FINALLY WE CAN
REPAIR THE ROOF,
~ FIX THE FENCE,
#3
/ y
Porn
I'VE BEEN WAITIN’
ALL WINTER
50 YEARS AGO - APRIL 27, 1934
‘The financial problems of the Dallas Borough School
District were explained and discussed at a meeting of
- the Borough Taxpayers Association. The necessity for
prompt action to relieve the financial pressure on the
district was stressed.
A special meeting of Dallas Township School Board
was held at which residents of Dallas Township were
invited to discuss three alternative plans for the
improvement of the township school building.
A State Police ‘bandit chaser,” stolen while it was
parked in front of Wilkes-Barre police headquarters on
‘North State Street, Wilkes-Barre, was recovered,
abandoned at Lake Silkworth.
Girl Scout officials from five states gathered at Irem
conference. It was one of the largest conventions ever
~ to assemble in this area.
Anniversaries - Mr. and Mrs. James Ide, Lehman.
You could get - Catsup, 2 big bottles, 21c; sugar
corn, 2 No. 2 cans, 25¢; peaches, 2 big cans, 29¢; Scott
tissue, 3-1,000 sheet rols, 20c; lima beans, 3 1bs., 25¢.
40 YEARS AGO - APRIL 28, 1944
- Supported by the State administration forces on an
Independent Republican ticket, Harold E. Flack,
~by 184 votes in the balloting for the Republican
nomination for Representatives in the State Legisla-
for Parry, 4319.
Republican committeemen endorsed by County
Treasurer Peter D. Clark swept to victory in all but
two Back Mountain voting districts in the Primary
election. Surging forward with a strength that baffled
his opponents in the county Republican organization,
Clark picked up seven more committeemen in the
Back Mountain Region than he had two years ago,
giving evidence that the rural-suburban districts are
uncontrolled and unpredictable.
~ Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Szela of Dallas Township
received word that their son, Lieut. John J. Szela, pilot
of a fighter plane in the Southwest Pacific area, has
been awarded the air medal.
You could ‘get - Evaporated milk, 3 tall cans, 26c;
Octagon toilet soap, 2 cakes, 9c; Windex, 2 6-0z.
bottles, 25¢; hams, 35¢ 1b.; pork loins, 25¢ 1b.
30 YEARS AGO - APRIL 23, 1954
The State Department of Highway authorized the
improvements of seven Legislative Routes in the Back
Mountain area. The work would get underway and be
completed during the summer, according to an
announcement made by District Engineer’s Office in
Scranton.
Ten days after delivery of its new $15,000 Pirsch
Fire Truck on May 15, Shavertown Fire Company will
have to make final payment to the manufacturer.
Annual spring art exhibits of Dallas Borough and
Kingston Township grade schools were scheduled for
the following week.
Lehman Antique and Hobby Show, sponsored by the
Ladies Auxiliary of the Lehman Fire Department was
scheduled for May 8 with Mrs. Edward Oncay and
Mrs. Alvin Bolen as co-chairmen.
Deaths - Lorenzo Dymond, Bowmans Creek; Lee J.
Gregg, Dallas; Mrs. Rose Williams, Sweet Valley.
You could get - Mushrooms, 39c¢ lb.; spaghetti, 2 15%
oz. cans, 3lc; sweet pickles, 48c pint jar; vinegar, 13c
pint bottle; vegetable soup, 2 11-0z. cans, 27¢; tomato
ketchup, 2 14-0z. bottles, 49c.
20 YEARS AGO - APRIL 30, 1964
Several questions of importance to the Back Moun-
tain should have brought a substantial turnout of
primary voters, but failed to do so. Added to a general
prediction of lighter voter turnout, rainy, grey weather
clinched it for anybody who had been in doubt about
going to the polls.
Voters of Lake Township successfully defeated a
move to merge the five school districts into one unit
acceptable to the State at Tuesday’s election.
At the Back Mountain Library Board meeting, Mrs.
Martin Davern, assistant librarian, reported that 7,000
books had been circulated during March; 43 new
borrowers had been registered, nine adults and 39
Shildzen and that volunteers had given 90 hours of
work.
Beginning of toll-free service between Dallas and
Kingston-Wilkes-Barre on March 11, a milestone in the
history of the Commonwealth Telephone Company
should assist immeasurably in the further residential,
Shnnerera) and industrial development of the commu-
nity.
Deaths - Ira Crawford, Sutton Creek; Martin Bilbow,
Shavertown.
You could get - Ice cream, !% gal., 59¢; spaghetti,
15% oz. can, 10c; bathroom tissue, 10c roll; table
napkins, pkg. of 80, 10c; nylons, 39¢ pr.; 10 oz. pkg.
peas, 10c.
10 YEARS AGO - APRIL 25, 1974
The formation of a Citizens’ Advisory Committee in
the Lake-Lehman School District was approved by the
district’s school board members at its most recent
meeting. .
The Dallas School District and its superintendent,
American School Counselor Association at its annual
national convention in New Orleans, La. Dr. Wer-
kheiser was recognized by the A.S.C.A. as the
“Administrator of the Year” for the most outstanding
and significant contribution to the guidance and
counseling fields.
The recent tornadoes which struck the Midwest and
South had moved the Flood Victims Action Group to
launch a new support for the National Catastrophic
Disaster Insurance Act of 1974.
Deaths - Viola E. Whitesell, Hunlock Creek; Mary C.
Smith, Mount Zion.
You could get - Frozen dinner, 2 for 89¢; cream pies,
39c; grapefruit, 5 1b. bag, 79c; strawberries, 2 pint
baskets, 89c; Texas onions, 3 Ib. bag, 45c.
“IHE
(USPS 147-720
(in the Jean Shop Building)
(ORAL Newsy)
7 NATIONAL “26,
\
newsearen_~ /
/
LOUNpATIO%
Church women
assist library
By NANCY KOZEMCHAK
Library Correspondent
I attended a very pleasant salad
luncheon last week at the Trinity
Presbyterian Church given by the
women of the church.The women
conduct their ‘‘Closet Boutique’’
throughout the year and distribute
Classified Ad
1984 . . . .
their profits to deserving organiza-
: tions at this luncheon. I very grate-
To Subscribe or Place a fully accepted their donation of
$100.00 on behalf of the library.
Special thanks to Mary Chappel,
president of the women, and to all
the ladies of Trinity Presbyterian. I
was happy to be able to take Mrs.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
$14. out of state
Paid in Advance
Florence Crump, an avid library
supporter, as my guest.
Laure Perch of The Book Shelf of
Shavertown is going out of business
and presented a program for the
Book Club at its April meeting. She
J. Stephen Buckley. .......... ......o. 00. 0000, Publisher graciously donated several books to
RieckShannon. ....... 00.5. 00. Associate Publisher & Editor the library: Pet Love by Betty
BillSavage....... 8 lv: iis ioe iio Managing Editor ute; On and Off the Ice by
DottyMartin. J... i es vn Dial del vo Associate Editor Dorothy So The Rescue of
Mike Danowski................. Advertising Representative Ts aske )y Austell Baker; Two
Sheilg Hodges. ............o. E00 0 Circulation Manager S In my Pocket by Lois Ruby;
Vietnam by Stanley Karnow: and
Kennedy by Reg Gadney. These
books will become valuable addi-
tions to our book collection. Thanks,
“in Shavertown.
’ <5
PINIC
Guest editorial
By EDWIN FEULNER
The United States has become a!
lawsuit-crazy society. The purpose
no longer seems to be the pursuit of
justice. And the role that lawyers
have played in this perverse new
national pastime — part panderer,
part pickpocket — has not been lost
on the public. Product liability is a
case in point. :
The past decade has been bullish
for attorneys specializing in product
liability. Certainly, if a consumer is
injured because of a poorly made
product he should be able to look to
the courts for relief. But it seems
the courts are now looking for him.
In 1974, the number of product-
liability lawsuits filed nationwide
totaled just 1,579. That number had
skyrocketed to nearly 9,000 by 1982!
You can bet that when the 1983
figures come in, they will blow the
lid right off the pot. (Let’s hope
nobody gets injured.)
Some awards in these cases have
been astronomic. But even when the
judgments have been justified; it’s
not the injured parties who are
getting all the money. They're just
first runner-up. The big winners are
the trial lawyers, who take an
average of 54 cents of every dollar
received. Put another way, for
every $66 received by claimants, the
product-liability ambulance-chasers
are averaging $77.
The high cost of litigation is only
one of the reasons U.S. business
wants to see product-liability laws
reformed. Although we are reluc-
tant to look to Washington to solve
any problem, federal action might
be helpful.
The Product Liability Alliance, a
group of more than 230 businesses,
trade and professional organiza-
tions-including the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, National Association of
Wholesale-Distributors, National
Society of Professional Engineers,
The Business Roundtable, and
hundreds of similar groups-argues
that one of the biggest problems is
that every state uses different stan-
dards to determine liability. A
national product-liability law, they
feel, would standardize the crazy-
quilt assortment of state laws.
The lawyers, of course, don’t like
the idea of simplifying things. They
claim a national liability law would
discourage victims from suing for
damages. :
Product liability would seem a
simple matter. If someone has been
injured while using a product, he
should be entitled to damages if it
can be shown that the injury was
due to the faulty nature of the
product. The problem is the lack of
a uniform standard to define and
assign liability. Juries are often
extremely sympathetic to maimed
and disfigured parties, especially if
‘an attorney can slyly suggest that it
will not cost the defendant one dime
since he is insured. These days,
some of the jury awards are
straight out of ‘‘Alice in Wonder-
land’’-they border on the absurd.
Consider the case of the zealous
41-year-old bodybuilder, eager to
demonstrate his prowess in a foot
race-with a refrigerator strapped to
his back. One of the straps holding
the refrigerator broke, soe he filed
suit against the strap-maker and
was awarded $1 million in damages.
Then, how about the two guys in
Los Angeles who tried to dry a hot
air balloon by stuffing it into a
commercial clothes dryer? When
the dryer blew up, the pair sued and
collected $885,000 from the dryer
manufacturer.
Sock it to the “deep-pocket’’-pref-
erably if it’s an insurance company!
That’s the rule of law prevailing in
many states today.
Unfortunately, the legal costs are
eventually paid by consumers
through higher prices, as manufac-
turers raise wholesale prices to
cover their rising insurance rates.
On March 27, the Senate Com-
merce Committee reported out a
bill which would create a national
liability law. This bill could brin
rationality to the current legal
chaos. The present mess only raises
prices -and insurance rates, and
lines the pockets of greedy attor-
neys.
Must we “first...kill all the law-
yers,”’ as a Shakespeare play sug-
gests, in order to bring this non-
sense to an end?
(Feulner is president of The Heri-
tage Foundation, a Washington-
based public policy research insti-
tute.)
Here is a summary of important
events that occurred on Capitol Hill
last week from Rep. Frank Coslett,
120th Legislative District.
PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS regis-
tered their overwhelming approval
of a $190 million economic develop-.
ment bond issue this week. The
statewide referendum passed by
approximately 600,000 votes to 350,-
000. The bonds will be paid off over
a 20-year period and will be used to
fund a variety of programs includ-
ing aid to local econmic develop-
ment agencies new equipment for
community colleges and vo-tech
schools and help for new businesses.
The bond issue was endorsed by
Gov. Dick Thornburgh and ‘legisla-
tive leaders. An estimated $50 mil-
lion of the money will be channeled
into loans for economic develop-
ment agencies.
20:
APPLICATION FORMS for the
state’s new prescription drug assist-
ance program will be mailed to
40,000 senior citizens over the next
two weeks. The massive mailing is
the start of the Pharmaceutical
Assistance Contract for the Elderly
(PACE) program. The program will
become officially operational on
July 1, when qualified senior citi-
zens will pay only $4 for each
prescription purchased with the
state paying the balance of the cost.
Under PACE program, Pennsyl-
vania residents age 65 and over with
incomes of no more than $9,000 for
an individual and $12,000 for a
couple will be eligible for prescrip-
tion assistance funded by the state
lottery. An estimated 600,000 older
Pennsylvanians will qualify for the
program.
-0-
POSSIBLE REVISIONS in Penn-
sylvania’s auto-emissions inspection
program will be the focus of a
special task force to be appointed to
review the plan. The panel is being
formed to address complaints from
service station owners: in the
program is economically unfeasible.”
Task force members will be
Department and will include repre-
sentatives of private industry.
Under pressure from federal agen-
cies, the legislature passed an emis-
sions testing law last year’ which
mandates that motorists in the met-
ropolitan areas of Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh and Allentown have their
vehicles inspected to ensure that
they are in compliance with federal
owners claim the equipment neces-
sary for the inspection is too costly
to purchase and maintain.
DEAR EDITOR:
Easter Sunday, April 22, was
Leader Recognition Day for Girl
Scouts everywhere. It was our
chance to say ‘‘thank you” fo hugs,
games played, songs sung, crafts
taught, camping trips — all the
adventures Girls Scouts of each age
level enjoy because leaders volun-
teer their time, energy, enthusiasm
and skills.
Girl Scouts in every part of
Penn’s Woods Council will each
have their own way to show their
Leaders how grateful they are.
Penn’s Woods Girl Scout Council,
Board of Directors, and staff want
to add their thanks to all the dedi-
cated Leaders who make Girl Scout-
ing a reality.
These women make it the kind of
organization Juliette Low dreamed
of so many years ago — exciting,
creative and always relevant. The
Girl Scout organization is the larg-
est youth serving organization for
world-wide movement that includes
girls in 104 countries.
Girl Scout Leaders are the role
models who make the future come
alive for the girls they work with.
We salute them and want to share
this public appreciation with you
and your readers.
SALLY WILLIAMS
PRESIDENT
SALLY JERVIS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DEAR EDITOR:
We cannot understand why a cer-
tain group of people, who reside in
the Bunker Hill section of Kingston
Township, are so up in arms about
someone filling in an existing haz-
ardous stripping hole. This hole is
presently partially filled with stag-
nant standing water year round,
and infested with mosquitoes in the
warm weather. One tragic drowning
has occurred at this site already,
and filling this hole will prevent
future tragedies. In the past, people
have thrown dead dogs and cats,
garbage and rubbish in this stand-
ing water. What else could possibly
be more polluting and unhealthy?
If this certain group of people
think that filling this dangerous hole
with bricks, broken concrete foun-
dations and sidewalks and dirt, by
Brdaric Excavating, is wrong, we
strongly disagree.
What these citizens should be
concerned with instead, is encourag-
ing the township to install a new
sanitary sewer system to remove
sewage from presently overflowing
septic tanks and sumps, before this
contaminated water reaches our
wells and possible harm our water
supply with giardiasis. Let's all give
that some thought.
This same group of people should
also consider cleaning up rubbish on
their own land.
eliminate a dangerous situation, and
reclaim an existing stripping area.
A CONCERNED NEIGHBOR
DEAR EDITOR:
This letter. is addressed to my
fellow clergy.
The month of May 1984 is desig-
nated as Older American’s Month
by the American Association of
Homes for the Aging, the national
organization of non-profit homes
and services provided for the
elderly, of which Wesley Village is
an member. g 5
The theme of this month is ‘“Com-
munities that care - through service
we honor the aging.”
Our non-profit home has tradition-
ally honored the aging of the com-
munity through dedicated care and
service. We ask that you join us this
year as you did last year in saluting
our elderly population during this
month. ~~ % -
"I am asking that all churches
Bell Ringing on May 1, which will
noon that day. This year, the caril-
lon bells of the U.S. Capitol will ring
on this day in observance of Older
American’s Month. I encourage you
to blend your bells with those of our
Capitol as we honor our elderly
population.
REV. WILLIAM EDER
WESLEY VILLAGE CHAPLAIN