Vol. 117 No. 11 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 March 12 - 18, 2006 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Dallas senior’s artwork earns Best of Show at 25th annual Rossetti Art Contest } Touhey ‘receives top prize By GENELLE HOBAN Post Correspondent DALLAS TWP. - Twenty-five years ago Louise Rossetti lost her 26-year-old daughter. Suzanne Maria Rossetti, who lived in Ari- zona and worked at a burn treat- ment skin bank, was kidnapped, raped and murdered by two assai- lants. “She was a wonderful young la- dy who had no bad habits,” Louise Rossetti said. “She didn’t drink or smoke. She did a lot of nice things for other people that & one ever knew about except for the recipients.” After local artist Sue Hand of Sue Hand’s Imagery in Dallas read an article in Time Magazine about the murder, she felt moved by the story. Coincidentally, a short time later Hand’s husband, Joe, was paired up with a running partner who was new to the area, and ironically was a friend of the Ros- setti family. Hand decided to write to the family. And the Suzanne Maria Rosset- ti Juried Art Show was born. The contest has grown from approximately 100 entries with everal dozen winning entries on display, to almost 1,000 submis- sions with several hundred on display. The contest is open to students in grades 7-12 from the Dallas, Lake-Lehman, Tunkhan- nock and Northwest Area school districts. This year, thousands of dollars in community-sponsored awards were given to area students who excelled in artistic mediums, in- cluding pastel, charcoal, photog- raphy, fibers and graphics. Dallas High School senior Kate Touhey won the Best of Show Award. “T've been entering ever since I Dallas senior Kate Touhey won the Best in Show award. was in seventh grade,” said the 17-year-old. “To get Best in Show you have to enter three pieces and they look at your collection and decide. 1 was astonished when I got it. It was definitely a pleasant surprise.” Wyoming Seminary senior Lauren Hardisky won the Peter Rossetti Memorial Award for the second-best overall entry. The opening reception of the Rossetti Art Show was held last weekend in the MacDonald Art Gallery at College Misericordia. The exhibit will run until April 1. “The art show is wonderful,” Rossetti said. “They treat us like royalty. It is something I look for- ward to every year. God may have taken Suzanne away from me, but he gave me a wonderful family in Pennsylvania.” Suzanne’s sister, Donna Ros- setti Bailey’s award winning pas- tel artwork is also on display at the King’s College’s Widmann FOR THE POST/JONATHAN J. JUKA ‘The Gates’ was created by artist Kate Touhey. Kate Touhey's creation ‘Bruton Parish Church’ was part of the Rossetti Art Show. Gallery through March 30. Former Bishop O'Reilly standout Tim Crossin closes out his freshman year at Towson University by being named to Colonial Athletic Conference all-star team. ¥ Inside The Post 10 Pages, 1 Section Church news Civic news ¥ How To Reach Us News: 829-7248 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 Advertising: 829-7101 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000 High-profile trial features two local lawyers Dallas grad leads defense By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor DALLAS TWP. — If Demetrius Fannick had heeded the advice of his high school guidance counselor, he’d be preparing fi- nancial statements, auditing books, and crunching numbers. Instead, Fannick is the lead defense at- torney in one of the most high-profile murder cases in re- cent Luzerne County history. The 50-year-old Dallas Township res- ident is defending double-murder suspect Hugo Selenski, whose trial has been go- ing on for more than a week at the Lu- zerne County Courthouse. The case has gained local, state and national attention. Better known as “Tim,” Fannick was a standout basketball player and a senior at Dallas High School when he told his guid- ance counselor of his desire to become a Trial has local flavor, 9A See FANNICK, Page 9 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/AIMEE DILGER Dallas High School graduate Demitrius Fannick is the lead defense attorney for Hugo Selenski. TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/AIMEE DILGER Shavertown resident Jim McMonagle is the lead prosecutor in the case against Hugo Selenski. Local umpire iS prosecutor By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor SHAVERTOWN - Jim McMonagle grew up watching the “Eddie Capra Mys- teries,” a television show about a Los An- geles lawyer who uses his skill to solve puzzling murders. Now, McMonagle is part of a highly- emotional, real-life courtroom drama. The 38-year-old Luzerne County As- sistant District Attorney is the lead prose- cutor in the double-murder trial of Hugo Selenski. The Dallas High School gradu- ate is accused of killing two people on his Kingston Township property. “I loved watching Eddie Capra Myster- ies,” said McMonagle, a Johnstown na- tive who lives in Jackson Township with his wife Julie and their children Courtney, 9, Sean, 7, and Eryn, 4. “It was amazing how he solved the crimes. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a lawyer.” For the past decade, hundreds of Back Mountain residents have gotten to know See MCMONAGLE, Page 9
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