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Sunday, May 6, 2012
THE DALLAS POST
PAGE 3
Hampton Jr., both of Nanticoke, at a dog show held at Misericordia University.
Who's the cutest
dog in the land?
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Eskimo Joe, or E.J., as his fam-
ily calls him, is a 6-year-old Pem-
broke Welsh Corgi who manages
to stay positive despite his lack of
prize-winning pedigree in the
dog world.
He’s been entered in a few dog
ows over the years, but has yet
in a single title.
Js owner, Ashley Scaffido,
entered E.J. in the second annual
M.UT.T.S. Dog Show at Miser-
icordia University on April 28,
hoping to change his luck. He
was entered in three categories —
cutest, best hair/fur and best
name.
“Were keeping our fingers
crossed,” said Scaffido, of
Swoyersville.
E.J. was named after a Stillwa-
ter, Okla.-based eatery called Es-
kimo Joe’s, near where Scaffido
and her family used to live.
“We thought it was a cool
Winners were selected in cate-
gories including biggest, small-
est, celebrity look-alike, cutest,
best trick, best hair/fur, best
personality and best in show.
Prizes included gift certificates
to local businesses and various
pup pampering supplies.
picked it out before we got him.”
Scaffido said the logo of the
restaurant features a grinning Es-
kimo and an equally happy dog
with pointy ears, which reminds
her of her own Eskimo Joe.
“He’s always happy and has a
smile on,” said Scaffido. “We say
he has honey bear eyes, and they
sparkle when the sun hits them.”
Macaroni, a pure-bred English
bulldog, lounged in the grass be-
fore the contest as his “parents,”
Nicole Martin and Charles
Hampton Jr. of Nanticoke,
fawned over him.
“Everything about him is spe-
BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DLALAS POST
Melissa Ostrowski, of West Wyoming, kisses her dachshund, Scarlet Rose, at the Misericordia dog
show.
Eskimo Joe, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, poses for a photo with his
owner, Ashley Scaffido, of Swoyersville, at the second annual
M.U.T.T.S. Dog Show benefitting Blue Chip Animal Refuge at Miser-
icordia University.
cial,” said Martin. “He loves to the breed.
kiss and eat and lay around.” “ve always wanted one, and
Martin said ever since she saw he exceeds my expectation every
comedian Adam Sandler’s bull- day,” she said.
dog Meatball, she fell in love with Macaroni, who was named as
Olive, a Maltese owned by Ann Marie Arnone, of Dallas, poses for
the judges in the ‘cutest’ category.
such because he reminds Martin
of a noodle when he walks; was
entered in three categories — cut-
est, best personality and best
name.
The 3-year-old pup is familiar
with dog show fanfare — Martin
entered him in several other com-
petitions, and Macaroni is a pro-
ven winner.
“He won first place at a Hallo-
ween show at Petsmart — he
See DOG, Page 13
@ she said. “We actually
RNAILIAC TAWMCUID
DA LLAS IU W NSHIP
Supervisors discuss
PennDOT project
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Supervisors told residents
during a work session on Tues-
day about new plans proposed
by the state Department of
Transportation that would reme-
dy traffic flow issues on Upper
Demunds Road.
The new plan features a
throughway from Upper De-
munds Road through township
property to State Route 309,
which would have a traffic light
at the intersection.
Part of Upper Demunds Road
between that intersection and
the intersection with Hilde-
brandt Road would be cut off
from public use.
Supervisor Liz Martin said the
new plan would cost about $1.5
million more than the original
plan, and state officials wanted
township input before moving
forward with the options.
The original plan was to cre-
ate an extension of Upper De-
munds Road between the Coun-
try Club Shopping Center and
M&T Bank, which would re-
quire a traffic light once the road
met Route 309.
Township Engineer Thomas
Doughton said the new option
would be a safer choice because
it would eliminate the S-turn
m Route 309 to Upper De-
nds Road and provide “sig-
access” to the township
building.
He also said it would increase
the distance between the two
traffic signals, which would also
increase safety.
Doughton said the plan would
need to be approved by the
township planning commission
if it were chosen for the project.
The project is in conjunction
with plans to create a round-
about in the five-corners area of
Dallas Borough. Martin said be-
cause of the connection of the
projects, PennDOT hopes to
complete the Upper Demunds
Road portion before the end of
next year when work is sched-
uled to begin in the borough.
In other news...
e Township Emergency Man-
agement Agency Director Alan
Pugh is still researching prices
for emergency alert systems for
residents.
He said there is currently a
county system at Luzerne.alert-
pa.org that features Dallas
Township as an alert topic, and
alerts would be sent through e-
mail and text messages.
Pugh also said a 911 call was
received on April 27 concerning
loud noises coming from the
Chief Gathering LLC pipeline
construction project. He said the
noises were made from a grinder
that was part of the construction
process.
The project includes building
a pipeline to connect to the
Transco interstate pipeline near
the Dallas School District cam-
pus off Hildebrandt Road.
e Supervisors will continue to
research whether an independ-
ent audit of township finances is
a worthwhile venture.
Supervisor Bill Grant said it
would be helpful for Martin and
See TRAFFIC, Page 13
i Niceness |
Dallas Elementary fourth-grade students Anna Samanas, left,
and Todd Phillips demonstrate how to greet each other with a
handshake in front of a hand-painted sign at the school remind-
ing all to be more courteous to each other.
Developing character at an early age
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
New efforts at Dallas Elemen-
tary School are bringing back
the importance of character de-
velopment among little ones
and their teachers.
Two years ago, the school be-
gan working with the Ambassa-
dor Company, which provides
character development books
and materials for students in
first and fourth grades. The
company works with local busi-
nesses for donations so the ma-
terials can be provided at no
cost to the school district.
“I found this program almost
by accident, when the district
first started with the budget
cuts,” said Principal Tom Trav-
er.
He said the books Dallas Ele-
mentary received last year were
kept in good condition so the
new books donated this year
will be sent to Wycallis Elemen-
tary for use by students there.
The books feature lessons
such as being and doing one’s
best, manners, responsibility,
friendship, family, poison con-
trol and other topics.
The program also features an
interactive website that works
with the books, so students can
continue their learning at
home.
“It solidifies what we're
teaching them at school,” Trav-
er said of the books.
Traver said this is all part of a
school-wide positive behavior
program he started at the
school in his second year as
principal. He said the program
was spurred by ongoing behav-
ior issues, such as seeing chil-
dren use technology in a nega-
tive manner.
“Children have no break from
each other anymore,” he said.
“They used to have the sum-
mer, with no phones or Inter-
net, and they had limited social
interaction. Now they have un-
limited social interaction, with
cell phones. iPods, computers —
there’s always someone there,
and it’s too much.”
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Dallas Elementary School students Jacob Esposito, left, and
Dylan Hakim are reminded daily to be courteous and respectful
of each other by hand-made posters painted throughout the
school.
™
Local businesses that sponsored the Ambassador Program at Dallas
Elementary School are:
Bruce Goeringer Family Dentistry
Nick of Time Printing LLC
Nancy Balutis
Hildebrandt Learning Center
Thomas' Family Markets
J & J Deli
Leggio’s Italian Ristorante
Tony DeCosmo/Grotto Pizza
Valentine's Jewelry
Traver said little lessons be-
came imbedded into the curri-
culum in order to teach kids to
be more tolerant of one anoth-
er. After years of rewarding stu-
dents, he formed a committee
of teachers and guidance coun-
selors to create a more positive
environment in which students
could learn.
Teachers created their own
forms of positive behavior tac-
tics, including reward systems
for performing good deeds.
Traver has seen the results of
this “hidden curriculum”
through decreased disciplinary
referrals and students interac-
ing with one another during
lunch and recess periods.
Now the school is working on
a resurgence of the positive be-
havior program, thanks to prin-
cipal intern Mark Adams. The
“Niceness is Priceless” cam-
paign is depicted as a rainbow
with each color representing a
character trait students learn in
each grade.
A large rainbow has been
painted in the cafeteria to re-
mind students of the lessons,
See AGE, Page 13