OPINION
Actions of board
cause for concern
Dr. M. David Preston, superintendent of the Lake-Lehman
School District, is the fourth official from that school district
to be humiliated by the present Board of Directors. And, we
believe the actions of the Lake-Lehman School Board are
cause for major concern by the district’s taxpayers.
Since the new board majority came into power a year ago,
same low level it was 10 years ago.
In just one year, the current board has dismissed Attorney
Peter Savage, who served tirelessly as solicitor of the district
for years; has terminated Gerald Bernstein, CPA, as district
auditor; has attempted to replace Rodger Bearde with a new
athletic director; and has now voted not to renew Preston’s
contract as district superintendent.
All of these motions smack of political revenge and
ambitions rather than of purposeful representation of the
taxpayers. It is not the purpose of the voting public to elect
school directors who spend all of their waking time plotting
and conniving to ‘‘get back at’ those who served before them
which is exactly what the current board members appear to
be doing.
None of those members of the board who voted for the
resolution not to renew Preston’s contract has given good
reason why they voted like they did. ;
Newly-elected board president Ed Mark, who has made
himself unavailable since the board’s decision, has thrown
daggers at Preston and his record, but offers no specifics as
to why he claims what he claims.
One school director has reported he felt the board should
have the option of considering other applicants as well as
giving Preston the opportunity to look for other employment.
And, yet another board member said the board just wants to
see if anyone out there can do a better job than Preston is
currently doing.
Termination of an employee - for whatever reason - is one
thing. But humiliation of a professional person by others who
are supposed to be ‘professional’ is uncalled for.
If the Lake-Lehman School Board feels Dr. Preston has not
carried out the responsibilities of his position as district
superintendent, the board should vote on a motion whether or
not to terminate him from that position. And, if the majority
of the board members vote to hand Preston his walking
papers, then so be it. That’s the way the system is supposed
to work.
But, to simply decide not to renew his contract and open the
position to other applicants and, at the same time, allowing
Preston the opportunity to re-apply for the position, is nothing
short of pure humiliation.
‘How is Preston supposed to respond, knowing that those he
answers to, mainly school board members, are, or are at
least pretending to be, dissatisfied with his performance? Is
he supposed to stoop to their level and re-apply for a position
he already holds? Or is he supposed to let them get the best of
him and bow out of the picture completely?
Nobody knows what is really going through David Preston’s
head over this matter - just as no one knew exactly what
Rodger Bearde was thinking when the board forced him to re-
apply for his position as athletic director. Bearde was
renamed to the AD position after the one other applicant
withdrew his name when he smelled a political rat. But, the
humiliation of having to apply for the same position all over
again lingers on, we're sure!
Taxpayers of a school district elect school board members
to carry out the mandate of the State Department of
Education to maintain and support a thorough and efficient
system of quality public education as delegated by the
Legislature.
Instead of fulfilling their responsibility as board members,
-the new majority members at Lake-Lehman are using their
power as a political vendetta against the preceding majority,
as well as to fulfill their own political gain.
A slogan coined by the late Jim Nicholas - “Good things are
happening at Lake-Lehman’” has suddenly turned sour. A
more appropriate phrase at this time might be “What is
happening at Lake-Lehman?’’
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Santa is alive!
When The Dallas Post learned that a priest in New Jersey
had told his church congregation that Santa Claus was dead,
we decided to do some investigating of our own.
After all, if Santa had indeed passed on, we would have to
re-arrange our holiday photo schedule since he would no
longer be available for pictures. And, we would certainly have
to publish his obituary because he is so well-known throughout
the Back Mountain area.
So, our team of reporters, photographers and editors did
some real intense investigating. And, from our investigations,
we are thrilled to report that the New Jersey priest had
grossly erred in announcing Santa’s death for we found the
jolly old man to be very much alive.
To back up our conclusions that the loveable fat man is still
with us, we offer the following:
We know Santa is alive in every child who pens a letter to
the North Pole then drops it in a mailbox and anxiously
awaits a reply; in every child who suffers shades of insomnia
on Christmas Eve; in the glow of every parent’s face when
their child opens “just the right” gift.
We know Santa is alive in every nursing home resident who
painfully manages a smile for the carolers; in every person
who takes time to visit a friend in the hospital during the
holidays; in the look on every child’s face while sitting on
Santa’s lap at the mall.
We know Santa is alive in every poinsettia plant bought for
a shut-in who would otherwise have no Christmas decora-
tions; in every Christmas tree that is cut and dragged down a
mountain by a father to his anxious family waiting at the
povton; in every crooked tree-top affixed by the tiny hands of
a child.
We know Santa is alive in a young man’s last-minute efforts
to please a special lady with a gift; in the special smell of
Christmas dinner; in the time donated by volunteers to feed
the homeless.
We know Santa is alive in the rememberances of Christ-
mases past; in the everlasting memories of loved ones who
can no longer be with us at Christmas time; and in the joy of
spending the day in the company of those we enjoy.
You see, Santa Claus is not just a symbol of the traditional
Christmas. He is a symbol of what Christmas is really all
about - loving, sharing, caring and celebrating. And, as we
have found, that spirit is very much alive!
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Dallas Post/Jane Renn
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Hospital, Johnson City, N.Y., after suffering an appareant heart
It is no surprise that the cost of
medical care is astronomical.
Several explanations can be given - the
expensive machinery used in diagnosis -
cat scans, ultra sound, equipment used
in nuclear medicine and radiology, etc.
This equipment and the technician
employed to use it are very costly.
Another reason cited is the high cost to
physicians for their malpractice insur-
ance. Still yet another reason is the high
cost of medical insurance. Anyone who
pays for his-own insurance knows about
that.
Hospital costs have skyrocketed, so
naturally the cost increases have been
passed on to the patient.
Of course, everything today has gone
up, but has this outrageous cost of
medical care brought along with it
superb medical treatment as well? Does
the quality of medical care today justify
the high cost?
Just because the insurance companies
will pay, are all those tests really
necessary? How many unnessary opera-
tions are performed every day in every
hospital in this country? Why shouldn’t
the doctors assume the cost of their
Toby
insurance as merely another expense of
their practices?
Do the insurance companies have the
right to set fees for medical procedures
or make a medical judgement about the
length of a patient’s stay in the hospital?
Do hospitals have a moral right to run
at a profit like a business? :
In 1964 a bonanza was dropped on the
medical profession. It was called ‘“‘Medi-
care.” This is the answer to all our
dreams, boys and girls. All the money
we need for anything we need.
cute uniforms for all the employees,
every new gadget we can think of, tests
and tests and tests, operations, opera-
tions, operations.
And the best part of all, the money is a
bottomless pit.
Comes the day of reckoning. The
money tree is dying. Soon there will be
no more, and doctors and hospitals and
insurance companies and drug manufac-
turers will have to go back to the old
way of treating the sick and dying, using
all thier skills and knowledge for the
patient’s benefit at reasonable, sane and
moral rates.
Here’s another surprise for you. There
are those in the medical profession
today who are genuinely embarrassed
by their obscene success and are begin-
ning to look at their ‘business’ through
the eyes of the healer.
“There is no profit in cure.” The
words profit and healing should never be
linked together.
Physicians and insurance companies
have a right to make a good living, but
the profession of caring for the sick, the
infirm and the dying should never be
used as a means of amassing one’s
personal fortune.
It’s something to think about...
(Toby Coleman, a Back Mountain resi-
dent, is a columnist for The Dallas Post.
Her column appears regularly.)
Is the party host responsible
for his or her guests getting
home safely? In some areas, the
legal answer is ‘“Yes!’’ Regard-
less of the legalities, this ques-
tion has prompted a holiday
alcohol awareness safety cam-
paign, “First a Friend, Then a
Host”, launched by the Valley
Automobile Club.
“We believe that the host is
responsible - certainly as a
friend - to discourage excessive
drinking by any guests,” Pat-
rick J. Higgins, Safety Director
said. ‘‘This campaign is
approaching the problem
through the hosts who provide
the drinks,” he said. “As a
friend of your guests, the host
should find ways to make it
easy for those who will be
driving to stay sober. Attitudes
have changed in society. It’s not
longer unusual for guests to say
‘No, thanks! I’m driving.’ at a
party. The total societal cost of
drunk driving is estimated at
around $26 billion per year. And
that doesn’t include the human
suffering that can never be
measured.”
The Valley Automobile Club
offers these suggestions for
party hosting.
— If you serve alcoholic
drinks, make non-alcoholic bev-
erages available and make cer-
tain that everyone knows both
are to be had.
— As guests arrive for your
party, encourage one person in
each couple or group to be the
‘‘designated driver’’ and
thereby assure a safe ride home
for your guests. Provide a gift
for the designated driver as an
incentive.
— Prove your lavishness and
creativity as a host with a
tempting display of food. Offer
new foods throughout the eve-
ning. Walk around the room
with menu additions. Avoid pre-
paring highly seasoned or salty
foods or snacks, as these merely
make your guests thirsty.
— Use ‘‘normal”’ (one-ounce)
portions of liquor in mixed
drinks - or less, and don’t mix
“strong” or ‘‘stiff”’ drinks.
— Don’t be a “pour” host and
push drinks on your guests.
Serve drinks only upon request.
— Remember that a 12-ounce
bottle of beer, a five-ounce glass
of wine and a 1%-ounce shot of
liquor (mixed or straight) all
“pack the same punch” per
drink, as they all contain the
same amount of alcohol.
— Close the bar at least one
hour before people are expected
to leave. Bring on the non-
alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea
and a dessert.
— If a guest has had too much
to drink, offer to drive him or
her home, or have the person
sleep over. You may have to
exercise diplomacy in arranging
for a guest to go home as a
passenger rather than a driver,
but if you're a real friend, you’ll
find a way. Remember that only
time sobers you up.
“We think that the ‘First a
Friend, Then a Host’ campaign
is a viable countermeasure to
drinking and driving. Alcohol is
a known factor in one out of
every two traffic deaths in the
United States, and if we can
impact on this serious problem
in a small way as a result of
this campaign, we should be
highly gratified,” Higgins said.
Tie SDALLASCDosT
A Publication of Pennaprint, Inc.
J. STEPHEN BUCKLEY
Publisher
DAVID F. CONNER
General Manager
DOTTY MARTIN
Editor
By CLYDE DUPIN
Special to The Dallas Post
When we look only at the bad
news, we are tempted to lose
hope. In many nations, there is
a feeling of hopelessness. As we
nations are at war. There are
four million troups around the
world involved in these con-
flicts. There is fear of nuclear
war, terrorism, the plague of
brink of toppling.
In America, as we celebrate
Christmas, we mourn the abor-
tion of 20 million babies since
1973. Many homes feel the pain
of drug addiction and alcohol-
ism. Our permissiveness has
brought dreaded sexual disease;
and our homes are falling apart.
We see a liberal media and
partisan politics as they try to
divide our country and destroy
our leaders. The forces of evil
have invaded our homes,
schools, government, and tradi-
tional values. Today, many feel
hopeless. :
It was 2000 years ago that
Christ came to give us hope.
The meaning of Christmas is
hope. “For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given;
and the government shall be
upon his shoulders; and his
name shall be called Wonderful;
Counselor, The might God; The
everlasting Father; The Prince
of Peace.”
These different names of our
Lord should inspire and encour-
In the world
age us with hope at this Christ-
mas season. We should let the
meaning of these five words
from Isaiah give us strength,
hope, and faith to face any
crises, indure any sorrow, and
overcome any struggle for the
coming year. Christmas means
hope when we put our trust and
faith in Christ.
(Clyde Dupon is author of a
national column entitled “Reli-
gious Viewpoint.”” His column
appears periodically in The
Dallas Post.)
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