Vol. 124 No. 25
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
Sunday, August 25-31, 2013
The
DALLAS POST =
WILKES-BARRE, PA.
WWW.MYDALLASPOST.COM
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
°DHS students to hear Sandusky appeal trial
Is it a learning opportunity or not? Parents wonder
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK
Dallas Post Correspondent
Convicted child sex offender Jerry
Sandusky will NOT be present at his
appeal court hearing on Tuesday,
Sept. 17 and Wednesday, Sept. 18
in the auditorium at Dallas High
School, according ‘to PA Superior
Court president Judge Jack Panella.
Nevertheless, parents are question-
ing why the school was selected as
the site for the trial in the first place
and how appropriate the choice of a
high school is as a courtroom loca-
tion.
Having appeal trials, which are
argued only by attorneys, in public
schools has been done in Luzerne
County before — in 2003 at Hazleton
High School and in 2010 at MMI
Preparatory School in Freeland.
The idea is to bring court proceed-
ings out of major cities (Philadelphia,
Harrisburg and Pittsburgh) so the
general public might have a chance to
see the judicial process at work. The
idea was the initiative of Correale
Stevens, a Supreme Court Justice
from Luzerne County.
“The purpose is to better under-
stand the court process,” said
Stevens. “None of the defendants
will be there. The Sandusky case
just came up routinely on the docket.
This will be a better, less damaging
and realistic presentation than what
kids see on ‘NCIS’ or the ‘Law and
Order’ show.”
But others aren’t completely con-
vinced. Dr. Joan Gruelick, an area
pediatrician, complains that horrific
offenders are given too much public-
ity and notoriety for their offenses.
“The whole thing is sickening.
What's to appeal here?” she asked.
“Why make rock stars out of these
criminals?”
Gruelick wants public officials and
the press to act more judiciously
when presenting criminals and their
cases to the public.
And, considering the nature of the
crimes in the Sandusky case, there is
the question of how appropriate it is
to have the case appealed in a high
school auditorium with students lis-
tening.
“It’s fascinating that they would
pick a high school to hear this case,”
Gruelick adds.
Judge Panella insists that “All dis-
cretion and professionalism will be
exercised by the court and attorneys
and that any inappropriate material
will be omitted.”
Elizabeth Martin, a mother
of a Dallas High School stu-
dent and a Dallas Township
See STUDENTS | 5
Back to school in style
Charlotte Bartizek | For The Dallas Post
~ Four-year-old Katie Esposito, shopping with her grandmother, Kate Olsen, of Shavertown, finds eye-opening, sparkling and shiny shoes at Gino's Shoe Store in Dallas that she can wear for her first
- day at school. Clasases in the Lake-Lehman School District begin Monday, Aug. 26 while students in the Dallas School District return to classes on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
The Brass Ring Fund Committee
put in an appearance at the
Joe Nardone/Eddie Day & the
Starfires Reunion Concert at
Irem Pavilion on Saturday, Aug.
17 to initiate a fundraising cam-
paign to secure the Wintersteen
Carousel from the family that
has maintained ownership since
1915.
Bring it
home
Campaign under
way to secure
vintage carousel
The Brass Ring Fund
Committee put in an
appearance at the Joe
Nardone/Eddie Day &
the Starfires Reunion
Concert at Irem Pavilion
on Saturday, Aug. 17 to
initiate a fundraising
campaign to secure the
Wintersteen Carousel
from the family that has
maintained ownership
since 1915.
The organization also
hopes to build a pavilion
to house the century-old
carved wooden animals
that once thrilled chil-
dren and adults alike at
Hanson's Amusement
Kingston Twp.
intersection
now 4-way stop
New signs to be
installed Aug. 30
The Kingston Township
Board of Supervisors
approved the installa-
tion of a 4-way stop sign
at the intersection of
fast Center Street and
rth Main Street in
avertown.
After holding several
public meetings to hear
public comments on the
issue, the board retained
the services of Borton-
Lawson Engineering to
conduct a traffic study to
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address concerns raised
by the public and to eval-
uate stop sign warrants
for the potential installa-
tion of a multi-way stop
condition based upon the
criteria in PennDOT’s
Manual on Uniform
Traffic Control Devices
(MUTCD, 2009 Ed.).
The traffic study was
conducted during peak
hours of the morning and
afternoon.
Due to the limited
sight distance and crash
history, the intersection
fell under the MUTCD
requirements for a 4-way
stop.
Motorists are advised
that the intersection of
East Center Street and
North Main Street in
Shavertown will be a
4-way stop.
New stop signs will be
installed Friday, Aug. 30.
Park at Harveys Lake.
Plaques presented to Mathers family
Since the spring of this
year, the Brass Ring Fund
Committee (the group
that flew to Florida ‘in
2008 in an attempt to save
RN TIE
The Kingston Township Board of Supervisors presented plaques to Mrs. Chris Mathers, wife of the late Supervisor Gary Mathers,
daughter Nina Mathers Van Mater and granddaughters Mia and Clair Van Mater in memory and in honor of Mathers’ service to
the township as a supervisor from January 2012 to December 2012. From left, Supervisor Sam Barbose; daughter, Nina Mathers
Van Mate; granddaughters, Mia and Clair Van Mater; Vice-Chair Shirley Moyer; Mrs. Chris Mathers; Chairman Jeffrey Box and
Supervisor Jim Reino.
the carousel from being
auctioned to the highest
bidder) has made great
strides in securing a loca-
tion that would provide
the best visibility to fami-
lies in the Back Mountain.
Active Committee mem-
bers Rev. Roger Griffith,
Liz Martin and Carol
Wall, all of Dallas, met
with Doug Ayers, chair-
man of the board of The
Lands at Hillside Farms,
and members of the board
of directors who voted
unanimously to grant pre-
liminary approval to the
group to erect a pavilion
on the site of The Lands’
Victorian Park, located
across Hillside Road from
The Cottage. While the
carousel may be opera-
tional at The Lands, it will
be maintained, operated
and funded by the Brass
Ring Fund.
Meanwhile, the com-
mittee continues to work
behind the scenes to
secure necessary per-
mits and approvals, con-
struct a footbridge across
Huntsville Creek and come
up with a design for an
See CAROUSEL | 5