Vol. 121 No. 31 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 October 7 - 13, 2012 eo The Barbas Post. WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER REMEMBERING COREY BILL TARUTUS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Dallas High School junior Patrick Newhart, center, joins others members of the Dallas High School Mini-THON's “Candlelight Walk for Cancer in Loving Memory of Corey Ehret” on Sept. 30 at Mountaineer Stadium. For more photos of the vigil, please turn to page 1. New Senior Center open After months, Back Mountain seniors celebrate new center in Twin Stacks Building. By MEGAN SCHNEIDER mschneider@mydallaspost.com Seniors from the Back Moun- tain greeted one another with excitement and hugs at the opening of the new Senior Cen- ter on Wednesday morning. The new center, located in the Twin Stacks building in Dal- las, has long been anticipated by the area seniors, many of whom have traveled to other center locations since March. The previous senior center closed earlier this year due to safety issues. “It’s the first thing everyone notices,” said Doris Hughey, as she joked with other members about how level the floors are in the new center and explaining that the floors in the old center were warped and unsafe. The center offers hot meals, activities and computer classes for seniors 60 years of age and older. But the members offer one another so much more. La- dies exchanged recipes and sto- ries over coffee and greeting CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Temporary center director Toni Mathis, left, greets Edward Williams at the new senior center at the Twin Stacks Cen- ter in Dallas. friends, some of whom they hadnt seen since the previous center closed. “It’s been a long haul for all of us to get here,” said Trula Hol- lywood from the Area Agency on Aging, “but we are finally here.” Hollywood said it was expect- ed that more than 30 meals would be served on opening day and many new attendees See SENIOR, Page 1l ow 4 ’ EY X RB ¥ ® (Carrying on the memory of a fellow Eagle Scout By MEGAN SCHNEIDER mschneider@mydallaspost.com Members of Scout Troop 281 in Dallas have had a difficult year. They have had to deal with the loss of a friend, classmate and fellow Scout Thomas Lynch who died in a car accident on his way to school on Feb. 3 An Eagle Scout from Dallas, Lynch continues to positively af- fect his peers, his troop and Scouting. To achieve the rank of Eagle, a Scout must meet three qualifica- tions. He must have tenure, he must have met the badge re- quirements and he must com- plete a leadership-based commu- nity service project, all before he reaches the age of 18. Thomas Lynch accomplished those tasks. Casey McAndrew from Boy Scout Troop 155 in Trucksville had not. McAndrew considered drop- ping out of Scouting after spend- ing months trying to decide on an appropriate project to take him to the next level. With time running out, he was discour- aged. “I had a lot of trouble find- ing an Eagle project,” he said. When McAndrew learned that his childhood friend Lynch had left behind an unfinished Scout- ing project, he knew what he had to do. The project was to build infor- mation kiosks at three locations on the Back Mountain Trail. Lynch had completed the plan- ning, approvals and fundraising. “You couldnt say no to Tom,” troop leaders joked about Lynch. Lynch had also designed the “ll 098151"20079%1s oo Xe kiosks prior to his passing and successfully installed the first at the Trucksville Fire Hall en- trance to the Back Mountain Trail. Troop leader Bob Pilger, whose son, Dylan, was a fellow Scout of Lynch's, assisted Lynch with the project. When Dylan learned that McAndrew was hav- ing difficulty finding an Eagle project, he suggested his father talk to McAndrew about the pro- ject Lynch had left behind. McAndrew whole-heartedly took over Lynch's project and dedicated his share of the project to Lynch. McAndrew admitted the project was a lot of work, but he knows it was worth it. “Just knowing Tom, you get to know these kids in a special way,” said Pilger. “And knowing that someone else picked up where he left off is huge.” McAndrew and helpers com- pleted the second kiosk at the Carverton Road entrance. The third is planned for a section of trail not yet completed. In a special dedication ceremo- ny on Sept.15, the first site, com- pleted by Lynch, was dedicated to the leaders of Boy Scout Troop 281. The second site, com- pleted by McAndrew, was dedi- cated to the memory of Thomas Lynch. “I was very happy and I think Tom would have been very hap- py,” said Liz Lynch, Lynch’s mother. “Casey will always have a special place in my heart be- cause he did this.” Troop leaders and Scouts agreed that Thomas Lynch was a person of great character. “Even See SCOUT, Page 1 a ‘ergo Maki Shown here during the presentation of an information kiosk on the Back Mountain Trail are, from left, Marty Wise, Hunter Hackling, Lewis Hackling, Kyle Gruzynski, Bob Pilger, Christian Wargo, Casey McAndrew, Stephen McAndrew, Dylan Pilger and Corey McAndrew. LEFT PHOTO: This shirt dis- played by Liz Lynch has been made the official Boy Scout Troop 281 uniform shirt in memory of Thomas Lynch who always wore tie-dyed pajama pants when the Scouts went camping. RIGHT PHOTO; Mark Albrecht, left, of the Back Mountain Trail Association, and Casey McAn- drew discuss the information kiosk McAndrew placed on the Back Mountain Trail. pgs
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