4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, May 22, 1991 fs, < Tie SDALLASCP0ST School budget plans should be more open The Dallas and Lake-Lehman school districts have only eight more days in which to produce their tentative budgets for the 1991-92 school year, and not a word about their plans has been made public. And what chance will the public have to comment on the spending and tax plans? Probably one meeting, at which the budget will be adopted over any objec- tions taxpayers may make. It’s not that this conduct is illegal; it’s not. Pennsylvania statutes require that the tentative budget be open for review for 30 days before June 30, by which date a final budget must be adopted. During that time, comments from the public will be accepted at one meeting, but the school boards have absolutely no obligation to respond to taxpayers’ concerns. This absurd system is unlike that in many states, where school budgets must be passed in referendum. If the voters don’t like the budget, they vote it down as happened in 44 * percent of the school districts in New Jersey this year. The board and administration must then come back with a new plan that meets with voter approval. ‘Putting budgets (and major expenditures, like building plans) to a vote does more than simply give the public its voice, the process forces more open discussion about school spend- ing and the quality of education in a community. An admini- stration that must satisfy thousands of voters and not just four or five school directors will produce better budgets and will clearly explain the district’s needs to those who support the schools and send their children there. . Does such a system slow down the budget process? Cer- tainly, and it assures that administrators seriously review their district's operations in order to assemble a spending plan that can stand intense public scrutiny. And why not? From both an economic and human standpoint, the school budget is an important priority in most households. It would be a breath of fresh air if Dallas and Lake-Lehman opened their budget planning process and alert the public to what is coming. Let's hope that at least when they announce their plans they offer residents the utmost opportunity to comment, and respond to what they hear. Spirit of caring shows in the Back Mountain a The Wyoming Valley has prided itself on being the “Valley ‘with a Heart.” Judging by recent stories that have appeared in The Post, the Back Mountain adds to that reputation. Last week's paper carried reports about a scholarship fund established in memory of Carol Pierson, a church steeple dedicated to Amber Nicely and a fund to help the victims of a fire in Lake Township. While it’s unusual to have three of these type items at one time, they are not at all out of the ordinary. The Back Mountain is rapidly changing from a self-con- tained rural area to a complex mix of farms, housing develop- ments and shopping centers. In the transition, it will be difficult to retain this spirit of caring about good friends and unknown neighbors. But the character of the area will be lessened if it is lost. Tie DALLAS DoST 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 Charlot M. Denmon Reporter Peggy Young Advertising Acct. Exec. Rich Johnson Reporter Jean Hillard Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Paul Rismiller Composition Olga Kostrobala Classified/typesetting The water's just ducky (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Library news Library completes scrapbook of Gulf War By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The staff members of the Back Mountain Memorial Library have been preparing a complete scrap- book filled with clippings about the Gulf War. We have most of the pertinent clippings from the local newspapers, plus the USA Today. We have filled two scrapbooks on Operation Desert Storm and the books are very informative. They may be used for information here in the library. The title of our scrap- books is “The War in the Gulf”. Our 1991 Friends of the Library campaign has reached a total of $9,086, which is very close to our budgeted goal for the year. The figure in our budget is $10,000 and we hope for additional sup- port for this campaign. We are very happy with the fact that three new volunteers began working for us this month. They include Claire Griffith of Shaver- town; Jean Grimes of Dallas; and Carolyn Johnson of Dallas. These ladies offer the hours they can afford to help with many tasks in the library such as shelving, check- ing book numbers, alphabetizing, slipping books at the desk and typing. These volunteers are very important to the library staff as they are able to handle many of our on-going every day tasks. Welcome aboard, ladies! The Sparrowgrass Poetry Fo- rum, Inc. of Sisterville, West Vir- ginia is sponsoring a new poetry contest and they have sent us fliers with information included for our patrons. The contest is free toenter. - Prizes include the $500 Award of . Poetic Excellence or one of 34 other cash prizes. Poems are also con- " sidered for publication in the new book, Poetic Voices of America. The deadline for this contest is July 31, 1991. Further informa- tion may be obtained from the Poetry Forum. The Back Mountain Memorial Library will be closed on Monday, May 27 to celebrate Memorial Day. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, May 28. New books at the library: “Mas- ter Class” by Morris West is a modern morality tale, an art-world thriller, and a superb murder mystery in one of the author's fin- est novels to date. The story evolves around a noble Italian family. Nax Nather, a young American art his- torian, uncovers a cache of price- less works of art. An intriguing international art world mystery. Two new Science Fiction novels include: “The Druid of Shannara” by Terry Brooks is a fast-paced fantasy and the duty of restoring the lost Druid’s Keep, Paranor, is given to Walker Boh. For that, Walker needs the black Elfstone, but his search leads him to a trap. “The Seeress of Kell” by David Eddings is the conclusion to the best-selling “The Malloreon”, the culmination of an unparalleled quest across strange lands and among strange peoples; caught up in the seven-thousand-year war between two ancient, opposing Destinies battling to determine the fate of all creation. Garion knows the world is depending on his successful completion of the quest laid out for him at the beginning of time. ‘Opinion ‘Local governments can benefit from finance association By HOWARD J. GROSSMAN A satellite chapter of the Gov- ‘ernment Finance Officers Associa- tion has been established in North- eastern Pennsylvania. While local governmental financing is not widely discussed by most citizens, its future in Pennsylvania is ‘clouded by the need to solve budg- etary problems at the state govern- mental level as well as deal with the continuing decrease in federal governmental support for pro- grams which can benefit local ‘governments. : Therefore, the organization of a chapter of the Government Finance ‘Officers Association (GFOA) is a step in the right direction to help ‘promote an effective and sound approach to the issue of local gov- ‘ernmental financing. The national organization is. based in Washington, D.C. and various state chapters exist to help ‘improve opportunities to share and network information of importance ‘to local governmental finance offi- cers as well as increase the profes- i AF A A A FF A sionalism of the financing disci- pline. The 266 general purpose local governments, the 48 school dis- tricts, and the special authorities existing in Northeastern Pennsyl- vania could all benefit by partici- pation in the newly formed satel- lite chapter. Recently, the first program meeting of the satellite chapter was held in the East Mountain Inn in Wilkes-Barre and featured an outstanding presentation by Al Ferguson and Bob Bittenbenderof the House Majority Appropriations Committee and Senate Majority Appropriations Committee respec- tively. Their subject was the state of the Commonwealth budget for fiscal '92 and the issues surround- ing the need for new revenues to close the budget deficit gap. The Pennsylvania Government Finahce Officers ‘Association through its chapter and satellite systems helps to identify issues in government finance, encourages _ use of uniform financial standards Arr and promotes professional devel- opment of practitioners. With the increasing pressure being placed upon local govern- ments in the 1990s and some al- ready difficult problems with re- spect tolocal governmental financ- ing in major cities such as Phila- delphia, Scranton and others as well, as the pressures facing small municipalities who have experi- enced close to bankrupt financial conditions in some parts of the Commonwealth, the role which the Government Finance Officers As- sociation can play becomes even more meaningful. One of the leading advocates in the formation of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Group is the little known Pennsylvania Local Gov- ernment Investment Trust (PLGIT). The Trust administers a series of professionally managed invest- ment portfolios designed exclu- sively for Pennsylvania boroughs, cities, counties, municipal authori- ties, school districts, townships of the first class, townships of the ER Lh A second class, and other govern- mental legal entities. Marking its 10th anniversary in 1991, the Trust serves over 1,600 local governments which repre- sents at least 44% of all govern- ment entities in Pennsylvania. Over the last 10 years, 16.5 billion dol- lars have been sent to the PLGIT portfolio by participants. Over the years PLGIT has cre- ated new investment instruments, designed to serve the local govern- mental community. In 1990, the Bond Pool, sponsored by the Trust loaned out all of its available funds. The Trust is a non-taxable in- vestment fund established for lo- cal governments in Pennsylvania under provisions of the Pennsylva- nia Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. One of its current trustees is Ray L. Crisci who is a Borough Councilman from West Pittston, Luzerne County. Address of PLGIT is Morris Drive, PO Box 1472, Valley Forge, PA 19496. TES TINAL WN EWI VTA TW Rg Any local governmental official desiring to explore the benefits of the Government Finance Officers Association or the advantages of participation in PLGIT can contact the Economic Development Coun- cil of Northeastern Pennsylvania (EDCNP), 1151 Oak Street, Pittston, PA 18640. Howard Grossman is Executive Director of the Economic Develop- ment Council of Northeastern Penn- sylvania. He lives in Dallas. Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - May 29, 1931 AMERICAN STORE OPENS AT LAKE The American Store Co. opened anew store at Harveys Lake on the Dallas-Harveys Lake Road at the Inlet. College Misericordia juniors preparing for their Junior Prom to be held at Hotel Mallow- Sterling, Wilkes-Barre. Kingston Township ‘SeHool Board adopts the 1931-32 budget of 25 mills and $5.00 per Capita tax. Engaged - Ruth Calista. Tormp- kins and Dr. William Clifton’Lott. Trucksville Volunteer: Fire Company and Improvement: Asso ciation elected Ralph Hazgltingas as president. : 50 Years Ago - May 29, 1041) POST OFFICE GETS NEW CLASS RATING Professor A.P. Cope will head Luzerne County schools. Two pair of Great Northern loons nesting on Harveys Lake intrigue Fred Swanson, ornithologist ar® member of the Harveys Lake poli e force. William A. Austin is completing his 10th year as supervising prin- cipal of Monroe Township Schools. Dallas Post Office gets new rat- ing as second class effective July 1 : Dallas Borough graduates 23 at Commencement June 5 and Dal- las Township graduates 34 at Commencement the same date. James A. Martin is supervising principal of Kingston Township schools. Lehman Township graduates 21 at Commencement June 9. "40 Years Ago - May 25, 1951" SWEET VALLEY le READIES FOR PARADE Sweet Valley advises par patrons come early and avoid t. rush for Memorial Day. Housewives and butchers. are baffled by the recent government regulations on meat prices. Back Mountain Little League played their opening games Mon- day night at the Shavertown Little League field. Engaged - Mary Louise ‘Repp and Harry Leslie Covert; Noreen Janice Lamb and William Arthy Major. Wed - Gloria Sickler and PV. George Parrish. “Glass Menagerie”, starring Jay” B, Wyman is playing Monday at/J Tuesday at Himmler Theatre. x Beaumont team is in the PIAA playoffs tomorrow at Factoryville. 30 Years Ago - May 25, 1961 HALL TO BE NAMED EAGLE SCOUT ; Roy Hall of Shavertown to be an Eagle Scout. Celia Monka was chosen as May Queen of the Senior Class at the Westmoreland Schol May Day Pageant. Dallas American Legion Memo: rial Day Parade to be held: Tues- day. Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary chairpersons meet to lay auction plans. Westmoreland team defeats Newport and Wilkes- Barre Town- ship. Formal opening of Paring Ss Market on Memorial Highway will take place today and continue for the rest of the week. Engaged - Marian Theresa Elenchik and John Edward Kern; Donna Weeded and Robert L. Na- tole. Wed - Martha Jane Newherl/ and John J. Gill. 20 Years Ago - May 27, 1971 COUPLE TOURS STATE WITH STUDENTS Election procedures at Harveys Lake poll challenged by ‘poll watcher. Assessment costs burden sewer authority as board members are bombarded with questions. Budget for the 1971-72 year of the Dallas School District was tentatively proposed at $3,237,726 without a tax increase. Mr. and Mrs. John G. Konsav- age accompanied a busload of exchange students throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Wed - Mary Helen Kulakowski and Robert D. Natarelli; Concetta Hreha and Ronald Szela; Marleen Hampel and John E. Fielding. Raymond Caucci is named new Lake-Lehman football coach. I 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 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 that weeks issue.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers