Vol. 121 No. 16 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 June 17 - 23, 2012 ® The PArrAS PoST. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Teams clamor for practice space By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com In a semi-rural area with lots of farm land and bare acreage, ath- letic field space in the Back Mountain is at a premium these days — and youth athletic teams are clamoring for the chance just to practice their sports skills. Practice and game-playing fields in the Back Mountain in- clude those located at the Lake- Lehman and Dallas School Dis- trict campuses, the Back Moun- tain Recreation Complex in Leh- man Township, Center Street Park in Kingston Township, the Jackson Township Recreation Park, those recently created by the Rock Recreation Center in Kingston Township and some space at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Dallas Township. Baseball fields are located in Dallas Township, Franklin Town- ship and Harveys Lake Borough. All of these fields must meet the demands of dozens of youth and high school athletic teams. “Our ideal option is to use fields here (in the Back Mountain).” Donald Bowden KT Raiders president Finding space Some teams can’t even find a space to call home. Donald Bowden, president of the Kingston Township Raiders, said the team is searching for a field on which to play its games this season. But the organiza- tion’s home field, which is locat- ed in Forty Fort at the Dana Street Elementary School, hasn’t See FIELDS, Page 10 BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Lake-Lehman Athletic Director Tom Rokita describes the many uses of Edward Edwards Stadium by various athletic teams. i Eighth-grader Grace Kuschke, 14, of Harveys Lake, describes her project on tropical rainforests. Science students strut their stuff By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Seventh and eighth-grade students participated in the an- nual Junior High Science Fair at the Lake-Lehman Junior/Se- nior High School on May 23. Projects ranged from deter- mining whether dogs and cats are right or left-pawed to see- ing what items in one’s back- yard are biodegradable. Honors students were required to do the projects, while general sci- ence students had the option to create a project for extra credit. Debbie Milford, seventh and eighth-grade science teacher and event coordinator, said not all the projects were based on the scientific method — some students were able to perform @ and present it through project. "~~ Though Milford took stu- dents to the library when they started the projects, most of the work was done at home. Students were required to work Projects ranged from deter- mining whether dogs and cats are right or left-pawed to seeing what items in one's backyard are biodegradable. Honors students were required to do the projects, while gen- eral science students had the option to create a project for extra credit. at least 25 hours on their cho- sen project. Karle Coole, of Noxen, ex- plored what plants and animals can be found in the Arctic, a polar region located in the northernmost part of the Earth. The 14-year-old said it was interesting to learn about how different plants and animals adapt to the extreme climate. “I enjoy learning about sci- ence, especially physical sci- ence,” she said. Grace Kuschke, 14, of Har- veys Lake, took to a different Er d About Tropical Rainforests Whars ave they? BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Eighth-grader Maranda Moosic, 13, of Lake Township, describes her project on desert life at the Lake-Lehman Junior High Sci- ence Fair. area of the Earth — the tropical rainforest. “I liked learning about all the different layers of the rainforest and what lived where,” she said. Kuschke also presented in See STUFF, Page 12 her project that the rainforest is being destroyed, and ex- plained different ways people Budget calls for 21 percent hike By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The school board approved its $32.9 million budget for the 2012- 13 school year on Monday night, which calls for a 2.1 percent mil- lage increase to 11.8052 mills. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in average assessed property value. The budget also includes a per capita tax of $10, an earned in- come tax of 1 percent split with district municipalities, and an emergency services tax of $52, $5 of which is district funds. Business Manager Grant Pal- fey said the increase will amount to an additional $37.59 to the av- erage annual property tax bill of $1,750. He added the district could have applied for exceptions to further increase the millage rate, but the board and administrators wanted to raise taxes by the state- wide wage index or lower since the completion of the new high school. The board approved the resig- nation of a middle school teacher who is under investigation for “inappropriate behavior” involv- ing students. David Shuga, a middle school nN ICTR ISsT ¢ Ef A PEPE IOI RICE ODRALAKIE. Below is a list of recently approved raises for Dallas School District administrators for the 2012-13 school year. Superintendent Frank Galicki - $106,951 Business Manager Grant Palfey - $83,609 Director of Technology William Gartrell - $91143 Special Education Director Amy Linen - $71,981 High School Principal Jeffrey Shaffer - $91143 Assistant High School Principal Brian Bradshaw - $66,442 Middle School Principal Brian Bradshaw - $79,866 Dallas Elementary School Princi- pal Thomas Traver - $79,866 Wycallis Elementary School Princi- pal and Director of Curriculum Paul Reinert - $99,752 Director of Maintenance Mark Kraynack - $66,365 special education teacher, sub- mitted his resignation the same day Superintendent Frank Gal- icki said administrators became aware of the allegations. Galicki said the situation came to light on Thursday when sever- al students approached middle school Principal Tom Duffy “with See BUDGET, Page 10 No chickens in Kingston Twp. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com All the squawking about rais- ing chickens in Kingston Town- ship came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday as supervisors voted against changing the zoning ordi- nance to allow the keeping of fowl in residential areas. Supervisors James Reino Jr., Jeffrey Box and Shirley Moyer voted against changing the ordi- nance, while Gary Mathers re- mained the lone supporter. Resident Chris Mathers, of Trucksville, wife of Gary Math- ers, championed the issue a few months ago and presented re- search on the topic for the board to digest. She said tending a small flock of chickens makes one more sus- tainable; they keep away mosqui- _ toes, ticks and other insects, and their manure can be used for compost in gardens. Mathers lives on a large lot about 600 feet away from the nearest agriculturally-zoned par- cel, which allows for the raising of chickens. “I feel I have a right to grow my own food,” she said. Supervisors told Chris Math- ers that the issue lies in how the birds would impact neighbors and property values and whether the zoning officer could handle managing the flocks. See CHICKENS, Page 10 6 "09815120079 ve ed f L
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers