Vol. 124 No. 40
THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889
December 8 - 13, 2013
The
DALLAS POST .
WILKES-BARRE, PA.
WWW.MYDALLASPOST.COM
AN EDITION OF THE TIMES LEADER
"From unity
Presented by Back
Mountain Harvest
Assembly, event is
in its 20th year
SARAH HITE
Dallas Post Correspondent
“The Gift,” present-
ed by Back Mountain
Harvest Assembly, is in
its 20th year of produc-
tion and, with an audi-
ence of about 10,000
people over the course
of three days, organizers
trive to make the out-
@ live nativity bigger
nd better every year.
The Christmastime
event has come a long
way since its first run,
said Lead Pastor Dan
Miller, who said the
church wanted to find a
way to give back to the
community during the
holiday season.
“It was beyond hokey,”
said Miller of the first per-
formance. “We decided
13 days before Christmas
to do a live nativity, and
we did it four days before
Christmas so we only had
about a week to put it
together.”
He said the perfor-
PETE G. WILCOX FILE PHOTO | THE TIMES LEADER
Patty Petts, playing an angel, sings ‘Mary Did You Know?’ to Sarah Makarewicz who plays Mary in the
2012 production ‘The Gift’ presented at the Back Mountain Harvest Assembly Church in Trucksville.
Enjoying holiday spirit
BILL TARUTIS | FOR THE DALLAS POST
: UNICO cheerleaders dance to ‘the tune of Jingle Bell Rock’ at halftime of the 2013 UNICO Game at Lake-Lehman High School football
field. For a story and additional photos, please turn to page 13.
DALLAS TOWNSHIP
Dallas supervisor says township is in good financial shape
@ DENNEY
allas Post Correspondent
Dallas Township is in
good shape financially,
Supervisor Bill Grant
told residents at the Dec.
2 board meeting.
He also announced that
the preliminary budget
for the borough includes
no tax increase and the
township is ending the
year in the black this year.
The 2014 budget
includes changes to
employee healthcare
benefits and workers’
compensation insurance
for firefighters. Grant
said the township will
also replace several older
police vehicles and pur-
chase a mini dump truck
for the road department.
Two engineering firms
made presentations to
the board aas both firms
are seeking a contract to
provide code inspections
for the township.
Representatives of
Barry Isett and Associates
and BWH Construction
Consultation Services,
Inc. made a case for using
their services.
Gregg Parlick, repre-
senting Barry Isett, said
that his company was a
full-service engineering
firm. He said the com-
pany is growing and is in
the process of opening an
office in Forty Fort.
Parlick said the com-
pany has a grantsmanship
program which provides
pro bono grant-writing
assistance to clients.
“We will put in grants for
you,” Parlick said.
Jason Humenanski of
BWH Construction also
NL
made a presentation. He
told the board that his
company’s advantage is
in employees who had
hands-on experience
within the fields they
inspect. “If an inspection
is called in in the morn-
ing, we're out the same
day,” Humenanski said.
Supervisor Liz Martin
explained that the presen-
tations were unsolicited
by the township and the
township appreciated the
representatives attending
the meeting to explain
their services.
IF YOU GO...
What: “The Gift, a live outdoor nativity resented by
Back Mountain Harvest Assembly
Where: Back Mountain Harvest Assembly 340
Carverton Road, Trucksville
When: Performances will be held at 6 and 8 p.m. Frid .
Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14; and at 6 p. m. Sunday,
Dec. 15
Info: For more information, call the church at 570- 696-
1128
mance garnered an audi-
ence of about 200 people
that first weekend and
estimated it cost under
$1,000.
“We were holding flash-
lights for lighting,” he
said.
Now the larger than
life event can seat 3,000
people at one show, and
the church hosts five per-
formances in one week-
end. Miller said the pro-
duction costs can range
between $30,000 and
$50,000, depending on
the year.
“That first year God
sent the right people,
and the following year we
had about 1,000 people
come,” he said. “But the
show was better, too.
We started working on
it in August, not 13 days
before Christmas.”
Three years ago, Miller
said “The Gift” had its
- about 13,500 people in
three days. Hundreds of
people were turned away
from the event, as there
wasn’t enough space to
accommodate them.
“We had the warm
weather. I'll never forget
it,” said Miller. “It was
48 degrees (Fahrenheit)
on a Friday night, at the
second performance. It’s
always cold at the sec-
ond performance. That’s
when we had 4,000 peo-
ple show up.”
With such a large
crowd, Miller said it’s
important to keep chang-
ing the show - adding a
new segment here, chang-
ing a dance sequence
there. This year the pro-
duction will debut its first
piece of original music
written by members of
the church.
“We want to get away
from having to ask per-
mission for music and
largest crowd in history
: “The Gift’
things,” said Miller. “We'd
like to one day have our
own original show that
we could trademark.”
“The Gift” has a staff of
about 300 people - there
are more than 100 actors
in the show and count-
less other production and
general laborers to help
ensure the annual event
goes smoothly.
“There are volunteers
who make 5,000 cook-
ies to give away after the
show,” he said.
Even with all the
changes and tweaks made
to the show, Miller said
the message of the story
of the nativity and the
birth of Jesus remains as
powerful as ever.
“We've had a lot of
unique experiences here,”
he said. “Once there was
a little boy, he was only
about 7 or 8 years old,
and after the show was
over, he was jumping on
a hay bail, tugging on his
mother’s coat. His eyes
were as big as saucers
and he said to his mother,
‘Now I know what it’s all
about!”
Miller said some-
times the meaning of
Christmas gets muddled
with the “gifts and par-
ties and the tinsel and
See GIFT | 8
Submitted photos
Swing dance partners enjoy an evening at the John Paul Il Center in Dallas in October.
Swing dancing is best
at Christmas time
SARAH HITE
Dallas Post Correspondent
Christopher Carr has
done the Lindy Hop from
Boston to Milwaukee,
and now he wants to help
the Back Mountain com-
munity get in step with
the beat of the big band.
Carr, 49, invites the
public to share in his pas-
sion for swing dancing at
a Christmas Swing Dance
at the John Paul II Center
(formerly Gate of Heaven
School) on Saturday, Dec.
14.
He has held two previ-
ous events at the John
Paul II Center with the
hopes of meeting new
people and starting a
swing dance following in
the area.
“It’s a different kind of
In another item of busi-
ness, Martin said the
township is looking to
change banks. The town-
ship currently uses PNC
Bank nut PNC announced
that $300 in monthly fees
will be applied to the
account beginning in
January.
Martin said the board
is looking for better
options and that she has
found at least one finan-
cial institution which will
provide services without
a fee.
Discussion continues
dance environment here.
The people who dance do
a mixed ballroom type of
thing, such as the fox trot
and the tango and the
waltz,” said Carr. “You
can do that at any other
dance studio in the area.
I am trying to create a
swing venue for people.”
Carr may have gotten
interested in swing danc-
ing during the revival of
the dance genre in the late
1990s, but the Harveys
Lake resident remained
a faithful swing dancer
long after the craze was
kaput.
“It’s personal. Swing is
the music plus the danc-
ing - it’s a whole different
experience, just learning
it,” he said. “You have
to get your body habitu-
ated with the rhythm.
on the addition of a school
resource officer at the
Dallas School District.
The officer would work
75% of the time for the
school district and 25%
of the time for the town-
ship.
A grant has been
applied for but township
officials agreed they need
more clarification on
details of the agreement
before committing to
the plan. The immediate
course of action is for the
board’s solicitor, Thomas
Brennan, to meet with 6
Christopher Carr, shown here
with his swing dance partner
in October, invites the public
to a Christmas Swing Dance
on Dec. 14 at the John Paul II
Center in Dallas.
Girls are listening for the
steps, but the guy thinks
ahead, and it becomes
like typing, when
See SWING | 8
Ben Jones, solicitor
for the Dallas School
District.
A reception was held
after the meeting to
honor Supervisors Grant
and Frank Wagner on
their election wins.
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