Editor's notes a ————ima———p————————————— WELL, CHRISTMAS HAS COME AND GONE and the holiday festivi- ties are just about over. Isn’t it amazing, though, that it takes you three months to prepare for Christ- mas and then it’s all over in a flash? Sometimes, it comes and goes so fast, you almost feel that if you blinked your eyes, you might miss all the ‘‘hype.” 3 7 Anyway, it is : over - the gifts are unwrapped, the food is eaten and now we're getting ready for a brand new year to roll around. I certainly hope everyone got MARTIN everything they asked for and that everyone had a real nice Christmas. I would personally like to thank Santa for being especially nice to me this year - I didn’t think I stood half a chance with the jolly old man this year, but I guess he saw things differently than I did. -0- CHRISTMAS WOULDN’T BE CHRISTMAS without the last- minute shoppers. Traffic last Monday afternoon was almost intol- Some of the pictures I have seen in the newspapers and on television make my heart bleed for these people. Living in American ‘and wanting for almost nothing makes it difficult for us to realize the rest of the world is not nearly as well off as we are. And, we don’t even appre- ciate what we have! -0- I MUST APOLOGIZE PUBLICLY to Florence Scutt. I inadvertently omitted Florence’s name from last week’s photo of The Dallas Post staff and I feel absolutely terrible about it. I attempted to explain what happened with that photo in my column last week. time we took the photo, but when we had to reschedule it because of problems with the first shot, she was unable to be at our office the next day. Therefore, when I wrote the caption for the picture, I really messed up and left her name out of the identification. Florence actually plays a very important role in the success of The Dallas Post and there is no excuse for skipping over her name when listing staff members. Florence handles telephone solicitation for us their Christmas shopping before Christmas arrived. summed everything up rather humorously for us last Monday. She stopped in to our office to wish the staff a Merry Christmas and she proceeded to tell us that she and her father, Mike, usually leave the store open until approximately 5 p.m. on Christmas eve so that they can accommodate all the last-minute shoppers. But, Pooch said, things start to get a little hairy after 4 p.m. when the real late shoppers come in and are not very sure of what they want or why ‘they are even shopping at that point. The funniest thing she finds, though, is that all the men who come into the store at the last minute have a wife who is exactly her (Pooch’s) size and anything that fits her will fit their wives. Thus, Pooch is convinced - half the women in the Back Mountain are built exactly like she is. -0- CHRISTMAS IS A FUN. TIME, though, when family members visit from far-away lands. My brother, Larry, and his fiancee, Camille, came in from New Jersey and, although New Jersey really isn’t a far-away land it does seem far away at times. We all sat around the table during the evening, play- ing a game. I thorougly enjoyed myself, but it did seem rather strange, sitting at a table and playing a game with my brother. After all, I can’t remember the last time my brother and I had so much time for each other. But, then again, isn’t that what Christ- mas (and: any holiday, for that matter) is all about? Sitting down and sharing some of your fime with those you care about. It was a different kind of Christmas for me because it’s been a long time since I offered my brother that kind of time, but it taught me that time is probably the most valuable gift we can give anyone. SPEAKING OF ‘TIME, all the news reports of the starving people in Ethiopia are breaking my heart. I can’t imagine anything worse than being so hungry that you have no energy whatsoever. on the other end explaining some of the policies of The Dallas Post to you. What she does for us is very important: and I, by no means, should be forgiven for skipping over her in a staff photo. I am terribly sorry, Florence, but it really was an honest mistake. -0- ALSO, MY APOLOGIES to mem- bers of both the canine and feline families for mixing the two in my column last week when relaying the Christmas‘story of the family whose cat needed an operation. Again, very honestly, I tagged the kitten as a member of the canine family. Now, ¢’mon, I know cats are not canines, but rather felines. How- ever, in the midst of a rush, I confused the two. Anyway, a wonderful gentleman by the name of George Brutko (who just happens to be married to our circulation manager, Jean Brutko) called me and brought this unforgiv- able error to my attention. George just wanted to be sure that I was aware of the. difference between canines and felines. And, for that George, I thank you! George also brought to my atten- tion that the caption under our full- color front page photograph last week listed those shown in the photo as members of Cub Scout Troop 281 when they are actually members of Cub Scout Pack 281. Again, George, my apologies - there are no excuses for such stupidity! As ‘a result of George bringing these two errors to my attention, I would like to make a deal with, not only him, but every reader of The Dallas Post. : I am inviting each and every one of you to eall me (675-5211) anytime you find an error in The Dallas Post so that you can bring these errors to my attention. However, the other part of the deal is that every time you either see a photo, read a story or notice anything in our paper that you like, you have to call me and tell me that, also. Now, that’s a fair deal. If you don’t like something, by all means, pick up the telephone and let me know. But, when you do like some- thing, kindly do the same. I will be forever grateful to all of you. Only yesterday graph from actress Joan Fontaine, blue. Edward Hartman. Dallas. Mountain Drive. Dallas Community Ambulance. Steele to John Wicht. he was invited cans 97c. surgery. chuck roast 26¢ By EDWIN FEULNER Washington continues to be rife with speculation about David Stock- J. Stephen Buckley Dotty Martin Publisher Editor Betty Bean Mike Danowski Charlot Denmon Joe Gula Marvin Lewis Jean Brutko Peggy Poynton Circulation Director paid in advance. under the act of March 3, 1889. time. man’s “black book,”” which contains recommendations for controlling the growth of the public purse. News reports indicate that many of the recommended $34 billion in cuts and economies were drawn from outside sources: the Grace Commission Report, government waste-watcher Donald Lambro’s excellent new book, ‘Washington: City of Scandals,” and The Heritage Foundation’s new guide to govern- ment, “Mandate for Leadership II: Contining the Conservative Revolu- tion.” Despite the evidence, some in Washington continue to whine that there is little to cut, after ‘‘entitle- ments”’ debt payments, and other long-term government obligations are fctored in. That, of course, is pure hogwash. There is plenty to cut. So much, that if the Reagan administration really wanted to be gutsy, it could place a balanced budget on the table, and force Con- gress’ hand. Not sometime in the future, mind you, with new revenues produced by economic growth. Not by raising taxes again (which in the long run will hurt the economy and reduce revenues). Not with hocus-pocus. And not even under the cocked gun of a balanced-budget amendment. Instead, when President Reagan presents his fiscal 1986 budget to the Congress, he could throw down the gauntlet and present the wise men of Washington with a budget that is balanced to the dollar. Can you imagine the indignant squirming on Capitol Hill, when all of the balanced-budget phonies from the campaign trail are called upon to stand and-be counted on the issue? That obviously delightful prospect aside, if President Reagan were to present Congress with a balanced- budget proposal - rather than try to chip away at bloated government programs - he would be ‘doing more than declaring war on ways past. He would be precipitating perhaps the most fundamental national debate on the size and proper role of the federal government since the New Deal. Where would the cuts come from? In “City of Scandals” investiga- tive reporter Lambro found, for example, that some of America’s wealthiest communities - including Palm ‘Springs, California, Green- wich, Connecticut and*Aspen, Colo- rado - are getting federal handouts: In all, he identified $200 billion that could be cut from the federal pork barrel without touching programs for the needy or weakening national defense. The Heritage Foundation, too, has offered a plan to trim $119 billion from the federal deficit without cutting the level of services to the poor or hurting U.S. defenses. ‘Mandate for Leadership,” in addition, outlines a long-term strat- egy for shifting dozens of programs from Washington to the states, com- munities, churches and synagogues where they rightly belong. To his credit, former President Carter had the right idea when he proposed ‘‘zero-based’’ budgeting for the federal government. That's advice President Reagan should follow - and zero-base the billions of dollars in subsidies, handouts, transfer payments, and redundant and unnecesary programs needed to present House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip’”’ O’Neill with a balanced budget. _ (Edwin Feulner is president of The Heritage Foundation, a Wash- ington-based public policy research institute.) Vietnam veterans and their fami- lies are reminded that January 2 is the last day tu file claims under the recently announced lawsuit agree- ment against the manufacturers of Agent Orange. Rep. George C. Hasay noted that a tentative agreement settlement was reached last May 7 between seven chemical companies and attorneys for Vietnam veterans. “The settlement created a $180 millon trust fund to benefit veter- ans and their families who suffer from the adverse health effects of exposure to Agent Orange,” Hasay said. The lawmaker who’ represents counties urged those who may be eligible and have not filed claims to call the toll-free Vietnam Veterans of American hotline at 1-800-645- 1355. Vietnam veterans may also obtain copies of the claim forms needed to file plus a booklet explaining the litigation and claim form by writing to the Vietnam Veterans of Amer- ica, Box 3499A, Washington, D.C. 20010. Hasay noted that the Jan. 2 dead- line applies to veterans with present or past disabilities. For disabilities that first appear after Jan. 2, veter- ans may file within four months of the development of the disabilities. LIBRARY N EWS By NANCY KOZEMCHAK Library Correspondent The ‘‘Adopt A Book” program at the Back Mountain Memorial Library is in full swing and we now have three books donated this way. The latest addition has bg donated by Charlotte Oley. I{™# ‘‘StillWatch’’ by Mary Higgins Clark and it is her most recen novel. “ 5 The books adopted under this plan are given to the library and paid for by the person adopting them. These books can be adopted as memorials, birthday or anniversary dates, or any special occasion. The book receives a special book plate and will be placed on a special shelf in the library. You may purchase the book and donate it or give the money. is The Campbell Soup Company label collection is going very well. We have received many labels and the containers are available in the main library and the children’s department. New Book Club books at the library: “The Landower Legacy” by Victoria Holt is a novel of romantic suspense which evokes late Victorian England - its man- ners, dress, and gossip; its funerals and masked balls; its fortune hunt- ers; its rigid morality and furtive sinning. The Landower brothers try to save their vast holdings with a legacy of hatred and death. “Ride A Pale Horse” by Helen MacInnes is the story of Kare Cornell, bright, attractive staf reporter for the Washington Specta-* tor, a respected current affairs magazine; and her assignment to cover an international peace con- vention in Czechoslovakia. It is a gripping novel of suspense involving political assassination, blackmail, forgery, violence and murder. “The Rest Of Us” by Stephen Birmingham tells the story of the rise of America’s Eastern European jews; who, between 1882 and 1915 thronged into New York Harbor to escape the savage pogroms of czar- ist Russia, and who stayed to pros- per in the New World. To the ‘uptown’ German Jews, this horde was an ambarrassment and a phi- lanthropic burden. “Role of Honor”’ by John Gardner is the story of the most ingenious and deadly mission James Bond has ever undertaken in his illustrious career. For whatever M and Bond know, in private, the world intellig- ence agencies i N highest bidder. This is a deadly tension thriller, Can you afford to subscribe to all the magazines you'd like to read? If your answer is no, here’s your chance to enjoy them all - and at no cost. The library has many maga- zines on a wide range of subjects which can be signed out and taken home to read at your leisure. The staff at the library: Bill, Nancy, Marilyn, Charlotte, Patricia, want to convey sincere wishes for a prosperous and happy new year. STATE CAPITOL ROUNDUP Here is a summary of important events that occurred on Capitol Hill last week from: Rep. Frank Coslett, 120th Legislative District. Sy a iE. government, a reduced rate of infla~ tion and economic recovery in the Commonwealth are three important reasons for a projected state reve- nue surplus of about $188 million at the end of the current fiscal year. That is'the assessment of Gov. Dick Thornburgh who announced the anticipated surplus this week and recommended tax cuts for 1985-86 as proposal to create a so-called “rainy day fund” with an unspeci- fied portion of the surplus. The fund would be used to provide the state and taxpayers with a cushion in the event of future economic downturns said. The General Assembly begins work on the 1985-86 state budget in February. : -0- citizens in Pennsylvania will become eligible to participate in the state’s prescription drug subsidy program under legislation signed by sure increases the income eligibility : ¥ | requirements necessary to qualify for the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) program. Beginning April 1, PACE eligibility limits will increase from $9,000 for a single person to $12,000 and from $12,000 to $15,000 for a couple. Under the guidelines of the program, participants pay the first $4 of each prescription an the bal- ance of the cost is paid from state lottery funds. Another bill signed by the governor creates a $10 million in meeting safety standards and in remodeling facilities for handi-
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers