Vol. 116 No. 41 October 9 - October 15, 2005 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 50¢ “The support I've got- ten from my family, my girlfriend, and friends has been great. It’s been extremely tough on my parents. They feel helpless.” Caraway Street is a popular event at Dallas Baptist = Chris Crawford Needing a miracle L-L graduate Chris Crawford needs a kidney transplant CARAWA STREET FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK The Caraway Street teaches life lessons to children in kin- dergarten through fourth grade. Area Kids get into the act By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor OSS TOWNSHIP - Chris R cons doesn’t feel sor- ry for himself. He doesn’t want to. And, to be quite honest, he doesn’t have the time. After all, while many young people his age are primarily fo- cused on climbing the corporate ladder or spending time with friends, the Lake-Lehman High School graduate spends much of his time thinking about vastly dif- ferent things. Like renal failure. Dialysis treatments. Neck catheters. And finding a new kidney. The 24-year-old son of Leonard and Shirley Crawford is hoping to find a kidney donor — five months after an attempted transplant from his girlfriend failed. “It’s been tough, but I've never felt sorry for myself,” said Craw- ford, who moved to Hackensack, N.J. to begin a new job as a field DALLAS - The Rev. Jerry ranch cringed when he heard about the new children’s minis- try being considered by the church where he was preparing to take over the pastoral du- ties. “I thought, ‘oh no, not anoth- er puppet program,” said Branch, pastor of the Dallas Baptist Church on Route 415. “I was very skeptical, but they were excited about it. So, I met with the creator (Ron Solomon of Texas) and learned more abcut the program. “Puppets can be really bor- ing. This isn’t.” The program, Caraway Street Theater, is designed to teach young children how to develop life skills on a biblical basis, said Branch. The interactive program for children in kindergarten Stage puppets like these are regular characters at Caraway Street at the Dallas Baptist Church. The Dallas Baptist Church's Caraway Street Theater program is held at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday for children in grades kindergarten through fourth grade. There is no admis- sion charge. For more informa- tion, call the church at 639- 5099. Each semester lasts nine through fourth grade is held at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday at the church. “Each week, we try to teach the children some aspect of liv- ing the Christian life,” said di- rector Melba Boudreaux, a longtime church member who first learned about the Cara- way Street program at a chil- dren’s camp. “For example, we might do something about cheating in school. The kids learn morals and lessons they can take with them to school. Theyre not just sitting there and listening. They interact with the puppets and the actors. We have so much fun.” And it’s been successful. Despite competing with a plethora of youth sports, video ‘games, and dozens of televi- sion channels, interest in the Caraway Street program has grown since it was introduced to the church in March. The program has three se- mesters a year, much like a school calendar. weeks and the current one runs through Dec. 14. “When we started the pro- gram, we had one child in the (kindergarten through fourth grade) age group,” said Branch. “From March through the end of May we had about 40 kids. It’s been very successful in reaching young people.” And their parents, who sometimes sit in the back of the church and enjoy the 1 hour, 15 minute show. Although several families have started coming to church because of the program, Bou- dreaux made it clear the goal wasn’t to lure visiting children or their families away from oth- er churches. “We tell the kids that if you attend a different church, go there,” she said. “If you don’t attend a church, youre wel- come here.” Shannon Redmond and her family moved to the Wyoming Valley from North Carolina al- See CARAWAY, Page 6 PHOTOS FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Chris Crawford spends some time with the family dog, Odie. If you would like more information about donating a kidney, contact the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org or call Crawford at 570-814-9250. engineer. “In fact, it gives me the drive to keep going. The support I've got- ten from my family, my girl- friend, and friends has been great. It’s been extremely tough on my parents. They feel help- less.” His girlfriend of more than five years, 23-year-old Jennifer Koch- er, took a giant step toward trying to help Crawford in May. Kocher donated one of her kidneys to him, but the transplant failed in less than 24 hours. “The kidney got a blood clot and died inside of me,” said Crawford, who graduated from Lake-Lehman in 1999 and from Penn State/Wilkes-Barre two years ago. “My urine output stop- ped and I gained 20 pounds over- night. They took me right back into the operating room to re- move it.” The failure defied the odds. Doctors had told Crawford ap- proximately 99.8 percent of all See KIDNEY, Page 6 V Inside The Post CIVIC coin iiiiissivssvsiisnniitoniats 2 COMMUNILY iii iinisissionnss 3 People ..........ioinadiiione 5 SO DOITS cor csrarisassssssistionnssesescusense 7 CAlENUAE is hiisissiisiesiipiens 10 v 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 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/FRAD ADAMS Cindie Banks joins her daughter Katrina and son Dakota to make a scarecrow in Noxen. Hayrides, a corn maze and the chance to make a scarecrow add up to fun By GENELLE HOBAN Post Correspondent NOXEN - With hayrides, a corn maze, plenty of pumpkins and the chance to make your own scarecrow, the Whistle Pig Pumpkin Patch is a popular stop for Back Mountain resi- dents. A Dallas family liked the ex- perience so much last year, they came back again this year. Lisa and Ted Kocher and their two children, Nicholas, 5, and Julia, 3, took a hayride around the patch on a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon. “We had the best time here last year,” Ted said as his daugh- ter with white blonde hair and bright blue eyes sat on his lap. “Nick loves jumping off the haystacks.” Ted and Nicholas walked into a tiny opening between the tall tan cornstalks. a Pumpkin patch offers a weekend of fun Finding the way through the 4-acre corn maze designed by Joel Field, owner of the patch, wouldn’t be easy. The attempt cost them $3 each. Lisa and Julia, however, de- cided not to go through the maze. Instead, they tromped through the patch filled with pumpkins and gourds. They finally settled on some various-shaped orange and green gourds and a medium- sized pumpkin. See SCARECROW, Page 6
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers