Vol. 115 No. 21 Inside This Week L May 23 to May 29, 2004 50¢ Running during erecess is a hit By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff DALLAS TWP. — Add a fourth “R” to the curriculum at Dallas Ele- mentary School — Running. That's what Amy Rome, mother of three in- cluding a second grader at the school, has done. : Rome, 37, who is a consistent win- ner in competitive races of 3 to 6 miles, wanted to get kids at the school interested in exercise as an en- joyable activity that could last a life- time. When she floated the plan for the “Recess Running Program” to Principal Sam Barbose, he essentially told her to run with it. “He was very supportive,” Rome said, as was the school’s Parent- Teacher Organization, which agreed to cover the minimal cost. The program began shortly after the School Board received a report identifying 20 percent of the district’s eighth graders as obese, but Rome said the timing is a coincidence. Rome, a 1985 Dallas High School graduate, conceived the idea as a means to improve the general fitness level of children. “You just see it with kids these days; how out-of-shape chil- dren are.” The activity couldn’t be simpler; a 3 es 2 ET 3 FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Lori Pizano checks numbers for Maria Fessler and Amanda Pizano. Parent volunteers are vital to the suc- cess of the Recess Running Program at Dallas Elementary School. 1/8 mile course is laid out in the play- ground area, and children run or walk it during their half-hour recess period three days a week. Each child has a card that is marked for each lap com- pleted. At five miles, they receive a to- ken that attaches to their shoelace. The program started the first week of May, and within two weeks Rome had given tokens to four children. “A lot of kids set their goal to be a mile each day,” she said. And despite losing a day to rain, those four reached their goal. Some children, like Megan Flem- ing, take a lap or two even on days when no one is watching. “I do, sometimes,” she. said last week after turning in the card on which parent volunteers mark off laps. Those volunteers are critical to the success of the program, Rome said. “If we don’t have them, it’s not going to work.” Last week, Rome, Lori Pizano and Holly Bienkowski stood near the playground, each handling cards for stu- dents from one of three third- See FIT KIDS, pg 2 . At 5 miles, which takes 40 laps around the 1/8 mile course, children get a toe token that can be at- tached to a shoelace. Property tax helps keep township in the black By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff KINGSTON TWP. — Collections from the new 10-mill property tax are helping the township stave off the fis- cal disaster that appeared to be loom- ing at the end of 2003. “I think we're pretty much on target with most items in the budget,” said township Manager Eddie O'Neill last week. Two small exceptions are high- er spending on advertising, caused by adoption of new. or modified ordi- nances, and a lag in income tax re- ceipts. O'Neill attributes some of the in- come tax shortfall to a change in col- lection firms. He said payments usual- ly trail the time taxes are taken out of paychecks by as much as four months, and there may be an added delay as the old firm forwards payments to the new one. The property tax had brought in about $80,000 by the end of the rebate period earlier this month. “Has it helped? Obviously it has,” O’Neill said. At the same time he is counting re- ceipts, O'Neill is trying to conserve cash to cover a large payment for the municipal building. The township makes an interest payment in the spring and fall, but pays principal only See TAX; pg 3 IF YOU GO Business Fair and Card Exchange By SANDY PEOPLES Post Correspondent Wed., May 26, 4-7 p.m. “The Back Mountain is more than just a bedroom community,” said Elva Valentine, owner of Valentines Jewelry. Lynn Banta, president of the 148 mem- ber association, “and we want to let en- trepreneurs know that we are eager to Businesses and professionals to host open house Wednesday Mountain and with others such as Dr. Michael MacDowell, president of Col- lege Misericordia, to involve education Stax & Co. restaurant, Twin Stacks Center, Rt. 415, Dallas + Displays by member businesses of the Back Mountain Business & Professional Association * Door prizes « Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and soft The Back Mountain isn’t just a place to bed down after a hard day’s work somewhere else. It is home to vibrant and interesting small businesses that provide a wide range of products, enter- tainment and services while supporting local institutions. That’s what members of the Back Mountain Business and Professional Association want to show the public at their fourth annual business fair and card exchange. The event will take to enhance the labor force and encour- age our young people to work and live in their hometowns. “I am a relatively new member of the association,” said Diane Dreier of Dreier Auto Sales, “but I am impressed with not only our mission to promote business in the Back Mountain, but also our mission to promote an im- proved quality of life. As an organiza- tion and individually, it’s the small busi- nesses that support our schools, our li- help them get started in their own small businesses.” A new feature this year will be walk- in seminars and workshops where po- tential startup company owners can learn about the resources available to them in the Back Mountain such as banking, accounting firms, law offices, available office and retail space and a mentoring program. The association and its members also have a bigger picture in mind for the “We're much more than that, and our goal for the business fair is to invite the public in for a one-stop preview of the many retail business and professional resources available right here in our own back yard.” While the event is focused on busi- ness-to-business relationships, the gen- eral public is welcome to attend and get a taste for what the Back Mountain has to offer. “We want to let the public, profes- drinks lace Wednesd : place Wednesday, May 26 in the Natona sionals and other businesses know Back Mountain. They have b k- b i iliti . : . y have been work- brary, our recreational facilities, and Workshops for Room at pa & Co. restaurant in the pq the convenience of using the ing with the Visioning Committee to entrepreneurs win Stacks Center, Rt. 415, Dallas. businesses that are already here,” said bring beauty and culture to the Back See OPEN HOUSE, pg 3 Visioning meeting rt. bi includes planning Harvest Festival A combined Dallas Visioning and Dallas Harvest Festival meet- Y ing is scheduled for Thursday, May 27, 7 p.m., at Kennedy Lounge, Banks Student Center, College Misericordia, Dallas. . New committee members and volunteers are invited. Anyone interested in learning more about the organization’s re- vitalization efforts for downtown Dallas is also welcome to attend. Questions may be directed to the Dallas Borough Administration Local work goes to Smithsonian By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent | Size matters, and so do all the little details, for local artists preparing to exhibit their work at the Smithsonian Institution. The international exhibition, called “Fine Art in Miniature,” will be held from June 19 through July 12 at the Smithsonian Institution’s International Gallery, in the S. Dillon Ripley Cen- ter. More than 1,100 works from 14 art societies in eight coun- tries will be on view. The largest painting can be no bigger than 56 square inches Office at 675-1389. ee allas Borough calendar including the frame. The canvas itself can be no bigger than an online at index card. With that in mind, a year ago members of the Dal- las-based Cider Painters of America began preparing canvases for the “Olympics” of miniature art. The Smithsonian jurors have accepted 79 pieces from the Back Mountain group. Some have been rejected and will be re- submitted. “Do people think these paintings are easy to do be- cause they’re small?” wonders Judy Panek, of Dallas. “Just one www.dallasborough.org, lists up- coming community events and future meetings. Any Dallas Bor- ough community organization scheduling a future event may contact the borough office to be FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Sandy Leonard, Pikes Creek, Judy Panek, Dallas, and James Rogowski, Pikes Creek hold their entries intended for a worldwide exhibition of miniature paintings to be held at the listed. Smithsonian Institution this summer. See SMALL ART, pg 3 Vv Inside The Post Gam musicians Battle over noise from plant rages on y How 7p Reach Us C J2 Pages ] Section win honors Page 3 thepost@leader.net Blendar.... . ...uiees : : . ’ 15 N. 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