n 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 15, 1990 Tie I ALLASCR0ST | If Borough residents care, they should attend next meeting Residents of Dallas Borough have much to talk about with ‘the borough's Council of Supervisors at its monthly meeting next Tuesday: the question is whether anyone will care enough 3 iio attend. ~~ Inrecent months, a ruckus has been raised over the instal- lation of rumble strips on Route 309 and subsequent attempts to have the noisy addition removed. Most recently, it was dis- covered that the borough's solicitor, John S. Fine, Jr., had misled the council about action he should have taken to have | the former Hearthstone Pub torn down. Those with a longer memory will remember that a past borough manager skipped out with $5,000 (or more) of the borough's money, but no charges were ever filed against him. Does Dallas Borough have more problems than other com- munities? Perhaps not. But neither does it seem to have the leadership some others have; leadership that anticipates needs “and solves problems quickly and effectively. There are proba- i. bly many reasons why that situation exists, but chief among them must be that the citizens of the borough haven't consis- : tently demanded better performance. In the end, we get the government we deserve. It can be intimidating to bring your complaints to a borough meeting, especially for those not accustomed to public gather- ings. Unfortunately, some of the supervisors have occasionally : : made it even more difficult by challenging those who dare to speak out. When that happens, a useful public process breaks down into a power play, with the council holding all the cards. It’s perhaps understandable that the supervisors acquire an attitude that people should leave them alone if residents only communication is an occasional outburst over their personal discomfort or inconvenience. Where, they might ask, were you ee - when we were wrestling with big problems? Small town government in America should be filled with a 1 ~ lively debate as citizens and elected officials decide the best ~ direction for their community. There are always disagree- ments, sometimes strong ones. But progressive communities | work out their conflicts in a spirit of cooperation and concern for the good of all, avoiding the paralyzing cynicism that comes with uncompromising positions. Somehow, that spirit has broken down in Dallas Borough. Now would be a good time to begin to repair it. ~ But it won't fix itself. Citizen participation is the foundation 3 of good government. Who among us could promise to do what's best for the community if left entirely to our own devices? No | one, of course; we need different opinions and ideas in order to find the best course. ~ One thing is nearly certain. If no one cares enough about tearing down the Hearthstone Pub — or about removing the rumble strips — or about recovering all the stolen money — then none of those things are likely to happen. But if residents | show 1 up next Tuesday to voice their concerns and to demand action, they can't be ignored. ~ The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 21 starting at 8: 00 p.m. in the Dallas Borough Hall on Main Street. : Hussein can't do for us what we should i have done ourselves In some perverse way, has Iraq's murderous dictator Sad- dam Hussein done the United States a favor by invading Kuwait? Some pundits have suggested as much, since they think this blatant grab for oil production profits will spur America to finally address its dependence on imported oil. We wish it were so, but we doubt it. Americans have shown a remarkable ability to leave their fate in the hands of others, whether they are oil-producing Arab states or VCR producing Japanese. Ignoring all the warnings ~ of two previous oil shocks, we now import a greater percentage of oil than ever. That's in part because our appetite for oil has grown as our government has slacked ofl from plans to force greater efficiency on auto manufacturers and others. And, of course, we have done precious little to develop alternative sources of fuel, many of which could be produced entirely from domestic materials. No, it's unlikely that we'll learn anything from this latest episode. After things settle down we'll go back to our wasteful and shortsighted ways, until someday we have no choice. Then it will probably be too late. Bruce Phipps Self-employed Dallas ' “We need oil and we can’t have the oil-rich countries dictating to us. 1 believe Bush did the right thing by acting promptly.” Paul Klemunes Student Lehman want to rule the world.” “I'm in favor of our troops going there. These little countries are age will hurt our economy. It up- power and money hungry. They sets me that a small country can Water over the dam (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Library news Jacob Swartwood's dinosaurs on display By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The remainder of the summer will be dinosaur days at the Back Mountain Memorial Library. The display case is featuring a collec- tion of plastic scale model dino- saurs borrowed from Jacob Swart- wood of Dallas. Jacob is 8 years old and will be in third grade in the fall at Dallas Elementary School. His first dinosaur in the collection was a Triceratops. His father then gave him a collection of 8 dinosaurs and he has added to them on various occasions since then. There is a model of a Blue Whale in the display that is not scale model, but all the others are. The plant eating dinosaurs include Glypton; Brontosaurus; Stegosau- rus; Scelidosaurus; Megalosaurus; Brachiosaurus; Iguandon; Tricera- tops and Diplodocus. There is only one fish eater; he is a Pterandadon. The meat eaters include Plesio- saur; Tyrannosaurus Rex; and Ichthyasaurus. Jacob has made cards for each of the dinosaurs and they are placed in the case with the dino- saurs. He really knows all about his collection and keeps them at home on a corner shelf in his younger brother's room. His brother, Jesse, is two years old and enjoys the dinosaurs also. Jacob has used his dinosaur dis- play at a science fair project when he was in first grade. These dino- saurs make a very interesting dis- play and will be at the library until September 5. The library staff is happy to welcome a new volunteer. Andrea Sordoni who lives in Dallas and is married to George Sordoni, was looking for some place to do some volunteer work. A friend suggested the library and she came in and filled out an application and we are happy to have her volunteer for us. She is interested in the library and enjoys the work she does here, such as shelves books, checks inventory list and reads the shelves. She spend two to three hours at the library each week. She claims she was looking for a change of pace and she found it at the li- brary. We appreciate her help. The library has available for take out the Premium Guide catalog for the Luzerne County Fair. The fair is sponsored by the Dallas Area Fall Fair, Inc. and will be held at the fair grounds in Dallas Septem- ber 5 through the 9th. The theme for this years 28th annual fair is “A Good Old Country Classic”. The booklet contains the schedule of events; major contests; general: rules; and sections on livestock, 4- H, open class arts and crafts and an index. The booklets are avail- able in the foyer of the library. New books at the library: “Mother Earth Father Sky” by Sue Harrison is a novel of extraordi- nary historical detail about one woman's struggle for survival. It is brimming with legends and myth and a compelling love story about an American woman who is forced to become the wife of a troubled man. “Dragon” by Clive Cussler is a ‘new Book Club selection and a novel that is thrilling and enter- taining mixing recent history with some of our deepest fears. It is once again up to the inimitable Dirk Pitt to defuse a terrifying threat to world peace. The story covers Alaska to the Pacific. Question: “Where would I find something about current events?” The answer, “Electricty”. ‘Michael Dubil Jr.; Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - Aug. 15, 1930 ANDERSON SUSPENDS POLICE OFFICERS Burgess Harry Anderson of Dallas suspended officers Avery and Elston for failure to report to work due to the recent agitation and newspaper publicity. Four of the Borough's eight miles of streets will be hard-topped by Fall. Trucksville Community Asso- ciation will hold its third annual flower show. Dallas loses 4-2 to Ashleyinthe Wyoming League. “The Texan” atre this week. 50 Years Ago - Aug. 17, 1940 DAIRYMEN WANT TO RAISE MILK PRICES Dairymen seek milk price boost to offset costs. Work extends along the 11-mile . length of the $750,000 stream- lined highway from Trucksville to | Lutes Corners. O'Malia firm opens one of the most modern laundries in the state. Arrows to meet Jenks on Sun- day and must win to earn a playoff spot in the Bi-County post-sea- son series. Engaged - Eleanor Murphy and ~ Francis P. Basta. : Wed - Florence Olive McMichael and John E. Jones; Emma Lewis and Matthew J. Bandish. 40 Years Ago - Aug. 18, 1950 RAY SHIBER TO JUDGE DLADIOLUS SHOW starring Gary Cooper, played at Himmler The- d 7a AZ A 2) Local Draft Board 92 is prepar- i ing for inductees. Ray Shiber, Dallas, was one of the judges in the 500 class at Binghamton Gladiolus Show on Tuesday. Fred Eck, cashier of First fa ~ tional Bank of Dallas, will leave tomorrow for two weeks of Bank- ing School at the University of Wisconsin. Engaged - Shirley N. Benscoter and Sterling Meade. Wed - Mary Ellen Hilland James S. Waters. “Stage Fright” starring Jane’ Wyman shown at Himmler The- atre. 30 Years Ago - Aug. 18, 1960 ., AREA RESIDENTS WATCH SATELLITE Many Back Mountain residents saw the satellite rising in the south- east and settling in the southwest. ho Lehman-Jackson nine is the ©. league champ in the Teeners League. Republican Chicken Barbecue at Tunkhannock this Saturday. Beaumont tops Sugar Hill 8- 5. Engaged - Charlotte Aleeta Trav- ers and Ernest Slocum; Alice Jean Piatt and Joseph Martin. Wed - Peggy Williams and Pvt. Phyllis Mae Weaver and Howard Keller. Trucksville Girl Scouts return from Wildwood at Harveys Lake. 20 Years Ago - Aug. 20, 1970 FIRST PHASE OF PARK ALMOST FINSIHED The 1st phase of the long- awaited Dallas Borough Park should be almost finished hers d of school opens. | The East tops the West in last’ week's Unico game. ; Amy Pearsall took first place in pony pleasure over 12.2 at the Idetown Horse Show. Ellen Vivian took first in the hunt seat equita- tion, regular working horse and in, pony working hunter under saddle’ in the show. Wed - Deborah Kleiner and Frank E. Wojcik, Jr. Jim Tupper Businessman Dallas “Yes, even though the oil short- do what Iraq is doing.” Robert Wilson Retired Oak Hill “Yes, we have to protect the people over there and also try to settle the oil crisis.” Jack Peck Pharmacist Dallas “We have to look out for our country and that's what we are doing.” . Joe Ostrowski Manager Harveys Lake “I'm a Democrat but this one time I approve of the president sending in troops to stop Saddam.”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers