Sunday, November 20, 2011 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Dallas School Board un- veiled a working mass evacua- tion plan to the public Monday evening. The plan states students will be transported to Lake-Lehman School District schools in the event of a catastrophic occur- rence on the Dallas campus, and vice versa. Superintendent Frank Gal- icki said the plan is still a work in progress, and he hopes to have a drill of the evacuation upon coordination with both districts’ schedules. “lI have communicated with first responders, local police, fire, administrators at the neighboring Lake-Lehman School District and developed this collaborative agreement,” he said. At last month’s school board meeting, concerned parents pressed the board for more in- formation about an emergency evacuation plan due to the on- going natural gas development within 2,000 feet of the cam- pus. Galicki told those parents an evacuation plan was put in place long ago, and evacuation “I have communicated with first responders, local police, fire, administrators at the neighboring Lake-Lehman School District and developed this collaborative agreement.” Frank Galicki Dallas School District superintendent sites included Misericordia University, Irem Temple Coun- try Club, the old Dallas Town- ship High School building and Gate of Heaven School. He said after the storms of late August and early Septem- ber when both districts hosted many evacuees, the two super- intendents got together to de- velop a plan. “There are not too many ar- eas now in the Dallas communi- ty where we could evacuate to,” he said. “Gate of Heaven School is no longer available, the Dallas Township school is structurally a nightmare and there’s no heat, so we wouldn’t want to take kids there. Irem Temple pavilion can only house a couple hundred kids, so we had to look elsewhere.” Galicki has also talked to the superintendent at Forest City Regional School District in Susquehanna County, an area where natural gas activity is prevalent. “He’s going to e-mail me his plan,” he told the audience. Galicki said he would include the public in future announce- ments regarding the plan. Mass student evacuation plan is unveiled to public Dallas Elementary repairs Rick LeBlanc, of Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Associates, told the board roof repairs will need to be made to Dallas Elemen- tary in the near future. He said there are roof panels in three classrooms that are sagging as much as six inches, and they must be monitored closely un- til work can begin on the pro- ject. The board approved the esti- mated $15,000 project and will advertise for bids within the next month. See MASS, Page 11 JACKSON TOWNSHIP Agreement with Larksville By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent ack of payment and a com- munication breakdown led Jack- son Township supervisors to terminate a 49-year agreement with neighboring Larksville Borough during their Novem- ber 7 meeting. In 1962, an agreement bound the two municipalities for shared maintenance of a mile of Steele Road, a dirt road. Jackson Township chairman John J. Wilkes Jr. said the agreement worked well for years. Jackson Township, well equipped to maintain dirt roads, used its manpower and ma- chines and, in return, Larksville Borough paid $400 from its lig- uid fuels fund for the work, he said. Liquid fuels money is allocat- ed by the state based on the mileage of roads within a mu- nicipality and is often ear- marked for road repairs and re- lated expenses. “It worked flawlessly up until 2005,” Wilkes said. That is when Larksville Bor- ough stopped paying. To date, about $2,800 is owed to Jackson Township. Wilkes said several letters have been sent to Larkville Bor- gh to clear up the balance , but there seems to be a ommunication error.” Honoring the terms of the agreement, Jackson Township Is ended continued to maintain the road and has not received compensa- tion for its services, Wilkes said. He explained in the past there were times when Larks- ville Borough would pay ahead or catch up on payments. Wilkes said about two months ago the borough council and township supervisors met. “It went well,” he said about the meeting. “We had a good dialogue but there must be a breakdown of communication somewhere else.” Wilkes said the two munici- palities have worked well to- gether in the past, sharing equipment and maintenance of a second road, Weavertown Road. Jackson Township has similar agreements with Plymouth and is a member of both the Back Mountain Community Partner- ship and the Back Mountain Re- gional Emergency Management Agency. Wilkes said the township would be willing to reinstate the agreement with Larksville Borough once the balance is paid. In other news ... e Resident George Manzoni was hired as a part-time road department employee. eo Wilkes was appointed as the PEMA and FEMA designat- ed agent. * The next supervisors meet- ing will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 5 in the munici- pal building. HARVEYS LAKE BOROUGH Council attempts to protect zoning rights SUSAN BETTINGER Dallas Post Correspondent Borough Council Tuesday night voiced its opposition to HR 1950 and SB 1100, which would take away local municipalities’ rights to zone for gas drilling. Councilwoman-elect Mi- chell’e Boice stated, “They are trying to take away the little rights that we have left” in regards to the drill- ing industry. Councilman Larry Radel, in a letter to state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Twp., and i ate Rep. Karen Boback, R- ’ ® Lake, urged the law- : kers to vote “no” to the bills. In the letter, Radel stated that it is his “responsibility to preserve the natural envi- ronment and protect its unique qualities.” In other business ... e Councilman Richard Williams III said he is sup- porting the Harveys Lake Fire Department regarding a potential change in dispatch service. At present, the fire department, which is all vol- unteer, provides assistance to its residents. The 911 Emergency Com- munications Center is trying to take over the borough’s call boxes, so that the fire department will no longer be in charge of the dispatch- ing. According to Williams, the fire chief said the 911 center “does not have the authority to make this change and that they must provide documen- tation in order to do so.” Fire Department President Ed Kelly said, “The way it is now, emergency calls are dis- patched immediately...if the change takes effect, and there will be about nine min- utes between the times of the alarm to the dispatch.” e Council approved pay- ment to American Asphalt for the re-pavement of Perre- go and Lewis streets. e Funding for a new cruise was approved. e It was reported that bor- ough employees are still re- pairing storm damage to ba- sins and driveway pipes. Crafts return to PSU/WB campus Homespun Holidays Craft Fair attended by many after popular Arts at Hayfield was canceled this summer. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Curious craft-goers flocked in and out of the Penn State Wilkes- Barre campus parking lot in Leh- man Township for most of the day November 13 in support of the Arts at Hayfield Homespun Holidays Craft Fair. Hundreds of vendors spraw- led the athletics and commons buildings for the show, the first fundraiser for the Arts at Hay- field program after the popular summer festival was canceled in August due to Hurricane Irene. Janis Winter, festival and craft show chairperson, said the can- celation was just the second time that’s happened in the 25 years she’s been involved with the group. “We gave partial refunds to crafters and food vendors,” said Winter. “We had some money set aside in a stained glass resto- ration fund for the Hayfield House that we were able to use.” While the program took a slight hit financially, she said crafters were in more trouble as larger festivals like the Blooms- burg Fair were also canceled. “I've had crafters tell me that (their sales at) Bloomsburg Fair pay for their medical insurance for the year,” said Winter. As a result of the cancellation, crafters were more apt to apply for a spot at the Homespun Holi- days even, according to Winter, who received applications from crafters she’d never even heard of prior to this year. Crafters Dolores and Jerry Frask, of Drums, were affected by the summer festival cancella- tion. The pair makes wooden shelves with hooks decorated ‘with popular cartoon characters, country-themed paintings and other designs. “(The summer festival cancel- lation) hurt,” she said. “This is the first time we’ve been here (at Homespun Holidays).” Art Smith of A & A Crafts based in Stroudsburg said his CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Jennie Vesloski, of Franklin Twp., displays some of her most colorful hand-quilted table runners at the Hayfield Holiday Fair. ations. display of bird seed houses can only be set up during the fall months, so he just missed the fi- nancially-damaging fair cancel- lations in early September. He was concerned about set- ting up shop recently at a craft show in Tunkhannock, but Smith was surprised to see how many customers shopped for handmade gifts. Tunkhannock was one of the many hard-hit areas during flooding in early September caused by remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. “People are ready to get out,” he said. “They’re ready to get a break. You can only clean up so much.” Diane and Ralph Geiger, who own Ralph’s Birdhouses based in Waverly, N.Y., said it was their Nancy Turner, of Stillwater, shows off some of her warmest cre- first time selling at the Home- spun Holidays show, and they applied soon after the summer festival was cancelled. “We wanted to make up for that loss,” Diane said. The retirees have been craft- ing for about seven years, and this was the first time they've been worried about weather af- fecting their sales. “We were signed up for the Canton Apple and Cheese Fes- tival but that was cancelled,” she said. “We had to go to other ar- eas to make up that difference.” Despite the dismal weather this year, many crafters remain undeterred. Dolores Frask said products from their business, Jerdee See CRAFTS, Page 11 DALLAS TOWNSHIP Supers pass budget, hold line on property tax By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The board of supervisors passed a proposed 2012 bud- get at its meeting Tuesday eve- ning. The $2.5 million fiscal plan would keep property taxes at .52000 mills and the earned in- come tax at 1 percent. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value. Secretary/Treasurer Glenn Howell said the 2012 spending plan hasn't changed much from last year in terms of funds, but expenses have gen- erally increased due to infla- tion. The township received sev- eral applications and held mul- tiple meetings every month for natural gas development issues, which caused in- creased costs for lawyers’ and engineers’ fees. Howell said there is an ebb and flow to the budgeting process, and the document has a habit of balancing itself out. For example, the township usually budgets for paving projects in spring, but the wet weather caused the road de- partment to focus more on cleanup efforts. Howell said the money always moves to- ward where it is needed most. The board will vote on the 2012 budget at its Dec. 20 meeting. The document is available for public inspection at the municipal building at 601 Tunkhannock Hwy., Dal- las Township. In other news, the board heard from several residents who urged the township to get involved in a petition circulat- ing through neighboring mu- nicipalities opposing state leg- islation that would dissolve lo- cal zoning laws. Resident Diane Dreier said she would get a copy of the petition for the supervisors if they would consider signing it. Supervisor Phil Walter said the board has already ex- pressed its ill feelings about the pending state law to local legislators state Sen. Lisa Bak- See BUDGET, Page 11
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