L Vol. 116 No. 11 March 13 to March 19, 2005 &@ Former Gators again power O'Reilly in playoffs. POST - Rob Kohli served 11 months in base, it was “Mortaritaville.” nicknamed FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Rob Kohli gets a hug from his mother Becky Kohli at a welcome-back party arranged by his family. Warm welcome for soldier with chilling tales of war feet away from his tent, but miracu- lously, it didn’t go off. Kohli estimated SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Saddle Ridge faces continued opposition Road grades, runoff are concerns to township and neighbors of the property. By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff DALLAS TWP. — The devel- oper of the proposed Saddle Ridge subdivision and his engi- neer sparred with the Planning Commission at the March 8 meeting over road grades, but many other criticisms of the development are being addressed. John Halbing is a member of the commission. After voting with other members to approve a simple subdivision that clears the way for Landview proper- ties to begin planning a 140-lot “A fully improved second entrance is impossible.” Tom Doughton Township engineer subdivision between Upper Demunds Road and Route 309, he switched roles to defend plans for the 100-lot Saddle Ridge. One-critical aspect of his proj- ect seems headed for resolu- tion. In reviewing the original plans, an engineer for the Luzerne County Planning Commission called the street layout “nothing more than a long cul-de-sac.” He recom- See SADDLE RIDGE, Page 2 Iraq, at a base that was frequently attacked with mortars. By CAMILLE FIOTI Post Correspondent some stories to tell. tour included moments. some DALLAS — The guest of honor had Last weekend, a welcome-home party celebrated Rob Kohli’s return after serving 11 months in Iraq. His harrowing Because his was the most-attacked “We averaged at least one to two rounds a day,” said Kohli, a sergeant in the Army Reserves. Most of them never went off, mainly because either they were duds, or just not armed properly. Luckily, he was never injured, although there were some close calls. “We were pouring a concrete slab for our motor pool when a round hit. One of my fellow soldiers was injured.” During a Halloween party last year, a mortar landed about three that more than 100 soldiers would have been killed or injured if it had exploded. On March 5, local rock band Concrete Road, led by Kohli’s friend Jeff Zaykowski, made some noise for the soldier, playing throughout the night at the Dallas American Legion. The humble, 27-year-old Dallas High School graduate didn’t want any fanfare, said his oldest brother, Greg. “The first thing he wanted to do when Developers get tighter scrutiny DALLAS TWP. — Would-be developers will now be held to a strict standard for submission of paperwork and plans. That was the word from township engineer Tom Doughton at the March 8 meeting of the Planning Commission. “From now on, until every document is reviewed and checked off, we are not recom- mending approval,” he said. The new requirement was spurred in part by a review of storm water controls that had been promised in plans submit- ted over the last decade. When the Department _ of Environmental Protection asked for documentation on 52 plans that have been approved, the township could come up with only 22 documents, Doughton said. Development plans usually include supporting reviews by other agencies, such as DEP, the Luzerne County Conservation District and the Dallas Area Municipal Authority. Those also must be completed and reviewed before See SCRUTINY, Page 2 See SOLDIER, Page 3 will FOR THE POST/M.B. GILLIGAN The JETS team from Lake Lehman High School took first place in the TEAMS regional level of competition last week. Pictured in front are Skye Nickalls, left, and Mallory Delaney. Standing from left are Matt Poremba, Steve . Heindel, Caleb Piatt, Jason Wagner, Matt Shiskowski, Ryan Bloom, and Dick Morgan, team moderator These JETS take off Lake-Lehman team wins regional math and science competition By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent LEHMAN TWP. — It was probably more than just the promise of ice cream that led eight bright and talent- ed Lake-Lehman High School students to victory, but they are still holding their teacher to his promise. The Lake-Lehman JETS team took first place in the regional competition sponsored by the Luzerne County Society of Professional Engineers, an event that was held at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus last week. Sixteen area high schools were repre- sented. “It is a very rigorous competition called TEAMS,” said Dick Morgan, sci- ence teacher and team moderator for Lake-Lehman. “It stands for Testing of Engineering Aptitude in Mathematics and Science.” The competition consisted of two parts. Each of the eight team members See JETS, Page 3 Split decision on cell phone towers Cingular wins approval of Mooretown Road tower, another near Ricketts Glen is tabled. By KRIS WERNOWSKY For The Post WILKES-BARRE. — The Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board tabled one request and approved another to allow Cingular Wireless to build mono-pole towers in Fairmount and Ross townships at a March 8 meeting. A company attorney and several technical rep- resentatives were at the meeting to ask for a height variance from the county which normally caps structure heights at 35 feet. Brock Riffel, a radio frequency engineer for Cingular, told the board the company hopes building new towers will improve reception along the state Route 118 corridor where his company’s customers currently don’t receive coverage. In order to do so, Cingular wants to build a 160-foot tower and an equipment shelter on property north of Route 118, more than 2,000 feet from Red Rock Corners in Fairmount Township. Jeff Hynick owns the property adjacent to where the company wants to place the tower near Red Rock Corners. He said the tower would obstruct the view from cabins he rents to tourists who come to Ricketts Glen State Park. “I'm not against this,” he said. “I understand the need for this, but I don’t want it to affect my See CELL TOWERS, Page 3 POST FILE PHOTO Merle Thomas showed how deep the water was during a flood at his produce stand off Memorial Highway. Back Mountain loses a link to its rural history Produce man “Merle” Thomas dies at 87, in the home where he was born. DALLAS — Once, there were fields where stores and homes now stand. Merrill “Merle” Thomas knew that, because he had farmed those fields. Thomas, 87, died March 9, in the same Rice Street home where he was born. In 2001, neighbors turned out to clean up around the house, which Thomas said was built by his grandfather more than 150 years ago. They picked up debris around the yard and tore down a dilapidat- ed rear shed, things Thomas & ON THE WEB Read a 2004 profile of Merle Thomas and his recollections of the Back Mountain. www.timesleader.com was no longer able to do him- self. For more than 60 years, Thomas’ produce stand and small greenhouse, across from the Twin Stacks complex on Route 415, had been well- known for flowers, vegetables and fruits in the spring and summer, Christmas trees and wreaths around the holidays. As a young man Thomas farmed fields around the Back Mountain with his Welsh father, Arthur. “We grew corn See THOMAS, Page 5 V Inside The Post 12 Pages, 1 Section Calendar ...... ve.) 12 CRUBCh i rdw 1 Editorials «.ivcineii sd 4 Prepare your appetite. Troop 155 will serve spaghetti Saturday. 12 Middle School Crowns Valentine's Day royalty. ¥ 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
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