Vol. 117 No. 31 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 30 - August 5, 2006 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS TORNADO HITS DALLAS FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK UGI linemen replaced downed power lines after a construction trailer was thrown across Route 415 in Dallas Township. By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor DALLAS TWP. - Vinnie Parente has quite a story to tell his classmates when the new school year begins. The 10-year-old was logging off from his computer last weekend when he noticed something very unusual. “I was looking out the window when I saw the wind wrap around a tree,” said the son of Dave and Deanna Parente. “I thought the wind was going to pick up the trees and throw them. But I never thought it was going to be a tornado.” And that’s exactly what it was. An F-0 tornado — the lowest category on the Fujita scale, which indicates the amount of damage done by a tornado — hit the Back Mountain on July 22, damaging several houses and wreaking havoc on trees and landscaping in the area. The Parente family was preparing for a pool party when the wind began to intensi- fy. Dave Parente was getting out of the shower when he heard a loud crack — it turned out to be a 40-foot tree being torn from its roots. The tree hit the house before landing in the swimming pool. He quickly ordered his family — including Deanna, Vinnie and 7-year-old Alyssa — into the lowest level of their Elmcrest Drive home. “The corner of the house was wiped out and windows were damaged,” said Deanna Parente. “Thank God the structure of house is stable. I've lived here all my life a and I've never seen anything like that hap- pen. The kids were a little concerned at first, but being kids they thought it was neat. My son can’t wait to go back to school and tell his friends about his summer vaca- tion.” The pool sustained only cosmetic dam- age, she said. The family expects to have a few pool parties before the end of summer, including one for Alyssa’s eighth birthday Tom and Becky Pickett look over the damage done to their College Manor home. a & in a few weeks. During the tornado, Vinnie says he didn’t have time to think about what was taking place. “Nothing really went through my mind when it was happening,” said the soon-to- be fifth grade student at Dallas Elementary School. “I just wanted everyone to be safe.” See TORNADO, Page 3 oKids like their prospects for summer camp FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Morgan Jacobs, Dallas, makes a popsicle stick treasure chest. By LAUREN COLLINI Post Correspondent DALLAS TWP. — Michele Brague uses a simple method when it comes to teacher young children. “Participating and learning through ac- tivities is the best way to teach these kids while having fun,” said the coordinator and instructor of College Misericordia’s five- day “Gold Rush” camp. The event is part of a three-week summer camp at the school. The other camps are “Journeying around the World” and “Kid College.” The Gold Rush camp for boys and girls ages 5-7 has been held for several years. Children begin each day learning some- thing new about the Gold Rush era — the mid 1800s. As the day goes on, the campers take part in different activities in order to broaden their horizons about this time in history and to help retain the information. The children have done classroom pro- jects, including trifold displays with the themes “How the People of the Gold Rush Era Lived” and “Mining and Storing.” After completing the projects, the children pre- See CAMP, Page 3 “Everything looks great this year, better than ever.” Linda Mancinelli of Brace's Orchard PHOTOS FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Mose Yorder, Turbotsville, has his eye and his fingers on this pie at the Back Mountain Library Farmers Market. Rainy summer has had scattered effect on Farmers Market By GENELLE HOBAN Post Correspondent DALLAS - For the second Sat- urday in a row, rain pelted from cloudy, gray skies at the Farmers Market on the grounds of the Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary on Huntsville Road. “When it’s not raining a lot of people usually come,” said Chris Dymond of Dyrmond’s Farm. The market, in its third consec- utive year, takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Sept. 16. The library charges ven- dors a $25 fee each week to par- ticipate. “This market not only helps out local farmers, but it helps out . the library too,” said Linda Man- cinelli of Brace’s Orchard. “It’s a . win-win situation. If it’s a nice day, we usually get a great crowd.” The heavy rains and flooding this season have had somewhat of an affect on the crops of area farmers such as Dymond’s. “The only damage we had was to about half of the strawberries,” said Chris Dymond of Shaver- town. “We were also only able to salvage about a quarter of the “The rain and flood- ing hasn't affected any of our prices, though.” Chris Dymond Local farmer cherries. The rain and flooding hasn’t affected any of our prices, though.” The crop of another farm, Brac- e’s Orchard in Orange, only had minimal damage on the early goods because of the heavy rain- fall. “Very little stuff was damaged, only the early cherries and peach- es,” said Mancinelli. “The fruit trees love the rain. Everything looks great this year, better than ever.” : The handful of shoppers who braved the inclement weather bought everything from green goodness like lettuce and cucum- bers to apple cider, and home- made pies and breads. Sue Abramowitz sat under her See MARKET, Page 3 This bunch of mint makes Jane Kell think of tea time, said the Dallas resident. Inside The Post 10 Pages, 1 Section Civic 6&8 Church 2&7 People briefs.... 5 Puzzles 2 SOILS iciesmicrmessisessaesrsonnsorsessossss 9 ¥ How To Reach Us News: 829-7248 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre PA 1871 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
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