Vol.122 No. 20 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 3 - 9, 2011 The DALLAS PosT. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER The Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction started in1947 in a barn on the property of former Dallas Post Editor Howard Ridley. Library Auction steeped in history THE 65TH BACK MOUNTAIN LIBRARY AUCTION See today's special insert for more information about the auction which By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Back Mountain Library Auction started with humble ex- pectations in 1947 by Howard Risley, former editor and publish- er of The Dallas Post, to benefit the new library serving the Back Mountain community. Over the years, the communi- ty-based fundraiser has grown ex- ponentially in size, goods and dollars and has become the most important part of keeping the li- brary intact. It once provided at least one quarter of the library’s budget, but library director Mar- starts Thursday. tha Butler said, due to inflation and rising costs, the auction has netted about 12 to 15 percent of the budget for the past 16 years. “It’s a huge, huge help for the library,” she said. This will be the 65th year the library auction has graced the borough of Dallas, and though there are always new events, items and people to look forward to, a look back on auction history will show that at its heart, the auction is still a representation of the Back Mountain community’s spirit of generosity for the library. From humble beginnings In early 1947, a group of wom- en gathered to generate ideas for keeping the library, established in 1945, afloat. Community dona- tions were down and the library’s financial reserves were running low. After several scrapped ideas, Mrs. Lewis LeGrand remem- bered a friend of hers who had or- ganized an auction as a fundrais- er and was able to earn $700. When LeGrand mentioned the idea to Risley, he reportedly said, “Hell, we’ll have an auction and make $2,000!” The first auction was held at Risley’s barn on Lehman Avenue, a short distance from the library grounds on Main Street. In addi- tion to selling household goods, the auction also sold livestock such as horses, cows, sheep, pigs, seed and manure. Three booths included a re- freshment stand, baked goods and what is now considered Odds and Ends. The antiques commit- See AUCTION, Page 12 Lhristian-hased school forming In Back Rock Solid Academy hopes to begin its first academic year in August 2012. Five local churches are part of a committee to start a Chris tian-based private school in the Back Mountain. Mark DiPippa, of Wilkes- Barre, has been hired as presi- dent and director of Rock Solid Academy, which hopes to begin its first academic year in August 2012. DiPippa previously served as director of the Wyoming Valley Montessori School and the di- rector of development for MMI Preparatory School. He said many parents and church members in the Back ountain expressed interest in hunding a private school in the area about 18 months ago. Thanks to an anonymous do- nor’s gift in April, the school has been given the green light for establishment. In addition to the anonymous donor’s gift, DiPippa said the school organizers are planning a $1.5 million founding fun- draising campaign this year to help with costs. He would also like to acquire endowed funds for the school to try to cut accu- mulated debt. DiPippa said the school will be a kindergarten through eighth-grade school with hopes of eventually opening a high school. He said the school wants to focus on the develop- ment of “not only the body and mind, but also the spirit” of stu- dents. Many families have ex- pressed interest in becoming Min. For more information about Rock Solid Academy, contact Mark DiPippa by phone at 498-7777, e-mail him at mdipip- pal@gmail.com or visit the school’s website at www.rocksoli- dacademy.org. part of the school, and DiPippa said the plan is to keep tuition as affordable as possible. The school will be Christian- based, but not limited to any sect or church. The five church- es currently involved in its de- velopment include Back Moun- tain Harvest Assembly in Trucksville, First Assembly of God Church in Wilkes-Barre, Cross Creek Community Church in Trucksville, the Evangelical Free Church in Dal- las and High Point Baptist Church in Larksville. DiPippa would like to see more Christian churches have input in the school’s develop- ment and several committees have been created to begin that process. “We should have our curricu- lum finished by August,” he said. DiPippa said a location for the school is still in the plan- ning stages — the founding group did approach officials from the now-closed Gate of Heaven School as an option, but DiPippa said church officials stated they were not in the posi- tion to discuss anything about the building’s future at this time. Several other buildings in the Back Mountain are also be- ing considered. - “When it’s right, it will hap- pen,” he said. CR - CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST The funnel cake brigade at the Gate of Heaven Church Bazaar consists of, from left, Diane Buckman, Angie Murray, Evelyn Napieraliski, Marion Lanman and Ruth Hartzel. School closing affects bazaar volunteers Some declined to help while other wanted to make the GOH bazaar better than ever. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The familiar sound of potato pancakes sizzling in the distance accompanied a crowd slowly forming at the Gate of Heaven Church Bazaar on June 23. Even a brief period of rain didn’t stop attendees from sitting in an unenclosed area in front of a stage where a few young boys took turns performing “Never Say Never” by teen heartthrob Justin Beiber. But some bazaar-goers noticed a different feeling at the annual event, as the three-day bazaar was held a little over a week after the closing of the church’s Cathol- ic elementary school. The Rev. Daniel Toomey said church attendance is still the same since the announcement of the school’s closure in April, and he hopes it stays that way. “The bottom line is (the ba- zaar) is community building,” he said. “The school may be closed, but the church still exists.” Gate of Heaven parish and school were both built in 1951 in the heart of Dallas. The church began as an offshoot of St. There- se’s in Shavertown. Toomey also serves as pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church in Harveys Lake. Our Lady of Victo- ry once served as a mission church for Gate of Heaven, but eventually became an independ- ent parish in 1969 due to the growing Catholic population in Harveys Lake, according to the church’s website. Bazaar organizer Bill Martin, of Dallas, said volunteers were af- fected by the announcement of the closure — some organizers de- clined to help, while others want- ed to make the bazaar better than it’s ever been. “We thought it would hinder us,” he said. “It kind of did. But a lot of new people jumped on board to help.” Even Toomey said he saw a lot of new faces at the bazaar’s many booths during the event, which he said was a positive sign. Judy Legg, of Dallas, was a fa- miliar fixture at the lemonade stand — she’s been working the event in different capacities for about 10 years. She was a member of St. Casi- mir’s in Pittston before it closed its doors in 2008, but always worked at the Gate of Heaven Ba- zaar with her daughter, Judy Pa- nagakos, before Panagakos died of breast cancer in 2007. Now Legg is a full-time volunteer and parishioner of the church. “Now, I'm just waiting for any- thing to happen,” said Legg as she topped off a customer’s lem- onade cup. “There’s so much change, and people are miserable for no reason. Progress is pro- gress.” Martin said the school closing influenced parishioners to make the church stronger, and the ba- zaar was the first step. “People were concerned but ev- eryone pulled together,” he said. One element missing from the event was its long-running Bingo table, but Martin said booths at the bazaar are subject to staffing issues every year. “Usually that’s young kids working (the Bingo booth),” he said. “The kid that signed up end- ed up taking some vacation time that week.” Martin said the game isn’t a big money-generator for the event, but if the lack of Bingo was a ma- jor concern, the event staff would have rotated to keep it intact. “We asked ourselves, ‘Is it real- ly worth pulling people?” he said. See BAZAAR, Page 12 DALLAS SCHOOL DISTR ICT School Board adopts 201-2012 budget which includes 5% tax increase By SARAH HITE ) shite@mydallaspost.com By a 6-2 vote, the Dallas School Board adopted its final budget for the 2011-12 school year Tuesday night, which includes a 5 percent increase for district taxpayers. Board members Dennis Go- choel Jr. and Maureen Matiska vot- ed against the measure while Bruce Goeringer, Karen Kyle, Rus- sell Bigus, Gary Mathers, Charles Preece and Catherine Wega voted for the hike. Richard Coslett was not present. - «}) The increase from 11.0118 to 11.5824 mills for property owners in Dallas Borough and Dallas, Franklin and Kingston townships has been an expectation since the board first presented its $32 mil- lion spending plan in January. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value. Business Manager Grant Palfey said the increase translates to an additional $85 per an average as- sessed property value of $154,500. Palfey said the board had to in- crease taxes to fund the remaining costs of the new high school con- struction project, set to conclude The increase from 11.0118 to 1.5824 mills for property owners in Dallas Borough and Dallas, Franklin and Kingston townships has been an expectation since the board first presented its $32 million spending plan in January. this summer. The $38 million pro- ject has been funded by taxpayers for the last eight years. Prior to voting, Kyle said she dis- agreed with how the budget was balanced but is “100 percent be- hind financing the school.” Several other board members agreed with her. An unanticipated challenge of this year’s budget was trying to fig- ure out how to close the funding gap between what administrators expected to lose in state funding and the actual amount the district would lose. When Gov. Tom Corbett pre- sented the state budget in March, the board had to maneuver around an $896,000 budget shortfall, which was about $500,000 more than what it expected to lose. Pen- ny-pinching tactics, including not replacing retiring teachers, cutting before- and after-school tutoring programs, reducing a speech ther- apist position to an hourly rate and decreasing individual building budgets throughout the campus, led to a savings of about $826,000. The board also approved, in a 6-2 vote, to appoint Assistant Su- perintendent and Director of Cur- riculum and Instruction Paul Rein- ert to the position of Wycallis Ele- mentary School principal in addi- tion to his duties as director of curriculum and instruction. Reinert will replace Kathleen McCarthy, who retired this year af- ter 16 years of service. McCarthy's See BUDGET, Page 12 6 180981512007 A ig ©
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