bid 3 i Se gy ~ Sing 0 oa BE EEE a, =F * Bhi Sa = ny La La pr of ir nr oF A Sunday, September 11, 2005 THE POST PAGE 3 (0G holding Sept. 15 meeting The Back Mountain Council of "Governments will hold a public . information meeting at 7 p.m. ‘Sept. 15 at the Kingston Town- ship Municipal Building, 180 “East Center Street in Shaver- . _ town. The meeting will discuss © the multi-municipal open space “greenways outdoor recreation | .'master plan for Dallas, Dallas |. Township, Kingston Township and Lehman Township The plan is being funded by the i Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Re- _ |. .sources with assistance from Lu- . zerne County and the participa- ting BMACOG municipalities. The planning is being directed by ithe Back Mountain Council of Governments, which has hired Cahill Associates, Inc. of West _ Chester to perform the necessary The Dallas Harvest Festival += Committee will hold its third an- nual “Kiss the Pig” contest in . conjunction with the Dallas Har- . vest Festival. The annual street + fair on Main Street in Dallas will * i. be held Sunday, Sept. 18. A donation of $1.00 must be in- cluded with each submitted bal- . © lot. Voters may purchase as many ~ ballots as they wish through Sat- urday, Sept. 17. Additional bal- |. lots will be available throughout the festival. Four Back Mountain profes- sionals have chosen to vie for the enviable honor, with all proceeds ¢ being donated for good cause. This year, the event proceeds will ' be donated to Dallas Fire & Am- me Bh I a ET i > i So se Sok aR te ; bulance Co. The contestants are state Sen- ator Charles D. Lemmond, Dallas ~ postmaster Kristen Tucker, Dal- las businessman Drew Fitch of © R.N. Fitch & Sons, and Dallas School District superintendent Frank Galicki. technical work. All meeting at- tendees will automatically be- come members of the OS- GORMP advisory committee. The purpose of the meeting is to explain the goals and objec- tives of the open space and recre- ation plan in more detail. Draft goals and objectives will be pre- sented and discussed. Some of the topics to be discussed include the need for more open space in Back Mountain communities; the establishment of greenways to link existing or potential open space, recreation, and cultural fa- cilities; the adequacy of outdoor recreational facilities; the possi- ble expansion of ecotourism and other economic benefits; and oth- er recreation and open space is- sues. : ° Deadline nears for Kiss the Pig Ballot jars are located at the fol- lowing locations: Ochman’s Coin & Jewelry, Church Street, Dallas; J&J Deli, Route 415, Dallas; Citi- zen’s Bank, Main Street, Dallas; Unimart, Route 309, Dallas; Piz- za Perfect, Carverton Road, Trucksville; Lemmond’s office in the Dallas Shopping Center. Ballots may also be obtained at Hilbert's The Tractor Store, Route 415, Dallas; Fino’s Pharma- cy, Dallas; Dallas Fire & Ambu- lance Co. station, Church Street; and the Dallas High School, Co- nyngham Avenue. The identity of the winning “kisser” is scheduled to be an- nounced at the Harvest Festival. The person with the most bal- lots will kiss “Rocco Rooter,” a 2- year-old potbelly pig owned by 4-H educator Marge Bart of Dal- las. Last year’s “kisser” was King- ston Township Police Chief James Balavage. MEA el, miriinon 15 OM FR ARIS DF Wi oC Se. 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Gommer is a for- mer conference executive for the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist Church and a retired United Methodist pastor. The award, established and bestowed by the trustees of ‘Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, recognizes exemplary service by a member of the school’s | Board of Trustees. It is named in honor of Ha- rold C. Buck- ingham, eighth president of Wyoming Seminary, who also served as a trustee for 36 years. Gommer, a member of the Board of Trustees for 30 years, serves as the board’s vice chair- Gommer ‘man. He has provided service as a member of the board’s ex- ecutive committee, nominating committee and honors and awards committee. “Thoughtfulness, human un- derstanding and compassion, and a life of experience in group service within and be- yond the Methodist Church make Chuck Gommer an in- credibly valuable member of any group considering policies and making decisions that af- fect other people,” said H. Jere- my Packard, Wyoming Semina- ry president. Gommer has served as pas- tor at United Methodist churches in Huntsville/Evans Falls, Avoca/Moosic, Trucks- ville, Kingston, the Church of Christ Uniting, and Endwell. He served as the superintend- ent of the Wilkes-Barre District of the Wyoming Conference and as the conference’s council director before being named conference executive. He re- tired in 1998. TREES Continued from Page 1 Rick Koval, naturalist at the North Branch Land Trust, has seen his share of ancient trees for a long time, too. He has nom- inated more than 70 trees in Northeastern Pennsylvania for the state’s “Big Tree” program, but had never come across the tree in Trucksville until last week. As Koval measured the stately white oak, he shook his head in disbelief. “The crown is amazing,” he said. “I've never measured a crown this wide.” The treé’s crown measures 144 feet in one direction and 125 feet in the oth- er. It stands 65 feet tall and is al- most 16 feet around. The tree is well over 200 years old, Koval es- timates. State forester Brad Ellison, headquartered in Scranton, says almost any tree could reach great or giant proportions given the right conditions and time. He and other foresters will come xa Fell 38S ME Rial plo TR a CR HH gi out to measure a tree if the prop- erty owner thinks it may be an exceptionally large one. While the measurement of large trees is done by the state foresters, the final record of championship size trees is kept by a non-profit group, the PA Forestry Association. The state, in conjunction with the national Champion Tree Project, has for- malized the process to protect, propagate and preserve historic ‘trees. The Big Tree Program only measures, categorizes by coun- ty, and notes the “champion” trees. Ellison also cautions that designating such a tree does not necessarily protect it, but the designation may have some weight at the local levels of zon- ing enforcement. " Ruth Holthaus of Dallas thinks she may have some his- toric and large trees on her Nor- ton Avenue property. An apple tree in her front yard is more than 40 feet tall and measures more than seven feet around. “It only produces a few large apples each year, but they are so delicious and I make pies from If You Want Perfection... Try Our Sicilian Style Pizza, | Our Wings & Other Menu Items Eat In Or Take Out! Mon. - 16 CARVERTON RD., TRUCKSVILLE Wed. 4-10 PM ¢ Thurs. 4-11 PM ¢ Fri. 1 |1AM-11 PM Sat. 12:30 - 11 PM * Sun.2 - 10 PM DO YOU HAVE A BiG TREE? Do you think you have a cham- pion tree on your property? If so, send an e-mail to editor Dave Konopki at dkonopki@leader.net or call him at 675-5211. them.” Her turn-of-the-century house stands on what used to be the Norton farm in Dallas and was noted for its apple orchards. Re- cently the Holthauses had to, un- willingly, take down a shagbark maple that was 17 feet in diame- ter and threatening their garage. “I love trees and would never take a tree down,” she said. Judy and David Rimple of Dal- las also think they have what could be a historic landmark tree on their family property on Hil- debrandt Road. The house was built in 1864 by Solomon Frantz, David Rimple’s ancestor, and the tree is pictured on the property as the buildings were being con- structed. “A cousin told me he thought the tree might be a Penns Wood tree,” he said. “It would be inter- esting to find out.” Some people have notable trees on their property in the Back Mountain and don’t even know it. “I've been here 13 years and never knew it,” said Omar Halls- son, owner of the Castle Inn when told that the large blue spruce in the picnic area next to his restaurant is a Luzerne Coun- ty co-champion. Anyone who thinks they have a big or historic tree on their property should take rough mea- surements of the circumference at 41% feet high, note the species, and call the forester, says Koval. The state — through the De- partment of Conservation and Resources — can also direct you to state parks and preserves in the areas where stands of “old virgin forests” still exist and can be seen. The PA Forestry Association has current lists and dimensions for champion trees. The phone number is 717-766-5371. Koval may also be reached at the North Branch Land Trust office in Trucksville by calling is 696- 1691. BACK MOUNTAIN Stax .Co. MIMIVESEDEITESDN > Flas, 20 » alse nn PATIO NOW OPEN! Early Bird Menu 10 entreés for UNDER $10 4-5:45 Daily Thurs. Toth Comedy | Nght Fri. 16th ommy | Pll | Tickers | ppTI NUTTER wet | Available PATI 0 DADDY DEX ON THE Sal. th The Original Starfires FREE Halftime Buffet Monday Night Football — EVERY FISH WEDNESDAY | v S899 Hi PR oT 1 CALL AHEAD TAKEOUT 696-3580 The BEST in the Back Mountain! cw FREQUENT DINER'’S CLUB CARD! __ : I... .]
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers