Vol.121 No. 49
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
February 10 - 16, 2013
The
DALLAS POST.
{jj "ES CARRE, PA.
www.mydallaspost.com
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
Joanne Hummel, of Shavertown, gets into the beat during line
pancing class at the Harveys Lake American Legion Hall.
Carol Layaou, of Dallas, dons a cowboy hat for Harveys Lake
American Legion line dancing.
BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Instructor Dave Zimmerman, of Dallas, demonstrates line dancing to ‘Elvira’ at the Harveys Lake American Legion Hall.
hot pink boots.
Judy Stephens, of Wilkes-Barre, shows her line dancing moves in
Boot scootin’ In
Harveys
American Legion Hall is site
of line dancing classes
very Thursday night.
By SUSAN DENNEY
Dallas Post Correspondent
Picture a scene with cowboy
boots, blue jeans, longnecks
and loud country/western mu-
sic.
Now picture the second floor
of the Harveys Lake American
Legion Hall.
Every Thursday night at 7
p.m., the Harve’s Lake Ameri-
can Legion Dance Class turns
the second floor of the hall into
a place where a Texan would
feel right at home.
The dance group is led by
Dave Zimmerman, of Dallas,
who says he’s been dancing for
47 years. Zimmerman teaches
country/western line dancing
to the group.
Line dancing is partnerless
and there is no contact between
“Hate the gym, love the
dance.”
Linda Festa
Line dancer from Shavertown
dancers. An uneven number of
men and women makes no dif-
ference. And judging by the
range of ages in Zimmerman’s
group, line dancing is for every-
one.
According to Zimmerman,
the group has been in existence
for five years and performs reg-
ularly, its last performance be-
ing at the Veterans Administra-
tion Medical Center in Wilkes-
Barre on Jan. 6. He says the
group has over 60 members but
a usual Thursday night class at-
tracts from 12 to 22 dancers.
Zimmerman runs the group
because, “It’s good exercise.”
But the enthusiasm of his
See BOOT, Page 10
By SARAH HITE
Dallas Post Correspondent
The younger of two children,
24-year-old Carla Reino had a
career in the financial field after
earning degrees in marketing
and finance. But after a brief
stint working with children,
daddy’s little girl has grown up
and started her own business.
MMR Jr. Prep, a daycare facil-
ity for pre-school and school-
age children, was the brainchild
of Reino’s mother, Margaret M.
Reino, who died in May 2011, af-
ter battling cancer.
The facility’s initials, MMR,
are the same as Carla’s late
mother’s initials, whom she
credits with inspiring her to
make a change and work with
ildren.
| love kids, and she always
1d I should be working with
kids,” said Carla, of Shaver-
town. “I was working at a bank
before my mother died and it
just wasn’t fun anymore. I
thought I should enjoy going to
work.”
Carla said she and her father,
6098 1512007989
What: MMR Jr. Prep, a daycare
facility for children ages 2 and
older
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: 1003-1007 Wyoming Ave.,
Forty Fort
Contact: Carla Reino, 763-5071
mmrjrprep@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/mmrjrpreplic
James Reino Jr., looked for
months for a building to house
the budding business. The
building they eventually found,
located on Wyoming Avenue in
Forty Fort, was a perfect fit for
the facility — in more ways than
one.
“The man who owns the
building, his daughter was best
friends with my wife,” said
James. “And the building was
more than perfect.”
After purchasing the building
in late November, Carla and her
father worked hard to renovate
it or the Jan. 18 opening date.
“She painted everything her-
self,” James said, showing off
the jungle-themed facility. Each
room has its own animal theme,
from zebra stripes and leopard
spots in the older students’
room to hand-painted gorillas
and canopy trees in the play
room.
“My staff and I all like animal
print so that’s how we came up
with the theme,” said Carla.
>
4
BILL TARUTIS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST
Owner Carla Reino, right, of Shavertown, talks about her new daycare as her dad James Reino looks
on at MMR Jr. Prep School in Forty Fort.
Carla said the facility is differ-
ent than other daycare centers
in the area because children are
moving from one room to an-
other during the day, instead of
staying in one spot.
The staff teaches classes on
subjects like math, science, art
and music, and the youngsters
have the option to learn with
the latest technology or
through playtime — like in the
imagination room, where
there’s a stage and plenty of
props.
“Playing dress up is their fa-
vorite thing to do,” Carla said of
her 20 students.
And those business degrees
she acquired aren’t going to
waste, either — the young entre-
Prep
preneur runs every aspect of the
business herself while still find-
ing time to interact with the
children.
“I can tell you, when she
comes home now, she’s the hap-
piest I've ever seen her,” said
James. “I don’t need to get a
condo (in the south). I'd rather
invest in my daughter. I'm very
proud of the woman she’s be-
come.”
Carla said the facility main-
tains a calm and fun atmo-
sphere that promotes healthy
social interaction.
“We have small class sizes so
kids can get that one-on-one at-
tention,” she said. “We're all
about being calm. We don’t
think yelling does anything,
and we try to guide the students
to do the right thing and under-
stand, if they did something
wrong, why it’s wrong.”
The building also features a
state-of-the-art security system
featuring video cameras and
locks which require a special
key fob to be opened. Carla said
parents are given their own key
fobs to access the building, and
the system records times and
dates of when the building is ac-
cessed.
“(Security) was one of the
most important things we talk-
ed about before we ever
opened,” said James, who was a
youth sports coach for 30 years
See MEMORY, Page 10
B