Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 13, 1991 4 The Dallas Post Ti: DarLasPost : Revamp state's entire beverage sales system "It's time Pennsylvania got out of the business of selling liquor ‘and wine, and completely revamped the way in which alcoholic t beverages of all types are sold. ~ Two Senators have suggested selling existing state liquor stores to private businesses as the way to begin the process. } Then, they would allow an as yet unspecified number of food stores to sell wine and finally take the state out of the wholesale liquor trade. ‘We would go much farther. In addition to selling existing stores, the state should allow municipalities to decide if they want additional liquor stores to open within their borders. That would eliminate the inconvenience and wastefulness that are now forced on those who must travel dozens of miles to buy a ‘bottle of wine. The greater number of stores and absence of price controls, would also mean better value for consumers. While they're at it, Pennsylvania's legislators should address the nonsensical way in which beer is sold in the state. The | present system of case stores and carry-out restaurant li- censes is perhaps the most inconvenient in the nation. The most logical system is to sell beer and wine in supermarkets and smaller stores that can provide adequate supervision, as well as in liquor stores. Sale hours can still be regulated if that is thought necessary. - Opponents of privatizing liquor sales raise the spectre of sreater alcohol abuse because of easier access. But the | Ti of abuse in Pennsylvania under the existing system Beties its effectiveness. Easy access isn’t the problem; under- ying societal attitudes are. ; 3 In defending the status quo, Governor Casey says that a control system is the best public policy. That may be so, but no one believes the Liquor Control Board adequately controls | much, least of all the stores’ response to public needs. . The measure’s proponents think the state will gain windfall revenues from sale of the stores, and will make more money from tax collections in the future. That may or may not be true. What, is beyond doubt is that Pennsylvania's present liquor control system punishes consumers for no good reason. Girl Scouts help make world a better place As the latest international conflict—which fortunately did | escalate into something larger—ends, it becomes more clear that if America is to become the kinder, gentler nation promised by the President when he was a candidate, the impetus must come from the people. One institution that helps A ericans ‘become not only kind and helpful but resourceful nd strong is celebrating its 79th anniversary this year. We may never have needed it more. ~The Girl Scouts of America was founded on March 12, 1912 by a remarkable woman named Juliette Low. She decided that the girls of America needed an organization in which they could arn skills, develop self esteem and have a good time doing it. En with only 18 members, the Girl Scouts has grown into he largest voluntary organization for girls in the world, with more than 3 million girls and adults participating. 4 Over the years, Girl Scouting has been able to maintain enduring values while adapting to modern lifestyles. Today's Girt Scouts are as up-to-date as tomorrow, conducting activi- es that include sending packages to soldiers in Saudi Arabia ’ d working on projects that encourage literacy as part of the yirl Scout “Right to Read” project. Members will also plant rees in their neighborhoods as part of the “Forever Green” nvironmental project. ~~ When Juliette Low founded the Girl Scouts, she did not anticipate the world of the and its problems of drug abuse, hreats to the environment and racial strife. But the values and standards she set are timeless while the Girl Scout program is ontinually responsive to the changing needs of girls. Girl Scouting offers a way for America’s girls and young women to neet the complex challenges that face them as they move foward the 21st eeniugy, dia 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 € rify their authenticity. 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 ihg week's ne Hay, good lookin’ Fad HARE 8 (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Library news Library notes 6 years in new building By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library celebrated six years in the new library building on Monday, March 4. ; The six years we have spent in this building have been so pleas- ant and the enthusiasm of our borrowers shows in their contin- ued use and support of our library. The Book Club of the library will meet on Monday, March 18at 1:30 in the reference room of the li- brary. Florence Crump will pre- side at the short business meeting after which a social hour will fol- low. An interesting program will be presented and book reviews will be presented by members. All inter- ested residents of the Back Moun- tain area are invited to attend the meeting. Guests are always wel- come. National VolunteerWeek will be celebrated in 1991 during the week of April 21 to 27. The Back Moun- tain Memorial Library is ever grate- ful to all the wonderful volunteer people who come to the library regularly to help with the on-going projects necessary to maintain a well-running library. Our volunteers do many differ- ent things, from shelving books, alphabetizing book cards from previous day circulation, checking books out for patrons at the front desk and helping with reference questions. One of our new volunteers is Elda Oleson, who comes in two mornings a week to shelve books. Other regular volunteers include: Cleo Eneboe, Andrea Sordoni, Agnes Buchko, Shirley Forney, Virginia Davis, Nell Transue, Betty Gregson,. Thelma Russ, Mary Thom, Noel Thomas, Jean War- neka and Ed Transue. The library staff is very appre- ciative of all our volunteers be- cause their dedication to their projects leaves the staff free to proceed with library policies. New books at the library: “The Best of Ideals” is a collection of the best poetry, photography, artwork, essays, recipes, and crafts from pages of previous Ideals magazines. The book includes the best of Valentine, Easter, Mother's Day, Country, Home, Friendship, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The closing poem in the book quotes, “There are quiet hours and lonely hours, and hours that have no end; But the wonderful hour is the evening hour, when you walk be- side a friend.” This book was given to the library by Nancy Kozemchak in memory of Ida S. Hughes. “The New York Public Library Desk Reference” is the ultimate one-volume collection of the most frequently sought information. It is an astonishing fountain of infor- mation, a researchers dream, and a browser's delight. The book puts the best resources of one of the world’s finest libraries at your fin- gertips. This book was given to the library by Harriet H. Ruggles in memory of Dorothy Roberts. Anderson afield SS 0s warning signal ofa coming attack. The caption says, “Chickens are supposed to feel the effects of gas By JOHN M. ANDERSON Time was when you could not ive from this town to the next scratched up weed seeds, caught insects and worms, and generally ‘added a little life to the landscape. You can now drive from one state to another and hardly see a live chicken. ~ Chickens are caught up in the world of business. They are kept in a controlled environment, and looked upon as machines with feathers, that crank out eggs and supply packages of meat wrapped in cellophane. Admittedly, the human race has fed upon eggs and flesh of birds for millions of ears; albeit the eggs didn't come in cartons, nor the flesh in cello- phane. ~ Today, thanks to the ancient quman weakness of pitting hu- man against human, our prize white leghorns make the front page of the big dailies. We see Corporal ornejo of Long Island, NY, sta- oned in Saudie Arabia, petting a hicken being used as an early ont seeing chickens. They before people.” George Reiger, owner of a 200- acre farm on Virginia's Eastern Shore, maintains a battery of nest- ing boxes for tree swallows. Last spring he found one or two dead swallows in every box. He assumed some mysterious disease had killed his swallows, plus all the purple martins in his neighbor's yard. The neighbor sent his dead martins to Richmond for testing .Autopsies revealed that the martins had died of parathion, one of the “safe” in- secticides. Parathion had been applied to an adjacent wheat field. Purple martins and swallows feed almost entirely on flying in- sects. Hummingbirds must add a few insects to their nectar diet to get their protein. The loggerhead shrike, another insect-eater, is mysteriously declining in all parts of its range. The list of endangered species runs into the hundreds. Admittedly, we don’t eat song- birds and we don't eat their eggs. so, their dollar value is not appar- ent to the public. On the other hand, our billion dollar seafood industry is indirectly dependent upon a healthy population of in- sects and other invertebrates. Many of the latter are highly sensi- tive to insecticides that find their way into the aquatic environment. How long has it been since the bullfrog population of central Flor- ida or southern Louisiana could provide a living for professional frog hunters? How many oyster beds in Maryland and Louisiana are closed due to pollution? Admittedly, what kills an insec- tivorous bird may not kill an omnivorous human - at least not directly. But birds do kill billions of insects every year at no cost to us; neithber healthwise or dollarwise. And if our swallows, shrikes, thrushes and shorebirds are dis- appearing at a frightening rate because they are more sensitive than we are to certain poisons, what is the cumulative effect on this headlong human race? New insecticides usually wipe out 99 percent of a target species. But one percent of billions leave plenty of breeders to evolve a new strain that is immune to that par- ticular poison. Unless we insist on saving our insectivorous birds, developing crops that offer their own defense agaisnt insects, and developing methods of applying chemicals that are really safe, our own agriculture may prove more dangerous than Saddam. The coal miner watched his canaries. Should we not watch our swallows? Using birds to detect poison- ous gas is nothing new. We have all heard stories of canaries car- ried in cages into coal mines. Because carbon monoxide, cya- Pes ticides, gasses have dead y effect on bird populatons nide, nerve gas, and other goodies the hard way. But at least we learned about them. And when the coal miner saw his canary showing signs of stress, he turned around and ran out of the mine. What we have not yet learned about other poisons in constant use in our own every-day environ- ment would fill many a volume. A case in point: On May 15, 1990, the entire colony of purple martins in my backyard was wiped out. Two pairs of ruby-throated humingbirds were last seen on the same date. mie John M. "Frosty" Anderson was Director of the Wildlife Department ofthe National Audubon Society from 1966 until his retirement in 1987. Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - Mar. 20, 1931 DALLAS SENIORS PRESENT ORATIONS Dallas girls team has chance to win championship if they defeat Beaumont tonight. Dallas High School seniors as a part of their credits toward gradu-| ation in June are giving their sen- ior orations each Monday, Wednes- : day and Friday at the chapel serv- ices. ‘Scandal Sheet’ starring George Bancroft will be shown at Himmler Theatre Friday and Saturday. Wed - Catherine Lois Hofmeis- ter and James Gansel. William Fine, formerly editor of The Dallas Post, is now editor of the National Courier Publishing Company with main offices in New York City. 50 Years Ago - Mar. 21, 1941 ! AREA BAND MEMBERS | PLAY AT FESTIVAL Dallas Borough School Board studies its preliminary budget for 1941. ‘A force of 21 WPA workers willih begin work Tuesday on a $34,888 borough-wide street repair proj- ect. Rotary Club members heard Leo Jones, representative of the Luzerne County Taxpayers Asso- ciation speak at its dinner meeting last week at Irem Temple Country Club. Nancy Parks, Ted Parks and Betty Naugle of Lehman High - School were among the 138 band members chosen to take part in the annual musical festival in Bloomsburg High School Satur- day. Engaged - Gloria Chance and William Deisenroth; June Chance and Keith Wolfe. Wed - Abbie Van Buskirk and John Carr; Helen Holmes and Earl Vivian, b 40 Years Ago - Mar. 16, 1951 CABBAGE PRICES SOAR AFTER FREEZE Local grocers say high cabbage prices are due to Florida freeze. Back Mountain Little League has had the green light from Kingston Township School Board to use the Shavertown School playground for its ‘official home ground and dia- ‘mond of the teams of Carverton, v Fernbrook, Jackson, Shavertown, Trucksville and Dallas Borough. Engaged - Mary Verbetich and Frank Kozak. 0 Kingston Township takes cham- * pionship defeating Harter 57-48. 30 Years Ago - Mar. 16, 1961 SHOPPING CENTER TO OPEN IN JUNE Dallas Shopping Center expects to open June 1 with the comple-| tion of the beautiful A&P building. The explosion Monday afternoon of the Schuyler Manufacturing 3 Company in Luzerne was felt & throughout the Back Mountain. Representatives of the Fish and Game Commission will attend the covered dish dinner of the Harveys Lake Rod and Gun Club, March! 20, at the Kunkle Community Hall. There are complete Republican! and Democrat tickets in all Back Mountain communities but one promises and exciting election this, year. Engaged - Betty Doran and! Donald Lee Bell; Jannette Eleanor Veety and Russell Hons. Wed - Ruth Phillips and Daniel Federici. Charles Gosart expands his parking lot at his store on eric] rial Highway, Dallas. 20 Years Ago - Mar. 18, 1971 ZONING MEETING ENDS IN SHOUTS The first public meeting of the Harveys Lake Zoning Board Mon- day night dissolved into a shouting match and ended with a sharp rap of the chairman's gavel 40 min- utes after it began. Construction begins on the Dallas area sewers. Dr. Brokenshire proposed un- graded classes for area schools. Strong opposition was voiced Monday night by several residents of West Center Road against a proposed variance in a zoning law, sought by Michael Stahl, Jr. to open a recording studio in his home. Candidates declare as filing deadline passes. Dallas ends long season as they lose 95-62 to Riverside. Kim Davis of Dallas wins swim- ming event in the Junior Olym- pics. ! ® ‘More of the news you want The Dallas Post } {
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers