—aiAan 7 ARH SEEN a OU... lL I A 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, November 20, 1991 Tie SOALLASC20ST Grants are not the answer to education Improvement Articles in The Dallas Post this week and next take a look at proposals before the Pennsylvania Legislature to offer grants to parents who send their children to non-public schools. Bills before both the House and Senate contain language that would provide up to $900 or 90 percent of the actual tuition, which- ever is less. That would put the state in the position of directly paying in part the cost of sending children to schools that are not burdened with all the requirements placed on public + schools. Depending on your level of cynicism, the proposals are either a good-faith effort to improve the quality of education or a blatant attempt to win votes from parents who either send their children to private schools, or who would like to. One premise on which these plans is based — whether spoken or not — is that public schools are not functioning as well as they should and a little more competition might spur educators to greater achievement. That may be the only positive aspect of the proposals, which, if passed are likely to cost the state millions of dollars while doing little to lower the expense of operating local school districts. So-called privatizing of schools is much widely discussed these days, and it may be a good idea. There is reason to believe that competition among schools would raise the sights of teachers and administrators by more directly linking their compensation to the results they produce. But that can be done without making the general population pay for private school tuition for a few. A start would be changing the tax base from which school funds are derived from property to income. Giving administra- tors the authority to set and enforce standards for teacher and student performance would also be a positive change. In the end, though, the effects of schools and teachers are secondary to the value accorded to education in our homes. If parents instill a love of learning in their children — by word and deed — those young minds will be ready and eager to accept the instruction they receive. Unfortunately, too many children are given the opposite message; that school is a drag and acting too smart is an affront to your family or friends. The bills now before the Legislature are one starting point toward improving the quality of education to which our chil- dren are exposed. But it will quickly become apparent that the state can't afford to be all things to all people, subsidizing free choice for parents while mandating expensive programs in public schools that are dependent on local taxes for their financial support. It would be far better to provide incentives for public schools to offer an educational experience of higher quality than is presently available to many children. Why we accepted an ad for cigarettes This week's Post contains an advertisement for cigarettes, and we anticipate that its publication may offend or anger some of our readers. But there are sound reasons why we accepted the ad as we do others for controversial products or services, though it often is not comfortable to do so. This newspaper operates with the benefit of protections spelled out in the First Amendment to the Constitution, which clearly states that there are to be no restrictions placed on what we may publish beyond those imposed by civil or criminal law. But the First Amendment wasn’t conceived simply to protect newspapers from censorship; it grants to all citizens and organizations the right to express their opinion or to convey to others news of interest. Our rights are no different than yours. - As one example of the amendment’s effect, every time an individual states their feelings about a political figure without fear of retribution, they are exercising their First Amendment rights. The same holds true for so-called commercial speech, which includes advertisements. By accepting this advertisement, does The Post condone cigarette smoking? No, we don't, though it is our right as a newspaper and as individuals to decide whether or not smok- ing is correct. Until cigarette smoking or advertising for ciga- rettes is banned, it is not our position to censor this form of speech, even if we believe it promotes unhealthy behavior. - Does the revenue we receive from this and other advertise- ments influence our decision? Not really. In this case, the advertising schedule arrived unsolicited, and its value was never considered in our plans for the newspaper. And, just as it showed up unannounced, it is equally likely that we'll never hear from this customer again, so we won't assume its revenue when we budget for the next year. We appreciate that there are equally strong arguments against publishing this advertisement and invite readers to present them. But for now, we'll trust in individuals to weigh the merits and disadvantages of smoking and decide for themselves whether or not to light up. ie 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 Eric Foster Reporter Peggy Young Advertising Acct. Exec. Paul Rismiller Production Manager Olga Kostrobala : Classified/typesettin Jean Hillard ye 9 Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Fall reflections Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - Nov. 20, 1931 DALLAS HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS PLAN DANCE AND CARD PARTY A large audience attended the | Dallas Township P.T.A. meeting November 16 at the high school building. After the meeting the students presented “Tom Thumb Wedding" and “Thanksgiving Play,” Secretary of Revenue, Clyde L; King reminded school districts as well as boroughs and townships that they must file loan tax reports with the State Department of Reve- nue. School will hold a dance and card party at Dallas High School to: night. Billy Rowland's orchestera will furnish the music. Dallas Borough School football | The senior class of Dallas High | team will play the last game of the season this afternoon on the home field with Clarks Summit High School as their opponent. 50 Years Ago - Nov. 21, 1941 a LEHMAN, KINGSTON TOWNSHIP FACE OFF FOR CHAMPIONSHIP Bears evaded hunters on &e first two days of the four-day~*sig game season with reports of only one bear being killed in Monroe Township by Gene Hackling. of Noxen. Lyman T. Place and his daugh- ter Ellen, a teacher in the New York Public Schools were injured hy a neighbor's “Billy” goat last week as they were driving the animal home; Championship of the Back Mountain region hinges on the outcome of the Kingston Town- ship-Lehman football classic at Lehman Thanksgiving morning with Lehman favored to win. Wed - Arline Kiefer to Edge Watson. 40 Years Ago - Nov. 23, 1951 GATE OF HEAVEN DEDICATED The intense but friendly riv W- petween Dallas Township ay | Photo by Charlotte Bartizek Letter Action now can avert water shortages Editor: What are we going to do hen the water runs out? The completion of the Cross Valley Expressway is now expected to give a substantial boost to devel- opment in the Back Mountain area. As a consequence, sooner or later, as more and more farms turn into sub-divisions it is likely that our occasional recurring water short- ages will tend to become chronic. When that fateful day arrives: when a turn of the faucet no longer yields results, what's the next step? Is there anything that can be done? Of course! First, there's rationing. Due to an impending water shortage, Wilkes-Barre's Pennsylvania Gas and Water Company has already announced that, in December, it will begin water rationing. And several nearby communities have implemented very severe restric- tions - some areas have reportedly limited daily water consumption to 20 gallons per household. This is less than one fifth the amount that community planners presently calculate as normal household consumption. (However it is more than the average Back Mt. rural household consumed at the turn of the century.) There are at least two ways that water rationing can be enforced. The police power can be used - “big brother” watching in every house- hold - or economic power can be used - metering and the pricing water use with increasingly high ‘rates for amounts consumed in excess of the community standard. (PG&W has announced such a policy, beginning in December.) Experience seems to show that this latter solution is more effec- tive and induces less rancor. Second, this could be the day of the “water witch" or “dowser". Their talents may be called upon to lo- cate new wells or existing wells may be deepened. In other parts of the country suffering chronic wa- ter shortages, this “solution” has postponed, for a time, the neces- sity for a more permanent cure. However, in the Back Mt. area, some of the relatively few very deep wells that have been drilled ran into a layer of salt. (Some have run into pockets of gas.) This may indicate that there is a limit, locally, that would preclude much hope from this endeavor. Third, various existing bodies of water may be tapped. (Harveys Lake has long been considered by long- range planners as a potential water source for the Back Mountain.) However, water from such sources is generally polluted and would have to be filtered and purified before it would be suitable for human consumption. This would be costly and take some time to implement! Fourth, the Susquehanna has always been touted as the “ulti- mate solution” for the Back Mt. region. However, in dry periods there isn't much flow and what- ever water thats now in the river has mostly been allocated for use by riverbank communities. Get- ting an allocation could be a major hurdle. Finally, some really serious methods of conversation may have to be. considered. In dry areas of the Nation, wastewater recycling is presently being utilized to boost groundwater supplies. Sophisti- cated equipment is employed to clean and purify wastewater and to inject it into the ground via special injection wells. Special toi- lets which require very little or no water are mandated. Use of to- day's ordinary household auto- matic dishwashers and clothes washer has to be forbidden. Water utilities supply tank trucks and “water buffaloes” to supplement inadequate supplies. Commonly drinking water supplies are sepa- rated from ordinary tap water (which is not potable). Rain barrels and cisterns are often used to catch and store rainwater. So, although future water sup- plies in the Back Mt. may become much more costly and today’s level of water use may no longer prevail, by exercising a little prudence and ingenuity, except for those living in the higher elevations, we are unlikely to completely “run out” in the foreseeable future. There are many alternative solutions that may be pursued. Hugh P. King Dallas Library news Ellen Casey reads to children during visit By NANCY KOZEMCHAK Tuesday, Nov. 12 was a very exciting and busy day at the Back Mountain Memorial Library. Mrs. Ellen Casey, wife of Pennsylvania Governor, Robert P. Casey arrived at the library at 10 a.m. in re- sponse to our invitation to her to help promote the sale of the new library cookbook, Chefs and Art- ists. Her executive secretary and intern arrived a few minutes be- fore she did to help set up the plans for her hour visit. First on the agenda was her request to read to a group of chil- dren in the children’s room and we invited the Little People from the day care on the second floor of the library to particpate in the read- ing. They were thrilled and lis- tened to the story telling with great interest and many questions. At 10:20, Mrs. Casey was introduced to the audience waiting for her in the reading room to celebrate “Books and Brunch with Ellen Casey”. Her introduction included many interesting facts about her; she is a great supporter of reading and libraries and has visited doz- ens of libraries throughout the state. She served as chair of the Gov- ernor's Conference of Libraries and Information Services in 1990, and as the honorary chairperson of the Pennsylvania delegation to the President's White House Confer- ence on Libraries this past sum- mer. She is the mother of eight children, grandmother of 11, soon to’ be 14, and has done a lot of reading toyoung children. She sent the recipe for Governor Casey's Chocolate Cake for our cookbook and autographed many cookbooks while she was here. The refresh- ment table included many deli- cious cakes and cookies, all made with recipes from the cookbook, and two plates of the Governor's chocolate cake. Ellen Casey is a very lovely and gracious lady and we were hon- ored to have her at our library to make the day pleasant and festive. Maryan Daily, chairman of our cookbook project, presented Ellen Casey with the library cookbook. The cookbook which we will put on our library shelves as a perma- nent additon was autographed by Greg Welch, of Bangor, New South Wales, Australia who was the winner in the 10th anniversasry of the ‘Greater Wilks-Barre Triath- lon’. He was also the world cham- pion in 1990. Ellen Casey auto- graphed the page with the Gover- nor's chocolate cake with Best Wishes, always, dated November 12, 1991. Our library had another busy Tuesday the week before on No- vember 5 when the library became a polling place for voters of this Dallas Borough district. The li- brary building is a welcome place for the voters, centrally located and easily accessible without any steps required to enter. Very busy, very noisy, but good to be a part of our voting privilege. Westmoreland will come to face tomorrow 10 a.m. on the Trucksville gridiron. Gate of Heaven was dedicated on Sunday by Bishop William J. Hafey before a capacity crowd. of spectators. Three Sweet Valley hunters bagged a 235 pound bear late Monday afternoon near’ Maple | Swamp on North Mountain. A | Russell Ruble resigned fin Lehman-Jackson High School as instructor in Vocational Agricul- ture to be educational director oh secretary of Pa. Cooperative Pot Growers in Allentown. Wed - Mary Teresa Whalen to Paul H. Lauer. Korean veteran Pfc. Theodore Busch will be home for Thanksgiv- ing according toword received from Indiantown Gap. 30 Years Ago - Nov. 21, 1961 © CONGRESSMAN DANIEL: FLOOD HONORED IN | BACK MOUNTAIN ] Congressman Daniel Flood was honored by a group of Back Mao: t= tain residents joining the Wilkes: Barre Chapter 34 of the Reserve Officers Association of Irem Templt Club. Students in Miss Esther Saxe's classes at Dallas Junior High School prepared more than 200 Thanksgiving tray favors for Jun: ior Red Cross distribution to the Wilkes-Barre Veterans Hospital and Convalescent Homes. A 5% penalty for late payment goes on all local taxes Dec. 1. | Final plans were made by the Dallas Junior Woman's Club for its annual fall dance, November 25 at Irem Temple Country Club wj# music for dancing by Bob Bairig/] Plans are complete for Altar an Rosary Society's 10th Annual Christmas Tea, set for Friday, Dec. 8 at Gate of Heaven. N 20 Years Ago - Nov. 18, 1971 ; DALLAS ELEMENTARY | BUILDINGS ARE BARELY ADEQUATE major winter task of clearing ic and snow from highways is we underway for PennDOT having been given advance notice by the snow which fell November 9. . Dr. Linford A. Werkheiser, re: leased information to the District Board of Directors at a rece meeting on a survey of five elemen: tary school buildings in the Dallas School District showing that for the present classroom facilities are just barely adequate for the num ber of pupils enrolled in the 3 trict. As one of nine scouts in Boy Scout Troop 281 who are worki on Eagle Scout projects, Jeff McDonald chose painting the base ment of Dallas United Methodist Church as his community project. Dallas dropped its final home game of the 1971 season with the Crusaders of Coughlin collecting the win 20-7. - Engaged - Linda Finn to Arthur E. Baird; Diane L, Martin to wit liam Howard Miller. The task for preparing for ¥ 4 tad Spm pete ped to of em THY Th 0) gs re + a a > Hhaaubm “Hsu Sali
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