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- er
ALLAS
“Complete Back Mountain News”
OST
VOL. 82 NO. 51
TUESDAY , DECEMBER 21, 1971
DALLAS, PA.
PHONE 675-5211
FIFTEEN CENTS
1,100 Already Delivered
More Sewer Assessments
Due by End
The third set of assessment rolls for
Dallas Area Municipal Authority will be
completed for delivery by the end of
January. To date, 1,100 assessments have
been delivered, according to information
furnished the authority at their meeting
De
RY Spencer Martin Jr., authority
chairman, emphasized that if a property
owner feels his assessment is wrong, he
should call the authority office (696-1133)
and report it. ‘“The proper procedure is to
call the office and not indi#idual mem-
bers of the authority,”” Mr. Martin said.
Assessment collections through Dec. 13
amount to $202,239.10. Other monies
received were $5,000 in additional funds
from the Environmental Protection
Agency and $7,000 interest.
uglas Diehl, project manager for
Roy Weston Engineers, told that $343,000
is needed for additional costs on all 12
CO! acts and associated projects. There
s a contingency fund of $386,000 set aside
for this purpose.
Mr. Diehl recommended that the full
amounts of monthly payments due to Tri-
Constructors, treatment plant con-
tractor, and D&C Spinoza, pipe con-
tractor, be made this month only ‘‘as the
quality of work is good and they are on
schedule.”’ It is customary in making
payments to retain 10, percent.
According to reports the secondary
treatment plant is 70 .percent complete
and.on schedule. The completion date of
March 15 is expected to be met. A total of
1 feet of main line has been in-
ed; 50,213, lateras$, 1 345, malitioles;
> 269, “house connections.
thority member John Casner
rted that a number of applications
have been received for thé treatment-
plant staff, and that all vacancies should
be filled by mid-February.
Dr. Raymond Russin asked the
authority about blasting damage and said
Gate of Heaven
Announces It Will
2 @harge Tuition
At a meeting held in the Gate of Heaven
uditorium Dec. 14, the Rev. Thomas
\rdan, pastor of Gate of Heaven parish,
announced that effective immediately,
tuition for all grade school children at-
tending Gate of Heaven Parochial School
is $75 each, annually. Also, all high school
students attending Central Catholic in
Kingston will be obliged ‘to pay an ad-
ditional $150 per year.
The decision to implement a tuition for
all parochial schools in the diocese of
~ Scranton came from the Most Rev.
Bishop J. Carroll McCormick. There was
previously no tuition charge for children
are members of the Gate of Heaven
parish; children who attend the parochial
school from the parishes of St. Therese’s,
Our Lady of Victory and St. Frances
Cabrini paid $8 monthly before the tuition
increase.
Father Jordan explained to parents of
Gate of Heaven students that under the
new Pennsylvania State Legislature Law
Housebill No. 1379 Parents Reimburse-
ment Act for Non-public Education,
parents of children attending private
(continued on PAGE SEVENTEEN)
The Public
is cordially invited
to Open House
at The Dallas Post
Thursday, December 23
from 2 to 5 p.m.
41 Lehman Avenue
. Dallas, Pa.
of January
the contractors’s insurance company had
denied his claim. He was told that he now
has two recourses—(1) seek payment
through his own insurance company,
which, in turn, can seek settlement from
the contractor’s insurance company; (2)
sue the contractor’s insurance company
for damages.
Solicitor Merton Jones stated each
contractor has full public liability and
property damage coverage, but that
there is nothing the contractor or the
authority can do to make the insurance
company make a settlement if the claim
is denied.
17 Percent Hike
Photo by Sandy Nixon
Raindrops glaze the needles of a newly cut
Christmas tree waiting to be sold.
UGI Rate Increase Bid
Granted Pending Revision
Pennsylvania Public Utility Com-
mission handed down a decision Dec. 15
indicating it would approve increased
rates by UGI Corporation, Luzerne
Electric Division, providing the utility
filed a revised application within five
days or by Dec. 24.
PUC did not go along with a requested
rate hike by UGI for $2,400,000, but
denoted its approval if U:I’s Fequest was
adjusted to $2,100,006.
The: new rate, which . would
amount to an increase of ‘about
17 percent’ in an average customer’s
bill, would be effective five days after a
revised UGI application is accepted by
PUC. Originally, the rate hike sought by
the utility company would have meant an
increase to some 52,000 customers of
approximately 20 percent.
Richard Demmy, general manager and
vice president of Luzerne Electric
Division, stated the revised application
would ‘‘definitely be submitted to PUC”’
before the Dec. 24 expiration date.
A number of complaints against the
rate hike has been filed. On record with
PUC are complaints fiom James
Lenahan Brown, et al; James M. Reinert,
et al; Back Mountain Protective
Association and F. Budd Schooley, M.D.
These protests charged increased rates
would be ‘‘unreasonable, exorbitant,
unwarranted and illegal’, and asked that
Photo by J. Kozemchak Sr.
A new police cruiser was delivered to Dallas
Township Friday afternoon, with acceptance
ceremonies held in front of the municipal building.
Will Keep Old Cruiser
On hand were, left to right, Fred Hughes, Super-
visor Fred Lamoreaux, Chief Frank Lange, Les
Tinsley, James Richardson, Douglas Lamoreux,
and James Kelly.
Township Gets Police Car
Dallas Township Police Department
had its name on the list for Christmas de-
livery of a new police cruiser, and was
pleased when the 1972 Dodge Polara was
turned over to them last Friday by James
Richardson of L. L. Richardson, Dallas
automobile dealer.
The department will retain its present
cruiser, a 1968 Plymouth, as a spare to be
used in emergencies or when the new
police car is not available.
Supervisor Fred Lamoreaux, accep-
ting the new vehicle for the township,
said he was very pleased with its special
engineering and heavy-duty features.
The township board awarded the contract
to Richardson’s on the basis of a bid for
$2,650. Bids were submitted in Septem-
ber.
New equipment, although installed by
the automobile firm, was furnished by
the township. This included dual strobe
lights, the PA system, and radio.
The car was built by the manufacturer
on specifications for police work. It has a
318 cubic engine with 240 horsepower.
Police Chief Frank Lange reported the
township has one of the largest areas in
the Back Mountain to police. “We have
over 28 miles of township roads to cover,
plus state and county roads,” he said,
“and department personnel will use both
cruisers to good advantage.’
proposed rates be denied and present
rates reduced.
In addition, Dallas Area School Board,
Dallas Township Board of Supervisors,
Dallas Borough Council, among others,
have gone on record as opposing the rate
increase.
UGTI’s electric division was granted a 15
percent rate increase in 1970.
(continued on PAGE FIVE)
Lake-Lehman
Praised for
Audit Report
Lake-Lehman School District has
received accolades from David H.
Kurtzman, secretary of education in
Pennsylvania, for its third error-free
audit report made by the Office of the
Auditor General for the Lake-Lehman
School District.
“On behalf of the Department of
Education,” Dr. Kurtzman wrote, ‘it
gives me great pleasure to again com-
mend you and your staff for the excellent
result you have attained in the
management of your financial resour- 2
ces.”
In keeping with Dr. Kurtzman’s
request, the commendation was made a
part of the minutes of the board’s
meeting Dec. 14.
Other business found the school board
seating as its seventh member Kenneth
Williams, Bloomingdale. Mr. Williams
was unable to attend the re-organization
meeting held Dec. 6, at which time Ellis
Hoover and Arnold Garinger were sworn
in.
The school directors approved the
purchase of two master clocks for the
Lake and Ross Elementary Schools at a
cost of $635 each. The IBM clocks
presently in use are, according to
Superintendent Robert Z. Belles, “worn
out and cannot be repaired.”
{eonsinied on PAGE ELEVEN)
The PUC:A Five Member
Board Governs Utilities
The Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission is an autonomous body
whose five members are appointed by the
governor for 10-year terms. The governor
also names the chairman of the group.
Present chairman is George Bloom. He
and three commissioners are hold-overs
from previous governor’s appointments.
The only commissioner appointed by
Gov. Milton Shapp is Louis Carter of
Lower Merion. At the time of Mr. Car-
ter’s appointment, Gov. Shapp vowed to
carry his fight for the consumer into the
area of utility rate-making.
Commissioners’ ‘salaries, taken from
1967 figures, are in the $19,000-$20,000
range.
Inmate Stabbed
At Chase Prison
During Movie
A State Correctional Institution inmate
allegedly was stabbed Sunday afternoon
by another inmate of the Chase facility.
Supt. Leonard Mack identified the vic-
tim as Thomas Preble, 24, of Scranton,
who was examined and x-rayed at the in-
stitution after he sustained multiple stab
wounds of the chest and upper arm.
Examining physician, Dr. Malcolm
Borthwick, and institution officials de-
cided to hospitalize Preble for a more
careful check of injuries.
Preble was admitted to Nesbitt Mem-
orial Hospital, where he was listed as sat-
isfactory. Supt. Mack reported Preble
will remain in the hospital until such time
as medical authorities determine he is in
condition to be returned to the Chase in-
stitution.
The stabbing took place at 1:40 p.m. in
the institution auditorium while a movie
was being shown to inmates. The alleged
attacker, James Hughes, 30, of Philadel-
phia, was reported to have pulled a knife
and stabbed Preble.
(continued on PAGE SEVENTEEN)
Approximately 350 persons are em-
ployed by the commission, including 15
attorneys, 32 engineers, 42 rate analysts,
45 inspector-investigators, two security
analysts, and two accountants, but no
economists. These are 1967 figures, the
latest available.
The “Organization and Function of the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Com-
mission” states that “Commonwealth
law requires utilities to furnish and
maintain adequate, efficient, safe and
reasonable service and facilities. The law
also provides that rates for service must
be just and reasonable.”
It also states the commission’s duty is
to regulate all public utilities in the
“public interest’, and it operates ‘‘un-
swervingly toward the end that service is
good and rates are fair for both the con-
sumer and the utility.”
What happens when a utility files new
rates?
In general, the procedure is to file rate
changes on 60 days’ notice to the com-
mission, and the utility must submit,
under oath, pertinent supporting data.
The commission and its technical experts
are required to make a thorough study of
this supporting data, the rate structure
and overall earnings.
If it appears beyond doubt that the
proposed rates do not contain any
unreasonable features and the an-
ticipated earnings are not excessive, the
PUC may take no action and thus the
rates become effective automatically by
law.
(continued on PAGE SEVENTEEN)
Notice
The Dallas Post will be
published early next week due to the
New Year holiday.
We urge all who plan to submit
articles for publication to do so
early. We cannot guarantee
publication of copy in the issue of
Dec. 28 if submitted after 10 a.m.
Monday, Dec. 27.