a ——— Sunday, December 23, 2012 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 y wa X. RE-8 } k ( oa) i a i . | iJ) ¥e "1 A LAD IUWNRNONI esidents question emergency plans By CAMILLE FIOTI Dallas Post Correspondent A resident who lives near the dehydration plant in Wyoming County asked the board of su- pervisors how residents will be notified in the event of a natural gas emergency. Jack Dodson, chief of the Kunkle Fire Department, told the woman that residents would be alerted by a siren in the event of a true emergency. He also said the township is looking into establishing a re- verse 911 system that would be available to all township resi- dents. Dodson added that PVR (the former Chief Gathering) put out an informational flyer about what to do in the event of a gas emergency and that flyer will be made available on the township’s website as well as at the municipal office. Supervisor Liz Martin said State Representative Karen Bo- back and State Senator Lisa Baker are working with state and federal agencies on a plan to address residents’ concerns regarding noise from the plant and other issues. Martin said updates would be made availa- ble as quickly as possible on the township’s website and Face- book page. In another matter, William Perry asked the supervisors why his property off Ransom Road was recently named “Payne Lane.” Roadmaster Martin Barry said the road, which contains three homes, was given a name when the county 911 re-addressing was conducted between 2010 and 2011. “The owners were notified and were given several name options,” Barry said, adding that the township paid for and erected the red street signs with white lettering so as to not place a financial hardship on the residents. Also, Christina Brown, of Val- ley View Drive, reported that a poor drainage system caused damage to her property. She said a “ditch” across the street from her house would overflow every time it rained, causing ex- cess water to flood her property and collapse a retaining wall. The township has since cleaned out the swale and paved over it, putting an end to the problem but Brown wants the township to pay for repairs See PLANS, Page 7 &udget includes . small tax By CAMILLE FIOTI Dallas Post Correspondent Citing increases in insurance premiums, workman’s compen- sation contributions and other expenses, the board of super- visors said on Dec. 17 that next ’s $1.2 million budget yuld include a small tax in- crease of a fifth of a mill. The increase from 1.25 to 1.45 mills would amount to about $25 ex- tra per household. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property val- ue. Treasurer Al Cragle reported that the township satisfactorily passed a recent state audit of the police and non-uniformed pension funds from 2009 to 2011. “They audited both funds and we are in full compliance,” Cragle said, adding that the funds are “overfunded” with a surplus of roughly $500,000. * Cragle attributed the over- age to healthy investment re- ‘turns over the last two to three years since the township turn- ed the fund over to LeTort “Trust of Camp Hill. Due to the ‘overfunding of the pension fund, the board voted on a res- Increase olution to wave the township’s 2012 contribution to the plan. In other business, Supervi- sor Doug Ide announced that the Meeker Outlet Bridge is now open. “It’s a temporary re- pair,” Ide said of the joint pro- ject between the township and Penn DOT to install a new six- foot pipe. Ide said the bridge needs to be replaced and that PennDOT asked him if the township could take it over. The board voted to decline Penn DOT’s invitation to take over the bridge. “We don’t want to own any bridges,” said Chairman Dave Sutton, adding that it would cost approximate- ly $1.2 million to replace the bridge properly. “That’s about a year’s budget for this town- ship.” Sutton pointed out that the only bridge the township owns is a stone arch bridge in the Lake Silkworth area. The board also: - Approved a resolution to authorize the Back Mountain Regional Fire and EMS to oper- ate in Lehman Township. The new department, which is a merger of Lehman and Dallas See TAX, Page 7 Five-month-old Juliana Polous, of Dallas, plays with keys with family friend, Tania Gomez, of Harveys Lake, while they wait for Santa to arrive. Santa's a big hit at Legion party Daddow-Isaacs Dallas American Legion on Dec. 16. Children So found his way to the annual children’s Christmas party at had their pictures taken with Santa and enjoyed food and pre- sents. BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Two-year-old Lilly Morse, of Dallas, gets a present from Santa at the Daddow-Isaacs American Legion children’s Christmas party. Two-year-old Andrew David Harvey, of Beaumont, center, sits on Santa's chair with his great-grandparents, Charles and Wink Fleming, of Dallas at the Daddow-Isaacs American Legion. Mountain Grange receives Mountain Grange is the recip- ient of a $1,000 grant from Penn- sylvania State Grange which it re- ceived for having the largest in- crease in membership. Individual members who recruited just one new member were eligible to win one of five $50 cash prizes. Winners were chosen through a random draw- ing held during the Night of Hon- ors at the 140th Annual PA State Grange Session in Butler. PA State Grange will continue this program into 2013. New members reported for the fourth quarter and the first three quar- ters of 2013 will be used to deter- $L000 grant from state mine the winner. Mountain Grange No. 567 is lo- cated at 1632 W. 8th St., Wyom- ing,. Beginning in April 2013, meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. BMT native living in CT finds comfort in her pastor's words The news was numbing. “The girl told her mother she saw the robber. She said he had on a mask and he was there to take By DOTTY MARTIN dmartin@mydallaspost.com JoAnn Newberry was glued to her television set on Dec. 14 ‘when news broke of a shooting ‘at the Sandy Hook Elementary ‘School in Newtown, CT. . A native of Orange and a 1976 graduate of Dallas High School, Newberry and her husband, {Barry Sacks, live in Southbury, {CT, just four miles from New- town. Their son, 13-year-old ‘Jesse, was “locked down” at a juiddle school in Southbury during the incident. ; Newberry and Sacks are both ‘former Times Leader employ- , she as business manager Jl he as a sportswriter. Sacks i1s now employed as a senior producer at ESPN. Newberry’s ‘nephew, DJ Carey, a 2008 grad- luate of Dallas High School, also ‘lives with them and works at ESPN. Twenty 6 and 7-year-old chil- dead. faculty staff dren Six and members murdered. their Newberry Hundreds of children and fam- ilies trauma- tized. Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza, who lived in Newtown with his mother, Nancy, had forced his way into the elementary school shortly after classes began and opened fire before taking his own life. Police later found Nan- cy Lanza dead in her home. As children were taken from the school building and led across the street to the New- town Fire Hall, Newberry’s pas- tor, the Rev. Walter Pitman, of the United Congregational Church in Southbury, was one of four chaplains called upon to their lunch money.” Jo Ann Newberry Former BMT resident comfort families and first re- sponders. On Sunday, just two days af- ter the shooting, the crowd at United Congregational Church was a standing-room only one. Newberry and her family were there, seeking comfort in Rev. Pitman’s words. And Pitman delivered, leaving not a dry eye in the house. “He talked about a first re- sponder, whom he said was a 6’3” strapping guy,” Newberry remembered. “The guy came out of the school with a child, placed that child in his mother’s arms, then turned around and collapsed in the pastor’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.” Rev. Pitman told his congre- gation how he and he other pas- tors prayed and cried with the first responders, talking with them as they all worked their way through what could only be conceived as unthinkable. He talked about how family members were at the fire hall, receiving their children as they came out of the school. But, then he talked about what hap- pened when the last child was reunited with his mother. “He said the fire hall became very quiet,” Newberry said. “Then you heard crying, then sobbing, then yelling. He and the other pastors waited with the families as long as they needed them to, comforting them.” During his Sunday sermon, Rev. Pitman talked about how God created the world but no one said He made it perfect. He talked about how God also cre- ated nature and chaos. He told the congregation he felt God was on the scene at the school and the fire house, helping first responders do their jobs. And he felt God’s presence when he returned home to his own fam- ily members that night, as they hugged him and expressed their thanks for his safety. The pastor always invites children to the front of the church on Sunday mornings and talks to them prior to send- ing them off to their Sunday School classes. Last Sunday’s children’s sermon was like no other. He told the children to always remember that they are loved and that he loves them. He asked if they knew who else loves them and asked the entire congregation to stand. “He then said, ‘All these peo- ple love you and they will keep you safe,” Newberry said. “He choked up. It was very power- ful.” At the conclusion of the ser- vice, Rev. Pitman told everyone present that no one would leave the church without a hug. With his wife at his side, the pastor hugged each and every parish- ioner as they exited the church. Although Newberry does not know anyone involved in the tragedy, the best friend of her exercise partner has a daughter who attends Sandy Hook Ele- mentary School. “The girl told her mother she saw the robber,” Newberry said. “She said he had on a mask and he was there to take their lunch money.”
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