\
&
Vol. 121 No. 46
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
January 20 - 26, 2013
The
D ATL
50¢
2 WILKES-BARRE, PA.
www.mydallaspost.com
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT
BMT Baseball wants to tear down old school
Little League organization
looking to expand areas of
play for youngsters.
By GERI GIBBONS
Dallas Post Correspondent
and DOTTY MARTIN
dmartin@mydallaspost.com
Attorney David Selingo, repre-
senting Back Mountain Baseball,
proposed to the Dallas School
Board at the school board’s regular
gaaoeeting on Jan. 14 that the Little
ague association demolish the
“old Dallas Township school” at a
cost of $150,000. In return, the
baseball organization would gain
the right to use the property,
which would continue to be own-
ed by the district, for a period of 20
years. J
Selingo described it as a “win,
win, win” situation, which would
benefit the school, participants
and the community.
Superintendent Frank Galicki
said the board will confer with its
solicitor Ben Jones, who was not
at the meeting, and would discuss
the matter further at a future meet-
ing.
Steve Skammer, president of Back Mountain Baseball, said the
organization is looking for a way to add fields to its ever-expand-
ing program. He said the proposed idea offers the school board a
buy-out after 10 years.
Steve Skammer, president of
Back Mountain Baseball, said the
organization is looking for a way to
add fields to its ever-expanding
program. He said the proposed
idea offers the school board a buy-
out after 10 years.
The proposal would not only
need approval from the school
board but would also require the
baseball organization to raise the
estimated $150,000 it would cost
to demolish the school building.
“We would need to secure funds
to do that,” Skammer said. “We
would attempt to secure dona-
tions from outside parties.” He
added that Back Mountain Base-
ball would also invest financially in
the project.
Skammer said that, during a re-
cent work session, school board
members were concerned that, if
Back Mountain Little League leas-
es the property on which the
school building currently sits,
would other organizations have
access to the property. The base-
ball president said the school
board was assured that organiza-
tions such as junior football, soc-
cer and cheerleading would con-
tinue to be granted access to the
property.
Also at the meeting, the board
approved a resolution capping the
district’s public school tax in-
crease for the upcoming year at
2%, in compliance with the annual
index established by the Depart-
ment of Education, with Maureen
Matiska dissenting.
“I would just like to be clearer in
regard to what cuts might need to
be made to meet this budget goal,”
said Matiska.
The final budget is required to
be passed before the end of June,
2013.
Wendy Barberio, whose three
children attend Dallas schools,
voiced concerns regarding the se-
See SCHOOL, Page 10
DALLAS BOROUGH
Hearing
brings
out concerned
area residents
By SUSAN DENNEY
Dallas Post Correspondent
At a hearing at Misericordia
University on Jan. 16, interested
and concerned residents ques-
tioned Verizon employees
closely about the proposed cell
phone tower construction at
the Twin Stacks Center.
According to Borough Solic-
itor Jeffrey Malak, Verizon
must prove to Council that the
project meets all criteria of the
borough’s zoning regulations.
Malak explained that, accord-
ing to Pennsylvania law, the
burden of proof lies on Council
and the residents of Dallas Bor-
ough if they don’t want a cell
phone tower at Twin Stacks. He
also said that objections to the
project from residents or Xoun-
cil members must show that the
roject adversely affects the
®: safety or welfare of the
community.
Dallas resident Charles Dube
said that he felt this was “finan-
cially punitive.” He asked how a
group of citizens could go up
against Verizon, expressing fear
that his and other residents’
property values would decrease
if the tower is constructed.
Verizon has developed plans
to build a cell phone tower on
part of the property known as
the Twin Stacks center located
at 1100 Memorial Highway. The
area is presently zoned for in-
dustrial use.
Verizon is seeking permis-
sion to construct a tower which
will be 125 feet tall with a five
foot lightning rod on top. The
installation would also include
a service shed and a couple
parking spaces. The company
also plans to build a gravel
stone road to access the tower
and equipment. No one would
ork at the tower but mainte-
@-- personnel would visit to
fthake sure the equipment was
functioning properly.
Max Shradley, a professional
civil engineer and representa-
tive of Rettew Associates Inc.,
answered questions about plans
for the site. Residents whose
6'"M09815120079%g
See HEARING, Page 10
The burden of proof lies on
Council and the residents of
Dallas Borough if they don't
want a cell phone tower at
Twin Stacks. Objections to the
project from residents or
council members must show
that the project adversely
affects the health, safety or
welfare of the community.
properties lie close to the pro-
posed tower questioned Shra-
dley closely about the appear-
ance, the noise and possible
safety issues related to the tow-
er.
Shradley said the only noise
on the site would be created by
a diesel generator which would
be used in the event of a power
outage.
The engineer also showed a
series of pictures showing how
the tower would appear from
different parts of the borough,
offering plans for landscaping
based on a request by the bor-
ough’s planning commission.
Shradley also showed photos
created by a process called vi-
sual analysis. A balloon was
floated to the proposed level of
the tower and pictures were tak-
en. Then pictures of a similar
tower were digitally inserted in-
to the picture. He showed six
views of the tower from various
places in the borough.
Residents also expressed
concern about the safety of the
proposed road, pointing out
that children play in the woods
in that area.
Andrew Petersohn, a profes-
sional electrical engineer and
owner of dBm Engineering
P.C., began his part of the pre-
sentation explaining the need
for an additional cell phone tow-
er in the area.
He said that Verizon is re-
quired by the FCC to provide
adequate service to the area. He
said that new towers are built
based on several factors, includ-
ing customer complaints, drive
testing to find gaps in service,
network statistics and a process
called propagation modeling.
He explained that the pres-
ence of Misericordia University
represented heavy data usage
and that students often use da-
Extreme
fitness
class at DHS
pumps students
Two physical wellness teachers decided new school building
deserved new elective exercise class.
By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK
Dallas Post Correspondent
Enthused by their new high
school building with its state-of-
the-art weight room, Dallas Se-
nior High School physical well-
ness teachers Ruth Skammer
and Tom Connors decided the
new facility deserved a new elec-
tive exercise class.
The extreme fitness class they
have designed is a very different
physical educational class expe-
rience that is having tremendous
and impressive results.
The course, first offered in the
fall, involves 32 minutes of non-
stop activity during the first peri-
od of the day. The activities vary
every day, but include strength,
agility, endurance exercises and
a lot of testing.
Skammer says students are
tested before, during and after
the nine-week 33-day program
for weight, agility, body mass in-
dex, blood pressure, heart rate,
endurance and flexibility. So
what do they do that is so ex-
treme?
Day one: Testing, 12 minute
run, shuttle run, sit-ups, push-
ups.
Day three: Exercise to a P90X
video concentrating on the bi-
ceps and triceps.
Day five: Weight room sta-
tions, wrestling room and gym.
By day seven, Skammer says,
“We take them to the pool where
they aqua jog for 30 minutes
without touching the bottom of
the pool.”
And then..... National Guard
Sgt. Patrick Scarfo, who teaches
personal training for boot camp,
comes in for calisthenics and
more endurance training.
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Nathan Vario has help setting up for bench pressing during an extreme exercise program at Dallas High School.
Kyle Williams does sit-up crunches with extra weight on his stom-
ach during an extreme exercise program at Dallas Senior High
School.
“I never expected it to be as
hard as it was,” said Amy Avil-
lion. “There’s no fooling around
like in a regular gym class. By
the end, I just wanted it to be
over.”
But older, more physically-sea-
soned students like Nathan Va-
rio, who trains on the Dallas
High School football team, said,
See EXTREME, Page 11
“This kept me in shape in the off-
season. I lost 2 or 3 percent in
weight and my endurance is bet-
ter. I know my eating habits
should be better, though.”
Along with the physical part of
the program, Mary Ehret, a nu-
trition educator, provides three