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Sunday, February 19, 2012
THE DALLAS POST
PAGE 3
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Two students and their par-
ents spoke out at a school board
meeting Monday against the
metal detectors recently put to
use in the senior high school.
Before the meeting began, the
board held a moment of silence
in honor of 18-year-old Dallas
High School student Thomas
Lynch, of Harveys Lake, who
died in a car accident early Mon-
day morning.
Board President Catherine
Wega said Lynch was an Eagle
Scout who had already enlisted
in the U.S. military, and planned
to attend basic training in Fort
Benning, Ga.
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“He leaves a space in every-
one’s heart...,” said Wega.
During the meeting, parents
and students discussed the met-
al detectors at Dallas High
School, which have been in use
since Feb. 6.
Principal Jeffrey Shaffer said
the system is randomized - all
students walk through the de-
tection system when entering
the new building, but only some
are scanned.
Paul Paci, of Dallas, whose
daughter attends the school,
said he disagrees with the no-
tion that all students should
have to pass through the metal
detector because of the “poor
choices” of other students.
“I don’t believe good children
should be treated as criminals,”
“I don’t believe good children should be treated as
criminals.”
Paul Paci
Father of Dallas High School student
he said.
He said students who wish to
commit harm on others will find
a way to get a weapon into the
school regardless of metal detec-
tors. Paci feels the detectors are
a violation of students’ constitu-
tional rights.
Paci also said administrators
and teachers should know who
the troublemakers are, and
those students should be the on-
ly ones scanned.
Board member Maureen Ma-
tiska said the district cannot tar-
get specific students, and the
system has to be random to be
effective.
“Probably any night you turn
the TV. on, and you look at
crime in our area, and some-
one’s being paraded out, and
they're interviewing the neigh-
bors and the neighbors are say-
ing, ‘I can’t believe it — we lived
next door to them for 10 years
and we had no idea,” said Wega.
“We are doing the best we can.”
Board member Colleen Slo-
cum said because of incidents
such as the Columbine High
School shooting in which two
students killed 12 students and
one teacher and injured nearly
two dozen others in April 1999,
schools need to be prepared to
keep students and faculty safe.
“This is our new normal,” she
said.
Paci’s daughter, Amanda, said
the metal detectors are time-
consuming, and don’t leave her
enough time before class to fin-
ish her homework. She said
she’s unable to complete home-
work at home due to a part-time
job.
Senior Gavin Carolan, of Dal-
eta detectors at high school is debated
las, created T-shirts in protest of
the metal detectors, but said the
administration had banned
them on Monday. He said the
T-shirts are bright orange and
read “PA Department of Correc-
tions, Dallas High School, In-
mate Number 570.”
Carolan researched case law
and deemed the detectors and
banning students’ protests are
both unconstitutional.
Shaffer said he saw the shirts
as a disruption to the school’s
learning environment.
Amanda Paci also said she
didn’t feel safe at the school be-
cause faculty, staff and visitors
are not scanned for weapons.
“According to the school, I'm
See METAL, Page 12
LiL elementary
sports resume
Suspension of program came
after altercation between
two basketball coaches.
SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
_A mandatory meeting was
# Wednesday for dozens of
weke-Lehman elementary bas-
ketball parents to discuss an al-
tercation that occurred be-
tween two coaches last week.
Lake-Lehman Superintend-
ent James McGovern wouldn’t
give specifics, but he said there
was an altercation between two
Ross Elementary fifth and
sixth-grade boys’ basketball
coaches last week that escalat-
ed to a point of concern.
The administration suspend-
ed play among all elementary
@ teams until suffi-
¥at action could be taken.
McGovern said the elementary
basketball league is run by the
district and the school-wide
Parent-Teacher Organization,
which gives him the power to
make such decisions.
McGovern was satisfied with
the league president’s decision
asto what action to take against
the adults responsible for the al-
tercation, but would not pro-
vide details.
McGovern said the league
will also develop a parent guide,
coaches’ guide and a mission
for the program.
He also lifted the suspension
of the program, though some
teams have only one game re-
maining in the season.
McGovern said it wasn’t the
fitst time incidents occurred on
the court and said emotions ran
high even when his son, now 14,
played on a fifth and sixth-grade
team two years ago.
“Sometimes when we have
altercations, I gather my people
together and we talk about it,”
“Never mistake my kind-
ness for softness, be-
cause next time we have
one of these incidents,
it will be the last.”
James McGovern
Lake-Lehman School District
superintendent
he said. “Maybe this is some-
thing we should do prior to
each season.”
He brought the parents to-
gether to discuss how their ac-
tions affect the children and to
review the mission of the dis-
trict’s sports programs.
“If you're one of those people
who think the kids aren’t watch-
ing every single thing you do,
you're wrong,” he said.
McGovern urged parents to
better understand how their ac-
tions affect students and how
sports help build students’
character, but the outcomes of
games do not matter in the long
run.
Though McGovern talked to
parents pleasantly and told sto-
ries about his family through-
out the meeting, he had a stern
warning for parents at the end
of the night.
“Never mistake my kindness
for softness, because next time
we have one of these incidents,
it will be the last,” he said.
John Blaski, a Ross Elemen-
tary third and fourth-grade
girls’ basketball coach, felt the
presentation was necessary to
remind parents about conduct
during games.
“I've got five girls on the
court, and five girls behind me,
so when I'm out there, I try to be
the middle man,” he said. “If 'm
happy, they will be happy. If 'm
angry, they will be angry. I try to
contain myself because they’ll
follow my lead.”
between the schools.
alone on Valentine's Day.
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
About a dozen Dallas High
School Key Club members
spent their Valentine’s Day in
an elementary school gym chas-
ing little tykes to give local par-
ents a night off.
The Key Club sponsored its
annual Valentine’s Day babysit-
ting program at Dallas Elemen-
tary on Tuesday.
The event suggested a dona-
tion of $10, with all proceeds
going to the Kids, K9s and
Cops program of the Fallen Of-
ficers Remembered organiza-
tion, which helps provide bul-
letproof vests to local police
Chance for a
Valentine night out §
High school students spend time with elementary
students, giving parents an opportunity to spend time
dogs.
Shannon Forrer, Key Club ad-
visor and learning support
teacher, said the club has of-
fered the babysitting service for
the last three years. She said
parents must pre-register for
the event, and it is only for chil-
dren ages 1 through 10.
The children stayed in the
gym and library at the school
from 5 to 10 p.m. They watched
movies, colored and played
games like “Red Rover” and
basketball.
“It’s a very informal service,”
said Forrer. “Some of our kids
have CPR knowledge because
they’re in the high school emer-
gency response team and some
are Boy Scouts.”
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Dallas High School students entertain Dallas Elementary School students on St. Valentine's Day as part of a coordinated program
J:
Kristen Frederick sits with Dalt
on Hislop on St. Valentine's Day
as part of a coordinated program between Dallas High School
and Dallas Elementary School.
Forrer, with her own toddler,
2-year-old Madeline, in tow,
said anyone with young chil-
dren would appreciate the ser-
vice.
“Being a parent, just being
able to get out with your
spouse, especially in this hard
economy, is priceless,” she said.
“.It’s just so parents can get
out and not worry about paying
for a babysitter or finding some-
one to watch their kids. These
things don’t happen very often.”
DALLAS BOROUGH
’
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
{Officials announced
Wednesday that Dallas Bor-
ough is slowly moving forward
with plans to clean up Toby
Creek to address storm water
sues.
@® Manager Tracey
rr said the borough is mov-
ing forward in applying for a
grant through the state Depart-
ment of Conservation and Nat-
ural Resources to “clean up de-
bris and sediment” within To-
by Creek.
Carr said there are no specif-
ic plans yet because she wants
to see if the project could be
funded before property owners
and engineers get involved in
the details.
Depending on the funds re-
ceived, Carr said the borough
and property owners along the
creek may have to contribute
to the cost of the project. She
also said all landowners in-
volved would need to cooper-
ate in allowing the work for the
project to be successful.
Council also voted to apply
for a grant from the Luzerne
County Office of Community
Borough Manager Tracey Carr said the borough is moving forward
inapplying for a grant through the state Department of Conser-
vation and Natural Resources to “clean up debris and sediment”
within Toby Creek.
Development to address storm
water and street infrastructure
issues on Wellington Avenue.
Carr said the street has been
on the paving list for a few
years, but the borough has nev-
er had enough funds to com-
plete the project. She said ev-
ery three years municipalities
are eligible for a Community within the borough.
Development Block Grant.
She added surveys will need
to be conducted and additional
information gathered to see if
the street is eligible for the pro-
gram.
In other news, Council ...
e Approved an ordinance
banning large donation boxes
At last
month’s meeting, Carr said the
donation boxes, typically for
clothing, furniture and other
physical items, have become a
nuisance in the borough and
have blocked public access to
driveways and other areas.
e Approved a resolution to
limit public comments during
the meetings to a five-minute
time frame. Carr said this has
always been the rule at meet-
ings, but there was never any
formal resolution declaring it.
e Rehired Eric Domzalski
for the part-time season posi-
tion of summer recreation di-
rector at the rate of $9 per hour.
Borough plans moving forward for clean up of Toby Creek
Carr was authorized to seek ap-
plications for summer recre-
ation program counselors.
® Authorized Carr to solicit
bids for refuse container ser-
vices for the 2012 Spring Clea-
nup program.
® Donated $200 to the Dallas
High School Lock-In program.
e Hired R.N. Finch & Sons,
Inc. to furnish and install air
conditioning in the front offic-
es of the municipal building in
the amount of $2,050.
* The next Dallas Borough
Council meeting will be held at
7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21
in the municipal building.