Vol. 119 No.4 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 January 27 - February 2, 2008 The DALLAS POST. SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com appointed. “It's kind of a mixed blessing For the first time in the history said before the game. The teachers did not show at the game on Friday, Jan. 18, because of an ongoing contract dispute be- tween the teachers’ union and the November 9 of last year until they were forced back into their class- rooms by the state. The teachers have been working without a con- of Lake-Lehman High School, teachers did not take part in the annual faculty versus seniors don- key basketball game, leaving many senior students and spectators dis- positions within the district. Teachers in the Lake- because it does give us more time Lehman School District with the donkeys, but we don’t were on strike, clos- think it’s going to be as fun as in ing schools, for 19 past years,” Michael Caffrey, Lake- school days from Lehman senior class president, October 15 through Lake-Lehman School Board. Be- cause they have no contract, the teachers refuse to participate in any unpaid, volunteer activities or tract since August 2006. Caffrey attended the Lake-Leh- man School Board meeting on Monday, Jan. 14, and spoke out against the contract disagreements on behalf of the senior class. “It just reached the point where we had to say some- thing,” Caffrey said. ~ - “We're very frustrated. "We feel ignored and - marginalized.” CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Michael Caffrey, Lake-Leh- man senior class president, attempts to mount his don- key during the school's an- nual faculty versus seniors basketball game. This year, the faculty did not play in the game because they are without a contract. Caffrey attended the Lake-Lehman School Board meeting on Monday, Jan. 14, and spoke out against the contract disagreements on behalf of the senior class. JUNKY), BT No TEAC Dick Morgan is the senior class advisor and has been a teacher at Lake-Lehman High School for 33 years. He says the faculty versus seniors donkey basketball game was the very first event to be held in Lake-Lehman High School’s old gym in 1962. The game had also See DONKEYS, Page 8 Beth Carey, a member of the Lake- Lehman girls’ basketball team, has an easy time shooting the ball as the referee holds the donkey dur- ing the school's annual faculty versus seniors basketball game. Reaching out and aiding the less fortuna By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com As he and his peers drove into Gulf- port, Mississippi, Nick DeStefano no- ticed the trees were bent and begin- ning to thin out. Then, he saw the golden arches of a McDonald’s restau- rant. But DeStefano knew he wasn’t going to get a Big Mac and fries at this particular McDonald's. It was the only structure still standing after Hurri- cane Katrina had devastated the en- tire area six months earlier. That was DeStefano’s first alterna- ive spring break trip. Each year for at least the past 25 years, Misericordia University’s Cam- pus Ministry sends students on ser- vice trips during the schools’ spring break. Students also travel to Jamaica during the first week of January and to Guyana for five weeks at the conclu- sion of the spring semester. From March 1 through March 8, 25 Misericordia University students will travel to Birmingham, Ala. by vans while 15 students will fly to Sacramen- to, Calif. In Birmingham, students will work on local Habitat for Human- ity projects. Those going to Sacra- mento will work with the Sisters of Mercy at Loaves and Fishes Ministry, a homeless outreach for Latino and Hispanic immigrants. A 20-year-old junior interdisciplin- ary studies major from Chesapeake Beach, Md., DeStefano also went to Hilton Head, S.C. and Jamaica on the school’s service trips. This year, he will go to Alabama. As a coordinator for the alternative spring break trip, DeStefano assists in selecting loca- tions, performing interviews for se- lect students and planning for fun- draisers, expenses and food. Fallon Shriner, of Frackville, will be attending her fourth alternative spring break trip. The 22-year-old fifth-year physical therapy major has not forgotten what she saw in the hur- ricane-ravaged areas of Mississippi two years ago. While working in a neighborhood where houses once stood, Shriner found wedding photo- graphs scattered across the ground. See REACHING, Page 8 el fie SUBMITTED PHOTO Misericordia University student Joelle Rhayem 'O7 gets her hair done by students at St. Margaret Mary Preschool in Jamaica during the annual January service learning trip in 2007. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Back Mountain sisters Ga- brielle, 12, front, Madeline, 15, left, and Alexandra Hackett, 16, of Shavertown, are volunteers for the United Way of Wyoming Valley. These young volunteers aid UW Hackett sisters volunteer their time with United Way of Wyoming Valley By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com With more in common than just their last name, the Hackett sisters all share a desire to volun- teer within their community. Sixteen-year-old ~~ Alexandra, 15-year-old Madeline and 12- year-old and Gabrielle, of Shaver- town, are all involved with the United Way of Wyoming Valley. Alexander and Madeline both attend Wyoming Seminary where the older sister is a junior and the younger sister, a sopho- more. Gabrielle is a sixth grade student at Wyoming Valley Mon- tessori School. Alexandra and Madeline first got involved with the United Way in 2006 when their parents, Ramah and Chris, who were al- ready involved with the organiza- tion, introduced them to Execu- tive Director David Lee. “He was so nice and warm- hearted and we were immediate- ly drawn to it,” Alexandra said of Lee. Soon after, Alexandra and Ma- deline went to a Head Start loca- tion, playing and interacting with the children there. “I think time is the most im- portant thing you can give, espe- cially to children,” Madeline said. During the summer of 2007, the girls spent time at Head Start and visited the Red Cross, learn- ing about volunteers and the can- teen. They also took an elderly woman shopping and spent time with her. “She was in a wheelchair and lived alone,” Madeline said of the woman. “We took her out and went to the Bon-Ton with her.” That summer, the sisters were followed by a camera person who taped them while volunteering as they recorded voiceovers and served as spokeswomen in a vid- eo for the organization that was shown at a benefit for the United Way last fall at Mohegan Sun. Gabrielle started volunteering for the United Way in 2007 by spending time with children at Head Start and plans to become even more involved with the or- ganization. She hopes to some day be an elementary school teacher. “I think volunteering is really important and it’s really impor- tant to help kids,” she said. Madeline would like to be a tel- evision anchor for a major net- work such as NBC or ABC while Alexandra Hackett aspires to See VOLUNTEERS, Page 8
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers