Vol. 116 No. 53 January 1 - January 7, 2006 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS The display of white ribbons communicates public support for the Cleary family Back Mounta it tl By DAVE KONOPKI convoy. And white ribbons — a sign of sup- Members of the Cleary Post Editor The intelligent, popular, ath- port to the Cleary family — have family support eachother letic 24-year-old was 10 daysaway been placed on telephone poles, as the body of Michael Wy DALLAS - We're grieving. Although it’s impossible for most of us to imagine the magni- tude of the suffering his family is enduring, members of the Back Mountain community are mourning the recent death of First Lt. Michael Cleary. ~The 1999 Dallas High School graduate was killed Dec. 20 dur- ing an ambush by insurgent forces near Samarra, Iraq. Cleary and his men were returning to their unit after successfully de- stroying a large cache of weapons in a bomb factory when a road- side bomb exploded near their from ending his tour of duty in Iraq and returning to the United States. Cleary was also two months away from marrying his longtime sweetheart Erin Kava- nagh. A four-hour viewing was held Thursday at the Anderson Center on the campus of College Miser- icordia. An outpouring of sympathy from community members, civic leaders and businesses has been extended to the Cleary family. Business signs along Route 309 have been changed and replaced with messages that honor Cleary. on lightpoles, and on front doors throughout the Back Mountain. The support hasn’t gone unno- ticed, said Cleary’s father Jack. “God bless this community,” he said. “There are so many won- derful people. Mike is a product of this community. He’s a product of all of us.” The support has taken many forms, said Cleary. Phone calls have been pouring in from across the nation. Neighbors have of- fered their houses to accommo- date many visitors to the Cleary See LOSS, Page 8 A new church rector found The Rev. M. Peter Harer will give his | CO sermon at the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church Sunday, Jan. 8 BY GENELLE HOBAN Post Correspondent aving only a single church to tend to will be a nice change of pace for the Rev. M. Peter Harer, the new rector at the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Dal- las. Harer who will start his services Sunday, Jan. 8, has been taking care of two churches, one in Palmerton and the other in Lehighton, for close to nine years at the Episcopal Minis- try of Unity. : “They are only seven miles apart,” he said. Rt was a lot of juggling to do.” Previous to his posts in Palmerton and Le- highton, Harer was a practicing attorney in Harrisburg. “I got a degree from Dickinson Law School in Carlisle in 1992,” the 55 year old said. Harer, a native of Jersey Shore, Pa., said he has been to the Wilkes-Barre region many times, but was unfamiliar with the Dallas ar- ea. 3 “We wanted to be in a smaller town, and somewhere that was closer in proximity to our cabin,” he said. “My wife and I have our retirement home in Jersey Shore. We call it our cabin, but it’s bigger than that. It’s in the country and is built on the farm that I grew up on.” Dave Dillon, chairman of the search com- mittee, said the church began the hunt for a new rector in March. MORE INFO “The biggest thing with the Rev. Harer To read some of the mq that he had areal Rev. M. Peter Harer's past sermons log on to http://www.epismi- nu.org/ser- mons_on_line.htm. nice quality that seemed to fit with our parish,” Dillon, of Trucksville, said. “He had good ideas. He is going to bring a ew approach to things. He has a sense of strong quiet leadership.” Harer and his wife have three grown chil- dren and a son, Samuel who will celebrate his 17th birthday soon. “My son is very positive about the move,” Harer said. “He likes to play soccer and he heard that Dallas has a good soccer team.” Harer will replace Vivian Bennett, the for- mer priest in charge, who parishioners said was more than an interim priest but less than a rector for more than three years. “We were just very impressed with the friendliness of the people,” Harer said. “We felt there was a lot of enthusiasm in the par- ish. We felt that it was a good match.” Harer, ordained a priest in 1981, will cele- : brate his 25th anniversary this year. “I had a desire to help people and to serve the lord,” the father of four and grandfather of seven said. “It’s kind of a personal thing. I wasn’t hit with lightning or anything. I just had sense of calling for my vocation.” The new rector and his family will tempo- rarily reside at a parishioner’s cottage in Har- veys Lake until March because the rectory is currently being rented out. “We kind of feel like gypsies,” Harer said. “We hope to be moving into the cottage next week, but things are still kind of up in the air The Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Dallas will welcome its new rector, M. Peter Harer, a native of Jersey Shore, Pa. Sunday, Jan. 8. Harer, 55, is pictured at a farewell party at his former parish commu- nity in Palmerton. with the movers and everything.” Harer, an avid lover of cooking, said he will give his first sermon on the Epiphany, the day celebrated as the occasion when three wise- men came to the manger in Bethlehem. “Together with the Prince of Peace parish 1 hope we can grow together and expand our ministries,” Harer said. “I hope to help peo- ple find a spiritual home in the Prince of Peace Church.” Harer and his family along with their yel- low Labrador retriever, Ollie, love to go camping in the summer in their pop-up camper. In 2002 while on a three month sabbatical Harer and his family ventured their way to California and back. “Now that I only have one church I hope that I can be more involved in community af- fairs,” he said. Pictured is the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Dallas where the Rev. M. Peter Harer is the new rector. Harer, ordained a priest in 198], will celebrate his 25th anni- versary this year. arrives at Snowdon Funer- al Home Tuesday after- noon. TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/DON CAREY Tim Crossin intercepts a pass by Syracuse's #13 Darryl Wat- kins. TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/AIMEE DILGER Kennedy sees bright future for Tim Crossin As a freshman at Towson University Crossin's started all nine games this season By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor WILKES-BARRE TWP. - Standing in the hallway outside the visitors’ locker room at Wa- chovia Arena, Pat Kennedy looked more like Tim Crossin’s big brother than his head coach. With a hand resting on the shoulder of his freshman point guard, the Towson University coach flashed a broad smile. Kennedy knows the shoulders of the Trucksville resident are go- ing to carry much of the load for the Tigers during the next four years. “Tim is working very hard to get better,” said Kennedy during a press conference after Towson suffered an 82-56 loss against Sy- racuse University. “He’s learning. On this level, you have to get bet- ter every year. Tim is going to have a great career at Towson.” Crossin was the first to admit he didn’t play his best game against the Orange in the first Di- vision I college basketball game played at the arena. The former Bishop O'Reilly standout fin- ished the game with six points, three rebounds and three assists. Crossin says an opportunity to play in front of a sellout crowd of 8,209 fans — coupled with the fact that he was facing his boyhood basketball idol Gerry McNamara — created more than a few butter- flies in his stomach. Crossin and McNamara squared off four years ago when'Bishop O'Reilly played Bishop Hannan for the District 2 Class 2A championship. “I'm always a little nervous be- fore games, but nothing like that,” said Crossin, who has start- ed in all nine games for Towson this season. “The last time I was that nervous was the last time I played against Gerry. There was a big crowd and this is my home- town.” While Kennedy offered encou- raging words to Crossin as he greeted basketball fans from the Wyoming Valley after the game, McNamara was bombarded by a horde of local media. The Syra- cuse senior politely answered question after question about playing a game in his backyard. “It was a special night and I'm sure Tim feels the same way,” he said. “Being able to play in front of your hometown and getting cheered like that is a great feel- ing. It’s something most people never experience in their life- time.” McNamara has become wildly popular during his four years at Syracuse. It began during his in- credible freshman season, when he helped lead the Orange to the national championship. His sta- tus has continued to grow, with busloads of Scranton residents making the two-hour trip several times a year to watch him play at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. McNamara has gotten used to the legion of supporters who wear his No. 3 jersey and chant his name during the game. But in Crossin ~ who started wearing No. 3 five years ago because of his respect for McNamara — the for- mer Hannan star admits he has a different kind of fan. “Tve heard and read things Tim has said about me during the years, and that was something new for me,” said McNamara, who scored 20 points against Towson. “It’s great having all of See CROSSIN, Page 8
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