Vol. 119 No.9 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 March 2 - 8, 2008 The DALLAS POST. SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Church group on its way to Nicaragua By AMANDA JANIGA For The Dallas Post Many people encounter hu- man suffering and then forget about it, but not Pastor Jack. He remembers. He has seen troubled lives and horrible living conditions and that’s why he’s going back — to help. Jack Rehill, pastor of Back Mountain Harvest Assembly in Dallas, and Ron Hillard are leading a second Medical Mission to Nicaragua. & Last year, the group flew to Managua, the capitol of Nic- aragua, then traveled miles to small villages to offer medical help to people living in prim- itive conditions. “It was a privilege to set up medical clinics where no one had been before,” said Rehill. Most of the people there have intestinal parasites," Rehill said. They deal with tainted food, unsafe water and smoky air and it all adds up to poor health. One village is at the Mana- gua city dump where people not only live on the garbage, but see it as their source of in- come. Families scour the dump for items that can be sold or used before setting the garbage on fire, making room for more. In extreme cases, parents sold their daughters to the truck drivers in exchange for the drivers dumping their garbage loads nearby. Clothing and shoes are scarce and kids run on the burning garbage in flip flops. IOne little boy walking on the ~ burning garbage in flip flops ended up with a nail through his foot. Other kids have open sores on their feet or plastic melted to their skin. Most of these people have never left their village; they will never travel to the city and will never get the medical attention they need. This mis- sion offers them help they would never get otherwise. “People are in need,” said Rehill. “We are a church. We can’t have the church just be inside the walls. It needs to be out there.” The group will be in Nicara- gua from March 5-12. Eleven people went last year, but this year’s number has increased to 15. The missionaries will stay at the Buzbee ministry, a facility that offers security and a place to stay each night. The group will take about 10 medical kits with it, but cannot open the kits until af- ter arriving at the Buzbee fa- cility because no luggage is checked at the Nicaraguan airport and everything is car- ried on airplanes. Last year, the group was able to see 400 patients in two days while visiting two differ- ent villages. This year it hopes to spread its resources further and visit three villag- S. ~ “There are a lot of people in outlying areas that have nev- er been seen by a medical pro- See MISSION, Page 10 OO ———— 6180981512007 Celebrating the Blue and Go Cub Scout Pack 281 held its annual Blue and Gold Dinner last Sunday at Gate of Heaven School. Following the opening ceremony by the Cub Scouts, invocation by Rev. William D. Lewis and introduction of guests by Cubmaster Ron Santora, dinner was enjoyed by all in attendance. Pack 281 leaders conducted a skit and closing which was followed by presenta- tions of Tigers, Wolf Dens, Bear Dens and Webelos. A special awards and charter presentation concluded the evening. Den leaders for Cub Pack 281 are Jackie and Jim Siperko, Tigers; Susan and Ran- dy Perry, Wolf Den 3; Lisa and Ted Kocher and Eric Gingo, Wolf Den 4; Wendy Barberio and Kristen Angelicola, Wolf Den 5; Judy and Ron Santora and Mark But- savage, Bear Den 1; Todd Adams, Mark Lofing and Joe Roman, Bear Den 2; Richard Oley, Paul Smith, Brian Josulevicz and Dan Sweeney, Webelos 4; Mike Drouse, William Reynolds, Dave Mallarky, Don Plum, Webelos 5; Carl Baxter, Aaron Butler, Nick Dennis, Tony DiMaria, Dylan Pilger and Andrew Santora, Den chiefs. \ CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Nick Dennis was a flag bearer in opening ceremonies for Cub Pack 281's Blue and Gold dinner. The Dallas pack is celebrating its 60th year. Stacey Wyandt at- taches a final patch on the sleeve of his son, Josh, before the annual Blue and Gold ceremony for Cub Scout Pack 281 hosted at Gate of Heav- en. We should be like children when conflict arises By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Post Correspondent Why is it that children have a better understanding of how to settle their school and play- ground battles than do adults? These and other questions were explored at a recent presentation by the Father Doyle Peace and Justice Center from Wilkes-Barre hosted by St. Therese’s Church in Shavertown. Children, it seems, have an un- canny knack for being direct, wanting to resolve conflicts and being able to listen to other peo- ple. Eighty percent of the time, when left alone, children will set- tle their problems themselves. Sadly, though interestingly, when those children reach adult- hood, social dynamics change and the result is more unresolved conflict. “Too many people are fighting and not listening to one another. I am convinced that if people could only listen, we could have more peace,” said Pat McCormick, a trained conflict resolution media- tor from the center. McCormick also gave the illus- tration of Nanticoke school chil- dren resolving their feuds among themselves rather than through T. X teachers or school officials. It worked very successfully, he thought, because the teachers and school officials were not in- volved. McCormick and a group of three other mediators then gave a staged sample mediation to a group of about 30 people interest- ed in learning more about solving conflicts - personal and general ones. The mediators came from The Peace and Justice Center, a group of lay mediators trained in con- flict mediation techniques by Pennsylvania Mennonites and Quakers. They unabashedly ad- mit that only one out of 68 cases brought to the center’s attention results in mediation, working like a sounding board to help peo- ple settle or negotiate their is- sues. Thus, the fruit of their work is sometimes less evident and oc- curs behind the scenes. Rodrigo “Rod” Gereda, anoth- er one of the counselors, was quick to point out that the nego- tiator’s job is to get the parties in- teracting and then get out of the picture. The negotiator, he says, does not give advice, make judg- ments or decisions, an impartial- ity that was emphasized often CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Conflict resolution trainer Rodrigo 'Rod’' Gereda illustrates the importance of and correct way to issue the 'l statement’ at a conflict resolution lecture at St. Therese's Church, Shavertown. during the demonstration. The mediator’s role seems to have multiple applications, though. For Philip Kasper, of Hunlock Creek, a senior business major at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, the talk was the frosting on the cake. Be- cause, as he said, “conflict arises everywhere,” he felt the talk was a sensible requirement for his course in Conflict Resolution and Negotiations at the university and would help him wherever his ca- reer takes him. h. L
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