| EE 4 Sunday, November 21, 2010 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICT By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Lake-Lehman School Board meeting Monday night was a celebration of students and teachers within the district. Christine Worlanko, a junior high English teacher, was praised for winning the Excellence in Education Award sponsored by Misericordia University. Superin- tendent James McGovern read a nomination written for Worlanko that focused on her dedication, organization and use of technol ogy within the classroom. “She even has her advanced placement students blogging,” it stated in the letter. Two high school seniors were praised for their efforts to raise money through Cheer for a Cure, a cheering competition spon- sored by Lake-Lehman that rais- es money for various cancer re- search organizations. Erica Schwartz and Caitlyn Wight raised more than $8,000 to be do- nated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and a former coach, Jen Arellano, who is battling breast cancer for a second time. Arellano’s husband, Scott, ac- cepted the check and told the au- “If it wasn’t for these girls and the team, | don't know where we would be.” Scott Arellano Husband of L-L teacher battling cancer dience the family plans to donate a portion of it to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “If it wasn’t for these girls and the team, I don’t know where we would be,” he said. Seventh-grader Maria Chini- kaylo was also cited for winning a drawing contest sponsored by Tobacco Free of Northeast PA. Chinikaylo entered a contest for placement in a calendar to be dis- tributed by the organization. She depicted reasons why people should not smoke. “The funny part is that when we received notice that she had won, I searched through the cal- endar to find her artwork,” said McGovern. “Here, she got a cov- er.” Eight students from the dis- trict’s three elementary schools were honored for their participa- tion in the Wyoming Valley Veter- ans Day Essay Contest. Students wrote essays on this year’s theme, “Why should we be proud of our veterans?” Retired Lieutenant Command- er Susan Allen of the U.S. Navy presented certificates to the fol- lowing students: Aryan Blazik of Lehman-Jackson Elementary, Accomplishments of students, teachers celebrated Emily Johns of Ross Elementary, Morgan Marchakitus of Ross Ele- mentary, Jason Marcin of Leh- man-Jackson Elementary, Owen Morgan of Lehman-Jackson Ele- mentary, Chyenne Nelson of Lake-Noxen Elementary, Jacob Stefanowicz of Lake-Noxen Ele- mentary and Olivia Vasey of Ross Elementary. McGovern also noted that the district has improved its scholas- tic aptitude test scores, and is now one of the top three schools within Luzerne and Lackawanna counties in terms of perform- See CELEBRATED, Page 11 Christian Wargo, a Scout from Shavertown, takes part in a Veter- an's Day candlelight service at the Meadows Nursing Center. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST A group of well-wishers and supporters gather around the pond at the Meadows Nursing Center, Dallas, for a candlelight vigil cele- brating Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Photographs of Alzheimer’s patients and their families are dis- played for a Veteran's Day candlelight service. &/igil honors vets and those afflicted with Alzheimer's Meadows Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. Because this year’s vigil was held on Veterans Day, Boy Scouts participated Th Dallas Alzheimer’s Support Group held its annual Candlelight Vigil to recognize Alzheimer’s Awareness Month at the in the event and special recognition was paid to military veterans. DALLAS TOWNSHIP Supervisors hold tax line with new budget By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The board of supervisors passed a 2011 budget Tues- day night without a formal public presentation. Super- visors said there will be no tax increase for residents, and the municipal millage rate will remain at .52. A mill is $1 in tax for ev- ery $1,000 in assessed prop- erty value. The $2,467,850 plan is nearly $50,000 more than last year’s proposed budget, and Supervisor Glenn Ho- well attributes the rise to the current economic cli- mate. “Everything has risen a bit due to the economy,” he said. The board also discussed a new paving project that will potentially benefit the entire Back Mountain com- munity. The township may receive a grant of up to $100,000 next year from the Luzerne County Office of Communi- ty Development, and plans include paving and conduct- ing street improvements to Fairground Road. Fairground Road starts at Conygham Avenue, right across from the Dallas School District campus, and ends at Lower Demunds Road. Fairground Road is currently blocked off due to its poor condition. Supervisors said this will be a great benefit to the area and especially the Dallas campus where traffic con- cerns are paramount. A bridge connecting Fair- The $2,467,850 plan is nearly $50,000 more than last year's proposed budget, and Supervisor Glenn Howell attri- butes the rise to the current economic climate. ground and Lower Demunds roads was replaced with funds received last year from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The $1 million reimbursement was given to the township for damage .caused by flooding to various areas in June 2006. Supervisors said there isn’t much use of the bridge due to Fairground Road’s current condition. “As of now, there’s only one person who lives there who’s using that bridge,” said Wagner. The project would need to follow program guidelines by benefiting lower to mod- erate income families, and the township will soon con- duct a survey to determine whether or not the benefac- tors meet this requirement. In other news... e The board approved payment to Popple Con- struction, Inc. in the amount of $234,791 for 2010 paving projects. The price includes the $204,173 agreed upon cost as well as $30,618 in unforeseen charges, includ- ing manhole repairs, addi- tional paving and extra ma- terials used. e A presentation was giv- en to the supervisors as an See TAX, Page 1 KINGSTON TOWNSHIP Budget shows possible tax increase By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The board of supervisors ap- proved the first reading of the 2011 budget, and property owners could see an increase in taxes in the up- coming year. The municipal millage rate will be raised to .0004112, which is 00006 mills higher than this year’s rate. Chairman James Reino Jr. at- tributes the raise to an inaccurate assessment of township properties, which included non-profit proper- ties, this year. Township Manager Kathleen Se- tian said the increase will result an average of $5.87 per residen- ial unit. The board also voted to draft amendments for the township's fee schedule ordinance, which will af- fect community programs such as the summer recreation program and the annual spring clean up pro- The township’s earned income tax was set at one percent and the real estate transfer tax at one-half of one percent. The 2011 budget, which totaled $2,721,161, left just $38,385 for the The board also voted to draft amendments for the township's fee schedule ordinance, which will affect community programs such as the summer recreation program and the annual spring clean up project. capital improvement fund. Supervi- sors said this could halt paving pro- jects for the coming year. In other news... ¢ The board voted to grant a no- cost time extension to Borton-Law- son, an engineering firm, for the de- sign of the East Center Street bridge replacement project until Dec. 16, 2011. Reino said the project has been ongoing since 1999 and property disputes have halted progress on the bridge replacement. He said the project is now in the hands of a mediator, and snags in progress have cost the township $80,000 in additional costs over the years. ¢ An intergovernmental cooper- ative agreement was approved for the purchase of a radar speed trailer between Kingston Township and four neighboring municipalities as part of the Back Mountain Commu- nity Partnership. The trailer will cost the township $1,300, and the municipalities will discuss a sched- ule of use at the partnerships next meeting. e Employees of the township will see a change in life, accidental death and disability insurance carri- ers, as the board voted to switch from the township’s current provid- er, Harleysville Insurance, to Bene- con Insurance. Sebastian said the township should see a savings of up to 22 percent. * The board voted for adminis- trators to draft amendments to the township's transient retail business ordinance to clarify which solicitors need permits within the township. e Supervisors also voted to place an unmarked police vehicle, a 2004 Dodge Intrepid, for sale at auction. The board of supervisors will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 22 to discuss general business and also for a second read- ing of the 2011 township budget. The next regular meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8 in the municipal building. DALLAS BOROUGH Council revises master plan costs By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent Borough council revised and amended costs associated with Phase 1 of the Dallas Bor- ough Downtown Master Plan at its regular monthly meeting Wednesday night. The master plan to revital- ize Dallas Borough’s down- town area was adopted in July 2009. The plan includes sever- al improvements on many as- pects of the borough, includ- ing retail space, parking and light posts. The plan was designed by Kairos Design Group but was based on feedback from resi- dents; businesses and stu- dents who offered suggestions as to what they would like to see downtown. Council’s approval on the “opinion of probable costs” for Phase 1, as prepared by the borough engineer and Quad Three Group of Wilkes-Barre, will receive $1,336,687 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The $1,120,000 proposed budget contains no tax increase for residents. The current mill rate of 1.28 mills will be carried over to the new year. A mill rate is $1 for every $1,000 assessed tax value. Tracey Carr, borough man- ager, said Phase 1 includes in- stalling new light posts, side- walks, bike racks and street trees. A starting date has not yet been determined. In other news ... e Council announced the proposed 2011 budget is ready for public viewing. The $1,120,000 proposed budget contains no tax in- crease for residents. The cur- rent mill rate of 1.28 mills will be carried over to the new year. A mill rate is $1 for every $1,000 assessed tax value. The tax rate for earned in- come will remain the same at five percent. Per capita will hold at $5, and the real estate transfer tax will stay at one percent. Carr 2010's budget is $1,085,000, a $35,000 differ- ence to the proposed budget. “There were small areas of change,” she said. “Some things went up while others went down.” e The 2011 proposed budget is available at the borough of- fice for public review. Council is scheduled to vote on it at 7:30 p.m. on Wednes- day, Dec. 15, in the borough building on Main Street in Dal- las. e Council approved a mo- tion to participate with the Back Mountain Community Partnership in the joint pur- chase of a radar speed trailer, costing $1,154. The Back Mountain Com- munity Partnership includes the following municipalities: Dallas Borough, Dallas Town- ship, Jackson Township, King- ston Township and Lehman Township. e Council announced the proposed 2011 budget is ready for public viewing.
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