i | I Sunday, February 14, 2010 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 All eyes are on Jackson Twp. recycling center By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com 7) Jackson Township officials want people to know the camera is rolling at their recycling center. The township was issued a fi- nal non-compliance warning for its recycling program by the Pennsylvania Department of En- vironmental Protection (DEP) on Jan. 19 after a mattress, house- hold trash and other non-recycla- ble products were left at the cen- ter. The recycling center is locat- ed behind the township munici- pal building on Huntsville Road. “There’s no mistake,” said su- pervisor John J. Wilkes Jr. “A mis- take would be an egg carton be- ing recycled, not household trash with diapers and food waste; that’s not a mistake. That’s a bla- e Permissible items for recycling include plastic and glass (bottles and jars only), tin, aluminum and bi-metallic cans, newspapers and glossy inserts and corrugated cardboard. These items must be placed in their correct respective containers at the drop off site. ® [tems not accepted include trash, light bulbs, wood, oil, planters, shingles, air conditioners, trash bags, plastic bags, egg cartons, garden hoses, chunks of metal, pet litter containers, Styrofoam food containers, food waste, demolition waste, plastic sheds, microwave ovens and scrap metals. * Hours at the recycling center ar 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of every month. The program is open only to township resi- dents. ® Recycling violations may be reported by calling 675-6008. tant problem.” Wilkes said this is the fourth non-compliance warning issued to the township by DEP. As a re- sult, the township is in jeopardy of losing its seven-year-old recy- cling program, which is free to residents. According to Wilkes, the town- ship is not required by law to re- cycle because its population is under the minimum population recycling requirement, which he says is 5,000 or 6,000 people. The 2000 census determined the township’s population to be 4,453. A camera at the site recently caught someone dumping trash at 1:45 a.m. and recorded a li- cense plate number on the perpe- trator’s vehicle. Wilkes said the video was turned over to the township’s solicitor and police department and he expects an ar- rest to be made. Wilkes said serious problems began at the recycling center in April 2009. Township officials distributed fliers, put up informa- tion on their Web site and spoke to residents who visited the cen- ter about what can be recycled. “Most of the issues were cor- rected, but it’s the late night issue that’s really bothering us now,” Wilkes said. “We know that our See RECYCLING, Page 9 Jay Wilkes helps guide tubing for environmentally-friendly fill toward a new piece of property next to the town hall. The addi- tional area will help with the town's recent recycling problems. DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT Board approves six change orders @ By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Six change orders for the Dal- las Senior High School construc- tion project were approved Feb. 8 by the Dallas School Board. Five of the six change orders were at a cost to the district total- ing $115,105.54. Those change orders were for a security fence, installation of a handrail at the loading dock, dry- wall of two rooms in the mainte- nance building, finish and paint walls in central storage in the maintenance building and a fire alarm upgrade in the high school and a data rack and fiber cabling. The other change order.was a credit for kitchen equipment in the amount of $55,557, “What is there that we don’t know about that’s going to come up again?” asked Richard Coslett, a board member. According to board president Bruce Goeringer, approximately 27 percent of the $1 million in contingency for the project has been used so far. Goeringer said the plan is to stay within the con- tingency. “It’s expected up to a point as long as we remain in our contin- ency,” Goeringer said. 3 Bob Nesbit, of Crabtree Rohr- augh & Associates, the project’s architectural firm, said if a client of Crabtree is unhappy at the end of a project, Crabtree will come to a resolution as to how much the client should pay. Public school district employee pension program The board tabled a resolution advocating immediate action by the Pennsylvania General As- sembly to enact legislative action regarding the public school dis- trict employee pension program reform. The Dallas School District and the state jointly contribute an- nually from public funds to the school employee pension pro- gram a fixed percentage rate of the eligible school employee’s salary. The district employer’s per- centage rate of contribution for “tion rate in the 2014-2015 “What is there that we don't know about that's going to come up again?” Richard Coslett Dallas School Board member the 2009-2010 school year is 4.78 percent. On July 1, 2010, the rate will jump to 8.22 per- cent for the 2010-2011 school year. According to the resolution, the school district employer’s rate of contribution is project- ed to increase significantly in, the next four years to a pro- jected 33,60 percent contribu- school year. The resolution states that the projected cumulative cost increases would cost the dis- trict over $13.7 million be- tween the 2010-2011 school year and the 2014-2015 school year. Lacrosse teams join PIAA Also, the board approved the district’s recognition of a boys lacrosse team and a girls lacrosse team as Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Asso- ciation sports teams for the next five years with the under- standing that they operate at no cost to the district. Personnel The following people were hired: Jennifer M. Torok, housekeeper at Dallas High School, effective Jan. 19, 2010, at an hourly rate of $11.68; and Lissa Munley, long-term sub- stitute English teacher at Dal- las High School, effective Nov. 11, 2009 through May 24, 2010, at $35,000 prorated. The following personnel were approved as tutors for the before school math and reading tutorial program: Kim Natitus, $28.35 per hour; and Barbara Brandt, $39.60 per See CHANGE, Page 9 ‘Crazy Hat Day at Gate of Heaven Students at Gate of Heaven School in Dallas were silly last Thursday during Crazy Hat/Cra- zy Sock Day but serious at the same time as they donated their quarters for people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. The activities were all part of Catholic Schools Week, celebrated by the Diocese of Scranton and Gate of Heaven from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. During the week, students celebrated by holding a talent show, dressing in their favorite sports team and, in addition to wearing their craziest hats and socks, participating in the an- nual Green and White Basketball Game. All week long, students donated coins to be sent to people in Haiti. ie CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST "Crazy Hat Day" brought out the sillies in everyone at Gate of Heaven School in Dallas, including, from left, A.J Bednar, Christian Diana, Jake Janosky and Carly Cavanaugh. Daniel Drost wears his mother's home-made hat creation. ROSS TOWNSHIP Residents will see change in ambulance service By EILEEN GODIN & Dallas Post Correspondent Putting residents’ safety first, supervisors approved new pro- tocols for the Sweet Valley Am- bulance Association, Inc. New procedures pertaining to back up services for the Sweet Valley Ambulance Association were put into place on Tuesday evening. Robert Walsh, chief of the ambulance association, said the protocols will add to the safety of municipal residents. Walsh said the association has only two ambulances and not all of its 17 volunteer EMTs are on hand at all times. When Sweet Valley Ambulance Associ- ation is unable to respond, a nearby community’s ambulance has stepped in to answer the The new protocols for the Sweet Valley Ambulance Associ- ation Inc. are as follows: e Lake Silkworth EMS will be second on-call for basic life support calls in all of Ross Township and parts of Lake Township. e Hunlock Creek Volunteer Ambul ER Association will be second on-call for parts of Union Township normally cov- ered by Sweet Valley Ambu- lance Association. e For all areas covered by Sweet Valley Ambulance Associ- ation, Northeast Paramedic Ser- vices will be the third on-call e All advance life support calls will be responded to by Northeast Paramedic Services. Plains Paramedic Services will be second on-call. Walsh said having this kind of formal plan will offer better ser- vice to the community and that residents will be billed for am- i Es bulance services unless they are members of the Sweet Valley Ambulance Association. Annual membership fees for the Sweet Valley Ambulance As- sociation are $25 for a single membership or $30 for a family membership. Walsh said flyers will be mailed out to all resi- dents soon and advises anyone who does not receive a member- ship letter to call Alice Walsh, treasurer of the Sweet Valley Ambulance Association. Ross Township supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, CEREUS Sa Lh March 2, in the municipal room. The Music Box Repertory Company presents everyone’s favorite musical, “Annie,” run- ning Feb. 20 - March 14 at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes St., Swoyersville. Nine-year-old actress/sing- er Madison Woods, of King- ston, will portray Annie. Katie Colacito, age 9, of Dal- las, will appear as Tessie, one of Annie’s orphan friends. Katie attends Dallas Ele- mentary School and is in the fourh grade. She has already appeared in numerous pro- ductions around the area but is making her Music Box de- but. Annie comes to Music Box Music Box veteran actress Amanda Reese, also of Dallas, will portray the role of Grace Far- rell. Amanda has been involved with the Music Box for over five years and has appeared in numer- ous productions, including “Fid- dler on the Roof,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Evita.” A special “Family Day” show- only performance will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 7, at 3 p.m. when $1 from each ticket sold will be donated to the Haiti Relief Fund. For more information, call the box office at 283-2195.
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