The Post NEWS Library continued from page 1) the Back Mountain library has held steady. That could change, however. Although fortunate thus far, the library is still trying to make up a $32,000 deficit and is facing the possibility of having to re- duce its hours. “We're going to have to work extra hard to try to make up that ' difference with fundrais- ing,” said Butler. This week the Friends of the Library steering committee, which works on fundraising ac- tivities, is sending a mass mail- ing to Back Mountain residents that is more than three times the size it has been in past years. The letters requesting do- nations went out to 10,000 homes. “With the budget cuts, we had to come up with a new idea of how to expand it,” said Jill ton, Friends president. After seeking mailing lists from several sources, they came up with the idea to buy a list of registered voters from Luzerne County. For the $2.50 cost of a CD-ROM, they had a starting point. After weeding out records that seemed to be old and making other adjustments, they had a final list. “We’ll continue to fine tune it,” Kryston said, but this list is a great start. The mailing should arrive this week at homes in the re- gion’s nine municipalities: Lake, Ross, Jackson, Franklin, Dallas, Kingston, Lehman townships, Dallas and Harveys Lake bor- oughs. “We have confidence in our community that they will help us make up this difference by supporting our fundraisers. I'm confident we can do this, but “We’ve been fortunate not to have to cut back hours.” Martha Butler Library Director we need their help,” Butler said. Aside from expanding the mailing, this year’s appeal in- cludes a list of suggested dona- tion amounts, and what they will pay for. For example, a donation of $10 covers the cost of supplies for one pre-school story time session. At the other end of the giving spectrum, $500 pays for ‘three months of computer maintenance. The steering committee has come up with other fundraisers, including last fall's successful Haunted Library, a Giving Tree during the Christmas season, and most recently, the sale of reading glasses. Plans are also in the works to expand its largest and most im- portant fundraising effort, the annual auction. Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the library can send a donation to the Back Mountain Memorial Library, 96 Huntsville Road, Dallas PA 18612. Want to help? Mail your donations for the li- brary to: : Back Mt. Memorial Library 96 Huntsville Rd. Dallas, PA 18612 If you have any questions, call 675-1182 FOR THE POST/DON CAREY Seabee Ross honored Christopher Ross, a Navy construction electrician, received a commendation medal recently from Rear Adm. Charles R. Kubic at the Naval Reserve Center in Pittston Township. Ross, Kingston Township, suffered burns on 60 percent of his skin during an electrical accident while working in Iraq last summer. Help The Post tell service stories The Post would like to know how Back Mountain residents are responding to the war in Iraq. We would like to publish articles that cover a wide variety of subjects, including profiles of military and civilan personnel who are in Iraq. E-mail your stories about local servicemen and women, as well as how your group or organization is responding, to thepost@leader.net, or call 675-5211. Transfer and Adult Learner Night Transfers, part- and full-time adult learners and graduate students are invited. Drop in at your convenience and get your questions answered by admissions, adult education, financial aid and faculty representatives. Tuesday, March 30 6-8 p.m. McGowan Conference Center Mary Kintz Bevevino Library One-stop shopping for: » Equitable credit transfer « Credit for Life Experiences (CLEP) « Financial aid information » Day, evening and weekend classes * Accelerated formats (EXPRESSWAY) + Certificate programs « On-line courses For more information, please call Glenn Bozinski, director of Transfer Recruitment, at (570) 674-6434, by e-mail at admiss@misericordia.edu or toll free at 1-866-CM and Me (866-262-6363). J | i MIsSERICSRDIA Dallas, Pa. True #0 12: misericordia.edu © 2004 College Misericordia, Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy Sunday, March 28, 2004 3 POST PHOTO/ ERIN YOUNGMAN This block of Tioga Street in Tunkhannock will see a $500,000 facelift come summer. It is one of four downtown blocks slated for a makeover. COG gets down to business on plan By ERIN YOUNGMAN Post Staff DALLAS — Overwhelming traffic, accidents and dwindling open space topped the list of concerns as members of the Back Mountain Area Council of Governments kicked off work on the region's first multi-mu- nicipal master plan last week. According to the COG’s grant coordinator, Joe Moskovitz, preliminary approval of a $100,000 Land Use Planning and Technical Assistance Pro- gram grant meant Philadelphia planners, Kise, Straw and Kolodner, and two other sub- contracting firms, could start work on creating the plan. The firms will assess a list of municipal concerns, then cre- ate a blueprint of how the re- gion can continue to develop, but more gracefully. “We're looking to integrate how development in each mu- nicipality affects the others,” Moskovitz said. Representatives from . the three firms met with COG members to outline the upcom- ing year of work. Moskovitz also announced that a recently applied for $37,500 PennDOT grant has been given preliminary ap- proval. The grant was sought to re- duce what municipalities have to pay for the creation of the plan. However, it appears, Moskovitz said, that the date the money will be received will preclude using it in that way. Instead, it will be used to ex- pand the scope of the project. At the March 23 meeting, municipal representatives out- lined the largest issues facing their municipalities. Frank Wagner of Dallas Township said development and traffic are of primary con- cern in his municipality. Q) “We have five major develop- ° ments right now going to start in the near future,” he said. “Believe me, it’s developing so fast, you can’t stay with it.” Moskovitz said Dallas Bor- ough’s population has not changed in several years. Al- though the borough is not look- ing for high growth, some is needed to pay for fixed costs, he said. Carl Goodwin said: in Kingston Township, preserva- tion of green space, the state Route 309 corridor and assess- ing water supply topped the list. Doug Ide of Lehman Town-, ship said keeping the rural character of the township is im- portant, as well as looking at increased traffic on state Routes 29, 118 and Old Route 115. Moskovitz voiced a concern that the amount of money the group has amassed so far is not substantial enough to create an adequate master plan. “The level of detail we can drill down into it (the plan) is limited with that amount of funding,” admitted Stan Niem- czak, of Edwards and Kelcey, the subcontracted firm that will do the traffic component of the plan. “We will try to identify ad- ditional funding sources,” he added. Chris Lankenou of Kise Straw and Kolodner outlined the project’s tentative schedule. Phase I, Background Analysis, will consist of map prepara- tions, site visits, municipal in- terviews and a public open house. In Phase II, the plan will be prepared. In the final phase, it will be distributed to municipal representatives and the public. The entire process should take about a year, although, Moskovitz said, the project should be seen as a “living doc- ument” that can be expanded on in the future. Downtowns — (continued from page 1) first substantial grant — a $232,000 Transportation En- hancement grant — was re- ceived last year. Mead said the downtown project has really been a com- munity-wide effort that saw lo- cal businesses raise money that has been used to match grants. “A lot of areas have lost their historic downtowns, So we want to maintain ours.” Judy Mead Tunkhannock streetscape committee “Finally we can see light. It’s wonderful. I hope it will help with the economic develop- ment of the county.” The project should go out for bid in a few months and hope- fully begin in the summer. “We've definitely waited long enough. I'd like to see a street light before I die,” Mead joked. Downtown store owners are waiting for the work to be com- pleted before they begin planned facade improvements. PennDOT also has plans to mill and resurface the road at around the same time. An additional $250,000 Transportation Enhancement grant, recently applied for, would bring the total available to nearly $750,000, and allow expansion of projects beyond those already in the works. Birding trip The Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society will be lead- ing a field trip to the Montour Preserve on Saturday, April 3. Two birding blinds have been reserved to provide the best chance to observe wildlife. Call Sandy Goodwin at 639- 5785 or Bob Wasilewski at 542- 5948 for information. The Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society includes Luzerne. and Wyoming _coun- ties. CB Sais Sa Sa SEE ri 2 RR TR BRR ER FR EE AR ST i 4 | A # ¥ AA AER
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers