2 Vol. 116 No. 33 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 August 14 - 20, 2005 Post = SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Couple reopens business after year of adversity be 2] WE af FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Kathy and Rick Miller have overcome personal adversity to reopen the 4 Corners Market & Deli on Lower Demunds in Dallas. Never giving up By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor ALLAS - Rick and Kathy Miller walked through the doors of the 4 Corners Mar- ket & Deli on July 20 just like they had done so many times in the past. Only this was far from a typical day. One year to the day after Rick suffered a stroke while working in the store, the couple reopened their business on Lower Demunds Road. The stroke was one of many setbacks endured by the Millers in the last 12 months and forced them to close the deli for a year. In addition to Rick’s stroke, Kathy con- tinued to feel the affects of an inoperable brain tumor; the pipes in the deli burst during the winter, forcing the Center Mo- reland couple to remodel the business; Rick’s mother lost her battle with bone cancer; and Kathy suffered a broken an- kle. If it's true that adversity builds strength, the Millers are two of the stron- gest people you'll ever meet. “We've never given up. Getting the (de- li) back open was something we needed to do,” said Rick. “The people at my stroke support group tell us to do some- thing significant on the date of your stroke. I was a little nervous. I didn’t know if we could handle everything or if we were making a mistake. “It was a big day for me and it was a big day for Kathy.” Rick was working in the deli on July 20, 2004 when he lost all feeling in his right side before falling down. He couldnt move his right arm, but he was able to get to a phone and call his family doctor. They told him to call 911. “There was no warning,” said the 53- year-old. “My blood pressure was fine. I thought I was healthy. When it happened, I thought I had a pinched nerve in my neck. I figured I'd get a shot at the hospital and go home. It took me a long time to accept.” Rick was hospitalized for four days be- fore spending two months as an inpatient at John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. He also underwent nine months of outpatient therapy. Despite his personal medical problems, Rick always remained more concerned about his wife. In May 1991, Kathy — who had been suf- fering from headaches and dizziness for Told by doctors that his right hand would be paralyzed following a stroke, Miller /i has regained use of it and slices cheese for some sandwiches. FOR THE POST/ CHARLOTTE BAR- TIZEK ¥. ee do several months — lost consciousness and hit her head on a dresser. Rick had seen enough and forced her to see a doctor. Four days later, a CAT scan revealed the cause of the problem — a cancerous tumor the size of a baseball. “When they called over the neurolo- gist, I knew right then there was some- thing wrong,” recalled Kathy, 52. “I thought to myself ‘this is something that only happens to people in the movies’.” Fearing an attempt at removing the tu- mor could cause more damage, the doc- tors decided to give Kathy massive amounts of chemotherapy and radiation to shrink it. That worked, with the tumor shrinking down to the size of a golf ball. But the treatment has produced side af- fects, says Kathy. “I've been having a problem with my lungs,” she said. “(Chemotherapy) is poi- son that’s meant to kill the bad stuff. I used to be a runner. I'd run 5 miles a day to relax. Now, I'm lucky if I can make it to the mailbox.” But she’s never given up. “They found the tumor in May and told me that I probably wouldnt see Christ- mas,” said Kathy. “They told me I had about three to six months to live. That was in 1991.” The Millers purchased the deli in 1999, when Rick was working for Procter & Gamble and Kathy became unemployed job when the company she worked for closed down. “Owning our own business is some- thing we always wanted to do from time we were married,” said Rick. “Early on, we had both gone to college and we were pursuing our careers. We got serious about it after Kathy lost her job. See MILLERS, Page 5 New ambulance a much-needed boost By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor DALLAS - Mark Van Etten feels real good about the Dallas Fire and Ambulance Inc.'s new purchase. And residents of the borough can feel a lot more secure. Spurred by the continuing growth of the community, the company recently added a sec- ond ambulance with the pur- chase of a new one. The ambulance is expected to be delivered during the first week of September and the com- pany will begin answering calls with both units as soon as it ar- rives. “When there’s growth, it af- fects everything in community,” said Van Etten, the vice presi- dent and 15-year member of the company. “We need to make sure we do things that will pro- vide adequate coverage. The re- _ cent growth put us in position to re-evaluate our service. We felt the community really needed a second unit.” The borough — much like the rest. of the Back Mountain — has experienced a huge growth spurt in the last four to five unit. The recent growth put us in position to re- evaluate our service. We felt the community really needed a second Dallas Fire and Ambulance Inc. Emergency Medical Technician Dan Piccillo cleans the back windows of the Dallas ambu- lance. The company recently purchased a second ambulance. line, will soon be home to at least 78 individual homes. And the ambulance company has been feeling the affects of the population increase. “We're up about 10 per- cent in the vol- ume of calls for this year,” said Van Etten, who added that the company re- sponded to 930 ambulance calls last year. “We're Mark Van Etten years. Approximate- ly 500 new homes are un- der — or will soon be under — construction. That includes The Masonic Village at Dallas, which will have an initial offer- ing of 59 apartments and 38 cot- tages on the grounds of the Irem Country Club. The Village at Greenbriar, which spans the Dallas and Lehman Township on pace for a re- cord year.” There are ap- proximately 40 members of the ambulance com- pany, which includes three paid workers. Two of the three paid members respond to calls from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. One ambu- lance will be staffed by the paid individuals, while volunteers will staff the other. See AMBULANCE, Page 5 FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Fire and Ambulance Co. members Dan Piccillo and Keith Rineheimer respond to an ambulance call Tuesday afternoon. Dallas greats ready for the big time ¥ Inside The Post Dozens of Back Mountain ( 10 Pages, 1 Section residents, including Tracey $% OL L111 2 McGurk, compete in the seater] Civic NeWS.......ccccversvesursacrinies 3 | Wilkes-B a Only Yesterday ............ieess 4 annual Wilkes-barre hes 2 SCNOOE NEWS iecyuriiusevicsesiesssssones 6 Triathlon. 5: 72 Sports ....... A1-9 9 -— CBIONMAT cienecsnerssessesssessessessenss 10 Go back in time with Only Yesterday ¥ How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre PA 1871 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
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