rar ra ———r Ca RR A ws we tem i TT Cr Editor's notes This wasn’t like any other day in the newsroom. On any other day, phones would have been ringing, the sound of busy fingers on computer keys would have been heavy and the general hustle-bustle of the newspa- per business would have been in full force. . No, this was not just any ordi-} nary day. This stand still - thef day seven of ourf eyes as attempted explore unknown world DOTTY MARTIN around us. This was a day when people all across the nation would find them- selves keeping vigils in front of their television sets — a day when most of us were so shocked and so stunned, we felt inclined to bend down and pick up our hearts off the floor. The seven-member crew of Chal- lenger had become so special to all of America — special because one of ‘‘us’’ was on that crew. Christa McAuliffe was not a full- fledged astronaut. She had not spent her entire life training and studying in the space program. She was a teacher — a very dedicated teacher — and she was a wife and a mother. She was all of those things before she ever became involved in the space program. And, for those very reasons, she was one of ‘‘us.” Christa: McAuliffe was an ordi- nary person. She was as ordinary as you and me — and she led a life as ordinary as yours and mine. She was not always floating around in weightlessness atmospheres, or learning how to carry out rescue procedures or how to teach a class from space. She may have always been an extraordinary person with her bubbliness, her vim and her vigor, but until she was chosen from over 11,000 applicants to be the first ‘Teacher in Space,’”’ Christa McAuliffe was as ordinary as Everyman. And, because each and every one of us could so easily and so readily identify with this woman, we grieved on that fateful day when she and her six friends perished in their quest to ‘reach for the stars.” As we watched her family, along with the families of Francis “Dick” Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Res- nick, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis and Ronald McNair openly weep on national television, we grieved at the tremendous loss this great nation was, is, and will be feeling for a long, long time to come. As the newsroom grew even more quiet last Tuesday with the grue- some details spilling out over the television networks and the laser- photo machines, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame. I felt ashamed that the flight of a manned space shuttle had become so routine that hardly anyone took time to watch the actual lift-off. I felt ashamed that these great pioneers of our country must now take a back seat to soap operas and game shows and I felt terribly sion had broken. After the shame subsided, how- ever, pride set in and I began to feel, in this great moment of loss, proud to be an American — proud to be a member of a country repre- sented not only by these seven comrades, but by the entire space program itself. I found pride in watching this country — my country — come together to share the grief of the families, both immediate and pro- fessional, and to sympathize with them in their moment of sorrow. My heart broke when young Alison Smith wept openly at the memoial service in Houston, Texas. I cried when the missing man for- mation sent Ellison Onizuka’s wife into hysterics and my heart bled for Ronald McNair’s young wife as she sat next to her two small children. I could not possibly feel the same sense of loss the members of those families were feeling — but I could feel the loss this entire country is feeling. Seven of its most brave brothers and sisters were taken from it — literally stolen away right before its very eyes — when that shuttle exploded. But their bravery, their courage, their determination and their belief in ‘reaching for the stars” will remain with me forever. America was built with pain and suffering and loss — and we must continue to build, despite this and any other misfortunes our country must face. Something tells me that if any one of those seven Challenger crew members could communicate with us today, they would all be encour- aging us to continue reaching for the stars: as they had. They may have fallen short in their quest to reach the top, but the example their bravery and determi- nation have set for those who con- tinue in their footsteps is an uncom- parable effort. And, as I deal with my shame for taking their bravery for granted and with my pride of being a part of this great nation, I extend to those seven Challenger crew members the thanks that every one of us should extend to them — for being every- thing American has hoped its native sons and daughters to be. Though this tragedy is a night- mare to us, it was but a dream to them and we must continue to strive ahead, not only in the space pro- gram itself but in all walks of life — for each and every one of them. (Dotty Martin is the Executive Editor of Pennaprint Inc., publisher of The Dallas Post.) Remember the old joke about the man who tiptoed past the medicine cabinet because he didn’t want to wake the “sleeping pills’? What is basically wrong with this joke is that the sleeping pills already may have “expired” from improper stor- age! Not only is a cabinet placed over a sink too accessible to grand- children and other young visitors, but the warm moise atmosphere of the bathroom can cause some drugs to deteriorate. Take a lock at your own medicine chest. Is it a mini pharmacy, a jumble of prescription and over-the- ics or shaving supplies stacked between medication for high blood pressure or angina? Are there year- old bottles of laxatives and tubes of dried up liniment? A few minutes spent reorganizing your supplies and supplimenting with some key items could make a critical differ- ence for your health and safety. What about health care products you use on an irregular basis? A person rarely bothered by constipa- tion for example, has little need for a laxative in the medicine cabinet. Sort out these products and either store them in a linen closet or the cabinet. When shopping for these items, avoid overstocking by buying only what you feel you can use in a six-to 12-month period. While the “family size” may give the most for your money initially, it’s poor economy if the content loses its potency or changes consist- ency before you use it up and has to be thrown away. Separate the prescription from the non-prescription drugs. Both should be kept in a cool, dry place away from food and other household products. Some drugs must be refrigerated. This should be indi- cated on the label. Make sure the top is tightly closed and place the container in a sealed plastic bag to keep it dry and bacteria free. Check all supplies for an expira- tion date. Whenever you buy a new item, if there isn’t a date, add your own label to the container with the purchase date and the date you first open it. Don’t keep any medicine or supplies past their expiration date! Tablets that become crumbly, medi- cines that change color, odor of consistency, or are outdated should be destroyed. Dispose of these drugs in the toilet, not the trash basket where they may be discovered by an inquisitive young person. : Other items to dispose of properly include drug products that have lost their labels, those few remaining pills from last winter's flu, Aunt Martha's tonic left after her visit, and any empty bottles and jars. DAVID F. CONNER General Manager DOTTY MARTIN Executive Editor Only yesterday 50 YEARS AGO - FEB. 7, 1936 The semi-annual appropriation paid to the seven local school dis- tricts totaled $30,000. Districts receiving appropriations were Dallas Borough, Dallas Township, Hunlock Township, Jackson Town- ship, Kingston Township, Lake Township and Lehman Township. Dallas Post 672, American Legion secured a supply of Bonus Applica- tion Blanks for use of World War veterans who had not yet applied for their bonus. Engaged - Mildred Price to Philip Reynolds. Married - Esther Mae Jackson to Raymond Gray. Deaths - Mrs. James Keiper, Dallas. You could get - Butter 2 1b. 75¢c; eggs 29c doz.; sliced bacon 40c Ib.; rice 2 1b. 11c; raisins 11 oz. pkg. 5¢; 3 pkg. gelatin desserts 19c; Nestle’s Milk almond 2% lb. bars 25¢; 2 oz. bottle vanilla 15c; baking powder 15¢ can. 40 YEARS AGO - FEB. 8, 1946 Dallas Borough Council prohibited residents from dumping their sewage in Toby’s Creek. Those who refused to dispose of sewage else- where would be subject to heavy fines. To provide water facilities for an anticipated post-war building expan- sion in this area, Dallas Water Company began drilling operations on a new 10 inch well, 300 feet deep. Plans for a volunteer fire com- pany serving Sweet Valley and vacinity were discussed at a public meeting held at Church of Christ, Sweet Valley. Fred Swanson, Chief of Daniel C. Roberts Fire Co., Ald- erson, was on hand to answer ques- tions. Engaged - Fay Fischer Adams and Harry C. Snyder; Pauline Ide and Stephen J. Cornell; Margery McHale and Gilbert Manchester. You could get - Standing rib roast 30c 1b.; lamb chops 37c lb.; haddock fillets 35¢ 1b.; lava hand soap 3 bars 17c; 16 oz. pkg. Spic and Span 20c; broccoli 23c 1g. bunch; lemons 39c doz.; oranges 35c doz.; 10 lb. bag flour 58c. 30 YEARS AGO - FEB. 10, 1956 Dallas-Franklin-Monroe Township officials agreed with officials of Dallas Borough-Kingston Township that the formation of one high school for students of the entire area was a favorable idea. They also decided that classes for retarded children should be pro- vided. Retired Luzerne County Agricul- ture Extension Agent James D. Hutchinson started a radio program of farm news. The program was broadcast Monday through Friday on station WILK. Married - Lois K. Jones and Harry J. Johnson; Phyllis Elaine Swan and Airman 2-C Alvin L. Cragle; Lenore Bierly and Albert R. Swithers. Engaged - Norma Carey and Dale K. Wright. Deaths - Ralph L. Harrison, Shav- ertown; Addie Austin, Dallas; Morgan W. Ruch; Esther Richards, Trucksville; Rhoda Kitchen, Rug- gles; Joseph Randall, Fernbrook. You could get - Hams 45¢ 1b.; round steak 69c 1b.; temple oranges 59c doz.; seedless grapefruit 5-29c; Pillsbury cake mixes 3-95¢; Kraft White American cheese 2 1b. box 99c;, Dial soap 2 bars 23c; Ib. 20 YEARS AGO - FEB. 10, 1966 Thirty nine local basketball enthu- siasts attended the North-Carolina- Maryland University basketball game at College Park, Maryland to see local boy Tom Gauntlett, star on the North Carolina squad, play. An extra-special surprise came with installation of officers at Jona- than R. Davis Fire Hall in Idetown. President Andrew Lavix was presented with a paid in full mort- gage on the fire hall. Married - Darlene Helen Riffel and Capt. Robert Cooke Winters; Grace A. Machell and J.D. Hays; Mary Lansford and Peter Evelock jr. Anniversaries - Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Mahoney, 25 years; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Eipper, 31 years; Mr. and Mrs. Torrance Naugle, 61 years; and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Parsons, 26 years. Deaths - Francis A. Barry, Dallas; Mrs. A.W. Shafer, Alamo, Calif.; Marie Gabel, Chase; Harold Brown, Idetown; Ervin Dymond, Beaumont. Your could get - Chickens 31c Ib.; franks 59c¢ 1lb.; turkeys 43c 1lb.; jumbo shrimp $1.39 lb.; 2 lb. pkg. fig brs 39c; oranges 4 lb. bag 59c; lettuce 2 hds. 35¢; 5 lb. bag Purina dog chow 79c; Realemon juice pt. bot. 37c. 10 YEARS AGO - FEB. 12, 1976 Because non-professional employ- ees of the Dallas School District were under contract to the district until June, a request for them to join the Pennsylvania State Educa- tion Association-Pennsylvania Serv- ice Personnel Association was with- drawn by PSEA-PSPA representative Walter Glogowski. Stet Swan was elected president of th newly organized Back Mt. Kiwanis Club. Steve Klaboe was first vice-president; Sam Austin, second vice president; Jim Snyder, secretary and Vince Marchakitus, treasurer. Deaths - Roy Roberts, Blooms- burg; Claude Keller, Shavertown; Edward Corby, Noxen; Theodore Yozwiak, Falls; William Keefe, Noxen; Michael Pekot, Shavertown. You could get - Chicken breasts 89c 1b.; chicken legs 79¢ Ib.; special loaf 89¢c % lb.; pickle loaf 99c lb.; carrots 3 cello pkg. 49c; celery 39c bunch; Campbell’s tomato soup 6 cans $1; orange juice 12 oz. can 65c. DEAR EDITOR: I read the article in your paper on January 22 which stated that Janu- ary 12 through 19 was National Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Week. The Luzerne-Wyoming County Drug & Alcohol Program has con- centrated its efforts in extending this campaign on a local level from January 20 to February 18. Posters and pamphlets stressing the dangers of drinking during preg- stores in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties in cooperation with the Pernsyivania State Liquor Control oard. A free presentation is being clubs, and other organizations upon request. The presentation includes a film entitled ‘Pregnancy on the Rocks,” and various pamphlets are distributed. The dangers of drinking during pregnancy are made per- fectly clear and those attending can readily understand the importance of abstention. If anyone would like to schedule a presentation, please call Lenore Rosencrans at the Luzerne-Wyo- ming County Drug & Alcohol Pro- gram, 826-8791. LENORE ROSENCRANS PREVENTION SPECIALIST LUZERNE-WYOMING COUNTY DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROGRAM By NANCY KOZEMCHAK Library Correspondent Tuesday, January 28, 1986 - 11:30 a.m. A national disaster; the catas- trophic explosion that blew apart the Space Shuttle Challenger 75 seconds after liftoff sending seven NASA astronauts to a fiery death in the sky eight miles out from Ken- nedy Space Center. A friend called the library, told us what happened and the entire library staff was absolutely stunned. We immediately went to the children’s room and put the television set on and we all just stood there and watched the taped re-play of the explosion in complete dis-belief. The utter devastation of this disaster has left most of us with a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs. President Reagan’s address on the tragedy covered the feelings of most of us and we do mourn seven heroes who were aware of the risk and we salute their courage. A quote from Majority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas who said that the world has been forcefully reminded ‘that the road to the heavens is a dangerous one.” We had begun to believe that space travel posed no danger whatsoever and, now, with seven people dead are we to believe that these deaths were inevitable? This entire incident reminded me of a book written and published by Simon and Schuster in 1962 titled, ‘“We Seven’’ by the Astronauts themselves. The authors of the book were the seven astronauts involved in Project Mercury; M. Scott Car- penter, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., John H. Glenn, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Alan B. Shepherd, Jr. and Donald K. Slay- ton. Each chapter was written by one of the seven astronauts with titles such as; A chance for immor- tality, Flying is in my blood, The urge to pioneer, and a test pilot’s dream. Seven miles of wire - and a swizzle stick by John Glenn; Our cozy cocoon by Walter Schirra and Some fabulous tricks by the trade by Malcolm Scott Carpenter. It seems coincidental that this book written 24 years ago was titled, “We Seven.” | Our display case is showing 22 Madame Alexander Dolls from the collection of Dawn Hando of Lehman Avenue in Dallas. Dawn is 10 years old in 5th grade at Dallas Intermediate School and received her first doll for Christmas from her grandmother when she was six years old, which was Little Red Riding Hood. Her favorite doll is the Bride Doll. There are dolls from Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Rumania, Israel, Belgium and Brazil and the nursery rhyme dolls include Mary, Mary; Little Bo Peep, Gretel, Miss Muffet. Little Women dolls Meg, Amy and Beth are here along with Betsy Ross. Dawn keeps her dolls in plastic covers at home. They will be stay- ing at the library until February 26. (Nancy Kozemchak is the assist- ant librarian at the Back Mountain Memorial Library. Her library column appears in The Dallas Post every week.) Here is a summary of important events that occurred on Capitol Hill last week from Rep. Frank Coslett, 120th Legislative District. THE HOUSE approved legislation this week which would create a $10 million-a-year, mini-superfund pro- gram for the cleanup of abandoned hazardous waste sites. Sponsored by Rep. Robert Reber (R-Montgom- ery), the bill would impose new taxes on waste generators and waste disposal facilities. The reve- nue from the taxes, combined with other state and federal funds, would be to establish the Hazardous Sub- stance Account. Fines and penalties for violating state laws against haz- ardous waste releases would go to the cleanup fund. The legislation earmarks the addition] funds for cleanup of some of the state’s 1,540 waste sites not on a federal Super- fund list. “A lot of these problem sites in the state may not be major or make headlines, but it’s a prob- lem for all of us who have them in our backyards,” Reber said. The for consideration. LEGISLATION DESIGNED to improve protection of spouses and children in abuse cases was intro- duced this week by Rep. Joseph A. Lashinger, Jr. (R-Montgomery). Lashinger’s measures would strengthen the Protection from Abuse Act of 1976. The bills would amend the act in a variety of areas. They would permit victims to have their protection orders transferred from one county to another, provide simplified forms and clerical assist- ance to victims when filing for protection and would allow the court to charge a defendant with court costs incurred by a victim. ‘The public must be made aware of this problem and discuss it openly. Hopefully,k this will act as a cata- lyst in helping to solve the problem facing many spouses and children,’ Lashinger said. -0- THE INDEPENDENT Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) may be re-established if a measure intro- duced thsi week by Rep. Alvin C. Bush (R-Lycoming) becomes law. Bush’s bill would re-enact the Regu- was allowed to expire at the end of 1985 when the Senate failed to pass legislation extending its life. The Regulatory Reform Act created the IRRC which was responsible for reviewing all bureaucratic rules and regulatins before they took effect. “The IRRC provided an oversight procedure which was working to protect the public interest from overzealous bureaucrats,’”” Bush said. By EDWIN FEULNER Special to The Dallas Post America’s social trendies have discovered a new ‘‘designer’’ prob- lem: homelessness. Big city papers have almost daily stories on the plight of the home- less. Network television has discov- ered it. It was the subject of “New- seek’s’”’ January 6 cover story. Everywhere we turn we are told that America is awash with home- less people — more, according to some reports, than during the Great Depression. The subject has even developed who used to be called drifters and bums are now called ‘street people.” The places where they pick up a free meal or bed down for the night, formerly called skid row “missions’’ and flophouses, are now called “shelters.” The people who run these shelters, not to be con- fused with Salvation Army foot- soldiers, are known as ‘homeless advocates.” It’s so very chic, so very with-it, that one is almost tempted to jump in the limousine for a guided tour of the downtown down-and-out and forget the fact that many of the same people who are most ‘‘con- cerned” about the problem are the ones most responsible for creating it. The debate seems to get its ugli- est when the topic is numbers- whether there are 350,000 or-so or two-to-three million street people, as some homeless advocates claim. Whatever the count, and reliable studies indicate it is in the lower range, the number is unacceptably high. But the solution to the prob- lem is not what the trendies want to hear; they want more federal money and more government pro- grams thrown into the effort. They ignore what caused the problem in the first place. As New York Mayor Ed Koch noted recently on ABC-TV’s ‘This Week with David Brinkley,” some 90 percent or more of the homeless are either mentally ill, drug addicts or alcoholics. Of the remaining 10 percent, most appear to be drifters. The real problem, as Koch: and others have come to realize, is with the mentally ill-the group that makes up the bulk of the “street people.” They are on the street not because society doesn’t care but because the same liberals who now cry for the homeless twenty years ago convinced American courts and policy-makers that keeping people in institutions was criminally un- American. So they set in motion a series of reforms which according to the trendy language of the day became known as ‘‘deinstitutionali- zation.” In other words, first we showed the mentally ill how much we loved them by turning them out into the street, then we put the bulldozer to the cheap downtown rooming houses and missions that might have offered them refuge. State governments just loved it. Closing mental hospitals saved them big bucks. Urban renewal projects created even bigger bucks. They were double-winners. Now, of course, they no longer want to accept responsibility for the mentally ill. : . The Heritage Foundation, a Wash- ington-based public policy research Institute.) eae
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers