) Vol.121 No. 13 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 April 18 - April 25, 2010 The Da OST. Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com It was 2006 when the Back Mountain Economic Develop- ment Council was born. The council is an outgrowth of the Back Mountain Business As- sociation and consists of four com- mittees — infrastructure, beautifi- cation, communication and recruitment — to attract people and businesses to the Back Moun- tain. The council will hold “Experi- ence the Back Mountain 2010” on Thursday, April 22, on the second floor of Insalaco Hall at Misericor- dia University. Lynn Banta, a former president of the Back Mountain Business Association, serves as president of the Back Mountain Economic De- velopment Council. “We formed because we really believe we have a little jewel in the Back Mountain and a great place for businesses to start and grow and we wanted to be able to get that message out,” Banta said. IF YOU GO WHAT: Experience the Back Mountain 2010 WHEN: Thursday, April 22; Work- shops: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Business Expo — 3 to 8 p.m. WHERE: Second floor of Insalaco Hall, Misericordia University “And we also understood, unless we took some of that in our hands, it wouldn’t happen by accident.” “Experience the Back Moun- tain 2010” was created to boost awareness of local retailers and provide discounts for residents and students, promote business- to-business opportunities through networking, expand the Back Mountain Business Association, retain and recruit businesses in the Back Mountain and expand community awareness of local events and buying opportunities. There is no cost to attend the event. See EXPO, Page 3 Expo to showcase Back Mountain businesses Schools take part in expo Back Mountain school dis- tricts and universities have com- mitted to helping make “Experi- ence the Back Mountain 2010” a success. Christine Stevens Slacktish, director of financial services edu- cation and outreach project at Misericordia University and a member of the Back Mountain Economic Development Coun- cil’s recruitment committee, said both Misericordia and Penn State Wilkes-Barre will have ta- bles at the event. According to Slacktish, repre- sentatives from the universities will be on hand to provide an overview of the universities and what they offer, as well as to pro- vide information on their stu- dent internship programs. See SCHOOLS, Page 3 Women's conference “the focus of Scout project Women's Firsts and Other Women of Distinction will be held April 24 By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Two years ago Andrea Carr was assigned to write a research paper about something that happened on her birthday. Carr, 18, of Dallas, who was a sophomore at Dallas High School at the time, discovered from a headline in newspaper dated April 17, 1964 that Geraldine “Gerry” Mock was in the process of completing the mission as the first woman to fly solo around the world. That was 28 years to the day before Carr was born. Mock completed her journey on April 18, 1964. Carr was surprised she had never heard of Mock, so she looked up a phone number for Mock, now in her 80s and living in Florida, and called her. Mock served as the in- spiration for Carr to form a women’s conference to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, the equivalent of the Eagle Scout Award in Boy Scouts. Carr's womens conference, called Women’s Firsts and Other Women of Distinction, will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, in the Lemmond Theater at “arr IF YOU GO WHAT: Women's Firsts and Other Women of Dis- tinction WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, ApH £a Misericordia University. WHERE: Lem- The conference is mond Theater at one to the community, Misericordia cludi Cait University including men. Carr rec- 5 ommends that children COST: $3 be at least in the sixth grade to attend. The cost is $3 per person to defray the cost of refreshments, which include Girl Scout cookies. “We have been in contact ever since,” Carr said of she and Mock, who now talk on the phone several times a year. “I just needed ba- sic information to write my paper and I said, ‘Who are you and why don’t I know anything about you?’ That really kind of stuck with me that there are women out there who are not recognized and they really should be. It’s sad that people like her are lost in history.” Carr, now a senior at Dallas High School, is the daughter of Leo and Maria Carr. She entered the Girl Scouts as a Brownie in the first grade and is a member of Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania Council Troop 2661. The troop, which includes three girls, is led by Carr’s mother and meets at the Carr ome. Maria Carr became the assistant leader of the troop when her daughter joined Girl Scouts. When Andrea Carr entered the sec- ond grade, Maria Carr took over as troop See WOMEN, Page 5 0981512007989 o CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST The "Circle of Friends" program at Misericordia University will end after this semester due to lack of funding. Students in the program interact with typical students on campus. From left, are Brittany Adair, Selena Waters, Tanya Lang, Helen Cranch, Melis sa Templeton Jeff Salvatore and Maura Musial. IMPACT HAS NO END BY REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com elen Cranch says the Circle of Friends changed her life. ® The Circle of Friends program at Miser- icordia University is an on-campus residential program that teaches independent living skills and provides educational and social activities in a college setting to young women with developmental disabilities. The women must be between the ages of 18 and 23 when they begin the program. Cranch has made friends on campus and looks forward to swimming with Me- lissa Templeton, an occupational ther- apy major, who teaches social and life skills to the participants. After anearly eight-year run, however, the Circle of Friends program will dis- band in May. “Being here changed my life because I learned a lot of new stuff,” Cranch said. Templeton has also learned a lot from working with the women in the program. She and fellow occupational therapy ma- jor Maura Musial teach the women about friendship, strangers, healthy eating and more. “I learn a lot from them,” Templeton said. “They learn from us. It’s a give and take process.” Circle of Friends began when Dr. Susan Sordoni, of Harveys Lake, approached the college president about the need for such a program. Sordoni and her hus- band, Andrew, provided a grant from the Sordoni Foundation plus a private dona- tion as seed money for the program back in 2002. That fall, Circle of Friends began as a pilot commuter program and the Sordo- nis’ daughter, Laura, was one of the first participants in the program. See CIRCLE, Page 3 Students, parents hope to revitalize Dallas marching By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Students in the Dallas High School Marching Band and their parents packed the Dallas School Board meeting on April 12 hoping to get help. Vincent Carolan, the father of an eighth-grader in the band, presented the board with a petition with hundreds of signatures to revitalize the band. According to Ellen Hunter, president of the Dallas Band and Guard Booster As- sociation, the marching band is open to all students in grades seven through 12, yet it only has 19 members. Several parents and students spoke in support ofthe band and the need for its re- vitalization. Hunter said her son, who is a junior, has decided not to play in the marching band or concert band next year. “Pm concerned about the direction the music program is taking at Dallas,” Hun- ter said. “We must make changes before the new school becomes a reality or we’ll have no band to fix.” The school district administration hired David Smith in the spring of 2008 to revitalize the marching band which had been suffering from low student partici- pation. Superintendent Frank Galicki said Smith’s position was opened for appli- cants. Although Smith was eligible to reapply, he did not, Galicki confirmed. Galicki said the district has received seven applications for the position. “We have to take a multi-faceted re- dil sponse to this problem,” Galicki said. “Some ofiit has to deal with the personnel. Some of it has to do with the philosophy and the requirements of the program.” “I don’t think we need a strategic ap- proach to realize the arts are important,” said board member Charlie Preece, prompting a round of audience applause. “I think it is this board’s responsibility to fix the problem.” Board members agreed to schedule a See BAND, Page 3
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