Vol. 118 No. 26 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 8 - 14, 2007 "DALLAS POST. SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Prison expansion idea dies; residents relieved Traffic, water, prisoner escapes are hgh on list of oncerns By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com If the sirens are activated in Jack- son Township, residents know it’s time to go into their houses and keep their children in close sight because such warnings in that town are de- signed to make people aware of an escaped prisoner from the State Cor- rectional Institution in Dallas. Construction of a new prison at the SCID was initially included on the Pennsylvania Bureau of Correc- tions 2007-08 proposed capital bud- get of House Bill 1589. But plans of expansion were removed last week at the requests of state representa- tive Phyllis Mundy and state senator Lisa Baker. Although neighboring residents of the facility are relieved that the idea is on hold - at least for now - some are still uneasy. Al Fox, Vice Chairman of the Board of Supervi- sors and Treasurer in Jackson Town- ship, lives on Pine Tree Road. His land borders the edge of SCID. “The only thing that separates our property from the prison is a stone wall,” said Fox. Fox remembers when the prison was built in 1959 because his par- ents’ home meets SCID on the Leh- man side. Fox can recall several in- cidents where prisoners escaped. He says one time a prisoner broke free See PRISON, Page 5 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ THE DALLAS POST Al Fox's property borders the State Correc- tional Institution at Dallas facility in Jackson Township. He worries about water shortages if the prison is expanded. Remembering a special guy 1 Madeline "Kylie" Vermeulen, niece of Kyle Wega, enoyed the music at Wega Jam ‘07. SE Adam Barry Is this year's recipient of the Kyle Wega Scholarship, named in memory of the former Dallas School District employee. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ THE DALLAS POST ul Sabol walks past chairs lined up by auction-goers days before the 61st Annual Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction actually started Thursday evening. The auction continues tonight with special timed items and much more until at least midnight. Back Mountain LIGHTS UP The community of King- Trucksville provided = its ston Township and its neigh- grounds for the event. bors were treated to a fire- Cars filled a three mile works display last Sunday square area along township night, thanks to a cooperative roadways and surrounding effort between a Back Moun- vards were filled with neigh- CHARLOTTE BARTIZEKPHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST tain church and an area busi- nessman. Paul Adamchick of Pizza bors, friends and relatives. Ev- eryvone enjoyed a night of fun and entertainment. y Perfect donated $15,000 worth of pyrotechnics for a Jonaraan K4/ FOR THE DALL pre-Fourth of July fireworks A magnificent display of extravaganza and the Back fireworks booms over Mountain Harvest Assembly Kingston Township last Church on Carverton Road in Sunday night. Wega Jam "07 at Irem Temple benefits Kyle Wega Memorial Scholarship Friends of the late Kyle Wega converged on Irem Temple Country Club last Saturday night to celebrate his life and keep alive a scholarship named in his memory. Wega Jam 07 saw two bands performing at the country club pavilion in Dallas and a raffle that chanced off prizes like a football autographed by Donovan McNabb, a per- sonal size flat-screen televi- sion, merchandise from lo- cal businesses, dinner cer- tificates and more. Kyle Wega died on Febru- ary 20, 2006 at the age of 28 after he failed to make a turn in the road while on the way home from his girl- friend’s house. Although is life ended tragically, his memory lives on — thanks to his family and friends. Money raised from the Wega Jam directly sup- ports the Kyle Wega Memo- rial Scholarship which is governed by the Luzerne Foundation. Each year a senior from Dallas High School is cho- sen by a panel to receive the scholarship. The 2006 ben- eficiary was Elysia Balav- age and this year’s recipient is Adam Barry.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers