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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.)
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