Wyoming Area Gets Best Of Prep 
Warriors Win 8 Of 12 Events 
In Improving Season Mark To 4-1

2 Teens Charged With Arson In School Fire 
Arrest Of Third Teen Expected 
Today In Incident At Dallas School

By DAVE KONOPKI; Back Mountain Leader Editor
 Wednesday, January 15, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





DALLAS -- Apparently convinced the Dallas School Board is ready to reverse
an earlier decision on where to build the district's new elementary school,
Jack Snyder is rounding up the troops. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The president of Back Mountain Baseball, Inc. called for an emergency board
of directors meeting Tuesday, fearing another change of heart by the School
Board during a special meeting tonight would leave the organization without
playing fields for more than 1,000 boys and girls. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Snyder hopes hundreds of Back Mountain Little Leaguers and their parents
attend a 7 p.m. meeting at the Dallas administration building. If a large
amount of people attend, the meeting will be moved to the Dallas Middle School
auditorium. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Snyder said recent voting changes by the board are reason for concern. Back
Mountain Baseball, Inc. serves nearly 1,100 boys and girls, with more than 80
percent of the games played on the upper fields, where the board is
considering building the new school. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The lighted field on Church Street will be unaffected. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The School District owns all Back Mountain Baseball, Inc. playing fields
and leases it to the organization for $1 a year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Various sources have told me the potential is there for the board to
change its mind," said Snyder, who became the league's president in September.
"There's nothing the School Board can do or say that will justify putting
1,000 kids out on the street. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We had (Tuesday night's) meeting to come up with ways to let people know
about the situation. We just want to make people aware of what might happen.
I'm encouraging all parents to show up with their kids at the meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After four months of intense research and flip-flopping, the board voted
5-4 on Jan. 7 to build the planned $6 million school on the district's
100-acre main campus. The vote rescinded a December 17 decision to build the
school on the 12-acre site near the administration building. The voting
process began last October, when the board voted to build the new school on
the main campus. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After more than 20 school officials and interested parents toured the main
campus sites Sunday afternoon, the board was expected to vote once again on
where to build the school, which will replace the Westmoreland Elementary
School in Kingston Township. But when board member Tom Landon was absent at
Monday night's regularly scheduled monthly meeting, the vote was postponed
until tonight. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Board president Ernest Ashbridge -- who has voted each time to build the
new school on the main campus -- says another reversal by the board wouldn't
come as a complete shock. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "At this point, nothing would surprise me," said Ashbridge, the only board
member to return a phone call Tuesday. " I really don't know if that will
happen, but you never know. I do know that it would ruin the Little League
fields. It would virtually abolish the whole concept of the community's
involvement in Little League. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's a very, very tough decision. If we didn't have the land on the main
campus then we might be forced to put the new school on the baseball fields." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ashbridge and board members John George, James Richardson and Joseph Kunec
have been proponents of building the school on the main campus, and Maureen
Banks, Reese Finn, Thomas Russ and John Litz supported the site near the
administration building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Longtime board member Tom Landon, who voted to build at the site changed
his vote in January after touring the property with Assistant Superintendent
Gilbert Griffiths. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We have some board members who have made up their minds and some of the
Westmoreland parents are pretty adamant in having the school built on the
administration site," said Ashbridge, who said the Sunshine Law prohibits
board members from discussing their votes privately. "I really don't know
what's going to happen." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Snyder said the most important voice in the situation might not be heard at
tonight's meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I realize that taxpayers control what happens in a school district.
Unfortunately, 8- and 9-year-old kids don't pay taxes and they don't vote." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Back Mt. Baseball Makes Pitch 
Fearing The School Board 
Will Do A Flip-flop At A Meeting 
Tonight, Organization Hopes 
Large, Pro-little League Crowd 
Will Be In Attendance

Back Mt. Baseball Makes Pitch Fearing The School Board Will Do A Flip-flop At A Meeting Tonight, Organization Hopes Large, Pro-little League Crowd Will Be In Attendance