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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