Vol. 119 No. 27 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 6 - 12, 2008 The » DALLAS Pos 50¢ Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com ~ Pizza Paul fo light up sky again By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Ifit’s up to Pizza Paul, stars and stripes will be forever celebrated every year in the Back Mountain. Pizza Paul’s fireworks show re- turns for a second year tonight at the Back Mountain Harvest As- sembly Church grounds. As much as he'd like to keep the fireworks spectacular going an- nually on his own, Pizza Paul doesn’t have the finances to make that happen so he is seeking do- nations to help keep the fire- works a yearly, free activity for ev- eryone to enjoy. Paul Adamchick, a 39-year-old lifetime Trucksville resident ac- quired the nickname of “Pizza Paul” working for 27 years at his parents’ business, Pizza Perfect, located on Carverton Road in Trucksville. Adamchick’s fascination with fireworks began as a young child when a neighbor, Paul Gregory, brought home a truckload of fire- works every year and set them off. As Adamchick grew older, Gregory allowed him to assist with the fireworks and, by age 12, Adamchick was buying his own fireworks. He has since taken a class in pyrotechnics and has a fireworks display license. For several years, Adamchick set off a private fireworks display at Traver’s Auction in Dallas Township. But the annual event drew so many spectators that Adamchick needed to find a new location. While talking to Pat Colladay, assistant pastor at Back Mountain Harvest Assembly Church, one day, Colladay of- fered the church grounds for the fireworks. ®. drink; I don’t do ,” Adamchick said. “This is my high and what I enjoy to do. I like to put a smile on people’s faces. That’s what it’s all about. Every year they say I can’t beat last year and every year I do it.” Last July was the first time Adamchick’s fireworks show was held at Back Mountain Harvest Assembly. “When God called us to come here 15 years ago, before we even owned this property, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “You are going to have fireworks here one day,” said Dan Miller, pastor of Back Mountain Harvest As- sembly. “I said, ‘How are fire- works going to happen?’ And He said, ‘You let that up to me.” Miller says at least 5,000 peo- ple gathered on the church’s property for the fireworks last year. However, crowds of people also watched from Frances Slo- cum, Dug Road and Bunker Hill. Miller says a police officer told him he estimates about 12,000 to 18,000 spectators saw the dis- play. “Sunoco station loved it,” Mill- er said. “Checkerboard loved it. There was a 25 minute wait for coffee at the Sunoco station. It was like 45 minutes of a grand fi- nale and there were three grand finales. It was absolutely nuts. He did an unbelievable job.” Adamchick plans to outdo imself this year and bought big- er fireworks because of the great response from last year’s event. Miller says food vendors have been expanded six or seven times See FIREWORKS, Page 10 0981512007909 o From seed to kitchen his adage By CHRISTIE DELICATI For The Dallas Post Just what does it take to be a Master Gardener? It’s not a simple process by any means but Ron Petro, 62, of Dal- las, makes the job seem effort- less. By definition, a Master Garden- er is a highly-trained community volunteer who assists the public with horticultural and environ- mental projects. They often pro- vide hands-on training through demonstrations for home garden- ers, clubs and organizations. Being one of 50 Master Garden- ers in Luzerne County, Petro is the region’s senior volunteer. In order to retain the certification, he is required to complete eight hours of continuing education and 20 volunteer hours annually. On a sweltering, 90-degree Sat- urday morning in the blaring, hot sunshine, the last in a series of five, 1 ¥%2 hour gardening classes was facilitated by Petro. As the Master Gardener Instructor for Penn State University’s Coopera- tive Extension Program, the re- tired, self-employed photogra- pher used his personal organic vegetable garden to display his knowledge and hands-on tech- nique to a class of passionate gar- deners, none of whom were de- terred by the hot temps. Petro’s class teaches the how to’s of organic gardening from the seed’s start to finish, including canning, freezing and preserving the harvest. Even in his own yard, Petro has the ideal situation for organic gardening, having a nat- ural area that includes pollina- tors and beneficiaries to repel pesky insects. Additionally, all of his upright supports are recycled materials, contributing to a healthy and productive garden. “Ron is extremely generous with his knowledge,” says Mary Pat Appel, 45, of West Wyoming, the Master Gardener Coordina- tor and Horticultural Program- ming Assistant for Penn State’s Cooperative Extension. She has been working with Petro at Penn State for five years and refers to him as a “veteran” in the field of gardening. “I’ve been an intense gardener for most of my life,” she adds. “While most kids were hanging posters as teenagers, I was propa- gating plants in my bedroom.” Mastering the art of gardening can be quite demanding of one’s time. Using only the best practic- es, Petro spends between seven and eight hours per day garden- ing. “From seed to kitchen,” is his adage. Petro speaks proudly of the fact that he takes no shortcuts and can boast that his veggies are truly homegrown and done so single handedly in his 34’ x 100’ garden. From the very start of the Sat- See GARDENER, Page 10 BACK MOUNTAR fi CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST larence Michael, chairman of the 62nd Annual Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction that opens Thursday, strongly emphasizes that the event is much more than just an auction and invites people of all ages to attend. The auction runs from 6 to 11 p.m. on Thursday, July 10 and 6 p.m. to mid- night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 11, 12 and 13 on the library grounds on Huntsville Road in Dallas. In addition to the many items that will make their way across the auction block, the event offers children’s activities, entertainment, plants, books and all kinds of items for sale as well as many, many varieties of different kinds of food. See the special Library Auction section inside today’s Dallas Post. .-1, grads SAVO # r their Lake-Lehman grads chuckle during Senior Class President Michael Caffrey’'s opening remarks. embers of the Class of 2008 from Lake-Lehman High School had to wait longer than other area graduating classes to receive their diplomas but they did just that during commencement ceremonies held June 27 in the high school gymnasium. For story and additional photos, please turn to page 8. ‘Smencils’ help send many to summer camp AIMEE DILGER/ FOR THE DALLAS POST By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The Norris Family believes ev- ery child should have a fun sum- mer. That’s why mom, Pat, and her sons, Ben, 17; Josh, 15; and Nicho- las, 11, all of Center Moreland, are raising money to send children who, otherwise, couldn’t afford to attend the Noxen United Metho- dist Church’s summer camp. “That’s basically how the camp started,” Norris said. “Parents didn’t want the kids home by them- selves, but they couldn't afford these more expensive camps charging $100 or more a week.” Noxen United Methodist Church’s summer camp began in 1998. Norris took over as director in 2001. The Norris family began selling Smencils, scented pencils made from recycled newspaper, in late winter. The Smencils sold for $1 each and raised almost $1,000. “I didn’t even know they existed until one of the kids at school gave me one for Valentine’s Day (this year),” said Norris, who is a special needs aide for the Dallas School District. “What we felt fit the camp really well is we encourage the kids to recycle at home and we reuse many butter tubs and things at the camp.” In October, children from the camp held a dinner theater show at the church, raising $287. It costs $1,800 to run the camp each sum- mer. Having accumulated about $1,300, Norris is confident weekly fees of $10 from each participant will be enough for the program to sustain itself this year. “For the area that we're in, that’s a pretty decent amount,” Ben Nor- ris said. “This way, we don’t have to raise our costs and we keep our CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST Pat Norris, Center Moreland , and her sons Nick, left, and Joshua sell $1.00 scented pencils made from recycled newspa- per to help their summer camp in Noxen. games such as kickball and tag, make crafts, or swim in Bow- man’s Creek, which runs along- side the church. They also take field trips to nearby places in- costs down.” : In previous years, the camp re- lied on money from its sponsor, Child Development Council. At camp, children participate in cluding Ricketts Glen. Even though camp is held at the church, Norris says it is more of a regular summer camp than a reli- gious camp. Membership to the Noxen United Methodist Churchis not required to attend camp. Camp is held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday on a week-by-week basis. The limit is 25 children under 12 years old per week Children bring bagged lunches and snacks are donated by parents while campers are involved in snack time and help prepare the treats. Camp kicks off with teen week from July 7 through July 11 where children ages 11 and older are wel- come. Camp will be held for ages 5 through 11 from July 21 through Ju- ly 25 and August 4 through August 8. Many children too old to attend camp serve as volunteers. ISS
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