Vol. 124 No. 27 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 September 8 - 14, 2013 he ALLA 50¢ WILKES-BARRE, PA. WWW.MYDALLASPOST.COM AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER “Parking fee instituted at Dallas High School Students say extra charges are unfair CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dallas Post Correspondernt Dallas Senior High School students have paid a $5 fee to park at the high school this year and were told the fee was to cover the increased cost of making plastic parking tags. Dallas Senior High School Principal Jeff Shaffer explained that the idea for car tags and parking lot improvements came out of a “Safe School Audit” of the secu- rity committee at the high school after the Sandy Hook incident in Connecticut. The tags for the cars cost the district $300 to $400 and the cost to make them has increased. Since the idea of driving to school is a privileged option for students, this cost was passed on to them as a $5 parking fee. Lauren Butruce, a Dallas senior, sug- gested, “Print up decals on a piece of paper and we'll stick it on our window. It would be cheaper. We don’t need to pay for all these other things. It’s unfair. It’s not like this is a private school. I don't feel good about this and nobody checks the parking lot anyway.” Shaffer mentioned that the school dis- trict pays for bus transportation for stu- dents and that it students’ choice not to ride the buses provided but rather drive their own cars to school. Michele Eason Geise, a parent, asks, “Many of the teachers don’t live in the school district, don’t pay local taxes, and park in the lot. Why aren't they charged a parking fee? Shaffer answers, “The teachers who 5 first ones on the merry-go-round. Ava Jones and her father, Todd Jones, of Shavertown, were the Luzerne The 51st The $8 price includes call 675-FAIR. Charlotte Bartizek For The Dallas Post ) Clockwise from top: Judging | essays written for the fair are, from left, Cathy Martin, Marian DeAngelis and Debbie Martin, of Sweet Valley. Kaylie Skovira, of Shavertown, and Tessa Zimmerman, of Dallas, got to pet this 4-day-old calf Jack at the Luzerne County Fair. Ashley Bolt, 4, of Shavertown, encounters a young cow in the petting zoo at the Luzerne County Fair. Olivia Farrell, of Dallas, and her sister, Kaylee, took time for some Italian ice at the fair. County Fair continues Annual Luzerne County Fair has been in full swing since Wednesday and continues today from 11 am. to 9:30 p.m. with entertainment by Keystone Kids and Rick K and the All Nighters. admission park- ing, entertainment and most amusement rides. The fair is located on Route 118 in Lehman. For more information, SARAH HITE Dallas Post Correspondent It has been a rollercoaster ride of a year for the Hustey family. In December 2012, Tara Hustey Pisano, of Shavertown, discovered she was pregnant. Three months later, she was told she has myelodisplastic syndrome, formerly known as preleuke- mia, a rare disorder affecting the development of blood cells within bone marrow. The disease progressed slowly, allowing 28-year-old Hustey Pisano to give birth to her son one month early without having to endure chemotherapy treatments during her pregnancy. Tara's sister, Deanna Hustey, is celebrating her wedding this weekend, but in two months she'll donate together and plan a benefit in honor of Tara to help offset medical costs and lost wages from treatment. A huge crowd gathered at the River TO DONATE ga To read more about Tara stem cells to save her sister’s Hustey Pisano’s story or & : : donate to the cause, visit The family decided to pull htt: //ofwd.at/1275Q8s. this disease (myelodisplastic syndrome).” When offered the chance park in the parking lot have no other option for transportation. They have to park there,” he said. Therefore, the teach- ers are not charged for parking. He added that this year there were sev- eral unexpected maintenance costs for the parking lot - two new speed bumps, a barricade, visitors’ area and rock to replace the grass that had been trampled in a median. The cost of all the renova- tions has left the school in the red, said Shaffer. The $5 parking fee helped with those costs, he explained. Haley Wilcox, of Dallas, complained, “I wasn’t happy about paying it (the fee) ‘Rally at the River Grille’ volunteers welcome guests to a packed house for the cancer fundraiser for Tara Hystey Pisano. and helping to pay for these other things.” Senior Frank Hullihen, also of Dallas, said, “They told us the $5 was to make the parking tickets. Some people are mad about it. The extra cost? What happens when all the lights in the parking lot get burned out? Will we have to pay for that next year?” Shaffer hopes that next year extra money collected from the fee will be put into the student activity fund for field trips. An informal poll of 12 area high schools found three other school districts that charge students to pay for parking passes. Bill Tarutis photos | For The Dallas Post Event volunteer Jaime Colarusso, left, of Exeter/(fills out raffle tickets for Tara Greig, of Tunkhannock, and her 15-month-old son, Grayson, at the ‘Rally at the River Grille’ fundraiser in Plains Township for Tara Hustey Pisano who is battling cancer. Giving Tara a fightin’ chance Fundraiser benefits Tara Hustey Pisano, fighting cancer for second time es Grille in Plains Township on Aug. 22 for food, raffles and live entertainment. “The only cure for this is chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant,” said Deanna, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y. “No one else in my family could be a match to donate their stem cells and there was only a 25 percent chance that I would be a match. I was tested and I'm a perfect, 100 percent match.” Deanna said this hasn't been Tara's first experience with cancer. In 2011, Tara was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, another rare dis- ease. She had to undergo a complicated surgery to remove her kidney and the tumor which affected several vital organs. “She had chemother- apy from April through December,” said Deanna. “She was on a cocktail of cancer drugs and one of the five drugs’ side effect was to help, Deanna didn’t think about it. “It’s always been just the two of us,” said Deanna. “Our father died when we were young, and for this to happen to her at such a young age - you have to think positive thoughts.” Taras mother, Teresa Hustey, said Tara wasn’t sup- posed to get pregnant after her first battle with cancer, but now she calls her first grandson, Everett, “a mira- cle.” “If it wasn’t for him, they would have never caught this as early as they did,” said Teresa, of Wilkes-Barre. Deanna said doctors caught the cancer after per- forming standard blood tests for pregnant women. “She had anemia and some women can have preg- nancy-induced anemia,” she said. “But they did all the necessary tests and she test- ed negative. Finally, they did Kelly Conn elly, of Ashley, gives a thumbs up at the Tara Hustey Pisano cancer fundraiser at the River Grille in Plains Township. a bone marrow biopsy and found that she had cancer.” Teresa said Tara refused the idea of a benefit during her first battle with cancer, but relatives rallied together to help Tara and her family. “When they first started bringing the baskets (to be raffled) over to my house, I was overwhelmed,” said Teresa. “I got chills and start- ed crying. And every basket had a story - everyone said they had a sibling or aunt or uncle or cousin who had cancer.” Maria Godfrey, 29, of Forty Fort, said her cousin Tara is “an amazing person” who has persevered through difficult times before. “Her father was killed about 15 years ago in an acci- dent on (Route) 118,” she said. “(The family) has over- come a lot, and she’s always come out strong. Shes always positive. She’s not sit- ting around saying, ‘Oh poor me.” We're just going to take it one day at a time.” Tara’s sister-in-law, Katie Gerrity Pisano, of Nuangola, became emotional when talking about planning the benefit in Tara’s honor. “I was in her wedding and we both love to organize so this is something I definitely wanted to do,” she said. “If it was me, I know she would do it for me. Her sister gets to give her a new life, so this was the way we could give back.” [L 09815120079%H9
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