Vol. 121 No. 29
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
September 18 - 23, 2011
The
&
Paras Post.
WILKES-BARRE, PA.
www.mydallaspost.com
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
Amid protests, Chief gets permission for pipeline
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
The Dallas Township Board of
Supervisors signed an agree-
ment Wednesday with Chief
Gathering LLC, which angered
residents who have been rally-
ing for months against natural
gas development in the area.
The agreement allows the
company to construct part of a
30-mile gathering line in the
township. The pipeline will tap
into the Transco interstate pipe-
line at a site off Hildebrandt
Road about 1,300 feet away from
the Dallas School District cam-
pus.
The terms are similar to that
of an agreement the township
UP NEXT
The next Dallas Township Board of Supervisors meeting will be held at
7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19 in the municipal building.
entered into with Williams Field
Services LLC last month. The
Williams pipeline tap-in site is
about 500 feet away from the
Chief site. Solicitor Thomas
Brennan said the only difference
between the two documents was
that Chief was party to the
agreement “under protest.”
Both companies have an
agreement in place with stipula-
tions. Those include providing
at least a 25-foot setback for the
pipeline from adjacent property
owners, insisting the companies
follow the township's land devel-
opment approval process, ensur-
ing the companies follow federal
regulations in relation to natural
gas pipelines and removing com-
ponents to both companies’ me-
tering stations, which still need
to be approved by the town-
ship’s zoning hearing board, to
make them “as benign as pos-
sible.”
Other stipulations in both
agreements include that the
companies cannot construct nat-
ural gas facilities within a 1.75-
mile radius of the Dallas School
District campus and a deed re-
See CHIEF, Page 13
New high
welcomes
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Despite some traffic back-up
and lingering construction crews
on campus, the new Dallas High
School was open for the business
of education on Wednesday,
Sept. 14.
Administrators and staff were
on hand to direct students
through the building, though stu-
dents had an orientation a few
weeks ago to familiarize them-
selves with the school.
“It’s awesome — it’s so big,” said
Cohner Rice, 17, of Shavertown.
He was one of those who attend-
ed the orientation but admitted
he still needs to adjust to the new
surroundings.
Principal Jeffrey Shaffer has
never seen students so excited to
come to school in his 20 years as
an administrator.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime ex-
perience,” he said. “The recent
weather events set us back but
we're here; we did it. It was four
years of work.”
Eighteen-year-old Dana Carey,
of Dallas, said she wasn’t around
for the orientation, but walked
around the building “in awe” be-
fore the school opened just to get
a glimpse of where she would fin-
h her Dallas High School ca-
reer.
Her favorite aspect of the new
school was the dining area, which
is part of the commons area.
Students pick up their lunches
in a buffet-style cafeteria before
heading out into the commons to
small, round tables with five plas-
tic chairs at each.
The commons area, where the
high school concession stand and
store are located, is drenched in
sunlight during the day due to
floor-to-ceiling windows.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “I real-
ly like the (dining) tables and
how intimate they are.”
The $43 million project has a
completion date of Sept. 18, but
students entered the new build-
ing in droves Wednesday, wan-
dering the halls with smiles on
their faces.
Traffic, construction hold ups
school
students
“This is a once-in-a-life-
time experience.”
Jeffrey Shaver
Dallas High School principal
Traffic patterns have changed
drastically for all schools on the
Dallas School District campus,
but administrators were on hand
to direct cars to the correct loca-
tions.
All passenger vehicles now
must enter the campus through
the Hildebrandt Road entrance,
while buses will travel through
the Conyngham Avenue access
road.
Once students and parents get
to Pear Tree Lane, the road
breaks into entrances to two
routes for the middle and high
schools. Signs instruct drivers to
parking areas and drop-off areas.
Pear Tree Lane is still an access
route, as well.
Buses aren’t organized accord-
ing to numbers but to designated
drop-off and pick-up areas. Stu-
dents assigned to an area are re-
minded that their bus number
won’t always be the same.
For Dallas Elementary School,
parents are encouraged to have
students ride the bus or car pool
with others to limit traffic. Par-
ents drop off their children at the
rear of the school using the Hilde-
brandt Road entrance and pick
them up at the front entrance us-
ing the Conyngham Avenue en-
trance.
Some construction crews were
also visible on the campus, pav-
ing the remainder of the high
school parking lot.
At a board meeting Monday
evening, Bob Nesbit of Crabtree
Rohrbaugh & Associates, the
project architect, said there are
still some lingering issues at the
high school, but most were clear-
ed up before the building’s doors
opened.
Other issues related to the fed-
eral Americans with Disabilities
Act compliance will need to be
completed during after-school
hours, but cause no disruption to
education at the school.
MAKING NATIONAL NEWS
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
It's not a good sign when national weather personalities converge on your area to do a live television spot. It usually means the
weather where you are is pretty nasty. Al Roker from NBC's “Today” show broadcast live from the Huntsville Dam last Friday
morning while parts of Wyoming Valley were already flooded and residents in other areas had been evacuated from their homes.
‘Roker, above center wearing a blue baseball hat , and members of NBC's camera crew are shown here at the base of the dam
which was reportedly higher than ever before. Extensive flooding occurred in West Pittston, Duryea and parts of Wilkes-Barre as
water from Hurricane Lee pushed the Wyoming Valley Levee System to exhaustion and caused the Susquehanna River to crest
at a record 42.66 feet. For more flood-related photos, please turn to pages 3 and 13.
New beginning for
Dallas HS Band
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
The Dallas High School
Marching Band has the most
members it’s had in nearly a dec-
ade, and students are excited to
learn fun music, make new
friends and have a winning sea-
son.
About 34 musicians are under
the direction of Mike Potoeski
this year, and the young band
(more than half its members are
comprised of seventh and
eighth-graders) is learning mu-
sic that’s making them see stars.
The theme of this year’s
marching band show is “Night at
the Movies,” with songs from
“The Dark Knight,” “Gettys-
burg,” “Star Wars” and “Super-
man.”
“l wanted to choose some-
thing that would appeal to an au-
dience as well as be appropriate
for competing and judges,” said
Potoeski.
In fitting with the theme,
drum major Grace Carolan, of
Dallas, dressed as “Star Wars”
character Princess Leia.
Carolan’s mother, Rita, said
the energy of the band is at a
high point this year, and she be-
See BAND, Page 13
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Amandeep Kaur finds herself lost in the new Dallas High School
on her way to the office.
eg
There are only five days re-
maining to vote for your fa-
vorite in more than 80 catego-
ries in the 2011 Best of the
Back Mountain Readers Con-
test sponsored by The Dallas
Post.
You can vote by using the
paper ballot which appears in
today’s edition of The Dallas
Post or by logging on to
www.mydallaspost.com.
Voting will continue until
Thursday, Sept. 22 after
which time winners in all cat-
egories will be notified and in-
Cast votes for Best of ..." today
vited to the Best of the Back
Mountain awards event
scheduled for Tuesday, Oct.
25 at fire & Ice on Toby Creek.
A special section announc-
ing the winners in all catego-
ries will appear in the October
30 issue of The Dallas Post.
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Allyson Spencer is happy to be
part of the Dallas High School
Marching Band.
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