Vol. 117 No. 45 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 November 12 - November 18, 2006 *The DALLAS SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Hard work, persistence lead to $L8 million settlement at Dallas By DAVE KONOPKI Dallas Post Editor DALLAS TWP. —- As a graduate, tax- payer, and school board member, Frank Natitus has always wanted the best for the Dallas School District. So when the district wasn’t realizing 1e expected savings from a new geoth- ermal heating system at the Dallas Mid- dle School, Natitus began pushing for answers. And pushing. And pushing. “Frank was constantly calling me, giv- ing me information and asking ques- tions,” said business manager Grant Pal- fey. “To be honest, it was very hard to do my everyday job and at the same time keep looking into everything Frank was asking about. I was getting tired. But Frank kept pushing and his persistence really paid off when you look at the end results.” The end result was a $1.8 million set- tlement between the district and several companies who designed and construct- ed the geothermal heating system dur- ing renovations at the middle school six years ago. The school board unanimous- ly agreed to settle the 20-month-old law- suit during a meeting last week. The district will receive approximate- ly $1.2 million and $600,000 in attorney fees and legal costs will be paid to the law firm Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald. Under the agreement, the payments will come in four separate checks: $300,000 from Foreman Architects Engineers, $500,000 from Bergmann Associates, $500,000 from Summit Engineers Inc., and $500,000 from Burkavage Design Associates and principal architect Paul Degillio. The settlement “is being made with- out admission of any liability by any par- ty and solely as'a good faith compromise of disputed claims,” said attorney Ho- ward Levinson, who represented the school district. “The design profession- als made representations what future operating costs of the geothermal sys- tem would be. “It turns out the actual numbers were a far cry from the esti- mate.” The geothermal system was put in as an alternative to traditional gas and elec- tric heating and air conditioning units. The architects and engineers promised the school district would save approxi- mately $400,000 in maintenance costs over a 20-year period. The design professionals estimated it would cost the district approximately $59,000 a year in operating costs for the system, said Levinson. There were two estimates for the actual cost — one for ap- proximately $165,000 and another for approximately $190,000. When those numbers became appar- ent, Natitus went to work. “l always took my position on the school board very seriously,” said the former board member. “I relied on infor- mation given to the board when I cast a vote. I kept all of my records and notes and I wanted to make sure the reason I voted for the project was actually hap- pening. When it wasn’t, I felt something was wrong and the district should be made whole.” Although he acknowledged the work of the entire school board, former board member Dave Usavage says Natitius VETERANS a TE a By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Post Correspondent ALLAS TWP. — There were | DI of tears in the Dallas Middle School auditorium last week as eight students read “My Hero” essays during a special Veterans Day program. After read- ing the essays, the children pre- sented them to their parents or rel- atives. “There’s too many tears here to- day,” Anthony Martinelli, the usu- ally jovial school principal said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. The essays hit close to home as some children spoke about parents being away and the anxiety of it all. “It was kind of scary having Dad away,” said Carl Zimmerman, whose father recently returned from Iraq. He also worries about his father going back again. More than 800 personalized, red, hite and blue stars hung in the @. lobby, paper-crafted senti- ments from the children in the school who wanted to remember the names of the men and women in their families who have served in the military. Middle school teacher Susan Holthaus organized the program and felt a great need to have the children hear about the veterans and their contributions. She also wrote and read her essay in which she credits her father, an Air Force veteran, for giving her the “wind to fly.” Clarence Michael, commander of Daddow-Issacs American Legion Post 672 in Dallas, told the audi- ence the stars reminded him of the song “Pennies from Heaven” and therefore children in the school must be “angels” to have made them. The legion also received $941.81 from a school collection held in October to benefit children who have lost a parent in the War on Terror. The sixth grade proudly collected the most money during the “Penny Wars for Veterans.” It was a timely, touching ceremo- ny since some parents are still serving in Iraq, one of remem- brance, pride and tribute with his- toric overtones. PHOTOS FOR THE DALLAS POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas American Legion members Clarence Michael, Walter Galka, Jim Baloga and John Emil look in amazement at the more than 800 handmade com- memorative stars hanging at the Dallas Middle School. Each star represents the family member of a student who served in the military. The veterans are the stars Dallas Middle School program honors those who have served our country Eg ode Kunkle resident Robert Ferher, a PA National Guard veteran of 17 years, gets a hug from his son Robbie, who read an essay about his father during a Vet- erans Day program at the Dallas Middle School. EH 13 was the driving force behind the lawsuit. In addition to Natitus and Usavage, oth- er board members at the time the suit was filed were Russ Bigus, Gary Math- ers, Maureen Matiska, Dan Nulton, Bruce Goeringer, James Richardson and Dennis Goechel. “Without his involvement, there would be no settlement. It’s that sim- ple,” said Usavage. “There was involve- ment by everyone on the board and peo- ple worked hard. By no stretch am I say- ing it was only Frank. But he took the ball and ran with it.” And Palfey is happy he did. “It wasn’t always easy, but now I'm re- ally happy Frank kept persisting,” said Palfey, who added the settlement is the equivalent of 22 mills. “As a taxpayer and a parent, I appreciate it.” Baker and Boback going to Harrisburg The Back Mountain community will be well represented in Harrisburg fol- lowing last week’s election. Lehman Township Republican Lisa Baker won seat for state Senator in the 20th District, easily defeating Democrat Robert McNamara. The 1979 Dallas High School graduate will fill the shoes of popular state Sen. Charles Lemmond, who did not seek a seventh term. Baker previously worked for Lemmond, as well as former Gov. Tom Ridge. Republican Karen Boback of Harveys Lake won the seat in the 117th District of the state House of Representatives. The College Misericordia professor and for- mer second grade teacher in the Tunk- hannock School District defeated Dem- ocrat Freddie Nichols Jr. by almost a 2-1 margin to fill the seat left vacant by long- time representative George Hasay, who held the seat for 34 years. Back Mountain municipalities part of the 117th District include the townships of Dallas, Franklin, Lake and Lehman, as well as the boroughs of Dallas, Harveys Lake, Noxen and Northmoreland. The 20th senatorial District includes parts of Luzerne, Monroe, and Susquehanna counties and all of Pike, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. Baker and Boback held their respec- tive post-election parties at Newberry Estate’s Appletree Terrace in Dallas. TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTOS/S. JOHN WILKIN Lehman Township Republican Lisa Baker talks with her supporters after winning the seat for state Senator in the 20th District. Harveys Lake resident Karen Boback is all smiles as the election results start to be announced. The Republican won the seat in the 117th District of the state House of Representatives. ’ Inside The Post 10 Pages, 1 Section Civic briefs 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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