ER re A Sunday, September 19, 2010 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 JACKSON TOWNSHIP Gas drilling, Megan's Law ordinances approved By EILEEN GODIN oO Dallas Post Correspondent With residents’ safety and well-being in mind, Jackson Township supervisors autho- rized development of zoning or- dinance amendments regulating natural gas drilling and ap- proved a Megan's Law ordi- nance at their meeting on Mon- day night. The drilling industry has moved into nearby municipal ities and supervisors want to be proactive. They authorized township attorney Jeffery Ma- lak to research amendments to the zoning ordinance to restrict the industry to the mining dis- trict. Malak is hoping to “push the envelope” and include an amendment to regulate hours of operation and possibly require a fence around any drilling site. “Through the zoning ordi- nance is the only way a munici- pality can regulate the gas in- dustry,” he said. Currently, there is no pro- “Through the zoning ordinance is the only way a municipality can regulate the gas industry.” Jeff Malak Jackson Township solicitor posed drilling site in the town- ship but, with 100 percent of the township’s water supply coming from wells, chairman John Wilkes Jr. does not want to take any chances. “We would also require regu- lar water testing,” he said. Malak plans to use recent drilling situations as examples to back up the amendments. Before the amendments can be voted on, a public hearing will be scheduled. Malak hopes to have the amendments ready for review by the end of the year. Since getting the word out last month about a sex offender moving into the township, Ma- lak was authorized by supervi- sors to prepare a Megan's Law ordinance to work in conjunc- tion with the Pennsylvania state law. Supervisors unanimously passed the ordinance which re- quires sex offenders to stay at least 500 feet from schools, day- care facilities, parks, play- grounds, the fire hall during so- cial events and other gathering spots. Malak said the ordinance con- tains a map of these areas and an outline of penalties and fines for any violations. Malak added that fines are no more than $1,000 plus the costs for attorney fees and court fees associated with prosecution. The next meeting of the Jack- son Township supervisors will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 4, at the municipal build- ing. DALLAS BOROUGH Water main project closes borough road By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com East Center Hill Road in Dallas will be closed this week due to on- going construction to replace a wa- roved the closure of the road from the intersection at Lake Street to the entrances of Meadows Nursing Home and Leggio’s Restaurant at its meeting on Wednesday. Bob Frankelli of Franchelli En- terprises, the contractor designat- ed to the water main replacement project, wrote a letter to Borough Manager Tracey Carr requesting the closure. Due to the company’s excavator and dump trucks using the narrow road, Frankelli ex- pressed concern over traffic back- ups. The road was closed on Thurs- day, and council estimates the con- struction on East Center Hill Road will last a week. Franchelli Enter- prises’ work hours are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, so the road will be open in the eve- ning and on weekends. Motorists who work or need to access the Misericordia University facilities building as well as emer- gency service vehicles are allowed to pass through the construction. The water main replacement project is set to continue onto West Center Hill Road between Gerald Avenue and Route 415 and should last two weeks. In other news... e Council appointed Quad Group Inc. to the position of nsulting engineer for the bor- ough, replacing Michael J. Pason- ick Consulting Engineers. Council President Lee Eckert said this is standard procedure and every three years the borough asks for bids on various services. ¢ Council also voted to approve amended State Liquid Fuels Fund er main. @ Borough Council ap- projects for 2010 as the following: East Center Hill Road from Route 415 to Lake Street with materials to be reimbursed from United Wa- ter as part of the water main re- placement project, West Center Hill Road from Route 415 to ap- proximately Gerald Avenue with materials to be reimbursed from United Water as part of the water main replacement project, Spring Street from Lehman Avenue to Norton Avenue and from Norton Avenue to Machell Avenue, Split Rail Lane from Machell Avenue for approximately 425 feet and Huyley Avenue from Highland Boulevard for approximately 350 feet. ¢ A bid was awarded to T. Bren- nan Heavy Equipment for the re- placement of a catch water basin and reconnection of storm water piping near the Dallas Auto Parts building at 688 Memorial Hwy. in the amount of $2,875. ® Council authorized the repair and calibration of the police de- partment’s breathalyzer machine for an amount not to exceed $1,500. e Officials approved and autho- rized the hiring of the following borough employees: Karen Fiorel- lo to the part-time position of ad- ministrative assistant at a rate of $10 per hour and Carl M. Alber to the part-time position of code en- forcement officer and assistant zoning officer at a rate of $12 per hour. Both employees must under- go state background checks and a six-month probationary period. ¢ Council authorized to appoint officials for the following actions: to write a letter of intent to War- nock Fleet for the purchase of a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police In- terceptor Cruiser under Pa. Co- Stars 13 for the state contracted price of $23,321 with an additional police equipment outfitting cost of $11,147.71 and to apply for the Pennsylvania State Agency for Fed- eral Surplus Property. Lake. general on Sept. 12 when the 10th annual Pow-Wow was held at the Lakeside Nursing Home on Old Lake Road in Harveys AT RIGHT: Dishing out pierogi under the food tent at the Lake- side Nursing Center's 10th Annual Pow-Wow are, from left, Kel- sey Coole, of Noxen, Sam Sorber, of Harveys Lake, Jennifer Evans, of Harveys Lake and Karli Coole, of Noxen. foi Rasa nn ott SORT TRA R Jy A BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Dakota Sioux Peter Black Wolf, of Dunmore, center, tries to coax Tanner Thomas, of Noxen, to dance as Tanner's dad Kenny looks on at the Lakeside Nursing Center's 10th Annual Pow-Wow. Pow-Wow celebrates elderly at Lakeside Home I was a day to celebrate grandparents, the elderly and life in ps BeTBBING ULETEA | errr ANWAAL gman RAN Sh ERR Leh EARLE AW SARE Rit Swda bpiisndee 1 ERAGE HARPIN' ONTHINGS Sweet corn, fresh squash and a sincere apology to the Mrs. all is fast approaching and F it has always been a special time of year. Sweet corn is on the table ev- ery night because you know it will not be available much longer. Fresh squash, radishes and apples (not the ones chemically treated to hold their color) can be pur- ased at the local stands in the ack Mountain. Our area can’t be beat for its fresh produce. Taking a drive around the area last week, I stopped at several lo- cal vendors to see what was on the menu. This drive was nice compared to the ones the Mrs. and I used to take from the Keys on our annual pilgrimage north in the fall. (I was told by my favor- ite critic last week that the spell- ing ‘missus’ in reference to my wife was awful and should be Heffernan changed. This one’s for you, Mom). Our trip would start mid-morn- ing, not at 5a.m., to beat the Mia- mi traffic, although it really didn’t matter what time you drove through Miami; it was always congested. Once you hit Home- stead, the race was on and it felt like Talladega with 10 laps re- maining. Don’t look at the speed- ometer, ignore the speed limit signs and stay glued to the back end of that Toyota because the Honda Civic behind was so close only the roof was visible. Dale Jr. would be right at home since bump drafting was encour- aged and you'd better hope your speed pass had money on it for the tolls because no one rolled out of the throttle. The auto com- panies could save a lot of money by not installing turn signals for any car sold south of Boca Raton because no one used them. At least the road signs had English first; otherwise, we were in trou- ble because I don’t “habla.” The journey with the Mrs. would take two days to cover the 1400 miles due to frequent stops to eat (at sit-down restaurants) and sleep (in hotels). What hap- pened to the good old days when it would take Jim Hunter and me 24 hours to make it to Art Stock’s Playpen South in Fort Lauder- dale? All we needed was a bucket of KFC, a case of Mountain Dew, a bottle of No Doze and extra gas money since the old Charger with the 440 Six Pack and 4:11 gears had a hard time passing a gas station. Now, back to the story. In the Lehman area, I found two old friends - Marion from the Farm Basket and Hoss at his Gar- den Hut. Marion’s sweet corn was always taken back to the Keys in a cooler and a few early pumpkins and gourds from Hoss would be displayed for our south- ern neighbors. Heading out of Dallas, I stop- ped by Darling’s near the Dallas High School where Norman Sr. . was at the register. Mary, Nor- man Jr. and Joseph were all busy attending to customers. Contin- uing on, I thought I remembered a few places near Centermore- land and, after going through the same intersection twice and turn- ing into someones driveway which I thought was the road, I found Dymond’s. Their stand had a plethora (that one’s for Jonath- on Balester and our BNI meet- ings) of freshly-picked goodies. Be sure to ask Josh, Marge or Ma- rion for their advice on the mak- ings of a great salad. A little further down the road, a sweet smell came in the window from Brace’s Orchard. A tractor pulled a large trailer filled to the brim with apples and the fra- grance was wonderful. LuAnn, Sheila and Larry keep the store in order when the others are at the market. On the way home, there were signs for the Wyoming County Fair which was a reminder to me that the Luzerne County Fair was quickly approaching. I wasn’t sure about the schedule but with my evening curfew fast approach- ing, it would have to wait for morning. An agreement has been hammered out over the years with the Mrs. concerning the is- sue of a curfew and it is under- stood (at least by me) that there is an allowable three-hour win- dow between the stated ETA and actual arrival. The cat and I enjoy many late, cold dinners. Now, if you want to know what’s going on within a 20-mile radius of Lehman, you have to go to Cook’s Store. On any given morning, you will find several scholarly-looking gentlemen holding court on the front steps. As I got within earshot of Alvin Cragle, Bill Hardisky and Bob Margellina, I could hear them dis- pensing their wisdom about a nu- tritional breakfast to get the day started to a bewildered-looking student who just wanted his morning can of Monster energy drink and a bag of chips. The flyer for the fair that was on the door gave me the needed information and, not wanting to be included in a debate on the pros and cons of gas drilling, I beat a hasty retreat to the car and off to work. At the Luzerne County Fair, the local 4-H group needs to be commended for the effort and en- ergy it puts forth for the local youth. Dr. Evans, Susan Lee and many others volunteer their time in The Dallas Post to help out our kids between the raising of animals and the horse and pony shows. Mary Hosey, who has always been involved with horses, was there to take photographs and we spent a long time chatting about the differenc- es between film and digital pho- tography. The advent of the digital age, in both lettering and photography, has made changes in the world of advertising as I saw by the signs all over the fair. A few were hand- lettered but most were digitally produced, including ones with photographs and they were made here in Lehman. The quality of workmanship is outstanding and this week an “At- ta Girl” goes to Rose Hoover and an “Atta Boy” to Damien Hoover for running a top shelf business. Harp Heffernan was the associate publisher, outdoor editor and chief photographer of the Sunday Inde- pendent, a newspaper that was in his family for 87 years in Wilkes-Barre. His column appears every other week
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