December 16 - 22, 2012 Vol.121 No. 41 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 AL | IA S 50¢ WILKES-BARRE, PA. www.mydallaspost.com AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Pets’ visit with Santa benefits other animals Event at Dymond's Farm in Orange raises money for Blue Chip Animal Refuge. By SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent Furry friends and their owners flocked to Dymond’s Farm in Or- ange on Dec. 8 to have their pho- tos taken with Santa Claus and raise money for animals in need. The event was organized by Blue Chip Farms Animal Refuge, located just down the street from the family farm. The no-kill animal shelter raised funds to help care for the hundreds of animals, from dogs and cats to horses and rabbits, need “forever homes.” en Danko, a Blue Chip vol- unteer, greeted guests with Snow White, a one-and-a-half- year-old Asian Shepherd surren- dered to the shelter a few weeks ago. “We love to support Blue Chip. It's a great place.” LuAnn Brace “Her family could no longer care for her,” said Danko. Danko has been volunteering at the shelter for two years and in that time has adopted two dogs of her own, in addition to the two cats she had previously adopted from the shelter. “I just love seeing the animals find a home,” she said. Danko said finding more vol- unteers is at the top of Blue Chip’s Christmas list. “We also need more foster families and people to adopt the animals,” she said. The event was also an oppor- tunity for owners to socialize their pups. Major Moore, 17, of Lake Silkworth, brought his 7- month-old black Labrador Re- BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST LuAnn Brace, right, of Dallas, tries to position her golden retriever ‘Cider’ for a photo with Santa at Dymond’s Farm to benefit the Blue Chip Farms Animal Refuge. triever Duke to get his paws on Santa’s lab. “It’s nice to get out with other people,” said Cathy Moore, Ma- jor’s mother. “The puppy is very excited.” Cathy Moore said it’s the first time the family has raised a dog from puppyhood. “It's a lot of work, but his training is going good,” she said. The family said Duke, who wanted to meet just about every- one who crossed his path, has a few items at the top of his Christmas wish list. “He wants Bully Bones,” said Major Moore. “Theyre expen- sive dog bones.” LuAnn Brace, whose family owns Brace’s Orchard located across the street from Dy- mond’s, brought along Cider, a See PETS, Page 10 Kristin Fino, left, of Dallas, and 'Prada,’ a Maltese Shih Tzu mix, and Corinne Caparoni, of Exeter, and Blue Chip volunteer Karen Danko, of Tunkhannock, and her Asian shepherd ‘Snow White’ wait to ‘Chelsea,’ a Maltese, wait to have their photo taken with Santa at Dymond'’s Farm in Dallas. have their photo taken with Santa. Kukuchka fami By ROBERT TOMKAVAGE rtomkavage @theabingtonjournal.com For nearly 30 years, a large holi- day lighting display free to the community at the residence of June and Tom Kukuchka in Tunk- hannock was a tradition. “Anything that could hold a Christmas light would have one on it,” said the Kukuchkas’ son, Kevin, 38, of Tunkhannock. “Af- ter the first couple years and a few blown fuses, we figured out just how many lights we could use. We always had a lot of fun do- ing it.” According to Kevin Kukuchka, 6 098151200798 q IR : IS For details about the holiday light display at Creekside Gardens, visit http://www.creeksidegardens.com as the children in the family grew and moved away, the tradition faded. “Over the years, unfortunately, it started to die down to smaller displays and eventually the house was blocked by the family’s busi- ness, Creekside Garders, when it was built 16 years ago,” he said. Kevin Kukuchka first became involved in setting up the family display when he was about 10 years old and always got satisfac- tion from the joy the lights pro- vided to members of the commu- nity. “I enjoyed just being out there doing it,” he said. “Tunkhannock is a small community. It was even smaller back then and when we would go out for breakfast, peo- ple would always tell us how much they enjoyed the lights, and that they would bring their children and grandchildren to see them. I think sharing the holiday spirit with so many people is real- ly a great thing.” Kukuchka believes the tradi- tion is traced back to his grandfa- ther, George. “He always had a really nice display,” he said of his grandfa- ther. “The centerpiece was a na- tivity scene and he had the big bulb Christmas lights and cut- outs in the yard. I think it trickled down from there.” Fond memories According to Kukuchka, the display at Creekside Gardens brings back fond memories for Julie Novack, who runs the store’s gift shop. “She told me that when she was young, her parents took her ly revives Its extensive holiday light display JASON RIEDMILLER/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Creekside Gardens at 4 Village Lane in Tunkhannock features a huge holiday lights display on its property. on holiday lights tours and would bringing back the holiday display project,” Kukuchka said. “He with his younger brother, Jeffrey, at a family gathering in July. “Jeffrey was the engineer of the always save our house for the grand finale,” he said. Kukuchka first discussed started doing research on how to See LIGHT, Page 10 L
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