® BOX 330, es EE Gi sportation for you. In the richness of God’s love. - Sincerely, Council on Ministries Dailas United Methodist Chuich At Monday night’s meeting, Alvin Cragle, secretary of Lehman Township read a letter from the Department of Environmental Resources claiming that the Back Mountain Medical Center is in ‘‘violation’’ of the Pennsylvania Sewage Treatment Act because the center is not included in the official sewage facilities plan for Lehman Township. Clergy Assn. Thanksgiving service set The Back Mountain Clergy Association invites everyone to an ecumenical Thanksgiving service to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 22. The service will be held at Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Dallas with the Rev. Paul R. Bauer, pastor of the carverton United Methodist Charge as the preacher. Persons from other churches will also participate. The time of the service is 7:30 p.m. DAMA to bring delinquents to sheriff’s sale At Thursday’s meeting, the board of the Dallas Area Municipal Authority authorized solicitor Merton Jones to bring judgements against the owners of 10 Back Mountain properties, who have failed to pay their sewer assessments. These properties will be sold at the next sheriff’s sale. According to Jones, these property owners have been contacted countless times by mail. They have made no attempt to pay or make arrangements to pay. Judgements will be brought against the following property owners. Kingston Township residents are John and June Anderson; Beverly and Richard Achuff; Stanley Evans; and Bertha Hontz. Dallas Township residents are Floence Downend; Lester and Cecelia Campbell; Eugene Lavelle, Jr., David Griffith; Robert Maharty and Elmer Reese. Dallas Borough residents are Conrad and Patricia Hislop, and Joseph and Nellie California residents, who own property in Dallas Borough. According to Lehman Township Sewage Enforcement Officer LeRoy Roberts even though the center is still in the planning stages, a letter of intent to build should have been sent to the township zoning board. In order to comply with the sewage treatment VOL. 88 NO. 43 by Tom Mooney “The dollar is declining.” “Interest rates are higher than ever.” “The stock market is shaky.” “But, then again, it doesn’t really affect me.” Or does it? According to Back Mountain representatives of major elements of the business community, such facts of economic life as these have a major effect on all of us at present and indicate that, unless we accept the unpleasant truth and face up to some hard choices in the next few years, our collective future will be bleak indeed. Most pessimistic is Ken Adams, investment counselor with Thomson McKinnon Securities Inc. of Wilkes- Barre, who said this week that “We'll go to Hell in a handbasket” if we refuse to try to understand the clear warning signals and make the necessary decisions. Adams predicted ‘hyperinflation’ and ‘social unrest’ as the logical consequences of what he portrayed as general failure to grasp and deal with root problems. To Adams, everything boils down to the simple fact that government on all levels, but particularly the federal government, is spending too much money and sponsoring too much unproductivity--chiefly in the areas of welfare and bureaucracy. Foreign nations, continued Adams, are cultivating better productivity and suffering less government in- tervention in the marketplace while we practice a “welfarism and nepotism’ that erodes our economic strength. High interest rates, according to Adams, ‘not only constrict the economy, but also prefigure economic crashes, with today’s discount lending act, a back hoe test pit must be dug to see of the land conforms with this act. Roberts stated that he had con- tacted Joe Kileen, member of the board of the Back Mountain Medical Center, to make the board aware of this problem. rate of nine percent a full point higher than the eight that preceded the 1974 recession. Some investors, he added, are becoming ‘‘scared” and are getting out of the stock market, which produces not only turbulence in the market but fear among those who deal in it--a fact that bodes ill for the rest of us. Peter Weaver, treasurer of Wilkes- Barre Clay Products, Forty Fort, agreed with Adams in most par- ticulars. He cautioned ' consumers to remember that a lower international dollar value may make it easier for foreigners to buy American goods, but that it also makes it tougher for Americans to buy from other coun- tries. With the United States heavily dependent upon foreign imports, as others have pointed out, particularly in oil, a dollar that doesn’t go as far abroad threatens to force us to pay more or buy less, and in any case to live less well than we have lived. Weaver pointed out that the high interest rates that seem so distant to restrict working capital needed by investors if they are to open new plants and begin new projects, providing the jobs needed for tomorrow. Likewise, consumers will find it more difficult to raise the cash to make the purchases of homes, cars, and other items they need to improve their own lives. He downplayed the stock market somewhat, though, calling it ‘‘a good leading indicator” of how business will be’and having little immediate impact in itself. After the meeting, a spokesman for DER clarified the claim by explaining that technically the township was in ‘‘violation” of the state act because it had not yet fulfilled the procedure for modifying the sewage facilities plan. The spokesman said that every time Motions made at the Dallas School Board meeting on Monday night were overwhelmingly approved by the members even though unanimity eluded the directors. There was at least one ‘no’ vote on most of the decisions. Directors Patricia Gregory, Basil Russin, and Earl Fritzges cast more solo negative votes than at any meeting since the beginning of the fiscal year, each taking turns at being the minority of one. Fritzges cast the first negative vote when director Harry Lefko made the motion to appoint Charles Preece as assistant basketball coach in the Dallas Senior High School for the 1978- 79 year. Fritzges stated that he had the ut- most respect for Preece and con- sidered him an outstanding individual and teacher but he believed the board should appoint someone with more basketball experience. Russin voted against the ap- pointment of Mrs. Diane Hunt of Dallas as a fulltime senior high school guidance counselor. He prefaced his vote by first stating that he was happy to have an applicant as well qualified as Mrs. Hunt and that he felt sure she would do a good job. He said the screening of applicants came down to two individuals, Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Raymond S. Russin, the latter, Basil Russin’s aunt. Russin said both were qualified and although Mrs. Hunt had four years as a secondary education counselor and Mrs. Russin had experience only as an elementary counselor, it was his opinion Mrs. Russin should be ap- pointed since she was previously employed by the Dallas School District. He stated that the biggest problem he could see was that the position was in the high school and that Mrs. Hunt’s husband, Brook, was already employed as the assistant principal in f 3 the high school. Mrs. Hunt will report to Mrs. Barbara Price who reports directly to the office of the superin- tendent. Russin said that if the motion to appoint. Mrs. Hunt did not pass, he would recommend his aunt, Mrs. Raymond S. Russin. Mrs. Hunt's appointment was approved by a 7-1 vote. Gregory cast negative votes on two motions to adopt for first reading,the first to amend the personnel retirement policy No. 4119 to read that all employees be retired at the close of the school year in which they attain the age of 70 unless such contracts are mutually extended;and the second to amend the personnel physical examination policy No. 4114 to require employees to submit a written statement from a physician indicating that they are physically sound prior to assuming their duties; also submit to a chest x-ray every two years and submit a report to the school nurse and submit to a special medical examination if the board requires it. She also cast a negative vote on the motion for a first reading to amend Policy No. 4120.1 defining substitute (Continued on p. 18) ¥ a A, Rs Like Adams, Weaver predicted hard times ahead, claiming that we are probably headed for a recession early in 1979. The utilities that we depend on so much, according to Fred Hartwigsen, manager of consumer relations at UGI in Kingston, are likewise deeply concerned by the danger signals. Although UGI, Hartwigsen said, relies on domestic coal, other utilities may be heavily dependent upon imported energy sources, and so when their prices go up, so do the prices consumers have to pay. Or else the consumers just can’t use as much light or heat or power as before. Tight money is of special worry to UGI, Hartwigsen continued, because the utility is ‘‘capital intense’ and must borrow at high interest rates (passing costs along to consumers) if it is to modernize, expand, and add new customers. “The higher cost of money really affects us,”’ said Hartwigsen. Robert Richardson, commercial lending officer and vice-president of the First Eastern Bank, expressed the belief that federal attempts to combat inflation by keeping the prime in- terest rate high brings economic stagnation generally. Business, he said, has less money to work with in purchasing new capital assets and expanding merchants cannot tie up much money in in- ventory merchandise, and banks have rates because it costs them more to get the funds in the first place. “The cost of obtaining lendable funds'is a real problem,” he affirmed, adding that there seems to be a consumer rush to try to ‘‘beat’’ rising costs by purchasing quickly and going heavily into debt. Richardson also foresaw a 1979 a subdivision equal to the effluents of more than two lots, a municipality must complete some paperwork to modify the official plan. The developer, in this case the Back Mountain Medical Center, is generally responsoble for providing the engineering or technical data required for’ the modification procedure. In other discussion a letter from the state attorney general informed the supervisors that under Act 410, no supervisor may hold any additional township office other than road- master or secretary treasurer, because of the supervisors power to vote and to control township funds. The letter specifically pointed out that a supervisor may not serve as civil defense director. Supervisor Ignatius Hozempa, who served as civil defense director prior to his election to office, stated that he is serving as ‘‘acting director.” Hozempa stated that he had resigned as civil defense director the day he took office and has just been filling the position until the beard chooses someone to take his place. In light of the attorney general’s 5 (Photo by Alex Rebar) Nee DALLAS, PA. TWENTY CENTS : recession, with some sort of pickup in | the later part of the year. ; If the men involved in investment, | business, utilities, and lending on a day-to-day basis are any sort of | guides, general predictions would | seem to be that what the daily economic news means to us is that: 1) It’s going to cost more to buy things such as oil from overseas, and our standard of living is going to | suffer. aa 2) At least for quite some tim money is going to be tight, meani that fewer businesses will be starting | (Continued on poy oH letter, the board will appoint a director. Since this is a very time- | consuming position, the board will consider several persons, and an-. nounce their decision at the | December Meeting. Zit Dr. John Groblewski and Dr. An- | thony Groblewski, who maintain an | office in a trailer on the Kane | property in Lehman Township, | requested an extension from the | board. Their extension was denied by the zoning board because they have failed to put in any permanent sewage or provide for parking. Since there seemed to be a discrepancy in who makes the final decision in this case, the solicitors for the zoning board and the board of supervisors will meet sometime this | month to clarify the matter. | Groblewski Medical Center was given | a 30 day extension until next month's | meeting, when a final ruling will be given. = A public meeting to discuss the use | of funds received from revenue- sharing will be held Tuesday, Dec. 5 | at 7:30 p.m. at the Lehman Center Fire Hall. The public is invited to | attend. eo 5
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