er or tre : i8 Seti ght Ah Ee NT ER i Te TET Yk Ar Ri wa i... EE EE a TE eT Te ENT Pal PT) TI SRE oR EN Se SRBC 0 10d TT Ee 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 18, 1990 Tie SDALLASCP0ST Dispatching change is for the better The Back Mountain Communication Center's recent deci- sion to allow simultaneous dispatching of paramedic units and ambulances should result in better emergency care for the region’s residents. That is the most important consideration the center’s board had to weigh in drawing its conclusion. In the past, paramedics — who are stationed at the Nesbitt Hospital satellite center on Route 118 or at the hospital in Kingston — could be summoned only by an ambulance crew after it had arrived on the scene. In the case of a person with serious injuries, that might have meant a fatal delay in supplying the specialized treatment offered by the paramedics. With their direct radio link to the hospital and advanced training, these crews can improve the odds for survival of those in need of care. In practice, those involved in emergency care say the para- medics have been responding to calls they overhear on the .comm center radio. They do so by leaving their station and driving to a point near the scene so as to arrive quickly when formally called. : There have been arguments against simultaneous dispatch- ing, but none compares with the possibility of lives being saved. The Back Mountain's ambulance crews do tremendous service to the community, but they can’t provide every possible service ~ when and where it is needed. The paramedic units, with their round-the-clock staffing and direct radio access to hospital staff, offer a welcome supplement to the yeoman duty the volunteer crews furnish. Letter Paglianite answers Concerns about beach Editor: I am writing to clarify your con- - cern about the beach areaat Sunset Harveys Lake. Namely that I al- ready own over 50 percent of prop- erty involved and easily could have precluded its useas beach 36 years ago until the present day had I so - desired. Access to the lake is no{#:. lost as the property of the Harveys*/ Lake Beach Ass'n. is restricted to its use as a beach. But some revenue has to be derived from. somewhere to sus- tain it. We have a state park swim- ming pool in our area. Why isn't that free of cost to use? It gets back to who will pay for insurance upkeep. Maintenance, etc. Simple as that. I appreciate your concern about access to the lake, but if you will research the lake you will find that Sandy Beach was available. Sandy Bottom and Hanson's lakefront: were also available. In the past 20 years I provided the use of my restrooms to qualify for a beach and leased the land for a dollar a year so you can readily see where my interest was and is at the present time. The fact that I acquire the beach is not to deprive past members or ¥ § RR Move ahead on water delinquent members of the beach , ass'n. the right to admittance but - ' todowhat you are most concerned, 3 before next drought Given the success of the Dallas Area Municipal Authority over the years, talk about forming a regional water authority is not without precedent. When municipalities in the Back Mountain needed to take control of sewage disposal, DAMA was formed to do the job. By all accounts it fulfilled its promise well, but now its functions will be folded into the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority. That's okay with supporters of a water authority who see DAMA as the perfect vehicle with which to begin one. Infact, DAMA’s original charter left open the possibility of its handling water as well as sewage. Since water respects no boundaries, the region’s resources should come under one entity's field of responsibility. There are now more than 30 “water companies” in the Back Moun- tain, with more to come as population growth continues. For years, it has been easier for developers to link several homes to a common well and form a new water company than to hook up to existing lines. But that doesn’t mean many of these wells don’t draw from a common source — they tap the same aquifer “in different locations. Sooner or later, the wells will run dry. In addition to rationalizing the present crazy quilt of compa- nies, a water authority should be charged with anticipating the Back Mountain's water needs and developing sources to meet them. At the moment, the region is entirely dependent on ground water and there are no plans to change that. Two summers of plentiful rain have drowned out most people's “memory of 1988, when shortages were common, as they will be during the next drought. Regional thinking is often unpopular, especially with those who stand to lose power or who mistrust others motives. DAMA's proven track record gives it a head start as the agency ~ to take on responsibility for the Back Mountain's water sup- plies. Tie SDALLASC0ST 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 Charlot M. Denmon MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Anderson afield Tumble-down barn in Centermoreland o (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) 5 Library news Betsy Rosenthal's Precious Moments figurines on display this month By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The 44th annual Back Moun- tain Memorial Library Auction is now history. The crowds were great, the weather was perfect, the vol- unteers did a super job, our ven- dors were happy, new goods, used goods, antiques, books, odds and ends, baked goods, ice cream, funnel cakes, lemonade and pies and cookies; all were doing a tre- mendous business. A week after the auction, the rains came down and we are very thankful for the dry weather we had for this year’s auction. A warm thank you to the marvelous chairmen who ran the auction. The display case in the library is showing a collection of Precious Moments figurines borrowed from Bestsy Rosenthal of Shavertown. Betsy is eight years old and will be in 4th grade at Westmoreland in display are: Hello World; April; Showers of Blessings; Clowns; Sent From Above, 1986; Wishing You a Merry Christmas, 1986; Tell it to Jesus; a Tub of Love; Lord give me a song; Brighten Someone's Day; God Gave His Best; Without You, Including Flower Petals in the Water; Waddle I do, featuring a duck; and two tiny thimbles. Betsy receives these Precious Moments for Christmas and her birthday. She started collecting them five years ago. The display willbe at the library until August 8th. The library has instituted a new program, whereby each active borrower will receive his personal library card to carry with him and present at the circulation desk when borrowing books. Each bor- rower will receive his own number and sign books out with the num- ber and not by name. The first person toreceive her own card was Pam Allardyce of Dallas. This will be an ongoing program which will take the staff several weeks to the stand one year; chairman of the Rotary Ann baked goods booth for two years and worked in the ticket cart for many years. This was the first year in the past 40 that Ann was not visibly working on the auction grounds. She and her husband, Doc Jordan, have been very faithful workers to the library and the auction. Doc served on the board of directors for many years and the library auction for 36 years. These are dedicated people and we thank them for all their time and talent through the years. The library has two drop off containers on the grounds for books when the library is closed. However, Dallas Exxon is not an ordinary drop-off place. One of our volunteers saw a book lying on a table at Spurlin's statin and no- ticed it belonged to us and was overdue. She returned it to us on her next trip. Thanks, Virginia, for bringing the book back. There will be a special sale of book booth during the auction and we are offering them for sale at this special price. “X about access to the water. Joseph Paglianite Business center releases directory The Wilkes University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has the 1990-91 Directory of Federal Laboratory & Technical Resources available for use by any of its clients in business, industry and academia. The center is pre- pared to assist in the directory’s use and application as part of its service to the community. The directory is a convenient desktop reference that an engi- neer, scientist or decision maker can use to locate U.S. Government technology-oriented resources. The government employs thou- sands of engineers and scientists to conduct research and engineer- ing activities, located at hundreds ofFederal laboratory and engineer- ing facilities across the country,. Federal Agencies, laboratories and engineering centers were surveyed to identify services, areas of exper- tise, equipment and facilities which can directly assist the academic and business communities. The Wilkes University Small Business Development Center isa, unit of the Center for Regional Development under the direction of Ed Sieminski. The SBDC offers Advertising Acct. Exec. Reporter the fall. Most of her collection has organize. books in the basement rooms at 3 full range of free services to small Rich Johnson : been given to her by her Uncle Pat. A faithful auction worker and the library. These books will be business owners and those think- Paul Rismiller Reporter Olga Kostrobala He gave her the first one, adonkey supporter was missed this year. selling for $1.00 a bag for the rest ing ofstarting a business. For more Composition Jean Hillard Classified/typesetting which was part of the Nativity Set Ann Jordan of Trucksville has of the summer or until they are all information on the services offered oan Hig for Christmas one year. worked at the refreshment stand gone. These were some choice by the Wilkes University SBDC or Office Manager The other ones included in the many years; she was co-chair of books which did not sell at the pe ye 2 9 § od on fthe 1990-1991 Directory of Federal Laboratory & Technology Resources call 824-4651, Ext. 4340. Everyone pays for huge federal waterway projects By JOHN M. ANDERSON beat-up land capable of support- : ing people and wildlife, fought and fought this monstrous boondoggle. If one of those engineers that ] It is one of the most outrageous in straighten rivers and drain Mississippi. The senator obeys a yachts from Ohio will bring in golden rule, “If you don't carry tourist dollars galore”. federal money to the folks back home, you'd better not go home”. The Corps predicted that the waterway, which took 12 years to marshes for a living were to ask you for a donation to keep him in business, you'd probably tell him where to go. Having no intention of going there, he goes, instead, to the politicians in the state or states where he wants to spend your money. Just because his project is not built in your state does not mean you don’t pay for it. We all pay for it, because it is a federal project. A case in point is the Tennessee- Tombigbee waterway, a 234-mile waterway that connects Mobile, AB, with the Ohio River. For 18 years, the National Audubon Soci- ety, Wildlife Federation, and other organizations that try to keep this a long list of Army Corps of Engi- neers projects. The strategy of the Corps and the big promoters was the same as it always is. First they estimate the cost in dollars. Then they estimate the benefits to our economy, that will come from increased barge traffic, increased recreation, in- creased flood control and so on. They always claim the cost-benefit ratio shows the latter far in excess of the former. The only thing about the project that always works well is the politi- cal machine and it always works in the same way. The big promoters contact a powerful senator, in this case, U.S. Senator John Stennis of : build, would carry 30 to 40 million tons per year. Last year, it carried aobut 5 million tons. “Never mind”, say the promot- ers, “We've taken an area that of- fered no outdoor recreation and turned it into a national play- ground.” Perhaps you never saw the river in its natural state, some 20 years ago. Believe me, it was a fisher- man’s paradise, to say nothing of the ducks, geese, deer, otters, squirrels, and other wildlife that The barge traffic is so far short flourished where the old river The promoters claim the project will put thousands of men on the government payroll, stimulate all kinds of business, and please the local voters. To my knowledge, no Corps project has ever been built without greatly exceeding the cost estimate. And the economic bene- fits seldom even approach the ‘estimate. This $2 billion project continues to cost the taxpayers between $14 million and $20 mil- lion peryear for maintenance alone. of predictions that the promoters” “meandered in easy curves through - are saying, “Yes, but, Ten Tom is one of the top 20 bass fishing spots the hills and valleys. As Paul Hartfield, a biologist «in the nation, and as soon as we with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife build more marinas, the big fancy Service says, “It's been converted from one of the most diverse river systems in the world to a series of fishing lakes. I would call it an ecological disaster”. Straightening the old river has displaced 43,000 acres of valuable timber and wild- life habitat. One of the most interesting comments comes from Bruce Hannon, an engineer who used to work for the Corps, who now teaches geography at the Univer- sity of Illinois. Bruce tried to help us stop the project back in the 1970's. Says Bruce, “I don't know how many times this has to hap- pen before the Congress stops doing this.” At least some con- gressmen are beginning to see the light. After witnessing the disas- trous results of straightening the Kisimmee River in Florida, Con- “gress has ordered the Corps to try to restore the meanders of the origi- | nal channel. A On the other hand, Senator Johnston has similar plans (with predictable results) for straighten- - ing the Red River in Louisiana. . When will we ever learn? Perhaps you can afford the money you lose on these projects. I don't believe you can afford to - lose the storage capacity ofall those oxbow lakes, the bottomland hard- . wood forests, and all the wildlife that made our country less mo- : notonous. As the old song says, “In - - dreams again I see visions of what - used to be”. A few more Ten-Toms : and dreams are all we'll have left. . John M. "Frosty" Anderson was Director of the Wildlife Department of the National Audubon Society from 1966 until his retirement in 1987.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers