Vol. 116 No. 47 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 November 20 - November 26, 2005 1 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Surgery center gives Back Mountain a facelift By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor SHAVERTOWN - Faced with a difficult deci- sion, Dr. Francis Collini took the best available pption. He decided to follow his heart. “Since I started practicing, I've dreamed of having my own surgical facility,” said the well- known plastic surgeon, who has lived in the Back Mountain for the past 15 years. “It’s been a goal of mine for a very long time.” And it’s a goal that has come to fruition. naissance Center for Plastic Surgery officially ating rooms and a recovery room large enough to accommodate five patients. sance Center since 1994. But state guidelines office-based surgical facility didn’t meet state The Ambulatory Surgical Facility at the Re- specifications. “Logistically, we couldn’t expand what we opened this week with a ribbon-cutting cere- had,” said the Dallas Township resident. “We mony. The 3,200-squre foot, state-of-the-art had to decide to whether to close (the surgical facility is located on Route 309 in Kingston facility) or build a new one. So, we got an archi- Township. The surgery center has two oper- tect and started putting plans down on paper.” The Renaissance Surgery Center is a Class C facility, the highest rating level for an ambulato- Collini had an operating room at the Renais- ry facility. The rating allows Collini — or other changed almost three years ago and Collini’s See COLLINI, Page 8 Susan Collini and her hus- band, Dr. Fran- cis Collini, welcome friends and fellow profes- sionals during the opening of their new sur- gery center in Shavertown. FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Therapy dogs help children learn to read ] Brooke Stearns reads to Sadie, a dog from Therapy Dog International. The ~ therapy dog program was recently held at the Dietrich Theatre in Tunk- hannock. By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent GFP FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Anne Keeler gives a special treat to Sammy, a pet therapy dog. Anne spent part of a recent morning reading to Sammy as part of a therapy dog program. | Jody Stearn and her son Silas, of Tunkhannock, take the time to UNKHANNOCK - Teaching chil- dren to read can be a difficult task .And teaching children to enjoy reading is even trickier. Now there’s a group who think they may have an answer for children who have difficulty reading — dogs. It can be confusing looking in on one of these children-dog reading sessions. One of the ses- sions was recently held at the Theatre in Tunk- hannock as part of a therapy dog program. “What kind of books do dogs like to read, any- way?” That’s what one caller to the Dietrich Theat- re humorously asked worker Erica Rogler when the theatre announced some therapy dogs were coming to help children learn how to read. The program does not teach the dog to read and, of course, the dog can’t teach reading. But children can find it easier to read to animals han to people, says Mary Jalongo, a professor of education in Indiana University of Pennsylva- nia. While doing some research, Jalongo — founder of the Reading Education Assistance Dogs program — came across a study that found children would rather read to animals than to other people. Chil- dren find reading to animals less stressful because animals do not judge reading ability. READ is part of Therapy Dogs International, a group that frequently provides therapy dogs to hos- pitals, libraries and health care facilities. The Ther- apy Dog International chapter in Wilkes-Barre is co- ordinated by Natalie Pulak, who organizes dog ther- read to Puli-oo- sha, during a pet therapy dog program. Sammy, a therapy dog, gets some “counting” train- ing from handler Bea Dennis. apy sessions. “We have run these programs at Wyoming Val- ley West and Dallas Elementary School, and we see a profound change in the children,” said the See PET, Page 8 Emotional assembly at Dallas Middle School honors veterans By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent DALLAS TWP. — The Dallas Middle School student body celebrated Veterans Day at a very special assembly this year. “T've been to a lot of assemblies over the years, but this one was really a little differ- ent,” said John Emil Sr. commander of Daddow-Isaac American Legion Post 672 in Dallas. “It was a very moving service. I graduated from Dallas and I felt like they were honoring me.” As part of the Nov. 11 event, the student council at Dallas Middle School provided funding for the purchase of a small monu- ment honoring local veterans. The monu- ment was placed in front of the school and two small trees were planted to commem- orate the event. The plaque on the monument reads eterans’ Memorial Trees. The roots symbolize the veterans. The trunk repre- sents those serving now. The branches stand for service people of the future.” FOR THE POSTCHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Students at Dallas Middle School re- cently placed a monument in front of the school in honor of our nation's veterans. Two small trees were also planted during the special ceremony. The school also held a poetry contest based on those words. “(World cultures teacher) Sue Holthaus came to me in September with the idea,” said principal Anthony Martinelli. “The students discussed Veterans Day in their history classes and each student wrote a poem. The poems were forwarded to the English department for judging. The top 3 15 poems were read at the assembly.” A poem entitled “These Trees,” written by eighth grade student Kori McGee, was chosen as the winning entry. McGee's po- em will be placed in a time capsule and near the two newly-planted trees. Although his poem was not among the winners, sixth-grader Donnie Behm en- joyed the assignment. “It really gave you time to think about what you were writing about,” said the stu- dent council member, referring to his three-stanza poem. “I liked it better than just writing a paper.” Emil was impressed with the students’ poetry. “They really put their hearts and souls into those poems,” said Emil, who was ac- companied by other American Legion members including Kep Gottshalk, Ed Buckley and essay contest chairman Clar- ence Michael. “It was outstanding to be there to see the effort they put into their poems,” said Emil. _ NY THESE TREES These trees that we planted are in honor of you, To recognize all that you do. You fought for our country, and risked it all, Just to make sure we could never fall. These trees that we planted are a sym- bol of pride, To show that our soldiers really do try. Without them today we might not be free, So this is a thanks to you from me. These trees that we planted will always be there, To show that our country will always care. From past, to present, and into tomor- row, In happiness and even in SOrrow. These trees that we planted stand next to our flag, So hold your head high, and don't let it drag. You fought for our country and served us proud, So I'll say it forever and I'll say it out loud. These trees that we planted will forever represent you, For all that you've done and what's still left to do. ¥V Inside The Post 10 Pages, 1 Section Calendar 10 Church 2 Editorials 4 School 9 Sports 7 Lake- Lehman ends § season on top Page 7 ¥ How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre PA 1871 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000 A ¢
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