Vol. 122 No. 17 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 June 30 - July 6, 2013 50¢ WILKES-BARRE, PA. WWW.MYDALLASPOST.COM AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER Provided photo Wake Schepman trains on skate ramps in the back yard of his Hunlock Creek home. - Novrocki named Teacher of the Year Michael Novrocki, a Lake-Lehman High School teacher, was selected as winner of the National History Day Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year in the 2013 senior division. The Behring Award recognizes teachers : for exemplary commit- £5 ment to helping students develop their interest in history through the use of creative teaching meth- ods and helping them make discoveries about the past. Novrocki was selected from a pool of more than | 50 teachers. Novrocki received the award before a crowd of thousands at the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest at the Univesrsity of Maryland at College Park. Lake-Lehman High School has won the Oustanding School Award in the Senior Division for 14 years in a row at the regional History Day Contest and this year received the Outstanding School position at the state-level competition. Misericordia U teaching program nationally ranked The Misericordia University Teacher ucation Program is one .105 teacher prepara- Won programs in the coun- try and one of only seven in Pennsylvania named to the Honor Roll in the 2013 National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) ratings released by U.S. News & World Report on June, 18. Misericordia University’s undergradu- ate secondary education program received three out of four stars in the national report, “Teacher Prep Review: A Review Playing it SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent Nicole Chipego wants to play it forward. When Chipego heard ut the devastation ¥sed by tornadoes in klahoma in early June, she knew she wanted to help children whose lives were turned upside down by the storm. So she began planning an adult softball tournament to benefit the Moore, | 9815120075 12 soitball on local teams of the Nation’s Teacher Preparation Programs 2013.” T he three-star des- ignation = means the Misericordia University Teacher Education Program “provides strong preparation,” according to the report. Of the 1,200 elemen- tary and secondary edu- cation programs in the United States that were assigned an overall pro- gram rating by NCTQ, only 9 percent received the special Honor Roll designation by earning three or four stars. forward on the field for tornado victims Oklahoma Little League. The two-day Field of Dreams Co-Ed Softball Tournament will be held Labor Day weekend and proceeds from the entry fees and raffle ticket sales will all benefit the Little League organization in Oklahoma. “It’s important when kids love something, that they're able to keep playing, espe- cially when there is chaos going on,” she said. “It gives kids an outlet.” The 32-year-old mom and softball enthusiast of Noxen knows first- hand the important role sports can play in the lives of children. After all, she’s been playing SUSAN DENNEY Dallas Post Correspondent It’s easy to forget to breathe when watching Wake Schepman skate. He defies gravity as he flies over ramps and twists in the air. His favorite stunt is a trick called a flat spin 540. It’s an unbelievable sideways backflip with one and a half rotations. Wake, 16, of Hunlock Creek, is a phenomenon in the world of inline skating, also known as Rollerblading. He’s a likeable and humble high school student who enjoys Boy Scouting and church activi- ties. He has won many competi- tions and is the only teen ranked in the top 10 inline skaters in the world. “The biggest accomplish- ment I have had was this last February,” he said. “I competed in the biggest Rollerblading com- petition in North America called the Bittercold Showdown. I won third place. First place went to a man from Australia and sec- ond place went to a man from France.” The Bittercold Showdown was held in Royal Oak, Michigan and drew the best inline skaters from around the globe. Wake’s mom, April, said the family has been in the Back Mountain area for four years. Defying gravity: Teen astounds the world She said the winters here are a challenge for her son’s skating because one of his parents must drive him to the closest indoor skating park if the weather is bad. In good weather, Wake practic- es on the backyard ramp his dad, Wes, created for him. April used to be afraid when Wake first started skating at age 5. See GRAVITY | 10 Founders Day celebrated in Tunkhannock Above, Autumn Barzelowski, 5, of Tunkhannock, reviews the face-paint- ing work created by Rozanne Bozek, of Trading Faces. At left, One momentous move in Tunkhannock this year was the relocation of Gay's True Value Store from Bridge Street to 189 E. Tioga. Shown is the former Gay’s True Value located on Bridge Street for 100 years. Business owners decided to move after the most recent flood. The build- ing shown has been demolished and a CVS pharmacy will be built in its place. Alice Stuffle | Dallas Post The 32nd Annual Founders’ Day celebration in historic downtown Tunkhannock was hosted June 22. Once again, Peoples Neighborhood Bank was the event’s major sponsor. In addition to Tioga Street, vendors exhibited their merchandise along Warren and Harding Streets. The Tunkhannock Business and Professional Association coordinated the annual event, including food, entertainment and music. A record number of vendors offered a variety of metal crafts, art, fabric crafts, woodworking, jewelry, home décor, photography and other unique trades and professions. Festivities began at 10 a.m. and concluded at 4 p.m. The Wyoming County United Way held its annual Duck Derby. Artists from the Endless Mountain Council of the Arts exhibited paintings. for her high school team, for more than 20 years. “I can’t remember not playing,” said Chipego. “I've always been good at it. And my whole fam- ily played - my mom, my dad and my three sisters.” The Lake-Lehman graduate played softball winning awards for her prowess on the field. She also had an opportunity to play in the National Pro Fastpitch Professional Women’s Softball League for the New York/ New Jersey Juggernaut in the early 2000s. “11 got invited to a7 play,” said Chipego. “It was a two-day tryout with 150 girls playing each day. They picked 20 girls out of all of them.” But now Chipego has traded in her pro status to play on two local teams and coach her daugh- ter, 5-year-old Hannah, through her first T-Ball season with the Badgers, part of the Bob Horlacher League. “Hannah also comes with me to my games, and I like to keep involved in the benefit tournaments,” she said. The tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma hit close to home for Charlotte Bartizek | Dallas Post Nicole Chipego, a former softball standout at Lake-Lehman High School, has more than the game on her mind. Chipego is planning See FORWARD | 10 a benefit softball game to aid tornado victims in Oklahoma. 5) | [|
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers