4 TheDallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, April 25, 1990 Tie DALLASC0ST Let's get serious about drunk driving Perhaps it’s a useful coincidence that as the Luzerne County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving plans a program to combat the problem in and around Harveys Lake, yet another accident involving an intoxicated driver has occurred. That's probably small consolation to the Gialanella family, who has just seen three of its vehicles damaged in that accident. That's on top of the three other similar crashes that “in their home near the Outlet, including one that two years ago resulted in the total loss of valuable classic car. Driving around the lake is dangerous enough when one is sober; it can become lethal when impaired, especially if exces- sive speed is added to the mix as it often is. Programs like the one to be presented by MADD are helpful in presenting tragedies. Better signing and stricter enforcement are also necessary so that motorists are warned that their irresponsible actions won't be tolerated. The rumble over the rumble strips Some residents and businesspeople in Dallas Borough are mad as hell, and they say they're not going to take it anymore. While the rumble strips that were installed on Route 309 near Weis Market are the external object of their anger, the real objection seems to be to the lack of responsiveness of borough officials to their complaints. Given a month to react to a petition presented at their March meeting, the Dallas Borough supervisors apparently chose instead to hope the complainers would go away. They didn’t; on the contrary, they and others turned out in force at the April meeting demanding that their needs be met. But in place of the help they sought, they feel they were given the brushoff by an uncaring, insular group who seemed to resent the presence of the public at the meeting. While the council's response - when asked if there wasn’t one of them who would take up the residents’ cause, all were silent - was an example of our system at its worst, the citizen's action was quite the opposite. Their outspokeness and indignance may be a healthy sign for the borough, a sign that residents are finally going to demand accountability from their officials. Police residence laws counterproductive The requirement adopted by some Back Mountain commu- nities that police officers live in the municipality for which they work is proving difficult to enforce. Given the region's high housing costs and the relatively low pay that local police receive, asking patrolmen to pull up stakes to move is some- times enough to cause them to look elsewhere for employment. At the very least, it places an unfair burden on their families, especially if they have an established residence. Government officials say that living in the town they serve makes police officers care more about the community and its people. But it’s hardly a morale builder if the residence requirement creates resentment on the part of the officer and his family. And each restriction added to employment reduces the number of qualified candidates who might apply. Residence requirements make sense for the leaders of the ~ Back Mountain police departments, and probably also for other high officials. But they will only make trouble for line ~ personnel. Far better would be a requirement that the officers live within a certain radius; one that leaves a reasonable amount of flexibility for them to find housing at a suitable cost. have taken place in their yard in the eight years they have lived Te SDALLASCPosT Published Weekly by Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 Telephone: 717-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek Editor and Publisher Associate Publisher Peggy Young Advertising Acct. Exec. Charlot M. Denmon Reporter Olga Kostrobala Classified/typesetting Paul Rismiller : Jean Hillard Composition Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Over the fence These forthysia blossoms emerged as warm spring weather finally came to the Back Mountain last week. .- * F (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Library news Children learn all about guide dogs By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library was happy to welcome the S.P.C.A. Humane Education pro- gram to the story hours in the children’s room recently. The pro- gram was presented to all three story hours on Wednesday which included approximately 80 chil- dren. The program was designed to teach the children the impor- tance of loving care for pets as well as the responsibility of owning a pet. It also teaches children how NOT to get bitten, an injury which one-third of all school children suffer. Visiting from the S.P.C.A. were Nancy Dukes, Carole Fonzo, and Cheryl Javer. The pets with them were Harry, a domestic short- haired, 4 month old kitten who was adopted from the S.P.C.A.; Libra, a 5 year old black standard poodle who has an obedience title from the A.K.C. and who does patient therapy at the John Heinz Institute when not visiting schools; and Murphy, a 2 year old Ameri- can Staffordshire terrier who has an A.K.C. championship and obe- dience title and has successfully passed her temperament test. Both j dogs are registered therapy dogs who have been tested and recog- nized as such by Therapy Dogs International. In most states, this recognition gives them the right to ride public tranpsortation, to go into places where food is served, in other words, to be treated and respoected as “People-aid” dogs, much like the seeing-eye dogs. Murphy and Libra both wear yellow tags to their programs identifying them as spe- cially trained dogs. The dogs are patient and gentle and do basic obedience, such as sitting, for long periods of time. The program includes a slide or video presentation, and gives time for the children to talk about their pets or ask questions. The dogs wear ‘ears’ for some of their pres- entations and a comment from one of the children was, “There is an Easter Bunny dog”. Another child stated, “There is a cat in a cage”. The program was very well re- ceived by the children and their parents and we are grateful to these women and their animals. The Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction “Kick Off" dinner dance will be held Thursday, May 17 at the Irem Temple Country Club in Dallas. Cocktails from 6-7 p.m. followed by dinner and a mini auction. Dancing to the music of “Dorris” from 9-11 p.m. The cost is $25 per person with cash bar. Invitations have been mailed out and anyone wishing to have an invitation mailed to them can just call the library with their request. Reservations are due by May 12. The second annual horse show in conjunction with the auction will be held Sunday, June 17 at the Luzerne County Fair Grounds from 8-5 p.m. Dr. John Shaskas is chairman. H.-S ‘Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - April 25, 1930 MODERN HOTEL IS PROPOSED Grenoble Hotel Corporation has proposed building a modern hotel in Tunkhannock. Lake High School seniors to present the play “The Man In The Moon” with the proceeds to be used toward the expense of their Washington, D.C. trip. Russell Weaver, expert typogra- pher from Bourbon, Indiana, was named foreman of The Dallas Post print shop. Dallas Athletics baseball team will play Ashley this Saturday. Wed - Martha Gray and Adrian Winters. 50 Years Ago - April 26, 1940 WAGNER NOMINATED FOR STATE TREASURER Former Dallas Burgess Harold Wagner received the Democratic nomination for State Treasurer in Tuesday's elections. Farmers suffer as cold weather delays plowing and farm work is, _ Ch three weeks behind schedule. Highway department seeks bids on Kunkle-Dallas section of the highway. Cliff Ide, resident of Dallas, has accepted the position as manager of the Abington Hills Country Club at Dalton. Engaged - Ila G. Cotterman and Charles Searfoss; Louise Wallace and Lewis H. Dixon. Wed - Jean Weaver and Gordon Johnson. 40 Years Ago - April 28, 1950 DALLAS FIELD HONORS WW Il VETERANS Dallas Township Memorial Field is completely enclosed including a pillar with the names of the former township boys who gave their lives during World War II. Engaged - Norma Seavy Reed and Stephen Crispell; Elinor Tre- mayne and S. Russell Maddox. Wed - Virginia Shields and Nile Clark; Ruth Stookey and Carlton S. Rogers; Thelma Colleen Cundiff and Stephen Stolarick Jr.; Vivian Price and Calvin Harvey; Marie Dampf and Marvin Dymond. 30 Years Ago - April 28, 1960 LANCASTER HOLDS HERD AUCTION Lancaster. Back Mountain had two final- ists for Mrs. Wyoming Valley of 1960, Mrs. Robert Brown of Dallas and Mrs. Stanley Hozempa of Shavertown. Early Centermoreland telphone users paid for their own poles. Franklin Township firemen open a coin card campaign this evening. Dog laws are being rigidly en- forced in Kingston Township. Engaged - Barbara Hirleman and Theodore O. Baer. To wed - Cora Martin and Mi- chael W. Harmon this Saturday. 20 Years Ago - April 30, 1970 PROTESTS HELD IN “Save the Earth! Act or Die~!" were the cries of young people as Earth Day ended in peaceful pro- test. Engaged - Claire Schecter and Joseph O'Connor; Marlene Roman- chick and Earl Robert Barber. Irene Major is endorsed as the magisterial appointee in District 3-8 toreplace the late Harold Major. 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. may be included in that week's issue. Letters received by Noon on Monday Anderson afield Wildlife managers keep animals from becoming endangered species By JOHN M. ANDERSON Now that the hounds of spring are on winter's traces, the time of the singing of birds is come, and ~ thevoice of the turtle (dove, that is) is heard in our land, the wildlife ~ biologist emerges from his burrow and contemplates the status of his profession. In my three-score years and ten, I have seen many changes among those plants and animals that not only enable us to scratch out a living but give us something to live for. The world’s last passenger pigeon died the year I was born. Unlike our mourning dove, the pigeons could not nest in subur- “ban shrubbery, shade trees, and hedge rows. The pigeons had to nest in tremendous flocks in hard- wood forests. By the time I ap- peared, the axe had done away with such forrests. In contrast, as cornfields, towns and villages marched across the land, the mourning doves spread from coast to coast. Neither axe nor gun can hold down the popu- lation of our most popular game bird. We wildlife managers didn’t plan it that way. As our fellow man went about his business, the mourning dove accidentally derived great benefit. At the close of World War II, the Canada geese in the Mississippi and Central Flyways were so few that the hunting season was closed. It looked as though the geese might follow the pigeons. But banding and migration studies taught us that there were separate popula- tions of Canada geese that nested in the same area every year, fol- lowed the same migration route, and used the same wintering grounds. Such as the Tennessee Valley population, the Eastern Prairie population, the High Plain popula- tion and so on. We learned the rate of reproduction in each flock. Harvest quotas were set accord- ingly, so the hunters’ bag did not exceed the annual crop. Today there are far more geese than 50 years ago. In fact, some golf course managers complain there are too many. (It appears that golf balls and goose droppings don’t mix.) At the close of World War II, the wild turkey had been extirpated over most of its range east of the Mississippi. Today the wild turkey (bird, that is) is almost as wide- spread as Wild Turkey tourbon. Unlike the spread of mourning doves, the spread of geese and turkeys did not come about through economic accident. Wild- life managers were able to prevent the distruction of their habitat and keep the harvest by hunters in line with annual production. Just 30 years ago, the Pelican State (LA) had lost its state bird to the insecticide, DDT. Biologists brought healthy stock from un- contaminated areas in Florida, the use of DDT was curtailed, and the brown pelican now nests in some areas along the Louisiana Coast. The National Audubon Society provided nesting islands and kept fishermen, picnickers, and rac- coons out of the colonies along the Texas Coast, and the brown peli- can is once again common there. Recently, hungry humans of Asi- atic extraction have been robbing the nests, but this, too, can and is being controlled. The alligator was an endangered species in Louisiana by 1960. But the lives and times of the gator were studied intensively by Ted Joanen, Bob Chabreck, Greg Lin- scombe, Allan Ensminger, and otherbiologists. Their findings were translated into management. Today there are so many alligators in Louisiana that a harvest of about 20,000 is brought off every fall without making a dent in the population. Alligator meat will do to eat, and the hide will do to wear. Alligator farmers now outnumber poultry farmers down in Cajun Country. Admittedly, the human popula- tion explosion may eventually eliminate those plants and ani- mals on which geese, doves, tur- keys, deer, and gators depend. The human population has doubled since by birth, it may quadruple before my death. Can the success- ful wildlife manager ever become a successful people manager? JohnM. "Frosty" Anderson was Director of the WildlifeDepartment of the National Audubon Society from 1966 until his retirement in 1987. { Nb VA N | > Goodleigh herd auction todayat #* 5 HONOR OF EARTH DAY A
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