Vol. 118 No. 34 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 August 26 - September 1, 2007 *The DALLAS BOST. SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS GETTING REWARDED for reading books ‘Get a Clue at Your Library’ summer reading program comes to a conclusion REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com “Dum-de-dum-dum!” Nearly 100 young children holding Dum Dum Lollipops shouted out the “Drag- net” theme as they listened to a the- atrical performance of the children’s book, “The Web Files” by Margie Pa- latini. Laura Bauman, 26, and Justin Scappaticci, 27, both members of the Gaslight Theater group, were dressed as ducks and Ryan Baran, 27, played various barnyard charac- ters. The show was the featured at- traction last Thursday at the conclu- sion of the summer reading pro- gram, “Get a Clue at Your Library” in the backyard of the Back Moun- tain Memorial Library. “We're very pleased that so many parents bring their children to the li- brary,” said children’s librarian Ja- net Bauman. “We had a wonderful turnout for this whole program and today.” Throughout the summer, kids in pre-school through sixth grade signed up for the reading program and promised to read or have a par- ent read to them eight books. Older children had to read eight 30-min- ute segments of books. Several spe- cial events were held at the library as part of the “Get a Clue” summer reading program. A professor of forensics spoke, children were fingerprinted by the Dallas Borough and Kingston Township police departments, Kathy Kelchner of Frances Slocum State Park talked about nature mys- teries and a find the missing dog mystery was presented to the chil- dren. After the show, several awards were distributed. Nicholas James, an 8-year-old from Dallas, guessed the exact number of pieces of candy in a jar: 231. The children were in- structed to take their Dum Dum Lollipops out of the tissues in which they were wrapped and anyone who received the mystery flavor won a prize. Over the summer, children had to answer two series of “mystery” questions. The kids answered one question a week and those who See READING, Page 10 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Gregory Albertson,Lake Silkworth flips through a good read he picked up at the Back Mountain Library's summer reading program. Bryn Harvey is Pittston Tomato Festival Queen Bryn Harvey of Harveys Lake was crowned the 2007. Pittston Tomato Festival Queen Saturday afternoon during festivities at the 24th annual event. The daughter of Jay and Judy Harvey, the Wyoming Seminary senior reigned over activities held Sunday, the final day of the four-day festival held on Main Street in Pittston. Brianna Redding, a sophomore at Dallas High School, was a run- ner-up for the title. Harvey, who finished as first runner-up in last year’s Tomato Festival Queen Contest, was a contestant in the Luzerne Coun- ty Fair Queen Contest, scheduled to be held yesterday, August 25. She was first runner-up in that contest last year, as well. Harvey has been dancing for 15 Years and performs with the Ma- jor Performing Arts Center, own- ed and operated by her aunt, Gi- na Major Ackerman. Harvey also takes voice lessons from Acker- man. She is a member of the Blue Key at Wyoming Seminary where she accompanies potential stu- dents on tours of the school. Recognized as a Pennsylvania Outstanding Teen, Harvey was the non-finalist talent winner in that organization’s competition last year. A resident of Shavertown, Red- ding helped pre-school children with disabilities this summer by volunteering as an aide with the Head Start/Early Intervention Program at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Dallas. She is a candy- striper at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and a Vacation Bible School aide at St. Ignatius Church in Kingston. Redding loves to act and has performed in KISS Theatre Group’s productions. SUBMITTED PHOTO Brianna Redding, a Dallas High School Student, was a runner-up in the Miss Pitt- ston Tomato Festival Queen Contest. PHOTO BY BILL TARUTIS Bryn Harvey of Harveys Lake was crowned 2007 Pittston Tomato Festival Queen Saturday during the 24th annual event. | Lake-Lehman quarterback Nate Volkel, center, is count- | ing on teammates FB Aaron Setzer and TE Ken Pollack. See more about the team, SPORTS, PAGE 13. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST Expo helps to ensure kids safety Rep. Karen Boback sponsors first-ever event of its kind in BMT REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com It took a purple glitter bug to make children understand why washing their hands is so important. The bug, provided by Geisinger Health System, made an ap- pearance at the Child Safety Expo held at the Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School on August 16. : With a tiny dab of special lotion on them, kids put their hands underneath the glitter bug’s black light, revealing germs and dirt on their hands. After using hand sani- tizer, they placed their hands under the light again and were able to see the difference made by washing them. Approximately 30 organizations provided safety information to parents and children at the event hosted by Representative Karen Boback. “This event was an opportunity for both children and parents to learn about what they can do in dangerous situations and stay safe,” said Boback. “I was impressed with the various interactive vendors we featured at the expo. Children were able to learn how to deal with strangers, what to do if there is a fire or if they encounter a strange dog. Teaching them how to handle the possible dangers in their daily lives can make all the difference.” Cross Valley Chiropractic provided in- formation on backpack safety, distribut- ing fact sheets that stated a child’s back- pack should not weigh more than 10to 15 percent of his or her total body weight. “We brought him out because we wanted him to see everything and learn about fire safety.” Jim White Father of Expo participant See EXPO, Page 10 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Five-year-old Alex Magdalinski, Chase, learns that, under the weird equipment is a real person in Lehman volunteer fire volunteer Ed Wallo.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers