Vol. 122 No. 37 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 November 6 - 12, 2011 The PDATAS POST. @wiLkES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Finally, the last witness testifies at Chief By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com After nearly a year, the final witness testified and attorneys presented closing arguments Tuesday at a Dallas Township zoning hearing to determine whether Chief Gathering LLC can build a natural gas metering station off Hildebrandt Road. Sonia Maslowski, a resident of irground Road, testified on be- alf of the opposition and her concerns ranged from the possi- bility of explosion to being un- easy about out-of-town workers in the area. The 17-year township resident said she and her husband moved to the area for its clean amenities, beautiful scenery and access to nearby cities. Now, she said she worries about strange vehicles on the dead end road where she lives, chalking it up to employees work- ing on the Transco interstate nat- ural gas line located near her home. Chief Gathering LLC filed an application for a special excep- tion to build a natural gas meter- hearing The board will make a decision on the matter at 6 p.m. on Wednes- day, Dec. 7 in the Sandy & Marlene Insalaco Hall at Misericordia Uni- versity. Solicitor Phil Gelso said residents can present findings of fact to the board no later than November 16 by submitting mate- rials to the township municipal building. Residents also have until November 16 to submit conditions the board will consider if the motion is approved. ing station off Hildebrandt Road about 1,300 feet from the Dallas School District campus and about 600 feet from the Maslow- skis’ home. The metering facility would measure gas extracted from wells in Susquehanna and Wyoming counties flowing through a not- yet-built Chief gathering line that would tap into the Transco line so the gas could be sent to market. Maslowski questioned the tes- timony of Chief witness Ali Reza, a fire and explosions expert, be- cause she felt her house could be- See LAST, Page 10 FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP Taxes will Likely Jemain stable By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Supervisors aren't worried about raising taxes for the 2012 fiscal year. At a special meeting Oct. 27, supervisors reviewed a prelimi- nary budget for 2012. Most costs stayed within a consistent range for the past three years, said Sec- retary/ Treasurer Rick Melvin. The first draft of the $294,435 budget for 2012 only features a few tweaks from previous years, including an allowance for a new township computer if needed, savings from cutting back on laundry services and others. Supervisor Mike Prokopchak said Franklin Township has never considered instituting the $52 lo- cal services tax primarily ‘be- cause there are not enough busi- nesses in the township for the municipality to make a profit. - The municipality does collect a $10 annual local services tax from residents, which is paid through their employers. Melvin said the township has been working on assessing and fixing damage sustained from urricane Irene in late August d Tropical Storm Lee in early September, but those bills won't break the township’s bank. “Right now, it would nice to get reimbursed, but we don’t know if 09815120079%19 oo the state’s (funding) is going to come in,” said Melvin. “We're fronting our own money and get- ting these issues resolved before the bad weather sets in. We've been able to get most things done.” He said spending money from the general fund to resolve these issues isn’t a concern to the board because the township has yet to utilize its state liquid fuels allow- ance, which Melvin said has been approved to use on these types of projects. Township employee wages have not yet been decided upon, but Chairman Ted Dymond said he doesn’t anticipate any in- crease to the .5800 millage rate for 2012. “Hopefully, we won’t have to raise taxes,” he said. “The budget looks good.” Melvin said Franklin Town- ship’s budget doesn’t include some major expenses other larger municipalities face, such as police department costs, street light maintenance and public wa- ter and sewer systems, which helps keep the budget in line. The township’s volunteer fire department and the state police barracks at Wyoming respond to emergency calls and residents are required to construct water wells and septic systems on their properties. “Other municipalities incur these costs on a weekly basis, and they have to budget for them,” he said. “Sometimes there’s very lit- tle room to spare, especially for automatic raises and increases in compensation.” A final budget will not be voted upon until the December meet- ing. SE & , CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Pat Cleary paints a backdrop for his haiku poem at the Verve Vertu Studio at Arts Youniverse in Wilkes-Barre. Special artists are recognized Work of Pat Cleary and Erin Dougherty will hang in Bryn Mawr hospital. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Pat Cleary has had a fascina- tion with shoelaces since he learned how to tie his own sneakers. He would tie knots in every shoestring he could get his hands on, much to the chagrin of his father, Jack. “I would tie knots, and my father would go crazy,” said Cleary, 34, of Dallas. Now his former nervous hab- it has turned into a lucrative hobby. Cleary is a student at the ‘Verve Vertu art studio in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and he’s been using his collection of shoelaces to create artwork. The Verve Vertu studio is an art apprenticeship associated with the Deutsch Institute in Scranton that provides a cre- ative outlet for those with spe- cial needs. Pat Cleary’s work titled, “God Bless U.S.A.,” which fea- tures an American flag made entirely of colored shoelaces, was recently chosen as part of a juried exhibit at the Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital Annual Art Ability Exhibit to be held November 5 through January 15. Cleary, who has Down syn- drome, created the flag to hon- or his brother, First Lieutenant Michael J. Cleary, who was killed in Iraq in December 2005. “It’s also to honor all those people in Iraq,” he said. Cleary also created a piece that was featured at Misericor- dia University, where he works as a custodian, which depicted his brother as an angel. Cleary depicted himself and his three sisters as stars in the artwork. “I'm very proud of my family, and theyre proud of me,” he said. “I love my family.” Gwen Harleman, director of the Verve Vertu studio, said Cleary’s love of shoestrings is now something he can enjoy through creation. “What was a nervous habit is now a viable hobby for him,” Donna Marinus, “Dragonfly Frol- ic" Josh Schlegel, “Flight Over Flow- ers” Billy Sukus, “Sunblock” Jeannie Hammerbacher, “Beach Tiles" Erin Dougherty, “Angel Fish" Patrick Cleary, “God Bless USA" she said. Jack Cleary said his son has “just blossomed” from partici- pating in the art program this past year. “The first thing he brought back from the studio was this beautiful painting of an angel and five stars to represent the family,” the elder Cleary said. “Now he’s doing other things, such as the work with the shoe- laces, and people are buying them.” He said his son loves to be around people and enjoys being out and about, so taking art classes is just another way to express himself. Cleary bolstered his shoelace collection last year when a fam- ily friend named Alice retired from her job at a warehouse. She collected several boxes of colored shoelaces in several dif- ferent shades and offered them to Cleary as a gift. He made her a “thank you” gift, and the artwork he made featured several brightly-col- ored balloons in the sky and flowers made of pulled-apart shoelaces lying in the grass - also made of shoelaces. “It’s certainly unlocked his creative side - he’s making nice stuff,” said Jack Cleary. “And he still wants to be the best custo- The artwork of Ern Dougherty, of Dallas, will be on display at the Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. dian at Misericordia. We're proud of everything he does.” As a testament to Cleary’s creative ingenuity and social skills, he’s been chosen as this year’s honorary chairperson of the Deutsch Institute’s annual brunch in November. “This is the first year one of our artists has been chosen,” said Harleman. “Usually, it’s re- served for someone in the com- munity who's very involved and well-known to be a master of ceremonies. Were very excit- ed.” Cleary is also taking drama classes at Arts YOUniverse in Wilkes-Barre, and recently per- formed the song “Edelweiss” in a production of “The Sound of Music.” “I love to create things, beau- tiful things,” he said. “I love ev- eryone here at Arts YOUni- verse.” Five other artists’ works were also chosen for the annual ex- hibit in Malvern, including a silk batik called “Angel Fish” by Dallas resident Erin Doughtery, 37. Doughtery’s work was cho- sen last year for the exhibit, and she’s been working with Harleman for more than 10 years pushing her creative boundaries. Harleman said the artists were working on fish-themed pieces at the time Dougherty fashioned her artwork using some of her favorite colors, tur- quoise and magenta. Doughtery, who has Down syndrome, has worked on piec- es for commission and has been successful in selling her art- work throughout her time at the studio. Her work can be seen in galleries across the country and even international- ly. “I love it,” she said. Dallas Board cancels special meeting A special Dallas School Board meeting scheduled for October 31 was canceled and has not been rescheduled. Superintendent Frank Galicki said he could not comment further because the planned meeting involved a personnel issue. A secretary in the Dallas School District Administration Office said the meeting will not be rescheduled. The school board’s regular work session is set for Monday, Nov. 7 with the regular meeting set for 4 November 14.
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