Sunday, September 27, 2009 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 BACK MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP Membership is restricted to locals Joseph Chacke, of NEPA Alliance, and Jeffrey Malak, the part- nership’s solicitor, suggested the group should think about cre- ating an alternate membership in the future. An alternate mem- bership would give a municipality no voting power, but would allow it to participate in some programs. By REBECCA BRIA o rbria@timesleader.com Members of the Back Moun- tain Community Partnership de- cided at their monthly meeting at Misericordia University on Sep- tember 17 to restrict membership to municipalities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Dis- tricts for now. The partnership is an inter-mu- nicipal group composed of Dal- las, Franklin, Jackson, Kingston and Lehman townships and Dal- las Borough. The move comes after Exeter Township asked about joining the partnership at the group’s Au- gust meeting. Partnership chair- man Al Fox said several other municipalities have also ex- pressed interest. Joseph Chacke, of NEPA Alli- ance, and Jeffrey Malak, the part- nership’s solicitor, suggested the group should think about creat- ing an alternate membership in the future. An alternate member- ship would give a municipality no voting power, but would allow it to participate in some programs. Harveys Lake Borough Coun- cilmen Clarence Hogan and Fran- cis Kopko attended the meeting with an interest in the partner- ship. The borough, which is in the Lake-Lehman School Dis- trict, is eligible to become part of the group. Malak says the Dallas and Lake-Lehman districts them- selves, as well as all municipal- ities in the two school districts, are also eligible for membership. DARE program Partnership Vice Chairman James Reino said it appears that there is no state funding available for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. Re- ino said Kingston Township is providing the money necessary to continue the program in the Dallas School District and Gate of Heaven School. Kathleen Sebastian, manager for Kingston Township, estimat- ed the program will cost the township $10,428.89 for the 2009-2010 school year. Reino suggested the partner- ship become involved and help share the expense of the pro- gram. Raymond Iwanowski asked how that would benefit Lehman and Jackson townships, which are part of the Lake-Leh- man School District. Iwanowski says Lake-Lehman currently does not have a DARE program. Partnership members dis- cussed offering the program to Lake-Lehman as well which would double the cost. Kingston Township police officer Frank Ziegler is the DARE officer in Dallas schools. The partnership decided to in- vite Ziegler to speak about DARE at the group’s October meeting. In addition, Reino said Kingston Township will put together an of- ficial proposal on DARE for the next partnership meeting. Water issues Brian Oram, a geologist and Wilkes University professor, told the BMCP that Toby Creek Wa- tershed was identified as a poten- tial critical water planning area in Act 220, the Pennsylvania Water Resources Planning Act passed in 2002. Critical water planning areas are defined as areas where it is estimated that water supply does not meet and will not meet water demand. Oram was the monthly guest speaker for the BMCP meeting. Dallas Borough Mayor Tim Car- roll asked Oram if recent develop- ment of the Back Mountain is hurting water levels. “There is definitely an impact that we're having,” Oram said. Oram said the Toby Creek Wa- tershed is probably maxed out for consumption, adding that an aquifer study will be done on the watershed as part of Act 220. Oram also discussed water’s in- volvement in natural gas drilling. See LOCALS, Page 12 DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT Board votes to refinance _bonds worth $4.9 million By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The Dallas School Board ap- proved a series of general obli- gation bonds in the amount of more than $4.9 million Mon- day night. The bonds, which will be is- sued through PNC Bank, will be used to refinance bonds the district previously took out to build Wycallis Elementary School. The original bonds, is- sued in 1998, were also refi- nanced in 2003. In another matter, the board learned from distxi¢t, building and grounds manager Mark Kraynack that change, orders may be necessary to make ad- ditions to the high school con- struction project contract. Kraynack said the contract for the project does not include security cameras for the new maintenance building. Kray- nack also said cameras on the new high school will focus only on observation, not intrusion. Some of the exterior doors to be installed on the school do not have contacts for burglary detection. & In addition, Kraynack said ¥ there will be a fiber optic issue related to the construction pro- ject. To open the new high school and demolish the exist- ing one, fiber optic cables will have to be rerouted through the middle school to keep the Internet running in the dis- trict. - Bob Nesbit, of Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Associates, told the board the high school pro- ject is on schedule. Nesbit said the retention pond is 95 per- cent complete, underground utility work is about 80 percent complete and the bus loop and exit is 75 percent complete. The maintenance building is about two weeks behind due to soil issues. RFP for structural engineer Board member Dennis Go- choel wrote a request for a pro- posal for a structural engineer to determine the integrity of the old Dallas Township School, which is owned by the district. Board President Ka- ren Kyle noted the board would like to demolish the building. Superintendent Frank Gal- icki said that, if the structure is condemned, it is possible it may be demolished in conjunc- tion with the existing high school in 2011. Kraynack is going to exam- ine the request for proposal be- fore the board votes in October as to whether or not to put it out for bid. Wyoming Valley Alcohol and Drug Services An agreement was approved district... and hetwegtho )i pe yoming ey ‘Alcohol and Drug Services, Inc. three days per week at a per diem rate of $100. Galicki said Wyoming Valley Alcohol and Drug Ser- vices will provide educational and prevention programs and deal with student crises and in- terventions. High school project payments Payments related to con- struction of the new high school out of the capital pro- jects fund were approved for the following companies: Crab- tree Rohrbaugh & Associates, professional services, $45,453.32; Charles H. Corby & Sons Excavating Inc., site work construction, $191,340; Lobar, Inc., general construc- tion, $346,120.65; Midlantic Engineering, construction in- spection services, $6,899; Mid- dle Atlantic Inspections, Inc., temporary electric service in- spection, $275; Central Clay Products, Inc., pipe and mate- rials, $562.10; and Bassler Equipment Co., sign and mate- rials, $802.46. HIN1 flu vaccines Galicki noted that the school district applied as a site for the administration of the HIN1 flu vaccine, reporting that Dallas is one of several school dis- tricts to do so. Personnel The following people were hired by the board: Rachel Sut- liff, long-term substitute spe- cial education teacher; and Cynthia Saraka and Michael Coombs, housekeepers at $11.68 per hour; Matt Wilson, Sarah Wenner, Jennifer Shaver, Kim Cool, Cheryl Brocius and Michelle Maransky, learning support aides at $8.10 per hour; Pam Mingey, learning support aide at $8.85 per hour; Maria Pizzo, classroom aide at $8.10 per hour; John Harley, specialized one-to-one aide at $19 per hour; Dorene Moska- luk and Bonnie Weinstein, Ti- tle I Reading aides at $8.10 per hour; and Kristen Stallard, de- velopment first-grade aide at $8.10 per hour. . The following personnel were approved to staff the be- ‘fore and after-school math and reading tutorial program for the 2009-2010 school year: Ra- chel Hayes, Erin Lypka, Wynn Nardone, Dyan Nice, Leslie Plank, Marcus Sowcik, Nicole Valkenburg, Fred Weaver, Amy Williams, and Jenn Yanuskav- ich, $28.35 per hour; Linda Jo- seph, Marla Martin, Heather Pitcavage, Kim Smith and Mi- chael Viglone, $33.95 per hour; Chris Baron and Kerry Spe- ziale, $39.60 per hour. Matthew Stretanski was ap- pointed the pool manager for the current school year at the rate of $1,841 per athletic sea- son. Maria Brody was transferred from reading recovery team leader to a part-time reading teacher. Matthew Kelly was ap- proved as a volunteer football coach for the current athletic season. A leave of absence was ap- proved for Jessica Pasquini, high school English teacher, from Dec. 1, 2009 through May 21, 2010; and Jonelle Vaill, a middle school English teacher, from Jan. 4, 2010 through March 26, 2010. The board also accepted re- signations from the following employees: Russell Eyet, math- ematics and computer teacher and coach; Danielle West, long- term substitute special-educa- tion teacher; Mary Ellen Dzia- dosz, classroom aide; Kimber- ly Kuzma, diving coach; Heidi Rac, long-term substitute speech therapist; and Tara Murphy, housekeeper. Powwo : celebrates il heritage To celebrate the Indian heri- tage of some of its residents, the Lakeside Nursing Home at Har- veys Lake held its annual pow- wow recently. RE ia George Lassourreiille holds onto his mother's wheelchair at the Lakeside Nursing Home in Harveys Lake. A Lanape Indian, Lassourreiille died a few weeks ago, prior to the annual pow- wow. Lassoureiille led last year's pow-wow at the nursing home. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Enjoying a pow-wow at the Lakeside Nursing Home in Harveys Lake are, from left, Jessie Silverdeer, Vincent, Sara, Kevin and Emily Williams, of Beaumont. Michelle Windwalker, of Hunlock Creek, and Pete Blackwolf, of Dunmore, do a rattle dance during an annual pow-wow at the Lakeside Nursing Home in Harveys Lake. @hHARVEYS LAKE BOROUGH Sewer Authority searching for sewer lines in need of repair; updates being made The fire company will hold its annual Haunted House, named “Brokenharts Asylum" this year. The house will be open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday nights and from 7 to 10 p.m. on Sundays throughout October at the Luzerne County Fair By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent Council members received an update on sewer line inspections, added a planned residential de- velopment ordinance to the zon- ing manual and announced an upcoming Haunted House event at their regular monthly meet- Mayor Richard Boice said the Sewer Authority has been search- ing for sewer lines in need of re- pair. In the Alderson Area, man- holes are being opened and searched for rainwater seeping into the sewer system, Boice said. The sewer system updates are part of an entire sewer system overhaul made possible from $550,000 ided through the Grounds. state’s H20 Grant. Once the sewer system up- dates; are com ieted the Dor- .; ough will be able to start issuing sewer line hook-ups again. Boice said it has been 2 about four years since the borough was able to re- lease a sewer hook-up permit and currently has 15 applications on a waiting list. The hold-ups on the hook-ups are with the Department of Envi- ronmental Protection which wants to see a decrease of about 500,000 gallons of rainwater en- tering the sewer lines, Boice said. The tedious process of finding Jaks 4 uses s flow = meters to mea- sure water flow and specialized cameras pushed through the sew- er lines to confirm location of the problem. Boice said leaky fittings are fixed and then the test proc- ess is repeated to ensure a perma- nent fix. Council members unanimous- ly agreed to re-insert an ordi- nance to the zoning manual for See SEWER, }, Page! 12 HE
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