Vol.121 No. 16 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 May 16 - 22, 2010 50¢ S Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com Cadet Band to perform commissioned piece at spring By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Something special is planned for this year’s spring concert of the Lake-Lehman Cadet Band. A piece of music was commis- sioned for the band by Ameri- can composer Brian Balmages. The Cadet Band’s performance of the piece, titled “Stampede,” will be the first time it is ever played publicly. The Lake-Lehman Cadet Band is made up of fifth-grade and sixth-grade band students from the Lake-Lehman School District's three elementary schools - Lake-Noxen, Lehman- Jackson and Ross elementary schools. Ninety-five students are currently participating in band, which is an optional, graded course. The band’s spring concert will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19, in the Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School auditorium. Ad- mission to the concert is free and it is open to the public. Do- nations will be accepted. Patrick Stanley, director of the Lake-Lehman Cadet Band, said the band has an annual Christmas concert the third week of each December and an annual spring concert held the third week of each May. Stanley said he came up with “I'm always looking for different avenues to show- case the students and | just thought this was really neat and something the students could grow up and be proud of.” Patrick Stanley Director, Lake-Lehman Cadet Band the idea to have a piece of music commissioned for the band about two years ago, but first the band had to raise more than $2,000 to fund a commissioned piece. Over the past two years, Stanley, the students and their parents accepted donations at their concerts and sponsored a stand at the Lake-Lehman Ju- nior/Senior High School Marching Band’s Craft Shows. “I'm always looking for differ- ent avenues to showcase the students and I just thought this was really neat and something the students could grow up and be proud of,” Stanley said. According to Stanley, once the band raised enough money, he called Balmages and the process of developing a piece began. Stanley chose Balmages because the band has played some of his music before and the students enjoyed it. Stanley said Balmages geared the piece toward the band’s in- strumentation and ability level. “He writes a lot of music called program music,” Stanley said of Balmages. “What that means is if you closed your See CADET, Page 14 Zack Zaleskas plays percussion in the Cadet Band at Lehman- Jackson Elementary School. concert CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Chopyak is LL wo loss winner ‘By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Snow days are seen by some students and teachers as the per- fect opportunity to stay in bed. But Kim Chopyak needed to stay on a schedule. The first- grade teacher at Ross Elemen- tary School woke up early — even on snow days - so she could eat breakfast on time in hope of con- tinuing to lose weight. “On snow days, I set my alarm and I ate and I went back to bed,” Chopyak said. Chopyak, 28, of Dallas, was the first-place winner in a recent Lake-Lehman School District. employee weight loss challenge. Sixty people participated in the six-week districtwide contest and lost a total of 220 pounds. The top three participants who lost the most body fat were se- lected as winners. Chopyak lost 11.81 percent of her body fat and 16 pounds, drop- ping from a size 4 to a size 0. At 5 @ 1 inch tall, Chopyak was 118 ounds at the end of the chal- lenge. “Everybody at school told me, ‘Aw, you can’t lose weight’ so it became more of a challenge to myself to prove them wrong,” Chopyak said. Second-place winner was Ma- ryAnn Maxfield, a special educa- tion teacher at Lake-Lehman Ju- nior/Senior High School who lost 8.05 percent body fat. Linda Bevan, a special educa- tion aide at Lehman-Jackson Ele- mentary School, took third place, losing 18 pounds and 7.78 per- cent body fat. The contest was the idea of Re- agan Hynick, a second-grade teacher at Lehman-Jackson Ele- mentary School. “It was a great experience!” Chopyak said. “Many employees from my building joined a gym; it is so much better when you are doing it with people. It keeps you motivated.” Each participant in the chal lenge paid an entry fee of $5 and a total of $300 was raised for a char- ity of the winner’s choice. Cho- pyak chose to give the money to the new fitness center being built at Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School. A member of Shapes Total Fit- ness in Dallas, Chopyak obtained weight loss advice from body- huilder friends at the gym. She exercised five days a week for about one to three hours per day. She did not use any machines but See CHOPYAK, Page 14 6809815120079 GOING TO THE PROM IN STYLE rms Ey CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Aleona Chinikaylo emerges from a white stretch limousine at the Dallas High School senior prom. The prom was held May 8 at Genetti's in Wilkes-Barre with a “Las Vegas" theme. For more photos, please turn to page 8. Fit Club 1s By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com The work day for Kim Cho- pyak and Kelly Dougherty was technically over, but they we- ren’t finished yet. The two Ross Elementary School first-year teachers changed into black shorts and matching black T-shirts, put their hair up and headed to the school gym. There, they were met by about 35 students who also stayed after school for the same reason — Fit Club. Chopyak and Dougherty have fun taking fitness classes at Shapes Total Fitness in Dal- las and one day they had a dis- cussion about how it was too bad so many children do not exercise. That prompted an idea for an after-school fitness club in an effort to fight child- hood obesity. The two recently started Fit Club for students in grades four through six. The club meets from 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a total of seven sessions. Over 40 students are registered with about 30 attending each sessi big hit among students CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Kelly Dougherty leads Mackenzie Love and other students around the gym during an after-school exercise program at Ross Elementary School. Chopyak and Dougherty lead the students in Zumba-style exer- cise, combining Latin and inter- national music with dance. Cho- pyak recruited her nephews, Tyl- er and Garrett Kolb, both stu- dents at Ross, and asked them to invite their friends to join. “We just think the kids definite- d to be more i See FIT, P. ge 14 pyak said. “We see so many kids that are lethargic and can’t keep up. We feel the kids need to learn exercise can be a lot of fun.” The teachers are no strangers to fitness. Dougherty competes in marathons and runs 60 miles each week. Chopyak is also ac- By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Eight Dallas High School students headed to a leader- ship conference last Septem- ber, thinking the experience would last one day. The students, all juniors and seniors, volunteered to at- tend the student conference with Judge Marjorie Rendell, the First Lady of Pennsylva- nia, at North Penn High School in Lansdale. Rendell challenged the students to go back to their schools and make a difference in civic edu- cation. Before the bus could make it back to Dallas, the students had decided to form a club. Thus, the Student Leadership in Civics (SLIC) Club was born. The club’s mission is to educate their school and com- munity through service learn- ing projects. After being in existence for not quite one school year, the club has received the Presi- d t's Volunteer Servi G jd i ll. Dallas students are making a difference SLIC Club members will be honored during a dinner on Monday, May 17 at the 92 Tap and Grill in Exeter. Award for completing over 1,000 hours of service. SLIC Club members will be honored during a dinner on Mon- day, May 17, at the 92 Tap and Grill in Exeter. Student members of the SLIC Club are Adrienne Box, Chris Dailey, Ryan Hogan, Hilary Hoover, Lance Machovec, Kate- lyn Reinert, Drew Schaub and Adam Viercinski. Teachers be- longing to the club include Anne Butler, Joanne Drayer, Tom Gil- roy and Dan Nestorick. “Normally, first-year clubs have a hard time getting support and staying together, but I guess we did it,” Box said. The SLIC Club’s initial project was to conduct a Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony at the school. The students invited Se DALLAS Page 14
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