VOL. 81 NO. 24 DALLAS PA. / THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1970 i SDALLASCPoST 15 CENTS | sewage plagues Back Mountain '30%year menace tackled by active sewer authority by J. R. Freeman Dallas may be proud of its new park and recreational area soon to be constructed, were it not for an open sewer running through a vacant lot across the street. : Toby’s Creek could be an attractive, winding brook through the Back Mountain communities, were it Yot for the raw sewage seeping from the hillsides and flowing between its banks. To gp outsider it might appear strange that - Dallas anid other Back Mountain communities have existed for a hundred years or more without any sort of municipal or public sewer system. In the heart of the Dallas business district on a warm day the stench of raw sewage has returned, gradually becoming worse year by year. Neighbors complain of each other’s sewage seeping onto their property; often the problem cannot be remedied by individual home owners. Doctors whisper that hepatitis, encephalitis and other diseases may break out any time, as they notice sewage running down roadside ditches in residential areas. The Dallas Sewer Authority, formed in the The Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority recently sold its bonds at slightly less than seven percent. A Pennsylvania Health Department spokesman said that he expects Dallas can do the same thing. Meanwhile, thanks to more adequate pollution control legislation in the U.S. Congress, more money has become available for such projects. Estimated to cost a total of approximately $7.5 million last year, the Dallas Sewer Authority project will undoubtedly be more expensive now, with inflationary costs to be added.- And this has been a continuing story for 30 years or more, with opposition mostly screaming about the high costs, even though each year additional funds are needed to complete such an endeavor. As far back as 1933 sewage disposal was a big topic of discussion in the Back Mountain. In 1938, through the efforts of this newspaper and a group of concerned citizens, a study was made indicating that a federal grant of 45 percent of the total cost was available, with government loans carrying a very low interest rate probable for the remaining 55 percent. During that period Dallas service clubs, in- cluding Rotary and Kiwanis, voiced their concern about the sewage problem, ‘long a sore spot of the Back Mountain region.” The clubs pledged their support to a joint committee headed by the late Earl Monk and Russell Houser. As a cost comparison, on Sept. 9, 1938 the citizens committee, after weeks of study, informed the citizens of Dallas and surrounding communities that an adequate sewage disposal system could be installed for approximately $200,000. Today that cost soars above the $7.5 million mark. R. Spencer Martin, Trucksville, chairman of the current sewer authority, told The Dallas Post last week that his group is ready to advertise again for bids on the project, which has been cut up into contracts that will not exceed $1.5 million each. But the project will cost users today much less than the 1969 estimated total, thanks to more state and federal government help. According to Mr. Martin, the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration has offered $2.5 million in grants-in-aid on the estimated $7.5 ~ million project, a more than double increase over last year. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has indicated it would consider help to the tune of $1.3 million, with a final decision due later this month. At the same time the authority is keeping a spring of 1967, has devoted hundreds of man hours, \ considerable money and much research to the | premise that Dallas Borough, Kingston Township and Dallas Township, at least in the more densely } wary eye on the bond market, ready to advertise at any time. Backed by technical help from the Kingston office of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, : porate areas, must have ‘an adequate public A sever facility. That reality may be just around the’ corner. During July and August of 1969, the sewer authority attempted to sell bonds to finance part of | the construction of a sewer distribution system and treatmeggt plant. But the bond market went crazy, and because of a state law requiring such projects to stay under a maximum six percent interest rate, the bonds were not sold. The legislature has since raised the interest ceiling to seven percent. district justice The name of Irene Major, widow of district 3-8 magistrate Harold Major, has been submitted to Gov. Raymond Shafer by the Luzerne County Republican Committee for approval as magistrate for the unexpired term of her late husband. The post has been vacant since the death of Mr. Major March 29. Acci¥ding to Republican Committee chairman Patrick Solano, chairmen of legislative districts 2, 4 and 5 “have gone on record that they would recommend Mrs. Major as their first choice, or jus- tice of the peace Leonard Harvey if she were to de- cline.” ® Solano said that Mrs. Major had at first actively ‘sought the position, then had stated that she would not be interested in the job offer. Most recently, Mr. Solano said, she had informed him that she had re-considered and would accent the job if appointed. 1/-year locusts no real threat wi of the 17-year locusts soon to be swarming is likely to conjure up images of skies blackened with locusts ala Salt Lake City of 100 years ago. At that time, droves of the insects threatened the crops of struggling Mormons in their Utah haven, only to be eaten—incredibly—by flocks of sea gulls. "Is this what the Back Mountain is in for? Hardly. Alfred Skala, associate county agent, re- ports that the locusts have already emerged from their 17-year nap and have been observed in most parts of Luzerne County, including the Back Moun- tain area. The discrepancy which exists between most persons’ expectations of the locusts and their ac- tual appearance is a result of mistaken identities, |. Mr. Skala insists. The Salt Lake City beasties of long ago were actually grasshoppers, a species (continued on PAGE TWO) ' Raw sewage seeps to the top of the ground on the proposed Dallas recreational park site, near Burndale Road and Luzerne Avenue. candidate recommended Expressing concern over the long delay in fill- ing the magistrate’s office in district 3-8 was Presi- dent Judge Bernard Brominski. According to Phyl- lis Hinnant of the Commission Section of the Gover- nor’s Office, Judge Brominski had written to the Governor’s office and ‘‘was pretty upset” about the delay. The judge had also contacted Mr. Solano in an effort to speed up the appointive process, pointing out that the work load for the four magistrates covering district 3-8 is staggering. Fred Anderson, magistrate of district 3-9, agrees. He has recently completed a two-week as- signment during which he was acting magistrate for district 3-8 in addition to his own duties. He stated unequivocally that the work load was ‘very heavy,” and added that he is ‘hoping fervently that an appointment will be made in the next few weeks.” Other magistrates covering district 3-8 for two-week assignments are Stephen R. Stefanides, Bernard J. Wjcik, and Robert Marshall. Even with the recommendation of Mrs. Major now an accomplished fact, the appointment may take at least another month to complete, William Johnson reports from the Governor’s office. An in- vestigation by State Police will take two weeks, he notes, and then the appointment must receive con- firmation by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. council against What was billed as ‘‘the first step in‘ con- solidation” of three Back Mountain police forces was approved Tuesday night by Dallas Borough Council. A motion proposed by councilman William Berti, police committee chairman, to authorize use of a central police telephone at the Dallas Township Building on a round-the-clock basis was approved unanimously by council. Included in Mr. Berti’s motion was approval of common police jurisdic- tion, on a limited basis, in Kingston and Dallas Townships and Dallas Townships and Dallas Borough. Costs of staffing the 24-hour phone system will be shared by the three communities on a 50 percent It is in the Senate, Mr. Solano suggests, that the real tie-up could occur. ‘Sometimes there is bar gaining and jockeying,” Mr. Solano reports, “whereby Democrats say they’ll vote for a Republican appointment if the Republicans will vote for one of their candidates in another part of the state.” The magistrate’s salary in district 3-8 is $7,378.40 and is computed on a base pay of $3,000 and $.40 per capita, reports Donald Diehl, control- ler, Dept. of the Auditor General. District 3-8 in- cludes Dallas and Harveys Lake Boroughs, and Plymouth, Lehman, Jackson and Lake Townships. Mrs. Major cites as her qualifications for the magistrate’s post a certificate of attainment for successful completion of a course for justices of the peace at Wilkes College seven years ago. If ap- pointed to complete the six-year term of her late ‘husband, Mrs. Major states that she will leave her present job at RCA, Mountaintop, because she be- lieves ‘running the magistrate’s office is a full- time operation.” She looks forward to the appoint- ment as she is certain the job will be “quite chal- lenging and interesting.” The former Irene Sedler, Mrs. Major is the mother of four children. police merger population—50 percent assessed valuation formula. The decision to jettison the police cooperation agreement formulated by Dr. Hugo V. Mailey and the Institute of Regional Affairs was made, ac- cording to Mr. Berti, at a meeting of officials of the three Back Mountain communities last week. Dissatisfaction with the police cooperation agree- ment had increased to the point that none of the three communities were considering approving it, council president Edwin Delaney added. Questioning the council’s reluctance to approve the police merger was Robert Brown, former Dallas Borough mayor, who stated that he believed v ~ (continued on PAGE TWO) the sewer authority is willing to admit how bad the area needs the facility. Most other Dallas area residents know, too. A few simply refuse to admit it. “We know that some of the diseases occurring now are attributable to sewage that is not in a sewer system,’ State Health Department sanitation engineer Russell Kluck told The Post Monday. (continued on PAGE TWO) Sgt. Joseph Chisko Dallas soldier killed in Cambodia action The family of Sgt. Joseph Chisko received word Saturday that the 22-year old Dallas soldier had been killed in action in Cambodia June 9. They “were notified by telegram that the young man, a member of Troop B, 3rd Cavalry, 25th Infantry, was fatally wounded when his unit came under enemy attack during the early morning hours. Sgt. Chisko was the son of Mrs. Joseph Chisko. 246 Huntsville Road, Dallas, and the late Joseph Chisko. He was married to the former Charlene Tyrrell, 124 W. Mount Airy Road, Shavertown. Sgt. Chisko was a 1965 graduate of Dallas High (continued on PAGE TWO)
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