Vol. 117 No. 20 I THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 May 14 - May 20, 2006 & ZN) Happy Mother’s IF Day! 5 50¢ SERVING HE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Stier family endures life’s many challenges PHOTOS FOR THE POST/JONATHAN J. JUKA Dallas Township resident Tammy Stier plays with her children Alex, 19 months, and Samantha, 7, before the start of a Little League game played by her 10-year-old son Joey. A Special kind of love By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor Members of the Stier family, from left, first row are Joey and Saman- tha. Second row: Tammy, Alex and Joe. ALLAS TWP. — Despite an occa- sional detour or roadblock, Tam- my Stier has enjoyed the road through married life — especially motherhood. And not even a potential obstacle on the horizon has stopped her from looking for- ward to the rest of the journey. The Stiers — Tammy, her husband of 11 years Joe, and children Joey, Samantha and Alex — are celebrating Mother’s Day with hearts that are heavier than normal. Doctors recently found a tumor on Joe’s brain and the 31-year-old will be seeing a specialist at Me- morial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City later this week. “We know we're going to get through this,” said Tammy Stier, 32. “We know it will be an interesting journey. I love being a wife and a mother. We're in this together as a family. I know everything will be just fine.” In August 2004, Stier was eight months pregnant with Alex when doctors found the tumor in the head of her husband. He had been suffering from severe headaches and nausea. “He couldn’t pick his head off the couch,” recalled Stier. “The headache wouldn’t go away. It really affected him. Joe’s not the type See MOTHER, Page 8 Babysitting course helps build Area youngsters learn the ropes during American Red Cross course By GENELLE HOBAN . Post Correspondent DALLAS - Finding a reliable babysitter could be a challeng- ing chore for some parents. However, the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross hopes to ease some of their tensions with its babysit- ting course. About a dozen enthusiastic adolescent girls sat around a ta- ble in the Back Mountain Me- morial Library on a recent rainy afternoon, listening to the dos and don’ts of babysitting. The girls learned about lead- ership, various professional skills and hygiene from Suzanne Youngblood, a Red Cross in- structor. “I hoped to learn how to take care of the children more prop- erly and how to be more profes- sional when I signed up for the course,” said 12-year-old Kaylin Russell, of Trucksville. The course helps area babysit- ters learn first aid, identify com- mon safety hazards and perform basic care routines like chang- ing diapers and feeding. “It’s hard to remember all of the things that kids can get in- to,” said 11-year-old Kendra Va- nesko, of Dallas. “We even learned how a child could drown in a toilet. I now know what to prevent them from do- ing and how to stop them from getting into dangerous things.” Youngblood explained to the girls how it is important for them to meet with the family prior to babysitting. She also ex- plained that it is important for them to receive proper instruc- tions, such as whom to contact in case of an emergency. “I think for parents, knowing that the girls have taken the course, helps build their confi- dence,” Youngblood said. “It’s a great course to take if you want to baby-sit.” Throughout the afternoon, confidence TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTOS/PET G. WILCOX Babysitters take a course on infant care at the Back Moun- tain Memorial Library and organized by the American Red Cross of Wyoming Valley. Kaylin Russell dressed an infant doll as Dana Jolley looks on. the girls did some role-playing activities with mannequins, practiced changing diapers, and talked about age-appropriate games to play with the children. “I learned a lot about the things you should do even be- fore you start babysitting,” Shannon Brobst, 13, said. “As a babysitter you need to know the house rules, what the kids might be allergic to and what they are allowed to eat.” Youngblood also stressed the F.LLN.D. Model, which stands for figure out the problem, identify the solutions, name the pros and cons, and decide on the best choice. “This is a model for all of the girls to keep in mind while car- ing for any child,” she said. Each participant in the course received an American Red Cross Babysitter’s Training Handbook to keep for future reference. For a schedule of future Amer- ican Red Cross babysitting courses, call the Wyoming Val- ley Chapter of the American Red Cross’ health and safety de- partment at 823-7161. Samantha Casto learns to resuscitate a baby using an infant doll and lightly blowing into the doll's nose and mouth. Art, science take the spotlight at Lake-Noxen School holds its annual science fair and art show; quilt display a big attraction Young and Yvonne Casey. Teacher Shane Kupsky directed the art show and teacher Melin- da Gaus was in charge of the sci- ence fair. Kindergarten students staff and members of the com- munity also brought in their work. Some of the blankets and pillows displayed by the stu- dents were created by their par- Hundreds of people recently attended the annual Lake-Noxen Elementary School science fair and art/quilt show. All of the projects were done by students in kindergarten through sixth de. ¢: quilt show under the direc- don of teacher Beth Chocallo featured more than 50 displays. In addition to work done by stu- dents, members of the school ents, grandparents and great- grandparents. “It was a really nice display be- cause of how many different things were brought into the school,” said teacher’s aide Rae Ann Hansell. “Overall, it was a very good night with a lot of in- teresting projects.” Students in third grade did class project under the direction of teachers Tracey Long, Susan in the class of teacher Carrie Snell did a project about plants. The science and art projects were done by students in all grades. Students from each class brought in items for a class theme basket. The baskets were sold through a raffle and the pro- ceeds will be used to bring in a program about bees during the first week of June. FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Colleen McCoy enjoys trying out one of the science projects. V Inside The Post 10 Pages, 1 Section PUZZIES J... lorries rencrsiosnssanis 2 Only Yesterday.......eeeunee. 4 SChOOIS iininnidnis 5 CIVIC TTIEWS .......o0 eed essasess 9 BO POTES suiisvorsiniirasissuigsiviins 7 v¥ 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
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