Vol. 120 No. 40 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 October 4 - 10, 2009 50¢ www.mydallaspost.com TOBACCO-fREE A Tom = CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST Dallas Township has posted this "Young Lungs at Play’ tobacco free sign at the township park. The Dallas Township super- visors passed an ordinance in early August that bans smok- ing in the township's public parks and playgrounds. moking al may It parks By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com There is little doubt that smoking cigarettes is harmful to one’s health. According to the American Lung Association, smoking-re- lated diseases kill about 430,700 Americans every year. Smoking also costs the United States approximately $97.2 billion annually in health care costs and lost productivity. On Sept. 9, the Kingston Township supervisors ap- proved the drafting of an ordi- nance that, if passed, will ban smoking at the Center Street Park. The Dallas Township super- visors passed an ordinance in early August that bans smok- ing in the township’s public parks and playgrounds. Tracey Carr, manager for aDallas Borough, says the bor- @. passed an ordinance in ~ August 2008 prohibiting smoking and tobacco use in Tots Lot (Bicentennial Park) and the Kenneth Young Memo- rial Park. Carr says there used to be a similar ordinance in place that went into effect years ago that restricted smok- ing in the parks. According to Carr, the bor- ough recently received signs from “Young Lungs at Play” to post in the parks. The signs were scheduled to be installed by the road department the week of Sept. 14. “Young Lungs at Play” from Steps to a Healthier PA Lu- zerne County is an initiative to make parks, playgrounds and playing fields in Luzerne County tobacco-free. Although the measures have passed in both Dallas and Kingston townships, not all of the Kingston Township super- visors agree with the decision to outlaw smoking at places where children play. Jeffrey Box, who serves as chairman of the board, and John Solin- sky voted against drafting @® an ordinance. \ “I'm not keen on banning le- gal activities in public parks,” Solinsky said. “The residents that smoke are taxpayers, too.” Solinsky is a non-smoker and was also not in support of the Pennsylvania Indoor Clean See SMOKING, Page 11 0981512007989 Focus on DHY camera security ps re the contract. By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com HoLR ee Ww : FRED ADAMS/FOR THE DALLAS POST Work is being done on the new maintenance building, shown here, and a new high school in the Dallas School District. The district's school board learned from building and grounds manager Mark Kraynack on Sept. 21 that change orders may be necessary to make additions to the high school construction project contract. According to Kraynack, cameras at the new high school and maintenance building will focus only on observation, not intrusion, under Contract re-evaluated to beef-up safety, make additions to construction Kraynack said there was talk of intrusion detection on the building during school design committee meetings, which were attended by representatives from the project’s architectural firm, Crabtree Rohr- baugh and Associates. “At one meeting, we heard from Chief Balavage from Kingston Township Police Department that took the entire meeting on the latest deterrents used to make a building safe in a lock-down situation,” Kraynack said. “We also discussed the maintenance building and the fact it houses the central supply for the district as well as all the equipment to maintain the campus. The project has an extensive state-of-the- art security package. No one at the district could have imagined the package would not include intrusion detection, especially since the board opted to accept the alternate enhanced package at bid time.” The contract calls for a security system at the main- tenance building and high school; however, it is for Simplex and not with ADT Security Services, which is the standard system throughout the district. Kray- nack says the Simplex system can easily interface with the ADT system in both the high school and maintenance building and he does not see it as an is- sue. Kraynack said there will also be a fiber optic issue related to the construction project. To open the new high school and demolish the existing one, fiber optic he Dallas School Board learned from district building and grounds manager Mark Kraynack on Sept. 21 that change orders may be necessary to make additions to the high school construction project contract. According to Kraynack, cameras at the new high school and maintenance building will focus only on observation, not in- trusion, under the contract. Some of the exterior doors to be installed on the school do not have contacts for burglary detection. cables will have to be rerouted through the middle school to keep the internet running in the district. “The district is always concerned with the budget, especially when change order issues arise,” Kraynack said. “The hard truth and fact of the matter is, al- though it was missed in the bid it would have been included within cost of the project originally. Now the burden is on the district to make certain the costs are in line and not inflated to include the changes. We all are aware that change orders happen and are expect- ed, although for me the unexpected is a lot easier to swallow than the missed.” See CAMERAS, Page 11 said. “I just don’t want another Runner hopes to raise cancer awareness By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com If just one family can be spared §, the pain she and her family felt, Kelly Larson thinks her trek will | be worth it. Larson, of Kew Gardens, N.Y. es and formerly of Shavertown, is running the 2009 ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1 as a | member of Fred’s Team to raise | money for research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The 27-year-old is running the 26.2-mile race in memory of her godmother, the late Mary Ann (Mihalick) Connor, formerly of Larksville. Connor was age 48 when she died from breast can- cer in March 2005. “I just want to raise awareness for cancer research,” Larson Kelly Lar- son, of Kew | Gardens, i NY.and formerly of Shaver- town, is running the i ; 2009 ING .—, sa New York : City Mara- thon on Nov.1to raise money for cancer SUBMITTED PHOTO research. family to go through that.” Fred’s Team is a group of first time and veteran marathon run- ners with the common goals of raising funds for cancer research and completing a marathon. Sev- en hundred runners competed on Fred’s Team in the 2008 ING New York City Marathon wear- ing the orange-and-blue Fred's i Ea i iS i sp y « LR y / Team uniform. Fred's Team has competed in marathons across the world and has raised more than $35 million since 1992. The daughter of Jim and Do- rothy Larson, of Shavertown, Larson is a 2000 graduate of Dal- las High School and a 2004 grad- uate of King’s College. She works as an accountant in the modeling division at IMG in New York City. IMG, not to be confused with the marathon’s sponsor ING, is a sports, enter- tainment and media company. ING is an annuities and life insur- ance company. Larson trains four or five days a week and is now running more than 30 miles a week. She also joined the New York City Road Runners to help her prepare for the marathon. RH CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Summer comes to an end he farmers’ market at the Back Mountain Memo- rial Library was a popular stop every Saturday morning during the summer. The market, as well as summer weather, has come to an end as fall is here. For more end of summer photos, please turn to page 3. See MARATHON, Page 11 i L
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