A group of Girl Scouts from Methodist Church toured the Greenstreet News Company plant last week. The girls, accompanied, by their leader, Mrs. Regin, EF. Rose, were given demonstrations of the various machines including the Compugraphic 2961 and 7200, which are used in production of the three newspapers, The Dallas Post, The Abington Journal, and the Mountaintop Eagle. They were also shown the channels through which a Burglaries {continued from PAGE ONE) i Access to the Sessler home was gained by prying open the front door, and the ‘‘hit’’ proved highly profitable for the yeggs— they carried away goods worth $5,728.80. ‘Two break-ins at business establishments in Dallas Borough presumably during the early morning hours of Jan. 15 netted thieves little in the way of money or merchandise. At Caddie LLaBar’s Service Station, Route 415, a panelled door was broken but no entry into the building could be made. And at the Town House Restaurant, panels of a door facing the park- ing lot and leading to the estab- lishment’s kitchen were smash- ed and entrance’was gained in that mannenpg On Jan. Lo 21, three more burglaries at ‘private homes kept Dallas Township police hopping. The home of Marion Pascoe, 248 Church St., Dallas, was broken into last Thursday some time prior to 9:45 p.m. when burglars broke glass in a rear basement door and then forced open a door to the main part of the home at the top of the cellar steps. Two savings ac- count passbooks, costume jewelry, $320 in cash and some U.S. Savings Bonds were taken in the burglary. The savings bonds, interest- along Toby’s Creek—as did a pearl necklace. Waterways Patrolman Claude M. Neifert Jr. and Leo JInsalaco of the Dept. of Egarironmental Re- sources repo¥u that they were conducting a stream survey along Toby's Greek behind the Singer Planty Yhen they caught sight of a torn paper. Closer in- spection proved that the paper was a torn Series E Savings bond belonging to Miss Pascoe. The pearl necklace was re- covered during a fish seining that any other costume jewelry which had been dumped into the creek may have sunk to its muddy ‘bottom. As late as Tuesday morning, a tional papers—including a pro- perty deed and several bank slips—still further south along Toby's Creek Two more Wuglaries both in New Goss Manor—were per- petrated Jan. 21. ‘A bottle of champagne, bottle of bourbon and an undetermined amount of change were taken from the home of French Jones, Grand- view Avenue, after the screen broken. Burglars used a similar Six Young Couples Honored by Parents At Special Dinner Six girls and their escorts were honored by their parents at a dinner party Jan. 12. A ham dinner was served at the Frank- lin House in Shavertown. . The following couples attend: ed the affair: Jo Ann Williams, ward Williangs of Shavertown, escorted ©¥™ Jim Brown, Shavertown; Ardeth Walters, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. August Walters, Dallas, escort- Patti Cyphers, daughter of Mr. ‘and Mrs. Sharps Cyphers, _Carverton, escorted by Bob Comny,’ Dallas; Donna Mrs. Frank Kardell, Trucks- escorted by Joseph Fortuck, Trucksville; Ronnie Lavelle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Lavelle, Demunds Mrs. Joseph Austra, Larksville, escorted ‘by Bob Maharty, The girls wore gowns and were presented with a charm as news story must go, from the time it arrives at the office until it is ready for the press. Taking the tour were Margaret E. Rose, Kim Kretch- mer, Dorothy Kintzer, Susan Watchulonis, Allison Payne, Ellen Payne, Ingrid Fries, Sonya Rogers, Ellen Horsfield, Michele Kern, Linda Bocci, Wendy Finlay, Carol Lamoreaux, Lee Ann Curtis, Cheryl Hanson. Mrs. H. R. McCartney is assistant leader of the troop. approach in breaking into the home of Alex Lipko, Woodcliff Drive, before toting off a por- table Philco TV, asserted silverware valued at $50, and two clocks worth $300. Mr. Lipko, a flood victim, recently moved into his New Goss Manor home. Dallas Township Police Chief Frank ‘Pete’ Lange reports that fingerprints and blood samples taken from the broken glass at the Jones’ home has been sent to the State Police barracks for analysis. Meanwhile, Dallas Borough Police Chief Ray Titus believes Back Mountain residents are getting the jitters. A special meeting of borough police has been called tonight by police committee chairman Willard Newberry to discuss ‘‘security matters,” and Chief Titus re- ports that he has received an unprecedented number of re- quests from persons seeking gun permits. Chief Titus cringes at the thought of an armed Dallas neighborhood, and suggests that packing a gun will do little to deter burglars. ‘‘Ninety per- cent of our people do not need guns,” the Chief told the Post earlier this week. ‘What residents should do instead is make certain that they don’t leave their homes susceptible to being burglarized.” (Editor’s note: See ac- companying article for ways in which persons can ‘burglar- proof” their homes.) Gate of Heaven Planning Dance Parishioners of the Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas are planning their annual parish dance, which will be held this year Feb. 24 in the school auditorium. Serving as co-chairmen are Mr. and Mrs. Frank Michael. The decorations committee will be headed by Mr. and Mrs. Ned Reese; publicity, Mr. and Mrs. Don Hale; and entertainment, Mr. and Mrs. Vince Correale. Dancing will be held from nine until one to the music of a popular combo. A buffet lunch will be served at 11 p.m. Volunteers are still needed to assist with arrangements. Anyone interested is asked to call Mr. and Mrs. Michael at 675-3786. The dance is open to all members of the parish and their friends. The Rev. Thomas Jordan is pastor at Gate of Heaven, and the Rev. Stephen McGough, assistant pastor. Budget (continued from PAGE ONE) ing. “There’s a ton of stuff in those hundred or so pages that’s different and unusual,” Atty. Lemmond advised. ‘The ordin- ance represents real changes in the borough’s zoning, and I sus- pect you'll have several ques- tions about different parts of it”? He pointed out that the pro- posed legislation calls for the appointment of a three person zoning hearing board. Recom- mended the solicitor: ‘“You’ll want to give thought to the men or women you nominate; these are important positions.” An application for a traffic signal at the intersection of Routes 415 and 309 will be con- sidered by council and sub- mitted to PennDOT in the near future. Council agreed to advertise for bids for gasoline used by borough vehicles during 1973. Bids are to be submitted to borough secretary Ralph Garris. : by Nelson Woolbert 696-1689 American Red Cross Bloodmobile will be at the Dallas Intermediate School tomorrow from 12:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The quota is 160 pints. Dallas Junior Women’s Club Feb. 15 at the Dallas Junior High School from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Richard Maslow is a member of the steering com- mittee responsible for the arrangement for the luncheon to be held Feb. 15 at the Sterling Hotel by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic Women’s League of the Wilkes- Barre Council. Air Force S-Sgt. James R. Walters, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Walters, 201 Terrace Ave., is on duty at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand as an aircraft radio technician. Trucksville His wife Sharon is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Musto of Carverton. Robert Shoemaker, Hickory Street, is a member of the graduating class at Wilkes- Barre Business College. Graduation exercises will be held today at the American Legion Home on North River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Richard L. Hogoboom, Sutton Road, ‘is president of the Wyoming ' Valley Crippled Childrens Association. Harold Rose, South Lehigh Street, is a member of the governing board. Alan Root Jr., Carverton Road, will celebrate his 10th birthday Feb. 1. Alan attends Westmoreland © Elementary School. A family dinner will mark the occasion. Joseph Walton Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Walton, Lewis Avenue, has accepted a position with Continental Coffee Com- (continued from PAGE ONE) Officer Dudick then climbed out . of the cruiser and ap- proached two men who were standing at the rear of the operator of the car with whom he had spoken earlier; the other, a Black man, was Lehman Band Raising Funds The Lake-Lehman Band Sponsors are conducting a variety of fund raising activities in preparation for the band’s upcoming trip to Winchester, Va. . Mrs. Henry Zbiek, chairman for the bakeless bake sale, reminds members that the deadline for returns has been reached but that she will accept home. The sponsors hope this project for January will be successful. Mrs. John Houser, chairman of hoagie sales, has announced that future sales will be held Feb. 20, Mar. 20, April 17, and May 15. A farmer and modern dance is being planned for Feb. 10, with Mrs. Theodore Reed serving as chairman. The dance is scheduled for the Jackson Township Fire Hall with music provided by the Merrymakers. Committee members include Mrs. Hugh Dockeray, Mrs. Albert Ashton and Robert Scott. The public is invited. Tickets may be obtained by contacting Mrs. Reed or they may be purchased at the door. unknown to him. As he stood talking to him, he saw from the corner of his eye some movement from the nearby bushes. At the same instant, he was struck a resounding blow on the back and one of the men with whom he’d been talking grabbed him around the neck and began pummelling him. Officer Dudick remembers little after that. Within minutes after his call for assistance, Dallas Township Policemen James Gruver and Elliott Ide were speeding along Reservoir Road from the Huntsville Road exit and Harry Wesley, a borough special policeman, was careening up Centerhill Road in his pick-up scene and found Dudick sprawled unconscious beside the door of his cruiser. There was no sign of the patrolman’s assailants, and police surmise that they escaped down Machell Avenue. Several partially empty beer cans were found along the bank where the policeman was beaten. : Officer Dudick was taken to the Nesbitt Memorial Hospital where x-rays revealed no broken bones. He received lacerations of the face and concussions to the head; he was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon. State police from the Wyoming Barracks as well as Seranton police are assisting Chief Titus in the investigation. According to Chief Titus, ‘‘new leads are being followed up which make us feel confident that Officer Dudick’s assailants will be arrested in the near future.” Jan. 25 otherwise. Jan. 26 Members are urged to attend. Feb. 3 dancing. pany in the Harrisburg Area. He has already assumed his duties there. Mr. -and Mrs. Norman Cooper’, ' Lewis Avenue, , have returned from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they spent several days with their son, William. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Harrison, Carverton Road, entertained the Mr. and Mrs. Club Saturday evening. Eight couples were present. Mrs. George Gaylord, Lewis Avenue, entertained her card club Friday evening. Members who won prizes were: Mesdames Harold Croom, Robert Mathers and John Roushey Sr. Other members present were: Mesdames Clifford Garris, Sheldon Hoover, William Lohmann, Ogden Palmer, Robert Shoemaker and Mrs. Gaylord. Anthony J. Naperkoski, Holly Street, celebrated his birthday Wednesday. He was honor guest at a party given by his son-in- law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Kurt German, Kester Trailer Park, Harris Hill Road. Starting tomorrow and running through Sunday, a ‘Winter-Weekend’ of wholesome outdoor activities has been arranged by Penn’s Woods Girl Scout Council. The event is open to girls 11 through 17 who live in the Slocum and Kester trailer parks. At the reorganization meeting following the annual meeting of the Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association of Wilkes- Barre, Robert L. Casper, Huntisville Road, was elected assistant secretary to the board. Samuel J. Naples, Carverton Road, has enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He enlisted under the Navy’s school guarantee program. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel. Naples. Wyoming RD 3. The fourth grade class of the Trucksviile United Methodist Church took time last Sunday afternoon to enjoy a movie, “The Courage of Lassie.’’ Those who attended were: Wendy Baird, Susan Chamberlain, Scott Enslen, Bob Franklin, Kirk Gallup, Patty Hoover, David ~ Konopki, Diana Shemelewski, Cathy Thomas and Kenny Williams. Ae- companying the group were Jan Bigelow and Doug Wasserott, teachers. Jill M. Chernin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Chernin, has been accepted as a student nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem for the September class. Punitive Blackouts Page 5 by Ralph Nader WASHINGTON--Last Oct. 21 six children, brothers and sisters, died in a house fire in Sacramento, Calif. The fire was started by two candles which were burning unattended in the living room and the resultant flames, smoke and fumes from furnishings overcame the children in their upstairs bedrooms. The candles were being used because the utility company had shut off the electricity for nonpayment of an overdue $28 electric bill. It does not take a seer to predict that people will use candles or other makeshift lighting sources when their electricity is cut off. Similarly, discontinuance of gas service can lead to hazardous tem- porary substitutes for home heating. Stopping telephone service by the telephone company can likewise lead to tragedies in emergencies where contact must be made with physicians, police or other authorities. Yet state regulatory com- missions permit discontinuance of service for alleged non- payment of bills or portions thereof with only a few days’ written notice. These state rules establish the most general criteria for permitting such discontinuance which has meant, in effect, that the utility has the broadest discretion to decide for itself. Suppose the homeowner or customer has a dispute with the utility over the bill. Suppose the customer has legitimate dif- ficulties in paying the bill. Suppose the deciding person in the company has a dislike for anyone who complains about deception or fraud or poor service and retaliates by discontinuing service. Suppose the company has a pattern of discontinuing service to poor people or minority group members while treating people in more well-to-do cir- cumstances who dispute service or bills ‘with greater ‘‘un- derstanding.” Whatever the causes for nonpayment, electric, gas and telephone service are critical. Such legally monopolized services require stricter standards in resolving such disputes than for ordinary businesses. At the present time, the decision to discontinue service is unilaterally made by the utility, frequently by someone in the credit office. Service has been cut off by utilities for unpaid bills as low as $10 to $30. Often, customer disputes are over issues fundamental to the utility’s responsibilities to the public such as deposit and penalty policies, service in- terruption, meter reading, billing practices, and safety matters. To beat down such consumer complaints with the discontinued is not a corporate practice which should be tolerated for any legalized monopoly. A ‘separate consumer-utility grievance office should be established under the auspices of the state regulatory com- mission. It should be insulated as much as possible from political intrusions. The law or regulation creating it should provide for nonpartisan membership and full disclosure of the office’s practices and reasons for decisions. The complaint-handling process should be informal, expeditious but fair with a written ex- planation of the decision. Legal assistance should be provided consumers who do not know how to present their case, much like a good small claims court should operate. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Com- missioners (NARUC) should conduct a study of service discontinuances and the overall need to establish grievance offices. NARUC, which has been issuing some consumer- protection sounding statements recently, did compile last year a report on utility billing prac- tices which, among other fin- dings, showed that utilities impose outrageously high penalty charges for overdue bills. It is now time for this organization of state utility commissioners to show that systematic handling of con- sumer complaints can focus quickly on abuses and point the way to more basic reforms. John Stenger, Jim Faerber. Williams, Chet Davis. Roger Boston, Jerry Tallent. Roginski. DALLAS TOWNSHIP On Jan. 19 about 8:30 a.m., there was a slight mishap on Route 309 at the intersection with Hildebrandt Road. William Button, RD 1 Nicholson, who made a left turn from Route 309 onto Hildebrandt Road, lost control of his car and hit a pole, also causing some damage to the traffic light and school crossing lights at the inter- section. Patrolman Kelly in- vestigated. There were no in- juries. Early last Thursday evening, Julia E. ‘Swepston, RD 1, Dallas, was traveling south on Pioneer Avenue in the area of Overbrook Avenue, when a car traveling in the opposite direction veered into her lane. Ms. Swepston then ran off the right side of the roadway and sideswiped a retaining wall. Damages were estimated at $475. She was uninjured. Last Wednesday two 20 year old men were injured when their car toppled over into Trout Run Creek. Lawrence Ide Jr., 114 Rice St., Trucksville and Francis Perkoski, RD 1, Dallas were traveling north on Lower Demunds Road when Mr. Ide lost control of the car, which then slid sideways over the west berm of the road hitting an embankment. The car flipped over on its roof and continued another 60 feet, finally coming to rest on its roof in Trout Run Creek. The car, which sustained $2650 damages, traveled a total distance out of control 326 feet. The youths, who showed signs of intoxication, stated that they were forced off the road by an oncoming car. They were taken to Nesbitt Memorial Hospital for injuries. Patroman Carl Miers investigated the accident. There was a hit and run ac- cident Jan. 16 at 4:17 p.m. about 1, mile south of Martin's ser- vice station. Ruth Hough, Old Berwick Road, Bloomsburg was traveling north on Route 309 when a car identified as a ’67-’69 blue Pontiac struck her by the right front door. Instead of stopping, the unknown vehicle continued north at a high rate of speed. Douglas Lamoreux investigated. Peter R. Williams, Bill Joe Lee 7
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers