LI oh le. Ne. » 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, April 5, 1989 Tz DarLasPost Howard Risley - more than a country editor . As this week’s story about Howard Risley recounts, the former owner and publisher of The Dallas Post was a man of ‘many facets. Some have labeled him a “typical” country editor. We didn’t know Mr. Risley, but since taking the reins at The Post, have heard an awful lot about him from readers who did. While few would have agreed with all of his stands, everyone seems to feel that The Post was at its best under him. Howard Risley owned and published this newspaper for 32 years, and after he died his wife, Myra, carried on for another five. According to Charlot Denmon’s history of The Post, that is the longest tenure of any owner in the paper's lifetime. And from all indications, Risley was a good steward - in his time The Post advanced to becoming, as he called it, a “community institution, not just a newspaper.” We've known many “country editors”, and find that they all share some common traits. They believe that an informed populace makes the best decisions about their future, so they print all the news they can get. But the best of them also know that all of us share positive and negative human qualities, and they take that into account when deciding how far to go with details about their neighbors’ lives. When the choice becomes individual protection versus the general good, however, they fearlessly print what they feel their communities should know. “Country editors” tend to be boosters of their communities, but not just for the economic benefits that will accrue to them as aresult. No, they truly believe in the values their region and people offer. In that sense, they are often accused of being a bit idealistic. In our opinion, there are worse things to be charged with than that. ‘So, maybe Howard Risley was a “typical country editor.” Whatever you call him, he made and left his mark on this newspaper and the communities it serves. He is remembered as a man of principle, character and compassion. If that’s typical, we could hope for nothing better than to be that, also. Solve trash problem before it overcomes us ~ Many of the most knowledgeable and capable people in ~ Luzerne County are hard at work trying to plan for the region’s waste disposal needs. We hope they are able to move fast enough, and receive the support they need, to do. so. One of the specters looming over this area’s future is its lack of enough proper waste disposal facilities, and the overuse of the ones that do exist. There is no doubt that handling waste will be one of the major challenges of the 1990's and beyond. We hope that expanded recycling will be one of the recom- mendations made by anyone who studies the problem. As'a state, Pennsylvania lags far behind its neighbors in this critical area. Without even a bottle bill, the Commonwealth has given its residents no leadership in this direction. As discussions center around landfills versus incinerators, some municipalities are finding they can recycle more than half their household waste and save money in the process. It's fortunate that the economics of recycling seem to have caught up with the need, although in principle it has always made ~ more sense than our current throwaway mentality. Airing out the barn (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Letters invited The Dallas Post encourages readers to share their opinions with the “community by writing a letter to the editor. All letters for publication must be signed and include a telephone number so that we may verify authen- ticity. We will not publish anonymous letters. Send letters to: The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612. Letters received by Noon on Monday may be included in that week's issue. The Dallas Post Published Weekly by Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 Telephone: 717-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek Associate Publisher Ronald A. Bartizek Editor and Publisher Tami Britton Charlot M. Denmon Advertising Acct. Exec. Reporter Rob Zapotoski Olga Kostrobala Composition Classified/typesetting MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Work on siting new county landfill moving ahead By HOWARD J. GROSSMAN Substantial work is underway to select a site for the location of a publically owned County landfill in Luzerne County. The Luzerne County Commissioners appointed a Landfill Siting Committee con- sisting of seven individuals repre- sentative of various organizations who have been meeting frequently to develop policies and procedures concerning a siting process which involves substantial public par- ticipation as well as sound techni- cal competency. Five public fo- rums have been held throughout Luzerne County for the purpose of receiving comments from the public on the procedures adopted in draft form by the County Landfill Siting . Committee. The Luzerne County Planning Commission Director is serving as staff coordinator for the Commit- tee, and has been extremely thor- ough in providing information and carrying out the policies suggested by Committee members. An exten- sive mailing list of key officials in the County among other persons and organizations receive infor- mation pertaining to the Commit- tee’s work. The Committee first utilized a report prepared by Roy F. Weston Associates, who served as consultants to the Luzerne County Planning Commmission in the preparation of the County-wide Waste Management Report. Other information was provided by the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, as a result of studies which that or- ganization completed on the topic of Waste Management. As a result of the analysis of these documents and the com- ments received from the public, a fatal flaw screening out analysis was developed to eliminate areas of Luzerne County which could not meet the procedures and guide- lines established by the Commit- tee, nor were thought to be capable of meeting the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Envi- ronmental Resources (DER). While the goal of the Committee is to locate a site for a county operated landfill, this part of the waste disposal process is only one of many considerations in a total waste management system. A landfill is critical and necessary for a waste management system since the use of recycling and resource recovery projects which are often thought of as solutions to waste management still require a signifi- cant landfill capacity. Thus, the work of the Landfill Committee is extremely important and will rep- resent, as an end product, a rec- ommendation to. the Luzerne County Commissioners as to a site which the Committee feels to be suitable for the disposal of non- hazardous residual and industrial waste. Such a site, and attendant facilities and professional staffonce in operation, needs to work closely with an expansive Recycling Pro- gram throughout the county. The selection, implementation and operation and maintenance of a landfill is complex and time consuming, since the regulatory process by DER is extensive and requires close coordination with the management and operator of the landfill site. The Luzerne County Landfill Siting Committee is taking into account all of these factors in determining its actions relating to the selection process and the subsequent designation of , a site which can meet all require- ments and service the citizens of Luzerne County, both current and present, for an extended period of time. Those individuals desiring’ more information concerning the work of the Luzerne County Landfill Siting Committee, can contact Adrian Merolli, Director, Luzerne County Planning Commission, Courthouse Annex, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702. (Howard Grosman is Executive Director of the Economic Develop- ment Council of Northeastern Penn- sylvania.) Only yesterday | 50 Years Ago - April 7, 1939 RESERVOIR SUGGESTED FOR SHAVERTOWN A Shavertown consulting engi- neer recommended construction of a covered 300,000 gallon reser- voir on a high enough spot in Dallas Borough to permit gravity feed to all parts of the community in order toresolve the town’s 40-year water problem. Falling revenues create a budget problem for Dallas Borough School directors. Dallas Arrows team is still seek- ing a baseball diamond. 40 Years Ago - April 8, 1949 HARRY C. SMITH FIRE COMPANY FORMED Dallas Township School Board plans to apply for a loan to build a new eighth grade building. Kunkle forms the Harry C. Smith Fire Company in memory of the son of Mr.and Mrs. Fred Smith, who lost his life in Belgium Janu- ary 15, 1945, during Battle of the Bulge. : Dallas merchants sponsored the organization of a new Athletic Club of Dallas. Engaged - Roberta Quaill and Edward K. Keller; Carolyn Walker and Bruce Zeiser; Shirley Malkemes and Roland Gensel; Lt. Robett N. Smith and Jane Mac- combs. 30 Years Ago - April 2 - 1959 MEDICAL FUND ONLY $2000 FROM ITS GOAL With only $2,000 more needed, the area nears goal to the memo- rial for medical men of the Back Mountain. Bloodmobile had 92 donors from the Back Mountain on Thursday. Rev. B. Kirby Jones is ordained at Monroe Baptist Church, Beaumont. Dallas Township police had no clue to the three latest thefts that occurred Friday night. Westmoreland baseball team opens its season April 6. 20 Years Ago - April 3, 1969 MRS. NED HARTMAN CHAIRS ANTIQUE SHOW Payment of Local Liquid Fuel taxes by the state to Back Moun- tain communities will return nearly $115,000 to their treasuries. Mrs. Ned Hartman is chairman of the 17th annual antiques show and sale of Prince of Peace of Peace Church set for May 6-7. Some water conditions have been remedied by the Shavertown Water Company according to a recent letter from the PUC to resi- dents who complained. Jim Atherton of Luzerne County Community College will direct the summer high school basketball clinic at Camp St. Andrew in Tunkhannock this year. A 24-hour prayer vigil will be held for the Centermoreland Charge beginning at the end of Holy Thursday services and con- tinuing throughout the night and day of Good Friday services. 10 Years Ago - April 5, 1979 CONSTRUCTION BEGINS FOR MEDICAL CENTER Fair Association begins con-, struction of the medical center with | a groundbreaking Saturday, March | 31. Wyoming Valley came perilously | close to repeating the 1972 ‘Agnes’ | flood during this March's flooding, according to the Luzerne County Civil Defense. Sen. Frank O'Connell suggests ’ ‘hold’ on nuclear power plant li-- censing in wake of the Three Mile Island disaster. American Asphalt and citizens file appeals on Jackson zoning ordinance recently approved by supervisors. Back Mountain gets its own mobile intensive care unit. Russians like Back Mountain girls and frisbies. Library news Library Book Club has raised $1,705 for new purchases By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Book Club of the Back Mountain Memorial Library held its March meeting in the reference room at the library. Florence Crump presided at the business meeting, Elin Northrup reported onthe treasurer's balance, Blanche Thompson gave the contingency report and the secretary's report was read by Jo Bonham. The membership for 1989 to date was announced at 191 with a total of $1,705 donated to purchase books for the Book Shelf in the library. An interesting discussion was held on the availability of a com- munity room in the library, which was a prime project when the reno- vation of the new building was being completed. It seems the project has reached a stalemate and will be put on hold for a few years or until an appropriate loca- tion and solution can be found for some kind of a room suitable for the community's use as well as the library functions. Various library committee meetings and commu- nity groups are now meeting on a temporary basis in the reference room at the library, which has not been the most satisfying experi- ence for many reasons. Hopefully a solution will be forthcoming in the near future, which will be an asset to the library as well as the community. Peggy Love and Blanche Thompson presided at the tea table after the meeting. The next Book Club meeting is sched- uled for Monday, April 17. : A mother was using the library recently with a young baby. One of our volunteers asked the mother, “What's the baby’s name?” Her answer, ‘Oh, the baby can't talk. That's why I brought her to the library’. With permission of our children’s librarian, I have told this story: a young child was in the children’s room selecting her books and said to our children’s librar- ian, ‘I can tell you are a Grand- mother’ and Marilyn asked, “Why?” The child's answer, ‘Because your skin is all wrinkly’. Most of our library staff mem- bers are sporting new name badges. The national library logo and color of white lettering on royal blue’ background shows our name and the word, ‘STAFF’ under the name. This is to differentiate from the: many volunteers who help out at: the library. It is very nice for our! patrons to be able to ask us by’ name for the help they need. We have received many favorable comments on these name tags and are surprised sometimes when people call us by name. As one of our patrons said, “It looks profes- sional!” New books at the library: “Eden and Honor" by Marilyn Harris is an entertaining and swiftly paced book of rebels and dreamers, lovers and heroes as the Eden family experi- ences the Boer uprising. A story as beautiful and threatening as his- tory itself. Kathy Brady The Post asks: Should daylight saving time last year round? AR fy py ony Sandy Sheehan Pat Jones Nancy Kozemchak Zoe Bachman Cheryl Wilson Sales Clerk Advertising Coordinator Associate Broker-Real Estate Assistant Librarian License & Title Clerk Branch Manager Shavertown Dallas Dallas Dallas Dallas Kingston .- “I prefer the regular hours we now have because I don't like dark hours in the morning.” “I prefer it year-round, I'd have “Year-round. I'd rather go to more daylight to show property to work when dark and go home in clients.” | daylight.” “Daylight time year-round so I “I like the time the way it is now could do work outside.” “I prefer ityear-round so I would with more light in the morning.” have more daylight after work.”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers