Animal sanctuary about compassion
Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in Mehoopany is a place where compassion is practiced - and taught. In hosting area school groups, including students from Scranton High School, Scranton Prep, Abington Heights and private children's clubs, Indraloka has a mission of helping children of all ages understand the value of life.
It's a lesson, that didn't go unnoticed during a visit by eighth-grade members of Abington Heights ecology club, including Emily Barrett, Austin Catania, Kelsey Jackson, Kayla Thorpe, Ben Ulmer and Jeremy Wombacher, who got to see first-hand how the choices they make daily contribute to their own health and a kinder, greener world, while interacting with the once-frightened but now calm and loving animal residents of Indraloka, Lynn Braz reports.
"So much of what we do in our everyday lives involves degrees of stress and at such a quick pace," Mike Fried, a science teacher at Abington Heights and faculty adviser for the eighth- to 12th-grade ecology clubs, told Lynn, adding, "The time we spend at Indraloka Animal Sanctuary is quite the opposite. The animals remind us of what is most important ... compassion, sincerity, friendship, and patience. Their pace is deliberate and with purpose. ... What we take from the sanctuary are lessons quickly incorporated into our own lives, and not soon forgotten."
Marie Donnelly, a teacher at Scranton Prep agreed. "My students learned not only about the conditions in which animals lived prior to coming to the sanctuary, but also how much work it takes to keep the animals healthy and happy," Marie said.
Nestled amid the Endless Mountains, Indraloka sits on 30 acres of Mehoopany farmland, and contains four barns and numerous smaller structures that house 160 animals, including horses, pigs of all sizes and breeds, cows, mules, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, cats, geese, ducks, three dogs and one peacock, according to Lynn.
Super students
Kelly Judge of Scranton was among the University of Scranton student volunteers who sorted through donated gifts, which were distributed to those in need by United Neighborhood Centers and Friends of the Poor, as well as Head Start and area group homes. The items were collected through the university's Center for Service and Social Justice annual Giving Tree and Adopt an Angel drives. ... Wyoming Seminary senior Dakota Pace of Lake Ariel received a 2012 Alumni Service award during Sem's recent homecoming festivities in recognition of exceptional student leadership and service to the campus community. The son of Barbara Warren-Pace and Andrew Pace of Lake Ariel, Dakota serves as a Levi Sprague Fellow and is active in the film club, engineering club, calligraphy club and photography club. He is a member of the cross country team and founder of the school's mountain biking club. Dakota is a member of the Boy Scouts and serves as senior patrol leader for Troop 102 in Lake Ariel, where he is completing his Eagle Scout project.
High notes
Senior Networking Alliance members including: Nancy Burns, Cyndi Coleman, Darlene Dalesandro, Krista DiRienzo, Jessica Engel, Georgette Fetchko, Mary Gaffney, Theresa Gilhooley, Jane Hoffner, Sylvia Kolosinski, Maria Maletta-Hastie, William Kreis, Louise Ligi, Alice McDonnell, Ken Motichka, Rebecca Munley, Rhondi Nachlis, Mary O'Donnell, Jeanne Phillips, Kristen Polidori, Beth Rossi, Gerri Sanitate, Beth Shechner, Mike Sokolowski, Linda Steier, Anita Waznik and Corrine Yanul, donated blankets to "Be a Santa to a Senior" during their annual holiday breakfast.