Vol. 124 No. 36
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
November 10 - 16, 2013
The
DALLAS POST .
LKES-BARRE, PA.
WWW.MYDALLASPOST.COM
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
Offers for renovation could not be accepted by district
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK
Dallas Post Correspondent
The old Dallas Township High
School building near the little
league baseball fields, a landmark
in the community for nearly 90
years, will be torn down.
Legal notices have been pub-
lished seeking bids for the demoli-
tion of the old building, built some
time between 1925 and 1927, and
a tour for interested bidders was
held Wednesday, Oct. 30. About 20
interested companies toured the
building.
According to Dallas School
frict Superintendent Frank
cki, the decision has already
een made by the Dallas School
Board to take down the structure.
“It’s been vacant since the middle
to late 80s and time takes a toll,”
Galicki said. “We are not 100 per-
cent sure what we’ll do with the
extra land, probably more playing
fields used jointly by the school dis-
trict and the Little League.”
The Back Mountain Little
League Association is delighted
with the opportunity, but some in
the community are not and wonder
why the school district did not take
offers in 2008 and again in 2010 to
renovate and lease the building as
office space, a day care facility and
dormitory rooms for Misericordia
University students.
In 2010, the university, along
with Radnor Properties, of Wayne,
PA, offered to renovate and lease
back the building from the Dallas
School District, using the first floor
as a Hildebrandt Learning Center
day care and the upper floors as
dormitory residents for education
major students, a source close to
Misericordia University said.
Parking space and the athletic
fields would have been left intact
and Dallas Township would have
received approximately $6 million
in tax revenues for the length of the
50-year lease.
Peter Caulkins, chief engineer
and facilities project manager at
Misericordia, remembers tour-
ing the old school building with a
Radnor representative and a Dallas
School District representative in
2010 with the purpose of renova-
tion and restoration in mind.
The renovations would have been
historically accurate and would
have brought the building up to
code.
What was the reason the
Dallas School Board voted
against such a seemingly
attractive and sensible offer?
allas Twp. High School building to be torn down
—
Charlotte Bartizek | FOR THE DALLAS POST
About 20 companies walked through the old Dallas Twp. High School building with hopes of winning a
bid for its demolition on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Mark Kraynack and Nick Dennis from the Dallas School
See BUILDING | 3 District, right, show one of the representatives around the building, which was built in 1927.
Lighting the
Night at the
Rock Rec Center
Night of free food
and fun at BMHA
delights many
SARAH HITE
Dallas Post Correspondent
Hundreds of children
and their parents enjoyed
a night of free food and
fun at the Back Mountain
Harvest Assembly’s annu-
al Light the Night event
on Thursday, Oct. 31
at the Rock Recreation
Center in Trucksville.
The most frightening
thing that happened - just
20 minutes into the event,
one of the chili cookoff
entries had disappeared.
It was so good, it got
eaten that fast.
“The one that’s gone
was the best,” said Sandy
Dennis, of Wilkes-Barre.
“It had a lot of meat in it
dance enjoyed other
refreshments (including
candy) as well as a few
inflatable bounce houses
in which costumed chil-
dren could romp around.
Though Jessica
Coolbaugh and her
16-month-old daugh-
ter Adlee, both of
Tunkhannock, dressed
as zombies at the event,
the spunky toddler didn’t
scare too many people.
Jessica said Adlee even
helped in choosing her
costume.
“We were watching the
movie, ‘Warm Bodies’
and I asked Adlee if she
wanted to be zombies and
she nodded,” said Jessica.
“I can’t wait for her to be
able to tell me what she
really wants to be.”
Back Mountain
Harvest Assembly Pastor
Raymond Petts said the
event, which began in
2010, gives families a
chance to spend time
together in a safe environ-
ment.
Lake-Lehman football fans swarm the field to celebrate their team’s 48-41 victory over Dallas in the annual Old Shoe Game game. For story and additional photos,
Celebrating an ‘Old Shoe’ victory
CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK | FOR THE DALLAS POSt
d it wasn’t spicy. The
&: two entries were
Vier.” “It’s unfortunate to say
In addition to a chili
cookoff, those in atten-
See LIGHT | 3
please turn to page 9.
Trucksville United Methodist Church welcomes new pastor
SUSAN DENNEY
Dallas Post Correspondent
Pastor Dick Williams has
replaced the Reverend Marian
E. Hartman as the pastor of the
Trucksville United Methodist
Church. Hartman has been
appointed as the District
Superintendent for the Scranton
Wilkes-Barre District, effective
Now. 1.
Williams delivered his first
sermon to his new congregation
on Nov. 3. Following that, the
congregation held a reception in
the Fellowship Hall.
“I'm just excited about coming
here and joining in the ministry
ire already doing,” Williams
lof his new assignment.
illiams has been pastoring
for 38 years. His last assign-
ment was in Chambersburg. A
Pennsylvania native, Williams
was born and raised in Mount
Union. He received religious
training at Mansfield University
and at the Lutheran Theological
Seminary in Gettysburg. He and
his wife, Pam, have two grown
children.
When asked about his
strengths, Williams showed his
sense of humor, “I joke to con-
gregations that I bring three
things with me - enthusiasm,
short sermons and unusual
ment “a pleasant surprise.”
Charlotte Ba izek photos | FOR THE DALLAS POST
Rev. Dick Williams, the new pastor at the Trucksville United Methodist Church, greets his congregation.
neckties.”
His last assignment was at
Chambersburg and lasted for
four years. He said that was
a very short term and that
the assignment to come to
Trucksville was an unexpected
change for both him and for
Hartman. He called the appoint-
Williams and his wife have
found friendly people here in
Back Mountain. “We feel very
loved. They loved their last pas-
tor and have the capability of
loving us.”
He and his wife like hiking
and have already discovered
the Rails to Trails program and
Ricketts Glenn. He also said,
“We love the mountains. When:
you look and see mountains,
you feel good.”
Williams also enjoys working
with computers.
The Williams couple works as
a team. He explained, “We're a
‘we’ ministry.”
Pam Williams is also a free-
lance writer who has published
delivers a sermon.
several books on religious top-
ics, including “A to Z Devotions
for Writers” which came out this
year.
Williams described himself as
Biblically conservative. He said
that for both he and his wife, 2
Corinthians 5:17 is a favorite
scripture as the verse explains a
person in Christ is a new crea-
ture. He quoted, “Old things are
passed away, all things are made
new.”
“This church has produced
several district superintendents
and haven't been able to keep
them as long,” he said of his new
appointment. “Wed like to stay
here a
Rev. Dick Williams, the new pastor at the Trucksville United Methodist Church,
He also said of the congrega-
tion, “They’ve gone out of their
way to make us feel welcome.”
Williams noted that he is also
a chaplain for the Pennsylvania
State Police. The program pro-
vides assistance with spiritual
issues to all department person-
nel and their families. Williams
will be appointed to a barracks
in this area.
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