L Vol. 115 No. 36 |Fall Sports Inside this issue r ge” | Tue POST The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 September 5 to September 11, 2004 SERVING THE CO MMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Back Population swells at Dallas Middle School By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff ALLAS TWP. — The Dallas Middle School is re popular and the high school perhaps less so, according to student enrollment figures from the first few days of school. The middle school picked up 67 new students since the end of the last term, bringing the total there to 654, said Dr. Gil Griffiths, Superintendent. The influx was sufficient to force the addition of a new sixth grade class. The district’s goal is to keep class sizes in the range of 24 to 26 students, and the addition of 29 sixth graders would have pushed classes beyond that level. “There are all kinds of drawing cards,” that at- tract students, Griffiths said, listing a new comput- er lab, extracurricular activities and the swimming pool that was added in 2002. Anthony Martinelli, middle school principal, said the building can easily accommodate the new stu- dents. He said they came from various other areas, in families that had moved into the district, many be- cause of the quality of the schools. “I think our curriculum and course offerings” are a big attraction, he said. The district offers tours of the buildings during the summer, and Martinelli said it’s not unusual to receive telephone calls from See ENROLLMENT, pg 3 ®emporary’ staffing shifts made in administration At a meeting August 30, the school board made official a rumored juggling of administrative per- sonnel to cover the duties of assistant superintend- ent Michael Speziale, who is on an unpaid sabbati- cal leave for the year. The appointments are tempo- rary, until the end of the school year. Thomas Traver, a sixth grade teacher at the mid- dle school, was appointed dean of students at the high school. He originally had been proposed as acting assistant principal, but did not have certifi- cation for that job title. Thomas Duffy, who had been a fifth grade aeacher at Dallas Elementary, is now acting assis- t principal of the middle school; Frank Galicki is acting assistant superintendent and James Mc- Govern is acting high school principal. See STAFFING, pg 3 i to ¥ Z RT ion school 2004 aE FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Hannah Baloga and mom, Deb Baloga of Dallas, can't believe the first day of kinder- garten has already come at Dallas Elementary School. Business group will hear about diversity By PAUL LAZAR For The Post Diversity, a guest speaker and a meal. That’s what will be featured at noon Sept. 9 in the McGowan Room at the College Misericordia Library when the Back Mountain Business and Pro- fessional Association welcomes Dr. Linda Trompetter, executive director of the Diversity Institute at College Misericordia, to its monthly meeting. Trompetter will speak on the topic of “Diversity for Economic Growth and Development in the Back Moun- tain,” which, she believes, is an area which business people should be- PHme more knowledgeable. Diversity for Economic Growth and Development in the Back Mountain Thursday, Sept. 9, noon M¢Gowan Room at the College Mis- ericordia Library, Dallas An $8 charge includes lunch Call 675-9380 by Sept. 7 to reserve “As a business person, you need to be able to appeal to a variety of differ- ent cultures,” said Trompetter. “Many populations represent billions of dol- lars in sales and we need to become knowledgeable of diverse groups.” Trompetter also said that from a business perspective, people need to be aware of changing demographics. She has a few words of advice for those unable to attend the meeting. “l want people to realize that we will never be able to grow economi- cally unless we realize the importance of looking into this critical issue.” Beth Ann Delaney, vice president of the association, agrees, and believes that a diverse workplace enhances a business's overall environment. “The purpose of this association is to bring businesses together to net- work and utilize our businesses and to promote those within the Back Moun- tain,” said Delaney. The association, which meets every month, has been in existence since 1992, and has about 140 members. A charge of $8 covers the cost of lunch. To make a reservation, call 675- 9380 by Sept. 7, or earlier if possible. Pie contest to be tasty feature at Harvest Festival The Dallas Harvest Festival Enter- tainment Committee has announced an Apple Pie Baking Contest, once again a featured event at the 2nd an- nual Dallas Harvest Festival on Sun- day, Sept. 19. Last year’s winning pie was submitted by Chris Swailes of Dallas. In keeping with the theme of the festival, which is the agricultural her- itage of the Back Mountain, all home- made pies are welcome. Simply fol- low the contest rules: e There will be two divisions: Youth through age 17; and adult. ® One entry (pie) per person. ¢ Pies submitted must be two-crust See PIE CONTEST, pg 2 Maybe I'll keep it FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Hunter Nice, Sweet Valley, was having second thoughts about se!ling his trucks at the craft fair and flea market held August 28 by the Or- der of the Eastern Star in Dallas. More photos on page 3. Language classes help to bring the world closer By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent A reprimand, a warning, a solution. Teachers from the Elementary Foreign Lan- guage Academy, a private group of professional teachers and native language speakers, think we are too self-absorbed, not very understanding, and closed-minded here in Dallas and it is becoming dangerous to continue having such provincial atti- tudes. But they have a home-grown solution. Members of the group talked recently about their ideas and their excitement for their new af- i : ter-school lan- Americans need to be guage program, more open to the world which will start and then they will be Sept. 20 for the : " fourth year. better accepted. “People In Einat Davidowitz Dallas see a very Teaches Hebrew and Arabic homogeneous society,” ex- plains Einat Davidowitz, a teacher of Hebrew and Arabic. “Part of the fear of the world is not know- ing each other. Through language we can commu- nicate, communicate with the world. And it’s be- coming more dangerous just to ignore world com- munications. Americans need to be more open to the world and then they will be better accepted.” Lois Redmond, another teacher adds, “It’s time to make a real connection with the rest of the world because we are running out of time and re- sources. I remember seeing a saying on a poster, it said ‘On spaceship earth there are no passengers, we are the crew.’ ” Redmond and the rest of the teachers feel that learning a language is a start to understanding other individuals and the whole world communi- When Maria Torregrossa Englot, a native lan- guage teacher, lived in Italy she would turn on the radio and hear broadcasts from Lebanon, Africa, Israel, Turkey, and all over Europe. She feels this kind of exposure forced her to be more interested, aware, and understanding of the different cul- tures. “Here we are so far away from the reality of the rest of the world,” that Englot tries to promote cultural awareness through her Italian classes. There are 11 different language offerings See LANGUAGE, pg 3 - ¥ Inside The Post Township makes Thaler addresses Misericordia Class of ‘08 Page 8 ‘Remembering Jane’ dance will aid fight against cancer Page 10 22 Pages, 2 Section Calendar: ............ 10 Church 0%. cov. el 9 Crossword: ........... 8 Editorials... .......ia vs 4 Obituaries .......a in. 5 SER0O! ci 8 SPOrtS: iv vusuisicnvmssis 7 ¥ 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 case fo collect county taxes By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff KINGSTON TWP. —= Township Manager Eddie O'Neill hopes he gave Luzerne County officials something to think about during an August 30 meeting held to discuss the county’s proposal to take over collection of its own taxes. “There were some good points brought up,” O'Neill said. “They seemed very open to them.” The county now pays local munici- palities and tax collectors a per-bill rate to collect county taxes. In the case of Kingston Township, the rate is $3.50 per bill. Dominick DePolo, Deputy Treasurer, estimates a savings to the county of more than $12,000 if it takes over collection duties. But savings for the county could be costly to Kingston Township, since the payments now offset about two- thirds of the salary for a part-time tax collector. Kingston Township represents small change compared to what the county pays the City of Pittston, where the rate is $15.91 per bill and the cost tops $50,000. That's where O'Neill suggested savings could be gained without disrupting service, if the payment rate was made a uniform $3.50 per bill. O'Neill also pointed out that Kingston Township pays 55 cents per bill to the county to cover the cost of including the township’s tax in the same mailing, in effect reducing the See TAXES, pg 2 I
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers