Vol. 122 No. 46 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 December 26, 2010 - January 1, 201 ePIATLEAS POST Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com Loca couple in step with Back Mountain Pyles credit music for happy marriage By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Like an orchestra conductor, George Pyle gently swung his arms in front of him as he watched home movies he edited to music change pace and fade in and out to the beats of big band tracks. Watching his fondest memories move with the music, he saw photos from an Alas- kan trip that seemed to two-step across the TV screen like he once did years ago at town halls in the Back Mountain. As the owner and operator of a video pro- R THE DALLAS POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK [® > annon Hunt, Dallas, has seen a 15-Ib.weight loss working out with a combination of aerobic exercises and free weights. Tragedy | sparks | a life change By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Shannon Hunt of Dallas had exercised regularly even before having two children. Her weight stayed steady and her diet re- mained fairly healthy. It wasn’t until two years ago, when a few unexpected events changed her life, that she had ®. staying in shape. 7“My niece passed away when she was only 20 years old,” she said. “I think I was emotionally eating to release that anxious en- ergy.” A few months later, her mother had open heart surgery. “It scared me,” said the 40- year-old mother. “I wanted to be here for my kids.” Hunt noticed her clothes get- ting tighter and her eating habits transforming from seasonal sal- ads to salty snacks. It wasn’t long before she realized she needed a change. “I didn’t like what I was becom- ing,” she said. “I had a number in my head, and once I hit it, I knew I had to lose the weight.” Jumping back into an active I lifestyle wasn’t easy. After a few || attempts to exercise at home fell flat, she decided to join Shapes Total Fitness in Dallas, in 2009. “I would take my daughter to | preschool and Shapes is just up || the road,” she said. “They had ev- erything I needed there.” Hunt started to build endu- rance by walking on a treadmill three times a week. After a few weeks, she started jogging a bit. “When I started I watched El- len DeGeneres and I would jog duction company and, according to him, the eldest player in the 380-member Alumni Blue Band Association of Penn State, music and movement have crossed paths in more than one area of the trombone players life. “You can point me out on the field (during the Penn State Homecoming game) be- cause I'm the only one in step,” the 84-year- old joked. Pyle’s passion for music also led to meet- ing his wife, Carole, 79, a former music teacher. They have been married for nearly 57 years. They met in February, were en- gaged in April and wed in August of the BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE DALLAS POST Changing Habits performs at the Dallas Harvest Festival. A LOOK BACK 2010: John Fleschat serves up the perfect square pizza. same year. Now they are parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. “I met her on a Tues- day, and I didn’t give her my fraternity pin until Thursday,” George laughed. Pyle The video he lovingly edited to the tunes of legends like Glen Mill- er was in celebration of the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary seven years ago. Car- ole, who taught vocals and played the flute and saxophone, also lent her voice to the production, singing the introduction song, See PYLES, Page 11 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST . Dallas home. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST George and Carole Pyle relax in their Chris Ellis celebrates with Silly String at the Dallas High School graduation. ° CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST Katarina Banks, Dallas, emerges cooled-off from her swim in the pool at Newberry Estate. 2010 a busy year for Back Mountain, residents January e Retired United Methodist pastor the Rev. Charles Gommer and others raise money to plan a trip to Haiti after a 7.0- magnitude earthquake hit the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12. ® Dallas School District Superintendent Frank Galicki was retained for another five- year term by a 6-1 vote from the school board. Board member Karen Kyle was ab- sent from the meeting due to illness, but she insisted contractual agreements in- he year 2010 proved to be one Back Mountain resi- dents won’t soon forget. Gas drilling issues were para- mount to municipalities and resi- dents as oil companies’ drove and drilled into the area. Students pushed themselves to achieve great things, while school officials were marred with scandal. Businesses and events reac- hed milestones, while organi- zation leaders left posts they’ve held for years. Here’s a peek into the events that defined 2010 in the Back CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/FOR THE DALLAS POST Mountain: See REVIEW, Page 3 By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com A re-energizing lesson uring the commercials,” she aid. “As I started getting stron- ger, I could jog for 15 minutes at a time.” See HEALTH, Page 7 6 0981512007989 By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Fourth-graders at Lake-Noxen Elementary School are learning they have the power to be more responsible about energy con- sumption. Jenell Brimhall and Kim Waits from the National Energy Foun- dation recently showed two fourth-grade classes an interac- tive presentation and played games with students to explain why energy efficiency is so im- “We teach about behaviors and energy sources to get the kids thinking about energy,” said Brimbhall. Teacher Jackie Krogulski said the presentation tied directly in- to the school’s curriculum. Lake- Noxen was one of only five schools in the area to benefit from the program. “Our PSSA tests have science in them,” she said. “We have to start them young, because their children’s children could be af- fected by this.” Brimhall and Waits talked t See LE “| learned that | have to not keep things on if I'm not using them.” - Mackayla Sims, 10 the children about different sources of energy in Pennsylva- nia, reporting that coal is the Pa ell Volunteers lauded at Meadows celebration Staff say holiday help is nice, but volunteers are needed year round By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Harveys Lake resident Diana Ide didn’t expect her family dog to become such an integral part of the nursing home community. Kozmo, a 6-year-old Great Dane, is a gentle giant. (She was calm and collected when food was served at The Meadows’ an- nual volunteer Christmas party on Dec. 8, even though her snout was just inches away from a plate of fancy salad greens.) Ide volunteers with South Paws Dog Therapy, for which Kozmo was trained and tested to be- come a certified therapy dog. The pair aims to make 11 visits a month to nurs- ing homes, schools and other or- ganizations. Ide was surprised to learn just how much a difference an animal can make in the lives of others. She recalled a patient at another nursing home who had suffered a stroke who hadn’t physically or verbally responded to nurses or family members in weeks. On the woman’s 50th wedding anniversary, Kozmo and Ide came to visit as she was looking at old photographs in her room. Kozmo snuck up behind the woman and nuzzled her shoulder as she flipped through a photo al- bum, and for a moment, the woman. “Every time we came after that she made more progress,” said Ide. “She was eventually able to go home.” Therapy dogs are just some of the many volunteers that help out The Meadows Nursing Home in Dallas throughout the year. About 100 guests were thanked at the Christmas party, from day-to- day activities volunteers to sing- ers who carol from room to room during the holiday season. While some may say the sea- son of giving can spur a spirit of volunteering, Dianne Corby, of Beaumont, said volunteers are needed all year long. Corby and her mother, Irene Transue, have donated their time to the Meadows for more than 25 years. It all started with a notice in the newspaper and some free time on their hands. “I really do believe that this is the Valley with a Heart,” said Ma- rilyn Gregorski, volunteer coor- dinator at The Meadows. She said the center always needs volunteers, despite their current number of helping hands. HOW TO HELP To volunteer at The Mead- ows, call Mari- lyn Gregorski, volunteer coordinator, at 675-8600. See VOLUNTEERS, Page 1i CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Matthew Kurtz fills out a game card at a lecture by UGl at the ~ Lake-Noxen Elem
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