Vol.121 No. 42 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 December 23 - 29, 2012 50¢ WILKES-BARRE, PA. AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Alaina Raspen, 5, of Sweet Valley, smiles as Santa talks to her after making an appearance at the end of the Ross Elementary School holiday program. DEAR SANTA Back Mountain children pen letters to the jolly old man himself, hoping he will fulfill their Christmas wishes. # Children at I'm Big Now and Adventures in Learning in the Back Mountain practiced their penmanship last week by writing letters to Santa Claus. The young- sters agreed to share their letters with readers of The Dallas Post. FROM ADVENTURES IN LEARNING Dear Santa, I know about giving. The more you give, the more you get. Jacob Dear Santa, Would you come to play with us? We can play cars, petshop and puzzles. Bruce Dear Santa, What do you do during sum- mer? Mason Dear Santa, Do your reindeer eat carrots? Scott Dear Santa, How do your reindeer fly? Vera Dear Santa, Does Rudolph live on the North Pole? Leo Dear Santa, Can you make a snowman? Melina Dear Santa, Could you please play puzzles with me? McKenna Dear Santa, BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Could you please play with me and my brother? Ryan Dear Santa, What do you eat for dinner? Leah Dear Santa, I hope you have a good Christ- mas. Could you come play puz- zles with me? Chastity See SANTA, Page 7 Scouts from Troop 28] pack toys for tots, remember soldiers Boys collect for Toys for Tots, pack Christmas stockings for military personnel stationed in Kuwait. By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Post Correspondent Scouts love to help and mem- bers of Dallas Boy Scout Troop 281 spend part of their Christmas par- ty each year collecting and packing carloads of wrapped toys for less fortunate children. The toys are then distributed by the Marine re- serve unit at the Wyoming bar- racks. Playing the Santa role is easy for Jared Casaldi, of Sweet Valley, and Matthew Reynolds, who said that packing toys in the Marine vans 6¢'"M098 151200790 was loads of fun, especially know- ing that the “toys would go to peo- ple who had little money or whose parents had been laid off from work this year.” This year, besides the annual Toys for Tots collection, there was an extra project for the Scouts to handle. About 100 Christmas stockings packed by Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts from Dallas Troop and Pack 281 will find their way to Kuwait for Christmas. They will be sent di- rectly to 1st lieutenant Paul Luksa, a 2003 Dallas High School gradu- ate and former Eagle Scout from the troop, who is stationed there. Rebecca Oley, a mother whose two sons, David and Matthew, packed some of the socks, says the Scouts were given empty socks with a list of suggestions for their contents. Things like candy, drink mixes, chips, dried meats, snacks, toothpaste and toothbrushes About 100 Christmas stockings packed by Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts from Dallas Troop an Pack 281 will find their way to Kuwait for Christmas. They will be sent directly to Ist lieuten- ant Paul Luksa, a 2003 Dallas High School graduate and for- mer Eagle Scout from the troop, who is stationed there. come in handy in the desert. The Scouts had no trouble coming up with meaningful and fun items for the stockings, she said. Brothers Ryan and Jake Nita, of Shavertown, were very proud, knowing their hand-stuffed stock- ings would go to soldiers serving in the Iraq desert. According to Ed Luksa, Pauls fa- ther, it’s surprising that so many men serving overseas get few pack- ages from home. Luksa is in touch almost daily by phone with his son who says he feels privileged to CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Mathew Reynolds and Jared Casaldi, of Boy Scout Troop 281, Dallas, help load toys collected at the annual Toys for Tots collection held by the U.S Marine reserve unit from the Wyoming barracks. have received so many packages from the Back Mountain commu- nity. This is the second 14-month tour of duty for Paul, who serves with the PA National Guard 109th Army Infantry Reserve Unit guard- ing a base on the Iraq border with Kuwait. Ed Luksa says this ship- ment of Christmas stockings will endear his son to the troops and lo- cal people, with whom American troops share their presents. “They’re really going to love him over there,” he said.
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