Vol.120 No. 12 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 March 22 - 28, 2009 50¢ Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com Carl Goeringer talks to fellow parishioners about the ‘Restore the Glory’ capital campaign at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Dallas. The campaign was created to raise funds to repair and restore the three stained glass windows in the Chancel. The church is trying to raise $10,000 by April 30 to avoid further damage to the windows. : . Fund will preserve windows By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The Chancel windows at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Dal- las are in jeopardy of breaking and church members and the commu- nity are asked to help. The three stained glass win- dows located behind the altar are in need of repair from expansion and contraction due to sunlight, heat and cold. Church members Dan Monk, Jénnifer Martin, Dan Plashinski, Dave Dillon, Carl Goer- inger and the Rev. John Major formed a committee and founded the “Restore the Glory” capital campaign, which is seeking ap- proximately $10,000 to restore the windows. The campaignbeganonMarch1 and is scheduled to be completed by April 30 to avoid further dam- age to the windows. “For more than 60 years, these See WINDOWS, Page 8 Grant will ease lake pollution Harveys Lake Borough has been awarded a $262,534 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Envi- ronmental Protection's (DEP) Growing Greener program. The money will be used to install an approved best management practice to reduce phosphorus pol- lutionintothe lake. This type of pol- lution is caused by excess fertiliz- ers, herbicides and insecticidesand other agricultural runoff; oil, grease and toxic chemicals from ur- ban runoff; streambank erosion; acid mine drainage; and bacteria and nutrients from pet wastes and faulty septic systems. The Growing Greener program is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania’s histo- ry to address environmental con- cerns. Harveys Lake Borough's grant is part of $21.5 million award- ed by the DEP for 144 projects that will clean up rivers, streams and watersheds. “As the Commonwealth’s largest natural lake, Harveys Lake is an im- portant resource for Pennsylva- nia,” said state Rep. Karen Boback. “This grant award will assist the borough in reducing pollution in the lake so it will remain a treasure for everyone to enjoy.” Dallas graduate’s company creates personal tours of China SUBMITTED PHOTOS Jeff Levinson stands among the sand dunes of the ancient Silk Road in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, of western China in October 2008. Levinson, 26, of Beijing, China and formerly of Dallas, owns a travel agency called Lune Tours. The company, run solely by Levinson, creates custom tours of China. Custom-made China By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com eff Levinson spent the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing sitting among family members of the United States Olympic Field Hockey Team. He was neither a family member nor friend of a play- er but about 20 of the families were his clients. Levinson, 26, of Beijing, China and formerly of Dallas, owns a travel agency called Lune Tours, a company, run solely by Levinson, that creates custom tours of China. “It was nice having that personal connection sitting next to the mothers and fathers of the athletes,” Levin- son said. The son of Howard and Susan Levinson, of Dallas, Le- vinson is a 2000 graduate of Dallas High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bates Univer- sity in 2004 and then found himself in London selling Apple computers for a year. While living in Europe, he had the opportunity to visit France, Spain and Germany. “That was the first time I'd ever lived outside of the U.S. or by myself outside of a college setting,” Levinson said. “That put me in a worldly mindset. That time taught me traveling and living outside of the U.S. wasn’t as difficult or scary as I thought it would be originally.” Following his time in London, Levinson visited his col- lege friend, Mike Roberts, who was studying in Mongol- ia. The two also went to Beijing and other areas of China. E Jeff Levinson stands on the steps of the Ta'er Si Mon- astery in the Tibetan region of QingHai Province. The Ta'er Si Monastery is the birthplace of Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Yellow Hat Sect of Buddhism. Levinson, 26, of Beijing, China and formerly of Dallas, owns a travel agency called Lune Tours. The company, run solely by Levinson, creates custom tours of China. Levinson returned to the U.S. and taught physics dur- ing a John Hopkins University summer program. He lat- er gained an opportunity through Roberts to teach En- glish and study Chinese at Capitol University of Eco- nomics and Business in Beijing and is now fluent in Man- ® darin, a dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing that is the official language of China. “I had no plans on living there or even necessarily re- turning,” Levinson said. When he returned to the U.S., Levinson got in touch with Pete Andreasen of Jysk Travel, a Danish travel com: pany. Andreasen led Levinson’s first tour of China and was opening an office for Jysk Travel in Beijing so Levin- son jumped on board to work with him in China. “With that company, I was giving advice to backpack: ers, telling them what restaurants to eat at, how to get to the Great Wall and book hotels and flight tickets,” Levin- son said. Family and friends started contacting Levinson and asking him where they should stay in China and what places to see. “I guess the real trigger that got me set on starting my own company was when my aunt and uncle were plan: ning a trip to China and they had a few ideas of where they wanted to go,” Levinson said. “I said , ‘If you want, I'll plan an itinerary for you and use this Danish travel company and I'm guessing it’ll come out a lot cheaper than if you use a travel company in the U.S.” And it did.” Levinson founded Lune Tours in the spring of 2008, The company specializes in private, group and scene tours of China. In his standard two-week tour, visitors See CHINA, Page 8 “] think the reason that people have not come to China in the past is there is this perception that China is very far away; ge- ographically, far but also psychologically far from the U.S. | would suggest to people that it's not as psychologically far as they | E ® think it is. Life in B Jeff Levinson Lune Tours Owner ing and other cities in China is comparable, if not better, than cities in the U.S.” First Responders plaque making rounds 680g 8151200790, diy months at the Tunkhannock The Dallas Rotary Club pre- sented the First Responders of the Year Award to Troopers Truman Brandt, William Gross and Robert Rogers of the Pennsylvania State Police and to Dennis Dobinick of the Pennsylvania Game Commis- sion and Lehman Fire and Am- bulance Company on May 22, 2008. The engraved plaque was scheduled to make a year’s journey, spending six months at Troop P Headquar- ters in Wyoming, three State Police Barracks and three months at the Penn- sylvania Game Commission Headquarters in Dallas, PA. The plaque is on its final three-month stay at the Pennsylvania Game Com- mission after which time it will be returned to the Dal- las Rotary Club for present- ation to the 2008 winners of the Second Annual First Re- sponders of the Year Award on May 14 at the Appletree Terrace, Newberry Estate, Dallas. 13 Shown here with the first First Responders of the Year Award are, from left, Trooper Ho- ward S. Piatt, Penn- sylvania State Police Troop P, Tunkhannock; and Stephen J. Schweitzer, regional director, Northeast Region, Pennsylvania Game Commission. L
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