Vol. 117 No. 34 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 August 20 - August 26, 2006 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS COMMUNITY EVENT PHOTOS FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK From left, Chris Higgins, Charles West and Harveys Lake fire chief Dave Davis check the lights on their boat and prepare to join the boat regatta. , Having fun on the water Harveys Lake holds annual Homecoming Festivities weekend By GENELLE HOBAN Post Correspondent MORE PHOTOS Additional photos from the Harveys Lake Home- HARVEYS LAKE - Some might love it for the pristine beauty, while others are partial to the clear blue water, whatever the reason residents showed their support for the beautification of Harveys Lake last weekend. The hundreds of people who attended the second annual Harveys Lake Homecoming Festivities had a wide variety of events from which to choose, in- cluding a pie-baking contest, a waverunner youth run, a pig roast, and a bass fishing tournament. The event was the brainchild of Harveys Lake council president Clarence Hogan. “The borough used to have homecoming events similar to this about 25 years ago,” said Marsha Ho- gan, Clarence’s wife of 32 years. “He always wanted to get it back on track, and once my husband got on council he did.” About 500 people attended the multi-faceted cel- ebration, the majority of attendees were residents of Harveys Lake but residents of surrounding Back Mountain municipalities also took part in the fun. The lake was filled with awe-inspiring tricks of talented water skiers, who built pyramids while coasting on the water’s surface. Other activities included the musical stylings of Eddie Day and the Original Starfires at Damien’s on the Lake on Saturday night, which packed the house with a crowd of more than 200. ‘Many folks simply took advantage of taking in a coming Festivities weekend will appear in next week's edition of The Post. walk, bike ride, jog or skate from 10 a.m. to noon when motorized vehicles were limited to half of the two-lane road around the lake. The Harveys Lake Lions Club hosted a pig roast at the Sandy Beach Club. Rich Williams, a member of the Lions Club, said the turnout was quite well. “We served about a 100 dinners,” he said. “We had a lot of good responses. The event as a whole gets better every year. I think last year was good, but ev- erything grew considerably this year.” Also at the homecoming, seven budding beauties competed for the title of Little Miss Harveys Lake. The girls, ages 4-6, were judged on their appearance and personality, as well as a short interview. Kiana Price, 6, received the crown, while Hayley Olivia Evans, 4, and Casey Dale, 5, were the first- and second runners-up, respectively. All three girls are residents of Harveys Lake. Shoppers found everything from jewelry to paint- ings to handbags for sale at various vendor stands throughout the Lake Marketplace, which was orga- nized by Hogan and Shirley Javer of Javer’s Store. “The finances from the festivities will go toward the beautification of the lake, if there is anything left over,” said Hogan, a native of Harveys Lake. Andy Josuweit and Scott Davis serve as an- chormen for Caroline Boris during a water skiing demonstration. All three are current or former Lake-Lehman students. 1 Opinions about Back Mt. COG running high in Kingston Twp. By CAMILLE FIOTI Post Correspondent KINGSTON TWP. — Whether or not to drop out of the Back Mountain Area Council of Governments — a multi-munic- ipal cooperative association — was a deci- sion that was to be voted on earlier this month at the board of supervisors meet- ing. After much debate during the lengthy ‘meeting, the supervisors couldn’t reach a unanimous decision on the first reading of the ordinance to withdraw. The board vot- ed 2-2 with Dave Jenkins and Chris Yan- kovich voting to drop out of the COG, while Paul Sabol and Jeff Box voted to stay in. Supervisor Dave Broadhead was absent. Sabol said he wanted to table the deci- sion until more research is done. “I'd hate to lose all of the positives of the COG because we acted too quickly,” he said. Because of the tie, the decision is a dead issue, although it could be brought up again at a future meeting. The opinions in the packed room were divided, with some residents touting the nefits of sharing road equipment and ergency services, and others fearful of the loss of independence. Former supervisor Carl Goodwin said the benefits of staying in the COG far out- ‘weigh the negatives. © TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS What do you think about the Back Mountain Area Council of Governments? Are you in favor of the idea? Or are you against it? Either way, we want to hear your feelings. Send your opinion by e-mail to thepost@leader.net. Be sure to include your name, hometown and a daytime phone number for verification. The Post will share your opinions with our readers in a future edition. “By meeting with our neighbors, our problems are mutual,” he said. “They don’t end with an artificial boundary.” Ellen Morada of Midway Manor agrees. “We all need one another,” she said. “We all need to keep track of how much development happens.” Richard Morgan of Midway Manor said he thinks there are too many issues to deal with and advised the board to drop out of the COG. “I think you're making a mistake by not pulling out right now. Lets drop it and pick it up at a later date.” After a thorough review of the COG’s rules and requirements, township solic- itor Ben Jones advised the board to with- draw its membership. He said he discov- ered that members of the COG could not immediately respond to needs of their own municipalities individually. He gave a hypothetical example of a pornographic store attempting to open in the township. Under ordinary circumstances, the town- ship could respond immediately to ad- dress the issue, he said. - 2 As members of the COG, he said the other municipalities would be able to veto whatever the township plans to do regard- ing enacting ordinances, adding that three years must pass before the township could file an appeal to the veto. “The board of supervisors would be in- capable of exercising its charter right to protect its citizens,” he said. Within the COG, authority is also granted to the oth- er municipalities to grant one zoning offi- cer and one planning commission. “The concept of general consistency frightens me,” he said. Unlike other municipalities within the COG, Kingston Township is a Home Rule community. Residents voted for that dis- tinction in the mid-1970s. “I believe the spirit in which the town- ship charter operates is to provide health, safety and welfare of the citizens of King- ston Township and not necessarily a gen- eral group that resides beyond the King- ston Township limits,” Jones said. With the help of multiple grants, mem- bers of the COG — which consists of King- ston and Lehman townships and Dallas Borough — contributed funds to develop a Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Master Plan, the first major project of the COG. Dallas Township never became an official member of the COG, but contributed funds for the plan, Dallas Township zon- ing officer Len Kozick said. Planning consultants were hired to cre- ate the $200,000 plan that provided a de- mographic overview of the area and ad- dressed the many issues of each munici- pality. Citing that the plan was intrusive on the role of the township in the devel- opment of its land sources, Dallas Town- ship supervisors rejected the plan in May. Kingston Township also rejected the plan, 3-1, at a public hearing in July. Jen- kins, Yankovich and Broadhead voted against it, while Jeff Box voted in favor of the plan. Paul Sabol was absent at the hearing. Jenkins said he feels the COG will even- tually evolve into another level of govern- ment in the Back Mountain. “The proponents never talk about the added expense of being in the COG,” he said, adding the organization would most likely have to hire employees in the future. Jenkins also feels the COG’s intentionis to eventually regionalize police forces. “I'm fearful of regionalization,” he said. “We can still cooperate with projects of the COG without being in the COG.” * Paul Nicholson Library loses a special friend By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor Editor’s note: Paul Nicholson's obitu- ary appears on Page 5. DALLAS - Carol Sweeney vividly re- members the solemn look on Paul Ni- cholson’s face as he entered Fino’s Phar- macy one day in January last year. The two had worked hard to prepare for the annual kickoff dinner for the Back Mountain Memorial Library Auc- tion. And now Nicholson - the auction chairman — was paying a visit to Swee- ney’s place of employment to deliver some bad news. “He walks in and says ‘I guess the din- ner is off. Irem Temple is all booked up,” said Sweeney, recalling the conver- sation. “I was floored. I didn’t know what to say. All kinds of things were go- ing through my head. I guess he saw the look on my face and he knew he had me. Finally, he just looked at me and said, ‘Tm only kidding. Everything is fine.’ I couldn’t believe it. It was pretty funny.” Sweeney took a few moments earlier last week to remember the unique sense of humor — and solid work ethic — of Ni- cholson, who passed away last weekend at age 69. The Dallas resident is sur- vived by his wife of 36 years, Eleanor (Hughes) Nicholson. Nicholson was the auction chairman in 2004 and 2005, but injuries he suf- fered during a car accident in May pre- vented him from performing the duties this year. Sweeney, who handled the auction’s public relations duties for two years under Nicholson, took over the re- ins of chairman for this year’s auction. “Paul was one of a kind,” said Swee- ney, who dedicated the auction to Ni- cholson each night she rang the auction bell during the four-day event. “I think there’s a sadness in Dallas. I think the people really feel a loss. Paul and Elea- nor are among two of the finest people I've ever known. He'll really be missed.” Library director Martha Butler also received first-hand experience of Ni- cholson’s hard work — and sense of hu- mor. “He was kind of a teaser,” she said. “He’d tell me something to get my atten- tion then he would say, Tm just kid- ding.’ He had a very good sense of hu- mor. Paul was an overall great person and I think it showed through in his leadership with the auction. He did a terrific job as the auction chairman.” Although he served as the chairman for only two years, Nicholson made an impact. It was his idea to turn the an- nual kickoff dinner into a dinner-dance and a record crowd of more than 100 people attended, said Butler. He also im- plemented a 50/50 raffle and gave the bake sale its own booth. Nicholson add- ed a personal touch by making home- made fudge. “It was delicious,” said Butler. “Paul added some different things to the auc- tion. He was open to trying new things.” And he did a lot of things behind the scenes, said Sweeney. “Paul did so many things on his own,” she said. “People didn’t’ know how they got done. When I took over as chairman, I found out about all of the little things Paul was doing. He was a great leader. He tried to make it make it fun for the volunteers. He gave everyone some- thing special to do. He wanted to make them feel special because they are.” Nicholson’s death was the second re- cent loss for the staff and friends of the Back Mountain Memorial Library. The library also mourned the death of Hugh King, a longtime library supporter whose wife Carol wrote a longtime li- brary news column for local newspa- pers. “It’s always sad to lose friends, people who are involved with the library, volun- teers and community members,” said Butler. “It takes a toll on us. We have a . very special relationship with these peo- ple. We're like a family.”
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