Vol. 120 No. 39 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 September 27 - October 3, 2009 The Barras Post. Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com Trail benches memorialize one, honor others By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com It’s been nearly 37 years since Richard Achuff’s son last played in Shavertown. Robert Mills Achuff, who lived with his parents, Richard and the late Beverly Achuff, in Shaver- town, drowned on December 6, 1972 in the very high waters of To- by Creek on East Center Street. The 7-year-old’s body was found in the creek near the bottom of Harris Hill Road. On July 18, Brian Ghezzi, age 16, installed a bench donated by Achuffinmemory of hisson at the entrance to the Back Mountain Trail off Harris Hill Road. The bench was one of two put on the trail by Ghezzi as part of his Eagle Scout project. Ghezzi is the son of Dan and Irene Ghezzi, of Dallas. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 232 out of Gate of Heaven, Dallas and is in the 11th-grade at Holy Re- deemer High School in Wilkes- Barre. Ghezzi often uses the trail and likes to ride his bike from his home to the trail and to Luzerne and back. He chose the trail as the location for his Eagle Scout pro- ject after some brainstorming. “When I began thinking about what project I was going to do, I couldn’t think of anything so I thought about going to organiza- tions and asking if they needed anything done,” Ghezzi said. “I then realized that my one friend’s dad, Mr. Mark Albrecht, is part of the Anthracite Scenic Trails Asso- ciation that works on the Back Mountain Trail. When I went to him, he said they could use more benches on the trail and that’s how it started.” An on-site dedication ceremo- ny for the new benches on the trail was held on September 13. Richard Achuff, who has lived Wilkes-Barre since the mid-1990s, attended the ceremo- ny. Achuff says he wanted to put a See BENCHES, Page 12 Richard Achuff sits on a newly- installed park bench dedicated to the memory of his son, Rob- ert Mills Achuff, who drowned in Toby's Creek in 1972. o Diabetes walk comes to BMT By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com A long-time annual fun- draising walk has found a new home at Dallas Middle School. Lauren Wiley, director for the American Diabetes Asso- ciation of Northeastern Penn- sylvania, says because so many of the participants in the annual event are from the Back Mountain the organiza- tion decided to move the walk to Dallas this year. It was previously held at Har- veys Lake for many years and moved to If you go Kirby Park American several Diabetes years ago. Association The relo- of cation to Northeastern Dallas is al- Se ep ih Out: Walkto mition of Fight the : fun- Diabetes draising ef- Saturday, forts of the Oct. 3 Dallas Mid- Dallas Middle dle School School track Student Check-in is at . 9 a.m. The Council for walk begins the dia- at10 a.m. betes walk for over 30 years. The American Diabetes As- sociation of Northeastern Pennsylvania 2009 Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Dallas Middle School track. Check-in is at 9 a.m. in the school cafeteria and the walk begins at 10 a.m. Participants may choose to walk one miles or three miles. Walkers who donate or raise $100 or more will re- ceive a free T-shirt. The walk is open to the public. “We anticipate a large num- ber of not only Dallas Middle School students, but also community members,” said Tom Duffy, principal of Dal- las Middle School. “We've en- couraged all our middle school sports teams through our coaches to come in uni- form.” According to the American Diabetes Association, 24 mil- lion Americans and one mil- lion Pennsylvanians have dia- betes. If present trends con- tinue, one in three Americans and one in two minorities See DIABETES, Page 12 0981512007949 a 6 BIGGEST AND BEST-EVER DALLAS HARVEST FESTIVAL CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Main Street in Dallas was blocked off for the Seventh Annual Dallas Harvest Festival last Sunday. The event is billed as an annual block party with entertainment, food and booths where the community re-unites until the next year. For more photos from this year’s Dallas Harvest Festival, please turn to page 7. Elementary teacher spends summer time being a scientist Heather Wertman spent five weeks in a laboratory in Florida this summer. By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Lehman-Jackson Elementary School first-grade teacher Heath- er Wertman had never worked in a laboratory. But Wertman was intrigued when her brother-in-law, David Mazyck, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Florida, told her about an opportunity for teachers to do laboratory work at Sol-gel Solutions through the National Science Foundation Grant Pro- gram at the University of Florida. The National Science Founda- tion offers supplements to small business grantees to encourage the participation of kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in scientific research through a pro- gram called Research Experience for Teachers. The mission of Sol-gel Solu- tions is to diagnose and design solutions for reducing discharges of pollutants into the environ- ment. The company was co- founded in 2004 by Mazyck, a Lake-Lehman graduate, and sev- eral investors. Although high school and mid- dle school teachers had done work through the program before at Sol-gel Solutions, Wertman was the first elementary school teacher to do so. She spent five weeks this past summer at the Gainesville, Fla. facility. “I am thrilled to have been part of this opportunity that has al- lowed me to participate in scien- tific research using cutting-edge technology and that I'll also be able to develop activities to trans- late my research experience into the classroom,” Wertman said. Wertman worked in Sol-gel So- lutions and University of Florida laboratories where she learned how to use activated carbon to clean up different elements in the environment. She was also taught how to properly set up a laboratory for various experi- ments. Wertman plans to incorporate the knowledge she gained at Sol- gel Solutions into her classroom. She will use activated carbon with her students to see if it and other materials absorb dye from water. They will also compare carbon to saw dust, coffee grounds and sand.“I want my stu- dents to be excited by math and science and spark their interest in science and engineering,” Wert- man said. “Making their learning relevant through my own hands- on research experiences is vital to their learning process and it gives the students an under- standing of what researchers do.” Through the grant program, Wertman was able to purchase different vials and other science instruments for Lehman-Jackson students that are not usually available to students at the ele- mentary level. She is also still in communication with Sol-gel So- lutions grant writers and hopes to eventually get involved with grant writing to benefit the stu- dents in her classroom and the entire school district. Wertman has been a teacher for 13 years. In addition to her first-grade teaching position, she is also the elementary math chairperson for the Lake-Lehman School District. Wertman and her husband, John, co-own J&J Deli in Dallas. The couple resides in Lehman Township Lehman-Jackson Elementary School teacher Heather Wertman had the opportunity to work in a laboratory in Gainesville, Fla. this summer.
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