Vol.121 No.2 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 January 24 - 30, 2010 The Darras PosT. Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com When the Rev. Charles Gom- mer thinks of Haiti, Carlo Du- pree comes to his mind. The two met while walking up the mountains into the province of Jérémie in Haiti. Dupree, a 10- year-old Haitian, was tasked to see that the Rev. Gommer and other missionaries safely made it up the mountain. By the time the group reached the top of the mountain, the Rev. Gommer knew all the words to the song “Frére Jacquesm” thanks to the boy. “He said he'd go to school ev- ery day of the week if he could,” the Rev. Gommer said. “We tried to get what was so attractive about school. He was the first kid in a family of nine to go through school. He will be the Group heading to Haiti to help after earthquake The Rev. Gommer, his wife, Viola, and other volunteers plan to go to Haiti soon, possibly in about four to six weeks, to help follow- ing the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the country's cap- ital, Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12. While it is unknown exactly how many people died, the death toll may be in the tens of thousands. first one to get off that mountain and find out what his destiny is.” The Rev. Gommer, of Dallas Township, is a retired United Methodist minister. He was the pastor of Trucksville United Methodist Church from 1965 to 1970 before becoming district superintendent for the Wilkes- Barre district of the United Methodist Church, which in- cluded the Back Mountain. In 1994, the Rev. Gommer helped initiate missions to Haiti through the Wyoming Confer- ence of the United Methodist Church, Council on Ministries. Since then, at least three teams travel to Haiti each year. The Rev. Gommer, his wife, Viola, and other volunteers plan to go to Haiti soon, possibly in about four to six weeks, to help following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the coun- try’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12. While it is unknown ex- actly how many people died, the death toll may be in the tens of thousands. “Our plan is to begin to gear up,” the Rev. Gommer said. “We're also going to raise a lot of money. We're also being asked to make up health kits. The Rev. Gommer has been on eight or nine trips to Haiti and has also gone on mission trips to Cuba. For the past 10 years of his retirement, he has been the Vol- unteers in Mission coordinator for the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist Church. His wife, who was a nurse educa- tor for many years, has also done mission work in Haiti and Africa. Although the Rev. Gommer does not know yet exactly what the volunteers will do to help, he is ready to go to the distressed island and do whatever he can. He says the leadership of the Haitian churches will outline See HAITI, Page 13 ® righ Fost Wee UGHGOR Bx Dain -Raphe i Haitian Volunteers in Mission United Methodist Church interpret- er Jean Claude, left, and the Rev. Charles Gommer pose for a photo in front of a map at John Wesley School in Verretts, Haiti. The Rev. Gommer, retired as the district superintendent for the Wilkes-Barre district of the United Methodist church, is planning to go to Haiti to help with the aftermath of a devastating earth- quake. o . Rainforest comes alive Those in the audience at “Live on Stage, The Rain Forest” at Lake-Noxen Elementary School felt like they were in the middle of the tropical rain forest with beau- tiful sights and sounds of the Amazon region. Participants had the opportunity to get up close and personal with exotic birds, al- ligators, jungle cats, monkeys and snakes. The Yurko family, of Sweet Valley, purchases tickets t Elementary School from Erica Bicknell. ¥ o a live animal presentation at Lake-Noxen MONKEY is Animal handler Mike Kohlraeser explains the habits of a boa constrictor to, from left, Levi Tatsko, CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST a Emily Dale and Trey Leo during a presentation at the Lake-Noxen Elementary School. 09815120079%9 oo ATTENTION: SUPER BOWL FANS Do you have a prediction for Super Bowl 2010? Are you willing to go out on a limb and share that prediction with Dallas Post readers? Today’s NFC and AFC championship games will determine the teams that will face off in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 7. If you've got the courage to make a prediction, e-mail us at news@mydallaspost.com. We'll need your name, your hometown, the name of the team you think will win and a score. And, if you're a die-hard fan of one of this year’s Super Bowl teams, let us know that, too. Maybe you'll be really daring and let us take your picture cheering on your favorite team. The Kingston Township Po- lice Department is investigat- ing another rash of thefts from vehicles. The entries into not less than 13 vehicles happened overnight from Sunday, Jan. 17 into Monday, Jan. 18. Items re- KT Police investigating rash of vehicle thefts Police continue to urge resi- dents to lock their car doors and ported taken included, but were not limited to, electronics, jewel- ry and cash. In every instance, the vehicle entered was not locked. The thefts occurred between the area of Harris Hill Road in Trucksville and East Center Street in Shavertown. not leave electronics visible, cash or jewelry in their vehicles. Anyone having any informa- tion regarding the thefts is asked to call township police at 696- 7500911.
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