RR SS Er IES Sy ca Es Sunday, August 19, 2012 THE DALLAS P OST PAGE 3 wo Sandy Leggieri, left, of Larksville, Joan Considine, of Hanover Township, and Patricia McCue, of Dallas, grandmother of Kelci Gibbons, look over photos and other memorabilia. Remembering KELCI he life of 22-year-old Kelci Gibbons was celebrated on Aug. 12 at the Harveys Lake Beach Club by those who knew her and loved her. Photos of Gibbons as well as her many sports trophies and plaques were on display at the beach club while food, music and tie-dyed shirts added to the occasion. A 2008 graduate of Dallas High School where she was a mem- ber of the 2007 state championship soccer team, Gibbons was killed in an automobile accident on July 24. She had attended Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, N.Y.; Hartwick College in One- onta, N.Y.; and King’s College. She is survived by her parents, Raymond R. and Kelly McCue Gibbons, of Dallas; an older brother, Brian, of Dallas; an identical twin sister, Michelle, of Dallas, who was born 12 minutes after Kelci; maternal grandmother, Patricia McCue, of Dallas; mater- nal grandfather, Conrad “Murphy” Hislop, Harveys Lake; pater- nal grandparents, Mary Ann and Ronald Strohl, Trucksville; aunt, uncles and cousins. Trophies and other Dallas High School awards won by Kelci Gib- | Wy bons were on display to celebrate her life. Gibbons family frie nds Lew and Gloria Randolph, of Noxen, look over posters celebrating the life of Kelci Gibbons. BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Kelly Gibbons, right, hugs friends at a celebration of life for her daughter, Kelci, at the Harveys Lake Beach Club. BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLA SPOST Elva Valentine, left, shows off a Chinese auction item to Bernard Walters, of Harveys Lake, and Bill Jones, of Mountain Top. Valentine's notes 30 years By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Elva Valentine is celebrating her 30th year in business, and some people call her shop the jewel of the Back Mountain. The teacher-turned-entrepre- neur started Valentines Jewelry in July 1982 in just one room of what is now her current location on Tunkhannock Highway (State Route 309). “I taught for eight years,” said Valentine. “I worked in a jewelry shop in college and I just loved i> Valentine majored in English and became a reading specialist, teaching most grades from kin- dergarten through pre-college students. Longtime friend and president of the Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce Chip Morgan re- members when Valentine first started selling jewelry out of her husband’s toolbox. After she got her own selling space, Valentine was successful ight from the start, Morgan said. t feels like she’s always been ,” he said. Valentine is celebrating her an- niversary by raising funds for dif- ferent local organizations every month for an entire year. In July, she donated money to the Ballet A cake celebrates the 30th anniversary of Valentine's Jewelry. Northeast, and this month she held a Chinese auction for the Back Mountain Food Pantry. “I just love giving back to the community,” she said. Valentine said the jewelry busi- ness isn’t just about fancy gems (though she does travel to Belgi- um twice a year to look for rare pieces). It’s more about helping people celebrate and create me- mories. “My son used to come in Valen- tine’s and Elva would say, ‘How much money do you have?” and he would say ‘$10’ and she would help him pick out a gift for me,” said Lynn Banta, co-founder of the Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce. Valentine also enjoys the peo- ple of the Back Mountain, from her longtime staff to customers who have grown up with her busi- ness. “She’s a staple in the Back Mountain,” said Kim Morgan- Brown, a longtime customer. Morgan believes Valentine’s savvy business skills, attention to detail and love of the area have given her a leg up on the competi- tion. “There have been many other jewelers in the Back Mountain, and Elva’s still here,” he said. Sign proposal prompts reconsideration of policy By SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent The Dallas School Board will reconsider its ban on using dis- trict property for commercial use in the next month after an educational fundraising group proposed installing a business- sponsored digital sign near the access way off Hildebrandt Road. Chad Lojewski, of the Dallas Educational Foundation, a non- profit organization dedicated to raising funds for district pro- jects, approached the board on Monday, requesting use of a plot of land to build the approx- imately $40,000 sign. Lojewski said the sign, which would feature information about academics, extracurricu- lar activities and athletics, would be donated to the dis- trict and both the foundation and district would work togeth- er on messages featured on the sign. The foundation would then solicit businesses to sponsor the sign, which would provide a continual source of revenue for the foundation te fund more projects within the district. “I know there was discussion last week about quote-unquote advertising and I want to take that out of the room tonight,” said Lojewski. Lojewski compared the sign to an athletic team booster club program, in which advertise- ments are used for name recog- nition and not targeted to spe- cific products. “I want to emphasize that this becomes a digital program book,” he said. He also provided the board with a complete proposal and a list of parameters for advertis- ing on the sign. The parameters stated the district had a right to reject any potential sponsor, though any sponsor deemed in- appropriate “would not be ap- proached.” Some board members asked “I know there was discussion last week about quote-unquote advertising and | want to take that out of the room tonight.” Chad Lojewski Dallas Foundation member whether the sign would detract advertisers from supporting sports booster clubs. Lojewski said the idea of the foundation is to work with those teams to fund their needs. He said property owners of land where the current district sign along State Route 309 is located did not want businesses featured on the sign. Lojewski asked the district to allow the sign to be placed on district property. Board member Maureen Ma- tiska still wasn’t sure about the proposal because she felt “some things cheapen the school.” Solicitor Benjamin Jones III told Lojewski the district policy would need to be updated to include the sign, as the district currently prohibits commercial use of its property. The board will need to ap- prove two readings of the up- dated policy before it can move forward with the sign project. Football field deemed ‘unsafe’ Dallas Gridiron Club video- grapher Art Daube told the board that the football field in Mountaineer Stadium is “un- safe” for players to practice. He said there are patches of rock on the field and coaches had to move play “10 to 20 yards” away from unfit areas. Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds Mark Kraynack said the players should not be prac- ticing on that field at all. He said the football team has two practice fields, and the sta- dium field should be used for games only. Kraynack added that once the players are moved to another field, he believes he can get the stadium field to “what it used to be” by the time the first football game is played. In other news, the board... ® Approved salaries and step levels for all district teachers. ¢ Appointed Ashlee Berry as a contracted physical therapist at an hourly rate of $55 for in- house physical therapy and $32 for homebound physical ther- apy. e Approved the following prices for school lunches in the 2012-13 school year: elementary class A lunch, $1.85; middle school class A lunch, $1.95; se- nior high class A lunch, $2.10; and reduced price lunch, $.040. e Approved the following de- partment chairpersons for the 2012-13 with a stipend of $499 and an additional $60 per per- son in their respective depart- ments: Clair Morris, art depart- ment; Anne Butler, English de- partment; Audrey Ide, family and consumer sciences depart- ment; Jennifer Lamoreaux, for- eign language department; Rae- lene Daring, guidance depart- ment; Laura O’Malley, health services department; Sandy Sprau, mathematics depart- ment; Susan Koziel, science de- partment; Tom Gilroy, social science department; Diana Al- ichnie, technology education department; Ruth Skammer, wellness department; Robin Moore, middle school science department; Kathleen Dolan, middle school mathematics de- partment; Cynthia Finarelli, middle school social studies de- partment; and Firouzeh Razavi, middle school language arts de- partment. e Approved the following See SIGN, Page 12
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