an interest rate of 1.3 percent for a six-month loan or 1.6 percent for 12 months. Supervisor David Jenkins asked how long it would take to actually See BUDGET, pg 2 ; ; isn | OR THE FORTE APCOTIE BARTIZEK Hiding behind Mardi Gras Melissa Rukstalis is the girl behind the mask in Ms. Abrams’ Mardi Gras celebration at Gate of Heaven School, Dallas, last week. More photos on page 3. INSIDE THE PosT 12 Pages, 1 Section Dallas High School honor roll Page 10 GCalendar............ciiivs.. 12 Rr ho Editorials... ............c...eee 4 Obituaries..........cc.....uce. 5 SCNO0.....ccivirirease ners 10 Standout students photos Page 10 ber, the Back Mountain Area Council of Governments nearly lost Kingston Township’s participation in the cre- ation of a region-wide master plan. The municipality was facing an unbal- anced 2004 budget and contemplated pulling out of the plan to save its pro- jected $17,000 share of the cost. Sparked by the situation, other council members began searching for additional funding avenues. In Janu- ary, the group applied for a $37,500 Pennsylvania Department of Trans portation (PennDOT) grant. If award- ed, the grant would cover more than one-third of the $100,000 master plan and significantly reduce the cost to See GRANT, pg 2 Lake-Lehman wins district wrestling championship again. Page 7 Dallas girls hang on in playoffs boa - Page 7 y 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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