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Vol. 122 No. 2
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
February 27 - March 5, 2011
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50¢
Serving the communities of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts | www.mydallaspost.com
Company decides to relocate pumping station
Legislators’ concerns during
tour of another site prompt
Chief to reconsider.
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Representatives from Chief
Gathering LLC hosted a tour of
the Susquehanna East compres-
sor station in Hop Bottom for the
media and local legislators on Fri-
day, Feb. 18.
- Safety was the issue at large
and, although those who gave the
tour pressed on the facility’s fail-
safe design, state legislators had
questions concerning the safety
of the facility proposed to be built
next to the Dallas School District
pus.
Concerns raised by state Sen.
Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township,
and state Rep. Karen Boback, R-
Harveys Lake, about the proximi-
ty of the Dallas Township site to
the four district schools — Wycal-
lis Elementary, Dallas Elemen-
tary, Dallas Middle School and
Dallas High School, have led offi-
cials with Chief to announce
plans to relocate the proposed
natural gas compressor away
from the Dallas School District
campus to “a more rural area of
its decision to explore alternate
properties in the township was
spurred by the visit the company
hosted to the Hop Bottom site.
The 5-acre Hop Bottom station
is located on Korban Road near a
farm and contains several tanks,
piping, a building that houses
three compressor engines, a con-
trol center and a metering sta-
tion.
The tour was hosted by Steve
Hamilton, Chief’s Appalachia re-
gion operations manager; Ted
Waurfel, the vice president of En-
vironmental, Safety and Regula-
tory Affairs for the company; and
the site’s sole operator, Harry
Stanley.
Boback, her assistant, Carol
Sweeney; Baker and her assist-
ant, Tom Yonifski, attended the
tour to ask questions and better
understand the process of a com-
pressor station. Lenox Township
supervisors Fred Benson and
James Taylor also toured the site.
The compressor engines were
not running at the time of the vis-
it because the natural gas going
through the facility was at its
peak compression and the en-
gines were not needed.
The station gathers natural gas
from wells that are 3 to 5 miles
away. The gas goes through a
Dallas township.”
In a press release issued
Wednesday, the company stated
number of processes before being
See RELOCATE, Page 12
NEWS AT A GLANCE
Jan. 18, 2011 - A resident asks Dallas Township supervisors about a
proposed natural gas compressor station to be built in the area at the
board's regular meeting. Supervisors confirm that they and officials
from the Dallas School District held separate meetings with repre-
sentatives from Chief Gathering LLC about a compressor station
planned for Hildebrandt Road near the district campus.
Jan. 21, 201 - Chief Gathering LLC submits an application for special
zoning exceptions to build a 5-acre natural gas compressor station on
property owned by Robert Hayes at 49 Hildebrandt Road. The site,
which is estimated to be 1150 feet away from the school district prop-
erty line, would include a metering facility, several tanks, a glycol
dehydrator, a building to house compressor engines and a 100-foot
radio tower.
Jan. 25, 201 - Protesters take to the Dallas School District campus to
hand out flyers in opposition of the proposed compressor station.
Feb. 1, 201 - Nearly 40 residents brave icy roads to address the Dallas
uestions about the site but are given the same answer by Solicitor
Thomas Brennan - the decision will be made by the township's zoning
board, which must comply with the law in its decision.
® supervisors at their regular meeting. Residents ask numerous
Feb. 7, 201 = About 80 residents and parents pack the Dallas School
Board meeting room to urge the board to choose a stance against the
proposed compressor station. The board, which usually does not allow
comments at a work session meeting, allows parents to air concerns
about the station for nearly two hours after announcing its opposition
to the project. Prior to the meeting, Superintendent Frank Galicki said
the board was neutral in its position, as it did not have enough in-
formation to take a stance.
Feb. 9, 201 - A hearing begins for the Dallas Township Zoning Board
to make a decision on Chief Gathering LLC's application for special
zoning exceptions. Hundreds of parents and residents flood the audi-
torium of the Dallas Middle School as Ted Wurfel, vice president of
environmental, safety and regulatory affairs for Chief, testifies and
the school district's interests are represented by an attorney. Zoning
board member Conrad Higgins is unable to actively participate in the
proceedings, as his right-of-way agreement with Chief is seen as a
conflict of interests in accordance with the state ethics commission.
Higgins is granted the ability to provide a deciding vote for the three-
member board, if it is needed. After two hours of testimony, the hear-
ing is set to be continued on Feb. 23 and the zoning board agrees to
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Operations manager Steve Hamilton explains the inner workings of a newly-erected ¢3 unit compressor station on a five-acre site in
Hop Bottom.
tour a compressor station owned by Chief.
Feb. 15, 201 - Residents ask the Dallas Township supervisors to choose
an alternate zoning board member for Higgins. Brennan explains an
alternate would have been chosen at the township's annual reorga-
nization meeting, and it would be difficult to choose an alternate in the
middle of the hearing proceedings.
Feb. 16, 201 - About 15 children from Dallas School District elementary
schools gather at the Dallas Township municipal building to express
their ill feelings about the proposed compressor station.
Feb. 18, 2011 - Representatives from Chief Gathering LLC host a tour of
the Susquehanna East compressor station in Hop Bottom for local
legislators and the media. Prior to the event, The Dallas Post learns that
the Dallas Township Zoning Board and Dallas School District officials
will not attend the tour because Chief decided to revise its application
and resubmit at a later date.
Feb. 23, 20M - Chief Gathering LLC announces that, after listening to
the concerns of state Sen. Lisa Baker, state Rep. Karen Boback and the
community, the company will research alternate locations for the com-
pressor station. The company confirms that a metering facility will still
be built in the area near the district campus.
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Zach Holthaus practices soccer
in his backyard in Dallas but
will soon learn more skills at a
tournament in Portugal.
00
OTE
680981512007
Dallas soccer player
Zachary Holthaus will play
as part of the United
Soccer Training Academy.
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Zachary Holthaus could tell
you about how excited he is to
play soccer in Portugal this
April - if he would put down
his soccer ball for just a min-
ute.
The dynamic 8-year-old of
Dallas was recently chosen to
play soccer as part of the Unit-
ed Soccer Training Academy to
compete in the Mundialito
Tournament in Portimao, Por-
tugal. The tournament will fea-
ture teams of boys from five
continents and more than 30
countries.
Sue Holthaus, Zach’s moth-
er, was more than a little sur-
prised when she learned her
son had won a coveted spot on
the team.
The tryouts, held at the
Wyoming Valley Sports Dome
in Wilkes-Barre, last four hours
and featured more than 400
boys kicking their way to the
top of the pack.
Zach said the boys had to
play scrimmages and perform
pass and defend, one-touch
and two-touch passing and
quick feet movement demon-
strations.
Sue said the club needed two
teams for the tournament — one
team comprised of boys born
between 1999 and 2000, and
another of those born between
2001 and 2002. Four hundred
fifty boys tried out; the USTA
directors narrowed it down to
50, then 19, then just nine,
which included boys from Gha-
na and Brazil who were previ-
ously chosen.
Sue thought the worst for
Zach, who’s been playing the
game since he was about 4
years old.
“There are just so many great
kids out there,” she said. “I
didn’t think he would make it.”
Just when the family’s hope
was running out, a week later
at aregular USTA practice, Sue
got tipped off by the director of
the program — not by her son,
who learned hours earlier that
he had been chosen to the
team.
“(Zach) didn’t even tell me.
He just went back to practice,”
said Sue. “I thought that the
fact that he’d made the tryout
was a big deal all of its own.”
The family had a tough deci-
sion to make upon receiving
the news. The Holthaus famil
heads to Portugal
SPAGHETTI! DINNER
Sue Holthaus will host a spaghetti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednes-
day, March 23 in the Dallas Middle School cafeteria as a fundraiser to
help with Zach's costs for his trip to play soccer in Portugal. Tickets cost
$7 and walk-ins and take outs are welcome. For more information or to
purchase tickets, contact Sue at 675-0537.
had fallen on some hard times
near the end of last year, and
Sue was worried the family
would not be able to afford the
trip.
“It was a big decision to
make,” she said.
Sue said she realized that
Zach might not have another
opportunity like this, so she
and her husband, Ryan, decid-
ed to take the 3,500 mile trek to
the South American country.
Funding is still an issue for
the Holthaus family, so several
fundraisers have been to offset
the costs of Zach’s trip. Sue
said it will cost about $2,300
for Zach to participate in the
tournament, which includes
airfare, hotel costs and tourna-
ment fees.
“We didn’t want to deprive
him of this opportunity,” said
Sue. “He might not ever get the
chance to do this again.”
In addition to selling candy
bars and lottery calendars at
Thomas’ Food Town in Shaver-
town, Sue has set up a donation
account at the Citizens Bank
on Main Street in Dallas. The
account is called the Zach for
Portugal fund, and anyone can
donate any amount at any
time.
Financial worries aside,
Zach and Sue are excited for
the trip and have been prepar-
ing for their arrival in Portugal
since they found out they were
going.
Sue, who works at the Dallas
Middle School, said the lan-
guage teachers have been good
resources for learning some
key phrases she and her family
may need while overseas.
“All I really need to know is,
‘Where’s the bathroom?” she
said.
The only member of the
Holthaus family not planning
to make the trip? Eleven-year-
old Hollie.
“She doesn’t want to be
hanging out with her parents
the whole time,” laughed Sue