Lm ! l Sunday, October 16, 2011 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 KINGSTON TOWNSHIP Bridge project By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Residents will need to wait another year before the East Center Street Bridge project can be completed, supervisors announced at a meeting Wednesday. The project, ongoing since 2001, has been delayed numer- ous times due to disputes among property owners. Now, due to contractual and other is- sues, the project architect Bor- ton-Lawson has requested a fifth extension on the project for a tentative completion date of December 16, 2012. Township Manager Kathleen Sebastian said the group mis- sed the window for construc- tion this year, and many docu- ments involved in the project still need approval from the state departments of transpor- tation and environmental pro- tection. “At one point we found out that PennDOT hadn’t allocated y funds for the project, so we d to get that straightened ut,” she said. Construction bids for the pro- ject will be advertised on Octo- ber 25, and some work can be- gin by December 16 of this year. Local services tax discussed Sebastian told board mem- bers the recently-passed local services tax was incorrectly ad- vertised in local newspapers, so the process must start over. A local services tax, if enact- ed by a municipality, is a $52 levy paid by those who work within the township to fund road improvements and other services. owill last a year The controversial tax was narrowly passed in August and Supervisor John Solinsky told members of the board he would not run for re-election because of ongoing discussions about the tax. Solinsky and Supervisor Frank Natitus both voted against beginning the process over again for the local services tax. Chairman Jim Reino Jr. has said the tax is sorely needed in the township due to increasing- ly difficult financial constraints. A public hearing will be held to discuss the matter at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Residents urged to report storm damage Sebastian told the board that representatives from the Feder- al Emergency Management Agency visited the township Wednesday to urge residents to continue assessing damage sus- tained by tropical storms in late August and early September. She said it’s important for res- idents to file claims for any damage whatsoever, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Residents can still file a claim on FEMA's website, www.disas- terassistance.gov, or visit the FEMA Recovery Center on the campus of Luzerne County Community College in Nanti- coke. The deadline to file is No- vember 14. Tok “Say you have a crack in your ceiling, it’s very minimal, it costs $50 to fix, but say six months down the road, the crack gets to be a big crevice and it just compiled,” Sebastian said. See YEAR, Page 12 LAKE TOWNSHTP Washed-out bridge will be inconvenience By EILEEN GDIN Dallas Post Correspondent % washed-out bridge could reate an inconvenience to residents of East Sorber Mountain Road and the Sa- lansky Marcellus Shale Natu- ral gas well on Zosh Road has been plugged, township su- pervisors said ‘at their meet- ing Wednesday night. Barney Dobinick, emergen- cy management coordinator, said the bridge between Route 29 and East Sorber Mountain washed out in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee. The section of road is closed and residents in that area are being detoured over another bridge. Dobinick said he was told by Joe Gibbons, Luzerne County engineer, it would cost the county about $300,000 to replace the state owned bridge. Dobinick estimates the bridge will not be replaced before winter. He said with the amount of infrastructure damage the county has re- ceived, the bridge will be put on a waiting list for repairs. In appreciation for his ef- forts to help residents and neighboring municipalities, supervisors unanimously ap- proved a motion to pay Do- binick $800 for his services during Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. See BRIDGE, Page 9 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOSFOR THE DALLAS POST Simon Vieczorek, of Noxen, gets a treat from Shirley Miller, of Mount Cobb, during Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park. Terry Salek, of West Wyoming, and Chick Selemba, or Harford, ar WE part of an informal reenactment team during the festival. Heritage Days is like stepping back in time “We grew up doing this. It was a way for the family By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Those who meandered through Frances Slocum State Park on Oct. 9 may as well have stepped into a time machine. A blacksmith, 17th century mili- tia re-enactors, Native American demonstrators and others set up shop at the park for the annual Her- itage Day event when patrons get a taste of what life was like centuries ago. ; For Margaret Winder, of Troy, that sort of history is with her all the time. She and her family are the owners of Cross Cut Saws, based in Troy, and they displayed her late father’s collection of late 19th and early 20th century saws for the public to enjoy. Two youngsters took about 10 minutes to saw off a piece of a white birch tree trunk. Each tyke held an end of the sharp-toothed 7 steel saw, pushing and pulling with all their might to make the saw go back and forth, back and forth, un- til a thin disk of wood broke free. Bryce Baker, of Wilkes-Barre, said he couldn't imagine doing that kind of work for a living. “It was hard,” he said. Winder said her father, Emest Foulkrod, was a lumberjack all his life and began to collect old saws once he retired. The family often attends events like Heritage Day as a way to educate the public about their father’s lifelong work, includ- ing how difficult the task at hand once was years ago. “We grew up doing this,” said Winder. “It was a way for the family to get together.” Just past the pavilion, Ingrid Ro- gler, of Tunkhannock, displayed quilts created by students of the Dietrich Theater. She’sbeen teach- ing the age-old tradition of quilting by hand for more than 30 years, and she believes the skill gives fo Faith Knorr, center, of Jackson Township, is fascinated by the blacksmith during Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park. to get together.” Margaret Winder Owner of Cross Cut Saws, Troy practitioners the ability to travel in their minds to another period and place. “It brings you back to an easier time,” said Rogler. The display included a signature quilt, which she said is a traditional style first made popular by Quaker settlers in Pennsylvania a few cen- turies ago. Families would sew quilting blocks and sign their names on the fabric to pass down . the tradition. “It brings people together,” she said. “It’s an art form that has been around for a long time, but we fo- cus on early American quilting.” The festivallike atmosphere was highlighted by the blazing col- ors of autumn across the Frances Slocum State Park lake, and local organizations and vendors served food fitting with the fall mood. A few furry friends enjoyed a free lunch of grass at the event. Four three-month-old whitetail deer from the Swetland Game Farm based in Elk Mountain were en- closed in a pen for youngsters to observe and pet. Handler Ace Ross said teaching young children about the animals raises awareness about the impor- tance of protecting wildlife. “This is an experience (chil- dren) can’t get in the wild,” he said. HARPIN' Can't observe an anniversary and a birthday with one celebration The Mrs. and I recently cele- brated another year of wedded bliss along with her birthday, both of which fall within a few days of each other.Itryto combine the two dates in- to one cele- bration but I signed a pa- per one time which said I must © cele- brate each separately. I have no recollection of that signing but am reassured each year that it took place. So, in order to accomplish my sworn duty, we pulled a road trip to Maryland to see her father and West Virginia to have a birthday Heffernan celebration with her sister Mary. With the birthday out of the way, we decided to go to Washington D.C. and visit some of the Smith- sonian Museums for the anniver- sary part of the deal. We visited the Museum of Nat- ural History and the Museum of American History. Then we went through the Air and Space Mu- seum. While going through the various displays, I kept looking in all the corners. The Mrs. finally asked what I was looking for as we neared another couple stand- ing by a camera used on the U2 spy plane. “I was looking for the broom display that has to be here...” 1 started to say but was’ halted in mid-sentence by an elbow to the ribs. There was a chuckle from the other man, a withering look from his better half and the Mrs. said to me in a low voice, “Don’t even go there!” The remainder of the trip was uneventful since I was on my best behavior until we returned home where the first piece of mail out of the mailbox was an invitation for the Mrs. to join AARP. She took the mail in the house, threw out the invitation then went off to un- pack. : I took the invitation from the garbage and, since she is now the same age as I, asked the cats what they thought and came to the unanimous conclusion that she should have that membership. I filled out her name, put a checkin the envelope and, sneaking out of the house, put it back in the mail- box. This got me to thinking that if the Mrs. has her AARP card she can go shopping (for the things I need) and get me a discount so I did a little research in the Back Mountain one morning. The re- sults were varied but it was nice seeing and talking to people again. Stopping at the Lehman Post Office, Bob the postman told me that the postal service does not discount anything but he is more than happy to carry in packages for people who look to be over 50 years old. Leaving the post office, I held the door for Judy Simms Dawe who insists on carrying her own packages because she doesn’t need any help. Donna at H20 Pools said that business doesn’t offer AARP dis- counts but that Dave will person- ally inspect the bottom of your pool when closing it as he did last week except he was fully clothed at the time and ruined his new cell phone. : Carol at the Wild Birds Unlimit- ed Store doesn’t offer AARP dis- counts but says her fall sale prices can’t be beat. Plus, there are many anti-squirrel bird feeders that can provide hours of entertainment. Chris and Paul at the Dallas NAPA will look at your AARP card then give you a catalog of parts with large type and pic- tures. Bill and Joanne Runner told me the first time they used their AARP card was at Donachie’s years ago where it was respectful- ly declined by Bill and Alice Do- nachie, although the Runners did have a great steak and martini dinner that evening. Tim LaBar, of the Labar clan consisting of Donny, Larry, Woo- dy and Ruth, said that when peo- ple pull out their AARP card at the register, he immediately tacks on five percent because no- body uses the card often. But, he is always willing to make a deal. Lee Vivian has given me some hope, though, for the Mrs. and her new card. She said the advan- tages are very good and really help when traveling. Mrs. Vivian told me to tell the Mrs. not to be upset about having the card be- cause it’s worth it. Maybe I should have gotten mine at the same time. I might need it for a hotel room discount if I get thrown out. Harp Heffernan was the associ- ate publisher, outdoor editor and chief photographer of the Sunday Independent, a newspaper that was m his family for 87 years in Wilkes-Barre. You can e-mail him at news@mauydallaspost.com.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers