2A CAE PALL AC DYNAN NL NE RAT AR RT aR 4 THE DALLAS POST/Wednesday, March 23, 1988 Editorial/opinion Tie SDALLASC0ST A Publication of Pennaprint, Inc. DEBBY HIGGINS Editor Tie DaLLASTDOST = (USPS 147-720) FOR HORS DELIVERY /675-5211 HAVE A SERVICE PROBLEM? Call 675-5211 Mon.-Fri. 8:30-4:30 Jean Brutko, circulation mgr. DAVID F. CONNER General Manager PROBLEM WITH A STORY? It is the policy of The Dallas Post to correct all errors of fact and to clarify any misunderstanding created by articles. Questions should be directed to the WANT TO ADVERTISE? News Desk at 675-5211. DISPLAY ADVERTISING DEPT. Call 675-5211 Sandy Sheehan, advertising coordinator Michael Danowski, account executive Charlot Denmon, advertising coordinator Advertising Deadline-Monday 11 a.m. WANT TO ORDER A PHOTO? Call 675-5211 Mon.-Fri. 8:30-5:00 All photos appearing in The Dallas Post that have been taken by a Dallas Post photographer are for purchase. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING DEPT. Call 675-5211 Mon.-Fri. 8:30-4:30 Jean Brutko, classified mgr. Classified Deadline-Monday 5 p.m. " HAVE A NEWS TIP? 675-5211 Mon.-Fri. 8:30-5:00 Debby Higgins, executive editor HAVE A QUESTION ON AN INVOICE? Call 675-5211 Mon.-Fri. 9:00-4:30 Peggy Poynton, office mgr. HAVE A PRESS RELEASE? Mail it o: SUBSCRIPTION RATES The Dollos Post 25¢ on newsstands every ‘Wednesday; P.O. Box 36 _ carrier delivery, 25¢ per week. By mail: in Pennsylvania, $12 per year; out of state, $14 per year. Published every Wednesday by Pennaprint, Inc., P.O. Box 366, Dallas, Pa. 18612. Entered at the post office in Dallas, Pa. 18612 as second class matter. Dallas, Pa. 18612 or hand-deliver it to: The Dallas Post 309-415 Plaza Dallas, Pa. 18612 Off the top BY DEBBY HIGGINS Post Editor There are few things in this life that money can’t buy. Our very existance is sometimes based on money, alone. We can’t live without it, and it’s often hard to live in spite of having it. There is one thing, however; one simple pleasure that money cannot buy. And rich, poor, or middle class, this thing exists for any who choose to take advantage of it. This thing is the reciprocal love between a pet and its family. There is no rhyme or reason to it, it just exists for the sheer meaning of its being. Everyone, (including most in the scientific community) knows animals are inferior to humans, therefore they cannot show affection, i.e. love. Love is an emotion indicitve of higher intelligence. Animals are stupid therefore they are incapable of loving. Hogwash, nonsense and don’t believe a word of it. Anyone who takes a pet into their hearts and homes can testify that an animal is as capable of returning affection - as well as or sometimes better than - some humans. An animal’s love for its owner is given - no strings attached. This week’s “The Post asks:” highlights six pet owners and their pets. These six are but a small sampling of millions of people who cannot be convinced that animals do not return affection; scientific theory notwithstanding. Take the little girl and her 26 year-old, partially blind pony, “Corky”. Our little interviewee said ‘‘Corky’’ was her best friend. The 12 year-old who said her parakeer is a good friend to talk to when she’s alone, is establishing a bond with an animal that will stay in her memory until she’s a grandmother. On a national level, the value of pets in the lives of lonely senior citizens is evident in the success rate of the wonderful, Therapy Dogs visitation program. Clinical studies prove adults who own and care for a pet ills recovering from an illness, in many cases, help the person to recover faster. What a valuable, rehabilitative tool. The benefits to our quality of life gained through loving our animals, need not be mentioned to those who truly love their pets. But what's almost as important, is the need for our children to learn love and respect for other living things. Fiegelman says...Scopes Trial still relevant BY RICH FIEGELMAN Special to The Post One of the most heinous ex- amples of prejudicial behavior in United States history oc- curred in Tennessee approxi- mately 60 years ago. Originally known as the State of Tennes- ' see vs. Scopes, it has been earmarked through time as the Scopes Monkey Trial. Tennes- see, with William Jennings Bryan prosecuting, based its premise on the assumption that Scopes, a high school science teacher, was poisoning young minds with teachings contrary to the Biblical Creation Theory. In fact, Scopes was teaching Darwinian Evolutionary Theo- ry, which does not necessarily contradict the teachings of the Old Testament. Clarence Dar- row, one of the most brilliant legal minds of the time, con- ducted a limited, often caustic defense, which in Tennessee at that time was doomed from the start. NBC broadcast a remake of the original “INHERIT THE WIND” on March 20th. Origi- nally starring Spencer Tracy and Frederick March, the cur- rent film starred Kirk Douglas as the frenzied Bryan, and Ja- son Robards as the whimsical Darrow. This film recalls all of the agonies of the first. In a battle of zealot vs. liber- al thinker, Bryan and Darrow parried and danced in the light of legality, while the shadows of narrow-mindedness crept in the corners of the courtroom. Bryan rallied the simple folk as Hitler once stirred his constitu- ents, by appealing to their fear of the unknown. Darrow, his defense doomed, attempted to call several scientists to the stand, each time rejected by a judge cowering before Bryan’s browbeating. Despite so-called inalienable rights; bigots, char- latans and doomsayers need only the catalyst of complacen- cy to spread their evil ire. Bryan had both complacency and fanaticism on his side. Townspeople rallied outside the court, like at some corrupt carnival, with “Down with Dar- win’ signs. I doubt if one of them had read this book. America has always been a bandwagon culture. The outer morality of ‘‘right-thinkers’” is often a front of deficiency; freedom of sppech and though a myth. The saddest part of this fast farce is that one wonders how much America has changed since. We are still inundated with paranoia by our leaders hoping that fear will keep us in check. We have virtually stran- gled our space program with mismanagement and greed. In a time when this country and the world needs the logic and wonder of science desperately, many people still shroud them- selves in the mists of supersti- tion. Scopes and Darrow, both ahead of their time, realized this and spoke out. Why is it so difficult to be- lieve that Man once came down from the trees and gazed at the stars in awe? Is it such a dishonor to have evolved through the noble corridors of time? The comfort of ignorance often becomes hate when chal- lenged by visionaries. In a time when leaders and candidates harp on old-time values, we should remember the old times for what they were. Oppres- sive, prejudicial, and some- times fatal for those who chose a new idea or direction. Inter- estingly, many of those who were willing to take the risk were later proved correct. Unfortunately, there are still many individuals and groups who find solace in their at- tempts to ban anything with which they disagree. However, “right-thinking”’ is often an ex- cuse for lack of knowledge. That which is supposed to com- fort is many times the tool of the zealous to malign, defraud and create pariahs. Bryan had never read Darwin’s book, yet he led a witch hunt to eradicate it. Others like him have led crusades claiming that Man would never fly, that Earth was the center of the Universe, that Earth is flat. The insist- ence of Man to sustain his ignorance is the true Original Sin. Darwin may have made er- rors in judgement, nevertheless he was a tireless researcher with an intellect rivaled by few, and the curiosity of a child. His “Origin of Species and the Descent of Man’’ makes as thought provoking a read as any book every writ- ten. Shouldn’t a book authored by a mind such as his be given as much exposure as one writ- ten in the distant past by peo- ple ruled with primitive ideas and superstitions? If nothing else the Constitution guarantees this. Chaos will prevail should the inhibited have their way. The simple fact is that none of us were present at the dawn of time, therefore no one has the right to legislate belief. The Scopes trial illustrates the ills of complacency toward education. From Darwin; Ein- stein, Galileo and Copernicus could follow to the fires of the fearful, and Man would slowly return to the slimes from which he emerged. He would rturn te his feral beginnings, facing eternal twilight. Beware of those who line up at the book banning window. If you are opposed to a piece of literature, simply don’t read it. How dare those who would leg- islate morality, then spend time in motel rooms with hook- ers, andrape the unfortunate of their hard-earned dollars. They are the true retardants of progress. The beauty of Man- kind is his diversity of ideas. .* At the conclusion of the Scopes Monkey Trial, he was found guilty of teaching ideas contrary to Divine Creation. He did not oppose the idea, he opposed the law. Scopes was fined $100.00. He then turned to Darrow wondering if he had won or lost. Darrow replied, “You don’t suppose something like this is ever over, but at least you gave people the guts to stand up.” The Bible states, “He that troubleth in his own house shall inherit the wind.” For some of us that wind is = breath of fresh air. See you next week... Why were the cops after Andy Rooney? BY ANDY ROONEY Special to The Post The other night I set out to drive from New York City, to our little town in Connecticut, 40 miles away. It normally takes me and hour and 10 minutes. That’s 35 minutes for eight miles of traffic in the city and another 35 for the rest of the trip. This was not a normal night. The rain was coming down in drops that were heavy as they hit the windshiled because they had turned to slush. New York traffic, always terrible, gets worse in bad weather. After half an hour of stop- and-go traffic on the main road leading to the bridge, I decided on a detour. As I was stopped for a light, I pulled out of the line of bumper-to-bumper traffic into the lane for oncoming traffic. There were no cars oncoming because the light was red. As the light turned, I made a quick left in front of them. I had the feeling I'd made a good move because the street ahead of me was clear. ‘The good feeling didn’t last long. First I heard the sicken- ing, abbreviated siren bursts that New York police use as their “pull over” signal. I knew what I'd done was ROONEY illegal. It wasn’t dangerous, it didn’t inconvenience anyone and it made sense but it was clearly illegal. The area I was in, the heart of Harlem, is not one of the garden spots of America. Po- lice cars are wary of everyone and don’t like to approach the driver of a car on foot because they never know who’s going to have a gun. The rain was heavier than ever and because cops get wet, too, I quickly decided that the best thing to do was jump out of my car with my hands clear- ly empty and walk to the patrol car. “Gee,” I said, learning over to look in the open window, and trying to sound friendly and folksy, “that didn’t seem like a very bad thing for me to do.” “Lemme see your papers,” the cop said, with no suggestion at all in the tone of his voice that he appreciated the fact I was saving him from getting wet. The cops did their paperwork and were perfectly businesslike and polite. I drove the rest of the way home wet, disgusted with myself and half an hour late for dinner. This morning I was reading the newspaper. There had been a murder in New York. There’s nothing un- usual about that; there are 1,500 a year. The unusual thing was that the victim was a 22-year-old rookie policeman who had been shot at 3:30 a.m. as he sat in his patrol car guarding the home of a man who had volun- teered to testify against drug dealers in his neighborhood. Four men had been arrested in the killing. Three of them, Scott Cobb, Todd Scott and David Clary, were thought by police to have actually been in the car that drove up behind the squad car. Todd Scott and Clary got out of their car and one pulled the trigger of the .38 that sent three bullets into the policeman’s head and ended his young life. Scott Cobb was paroled in 1981 after a year in prison for robbery and assault. He has been arrested and convicted several times since then. Todd Scott was sentenced :* four months in prison and 39! years probation for selling co- caine in 1986. In October, this year, fe whe arrested for possessing stolen credit cards. He was released and ordered to appear in court in November but never showed up and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On Dec. 18 he was arrested for possession of narcotics and was released on $250 bail and told to come back Dec. 24. Lots of luck. On Dec. 20 an arrest warraly; was issued for Todd Scott in Connecticut in connection with the murder of Michelle Gar- land. Naturally, he. never showed up for the Dec. 24 appointment. My questions are these: Would those two cops have stopped me for making the illegal left turn in the rain have been better spending their time looking for Todd Scott? And, if they had found him, would he have been out on bail the nigli the young cop was murdered anyway? The Post asks: “What do you like best about your pet?” CARRIE MARTIN AMY TATTERSALL Carrie Martin, 4 Amy Tattersall, 16 Idetown Harveys Lake “Corky”’ “Baby ” “Because he’s my friend. He gives me kisses with his nose and he likes to munch on my hair. I love him.” She’ S my companion, I take her Syery place I go, except to wor IAN TATTERSALL Ian Tattersall, 18 Harveys Lake “Puff” “She’s cute, she loves to bite my toes when I'm playing my guitar.” TANYA MARTIN Tanya Martin, 14 Harveys Lake “Cleopatra” ‘Because she’s such a good companion, she’s so big, I used to ride her. She’s so gentle and friendly and loves children. And my Dad wouldn’t know what to do without her.” MYRTLE CHAMBERLAIN Myrtle Chamberlain, 19 Lehman “Licorice” “Sheep are real gentle and not mean, they won’t turn on you. They're a one person ani- mal. She was my first black lamb so I think she’s my favor- ite, and she was a surprise, her daddy broke into the momma’s pen and the rest is history.” DONNAMICHELE PHILLIPS DonnaMichele Phillips, 12 Kingston “““Show-off’’ “Because he’s blue and he listens to me. He’s someone to talk to when I’m alone.”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers