Vol. 117 No. 10 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 March 5 - 11, 2006 50¢ SERVING than a week before being found. FOR THE POST/JONATHAN J. JUKA Dallas Township native Sandie Swan spends a light moment with Daisy, a 6-month-old beagle who was missing for more A tail-wagging ending Missing 6-month-old beagle back with owners By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor DALLAS TWP. — This is a story with a appy ending. A story where tears of sadness were changed to tears of joy. It’s the kind of story Sandie Swan enjoys reading in the newspaper. And a story that makes Swan and her husband Dave proud to be members of the Back Mountain community. For 10 agonizing days and nights last month, the Swans watched, waited and worried after their beloved 6-month old pet beagle Daisy disappeared from their Spencer Road home on a cold winter af- ternoon. Daisy and her 2%-year-old mother Patches left the home through a door the Swans didn’t realize was bro- ken. Patches returned the next day. Daisy didn’t. “We don’t know what happened, but ‘Patches is a hunting dog and she prob- ably outran Daisy,” said Swan. “Daisy got lost didn’t know how to get back home.” Swan made signs and hung them throughout the community. She also placed Daisy’s photo in the lost and found section of a local newspaper. “We were so worried,” said Swan, whose mother was having open heart surgery on the day Daisy disappeared. “We just kept the faith that wed find her safe. On Valentine’s Day, the prayers were answered. Carol Schaffer is an animal lover. She and her husband Jon have a dog and four cats, all of which were taken in by the couple as strays. Carol also keeps a shed on the side of the couple’s Lakeway Ma- nor home - located approximately one mile from the Swan home - that has been used for years by stray cats looking for a place to be protected from the ele- ments. Schaffer saw the newspaper ad regard- ing Daisy. The next day, Jon said he thought he saw a beagle walking along Route 415 near Back Mountain Bowl. The couple went searching for the dog, but couldn’t find it. The next day, Jon Schaffer saw some- thing bolt out of the shed. A few hours later — with her curiosity rising, some of the cat food gone, and two of the three stray cats nowhere to be seen — Carol Schaffer stood outside the shed and called out “Daisy, is that you?” And a beagle face peered out from the shed. “You could tell she was scared,” said Schaffer, who locked the gate near the shed and called Swan. “She didn’t want to come out.” See DAISY, Page 5 Chili contest as something for every taste BY GENELLE HOBAN Post Correspondent SHAVERTOWN - From hot and spicy to regular and mild to vegetarian to pos- itively unusual, just about every kind of chili you can think of was brewed at the second annual Greater Wyoming Valley Chili Cook-off at the Shavertown United Methodist Church. The contest was held last weekend as a fund-raiser to help finance a summer service program called the Pittsburgh Project, which helps refurbish homes in Colin Grube takes a sample bowl of Kelsey Maas's vegetarian chili as associate pastor Drew Cottle of the Shavertown Unit- ed Methodist Church looks on during a chili cookoff. the city’s most neglected neighbor- hoods. The truly unusual entries which sim- mered in their slow cookers through the afternoon contest ranged from a choco- late chili to a peanut butter chili which was victorious in last year’s competi- TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/S. JOHN WILKIN tion. Results of this year’s chili cookoff were not provided to The Post before deadline. Clark and Ziegler volunteered in the See CHILI, Page 5 PHOTOS FOR THE POST/JONATHAN J. JUKA Dallas resident Paul Rodda looks at the projected lands during the meeting. Council of Governments moves forward with plan By IAN CAMPBELL Post Correspondent KINGSTON TWP. - The Back Mountain Area Council of Govern- ments has a plan for the future — if ev- erything goes well. And it might make living in the area a lot more manageable in the years to come. The Multi Municipal Comprehen- sive Master Plan was unveiled at a public meeting earlier this week dur- ing at the Kingston Township Munici- pal building. Approximately 70 peo- ple attended the meeting. The plan aims to streamline devel- opment throughout the borough of Dallas, and the townships of Dallas, Kingston and Lehman, with a combi- nation of road projects, environmen- tal proposals, and centralized devel- opment areas, with the hope of even- tually creating an environment that mixes village life and ecotourism de- velopment, in a way that maintains the quality of life in the region and maintains its pastoral nature. Part of the reasoning, Dallas Bor- ough Manager Joe Moskovitz noted, is the simple fact that nonstop, uncon- trolled growth in the area is simply unsustainable. Putting in infrastruc- ture for developments further and fur- ther out in rural areas becomes an ex- pense most municipalities cannot sus- tain. Additionally, despite the reservoirs in the area, the majority of the Back Mountain relies on well-water, and there are only so many places where water is accessible. So the question for the master plan designers became where, and how, de- velopment should flow, and what they presented Tuesday was a three- pronged approach. The road network remains one of the area’s weakest links, with thor- oughfares overcrowded in some areas, and under-engineered in others. The major development theme was to re- duce access points on the major roads, directing business traffic in through control points, and creating a bypass away from the known chokepoints for those going through the area on route to Wilkes-Barre or Scranton. Water remains another core issue, with future expectations that develop- ment will double the drain on water supplies to an annual 7.5 billion gal- lons. Having the development cen- tered on where the water is becomes an issue of necessity, the gathering was told. The overall plan called for a mixed community, with large and small cen- ters of development and an overall ef- fort to maintain as much as possible the mostly rural elements that have contributed to the growth of the area in the-first place. When people in the group were asked to indicate what planners should examine first, most chose big box development, regionalization of services, developing a commercial zoning program, and the expansion of senior housing opportunities. People also wanted to see work on ecotourism possibilities and protec- tions of the historic nature of the area, and limits on growth of water and wastewater use. The overall theme was summed up by one anonymous comment that the Back Mountain didn’t “want to be- come another Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard.” The enthusiasm for increased mu- nicipal cooperation has come from the state government, Department of Community and Economic Develop- ment representative Cindy Campbell said. The Governor’s Office, Penn- DOT, the Department of Conserva- tion and Natural Resources, as well as county officials, have all spoken of the need for municipalities to begin work- ing effectively together, and it is hoped that proposals like these will mark a step towards that for the Back Mountain. / [4 Keith Mullins of Edwards and Kelcey goes over the plans. V Inside The Post 8 Pages, 1 Section PUZZIeS ii diinniinni 2 CIVIC, crite vicrsucsdeisarsninuainsuns 3 Only Yesterday......c.o...u... 4 SCHOO... civic diisiirninrnise 5 SPOFES coer ii piiees 6-7 Dallas Youth Basketball crowns boys seventh/ eighth grade boys playoff champion. Feeling smart? Try our crosswords. Winning artwork to be on exhibit. ¥ How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre PA 1871 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
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