Vol.121 No. 15
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
June 10 - 16, 2012
e The
Darras Post.
WILKES-BARRE, PA.
www.mydallaspost.com
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
PETE G. WILCOX/ TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO
Former Senator Charles Lemmond passed away on May 30 at the
age of 83.
Our area has lost ‘a gracious man
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Officials, community leaders,
former constituents and friends
are mourning the loss of a long-
time contributor to the Back
Mountain, whether it was
through his duties as a state sen-
ator, a judge, an attorney or a
friend.
Former state Sen. Charles
Lemmond died Wednesday, May
30. He was 83 years old. Lem-
mond is survived by his wife,
Barbara; sons, Charles, John and
David; daughter, Judith; brother,
George; and four grandchildren.
He was a state senator from
1986 until 2006 when his proté-
gé, state Sen. Lisa Baker, took
office. Baker was a neighbor of
years old, and served as his chief “‘He never appeared or acted as if he was any dif-
ferent than the constituents he served, and that's
the sign of a true statesman.”
of staff from 1985 to 1995 until
leaving the position to serve un-
der Gov. Tom Ridge.
“Charlie Lemmond was a posi-
tive force in my life in so many
ways — friend, mentor, advisor,
role model. As a former judge,
prosecutor and legislator, he had
incredible respect for the power
and purpose of law, properly
crafted and wisely applied,” Bak-
er wrote in a statement release
shortly Lemmond’s death.
“His 21 years as a well-respect-
ed state Senator were marked by
his standard of integrity, his pur-
suit of justice, and his desire to
do what was right for the people
and the communities he serve,”
Baker continued. “He wanted to
never disappoint those who
trusted him and had confidence
Michael McDowell
Misericordia University president
Lemmond’s
since she was 4
in his ability. He was willing to
bridge party lines and political
philosophies.”
Born in Hazleton on January
17, 1929, Lemmond grew up in
Forty Fort and, after graduating
from high school, completed a
stint in the U.S. Army.
He attended Harvard, major-
ing in government, and earned
his law degree from the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania’s School of
Law.
During his early years as a
lawyer, he practiced for the Sil-
verblatt and Townend law firm
and served as solicitor for a
number of municipal bodies, in-
cluding the Lake-Lehman
School District, Dallas Borough
and Exeter Township.
Lemmond served as First Dis-
trict Attorney in Luzerne Coun-
ty, and in 1980, was appointed
by Gov. Dick Thornburgh to
serve as a judge of the Luzerne
County Court of Common Pleas
where he was the Orphans’
Court Judge.
See GRACIOUS, Page 13
esclence
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
“I found a dead fish!” the boy
yelled out to his friends across
the marsh.
Usually such an exclamation
would not elicit smiles and glee
from those near a decaying ani-
mal, but for fifth-graders from
Dallas Elementary, it was like
nding pure gold.
¥'The group took its science
class outdoors on May 31, travel-
ing to Frances Slocum State Park
to learn more about wetlands and
the kinds of things that live there.
Fifth-grade science teachers
Maria Hosey and Brenda Burk-
hardt led the troops of net-toting
mini scientists to the marshy area
near the lake across from the
park’s campground site.
A marsh is an area near bodies
of water less than two feet deep
and is home to many different or-
ganisms. It also helps to prevent
flooding of nearby areas by slow-
ly releasing water into waterways
during heavy rainfall. Marshes fil-
ter sediment and pollutants, im-
proving water quality.
Students clad in rubber boots
carefully squished through the
muddy marsh, scooping their
nets in search of anything that
wiggles.
“They go in the marsh to sur-
vey the organisms like fish and
frogs,” said Hosey.
Burkhardt added the annual
spring trip helps students con-
nect with what they are learning
Learning about
outside
BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Dallas Elementary School fifth-
grader Stephen Postupak
searches a marsh for aquatic
animal life at Frances Slocum
State Park.
in class.
“This unit is about watersheds
and how they work,” she said.
“We relate it to wetlands to show
the kids what’s in our environ-
ment, which is mostly forest wet-
lands.”
