~4 The DallasPost Dallas, PA Wednesday, February 1, 1989 Ro CREE ATED EEN TAMLY ea I, A RBS i IEE TN TS UFR ll TIAN cl BIAS To 1D 5 ALLE Te DALLASCPRosT Police officers deserve a better deal We know the recent raises given to newer members of the Kingston Township police force seem large by today’s stan- dards. The contract increases their pay by 13.5 per cent in one ear. y But from all that we have heard from citizens of the Township and knowledgable officials, the higher salaries are still too low to attract and keep the best qualified officers. And the people we talked with think the members of that department are doing an excellent job. The policemen complain that a salary of $16,000 a year doesn’t go very far in Shavertown and Trucksville these days. The area is one of the most popular in Northeastern Pennsyl- vania, and housing costs have risen much more rapidly than has their ability to pay for it. That seems indisputable - banks don’t make a lot of mortgage loans to families with incomes below $20,000 these days. It is also true that the Township's growth has and will continue to put more pressure on the department. Population growth brings with it more need for police services, and large homes filled with goods attract more burglars. We don't doubt the Township supervisors’ concern for the good of their community and we know they didn’t take lightly the decision to send the police contract to arbitration. We just think they, like many of us, may not realize how rapidly things are changing in the Back Mountain, and what effect that has on services and people. ; There is not much that can be done now, except to plan for the next round of negotiations. We think a little more gener- osity may go a long way the next time. Some headlines we would like to write In the course of our weekly business, we write all manner of headlines, from happy to sad, positive to negative. Here are a few that we hope to write some day. Developer plans public park for Borough Says he wants to preserve a little bit of nature for children Public beach opens at Harveys Lake Includes changing rooms, parking for free - Council calls for referendum Questions to be on ballot, “so all can see” Office park planned for Back Mountain To employ 2,000 in clean, modern environment Water problems solved! Regional planning comes to Back Mountain ~ Communities say it’s time to cooperate on their future Commissioners vow to bury politics “No more petty bickering,” say Phillips, Trini and Crossin Coordinated traffic lights installed on 309 Set up so that driving at speed limit means no stops Sunshine over cracked ice A recent brisk, sunfilled day on the shore of the Huntsville Reservoir. (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Letters ‘Writer calls for revision of County's tax collection system Editor: Luzerne County Taxpayers, this compensation would be zero. Lackawanna County does this. The is an opportunity for you to help reduce property tax collection costs and reform the outmoded tax col- lector system. Here is how it works: Once every four years, the Luzerne County Commissioners, School Boards, and Municipal governments are required to set the pay scale, or method and rate county pays tax collectors noth- ing, because they do nothing. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania collects its taxes by mail; so does the IRS. Luzerne Countv taxing bodies must do the same, and stop wasting tax money on the archaic, unncessary, costly and useless tax collector. 11987, six of Luzerne County's 75 of compensation, for elected tax collectors who perform “busy work” collecting real estate taxes. The rate of pay must be set before these people run for office this year. The deadline is February 14. Department of Community Af- fairs (DCA) records show that in Unfortunately, the Governor, and at least a majority of our legis- lators, are not serious about sav- ing tax dollars. Their “tax reform” does not even mention the tax collector problem. The County Commissioners were not serious in 1984 when they discontinued paying tax collectors on a per bill basis and agreed to a percentage commission that raised tax collec- tion costs 15 percent. School boards and municipalities do business a little more seriously. tax collectors were paid $166,668 to send county taxes they collected to the courthouse. This is essen- tially all they do! The courthouse prepares and prints the tax bills, The Dallas Post pra Published Weekly by Bartsen Media, Inc. i P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 Telephone: 717-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek - Editor and Publisher Associate Publisher Charlot N. Denmon Reporter Rob Zapotoski Tami Britton Karen Cundiff Composition Advertising Acct. Exec. Office Manager Olga Kostrobala ~ Classified/typesetting MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION maintains records, tracks delin- quents and conducts tax sales. However, the amount paid to tax collectors was much more than $166,668, for 15 of them either failed to file reports, or sent DCA useless incomplete returns. Fur- thermore, treasurers offices in several communities are also paid to collect taxes, and these costs are not reported. These unreported sums, plus the fact that the county also pays various tax collector expenses, pushes county tax col- lection annual costs over the $200,000 mark. Nearly a million dollars in four years! All this for “busy work!" Is it any wonder why county taxes are being raised 15 - mills? This is outrageous! Tax payments could be sent to the courthouse by mail and elimi- nate the costly, uncalled-for paper shuffling that is now wasting tax dollars. Cost of a stamp: 25 cents. Tax collectors could still run for office and serve honorably, but handle no tax receipts. Of course, They pay per bill, salary, and cap commissions. But, they are not serious enough. Tax collector compensation should be zero. However, dear reader/taxpayer/ voter, if you are serious about ris- ing taxes, now is the time to act. But you must act quickly. Call the County Commmission- ers’ office at the courthouse. Call your school board directors. And, call your municipal government officials. Insist that they set the compensation rate at zero for the unneeded tax collectors who will be running for office in 1989. Luzerne County taxpayers who pay county, school district, and mu- nicipal property taxes can save millions of tax dollars that will be wasted on tax collection costs in the next four years. But, that call has to be made NOW. After Febru- ary 14 it is too late to do anything about it for four more years. Patrick Sheridan Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 Only yesterday 50 Years Ago - Feb. 3, 1939 Dallas and State : Police seek burglars Dallas Borough police and the State Police spread an area wide net to try to capture burglars who smashed window of Roberts Jew- elry Store and made off with a radio and several watches. Dallas Council approves bor- ough budget of 15 1/2 mills, the same as last year. Peeping Tom in Trucksville is "being investiated by Constable Francis McCarty. 40 Years Ago - Feb. 4, 1949 Dallas Township plans zoning Annual meeting finds Back Mountain Library in healthy fi- nancial condition. Eighteen new windows given to Dallas Methodist Church by one individual. Dallas Township supervisors voted to employ Government Con- sulting Service, endowed by Samuel Feis Foundation and administered by University of Pennsylvania to make a survey of the township and prepare recom- mendations for the enactment of a zoning ordinance. The township is apt to be one of the first in North- eastern Pennsylvania to have a scientifically planned and zoned township to meet future needs and expansion. Wed - Alice Dobinick and Myron Williams. Engaged - Helen Kocher and Joseph A. Hughes. 30 Years Ago - Jan. 30, 1959 The Post changes to Thursday publication The Dallas Post changes publi- | cation day to Thursday to benefit advertisers, correspondents and readers. Dallas Junior Women's Club discuss renovating Lehigh Valley Station and Freight house in cen- ter of Dallas. Book Club isofftoag By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library Book Club membership campaign for 1989 is off to a flying start. As of January 14, the total membership has reached 101, with only two weeks into the campaign. Those 101 members account for $925.00, which money is used for the purchase of current book se- lections of fiction, non-fiction, mystery and biographies. The book club has a book selection commit- tee composed of 10 or 12 book club members who study the newest book review journals and choose the titles they think will appeal . most to the book club members. The library book club is a unique part ofthis library and is a depend- able financial figure in the library yearly budget. The membership dues are $10.00 for a single and $15.00 for a double membership, payable at the circulation desk at the library. The library's videocassette tape collection is growing. Some of the recent titles added to the special shelf area are: From the America by Design series: “The Workplace”; “The Street”; “The Shape of the Land”; focusing on farms, mills, factories, warehouses, and office buildings and the history of Ameri- can transportation systems from rivers to railways and from simple roads to high-speed interstate highways. The Odyssey series in- clude “On the Cowboy Trail” that takes you to a Tongue River Valley During 1959 Commonwealth Telephone Company will expand Harveys Lake exchange and also construct an unattended dial of- fice at Centermoreland, according to J.N. Landis, district manager. Back Mountain Baseball for Boys makes plans for coming sea- son with a kickoff meeting at the Dallas American Legion Home Monday night. . Forty nine Commonwealth driv- ers receive safe driver awards here. 20 Years Ago - Jan. 30, 1969 Brown urges joint police force Back Mountain may lose 15 peace justices under new division set up for the Back Mountain. Natona employees are out $100,000 since the commence- ment of their strike January 7. Consolidated police force urged by Dallas Mayor Robert W. Brown. Dallas Junior Women's Club to finance a Back Mountain play-’ ground. Trucksville pastor Rev. Charles F. Gommer Jr. is named ‘outstand- ing young man’ by the Wilkes- Barre Jaycees. Wed - Beverly Jane Bonning and John G. Bunney. Coughlin bows to Knights 32- 15. 10 Years Ago - Feb. 1, 1979 Borough Council ponders $250,000 Dallas Borough Council consid- £ ers use of $250,000 grant to dress up Dallas. Lake-Lehman District approves 6-3 to continue with the next step in the plans for the new elemen- tary school at Harveys Lake. Dallas Junior Women's Club plans art contest. Jack Stanley named vice presi- dent of Native Textiles. Married - Claudia Warden and Robert Malak. Constable William Purcell is elected president of Luzerne County Constables Association. campaign ood start where the needs of the cattle come first. “Maya Lords of the Jungle” takes you to the jungles of Central America and the majestic remains of the Mayan civilization that thrived for thousands of years. The Crafts by Hand collection includes “Ironwork and Holloware” which takes you on location to visit the workshops of renowned artisans and craftspeople of regional New York. “Leather and Wooden Furni- ture” features the work of artist Pat Halpen in the leather section and wooden furniture design by Bill Keyser and Wendell Castle. “Jewelry and Musical Instruments” introduces you to individual art- ists who demonstrate the profes- sional skills required for their craft- work. The jewelry workshops are shown and the techniques are examined. Richard Newman dis- plays his skill at creating fine musical instruments and his tech- nique is compared with Jacques Francais, a fine craftsman of musical instruments. This Old House series includes “Kitchen remodeling, Part 1 and Part 2" which features complete projects that begin with architectural plans and run through detailed steps, including carpentry, plumbing and electrical work as well as redeco- rating tips. N A 3-year old girl named Diane was in the library selecting her books and stopped for a drink of water at our electrically cooled ‘water cooler’. Her comment, “De- licious!” Don LaBar Boat mechanic Dallas : “It's bad for snowmobile busi- ness but it's great for our boat business. We have people getting their boats ready early.” Jeweler Dallas A VE Jim Roth “I don’t like it, I got cross coun- try skis for Christmas and haven't been able to use them.” John Wertman Kris Givens Deli worker Student Shavertown Dallas ing.” “I can’t make any money plow- “The weather is no good for skiing. Conditions are too poor to enjoy it.” The Post asks: “How has the mild winter affected you?” Chris Busch Student Dallas “It's not good for skiing. I've only gone three times but it makes it easier traveling to and from school in Philadelphia.” ©
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers