VOL. 82, NO. 36 ~ Wage - Price Quandary 7) ~ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1971 DALLAS, PA. The decidedly ““fallish’’ aroma of pumpkins, pota- toes and pears wafted across the grounds of the Dallas Fall Fair from Merrill Thomas’ display of organically grown fruits and vegetables. + Local Teachers Unsure * Of Salary Raise Status by Shawn Murphy The vagaries of President Nixon's wage-price freeze have been nowhere more apparent than in the on again-off again situation which has developed over teachers’ salaries. The conflict has arisen because of new contracts negotiated by teachers with thd school boards, new contracts which - promised higher salaries and more benefits for the educators. Most school districts, including Dallas and Lake- Leman, completed the lengthy contract negotiations last spring. The effective date of Lake-Lehman’s new contract was July 1, coinciding with the beginning of the district’s fiscal year; Dallas’ contract did not go into effect until Sept. 1. It didn’t take educators, school board officials and school administrators long to perceive the quandary they were in when President Nixon announced his extraordinary wage-price freeze Aug. 15. To pay or not to pay, that was the ques- tion. Ro! surprisingly, education asso- ciations across the State lined up to defend their constituents’ right to the higher salaries. Shirley Riemer, assis- tant director of public relations for the Pennsylvania State Education Asso- ciation in Harrisburg, admitted to the Dallas Post that there was some con- fusion on the question but quoted a much publicized guideline from the Washing- ton-based Cost of Living Council which indicated that if the teachers’ contract period started before Aug. 15, the salary increase would be granted. “In my mind,” said Mrs. Riemer in a very pleasant everything-will-be-alright voice, ‘I can’t see the reason for any hang-up.” Lake-Lehman teachers breathed a collective sigh of relief. Not only had their contract become effective a month and a half before the freeze, but it had fulfilled a second portion of the Council’s mandate, namely that all teachers could be paid according to the new salary schedule if only one teacher had worked or was accruing pay at the new rate. Lake-Lehman School Superintendent Robert Z. Bellas told the Post that not one but two teachers were being paid at the higher rate since the contract’s July 1 effective date. On Sept. 2, a statement by Under Secretary of the Treasury Charles E. Walker sent a chill wind scuttling through the Harrisburg offices of the PSEA and the Department of Education. “The interpretation that most teachers’ pay increases will be permitted is incorrect,” asserted Mr. Walker. He suggested that the beginning of the con- tract period would be determined not by the date the contract was signed but by “the date when services contracted for begin to be delivered.” His statement threw the carefully con- strued Cost of Living Council’s guidelines “into limbo,’”’ reported Albert Holliday, director of information for Pennsyl- vania’s Department of Education. “If you had called yesterday,” Mr. Holliday told the Post last Friday, ‘I'd have known the answer. Now we just don’t know what to recommend. The school districts are going to have to take the bull by the horns and make their own preliminary decisions according to the interpretation offered by their own solic- itors. When the official decision is made—then they can revise their deci- sions if necessary.” Not a little exasperated, Mr. Holliday expressed the wish that Under Secretary Walker ‘‘keep his own opinions to him- self” until the matter was officially de- cided. By late Friday afternoon, the chill wind had developed into freezing gale. ‘Literally. Teacher salaries would stay at 1970-71 levels, ruled the Cost of Living Council, no matter what the effective date of the new contracts. While maintaining that ‘“‘our policy has remained the same,” Council Director Arnold R. Weber conceded that the Coun- cil had ‘““‘dropped’’ the interpretation that all teachers would receive the higher rate if one employe had received it prior to Aug. 15 because it was ‘‘mischievous.’’ Somewhat enigmatically, he called the interpretation a ‘‘golden sheep’’ concept whereby one person pulls all the others through to a higher category. In Dallas, apparently, there was no problem. Because Dallas teachers’ new contract did not begin until Sept. 1, Dr. Linford Werkheiser, superintendent of Dallas schools, informed the district's teachers by mail and at a meeting Sept. 8 that they would be paid according to last year’s schedule. Walter Glogowski, president of the Dallas Education Association, told the Post that the Dallas teachers had taken the announcement ‘fairly well, although they were all disappointed.” The Council’s new ruling did, however, affect Lake-Lehman’s pay policy. Super- intendent Belles indicated Friday that the school district would pay its teachers at the higher rate, although he cautioned that the situation could ‘‘change tomor- row.” He may well have been clairvoyant, for the situation did indeed change the next day. By the time Lake-Lehman’s teach- (continued on PAGE THIRTEEN) PHONE 675-5211 ALLAS~IZ0OST “Complete Back Mountain News” FIFTEEN CENTS American Asphalt Plant Reduces Pollution Level According to results of an air pollution test administered last May by the Dept. of Environmental Resources at the 12 New Teachers Join Faculty at Misericordia College Misericordia welcomed 12 new faculty members for the fall semester, according to Dr. Marvin J. LaHood, new academic dean of the college, bringing the college’s total number of faculty members to 98, including part-time in- structors. The large faculty provides in- coming students with the favorable stu- dent-to-faculty ratio of 10 to one, resulting in much more individual attention for the students, according to Dr. LaHood. The new members joining the college’s teaching staff for the fall are: Sister Agnes Therese Brennan, RSM, mathe- matics; Barbara Brown, nursing; Wil- liam Dick, education; Sister Ann Horgan, RSM, mathematics; Patricia Lewis, - sociology; Arthur Miller, art (photo- graphy); Dr. Eugene Miller, chemistry; Edwin O’Malia Jr., theology; Edward Roke, psychology; Vincent Smith, music; Sister Elaine Tulanowski, RSM, French, and Jo Anna Wentling, educa- tion. In addition to the new faculty, the college also welcomed two faculty mem- bers who had taught at College Miser- icordia a few years ago and are returning to the faculty fo. the fall semester. The two returning faculty members are Sister M. Aidan Byron, RSM, music; and Lee Williames, history and government. American Asphalt Company’s plant in Chase it would appear that the Back Mountain paving company has managed to shake its dubious distinction of being the state’s “worst air polluter.” According to a letter from James Chester, regional air pollution control engineer with the Dept. of Environmental Resources, American Asphalt now complies with state air pollution regula- tions. While the state permits a total emission of 40 pounds per hour of suspended and settled particulates from a company’s air stack, Mr. Chester in- dicated, the test administered at the American Asphalt plant revealed that only nine pounds of particulates per hour were being emitted. The “stack’’ test was conducted May 20 following installation of an updated anti- pollution system at the Chase plant in the - fall of 1970. es Bernard Banks, American Asphalt’s treasurer, told the Dallas Post that his firm had added a ‘“wet radial fan” and 100 foot stack to its existing anti-pollution system following a meeting with health department officials in June, 1970. At that meeting, American Asphalt officials had promised to comply with state air pollution regulations ‘within 60 days.” The promise followed close on the heels ‘of the paving company’s being named as the state’s worst air polluter in a list of chronic polluters. The list was prepared for the C%. Raymond P. Shafer by the | health department after the governor had ordered’ a crackdown on long term pollution cases. Football Outlook Good As Dallas Gets in Shape Dallas Mountaineers lined up in steaming, grass-stained groups under a too-bright late Saturday morning sun, taking deep breaths as they scrimmaged with offensive and defensive squads from the school at Tunkhannock. The Dallas hopefuls listened to a never-ending stream of instruction as their head coach Jack Jones, pushed them through two hours of workouts. Several dozen interested parents and spectators sat in the stands giving en- couragement as though this was a real game instead of scrimmage. Coach Jones—sometimes a half-smile creasing his face and sometimes a frown—and his staff watched the would- be football stars grunt and strain to make the right plays. This year marks the beginning of Jack Jones’ fourth year as head football coach at Dallas Senior High School. Last year was a good season with six wins and four The Dallas Post (J. KOZEMCHAK SR.) ‘Members of this year’s squad of would-be football stars at Dallas Senior High School stand on the side- lines where they await their turn to scrimmage. Each player is hoping he’ll make the varsity team. There could be a future All-American in this inter- ested group. losses. The losses were to Class A teams, with three games lost by only one point. And Jones is optimistic for this year despite the loss of several seniors who graduated in ’71. Also despite the fact that eight of this year’s seniors who played as juniors elected not to ‘‘come out’ for this year’s team. “We’ve got 16 seniors—but frankly, I don’t care what they are just as long as they can play football. Just like every- body else, we have to rebuild,” said Jones, pulling at the bill of his cap. There were many hopeful and optimis- tic lower classmen who would be gald to hear their coach say that. Each one seemed to be trying to prove his capabil- ities. Some will not make it—but they are gaining valuable experience for next year and the next year. “With less experience, this team does not have as much depth as last year’s. That team had good depth and was very competitive.” But Jones smiled again. “We're going to try our darndest and we hope to improve. That’s our purpose.” The two-a-day practices grind inexorably towards the opening game against West Side Tech School this Satur- day afternoon at 2 on the home field. The veteran coach conceded that he still hasn’t made definite decisions on some positions and said he would prob- ably not know until game time Saturday. “We don’t know what to expect from West Side. We're going into the game blindly—but ready to cover spreads, tights, anything. At least, we hope we're ready,” he admitted with a shrug. One of the things he does believe is that defense is ‘“‘one of our strong points.”” Coach Jones is counting on junior Gary Arcuri or senior Tim Kaye to handle the quarterbacking chores. Arcuri is six feet and weighs 174 pounds; Kaye is five feet, nine inches and weighs 150. They’ll be handing off to senior halfbacks Robert (continued on PAGE THIRTEEN)
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