Sunday, February 20, 2011 PAGE 3 THE DALLAS POST DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT ~ Board approves “$32 million ~ prelim budget By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Dallas School Board ap- proved a $32 million prelimina- ry budget at its meeting Mon- day evening. The increase could cost taxpayers an addi- tional average of $85 per prop- erty for the 2011-12 school year. The budget was passed with a 7-1 vote with board member Dennis Gochoel Jr. voting against the spending plan. Ga- ry Mathers was absent. In addition to the millage in- crease, the budget also calls for a $10 per capita tax, a 1 percent earned income tax to be shared between the district and municipalities and a $52 emergency services tax, of which the district receives $5 and the rest goes to the munic- ipalities that have enacted such a tax. ao» The budget was presented to he board at last month’s meet- ing, at which time Business Manager Grant Palfey told the board the increase in taxes is primarily caused by the new high school construction pro- ject. The new budget increases the millage rate from 11.0118 to 11.5624. : A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in assessed value. Palfey said the board has been carefully tracking bud- UP NEXT... The next work session of the Dallas School Board will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 7 and the next regular meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 14 in the administration building next to the Wycallis Elementary School. gets for the last eight years to .include only gradual increases. He said this year’s budget has the highest tax increase be- cause of the impending com- pletion of the high school pro- ject. With this year’s Act 1 index at 1.7 percent, the board had to apply for special exceptions in order to raise taxes to the 5 percent limit. The Act 1 index determines the percentage at which school boards can raise taxes, depending on the state- wide weekly wage index. Last year’s index was 3.4 percent. Palfey said the board plans to apply for special exceptions from the state Department of Education in the areas of spe- cial education, retirement con- tributions and grandfathered debt. The board will also see many technological upgrades to the new high school when the academic year begins on See BUDGET, Page 11 Old Beaumont School. Zumba Rachel Johnson, 11, of Beaumont, has fun Zumba dancing at the as COIES to Beaumont umba, the latest craze in exercise, has found its way to Beaumont where Zumba classes are held at the Old Beaumont School as a fundraiser to help offset the costs of maintaining the building. Zumba is a dance fitness program created by dancer and chore- ographer Albert “Beto” Perez in Columbia during the 1990s. The program combines Latin and international music with dance in an effort to make exercise fun. Zum- ba classes are offered through licensed instructors in more than 10,000 fitness center locations in 100 countries with 10 million participants. if 4 an Wd a A Vanessa Burkhardt of Noxen participates in a Zumba dance class at the Old Beaumont School. > BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Zumba dance instructor Sally Johnson leads the dance fundraiser for the Old Beaumont School. DALLAS TOWNSHIP Residents want alternative to cast zoning board vote By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Residents presented a letter to the board Tuesday evening, requesting an alternate for zon- ing board member Conrad Hig- ins in the hearing for Chief iathering LLC's application to uild a natural gas compressor station. A hearing was held on Feb. 9, during which zoning board Solicitor William McCall an- nounced that Higgins had signed a right-of-way agree- ment with Chief Gathering and could not actively participate in the proceedings. In accord- ance with the state ethics com- mission, Higgins can provide a third vote if needed. The other UP NEXT The hearing for Chief Gathering LLC's application for special zoning exceptions will continue at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23 in the Dallas Middle School auditorium at 2000 Conyngham Ave., Dallas Township. board members are Robert Bayer and Gary Hozempa. Chief Gathering LLC applied for special zoning exceptions on Jan. 21 to build a natural gas compressor station off Hilde- brandt Road, 1,150 feet away from the Dallas School District campus property line. A compressor station is a fa- cility where natural gas from drilling wells is pressurized and sent through the Transco pipeline, which then sends the gas to homes across the coun- try. The five-acre facility would include two metering stations, a building to house compressor engines, several tanks and a 100-foot communications tow- er. Residents Al and Mary Ro- driguez, Liz Martin, Norm Tomchak and Diane Dreier pre- sented the letter to the board, requesting “the appointment of Supervisor Frank Wagner, if he has no conflict of interest, to serve in the event of a tie vote in this matter.” Township Solicitor Thomas Brennan said alternates for var- ious boards can be chosen at the township’s annual reorga- See VOTE, Page 11 HARVEYS LAKE BOROUGH Debate sparks decision to hold public hearing on CELDF By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent After considerable debate and pressure from residents, the Har- veys Lake Borough Council vot- ed to hold a public hearing on the Community Environment Legal Defense Fund, the right to self government ordinance. Residents filled the meeting room to a standing-room only ca- pacity Tuesday night. For over an hour, concerned residents and council members faced off over a proposed ordinance written by the CELDF. The end result was a 3-2 vote with council member Ryan Doughton and council president Frances Kopko voting no. Coun- cil member Boyd Barber ab- stained due to requests from resi- UP NEXT The next Harveys Lake Borough Council meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 in the municipal building. dents because he holds two nat- ural gas leases in another munici- pality. Council member Rich William was absent. Council members remained apprehensive, claiming the ordi- nance violated their oath and stated that, under state law, zon- ing is the legal way to limit and restrict the natural gas drilling industry. Resident Neil Turner request- ed council consider the ordi- nance and hold a public hearing. “We need to do something,” he said. “Think outside of the box.” Borough Attorney Charles McCormick advised council members a public hearing on the ordinance would lead to a mo- tion vote to adopt or decline the CELDF ordinance. The four-page ordinance claims residents have inalienable and fundamental rights to ac- cess, consume and preserve wa- ter drawn from the natural water sources within the borough and protect the natural ecosystems of the community. Harveys Lake is a large wa- tershed area which feeds into the Ceasetown and Huntsville Res- ervoirs which provide drinking water to about 100,000 Wyoming Valley residents. Concern over contaminated water from up- stream flowing into the lake was See DEBATE, Page 11 HARPIN’ ON THINGS Why cant singers just leave the Star-Spangled Raise your right hand if you watched the Super Bowl. Raise your left hand if you en- joyed the game. Clap like you would have after the singing of our National An- them by Christina Aguilera. I didn’t think I would hear any- potatoes at Thanks- giving and Aguilera has made apologies but it really made me angry when yet another celebrity made a mock- ery of our nation’s song by not on- ly mixing up the lines (which is Heffernan understandable because mis- takes do happen) but by taking the liberty of making the Star Spangled Banner last almost as long as Beethoven’s 9th Sympho- ny. The Mrs. and I were prepared for the game, she on the couch next to the blazing fireplace wrapped in enough blankets to keep Sir Edmund Hillary warm and I in a t-shirt reclined into the Luge position in the old Lazy Boy. After the first 10 seconds of Ms. Aguilera’s attempt at sing- ing, I slammed down the foot rest and stormed into the kitchen to return only when the song was over. I must be getting old be- cause I just can’t listen to some- thing like that. The Mrs. and I both agreed (we did that once before in 1995 but I can’t remember what it was about) that the country had been embarrassed again on the inter- national level by one of our so- called stars and that we would prefer a military singer or band perform or perhaps a profession- al opera singer belt out our an- them. I watch a lot of rugby from around the world and before each game, both teams’ national an- thems are performed by pros. From South Africa to Ireland, the songs are always done the same way with no variations while the players and the fans all sing. The sound is wonderful and it brings goose bumps to your arms unlike here where players are joking with each other or people still have their hats on and are talking on cell phones. Why do our singers think they have to do their own rendition of this historic song and embellish it every time they get the chance? I have sung the National Anthem the same way (poorly, but I sing) with the same rhythm since firsst grade at the Shavertown School (that’s where the Burger King parking lot is now, for you young- er folk). We also said the Pledge of Allegiance, including the word God, with pride but I don’t want to get off on that tangent today. When will promoters and pro- ducers of events from baseball to football to Nascar stop worrying about bringing in the so-called big name celebrity to sing the Na- tional Anthem? The people are already in the stands and you don’t see them leaving after the singing, do you? Promoters need to worry about how the men and women in the Armed Forces feel after putting their lives on the line every day to defend this country and our way of life, only to hear someone ruin the Nation- al Anthem. I would wager a bet that Ms. Aguilera will be asked to sing at another sporting event about as soon as the gas well drillers will be asked to come back to Leh- Banner alone? man. Wanting to see if I was in the minority on this subject, I tracked down some people I know to get their input. Kunkle’s Dave Shultz and Lehman’s Chris Frederick agreed that the per- formance was disrespectful to all those who have served and are serving this country in the mili- tary and that it was bad for the moral of the troops. Jack Fowler of Dallas, a former Marine, said it was a disgrace and blamed the promoters’ greed for the fiasco. Heather Brown and Nick Vol- petti said it was an embarrass- ment for both the singer and the country while Gerry Ogurkis said the performance was despic- able and that the pride of our country was hurt by it. John Har- ry stated he would like to hear military singers perform the Na- tional Anthem and summed up Ms. A’s performance by saying his dogs howl better than she sings. The next time you're at a sport- ing competition where the Star Spangled Banner is played, be sure to show the proper respect and sing along. It really does give you a good feeling. Atta Boy of the week ... Goes to Billy Zukosky, owner of Competition Plus Motorsports on Route 309 in Dallas. He has been in business 21 years and specializes in performance cars and motorcycles but, like all good mechanics, he will work on just about anything with an en- gine. Atta Boy Billy, keep up the good work. Harp Heffernan was the associ- ate publisher, outdoor editor and chief photographer of the Sunday Independent, a newspaper that . was nm his family for 87 years in Wilkes-Barre. You can e-mail him at news@mydallaspost.com.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers