Vol.122 No. 32 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 October 2 - 8, 2011 ‘The 50¢ CY WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Wet weather doesnt help farmers This season's weather has wreaked havoc on crops, causing many problems. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Chris Dymond knows what in- clement weather can do to a farm. He’s got boxes stacked with hundreds — maybe thousands — of pale, blistered tomatoes in the Dymond’s Farm produce stand on Brace Road in Orange. The wet weather local farms have experienced this growing season, including two hurricanes within a month, have wreaked ha- voc on crops, causing knocked down corn stalks, mold-ridden aerry trees and questionable npkin patches. “The corn stalks didn’t break but now they’re hell to pick,” said Dymond, a lifelong farmer. “The pumpkins I'm not sure about. I'm not sure they'll hold up with all this water.” “Some storms at the beginning of this year set us back; and the growing season was about two and a half weeks late. Every year it's a 50/50 chance." Chris Dymond Back Mountain farmer But a quick look at pretty pumpkins adorning benches out- side the Dymond’s stand says otherwise. Dymond said those gourds were picked a bit earlier than usual and seemed to be do- ing just fine. It’s not all bad news for Dy- mond — he’s got at least one trick up his sleeve. He had more than an acre of crops, including ber- ries, peppers and eggplant, cov- ered in tunnel-shaped greenhous- es, protected from the heavy rain. The measure saved many crops prone to water damage, in- cluding tomatoes. Those picked from underneath the plastic tun- nel’s protection are plump, bright red and ready to eat. But.the farming industry isn’t for the weak-hearted or abun- dantly hopeful. While Dymond said this year was “not good” in terms of weather, every year is a gamble when business is depend- ent upon the number of perfect days. “Some storms at the beginning of this year set us back, and the growing season was about two and a half weeks late,” he said. “Every year it’s a 50/50 chance.” Norman Darling, of Darling & Sons’ Farms & Greenhouses, of- ten finds himself sitting in a re- cliner outside his Hildebrandt Road stand, talking shop with friends and fellow farmers. Darling has much to reflect on these days, including the devas- tating loss his farm took during the early September flooding. About 30 feet of water from the Susquehanna River swept and covered his farmland in Plains Township, which totals about 16 acres. “We lost everything,” he said. “When the water went down, we had three buildings missing. I es- timate we had about $125,000 worth of damage.” Despite his complete loss in Plains Township, Darling is thankful for land the farm has in Dallas. About 35 acres remain in- tact, though the wet weather and extreme wind from Hurricane Irene at the end of August also caused some troubles. “Thank goodness we have this land,” he said. “Some farmers were left with nothing.” The flood damage is nothing new to Darling. The land in Plains Township was purchased by his father in 1914, and major See FARMERS, Page 12 Chris Dymond of Dymond'’s Farm in Orange shows the dif- ference in tomatoes grown with weather protection, right, and those grown without. BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Lori Russell, of Dallas, Director of Adventures in Learning Child Care, unloads toy donations for flood victims in Tunkhannock. BMT residents offer aid to flood By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Lori Russell lifted two brightly-colored walking toys and carried them to a cleared space across a dark warehouse in downtown Tunkhannock. She was organizing children’s playthings - something she finds herself doing on a daily sis. @. on September 24, Rus- sell, director of Adventures in Learning Child Care, was ma- neuvering kids’ knickknacks for a different reason. She has teamed up with In- terfaith Friends and other local organizations to provide cloth- ing, cleaning supplies and oth- er items to flood victims in Wyoming and Bradford coun- ties. Russell set up a drive at her two Adventures in Learning Child Care locations in Dallas The Interfaith Friends Flood Relief Distribution Site is located at 189 E. Tioga St., Tunkhannock, next to Brick's Market. The center's hours are from noon to 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For more informa- tion, contact 836-2428. For more information about Adventures in Learning Child Care's donation drive or to request items, contact Lori Russell at 675-2128. to collect children’s toys at first, but then she moved on to winter clothing, shoes, bed- ding and food. She and her husband and two children help by collecting, loading and unloading and or- ganizing materials as often as ‘they can. “My big thing is any time See F LOOD, Page 12 3 victims BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Tunkhannock Mayor Norm Ball, left, assists driver Mike Bates, of Honesdale, with unloading donations for flood victims at the In- there’s a natural disaster, I terfaith Friends Flood Relief Distribution Site at 189 E. Tioga Ave. in Tunkhannock. fr Council considers gas amendment fo zoning ordinance By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Harveys Lake Borough Council will consider an amendment to its zoning or- dinance related to natural gas activities this month, but not before the public presents input on the docu- ment. A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct.3 to discuss the pro- posed amendment, which limits most natural gas ac- tivities to an area that en- compasses less than one percent of borough land. The ordinance, prepared by the borough’s Environ- mental Advisory Commit- tee, allows for oil and gas pipelines to be approved as a conditional use in most zoning districts in the bor- ough, but limits most other oil and natural gas activ- ities, such as compressor stations, metering facilities, wells and water treatment plants, to the manufacturing district only. Larry Radel, a member of both council and the Envi- ronmental Advisory Com- mittee, said the goal of the amendment is to allow the natural gas industry to do business in the borough while also protecting the in- terests of residents and the lake. “What we are trying to do really is create something that doesn’t go directly against the state oil and gas act, but works with it,” said Radel. Earlier this year, council had considered an ordinance drafted by the Community Environmental Legal De- fense Fund of Chambersburg that would have essentially banned natural gas drilling in the borough. The measure was struck down unanimously by coun- cil, but work was underway to update the zoning ordi- nance to further protect citi- Call 639-2113 or stop by the mu- nicipal building on Route 415 to pick up a copy of the ordinance. The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 in the municipal building. zens and the environment. “After further research with several lawyers and specific consultants, the le- gality ' of that ordinance would go against the ethics set forth with the current state oil and gas act,” said Radel. From there, Radel said council listened to resi- dents’ concerns and wanted to set up an organization solely dedicated to prepar- ing this document. “We set up a committee comprised of several council members, some local Gas Drilling Awareness Coali- tion members, geologists and so forth, so we could go over what we can do to strengthen the current ordi- nance,” he said. The resulting document is one that sets specific guide- lines for natural gas and oil industry activities, includ- ing stipulations for parking, access roads, truck routes, noise, fencing, emergency response plans, lighting, wa- ter testing and pollution lia- bility. “I think that the changes are not changes, but more specific supplemental amendments to clarify pos- sible discrepancies,” said Radel. “It’s to clarify certain industry activities and not make it so broad brushed.” 200 09815 = On 790g
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