Vol.122 No.8 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 April 22 - 28, 2012 eo he DALLAS POST. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Kristen Boyle. Farrell Memorial Scholarship presented on anniversary of namesake's death. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Lake-Lehman Founda- tion awarded the first John Peter Farrell Memorial Scholarship to a graduating senior at the foun- tion’s tea event on Sunday, & 15 — exactly one year after rell, a former school board member, died in a car accident. Farrell had served on the Lake-Lehman School Board since 2008. The Harveys Lake resident died on April 15, 2011 following a car accident on State Route 29 in Noxen Township. Lorraine Farrell, Farrell's wid- ow, presented the scholarship at the Hayfield House on the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus to se- nior Matthew Gorski, of Shaver- LL Foundation awards scholarships CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Lorraine Farrell, widow of John Peter Farrell, pauses to reflect at the Lake-Lehman Foundation Annual Tea and Scholarship Awards Banquet. town, who will attend King’s College in the fall. “It’s a great honor to remem- ber Peter in this way,” Lorraine Farrell said. “Education meant a lot to him ... we were always sur- rounded by it.” Lorraine Farrell is a reading specialist at Leo E. Solomon Ele- mentary School in Plains Town- Pae-Lehman Foundation scholarship recipients for 2012 are, from left, Tiffany Oplinger, Victoria Frederick, Matthew Gorski and ship. Peter Farrell worked as head custodian within the Wilkes-Barre School District for 25 years and his father served on the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board. Lorraine Farrell said the stu- dent chosen for the $500 schol- arship was special because Gor- ski will study elementary educa- tion with a specialization in reading in college. “King’s is where I got my read- ing specialization,” said Lor- raine Farrell. Johnna Evans, president of the Lake-Lehman Foundation, said the criteria for the scholar- ship were developed by looking at other scholarship require- ments throughout the country. She said students must have a minimum grade point average, must participate in extra-curric- ular activities and must be “fi- nancially deserving” of the See AWARDS, Page 12 Council votes to move police By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Harveys Lake Police De- partment will be relocated as council members voted 4-2 in fa- vor of the project on Tuesday after heated public debate on the issue. The borough received a $78,220 grant from gaming funds last month for the project which includes renovationstoanoldrec- reation building at 22 Little League Road for the police de- partment currently located on State Route 415. Council members Larry Radel, Boyd Barber, Fran Kopko and Amy Williams voted for contin- uing with the project while Mi- chell’e Boice and Thomas Kehler voted against the motion. Council member Ed Kelly ab- stained from the vote as he want- ed to see results from a referen- dum vote in November about whether the project should be completed. Residents crowded the meet- ing room to express mixed feel- ings about the project — many were for the move, while others were against it. Resident Carol Culver took is- sue with the fact that Mayor Clar- ence Hogan had signed a letter in November attesting the project had community-wide support while she insists she had not heard of its existence until recent- ly. Hogan told residents he had “word-of-mouth” support for the project. “You misrepresented yourself, Mr. Hogan,” said Diane Dwyer, a resident and former council mem- ber. Radel said there were no public hearings on the project prior to the grant submittal because there wasn’t assurance the borough would receive the money. Radel said much of the grant- writing work was done on a volun- A cleanup day will be held at Har- veys Lake from noon to 3 p.m. today, April 22. The event, spon- sored by the Environmental Ad- visory Council, will be held in celebration of Earth Day. Anyone under the age of 18 must be ac- companied by an adult. For more information, call 814-9230. teer basis by council members and four members were aware of the project last year. Boice said the grant could be re- written and resubmitted to make upgrades to the current police building instead of moving it across the lake, but Radel said the borough would risk losing the money if that action was complet- ed. Boice made a motion to rewrite the grant, but council members voted 4-3 against the idea. Some residents had concern about the project’s potential cost to taxpayers, as well as the remov- al of police presence in the “hub” of Harveys Lake. “An isolated area like the rec building will send a message to residents and visitors alike that the police are not available, or even worse, that Harveys Lake does not have a police force at al,” said Dwyer. Boice said property taxes bring in about $245,000 a year, but it costs about $344,000 to run the police department. She said at least one of the three full-time and four part-time officers are on duty at atime and the department only has three cruisers. Resident Jason Miller ques- tioned why property taxes were so high to run a relatively small police force. “We have a grant, that’s fine and dandy, but I don’t think there (are) many grants that are going to cover all the expenses you're See POLICE, Page 12 Lake-Lehman seniors prep for last time on stage By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com For many of the students per- forming and working behind the scenes on the upcoming Lake- Lehman play, “Once Upon a Mattress,” it will be their last time on the Lehman Township stage for a while. But don’t worry — none of them will look the least bit glum while performing the energetic and uproarious comedy loosely based on the Hans Christian An- derson fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea.” After all, they are actors. One of those leaving Lehman in a few months is 17-year-old drama club veteran Mikayla Orr- son, who will move to New York City in September to attend the New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts. Orrson, who plans to study film and television acting, has been part of the Lake-Lehman [5 N 3 RASS 09815120079%lg theater troupe since she was in seventh grade and has participa- ted in productions at the Music Box Theater in Swoyersville and the Northeast Youth Theater Company in Wilkes-Barre. “Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to be on TV and then I found out it had a name - acting,” said Orrson. She’s especially excited to live in the city she loves while also avoiding having to drive to get around. “I love that you can go any- where by subway,” she said. And though some have ex- pressed concerns about Orrson’s career path, she isn’t deterred from pursuing her childhood dream. “I have had a couple of nay- sayers,” she said. “It’s all I'm re- ally passionate about, and I don’t get bored doing it. It’s all I'm really good at, and it’s what I love.” Others in the Lake-Lehman theater group’s senior class are preparing for many varied ca- reers, from occupational ther- apist to elementary teacher. Despite the differences in their professional aspirations, all the students said theater has given them the skills to be the person they’re meant to be. Clad in a tweed blazer and oo BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Lake-Lehman seniors Matt Gorski, left, and Mikayla Orrson perform 'The Cheerleading Song’ with cast members during a rehearsal for ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ at the Lake-Lehman High School audi- torium. bowtie, Julia Whitesell, of Har- veys Lake, said she had ulterior motives for joining the theater group back in seventh grade. “I like attention,” she said. The gregarious 17-year-old plans to attend Misericordia University in the fall to major in English, which is related to an- other reason why she got in- volved in drama all those years ago. “I got into theater because I really like writing,” she said. “My mom writes screenplays and plays, so that’s how I got interested.” Rebecca Rosser, of Sweet Val- The Lake-Lehman High School theater program will present "Once Upon a Mattress” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 27 and Sat- urday, April 28 and at 2:30 p.m. pn Sunday, April 29. Reserved seating costs $10 and can only be purchased through today. General admission costs $7 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. Tickets can be purchased by call- ing 675-1761, e-mailing lehman- theatre®@aol.com or by contacting any cast member. For more information, call the Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School office at 675-176. ley, said being involved in thea- ter gave her the confidence to overcome her intense shyness. She marched right up to the theater director at the time and asked for a part in the upcoming play when she was in seventh grade. “I had the feeling that I didn’t want to be shy anymore. I didn’t want to be the little person,” said 17-year-old Rosser. “I want to show people that I can get out there and talk and show emotion.” See STAGE, Page 12
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