Burkhardt said the swampy
students get a chance to see “the
bigger picture” by going out into
the field, collecting specimens
and examining them to see how
healthy the water is in this area.
“They’ll know why they need
to pick up litter and trash by see-
ing these things,” she said. “In an-
other project, we make a map of
the school property and look at
the watershed and the pollution
that’s there. When it’s a rainy day,
we can see where the water flows
See SCIENCE, Page 12
8 Fireworks reminder issued
Dallas Borough residents are
reminded of the borough ordi-
nance prohibiting the storage,
selling, keeping for sale or dis-
charging of any kind of fireworks,
firecrackers, torpedoes, caps,
guns, pistols, revolvers, canes,
cannons or other substances,
things or appliances designed or
intended for noisemaking or for
pyrotechnic display within the
®
680981512007 98g
limits of the Borough of Dallas,
except under the issuance of a
special permit from Dallas Bor-
ough for public exhibitions of
fireworks under the direct super-
vision of experts.
The Dallas Borough Police De-
partment will patrol and strictly
enforc this ordinance. Any per-
son, firm or corporation convict-
ed of violating any of the provi-
sions of this ordinance shall be
subject to fines and penalties.
Any questions pertaining to
the enforcement of borough regu-
lations should be referred to the
Dallas Borough administrative
offices at 675-1389 or the bor-
ough police department at 675-
0161.
BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Eight-year-old Wycallis Elementary student Madison Carlsson, of Trucksville, reaches for a flip-flop decorated Vienna Finger cookie
during a break at field day for visually-impaired children at Dallas Elementary School.
Having fun at
Dallas School District
visually-impaired students
enjoy first-ever field day.
By SARAH HITE
shite@mydallaspost.com
Visually-impaired students
in the Dallas School District
got a chance to mingle with
children from Scranton and
have fun at their inaugural
field day on the Dallas cam-
pus on June 1.
Vision teacher Bridget Ga-
vin said the class usually par-
ticipates in field day at the
Luzerne Intermediate Unit
No. 18 campus in Kingston,
but this year she decided to
see if the students could stay
on their home turf for the
event.
Gavin also coordinated
with a friend from the Scran-
ton School District to have
visually-impaired students
from that district attend the
event.
“Students range from mi-
nor visual problems to totally
blind,” she said. “It’s exciting
— I learn more from them
than they learn from me.”
The group of about 15 stu-
dents completed hands-on
projects during the day, in-
cluding making “sponge
balls” to use in a swimming
pool, tasting flip-flop deco-
rated cookies, playing games
like volleyball and jump rope
and having fun with bubbles
and sidewalk chalk.
“The kids follow typical
safety guidelines,” said Ga-
vin. “We move a bit slower
than the other kids because
some of them also have phys-
ical disabilities, but overall
it’s just like any other field
day.”
Gavin said the field day
was also a celebration of
sorts — the students had just
finished a fundraiser the day
before called “Shades of Fun”
in which students and faculty
members paid $1 to wear
sunglasses. Money raised
was donated to the Pennsyl-
vania Association for the
Eight-year-old Dallas Elementary student Kyle Kintz, of Dallas,
puts the finishing touches on his ‘Sponge Bob Square Arms’
during a field day for visually-impaired children at Dallas Ele-
mentary School.
Blind.
“We raised more
$500,” said Gavin.
Liz Sheeder, 9, of Trucks-
ville, hung out with her pal,
Christian Martin, 9, of Dallas
Township, on the Dallas Ele-
mentary jungle gym before
taking on more activities.
“I like playing games like
volleyball,” said Sheeder. “It
was boys versus girls. No one
won.”
Martin likes less structur-
ed activities during field day.
“I just like running around
with my friends,” he said.
than
Gavin said it’s important to
have days like this when the
students can let loose and be
themselves.
“They’re singled out a lot
of the time, and they have to
do extra work because every-
thing is harder for them,” she
said. “They have to use other
tools, like large print, Braille,
or a magnifier just to keep
up. It’s nice for them to just
have a break once in a while.”
Gavin said the event was
possible due to the support
from the district and aides at
Dallas Elementary School.
Re an