Vol.121 No. 11 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 April 4 -10, 2010 50¢ Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com rison security Is concern again By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com JACKSON TWP. — Al Fox re- members the last time the towers at the State Correctional Institu- tion Dallas were unmanned. It was Aug. 16, 1999 when seri- al arsonist Anthony Yang and convicted killer Michael McClos- key escaped from the prison. Fox, vice chairman of supervi- sors for the township, lives on Pine Tree Road along the prison property’s border. His land is sep- arated from the prison by a short IF YOU GO Public meeting on proposed tower staffing reductions at SCI Dallas Thursday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. Jackson Township Volunteer Fire Hall, 160 Chase Rd., Jackson Town- ship stone wall that can easily be climbed. Fox recalls having prison offi- cials and a SWAT team on his property that day, trying to deter- mine if the escapees went in the direction toward his home. The incident occurred when the towers were not staffed, he said. The state Department of Cor- rections has decided to reduce tower staffing levels again, prompting Fox and the other township supervisors to sched- ule a public meeting on the issue. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, at the township volunteer fire depart- ment hall, 1160 Chase Rd. Township supervisors have in- vited Luzerne County state rep- resentatives and senators, state Department of Corrections Sec- retary Jeffrey Beard and the pub- See PRISON, Page 12 Al Fox, of Jackson Township, sits on a stone wall between the state prison grounds and his property. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST LOVE THAT BUNNY! Madison Price, of Trucksville, is just thrilled to be in the arms of the Easter Bunny during the Kingston Township Annual Easter @” Hunt. For more photos, please turn to page 3. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Dr. Thomas Jiunta is worried. When the Lehman Township resident learned a natural gas drilling company applied for a permit to drill an exploratory well in his town, he re- searched Google maps. Jiunta looked up the distance between the proposed well site off Peaceful Valley Road and the Huntsville Reservoir and learned it was 1.7 miles. That’s too close for Jiunta. He’s concerned that the reser- voir, which supplies water to thousands of people in the area, could become contaminated. The Ceasetown Dam, which is only half a mile from Moon Lake Park, is another fear for Jiunta. Luzerne County commissioners have proposed leasing land and water in the park to a natural gas drilling company. “If it (contamination) happens Jiunta etition urges rules be put on gas drills IF YOU GO... Public meeting on natural gas drilling Wednesday, April 7, from 1to 3 p.m. Kingston Township Municipal Building, 180 E. Center St., Shaver- town in the reservoirs, it’s going to be catastrophic,” said the podia- trist, who has an office in King- ston. Jiunta decided to create a pet- ition to urge state legislators and the state Department of Environ- mental Protection to put a stop to proposed natural gas drilling in the Back Mountain communi- ty. He received help with the pet- ition from Brian and Jen Doran, also of Lehman Township. The online version of the pet- ition has 200 signatures, many of with Back Mountain residents. Jiunta said the group is also up to about 600 paper signatures. The petition can be found on- line at www.petitionon- line.com/cleanh20/pet- ition.html. See PETITION, Page 12 Dorothy, the wizard and all their friends are coming to Lake-Lehman By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Ronnie Ziomek will soon have more mementos to add to his Wizard of Oz collection. The seventh-grader at Lake- Lehman Junior/Senior High School will play the Mayor of Munchkin Land in the school’s upcoming production of “The Wizard of Oz” musical. “I love the movie,” Ziomek said. “I have a huge collection of Wizard of Oz everything.” The school will present “The Wizard of Oz” musical at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 16, and Satur- day, April 17, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 18. A spring art show will also be held in con- junction with the musical. Gina Major Ackerman, who operates Major Performing Arts Center in Trucksville, is direct- ing the school’s spring musical this year. Although she has di- ted youth theatre in the yoming Valley for 16 years, this is her first time leading a high school performance. “There are several different Wizard of Oz scripts,” Major 0981512007989 oo IF YOU GO “The Wizard of Oz" musical and spring art show Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, at 7 p.m.; Sunday, April 18, at 3 p.m Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School Reserved pre-sale seating: $10 adults, $6 children 12 and under General admission: $8 adults; $5 children 12 and under For reserved pre-sale tickets, call Jill at 477-2902, Ginny at 675-1761 or e-mail LakeLehmanOz®@aol.com Ackerman said. “This is the one that was the first big stage show version script. I picked this one because people will see differences from the story line and the movie....” In addition to students from the junior/senior high school, Major Ackerman has involved 32 students from elementary schools in the Lake-Lehman School District. The elementary students will play munchkins in the musical. It’s also the first time in ap- proximately 20 years that stu- dent musicians will play the music for the show in a live show band, Major Ackerman said. Major Ackerman, an alumnus of Lake-Lehman and its music and theatre department and a former Miss Pennsylvania, has invited retired Lake-Lehman music and theatre teachers Jane Morris and Maureen Purcell to attend the show. The two will sit in the front row, Major Ack- erman said. She also hopes to invite her En : 2 former marching band director, John Milauskas. The students began preparing for the musical back in January with their first task being to watch “The Wizard of Oz” mo- vie, complete with popcorn. The cast has been busy since then, practicing every day with the exception of Wednesdays and Sundays. Saturdays are uti- lized as set building days. Sis- ters Shawni and Raine Scott did much of the set work, along with other performers and par- ents. Sixteen-year-old Tyler Pear- son, who is in 1lth-grade, will play the role of Dorothy. Al- though Pearson has had lead roles in other productions out- side of school, this is her first part in a school musical. Like many of the students in the school’s drama club, Pear- son is also active in various community theatres. She feels the most challenging aspect of her role is living up to people’s expectations of Dorothy be- cause the audience will know if CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Tyler Pearson, who plays Dorothy, has a special fondness for Derek Osborne as the Tin Man in Lake- Lehman High School's production of “The Wizard of Oz." she makes a mistake. “It's been fun but it’s been different because there are 30 little munchkins running around the place,” Pearson said. Oz will be played by Matthew Gorski, who is 16 and in 10th- grade. Although he auditioned to be the scarecrow, he is happy with his role of Oz. “l watched the movie and I took some notes on how he goes from really, really bad to good,” Gorski said of the man behind the curtain. “I think that’s so great that I can go from different characteriza- tions.” Gorski’s father, Brian, a histo- ry teacher at the junior/senior high school, is also in the musi- cal and will play Uncle Henry. See DOROTHY, Page 12 { -
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