Vol. 121 No. 23 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 24 - 30, 2011 The ALEAS POST: WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER DAMA offici By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Dallas Area Municipal Authority voted July 14 to be- gin its own solid waste collec- tion in Dallas Borough, Dallas Township and Kingston Town- ship. The authority currently uti- lizes the services of J.P. Masca- ro & Sons, based in Audubon, to pick up solid waste and recy- cling within the municipalities. DAMA Board Assistant Sec- retary John Oliver said the DA- MA board began exploring the idea of self-collection about six months ago with the help of Paul Keating, administrator of the municipality of Kingston. DAMA Executive Director Larry Spaciano said the self- “We hope to be able to hire a substantial workforce within the operating area. This will put something back in the community.” Larry Spaciano DAMA Executive Director collection process could save more than $600,000 a year, but residents won't see a major change in cost right away. The average household currently pays about $260 a year. The board will purchase four 30-yard garbage trucks and one 10-yard truck via the state’s purchasing program. Spaciano said the cost of the larger trucks will be about $166,000 each and will be financed for five years. One of the larger trucks will serve as a “backup” in order to ensure the proper maintenance of all the vehicles. Between eight and 12 people als approve formation of waste collection program will be hired as part of the self- collection plan, including a sol- id waste collection supervisor. The board will form a commit- tee to discuss job descriptions, salaries and benefits details for each of the positions. “We hope to be able to hire a substantial workforce within the operating area,” said Spa- ciano. “This will put something back in the community.” GOH uniforms enroute to Africa $ By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com While the Gate of Heaven School may just be a memory, uniforms from the Catholic ele- mentary school will live on and clothe children about 4,700 miles away. Parents of former Gate of Heaven students have begun collecting uniforms to send to children in West Africa through a non-profit organiza- tion called the Teach Peace Foundation which, according to its website, aims to “trans- form from a world based on greed to a world based on kind- ness.” Susan Diana, of Lehman, led the cause as a former “home- room parent” for Gate of Heav- en School. When it was men- tioned to her that donating the uniforms would be a great idea, Diana contacted the Rev. James Paisley of St. Therese’s Church to see if there was a possibility to bring the idea to fruition. “He said he had two contacts but they were out of the coun- try at the time,” she said. Despite the lag time in orga- puzing the shipment, Diana be- gan to spread the word about the collection and parents re- sponded. Diana announced via e-mail that her minivan would be parked in the Gate of Heaven School parking lot on certain days. Parents drove to the site, clutching green and yellow plaid uniforms. Diana even found two garbage bags filled with uniforms before she parked her van. Many parents said it was dif- ficult to let go of the memor- abilia, but were happy to do- nate the items to a good cause. “We did keep one piece be- cause were going to have it made into one of those Teddy Bears,” said parent Deanna Mennig, of Dallas, who feels good about helping others in need, despite losing an iconic memento from the school To donate Gate of Heaven School uniforms for the Teach Peace program, contact Rockensies at 406-4533 or via e-mail at krock@epix.net. For more in- formation about Teach Peace, visit www.teachpeace.com. which closed this summer. “We kept some basketball hoodies,” she said. Kevin Rockensies, executive director of Teach Peace, said the uniforms will be a much- appreciated necessity for chil- dren attending school in Liber- ia, Africa. “It will mean the world to them - some will use them for school because each school (there) has a uniform, but even if they are not used for school they are used for regular cloth- ing,” said Rockensies. “A lot of times I'll go over there and the children are wearing rags and torn shirts. Between the heat and conditions there, things do get dried out. It will definitely mean a lot.” Rockensies, of Dallas, has been helping children in West Africa for about 12 years, hav- ing first become involved with Teach Peace after working with Sr. Mary Sponsa Beltran, of Ashley, in the Our Lady of Fatima Rehabilitation Center in Liberia helping poverty- stricken disabled children. The rehab center is now part of the Teach Peace Foundation’s Spe- cial Ambassadors program. Money will be raised to ship the materials to Africa but if enough money is not raised be- fore the end of the year, Rock- ensies will take some of the uniforms with him on one of his bi-annual trips to West Afri- ca. “I'm very thankful Fr. Paisley contacted me about the uni- forms,” he said. “It’s not often we get calls like that. We usu- ally get monetary donations, but it’s good to have donations like this because it really helps these kids.” CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Susan Diana, of Lehman, holds up a child's uniform from Gate of Heaven School she will pack up to send to Africa. A od _ plete in about five months after AW, THAT'S GOOD! CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Lemonade tastes good to Kieran Long, of Wyoming. Kieran and his brother, Spencer, visited the Back Mountain Library Farmer's Market on opening day last Saturday. For more farmer's market photos, please turn to page 4. Readdressing by 9 causing confusion By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com “If a letter doesn't get delivered, it's not a big deal, but if we don't respond, we get sued or some- one could die. This minor inconvenience is worth a Many residents in Dallas Bor- ough and Dallas Township have recently been instructed to change their addresses as part of lifetime of safety.” Fred Rosencrans on Data/Technical Support Manager a project instituted by Luzerne data analysis is completed in Kingston Township and Bear Creek Township. Residents received letters about the change on June 30 and have been urged to make the ad- dress changes immediately. Ro- sencrans said post offices will de- liver mail to both new and old ad- dresses for up to a year, and local fire companies have copies of new and old addresses to ensure an accurate response to emergen- cies. Rosencrans said out of about 3,500 addresses in the Dallas ar- ea, 50 have lodged complaints with 911. Dallas Borough Manag- er Tracey Carr said she’s also re- ceived a few complaints out of the hundreds of addresses changed within the borough. Jennie Congleton, a Dallas County 911. Some residents are frustrated by the change, but emergency officials say the pro- ject is all in the name of public safety. Since the 1998 inception of 911 in Luzerne County, tens of thou- sands of addresses have changed to become part of a national stan- dard, according to Fred Rosen- crans, 911 Data/Technical Sup- port Manager. The idea behind the readdress- ing project is for fire, ambulance and emergency medical services responders to be able to clearly find a caller in the event of an emergency. The project is now underway in Dallas Borough and Dallas Township, and Rosencrans said the entire process should be com- rk Borough resident, said she’s frus- trated with the change because it seems like an illogical measure. She said the numbers on her street have become disjointed rather than consecutive, causing confusion among her neighbors. “It goes from 1, 2, 3, 4 all the way to 11,” she said. “Now the houses are 15, 49, 45, 16, 19, 11, and the other side is 52 and 28... we don’t consider this safe.” Carr said Congleton’s street is a primary example of why the readdressing needed to be done. “Her street started at 100, and then went to 1 and the house next to hers was 2,” said Carr. “That was a case of odds and evens be- ing on the same side.” Carr said the borough is work- ing from the recommendations of Luzerne County 911. She said she knows what residents are dealing with — her own address has changed three times since the project started. But she be- lieves the changes are for the right reasons. “That bit of inconvenience is certainly outweighed if an ambu- lance or police car can get to you or your neighbors quicker,” she said. “It’s worth it.” Rosencrans, who also works for the Dallas Township police department, said the project means phasing out the old rural route system and driveways with two or more houses or in excess of 1,000 feet must have a street sign posted. He said houses are renumbered according to the Frontage interval addressing sys- 6 "809815%20079% "9 See 911, Page 10
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