Ee I. & bagpipe performance by Paul and M ‘grounds. a in the flagpole develop- Sunday, July 9, 2006 THE POST PAGE 3 NOXEN Continued from Page 1 lars in damages, including a little more than $1 billion in the Northeastern PA. The recent flooding in Noxen won't reach those dollar amounts but the dam- age is vast. Major areas of damage include Route 29, Rout Hollow and Stull. The center of town currently still has only one lane open, which is “alone badly damaged,” according to Hackling. Similarly, Route 29 only has one lane open as well. More interestingly however, is currently the only way into Stull is by all-terrain vehi- cle, motor bike or horse. The parking lot adjacent to the Noxen United Methodist Church was de- stroyed and the building home to the Noxen Sportsman’s Club on Main Street was pushed off its foundation. Mead, a Wyoming County commis- sioner, was among the many officials to visit Noxen and the surrounding area last week. “Ifeel so sorry for the people,” said the Tunkhannock resident. “I'm old enough to have been here for Agnes. I know what it’s like to clean up from the mud. But it’s not just mud — it’s fuel, oil, and slime. It’s going to be an exhausting job.” Among other things, the commission- ers helped bring the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross to the area, while also provid- ing the residents with water-testing kits. And Mead says part of her job was as simple as offering support. “In some instances, the people didn’t know where to turn,” she said. “We tried to help by guiding them about where to get help.” Representatives from FEMA have completed their preliminary damage as- sessment and have moved on to helping with individual cases. Residents living along Bowman's Creek faced a mandatory evacuation on Tuesday, June 27, when the town began to dilapidate. As the possibility of the Mountain Springs dam breaking grew more apparent, most other people left voluntarily, staying with friends and family. Several shelters were established by the community. Trees are stuck against the bridge on Tunkhannock Road in Noxen. Residents began cleaning up Wednesday morning. Roads were pumped, and houses and business- es were drained of water. “Ninety-five percent of Noxen’s population experienced some type of damage, including myself,” said Hackling. “Everyone pitched in, cleaned the town roads and rallied around each other. I was extremel proud of everyone.” Although the residents tried their best to clean up, there was too much damage. The rain continued into Wednesday night, causing the Noxen Fire Co. to make an emer- gency water rescue of four people at 11 p.m. On Thursday morning, as the rain slowly began to clear, the town realized almost all prop- erty was somewhat destroyed, despite their valiant efforts the previous day. Despite all of the hard work re- maining, Hackling hopes the resi- dents remain optimistic. “I hope everyone continues helping each other and taking pride in our town because these are the times to stick together.” The corner of Main Street and Island Road in Noxen sus- tained lots of damage. FLAGPOLE Continued from Page 1 sion. “He would have been honored. He was a man of strong faith and feel- ing for his country.” . Fett said Templin was really pushing and advocating for the flagpole prior to his death. The dedication ceremony included ary Lou Mehl, a memorial prayer from James Becker, a reading from Robert Sutherland, and a prayer of | dedication from the Rev. Charles Grube. “It’s just a nice way to honor those who made or make the sacrifice for our country,” Grube said of the event. “We E have a lot of veterans in our congrega- tion so it’s an important thing to do.” The attendants also stood in unison § for the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the § new flag during the memorial ceremo- ny. A maker engraved with “For those who have served, are serving and will ‘serve in the Armed Forces” will sit ad- PHOTOS FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK jacent to the flagpole on the church Joe Hardisky of Dallas said his rea- soning behind getting involved in the project was because he is so grateful to everyone that has sacrificed their lives or put their lives in danger to give the freedom of worship for others. “I'm a Navy veteran who served dur- ing the Korean War,” said Howard Shafer, another member who was in- ‘ment. “I think we need to get back to what we had because under God we are all one.” Above, Lee Fett, right, and members of the Rosentel family participate in a dedi- cation ceremony at St. Paul Lutheran’s Church in Dallas. At left, members of the family of the late Fred Templin attend the ceremony. From left, first row are his wife Shirley and brother Tom. Second row: chil- dren Fred Jr. and Ro- byn. fn 7 2 STR 7 The side parking lot of the Noxen United Methodist Church was washed away. At left, Stull Road in Noxen is closed because of several wash outs. TRAINER Continued from Page 1 room was open from 9-12 for fe- male athletes only,” he said. “To my knowledge, not too many girls showed up. I know because my daughter was there. I've offered to write a weight program for girls teams and individual girls and no one ever took me up on it.” The longtime coach says weightlifting sessions for his football team are held after 3 p.m. and the weight room is rarely used by his players in the morning. The only football players who lift between the 9 a.m. and noon hours are ones who might have a basketball or baseball game that night, said Jackson. “It’s very, very few,” said the coach. “I don’t know how you can be intimidated by football players who aren’t there.” School board member Russ Bigus says he has no problem with the district hiring a per- sonal trainer for its athletes. But he said he’s very unhappy with the process in which Masher was hired. Kyle, who knows Masher personally, hired him before the school board meeting, according to Bi- gus. He also said Masher worked for several days before the school board meeting, de- spite not having proper clear- ances. “I have nothing against hav- ing a personal trainer for our male and female students,” he said. “But I have a big problem with the process. One board member can’t act independent- ly of that board and that’s what Mrs. Kyle did. She hired him first . . . and then came to the board.” Bigus also added the motion that was unanimously passed said Masher would work with both male and female students. “I believe we had a great op- portunity for males and fe- males,” said Bigus. “We have a decent guy (Masher) who can do something great at the school. We had that chance for both males and females if Mrs. Kyle had gone through the proper channels. With the trainer only working with the females, I'm not sure if that’s an equal use of the facility.” If the football team has its own weight program and the female athletes have their own trainer, what about the other male athletes in the district? “Do other sports get shunned? Yes,” said Kyle. “I think we have to look at athlet- ic budget and the costs.” But Kyle also thinks the hir- ing of Masher opens the door for an opportunity in the fu- ture. “I'm all for spending $700 to see if we can something start- ed,” she said. “I'm not opposed to having an activity fee to funding a (personal trainer) who can train everyone.”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers