¥ Er Ar A ee Cl BR wn. ZEB wee Dp. ewgpp pg ERA REITER, Ter { 4 TheDallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, October 10, 1990 ° Tie DarLasPosT Public has right to ~ know more about ~ Dallas school raises A majority of the directors of the Dallas School Board believe ' the system's administrators deserve a raise of more than 10 percent. But apparently the board and administration don’t think the public has any business knowing about their inten- tion to grant raises or the reasons behind them. That's the only conclusion one can draw from the board's vote on the increases at a “special” meeting last week. The trail leading up to the 5-4 vote is a twisted and contrived one. Beginning in January, the board discussed administra- tive salaries exclusively in closed sessions. Apparently unable to reach a necessary five vote majority on any plan, the subject was left openwhenthe 1990-91 budget was completed in June. Finally, a special meeting was called for Monday, October 1, solely for the purpose of approving the raises. The meeting was not widely publicized, so no media representatives showed up, nor did the public. So what happens now? For one thing, the salaries weren't included in the agenda for last Monday's regular meeting, since there was no need for discussion on an item that had already been voted. For another, the raises are retroactive to July 1, meaning money must be taken from other needs to pay increased salaries that weren't planned for. The whole episode is an offensive one for the Dallas board, the administration and the public, and it raises several ques- tions. If our administrators are worth more money — and they may well be — why couldn't the board discuss the reasons at a regular meeting when members of the press and public were likely to be present? How could the board schedule a special meeting on this one subject without knowing in advance how the vote would turn out? And what effect will a generous raise for the administration have on upcoming negotiations with the teachers’ union? We expect more above-board conduct from the Dallas School Board and administration, and so should the taxpayers who ultimately will pay the higher costs this action will create, but had no opportunity to influence or even understand it. Government study forum worth watching Voters in Luzerne County will have a historic opportunity this November 6, as an initiative to study the form of county government will appear on the general election ballot. The question itself is not a com- plex one = simply should a ‘commission be formed to study governmental reform. But it gets complicated after that, as voters will be asked to choose 11 commission members from 46 candi- Luzerne County | Government Forum WVIA-TV, Ch. 44 Tues., Oct. 16, 7 PM dates whose names appear on the ballot. WVIA-TV, Channel 44 will broadcast a forum on the study ‘commission at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16. Every voter should watch this program, as‘it will help them to make an in- formed decision in the voting booth. Four panelists, two who favor the study and two who oppose it, will discuss the issue and its ramifications. The worst outcome for this initiative would be for voters to cast their ballots based on what they've been told by others. Each of us owes ourselves and our community the little time and effort it will take to educate ourselves on the question. Ronald A. Bartizek Editor and Publisher Peggy Young Advertising Acct. Exec. Te SDALLASC0ST Published Weekly by Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 Telephone: 717-675-5211 Rich Johnson Paul Rismiller Reporter Olga Kostrobala iti : ifi compos] on Jean Hillard Classified/typesetting Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Charlotte E. Bartizek Associate Publisher Charlot M. Denmon Reporter “Anderson afield Stone-throwers need not apply (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Library news Book Club to hear program on literacy By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library Book Club will meet in the reference room at the library on Monday, Oct. 15, at 1:30. All members and guests are invited to attend. Mrs. Florence Crump will preside at a short business meet- ing. The program will be presented by Jean Hillard, president of the Dallas Federated Woman's Club. She will speak on the subject of Literacy, as it is the Dallas Club president's project for 1990. Literacy is also the presidents’ project for the General Federation of Women's Clubs for 1990. Jean will tie in with the fact that Literacy is also the main project of the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Barbara Bush. Members of the community are invited to share in the program which will begin at 2:00. Refreshments will be served after the meeting. Our library card project has reached the magic number of 9500, which means we are ready to start with the T's. The new program will soon be completed and all our patrons will be receiving their own library card to carry with them. The card must be brought in and shown at the front desk in order to borrow books from the library. We are now hoping that Thanksgiving will be the time when we can say, the project is complete. The library staff is happy to deliver books to shut-ins. We have a faithful volunteer who handles this project for us. Books are deliv- ered to the patron at her home once a month and the completed books are brought back to the li- brary. We will gladly accept new patrons who are interested in the shut-in delivery. Call the library for more information. We are always looking for new volunteers. We have many areas of library work that volunteers handle very well. There are always books to shelve, cards to alphabetize and file, typing and book slipping to be done. Simply stop in at the library and inquire about this tremen- dous opportunity to help your li- brary keep ahead with the many tasks involved in running alibrary. New books at the library: “Lady Boss” by Jackie Collins is the continuous story of the danger- ously beautiful Lucky and this time the shockingly sensual, ruthlessly clever Lucky is out to conquer Hollywood. The story is of Lucky becoming Lady Boss at Panther Studios, and causing shock waves. “The Last Raven” by Craig Tho- mas is a dazzling novel of suspense and a chilling cautionary tale. Inside the Russian border with Afghanistan, the wrecked fuselage of a military transport plane lies half-submerged in a lake. Every- one on board is dead. The crash is no accident. A tale of terror. “The Wings of the Morning” by Thomas Tryon is a big story, thronged with vivid characters, romantic, and intricately woven as it carries us into the lives of two rival New England clans, into the obsessive passions that propelled Americans of that time to daring enterprise and restless voyaging. Did you hear about the man who thought he was a magician? Well, one day, he was walking down the street and turned into a li- brary. Libraries are like magic, you can find allyou are searching forin books. By JOHN M. ANDERSON If you donate to the Fund for Animals, your money is very apt to “help destroy priceless wetlands, fields, and forests that our wild plants and animals desperately need. For example, the Fund For Animals, spearheaded by Cleve- land Amory, and other so-called “humane” groups, are organizing a drive to stop all hunting in Cali- fornia this year. In the case of waterfowl, this could lead to a catastrophic loss of over half of the State's freshwater wetlands. More than 200,000 acres would literally go down the drain. . By working to outlaw waterfowl hunting, a legitimate age-old pur- suit contributing to personal hap- piness and tied to the preservation of wild ducks, geese, cranes, wad- ing birds and shorebirds, the humaniacs are intruding on our personal freedoms. In addition, they are playing right into the 5 hands of developers who are wait- ing on the sidelines to fill the last wetlands for a fast buck. It reminds me of an anonymous poem: “The law locks up both man and woman, who steals the goose from off the common; but turns the greater felon loose, who steals the common from the goose”. In the California case, what these emotional zealots don’t realize is that the famous Central Valley wetlands are wet only when they receive water. The original wet- lands have all been drained, and converted to agriculture, highways and suburbs. But about 200,000 acres are reflooded in fall and winter. For the waterfowl and waterfowl hunters, there is no such thing as free water. The National Audubon Society, for example, owns a 500-acre water fowl refuge, for which they pay $17 per acre per year. On lands owned by hunters, the water costs up to $80 per acre. In terms of the Pacific Flyway, over 60 percent of the birds winter in California's Central Valley. This is a complex issue involving not only the hunters and birdwatch- ers that are willing to pay to keep the wetlands wet, the Eskimos and Indians in Alaska are closely watch- ing what happens. For them it is not a matter of recreation. Their entire way of life and a vital source of food, plus feathers for clothing and bedding, are dependent on waterfowl. When this was pointed out to Amory some time ago, he allowed as how the aborigines could change their way of life and leave the wild birds, fish and mammals alone. This is like expecting humming- birds to survive on wheat and corn. It is discouraging to see the animal rightists get so emotionally wrought up over our treatment of wild crit- ters, while showing no concern whatsoever over the rights of men and women. An interesting fact that the anti- hunters conveniently ignore is the list of endangered species. Last year the dusky seaside sparrow became extinct due to loss of wet- lands needed for its survival. We are witnessing the gradual decline of warblers, thrushes, bitterns and many other species which no one ever hunted. On the other hand, game spe- cies such as snow geese, gadwalls, and green-winged teal are above their average long-term popula- tions. Farmers are complaining about too many snow geese. The Canada goose is so abundant in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylva- nia, and Connecticut that they are almost a nuisance. White-tailed deer are, in fact, a threat to orchar- dists, motorists, and suburban shrubbery. We are running out of room for our bison, and the herds have tobe reduced annually to keep them within the carrying capacity of our national parks and wildlife ref- uges. Wild turkeys are more abun- dant now than at any time in his- tory. © Animal protection groups may inadvertantly destroy species The North American Waterfowl Management Plan has succeeded in getting the U.S. and Canadian governments, U.S. and Canadian farmers, U.S., Canadian and Mexican hunters and birdwatch- ers united in saving habitat for wildlife. The list of birds, mam- mals, fish, and reptiles that bene- fit from this great joint venture is long. Alligators were endangered a few years ago, before wetlands managers, supported by hunters, stepped in and saved them. No matter what species, be it plant or animal, it depends on a specific habitat for survival. Un- fortunately, no animal rightist cries when habitat dies. John M. "Frosty" Anderson was Director of the Wildlife Department « of the National Audubon Society from 1966 until his retirement in 1987. Only yesterday : 60 Years Ago - Oct. 10, 1930 CITIZENS MEET ABOUT INSURANCE RATES Clarence Myers receives con- tract for a Kingston Township route at $168 per month. Auto owners must submit their cars for inspection before Novem- ber 1. Dallas Borough citizens will meet at the high schoocl auditorium to discuss local insurance rates. Dallas Athletics will play Miners Mills Sunday. Coach Wormley drilled his Dal- las Borough team to play West Pittston this Saturday. Wed - Mildred Meeker and Wil- lard Wright; Merle Naugle and Renald Davenport. 50 Years Ago - Oct. 11, 1940 ARNOLD INSTALLED AS LEGION COMMANDER All local men who have reached the age of 21 will register for the draft next Monday. Dr. Henry M. Laing firemen expressed their satisfaction with two of three fire drills held at local schools Tuesday. ‘Back Mountain’ polls winning vote but opposition seeks a fairer test. : H. Brooke Arnold is installed as commander at Daddow-Isaacs American Legion No. 672. To wed - Betty Breckenridge and Thomas E. Cease; Ella Kenler and George Novlosky. Wed - Virginia Allen and Freder- ick V. Swanson. 40 Years Ago - Oct. 13, 1950 MISERICORDIA PLANS NEW AUDITORIUM Plagued by a lowering water table in the sources underground in the Dallas Area, many homes are with- out water as the well fails. Mrs. Charles Lee is installed as president of the Senior Woman's Club at the Castle Inn Wednesday night. John N. Landis was appointed district manager of the Common- wealth Telephone Company's Dal- las Office, it was announced by vice president Harold Payne. College Misericordia lays plans to a new auditorium. Six local boys were among the 86 who left for Fort Dix.on Monday afternoon aboard the Black Dia- mond. Ralph Sands Holsteins are named among the best at the Bloomsburg Fair. Dorothy R. Major, Lehman, opens her own advertising agency at the Brooks Building, Wilkes- Barre. To wed - Ruth Stile and William Guyette; Nancy Stenger and Ed- ward Jackson; Lois Sickler and David Perry, Jr. Wed - Doris DeRemer and An- drew R. Singer. Beaumont defeats East Dallas to win Bi-County League title. West Pittston team defeats Dal- las Redskins 13-0 on Memorial Field. 30 Years Ago - Oct. 13, 1960 BLOODMOBILE GETS 108 PINTS Saturday will be the final day for holders of surplus food coupons to | redeem them. Dallas Chorale begins its fall and winter season. Jim McCoog, modern Robin Hood, gets deer with a perfect shot. Dallas Rotary Club hosted 12 foreign exchange students recently at Irem Temple Country Club. The Red Cross Bloodmobile, Friday, at Dallas Borough School netted 108 pints of blood. To wed - Alice Doran and Tho- mas VanHorn; Linda Franklin and Alan Root. ~ Wed - Beverly Bloom and How- ard J. Perrego; Mary Jane Kosakow- ski and Eli Ira Long; Bernadine Verbetich and Abraham Simon, JI; Westmoreland gridders battle West Wyoming to scoreless tie. 20 Years Ago - Oct. 15, 1970 STUDENTS QUESTION DALLAS DRESS CODE Dallas students question dress code put into effect by the school. Ghosts, goblins and other crea- tures of Halloween will gather October 25 for a good, old-fash- -ioned Halloween Parade, sponsored by the Dallas Kiwanis. Dallas Mountaineers win fourth street game by defeating West Side Tech 54-0. Book Club sets Oct. 26 for its meeting at the home of Mrs. Char- ies Frantz. Ten new Brownies join the Carverton Troop. Areception was held to greet the Rev. Paul J. Flynn, former pastor of St. Therese's parish last Sun- day. Rev. Flynn had served at St. Therese’s for two years before being assigned to Our Lady of the Snows, Clarks Summit. NA
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers