Prom moves after catering crisis

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — A last-minute hiccup over catering threatened to upset Delaware Valley's arrangements for Friday night's prom.
As they have for several years, students decided to hold their prom at the nearby Best Western Hotel in Matamoras. But this year brought a hitch.
The Best Western rented its place to a group "that left it a dirty mess," Superintendent John Bell wrote. "The health inspector made an unannounced visit last Monday (the day after the group left) and cited them for numerous violations. The inspector made them remedy each and discard any food involved. These remedies allowed them to be open for meals all this past week.”
By Wednesday morning, after a meeting of high school administrators, senior class leaders, and the prom committee, the whole party was moved to Kalahari Resort in Pocono Manor.
“It wasn’t easy trying to find a reservation for 350 people on short notice," said a notice on DV's website. "We are very appreciative to the various businesses who went out of their way to try and accommodate us. The students decided after a lengthy discussion to move the prom to the Kalahari Resort.”
The site also says transportation will be offered from the Delaware Valley, Dingman Delaware, and Shohola campuses for students who need it. Any student who has purchased a prom ticket and doesn’t want to attend at the new location can get a refund at the district's 11-12 office this week.
A message left with Best Western requesting comment was not returned by press time.
So the prom is, at least this year, off campus once again.
“Prior to 2013, the kids used to go out to area restaurants then head to the prom for dancing, etc.," Superintendent John Bell wrote in an email. "The class of 2013 decided to bring it all under one roof.”
He gave credit to the students for grace under pressure.
“I’m really proud of our seniors," he said. "They weighed all the options and chose the one that they thought best served their needs in having a great prom.”
Editor's note: The story has been updated to include a correct the original planned location for the prom, which was at the Best Western Itself, not on the school campus. The Courier regrets the error.