Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 25, 1992 4 The Dallas Post Te SDALLASC0ST Sec. Cheney's show ‘not worth the price As Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney proved last week, "mindless waste and plain old dumbness aren't restricted to one end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Overreacting to news that he had * written 20-odd checks when insufficient funds were in his account at the so-called House Bank, Cheney proceeded to conduct a half-hour-long press conference complete with huge - blowups of his account statements, ostensibly to prove that he was unaware of the overdrafts. Lighten up, Dick! You're taking yourself a little too seriously. We understand; you were just a lowly member of Congress when this happened, and we're sure you never had any inkling * that you could write checks in advance of making a deposit. After all, only about 300 of your colleagues were doing it, so it must have been a secret. . We have only one question. How much did it cost the taxpayers for you to do your wounded pride act? Surely those .. impressive blow-ups and the time your staff spent researching - and rationalizing added up to a pretty penny. ButIguess that’s what taxes are for; so that the powerful can maintain their "myth of superiority — at our expense, of course. ‘Teachers show class ‘In contract agreement Negotiating labor contracts is seldom an easy task, but the result last week in the Dallas School District was well worth the pain and aggravation. Everyone involved deserves commenda- ~ tion for their effort, and in the end their good sense. Now the -district can get on with the real business at hand, delivering high-quality education to the students. The final outcome was made possible because a majority of the district's 142 teachers realized that it was logical in today’s “economy to accept a more modest wage increase than the union leadership had originally asked for. They knew that an “average five percent annual raise and improved benefits were not skimpy when compared to the rate of inflation and the lower raises — if any — most of their neighbors had gotten in recent ~ years. And all the teachers must be congratulated for dismiss- ing the strike option so that students and parents did not have their lives disrupted unnecessarily. The compromise contract was also a demonstration of the effect citizens can have on their own fate. While you can question some of their tactics, it's hard to fault the principle for which the Dallas Taxpayers’ Forum was fighting — the right to have real influence on a decision that will affect their lives. In between, school board members took the heat from all sides and wisely charted a course that led to an acceptable agree- ment. While the debate was intense, it was usually focused on the issue and not on personalities. Some teachers felt that they were attacked unfairly, but by and large their qualifications were less at issue than their pay raise. Perhaps the tenor of the discussion helped them to realize how different was their perspective from that of the general population. Because the new agreement sets salaries for only two years — more than one fourth of which has already passed — the district and its teachers will be negotiating again before we ‘know it. We, and the entire Back Mountain, hope the next round is quicker and less divisive than the last. Brighten your day ‘while fighting cancer As spring arrives (for good, we hope), it’s time again for an . annual tradition that may help find a cure for a deadly disease. * The American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days fundraising * program uses the symbol of the first flower of spring to + illustrate the hope of eliminating cancer. . While many businesses and individuals placed their orders ' in advance of this week's distribution of the flowers, it's not too * late to help. Bunches of daffodils will be on sale Friday at : businesses in the area, and every purchase will mean a little * more money to continue the fight against this killer. . You can brighten your day and perhaps help to lengthen ' someone's life by stopping to buy a bunch of daffodils this * week. Do you agree? Disagree? . Editorials are the opinion of the management of The Dallas . Post. We welcome your opinion on contemporary issues in the * form of letters to the editor. If you don't write, the community + may never hear a contrasting point of view. Send letters to: The . Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612. Please include . your name, address and a daytime phone number so that we" © may verigy authenticity. The Post does not publish anonymous © letters. We reserve the right to edit for length and grammar, but + will call if we think editing might change the meaning. Te PALLASCoST 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 Peggy Young Eric Foster Advertising Acct. Exec. Reporter Np Grace R. Dove Paul Rismiller Reporter Olga Kostrobala Production Manager : Classified/typesettin 9 Jean Hillard Ypessiing Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Sure sign of spring Photo by Charlotte Bartizek Letter 8 Kingston Twp. supervisors protest cable TV price hike Editor: The Kingston Township Board of Supervisors, at their regular monthly meeting held March 11, 1992, unanimously passed Reso- lution 1992-3, protesting the re- cently announced cable television increase by Tele-Media Company of Luzerne County. The announced rate increase will become effective April 1, 1992. The increase reflects an enormous 12 percent rise in the basic cable rate paid by the company's sub- scribers. The Supervisors feel that this rate increase is simply not fair based on economic conditions, inflation rates, or any other crite- ria. The Supervisors believe very strongly that Tele-Media is taking advantage of its status as an un- regulated monopoly. The Town- ship has no power to regulate cable rates. As with all local regulations, enabling legislation must be passed by higher levels of government to grant the regulatory power to local governments. ~The Supervisors have acted to the limit of their authority. It is now up to the Tele-Media sub- scribers who will be affeced by this increase to write to Senator Spec- tor, Senator Wofford and Repre- sentative Kanjorski urging them to pass legislation regulating cable television rates, or granting that power to local governments. The Supervisors also urge subcribers to contact Tele-media officials to voice their opposition directly to the source of the rate increase. The Township is also reviewing F.C.C. regulations promulgated in 1991 regarding effective competi- tion. The Township will do every- thing within its authority to pro- test this rate hike which is being thrust upon our citizens by Tele- Media. n Thank you for the opportunity to, express our opinion on this matter of great importance to ou residents. FOR THE KINGSTON TOWNSE “P BOARD OF SUPERVISOi.8 Jeffrey K. Box Township Manager IF BW Library news 1 Raffle of ‘Opportunity Quilt’ will benefit girl with tumor By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library will have on display for the next few weeks the Opportunity Quilt, which has been a group effort of the Parent Enrichment Group of the Trucksville Nursery School. The mothers of the chil- dren in the school took on the quilting project in an effort to raise funds. This has rekindled an inter- est in the early American art form and has resulted in a blue and cream colored, queen size quilt with a star pattern. The promotion hopes to raise funds for classroom equipment for the nursery school, and has recently aided in the in- stallation of a chain link fence in the play yard at the school. The quilting group would also like 10 support the Wendy Reese fund. Wendy is a three year old child from the nursery school who hasbeen hospitalized at the Geisin- ger Hospital in Danville with a cancerous tumor. Tickets for an opportunity towin the quilt are $1; proceeds will benefit the Parents Group and the Wendy Reese Fund. Tickets may be purchased at the library; Back Mountain Quilt Works, Dallas; or chairman of the project, Kathy Ashton, phone 696- 3941. The quilt drawing will be held at the nursery school on Sunday Sundae, April 26 and the winner will be notified. The Book Club of the library met in the reference room recently tobegin the new season. The treas- urer's report showed 188 mem- bers have joined the club for 1992 with a contribution of $1,219.56 in dues to purchase books for the Book Club shelf. The program was presented by our children’s librar- ian, Marilyn Rudolph. The topic of her talk was “The Splendor of Thailand,” revolving around her recent trip to that country. The program consisted of a lecture, pictures and a video. The next meeting will be Monday, April 13 at 1:30. New books at the library: Book Club purchases. “Fortune Is A Woman" by Elizabeth Adler is anew novel that sweeps the reader up in the lives of bold-spirited women who struggle to escape the bonds of ‘fate. Francie Harrison was the unwanted daughter of a San Francisco multi-millionaire and at 18, she was disowned by her brutalizing father and forced to make her own way. Annie Aysgarth, a dutiful daughter, was a convenient servant to her wid- owed father. The two women's paths crossed for the first ting» in the aftermath of the 1906 %\ nn Francisco earthquake. A rich nar- rative filled with passion, suspense and surprise. : “Mating” by Norman Rush is the winner of the 1991 National Book Award. This novel is a comedy of manners on the grandest scalé; It revolves around two Americans on the loose in developing Africa. She is an anthropologist, awoman men are drawn to and she has a bank- rupt thesis project and a solvent alternative plan to bend her ex- traordinary talents. Only Yesterday 60 Years Ago - Mar. 25, 1932 KINGSTON TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTS OPERETTA Dallas Community Club will hold a card party April 1, at College Misericordia to benefit the unem- ployed in and about Dallas. Dallas Township PTA and members of the school board met with Mr. Rasmus, State Landscape Gardener in a movement to beau- tify the school grounds. Kingston Township High School will present an operetta “The Count and the Co-ed” at the high school auditorium on Thursday and at the Shavertown Church basement on Friday. Shavertown earned the right to enter the semi-finals of the Rural League when they defeated Lehman 42-22, at the high school gym. 50 Years Ago - Mar. 27, 1942 SCARLET FEVER HITS THE BACK MOUNTAIN Residents of the Dallas Area between 18-48 will be given the opportunity to take written exams, sponsored by the U.S. Civil Service Commission to qualify for clerical or carrier positions at the Post Office the latter part of next month. Due to a tire shortage the tan- nery in Noxen showed 40 new bikes in their parking lot as workers are riding their bikes to work. The Scarlet Fever epidemic has reached the Back Mountain Re- gion with eight cases reported in Dallas Borough and Kingston Township alone and one physician is treating more than a dozen scat- tered throughout this section. Wed - Alma Nelson to Frederick M. Drake. 40 Years Ago - Mar. 28, 1952 'DECISION BEFORE DAWN' PLAYING AT THE HIMMLER THEATRE William Guyette prominent Back Mountain businessman and vet- eran was elected President of the Kingston Township Veterans As- sociation. Shavertown Volunteer Fire Department has setagoal of $1,500 for its annual membership and fund raising drive which will open May 12. “Decision Before Dawn” star- ring Michael O'Shea, now playing at the Himmler Theatre. Pfc Dale Kocher is on a 30-day furlough at the home of his par- ents, Mr. and Mrs. Rodell Kocher of Harveys Lake after spending 41 months overseas. 30 Years Ago - Mar. 29, 1962 JAMES BESECKER HONORED BY ROTARY James F. Besecker, one of the staunchest community support- ers Dallas ever had was honored by Dallas Rotary Club at its 35th dinner dance held at Irem Country Club. Opening of the U.S. Post Office, Wyoming National Bank and Back Mountain Hardware Co's new buildings in the Back Mountain Shopping Area at Shavertown will provide a gala occasion for all Back Mountain residents. Sixty five top musicians and their directors from seven school of the West Side Conference will presentaband concert at the Dallas Senior High School auditorium Thursday evening. Sister M. Celestine, R.S.M., president of College Misericordia, expressed appreciation to the teachers and administrators from the Dallas area who were among the 400 educators who attended College Misericordia’s 3rd Annual Reading Conference. “Town Without Pity" starring Kirk Douglas now playing at the Dallas Drive-In Theater. 20 Years Ago - Mar. 30, 1972 TELECABLE TO ADD THREE CHANNELS Preliminary Plans for garden type apartments have been laid before the Dallas Borough Plan- ning Commission. The apartme='s, approximately six in numbel re to be built on the former Risley property on Huntsville Road and Lehman Avenue. Atty. James Lenahan Brown filed a motion for argument before the PUC in Harrisburg on legal questions in the interest of several local complainants who oppose the 17% increase granted to Luzerne Electric Division of UGI Corp." Back Mountain Telecable Co. is geared to start three more chan- nels, by importing New York City Channels 11 and 9 and Philadel- phia Channel 17 for its cable cus- tomers by the beginning of next week. : Dallas High School gym was jammed with 1,000 children and their parents at the annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Dallas Junior Woman's Club. Highlight of the afternoon was the appear- ance of Mr. Easter Bunny. Hasay sponsors harder to cancel Rep. George C. Hasay is co- sponsoring legislation dealing with automobile insurance cancellation that will be introduced in March. Hasay said the bill will prohibit cancellation or a refusal to renew automobile insurance as a result bill making it auto insurance of an accident which was not the fault of the insured person. “Insurance companies should not be allowed to cancel policies because of accidents that were the not fault of the insured,” Hasay said. »
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers