Vol. 116 No.48 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S November 27 - December 3, 2005 NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Smaller Christmas tree replaces bigger headaches By DAVE KONOPKI m— proprm— pe TI ro em - w— “It's going to be a very nice tree and Post Edit © SE A smaller tree has ost Editor ; . . : ; - hy replaced an older, | it's going to be just the right size. | As 7) opie unhealthy tree DALLAS — Putting the star atop the Christmas know the new tree looks small right ERR | Ell near the main inter section in downtown Dallas. The tree is decorated and main- tained by the Dallas Lions Club. tree in the center of the borough’s downtown just mk a whole lot easier. he Dallas Lions Club replaced the nearly 40- foot, 50-year-old pine tree located next to the Dallas Post Office with an 8foot Norwegian pine. The larger tree was most noticeable during the Christ- mas season, when it was decorated with ornaments and lights. The decision to cut down the tree was one that had to be made, said club president Drew Fitch. “It’s unfortunate, but the tree was old and it was never maintained,” he said. “It was dying and we tried to save it. It was also located too close to some high tension lines. We've been dealing with this for the last 10 years. We knew something like this was now, but just wait for a few years. The borough is 150 years old. Another four or five years is nothing.” Drew Fitch Lions club president easy, said Dallas Postmaster Kristen Tucker. “(The tree) was creating a creating safety haz- ard,” she said. “We had to take the safety of the pub- lic into consideration. It was a very difficult deci- sion for all parties. But we felt something needed to FOR THE eventually going to happen.” Although the decision was necessary, it wasn’t See TREE, Page 5 POST/ CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Holiday meal a reason to be thankful By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent Shavertown United Methodist Church offered something new this Thanksgiving. People from the Back Mountain were invited to attend a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the church. The event was scheduled to take place Thursday. “I know that several churches offer dinners (in the Wilkes-Barre area), but I just thought there may be some people who wouldn’t want to travel out of our community,” said Carol Folk, organizer for the event. : “We are reaching out to people in the &.. Mountain who may not have someone else to celebrate with and we wanted to afford them the opportunity to stay in their community.” There was no charge for the dinner and invitations were e-mailed to Back Mountain churches and hand-delivered to the Back Mountain Food Pantry. “I feel very strongly that there are just people being left out,” said Folk. “I have a background in food services and just felt this was something that was defi- nitely do-able.” Folk resides in Wyoming, but has been a member of Shavertown United Methodist Church for about 12 years. “When I was looking for a church, I was really impressed with Shaver- town’s (UMC) ministries and they have expanded since then,” said Folk, who is a member of the Missions and Ou- treach committee at the church. The dinner was funded completely by donations of food and money from the congregation. More than 30 people made reservations for the Thanksgiv- ing dinner, some who insisted on mak- | some type of donation. The really wonderful thing about this is that we have at least that many people who have volunteered to help,” said Folk, who was one of at least three cooks scheduled for the event. In addi- tion, volunteers were scheduled to set up tables, serve dinner, and wash the dishes afterwards. “This is the first year we are doing this so we're just feeling our way,” said Folk. “Next year we'll start a little earli- er and do something a little splashier to get the word out.” ¥ Inside The Post CR RIEONUAE. .....on dais, 10 CUE CE ae risursivrnsisisirsaresssnsviesioiinssne 2 SCTIO0 ;..cisitissinnavesssi iiumsibndsnnsriinns 5 BR IOEIS cvic ives ienvesestinsnissivanivinibiniries 9 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 From left, Aaron Yurko, Katie Grose, Bielle Brace and Ann Yanik wait in the wings to start their Thanksgiving pro- gram performance at Dallas Elementary School. Christian Diane, a pre-school- er at Gate House Pre-School in Dallas, gives his version of the meaning of Thanksgiving to a television reporter. Second-grader Madison Goodwin has her pilgrim costume put on by teacher Kerry Landon. Matthew Duffy enjoyed making cereal beads for the Thanksgiving pro- gram at Gate House pre-school in Dallas. T-Day is a big day for area schools hanksgiving is full of traditions — from turkey to pumpkin pie to spending time with family mem- bers. : And for more than a decade, there have been a few unique Thanksgiving traditions in Back Mountain elementary schools. Three of those traditions were kept alive last week. The Dallas Elementary School held its annual second grade play. The chil- dren, dressed as pilgrims and American Indians, sang and performed in front of family members and friends. The stu- dents are members of the classes of teachers Kerri Landon, Arlene Besecker, Diane Hogan, Sharon Lyons, Dyan Nice and Maryann Yurko. At Wycallis Elementary School, the second-graders stomped their feet, clapped their hands and sang their way through the school’s annual hoedown. The students were under the direction of teachers Elizabeth Faerber, Suzanne Herstek and Colleen Williams. 1 Ber Gd bal Belt Thal ls a : , 5 H i : nt, i 3 1] de | | f | | | H Sih Parents Bridie Spare, Susan Diane and Susan Maloney, came dressed as pil- grims to the Thanksgiving program at Gate House in Dallas. And in a more recent tradition, pre- schoolers ages 34 at the Gate House in Dallas held a Thanksgiving program. The school is part of the Gate of Heaven School. Students in the classes of Mary Jane Kozick and Ann Morrison sang songs, enjoyed a huge feast on the school grounds, and even got an opportunity to ride a pony. mentary School. American Indian Zack Haddle helps pilgrim Jack Tomko with his costume prior to their performance at Dallas Ele- The gymnasium floor was full for the second grade Thanks- giving performance at Dallas Elementary School. “
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