Vol. 120 No. 41 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 October 11 - 17, 2009 The DALLAS POST Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com Ground broken for new multi-purpose BMT Rec playing By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday, Oct. 5, for a new football and multi-purpose playing field at the Back Moun- tain Recreation, Inc. complex. The field will serve as home to the Back Mountain Youth Foot- ball and Cheerleading League as part of the 130-acre complex on Outlet Road in Lehman Town- ship. It will also be used for vari- ous sporting events outside of the fall football season. Back Mountain Recreation, Inc. and the Back Mountain Youth Football and Cheerleading League are partnering in a com- munity fundraising drive to en- sure the field is completed by mid-summer 2010. “Because of the construction of the new Dallas High School, we needed a new home field,” said Scott Oakley, president of the BMYFC. “Thanks to the vi- sion of BMR and the work of the Back Mountain Youth Football and Cheerleading Board, we are on our way to ensure that our children will have a great place to play next year and for years to come.” Back Mountain Recreation, Inc. is a non-profit corporation established to provide a regional recreation complex in the heart of the Back Mountain. Dave Sut- ton, executive director of Back Mountain Recreation, Inc., says the organization was incorporat- ed about 11 years ago and ac- quired property approximately eight years ago with the help of Additional photo, page 12 private donations and state and county grants. The organization is in the process of a multi-phase develop- ment. A lacrosse field and two soccer fields opened in summer 2007. They were dedicated in May 2008 as Edward Darling Field, Flack Field and Pride Field. Two more full-size soccer fields and two mid-size soccer fields were completed in fall 2008 and opened for use this fall. They have not yet been dedicat- ed. The fields are currently used by Back Mountain Youth Soccer and Back Mountain Lacrosse. Discussions have also been in place with Back Mountain Base- ball. “BMR has been developing this recreation complex for the purpose of providing our com- munity children a place to play and for the families of our area to enjoy outdoor activities,” Sutton said. “Our vision is to continue to expand the complex by adding non-organized activities....” According to Sutton, the re- maining 80 acres of land will be used to develop hiking trails, pic- nic areas, playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts and fields for the general public. Donations for the new football and multi-purpose field may be sent to Back Mountain Recre- ation, Inc., P.O. Box 244, Leh- man, PA 18627. field BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Back Mountain Recreation Inc. Executive Director Dave Sutton, right, is interviewed by WNEP-TV as Back Mountain Youth Foot- ball and Cheerleading Club President Scott Oakley looks on. Barbecue will note club's 10th By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com It’s been 10 years since the Elementary Foreign Lan- guage Academy was created in the Dallas School District. Since then, hundreds of Dallas children have been ex- posed to foreign languages at a young age. In celebration of the EFLA’s 10th anniversary, the Dallas High School Interna- tional Club is holding a bar- becue on Saturday, Oct. 17, on the school grounds. The EFLA was created and is run by the International Club. “Every year the Interna- tional Club has done a din- ner to celebrate a different country,” said Candyce Fike, who teaches French at the @! and serves as the club’s adviser and director of the EFLA. “We usually do it in the spring and the club gets together and we put 30 people in a room and give them a fabulous dinner. This year we decided we would do the 10th anniversary of the Elementary Foreign Lan- guage Academy. Students involved in the International Club at the high school help elementary school students from the Dallas School District and Gate of Heaven School learn a variety of foreign languag- es. Elementary students in grades one through five may participate in the program free of charge. Some kinder- garteners and sixth-graders have also been accepted. The EFLA meets from 4 to 5 p.m. at Dallas Elementary School. A class in each lan- guage is held one day per week. Classes are held in the spring and fall and run 10 weeks a semester. According to Fike, a total of 40 children are currently enrolled in the fall semester and she expects that number to double in the spring. Fike says the EFLA is cur- rently capable of teaching 12 languages, including Span- ish, French, Mandarin Chi- See BARBECUE, Page 12 098151200798 SUBMITTED PHOTO Amy Chappell plays a fortune teller during the 2008 Haunted Library at the Back Mountain Memorial Library in Dallas. Nadine Young, director of the Haunted Library, came up with the event in 2003 as an additional way to raise money for the library when state funding was reduced. The Haunted Library raised $9,000 in 2008. Plenty of ‘haunts’ around Back Mountain By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Ghosts, goblins and creatures of the night are making their way to the Back Mountain this Hallo- ween season. They’re not looking for blood, but for funding needed to support charities. Several haunted houses in the Back Mountain are held each year to assist non-profit or- ganizations. The Luzerne County Fair- grounds come to life every Sep- tember with animals, games, rides and food. But in October, they’re home to the spooky Bro- kenhearts Asylum. Proceeds from the event benefit the Har- veys Lake Fire and Ambulance Co. James Starosta, a member of Harveys Lake Fire and Ambu- lance Co., helps run the haunted house and says it has been on and off for years. It began at the fire de- partment and eventually moved to the former Hanson's Amuse- ment Park. By 2008, the haunted house had outgrown the grounds at Hanson’s and progressed to the Luzerne County Fairgrounds where Brokenhearts Asylum was born. Starosta says Brokenhearts Asylum takes visitors indoors and outdoors through the “asylum,” where mad head surgeon Dr. Van- buren submerses them into com- mon fears including the dark, clowns and spiders and then treats the fears. Smells such as popcorn and cotton candy in the clown room are pumped in to add to the effects. Touch is also en- couraged. “Obviously we hope that they're scared,” Starosta said. “We are the scariest haunt in the area. You're self-guided; you have to find your own way through the haunted house.” Because of its fright factor, Bro- kenhearts Asylum is not recom- mended for children ages 10 and under, although they will be per- mitted. The cost is $10 per per- son. * Brokenhearts Asylum - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 1, plus Thursday, Oct. 29. Hours: 7 to 1 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays and Thursday, Oct. 29. Luzerne County Fairgrounds, Route 118, Dallas. 760-8027. * Haunted Forest - Oct. 15 through Oct. 17; Oct. 22 through Oct. 24; and Oct. 29 through Oct. 30. Hours: 7 p.m. t0 10:40 p.m. nightly. Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Old Route 15, Lehman Township. 675-9284. e Haunted Library - Oct. 16 through Oct. 18; Oct. 23 through Oct. 25; and Oct. 30. Hours: 6:30 to 1 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays. Back Mountain Memorial Library, 96 Huntsville Rd., Dallas. 675-182. Starosta says three separate side shows will be also available for an additional fee per show. In addition, there will be food ven- dors and entertainment nightly. Brokenhearts Asylum will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 1 and on Oct. 29. The hours are 7 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 7 to 10 p.m. on Sundays and on Thurs- day, Oct. 29. The Back Mountain Memorial Library in Dallas will once again be transformed into the “Haunted Library” for the seventh year. Na- dine Young, director of the Haunted Library, says she came up with the event in 2003 as an ad- ditional way to raise money for the library when state funding was reduced. This year’s theme is “Night Frights,” which is based on the story of girls who have a sleep- over on Halloween. “It’s a group of young girls who come back from Trick-or-Treat- ing,” Young said. “They have all eaten a little too much candy and saw ‘strange things while they were out. At least one girl has trouble falling asleep and you en- ter her nightmare.” The haunted tour will take guests through the Slightly Read Bookshop into the basement and up through the auction barn and stage. Although “Night Frights” is geared toward people ages 5 and up, younger children who vis- it have the option to carry a small tap light that will be provided. Young says 175 volunteers, many of whom are teenagers, signed up to help with the event. Eighteen of those volunteers are working on the Haunted Library to fulfill their senior completion project requirements. According to Young, the Haunted Library raised $9,000 in 2008. With the addition of an ex- tra night this year, Young hopes the event will bring in $10,000. See HAUNTS, Page 12 a
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