daa, Jou fo TN praca cunt TMD of oF pd pe Er hoe WO WW OV PV Vl ld pd [= NO WMD 2 OO (PD VD « Fv 2d ® RE) ® Regional Arts Forum promotes area's assets By Howard J. Grossman A new intitiative has been launched in Northeastern Penn- sylvania to promote the arts as a useful and effective tool for eco- nomic growth. A group of commu- nity leaders in Luzerne and Lacka- wanna counties have joined to- gether to establish a Northeastern Pennsylvania Arts Forum. The group's purpose is “to strenghten and promote the arts in Northeast- ern Pennsylvania by building bridges among the artts organiza- tions through networking, profes- sional enrichment and cooperative projects.” The first project is to produce a brochure which high- lights cultural resources in north- eastern Pennsylvania. A second project will be a directory of all arts organizations in the counties. The brochure will be pro- duced in two phases. The first will be a “cover” piece with splashy upbeat graphics and text which will describe the cultural scene ina general way, highlighting major organizations through text and photographs. The message would be “The Arts are alive and well in northeastern Pennsylvania.” The format would allow for easy expan- sion and would be a type of folder intowhich other promotional pieces could be placed. . The second phase will be a directory listing arts organizations and will be designed to comple- ment and be inserted into the cover It will also be in a format: which can be updated periodically. piece. Spearheading the new ini- tiative was the publication by Money magazine of a ranking of metropolitan areas in the United States, which ranked Notheastern Pennsylvania as 9th most livable in the nation. In that ranking, cultural resources, among other indicators, were used for the pur- pose of establishing the listings for the different areas. In the factor of cultural resources, Northeastern Pennsylvania did not rank as highly ‘as community leaders felt was ac- tually the case. Therefore, the group sent a letter to Money magazine outlining its thoughts and con- cerns. In part of the letter, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Arts Froum noted the following, “For example, the Northeastern Penn- sylvania Philharmonic Orchestra has grown substantially both in size and stature over the last ten years. It is now rated as one of the finest symphony orchestras of its kind and size in the United States, with a budget exceeding $1 mil- lion. We have several outstanding ballet ensembles which have been featured regionally, and members of the ballet companies have toured in several cities around the coun- try. In September, 1986, the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors in downtown Wilkes-Barre. It has seating ca- pacity of 1,850 and represents the finest facility of its kind in the United States with repsect to the size community within which it is located. It has achieved national ranking already, through its vari- ety of nationally renowned perform- ers who have played, and the con- tinuing increase in usage of the facility as a major performing arts center.” ’ ; Additionally, such featured . cultural resources as Broadway Theatre of Northeastern Pennsyl- vania, WVIA-TV and WVIA-FM, the Masonic Temple, the Sordoni Art Gallery at Wilkes College, the Ever- hart Museum in Scranton and the local performing and visual arts organizations were referred to in the letter. Much of this is important to the Back Mountain. Many of the leaders within the arts community live in the Back Mountain, and within the area itself reside institu- tions that provide cultural activi- ties, such as College Misercordia, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Arts at Hayfield and other resources im- portant to the quality of life within the greater Wilkes-Barre region. One of the first arts or- ganizations in the region was the Back Mountain Cultural Center, the predecessor of Arts at Hayfield. These and other attributes sub- stantially add to the quality of life in the Back Mountain. The Northeastern Pennsyl- vania Arts Forum should continue to be an important adjunct to the organizations and individuals who are contributing their time and energy to the northeastern Penn- sylvania region. Those who wish to know more about the Arts Forum can contact Sally Preate at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Phil- harmonic, Box 71, Avoca PA 18641 or the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsyl- vania, 1151 Oak Street, Pittston PA 18640. Howard Grossman is Ex- . ecutive Director of the Economic De- velopment Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Below are listed some of the topics of concern that partici- pants in last week’s meeting on growth and planning held at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus.-Citizen involvement in political process -School planning for increased growth -Preservation of farmland -A uniform zoning code -Consolidation of governments -Water management ; -Public & private task force -Back Mt. planning commission -Referendum for joint planning to avoid local politics -Developers to pay for service improvements. Topics listed at meeting -Integration of municipal serv- ices -Recycling -Uniform zoning -Professional planning -Transportation and roads -Industrial waste -Green space -Septic & waste disposal -Road maintenance -Anti-litter laws -Property reassessment -Water runoff -Construction of recreation facilities -Air quality controls -Change of people’s attitudes -Moratorium on building ERT Automobile and IEA ELS Premiums too high? Call: Slocum Insurance Agency, Inc. 575 Memorial Hwy. Dallas, PA 18612 675-1167 An Independent Insurance. Co. For All Your Pharmacy ge Needs ITOH - Computerized Prescription Service - Russell Stover Candies - Greeting Cards - PA Lottery Tickets - Newspapers, Magazines Friendly Service COOK'S PHARMACY Memorial Highway Shavertown 675-1191 Meeting (continued from page 1) in favor of consolidation of govern- ments as well as consolidation of resources. Sen. Charles Lemmond, Jr. reminded residents that the school districts did a fine job of defining the Back Mountain and, as did Hasay, Lemmond said he believed government closest to the problems worked best. : “There is no ‘they’ out there,” Lemmond said. “There is room for everyone to jump in and do some- thing.” Nancy Eckert, former Dallas Borough council member and one of the committee members who worked on Dallas Borough planning ordinances, stated that she thought volunteers in the fire and ambul- ance services were being overtaxed by the increased population of the area. Drugs and alcohol, garbage and recycling were concerns expressed by Fred Templin, superintendent of curriculum in the Dallas School District. Ellie Rodda of Kingston Township asked how we were going to pay for this, and Hugh King, owner of Recyclery, was interested in who was going to be responsible for guiding the development prob- lems. King told how he had seen a similar situation to that facing the Back Mountain develop in Vienna, VA thirty years ago, as former two acre zoning was changed to half acre. That, and the rapid increase in residential land values combined to eventually force his family to sell their farm and move. Murray Miller, an architect who works throughout the East Coast, explained that in some other areas of the country development projects are reviewed by profes- sionals in various fields to decide whether plans are suitable for their location. The review includes plan- ners, traffic consultants and many others. Developer must -pay for these services via a fee that is collected by the state and then given over to the community. He explained that in New Jersey, as much as $100,000 or more must be paid before the review process even begins, but that developers are lined up to submit their projects. He also mentioned that esthetic considerations are a part of the review, and that $150,000 was spent on landscaping a new site to meet the requirements. Luzerne County Planning Direc- tor Adrian Merrolli stated that political bodies must adopt and revise ordinances to make them stronger. Present law requires that every zoning ordinance and change must come in for review but it is a procedural law and has no enforce- ment powers attached to it. Several other members of the audience expressed concerns about overdevelopment and lack of ade- quate planning. After the general sesion, Dr. Ryan asked the audience to break into groups of about 12 persons each and discuss their concerns, selecting one person from each group to record them on large tablets. The people broke eight groups where they spent a brief period of time discussing the rapid growth and their concerns for the Back Mountain and issues which needed to be resolved. This accomplished they came together again and the recorder from each group read their list of concerns. Before the meeting adjourned, members of the audience agreed with Ryan to meet August 17, 7 to 9 p.m., at Penn State Campus, to continue discussion of the various concerns and how to resolve them. = SR Bryant's O0*0 The Bike King Your Authorized Schwinn Dealer OMS Designed tobe beter: 338 Wyoming Ave Kingston, PA 287-7024 is now your authorized Dealer Mountain Bikes IN NOW FOR OUR INTRODUCTORY SALE 119 N. Washington St. Scranton, PA 961-BIKE (2353) Spectacular Senior Portraits 138 S. PENNSYLVANIA AVE. WILKES-BARRE, PENNA. 18701 PHOTOGRAPHY 824-0906 THE DALLAS POST/Wednesday, August 10, 1988 5 COMMUNITY MEETS—110 citizens attended last week's meeting to discuss growth and planning issues. Shown in top photo; Hugh King, left, tells of a similar situation he faced in Virgina as Dr. James Ryan listens. Above, Kay Strickland records some of the concerns of her group. Left, Murray Miller explains what regulations he must face in other areas of the norhteast. to our Open House YAIThe Docto 4 il Is In The Health Maintenance Organization of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in conjunction with Dallas Family Practice, is pleased to invite you to attend an open house. August 10, 1988, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. DALLAS FAMILY PRACTICE Sterling and Machell Avenues, Dallas Dr. Thomas Campbell Dr. Robert D. Greenhalgh Dr. Irvin Jacobs : 2 Of Dr. Charles Krivenko Dr. Diane Lowe Open houses such as this provide a unique opportunity for you to visit neighborhood health care facilities. Physicians will be available to answer your questions and refreshments will be served. Stop by and say hello. 70 North Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711, (717) 829-7700 Available to groups of 25 or more Penna. residents only
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