Vol.120 No. 33 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 August 16 - 22, 2009 LEAS “POST. Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com Dallas man is returning to his native South Kyle Gallagher, adopted by American family, will study at Yonsei University. By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Kyle Gallagher was just five months old when he left his native country of South Korea. Gallagher was taken from his birth town of Pusan City and put on a plane with other babies to be adopted by Amer- icans. He was adopted by Da- niel and Cathy Gallagher, of Dallas. Now 20 years old, Gallagher will return to South Korea on August 23 to take classes at Yonsei University in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. He will spend the entire semester in South Korea, studying and living with other international students at the Underwood In- ternational College at Yonsei University. He will return home on December 20. A 2007 graduate of the for- mer Bishop O'Reilly High School in Kingston, Gallagher is entering his junior year at St. Michael’s College in Col- chester, Vt., where he is study- ing business. He chose to study in South Korea to immerse himself in his birth culture, although he also did consider going to France since he has taken French classes. “I knew when I applied to the school they had a really good study abroad program,” Gallagher said of Yonsei Uni- versity. “I figured why not take advantage of it.” Although Gallagher does not speak Korean, he will take a Korean language class at Yonsei and is studying the lan- guage on his own. All of his other courses will be taught in English. Gallagher hopes to immerse himself in South Korean cul- ture, including brand names for clothes, beverages, etc. He is looking forward to eating traditional Southern Korean cuisine, including kimchi, a fermented, spicy vegetable dish usually served at every meal. “I want to experience the music,” he said. “I hear Ko- rean movies are pretty ridicu- lous, funny-wise.” He declined to comment as to whether or not he will search for his biological fam- ily while in South Korea. Daniel Gallagher, Kyle's adoptive father, has mixed feelings about his son’s jour- ney to South Korea because he knows he will miss Kyle, but also realizes it will be a good experience for him. “I think he’s going to have an incredible experience that will broaden his viewpoint of other cultures and the fact that the United States is just one member of a much larger global community,” he said. “And having been born in South Korea, Kyle has always been curious about his place of birth. This trip will, hope- fully, help him understand and develop a deeper appreciation See KOREA, Page 12 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Kyle Gallagher, of Dallas, leaves August 23 to visit Korea, his birth place, and study there. Seeing ake In the a pecial way By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Glenn Davis wants to make sure his children’s book is as realistic as possible. Davis, of Laflin, a retired elementary school teacher and reading specialist, cur- rently teaches children’s liter- ature part-time at Misericor- dia University and is writing a children’s mystery book. The book is about a blind boy from Wilkes-Barre who goes to @ oo School in Philadel- phia and lives at Harveys Lake in the summer. “I had to do more back- ground information on blind people and Harveys Lake,” Da- vis said. “My whole idea with the book is not to be unreal- istic, but not to show a blind child as somebody weak who can’t do anything.” Davis had a personal en- counter with an eye injury as a child when he was hit by a BB. He never realized the severity of the injury until he had sur- gery to remove cataracts on his eyes a few years ago and required additional work be- For more information about the Greater Wilkes-Barre Association for the Blind, contact the orga- nization at 693-3555 or visit www.wilkesbarreblind.com. cause of the injury. “When I had the patches on my eye I thought, ‘My God, what if I couldn’t see again?’” Davis said. Davis wanted to know more about how blind children ex- perience life so he contacted the Greater Wilkes-Barre As- sociation for the Blind, an or- ganization founded in 1918 that serves Luzerne and Wyoming counties by assist- ing the blind and visually im- paired, performing vision screenings and educating the public on blindness preven- tion. While doing his research, Davis learned the organiza- tion hosts a summer camp for blind children called “Camp Sight.” This is the third year the Greater Wilkes-Barre associ- ation has partnered with the Hazleton Blind Association to CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Cassie Thomas, with assistance from Glenn Davis, steers a pontoon boat around Harveys Lake. Davis, a member of the Harveys Lake Yacht Club, proposed the outing for the blind campers. sponsor the camp. Twenty children ages 8 to 21 from Northeastern Pennsylvania were enrolled in the program that ran from July 7 through August 13 and was held at the Wilkes-Barre Association’s of- fice on Wyoming Avenue in Exeter. A member of the Harveys Lake Yacht Club, Davis offered to take the campers on his 24- foot pontoon boat on Harveys Lake. Fellow yacht club mem- bers Bill and Joan Hilburt, of Harveys Lake, and Bill and Pat Littleton, of Laflin, also agreed to take the children for rides on their boats. About 20 children from “Camp Sight” made the trip to Harveys Lake on August 4 to board the boats to experience a ride on the lake. Davis says he even let the children “drive” as he kept a watchful eye, helping them steer his boat. Twenty-year-old Caitlin Trainor, of Dallas, was one of the campers who went on the boat ride. “She loved the experience,” said Mary Alice Trainor, Cait- See BOATERS, Page 12 if & The Rev. Dennis and Lucille Madeira, of Dallas, were recently named the 2009 Northeast Pennsylvania Parents of the Year by the Pennsylvania Family Coalition. From left, are David Madeira, the couple's son; Melanie Madeira, the couple's daughter-in-law; Lucille Madeira and the Rev. Dennis Madeira. T HERR La -_ Madeiras named ‘Parents of the Year By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The Rev. Dennis and Lucille Madeira say they have the best parenting guide ever: the Bible. The husband and wife from Dallas were recently named the 2009 Northeast Pennsylvania Par- ents of the Year by the Pennsylva- nia Family Coalition. David Madeira, one of the cou- ple’s sons, nominated them for the award. The Madeiras received their award, a plaque, on July 25 at abanquet at the Hershey Country Club where The Rev. Dennis Ma- deira was asked to offer the bene- diction at the event. The Madeirasbelieveitisnoac- cident they were recognized as good parents because they live by the Bible and have used it to teach their children to not only be good people, but to love and serve the Lord. “It's what we've tried to be,” the Rev. Dennis said. “It’s been a goal. We are friendly with our children, but we are their parents. We didn’t try to be their ‘friends.’ You can’t let your children grow up by acci- dent. You can’t just let them wan- der like a billiard ball.” As part of David Madeira’s let- ter to nominate his parents, he wrote: “My parents always prac- ticed what they preached,” he said. “They were very strict, but we all knew that we were loved unconditionally. My mother would often say, ‘Others may, you cannot,’ as they would teach us to live by God's standards, not man’s. They instilled in us a strong sense of the value of fam- ilies and children and we (David and his siblings) all have three or ston for nine years andat New Life more children. Their generation- al influence is widely recog- nized.” The Madeiras, both 65, were married on August 24,1963. They have four children: Michael, 45; Timothy, 44; David, 42; and De- nise, 38. They also have 16 grand- children and two dogs: Zoe, a Bi- chon Eskimo, and Buck, a yellow Labrador mix. “All of our children are serving the Lord; they’re serving the com- munity and they're raising their children with the same Godly val- ues that we raised them with,” Lu- cille said. “And that’s the highest award.” The Rev. Dennis was ordained as a minister in the non-denomi- national Church of Christ in 1968. He served as a minister at West- moor Church of Christ in King- Community Church in Dallas for 26 years. Although the couple considers New Life their home church, the Rev. Dennis still preaches at Westmoor every oth- er month. Lucille, who hasadegree in psy- chology, received her Biblical counseling certificate from Light University through the American Association of Christian Counsel- ors. She worked as the principal of the former Westmoor Christian See PARENTS, Page 12 oo 0981 5120079019.
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