Vol. 121 No. 22 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 July 29 - August 4, 2012 ®The DALLAS PosT. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Gas co. donation ensures safety By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Thanks to one of the compa- nies constructing a pipeline in Dallas Township, Back Mountain emergency personnel have a new tool at their disposal to help re- spond to calls related to the nat- ural gas industry. PVR Partners, formerly Chief Gathering LLC, recently donated a Polaris Ranger 800EF all-ter- rain vehicle to Dallas Fire & Am- bulance Inc. The vehicle will be fitted with equipment that will Right now, we're equipped to respond to emergen- cies on the roadway, but with the pipeline and me- tering station construction, many of these men are working 1,000 feet off the roadway.” Mark Van Etten President, Dallas Fire & Ambulance Inc. enable responders to reach wood- ed areas. Mark Van Etten, president of Dallas Fire & Ambulance Inc., said the organization has been looking for ways to better equip personnel to respond to natural gas emergencies as the industry continues to move into the area. The Transco interstate pipe- line was constructed near Hilde- brandt Road in the mid-1950s. Two natural gas companies, PVR Partners and Williams Field Ser- vices LLC, recently constructed two natural gas pipelines to con- nect to the Transco line. “There are a lot of new chal- lenges with the industry,” said Dallas Fire Chief Harry Vivian. “It's a rural area that’s being opened up.” That construction included boring in heavily wooded areas — places that may be difficult to re- ach with heavy, bulky equipment. “Right now, we’re equipped to respond to emergencies on the roadway, but with the pipeline and metering station construc- tion, many of these men are work- See SAFETY, Page 11 BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE DALLAS POST Dallas Fire Chief Harry Vivian backs up the new off-road utility vehicle at the station in Dallas Township. Community's the thing in Noxen Residents gather to buy Ruff, visit with neighbors @. township-wide sale. By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Those from Noxen and beyond perused the township streets for interesting buys and familiar faces during Noxen Day, a town- ship-wide yard sale, on July 21. Cathie Pauley, longtime com- munity advocate and first-term supervisor, manned the sale at the old Noxen School, which ben- efitted the “last big project” in ® the century-old build- She believes Noxen Day has been part of the community tradi- tion for just as long. “This has been going on for centuries, I swear,” said Pauley. “Everyone just puts their stuff out and they go and see each other. We've been doing this for 12 years and all the items are donated.” Funds raised from the sale will be used to complete the siding re- placement project on the build- ing on Schoolhouse Road, which Pauley said totaled about $50,000. “We have one side left, and that will cost $10,000,” she said. “It’s so expensive because they have to do the metal bending to make it exactly the same so it can re- main a historical building.” But benefitting the school was the last thing on some patrons’ minds — they just wanted to find interesting goods for a bargain. Irene Campbell, of Olyphant, browsed the tables for anything that might catch her eye — after all, it’s part of her job. Campbell has a business called Fabulous Finds of All Kinds in Olyphant, where she sells items she finds from all over the area. “‘'m looking for antiques, mostly,” she said. “I'm from more of a city area, but I always find Rayann Brown, left, and Vio- letta Kline, 4, both of Noxen, look over items at one of the yard sales during Noxen Day. more interesting things in places like this, more rural areas.” Down the street, Robert Keh- ler, of Larksville, set up shop — lit- erally — with his step-grandson, 14-year-old Michael Rasmovicz. Kehler is a toy train vendor who often sells at the Sixth Street Flea Market in Wyoming and the Edwardsville Flea Market. He al- so travels to festivals and fairs throughout the area to sell his goods, ‘which range from toy trains to “everyday bricka- brack.” “It started when my father passed away, and he had a big train collection and I had a lot of trains, and I couldn’t keep all of them, so I started selling,” said Kehler. “Pretty soon people start- ed coming to me to sell their stuff.” Kehler, who sells his wares in addition to maintaining his full- time job as a custodian at Dallas High School, said “lack of mon- ey” is one reason he keeps pursu- ing his passion, but meeting new people is another perk of the job. “I enjoy trains and talking to people,” he said. “Work is work but this is a fun job for me.” Denyelle Lobacz, of Noxen, set up her sale table near the St. Luke’s Reformation Lutheran See NOXEN, Page 11 BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DLALAS POST Lina Besteder, of Newark, Del., selects a candle for sale in the Noxen School during Noxen Day. BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/FOR THE DALLAS POST Collie Club of Northeast PA President Michael Free, left, and Pat Fedock, of Shavertown, fit ‘Shooter’ with a pet oxygen mask, one of three donated by the club to Jackson Township Volunteer Fire & Ambulance. Helping Rover to breathe easy By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Pat Fedock knows what can happen to pets during a fire. “Thankfully, it hasn’t hap- pened to me,” said the Shaver- town resident. “But my neigh- bors’ house burned down last year and their two dogs died due to smoke inhalation. It’s scary.” There are plenty of devices to save human lives, but the Collie Club of Northeastern Pennsyl- vania hopes to ensure furry fam- ily members make it safely out of a fire, too. The group, to which Fedock belongs, recently donated three pet oxygen masks to the Jackson Township Volunteer Fire De- partment. The masks are sized small, medium and large to fit most pets. A muzzle can be placed on the animals snout before using to ensure the safety of the fire- fighter or other personnel ad- ministering the oxygen. A hose attached to the mask is connect- ed to an oxygen tank, allowing the pet to breathe a bit easier in a fire. Jackson Township Fire Chief Dan Manzoni was thankful for the masks — he said firefighters _have been trained to hold a pet’s Jackson Township Fire Chief Dan Manzoni was thankful for the masks - he said firefight- ers have been trained to hold a pet's snout shut when taking the creatures out of a smoky situation. snout shut when taking the creatures out of a smoky situa- tion. “We haven’t had any emergen- cies like this yet, but these will increase our ability to help a pet if it does arise,” said Manzoni. The $70 kit, which is part of the O2 Fur Life program spon- sored by Wag’N Enterprises Inc., includes three oxygen masks, three oxygen air tubes, a carry bag, instruction manuals with information about animal CPR, a kennel lead, two animal accident reports for first respon- ders, a pet rescue notice form, a Powerpoint presentation about the equipment and a “Pet Ox- ygen Masks on Board” decal for emergency vehicles. Fedock said it makes her feel safer just knowing the pet masks are available to emergen- cy personnel in her community. “I feel a little bit better - I only Collie Club of Northeast PA President Michael Free, of Spring- brook Township, center, along with his parents Charlie and Lor- raine Free, round up their collies at the Jackson Township Volun- teer Fire & Ambulance station. “(My husband and I) don’t have kids. We have three Collies, and theyre our kids.” Ron Gryzboski, of Hunlock Creek, the club’s treasurer, said the club does an annual fun- draiser of providing coffee and donuts to travelers on Interstate 81 during Thanksgiving. The funds raised enable the group to give back to its community. “We usually give every year,” said Gryzboski. “Sometimes we'll give to the SPCA. This year, we saw that many groups are getting the oxygen masks, and we tried to find a fire com- pany that’s volunteer-based.” Gryzboski said the Collie Club of NEPA is a group dedi- cated to preserving the notorie- ty the Collie breed once had in the mid-20th century with shows like “Lassie.” “My husband and I had Col- lies when we were growing up,” said Fedock, whose dog, Shoo- ter, was able to demonstrate the use of the mask for the fire chief with no complaints. “They’re just a good, all-around dog.” on 09815%20079%"9
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