Vol. 122 No.9 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 April 29 - May 5, 2012 ® [he DALLAS POST. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Harveys Lake Police Chief Charles Musial thinks the present police station in the borough is not secure, not up to code and needs too many repairs to save. HL police move is hotbed issue By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Harveys Lake Police Chief Charles Musial said the current station on State Route 415 has too many safety issues to justify stay- ing rather than moving to the for- mer recreation center on Little League Road. The borough received a $78,220 grant from gaming funds in March to proceed with the pro- ject, which includes renovating the former recreation building in- to a police station and moving the borough offices to the current po- Council voted 4-2 in favor of moving forward with the project at a meeting April 17. Council members Larry Radel, Boyd Barber, Fran Kopko and Amy Williams voted for continuing with the pro- ject while Michell'e Boice and Thomas Kehler voted against the motion. lice building. Council voted 4-2 in favor of moving forward with the project at a meeting April 17. Council members Larry Radel, Boyd Bar- ber, Fran Kopko and Amy Wil- liams voted for continuing with the project while Michell’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. Boice has raised ‘concerns about the project, including how it will affect taxpayers and why it was not announced to the public before applying for the grant. Current building woes The current police station is housed in a former seasonal bait store, which Musial said was ac- quired by the borough about 10 years ago “at a good price” from Joe Paglianite, owner of Grotto Pizza. According to Dallas Post ar- chives, borough officials planned torent the space and surrounding land for $400 a month in early See POLICE, Page 12 Rock Solid 1s moving ahead By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Rock Solid Academy, ‘a bud- ding K-8 Christian school in the Back Mountain, will hold its first open house this week, and officials announced a more than $2,000 decrease in tuition rates for the 2012-13 school year. Head of School Mark DiPip- pa said Phase I of the school building project, which in- cludes construction of a lobby, front offices and a model class- @ was recently completed. The school is located in the Twin Stacks complex off State Route 415 as board members signed a 5-year lease with Twin Stacks in December. Construc- tion within the former Inter- Mountain Medical Group loca- tion began in February. Phase II of the project will in- clude more classrooms in the existing space and Phase III, which will not be completed this year, will include a full cafeteria, a multi-purpose room for athletics and high school classes. An open house will be held OPEN HOUSE What: Rock Solid'Academy open house When: Monday, April 30 through Saturday, May 5 Time: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to1p.m. on Saturday More info: Contact Head of School Mark DiPippa at mdipippa@rock- solidacademy.org or visit the school's website at www.rocksoli- dacademy.org. April 30 through May 5 to show off the school to the com- munity and to attract potential students and their families. DiPippa said the sign on the building will soon be lit at night, identifying the school within the community and making it more visible to pas- sersby. “This shows us as being dif- ferent than other schools,” he said. “A lot of Christian schools get their start in a church base- ment.” The model classroom fea- tures a large space that will eventually become the kinder- See ROCK, Page 12 MU pres retiri but staying he By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Misericordia University Presi- dent Michael MacDowell may be a Los Angeles, Calif., native, but he said the Back Mountain feels more like home. That’s why the 65-year-old will maintain residence in Harveys Lake with his wife, Tina, once he retires on June 30, 2013. “While we enjoy the west, we decided we want to retire here be- cause the people have a sense of community about them; they care about one another and that’s different than in most big cities,” said MacDowell. “And we've * [ll 6098151200798 Misericordia University Presi- dent Michael MacDowell an- nounced he will step down when his current contract expires on June 30, 2013. made so many good friends here.” The 12th president of Luzerne County’s oldest college an- nounced his retirement on April 19 after 14 years in the position — the first of many accomplish- ments he mentioned in a recent SO PR age a yh | gloves to BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Kindergartener Haylee Engelman picks a flower to give to her 'Mommy’ while she weeds the flower beds at Wycallis Elementary School. Taking pride in their school By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com About 80 kindergarteners from Wycallis Elementary put what they learned about Earth Day into action on April 20 by weeding the flower beds in front of their school. Kindergarten teacher Victo- ria Flynn said it was the first time the classes had ever done anything like that in observ- ance of the holiday. “Mrs. Crahall and I kept won- dering about the weeds in front of the school, and we just de- cided what a great idea for the kids to do something for Earth Day,” she said. Students participated in oth- er projects in class, such as sav- ing their extra paper to make Earth Day worksheets, but Flynn said the weeding activity allowed students to get their hands dirty while learning how to care for the environment. “We did one side with the morning class and one side with the afternoon classes,” Flynn said. “This is a great hands-on opportunity for them.” The tykes brought in grocery bags to collect weeds as well as protect their hands. Kindergarten teacher Susan Crahall gave the kids a quick debriefing before they started ripping roots from the ground. “You see these flowers? Theyre dandelions,” she told the kids. “Even though they look pretty, they're weeds, too. And look how many of them there are!” “Holy smokes!” shouted 6- year-old Paul McMillan, of Dal- las, when he noticed all the yel- low flowers in front of the school. Jordan Porasky, 5, of Dallas, helps pick weeds at home with her parents. She enjoys weed- ing because “you get to help the Earth,” and it’s important because “the Earth makes wa- ter and air.” Six-year-old Ciana Cruz, of Shavertown, never weeded be- fore, but liked ‘digging in the dirt and being outside. “It’s fun to clean and pick up things,” she said. “(Weeding) helps flowers grow.” Samuel Comitz, 6, of Dallas, wandered around the front of Wycallis Elementary, trying to find the perfect spot to weed. “You have to keep the planet clean because the Earth has to be healthy,” he said of the im- portance of Earth Day. Five-year-old Landon Daney, 7 te oF pas To SR ON RN i 223 Wycallis Elementary kindergarten teacher Susan Crahall shows her students what to look for as they weed the school flower beds as part of an Earth Day project. Wycallis Elementary kindergartener Alex Corley joins his class- mates in weeding the flower beds in front of the school during an Earth Day project. of Dallas, said though he re- cently moved, he liked helping his dad weed the family gar- den. “It’s fun because you get to pull things out of the ground, and I like that if it’s too hard, you get to dig,” he said. Daney said Earth Day is an important reminder to keep the Earth clean and green. “You have to take care of the planet,” he said. “We don’t want it to be dirty.” |
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