& Vol.120 No.5 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 February 1-7, 2009 Ec Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com What does that dream really mean? By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Every Wednesday evening about half a dozen people gather at the home of Stephen and Mary Ann Kotch on Over- brook Avenue in Dallas. But the group doesn’t have dinner or discuss the latest books they’ve read. Insead, they in- terpret dreams. Stephen and Mary Ann Kotch, along with their son, Kris, of Kingston, are co-pas- tors of River of Life at King- dom Power Ministries Church in Dallas, a non-denomina- tional church founded in 1985 by the Kotches. Mary Ann Kotch is certified in dream interpretation through Streams Ministries International, a non-profit ministry organization with a multi-disciplinary approach to help others fulfill the purpose for which they were created. Though she began studying dream interpretation in the late 1980s, she has been inter- preting dreams for the past five years and has interpreted approximately 5,000 dreams. Mary Ann Kotch also inter- prets on her Web site, dream- lab7.com, and leads a weekly online mega conference. In early fall 2005, Mary Ann Kotch started a weekly dream discussion at her home where a group interprets real dream examples according to the an- cient | Hebraic method of dream interpretation, which takes a Biblical view on dreams. “Everybody dreams, even if they don’t remember them,” Kristopher Kotch said. The group believes that dreams and visions, which they say are mentioned over 200 times in the Bible, are giv- en to people by God. They say dreams can also come from the devil and teach people to differentiate between Godly and dark dreams. “My favorite scripture read- ing on this matter is from Pro- verbs Chapter 25, verse 2: ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a matter to search out a matter is the glory of kings,” Mary Ann Kotch said. “This sort of backs our whole idea of how we interpret dreams, search- ing the meanings of them out through scripture and revela- tion.” Mary Ann Kotch says there are four steps to interpreting dreams. First, one must find the focus of the dream as there may also be several sub-focus- es. Next, determine what the elements are and what they mean. The third step is to fig- ure out God’s purpose for the dream and into what category the dream falls. Finally, the dream is ready for interpreta- tion. Stephen Kotch recently started writing down his dreams as soon as he wakes, a step his wife says, is helpful in both remembering and inter- pretation. “It’s a process,” Mary Ann Kotch said. “It’s not a hocus pocus instantaneous thing.” The group discussed two dreams submitted to Mary Ann Kotch on the internet on See DREAM, Page 10 6 1 098151200798 Dallas couple makes inauguration memories with strangers SUBMITTED PHOTO ‘Although Jack and Marianne Cleary, of Dallas, were denied access into the capital grounds on inauguration day because security equipment in their section would not work, they listened to President Obama's speech through a man’s Blackberry phone. Marianne Cleary, third from right, is shown with some of the people the Clearys met at the inauguration. So close, yet so far away By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Jack and Marianne Cleary spotted three U.S. Army sergeants at the pres- idential inauguration and wanted to thank them for their service. That’s when the Dallas couple no- ticed the sergeants were wearing the patch of the 3rd Infantry Division, the same division to which their son, 1st Lieutenant Michael J. Cleary, be- longed. Lieutenant Michael Cleary was killed in Iraq on Dec. 20, 2005 by an improvised explosive device. Jack Cleary was wearing a Michael J. Cleary Memorial Golf Tournament baseball cap. “As we were starting to talk, he looked at me and said, ‘Did you know Lieutenant Cleary?’” Jack Cleary said of one of the soldier. “And I said, ‘He was my son’ and they said, ‘We served with him in Iraq.” The Clearys attended the inaugu- ration of President Barack Obama on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. as guests of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. The senator awarded prime purple section tickets to the Clearys to represent one of the challenges - losing a loved one in Iraq - which Pennsylvanians are undergo- ing. Marianne Cleary had been an ac- tive volunteer for the local Obama campaign. Jack Cleary, on the other hand, is a Republican and a John McCain supporter. But that didn’t stop him from going to the inaugu- ration. The Clearys arrived in the nation’s capital on Monday, Jan. 19, and stayed with the Pennsylvania Demo- cratic Party at the Washington Plaza Hotel. The musical group Sister Sledge that sang “We are Family,” Governor Edward Rendell and Wilkes-Barre’s Mayor Tom Leighton also stayed at the hotel. The couple headed out on inaugu- See CLOSE, Page 8 “It would have been nice (to be on the capital grounds), but | don’t know that it would have been any nicer than those dozen people we stood and listened with. We just looked at each other and | think we were proud to be Americans and witness this in our lifetime. I'm still a Republican and | still like John McCain, but | think so many people are hopeful going forward.” Jack Cleary By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com John Sobocinski and Matt Sa- muel may be rivals in track and field and cross country, but when it comes to the National Football League, the two are united. Sobocinski, the track and field and cross country coach at Lake- Lehman, and Samuel, the track and field and cross country coach at Dallas, are both diehard Pitts- burgh Steelers fans. The Steelers will take on the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLII at 6 p.m. today in Tampa, Fla. “The one thing we always have in common is we call each other and talk before the Steelers games,” Sobocinski said. “As much as we are rivals on the track, we share that common bond.” Both Sobocinski and Samuel live near each other in Dallas. So- bocinski says when he’s off from school on a snow day, he’ll see Sa- muel out shoveling or cleaning off Ee Sea i IF YOU WATCH Super Bowl XLII Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Arizona Cardinals Today with kickoff at 6 p.m. NBC his car and they’ll talk about the Steelers. “It’s funny because John and I, we're definitely friends,” Samuel said. “We've had such a heated ri- valry. But the one thing that we have in common is the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it’s kind of fun when you can turn off the rival switch once in a while and have a mea- ningful conversation. The bond, I think, among Steelers fans is pret- ty tight.” Sobocinski, 40, is a teacher in the science department at Lake- Lehman Junior/Senior High School. He grew up in the ’70s when the Steelers won four Super Bowls, causing them to be his childhood heroes. His entire fam- ily loves the Steelers. “I have kids in school that say, ‘My dad likes the Steelers’ and they're Cowboys fans or Eagles fans and I say, ‘Well how can that be?” Sobocinski said. “They cheer for whoever is hot.” Like Sobocinski, Samuel, 34, comes from a family of Steelers fans and has attended many games. As a child, he visited Pitts- [ burgh every summer because his father, Earl Samuel, is originally from Johnstown. Samuel also at- tended the University of Pitts burgh. The last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl was Feb. 5, 2006 — the birthday of Sobocinski’s late fa- ther, Bob. Although his father had been dead for 10 years, Sobocinski says he knew the Steelers would ‘Track rivals come together to cheer Steelers Hoping for a sixth title win for the Pittsburgh Steelers in to- day's Super Bowl are Matt Samuel, left, and John Sobocinski hold- ing a poster of the "Greatest Sports Play in History" from the 1972 play-off game between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders. verver¥f CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST win because of the occasion. Sobocinski was wearing a Steel- ers hat that day and will be wear- ing the torn and tattered hat today, though he says he is returning to “normalcy” with his superstitions. At one time, Sobocinski carried a good luck charm in his pocket. See STEELERS, Page 10 Te @ oe ae TR ]
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