L Vol. 116 No. 5 The Back Mountain's Newspaper Since 1889 January 30 to February 5, 2005 ia students aid Head Start Page 8 /&§ a L 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Spud buds help kids gain insight @:ue program, potatoes old a lesson about diversity. By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent DALLAS — Even potatoes deserve to be treated with respect. “They have their own identi- ty,” said Dana Jolley, after hear- ing her classmates describe their new-found potato friends. Dana’s class studied potatoes as part of an exercise in the Cultural Day of Sharing pro- gram held last week at Wycallis Elementary School. For this exercise, each stu- dent in Kim Kuzma’s fifth grade class was given a potato to study and become friends with. Then, the potatoes were collect- ed and the students had to find their own friend again. Patty Gregg, an employee at M & T Bank, was one of several olunteer presenters in the nual program sponsored by e Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. “It’s all about taking the time to get to know someone before you make a decision,” said Gregg. “Don’t prejudge people but really get to know them.” The class learned that there Fulfilling a pledge to meet at points around the county, they gather at the borough building first. By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff are many ways people can vary, from the most obvious such as appearance, gender, skin color and age, to things like move- ment, eye contact and use of In what was described as taking their show on the road, the Luzerne County commissioners held a meeting January 26 at the Dallas Borough Municipal Building. The commissioners plan to hold nine of their regular meetings at locations around the county this year. “It marks a historic date in Luzerne County,” said Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, who lives about a mile from personal space. People should be lumped together like a sack of potatoes. “Every person has See DIVERSITY, pg 3 the borough hall. John Oliver, Dallas council president, welcomed the commissioners and offered the borough’s assistance if the county ever needed it. Nancy Eckert, who also lives in the borough, was glad to have the opportu- nity to attend a meeting close to home. “Truthfully, I've never gone to a com- missioners meeting before,” she said. She was mildly disappointed with the attendance. The small meeting room was full, but the audience was mostly drawn from county or local municipal officials. George Horwatt, who lives in Dallas Township, was the lone speaker during FOR THE POST/PETE G. WILCOX County commissioners Stephen Urban, Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid conducted their Jan. 26 meeting at the Dallas Borough Municipal Building, under the watchful eye of the late Mayor Paul LaBar's portrait. Commissioners drop by Dallas the public comment session. He asked to serve on a committee looking into the status of the Wyoming Valley Airport. “All my life I've been there,” he said, as his family has been involved since 1945. Skrepenak assured Horwatt that bet- ter days are ahead for the airport in Forty Fort, which has not received much attention. “It’s a little underappreciated right now,” Skrepenak said. Eckert, who was reappointed to the Luzerne County Planning Commission during the meeting, suggested opti- ~mistically that the bitter cold might “have kept people home. “I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “Maybe it just has to catch on.” Retired policeman sees area changing residents starting their daily com- mute to New York and Philadelphia, he said. Crimes, in both type and frequen- cy, also have changed. “Situation” or domestic calls have become almost a nightly occurrence, he said. “Back then, if you were on night shift and you saw the lights on in a house at two in the morning, you used to stop and see what was going on. Those days are gone.” He also has seen a huge influx of transients moving through the area in recent years. Some are drug deal- ers, taking advantage of the smaller police forces. “Small towns are get- ting overwhelmed by this stuff. They can’t handle criminal investigations because it is too costly,” he said. The state police are then called in, he said, but only if they are available. Not that things were dull through- out Parrish’s career. He was the second officer on the scene in 1986 when James Kelly shot Robert Parrish spent 25 years with the Kingston Township department. By CAMILLE FIOTI Post Correspondent KINGSTON TWP. When Kingston Township police officer Robert Parrish completed his last shift on January 14, he left behind a lot of memories — and good friends. Parrish, 49, retired after serving 25 years in the department. He was first hired as a part-time patrolman in 1979, and became full-time 10 years later. Parrish said he has seen many changes in the Back Mountain dur- ing his career, particularly a popula- n boom. “The traffic has multi- ied tremendously,” he said. “Just go into Sheetz at 3:30 in the morning and you'd think they were giving the place away.” And on weekday mornings between 3:30 and 5, the convenience store is filled with Back Mountain See PARRISH, pg 3 two Dallas Township police officers. FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Kingston Township police officer Robert Parrish handed in his badge Jan. 14 to Chief James Balavage. Parrish retired after 25 years on the force. Dallas High School students help design chem lesson Dallas High School advanced placement chemistry students recently participat- ed in a project with Bloomsburg University. Working alongside graduate students from Bloomsburg's Institute for Interactive Technology, Dallas stu- dents helped guide the design of an internet-based chemistry lesson. After the lesson was created, Dallas students helped test it for technical features and effectiveness. The lesson was designed by Dallas High School chemistry teacher John Fredericks and by Bloomsburg students Patricia Boyke, @ Daley, Jason Heiser, Brady Hess nd Jeff Gritman. From left: Brady Hess, Scott Gay, Megan Savage and Jeff Gritman. Winter parking reminder in KT Kingston Township win- ter parking ordinance is effective through March 31. Residents are prohibited from parking vehicles on streets between the hours of 10 pm. and 6 a.m. daily. Vehicles also are not permit- ted to be parked on streets during snowstorms, or for eight hours after the end of the storm. The ordinance is designed to keep streets open and clear so that snow removal measures can be effectively undertaken by the Public Works Department. Anyone with questions about the ordi- nance may call 696-1175. Working together no always easy Council of Governments members hash out liability for grant funds. By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff LEHMAN TWP. — Conducted before an audience composed almost entirely of public officials and the media, the Jan. 25 meeting of the Back Mountain Area Council of Governments at times resembled a fencing match, at others a debating contest. In the end, a tenuous expression of trust won out over legal technicalities as three member municipalities appeared to convince wary represen- tatives of Kingston Township that anticipated grant funds would be kept safe. At their January meeting, the Kingston Township supervisors declined to participate in a $37,500 grant until cautions raised by solicitor Ben Jones III were addressed. Jones suggested the township might be liable if the funds were misappropri- ated or otherwise misused, and that the individual responsible for han- dling them should be bonded express- ly for that purpose. Four Kingston Township supervi- sors attended the COG meeting, two officially and two in the audience. Cindy Campbell, a representative of the Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development, tried to offer assurances that liability is not an issue. “Generally, you already are bonded as a municipality,” she said, so insur- ance specific to the grant is not need- ed. After a sometimes contentious half- hour discussion, Kingston Township supervisor Jeffrey Box seemed to accept assurances from Dallas Borough officials, which has estab- lished a separate bank account to han- dle COG funds, that its insurance was adequate to cover the grant money. “Any of the programs we would do, we would be bonded for,” said Joe See COG, pg 3 Inside The Post Take a look at the local sports action from last week. Page 7 10 Pages, 1 Section calendar .... ody 10 Church. inh avi 9 Crossword. ..... ads 8 FGHOTIAIS o.oo iin nti s 4 Obituaries’... .... 44. 5 SCAG)... van dries 8 Sports iL. unislv, 7-8 How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre PA 18711 Advertising: 829-7101 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers