Vol. 122 No. 22 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 17 - 23, 2011 The DALLAS POST. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Repairs to dam may take another year Work will begin this summer on another damaged bridge on Chase Road, pending right-of-way procurements. (Luzerne County Engineer Joseph) Gibbons said traffic will be directed to Hillside Road until work is completed. Once that project is finished, the plan is to immediately begin on the Hillside Bridge. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Residents of Hillside Road in Jackson Township looking to be re- lieved of flooding fears may have to wait until late this year or spring of next year before they can relax. The Hillside Bridge near the Farmer’s Inn has been damaged since June 2006 — heavy flooding caused the Huntsville Dam to over- flow and a pipe underneath the bridge was too narrow to hold the gushing water, leading to severe damage to the bridge and flooding of nearby homes. Repairing the bridge, which is owned by the county, has been a slow process. Luzerne County Engineer Jo- seph Gibbons said procuring funds and filing paperwork contributed to the process. Funding for the pro- ject was received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. “It took about two years to get funding and have a job program that we could start work on it,” said Gibbons. He added that hiring designers, contractors and consultants is also part of the rebuilding process, which takes time. Work will begin this summer on another damaged bridge on Chase Road, pending right-of-way pro- curements. Gibbons said traffic will be directed to Hillside Road until work is completed. Once that project is finished, the plan is to im- mediately begin on the Hillside Bridge. Thereis another setback —a sew- er line underneath the bridge needs to be relocated before work can commence. Jackson Township Supervisor John Wilkes Jr. said the work was put out for bid earlier this month, but at a special meeting on July 11, supervisors revealed no bids were received for the project. Wilkes said the relocation pro- ject would need to begin 15 days af- ter a bid is awarded, and some con- struction companies have too much on their plates to begin a pro- ject that soon. The project will be advertised for bidding again and another special meeting will be held at 9 a.m. July 25. Novella Huey of Hillside Road knows what it’s like to wait for the work to be completed — she’s been See DAM, Page 11 IL CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Water around the Huntsville Dam flows under the main intersec- tion in Huntsville and into Hillside Creek, at times causing flood- ing further down on Hillside Road. welcomes By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Another chapter is being writ- ten in the history of Trucksville United Methodist Church as the a congregation says goodbye to its first female pastor and wel- comes its second. The Rev. Lori Steffenson re- cently left the church to take a position as the United Metho- dist Church Susquehanna Con- ference district superintendent of the State College area. The termed position includes overseeing clergy in a district of 107 churches, which includes close to 10,000 worshippers — a few more than the Trucksville church’s approximately 600 members. “Im responsible for working Wyith clergy, I consult with the bishop which pastors are ap- pointed, I meet with yearly business, I consult with each church to make sure they are in order, as issues come up, churches or clergy, I offer assist- ance,” Steffenson said of her new position. “I give (churches) resources to grow and give them leadership to become who God has called them to be.” A native of New Hampshire, Steffenson announced her de- parture to the church congrega- tion in winter and immediately worked to ensure a smooth transition. She’s been working as a min- ister since 1998 and received her appointment in Trucksville from the bishop in 2008. When she got there, she felt like she was home, in a way. Steffenson said there is a fam- ily named Kresge in her history who actually settled in Trucks- JMC bids one pastor farewell, another As Steffenson steps down from the pulpit, a minister originally from the Gettysburg area joins the Trucksville United Metho- dist Church community. The Rev. Marian Hartman started preaching at Trucksville on July 3, and the congregation held a welcoming ceremony for its new pastor on July 10. ville, and she found their tomb- stones in the Trucksville United Methodist Church Cemetery. “I found them back eight gen- erations in the cemetery at Trucksville,” she said. Leaving the church was diffi- cult for Steffenson because of Trucksville’s unique youth con- gregation. “It’s hard, especially because Trucksville is blessed to have a wonderful span of ages in it,” she said. “Many churches do not have young people, and now I will not have the ability to work often with children and youth.” She would have loved to see the children grow up during her tenure at the church, but is now able to help other churches de- velop similar programs. “Im looking forward to hav- ing the ability to, hopefully, en- courage the churches here to use their gifts and talents God has given them,” she said. As Steffenson steps down from the pulpit, a minister orig- inally from the Gettysburg area joins the Trucksville United Methodist Church community. See PASTOR, Page 9 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Pastor Lori Steffenson and her husband Ted Gabriel walk down the aisle at Trucksville United Methodist Church for the last time. 1. Steffenson has taken a new assignment near Sate College. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST - Artist Sue Hand paints her annual painting on site at the 65th Annual Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction. Hand's painting fetches a bundle "Going, going, going for $63,000." Artist paints on site at auction, puts painting up for bid and donates prize. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com A sea of bidders at the 65th Annual Back Mountain Memo- rial Library Auction sat in the middle of a quiet chaos Sunday night as auctioneers spoke fever- ishly over a loudspeaker to sell antique curtain rods and old friends chatted in low tones be- hind the bleachers, as to not dis- turb the patient bidders. The final hours of the four-day auction, the library’s largest fun- draiser, were met with relief by volunteers, who finished their work in various booths with ex- hausted, aching bodies and smiles on their faces. “It’s been really busy the past two days,” said 17-year-old Kirby Smith. “We pretty much cleared out most of the toys, and records went really fast because they were three for $1.” The Dallas resident was sit- ting near the Odds and Ends cash register as the tent’s head honcho, Wayne Williams of Trucksville, told enthusiastic bargain seekers to stand in line for $2 bag time. “You can fill a paper bag with anything for $2,” said Smith. As the curve of the line filled with eager shoppers began to hug the edge of the gyro stand, the $2 deal became more appeal- ing. Stragglers walking aimless- ly on the library grounds found themselves looking ahead and imagining what they would put in their bags. Smith already had the upper hand. She'd done her shopping the day before. “I got a few videos ... and a purse,” she said, smiling. A walk toward the kids’ area as the sun began to set revealed a group of auction-goers who nev- er get tired — dozens of children tossed bean bags, filled jars with sand and climbed the wrong way up a sliding board, never getting enough of the auction action. “l must have gone through 2,000 jars,” said Kingston resi- dent Joyce Dembroski-Geb- hardt, who manned the sand art tent. Children gathered around Dembroski-Gebhardt and her helpers throughout the night, asking for prices on the jars and how much yellow sand was left. “It's been pretty constant, pretty steady,” she said. Nearer to the auction block, Sue Hand and her family anx- iously awaited the moment ev- ery attendee was waiting for — the original auction painting Hand had worked on for the past few days was about to be placed up for bid. She and two student artists, Madison Ziemba and Amanda Martin, both 15, painted throughout the auction to place their prized auction portrayals up on the block to benefit the li- brary. Martin's painting, depicting the auction in days of yore, sold Andrew Santora Volunteer auctioneer slipped up on the amount bidder was willing to pay quickly for a cool $500. Auctio- neer Steve Traver started a bid for Ziemba’s work that charac- terized the current auction at $1,500, and with a little cajoling of his close friend, Randy Mark of Dallas, was able to grab $1,600 for the piece. “He’s a hell of a guy,” Traver shouted over the loudspeaker about his friend, who, after the ordeal, sheepishly laid the bid number 61 across his lap. Andrew Santora, 17, of Dallas, was the next auctioneer to chant and sell. A member of Boy Scout Troop 281, he’s only worked the microphone as a children’s auc- tioneer, and even then, never sold anything over $75. Last year local artist Sue Hand’s painting garnered almost $5,000 for the library’s general fund. The beginning of bidding was like a shotgun releasing race horses. Viewers couldn’t blink without missing another bid- der’s hand as the price rose in $100 increments from $1,000 to $3,000 to $5,000. Santora’s voice grew hoarse and weary as he strained to in- crease the price from $5,400 to $6,000. Bidders were a little more hes- itant in those final moments, and Traver worked the crowd to coax the bidders into raising their hands — even the slightest movement would cause Traver to yelp over the murmuring crowd and the price would raise another $100. At $6,300, there was a stand- still. “Going, going, going for $63,000,” said Santora, slipping up on the price the bidder was willing to pay. “No!” yelled the crowd, which immediately erupted into laugh- ter soon after. When Santora finally let the crowd know that bidder number 73, Deb Cooper of Dallas, won the prized piece, applause took over the sounds seeping through the event, and a standing ova- tion was in order. “I always wanted to buy one,” said Cooper as she posed for photographs afterwards. “I live for the auction, and I love the li- brary.” on Mo9815120075H15
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers