1€ The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 25, 1992 | J - abd Led BR — PALLAS WATER FTE ba 3 1.2 a . ) 2278. sa 1 ey Sd iH Pm Ll & ¢ J WJ. Victims of belligerent benevolence By J.W. JOHNSON ... The absurdity of what you are | about toread is selfevident, except ' perhaps to those who keep their ' jobs in perpetuation of that ab- rdity. * Among the legal ads in one of the Scranton papers recently was an advertisement for bids to con- struct handicap access at the - Mayfield Borough building. It was a lengthy ad (almost by definition - because it was Federal in origin), cand it explained the procedures under which such access would be constructed. v “Included in the ad was the fol- lowing paragraph: ~.'.“A mandatory ration of appren- tices and trainees to journeymen "is required in each craft, and the aantractor and his subcontractors oi to make a (sic) Diligent Effort to achieve these ratios. To “the greatest extent feasible, oppor- ities for training and employ- awent shall be given to lower-in- come residents of the project area. To the greatest extent feasible, _project area businesses located in the project area or owned in sub- ‘stantial part by project area resi- dents must be utilized. In addition to the equal employment require- ments of executive order 11246, the contractor must establish a +..06 goal for female participation ~.and a 6.9 goal for minority partici- pation in the aggregate on-site = construction work force for con- ntracts in excess of $10,000, ether or not part of that work on a: federal or federally funded as- o-sisted construction contract or subcontract.” No kidding. That's what the ad said. > «Several years ago this kind of i‘absurdity was seen in action when a: three-employee Pennsylvania ‘construction firm, which failed to “meet a federal affirmative action goal of hiring five per cent female ''laborers, was told by the Labor Department, in a 10—page “con- ciliation” agreement, to follow 43— count ‘em—43 separate record “Keeping and compliance steps or lose the contract. How did this country get to the - point where a small businessman , is required to hire .06 of a female, or where another small business- man must follow a 43 step pro- : &n in order to keep his govern- vient contract? The problem began long ago "when compromise ultimately evolved from the debate of what our Constitution should and is should not be. Representative | ~government, within the framework . of three separate branches, (Legis- .. lative, Judicial and Executive), seemed to be better than mob .. decision making. And out of this, Congress has discovered in the Bureaucracy another way to remain pure and chaste for the voters, unsoiled by the acceptance of mandated responsibilities. the Legislative branch (Congress) was given direct responsibility for making decisions on behalf of the people. It's become clear, however, that legislators, both at the State and Federal level, have failed misera- bly in this constitutionally man- dated responsibility. The decline of Congressional fortitude has been mirrored for many years by a steady increase in the power of the Judiciary, through the effective establishment of law through court rulings. Perhaps this was no more apparent than in the mid 1800's Dred Scott slavery case where Congress avoided making a decision about slavery and the Judiciary stepped in, effectively setting legal policy for this coun- try. The Judiciary has been parked out front ever since. The question here is not the court's decision itself; rather the question is that, and because the Judiciary is largely removed from voter scrutiny, whether or not we, indeed, have representative gov- ernment. Since the Dred Scott case, and a multitude of other Judicial decisions which have followed, the clear answer to that question is no. The congressional abdica- tion of responsibility has thus left the Judiciary with the power to set national policy. At the same time, there is no convincing evidence that the Judi- ciary sought the role of both maker and interpreter of the law. Fact is, the Judiciary has really acted out of default, and in an honest desire to deal with problems which obvi- ously required remedies. What's frightening about this is that it was not the people, through elected representation, who faced the problems; rather it was the Judiciary which is largely unac- countable to the people...and ac- countability is the cornerstone of the republican democracy proc- ess. The second beneficiary of Con- gress failure to shoulder its consti- tutionally mandated responsibili- ties has really been the addition of an unconstitutional fourth branch of government: the Bureaucracy. Congress has discovered in the Bureaucracy another way to re- main pure and chaste for the vot- ers, unsoiled by the acceptance of mandated responsibilities; Con- gress simply sloughs off those responsiblities to a faceless, name- less mob and says:"Who, us?” What Congress does is pass a vaguely worded statute that si- multaneously creates a rulemak- ing body... (the outgrowth of which is the legal ad you read earlier). In most cases the statue's goals are as proverbially worthy as baseball and apple pie (or yet another blind attempt to make this a classless society) so that no reasonable person (or those who want some- thing for nothing) could oppose it. The crass political theory here is that the legislator whose name appears on this apple pie and baseball statute is thus assured re-election. Then enter the Bureaucracy, the rulemaking body...that petty horde of bureaucrats whose knowledge and understanding of the problem addressed by the statute often cannot be said to rival even a common house plant. The Bu- reaucracy passes rules—the .06 female and 43 record keeping ob- ligation cited earlier are examples— and the businessman and citizen are left to flounder on the bureau- cratic beach, a victim of belligerent benevolence. Does the citizen or business- man have recourse? It does no good to complain to the congres- sional aides who draft most of the legislation, or to the bureaucracy who set the rules. They have no constitutional responsibility to citizens. An alternative course would be for citizens to demand of legisla- tors that effective legislative au- thority be removed from the Bu- reaucracy, while shouldering the mandated responsibility of legis- lating themselves. The Judiciary also should evolve a process whereby it would refer social policy decisions back to Congress. Perhaps shame could achieve what political expedience leaves begging. And finally, it seems clear that what we ultimately need are prin- cipled legislators who are not afraid of their convictions, and whose time in office will be spent doing more than assuring re-election. By the way, we the people have the right to expect a responsible Congress. And to assert a right is to preserve it. But if you abdicate that responsibility by failing tovote, or to educate yourself about self government, then you also give up the right to complain afterward. Myself, and others who accept the responsibility of self government, will decide what happens to you. Four will be confirmed at Shavertown UMC “Four senior high young people will receive the rite of Confirma- tionatthe 11 a.m. Worship Service , oh Sunday, March 29 at the Shav- ~ ertown United Methodist Church, North Pioneer Avenue at West _ Center Street, Shavertown. Dr. Deidra Kriewald, Professor of Teaching Ministry, Wesley Theo- logical Seminary, Washington, D.C., will be the homilist. Rev. Patricia D. Brown of the United Methodist Board of Global Minis- tries, New York City, mother of one of the confirmands, will assist in the liturgy, along with Pastors Harriet L. Santos and James A. Wert. The confirmands are: Chris- tian F.P. Goddy, Gregory J. Choi, Raymond J. Shynn and Kathy J. Delinsky. The Sacrament of Holy Com- munion will be celebrated. The Festival Choir, directed by Prof. Ros E. Santos, will sing. SEASON OPENER GOLF TOURNAMENT "| © SUNDAY, MARCH 29 | 1 $22.00 PER PERSON - INC. GREEN FEES, MEALS, BEVERAGES & PRIZES [| CALL FOR STARTING TIMES Rush on over to CITY, COUNTRY & COZMOS, AN EMPORIUM Winola Plaza, Route 307, Lake Winola, Penna. 378-3637 Monthly Handcrafter's Show - Sunday 3/29, 12:00-4:00 P.M. - Coffee's Waiting - From Tunkhannock: Rt. 925 to 307 to Lake Winola Plaza - across from East Bay Tavern The economic viewpoint Business-school partnerships needed By HOWARD J. GROSSMAN Recently a major Governor's Conference on Business-Educa- tion Partnerships was held in Harrisburg. As a result of the conference, a new statewide busi- ness education organization is being formed to serve as a clear- inghouse for information and ideas relating to business-education partnerships; provide technical assistance, seed grants, training and information and other help to local efforts; and serve as an inde- pendent point of expertise and advocacy and issues of education reform and improvement of educa- tion quality. In addition to this initiative, a number of reports issued by such organizations as the National Business Roundtable, the Penn- sylvania Business Roundtable, Pennsylvania Economic Develop- ment Partnership Workforce De- velopment Committee, and the newly released “America 2000, An Education Strategy” initiative by President Bush all called for in- creased collaboration between business and education if the nation is to be competitive with other nations into the 21st cen- tury. Many recommendations have been made which are quite contro- versial, such as a national assess- ment of educational quality, plac- ing more emphasis on ways in which non-educators can work within school districts, business advocating more reasonable dis- closure requirements for school board members and a lengthening of the term in Pennsylvania to six years, business seeking represen- tation on the Pennsylvania State Board of Education and partici- pating in reworking state regula- tions (an action which is being implemented) business support- ing diverse parental options through the development of alter- native educational pathways and making them available as magnet programs in existing school sys- tems and much more. In tying together the needs of families, business and industry, and the educational community, radical proposals are being tested in various parts of the nation. For example, in a small community in Tennessee, it was found that school children were being left alone, in some cases, early in the morning prior to going to school or late in the afternoon after finishing school Preparing the future workforce of the nation is an awesome responsibility and one which requires the involvement of as many citizens and officials as possible. since one or more parents had to arrive at work early and not come home for two or three hours after the child had arrived at home. To change these conditions, the local school board agreed to open the schools early and close them late so that students could stay in an environment which was monitored. The question became how could this be financed. The solution was to charge families $10 per week for the morning and $20 for the after- noon and if both morning and af- ternoon were required the charge would be $26 per week. The ques- tion then became could disadvan- taged or poor families pay these fees. The school administration found the opportunity to utilize Chapter I reimbursement pay- ments from the federal govern- ment to satisfy the needs of fami- lies who could not afford extra payments. This system enables the invest- ment in school construction to be substantially advanced by utilzing a building which otherwise would not be extensively used prior to and following normal school hours. It helps to solve a social condition which has been identified as the so-called latchkey child who had no alternative but to stay at home with no parental or adult supervi- sion. It is an interesting and excit- ing way to resolve a major problem facing many parts of the nation. Imagine if this opportunity pre- sented itself in Pennsylvania in a variety of school districts. It would open up the opportunity to utilize school buildings and capitalize the investments which taxpayers have already made to accommodate the extensive use of buildings which otherwise were unoccupied at certain times. While many studies and reports have been made and will continue to be made concerning the chal- lenges to the American educational system, the strategy developed recently although not adequately addressed in a funding sense should: be studied by all Ameri- cans, school boards and school administrators and faculty to de- termine ways in which the strategy ‘school ready to learn. can be bestimplemented. The goal envisioned in the America 20 0( Education Strategy document include the following: 4 e All children in America will sta e The high school graduation rat { will increase to at least 90%. o American students will leave grades four, eight, and 12 having demonstrated compentency ir challenging subject matter includ ing English, Mathematics, Science} History and Geography; and ever; school in America will ensure tha all students learn to use their min ; well, so they may be prepared fo: responsible citizenship, furthe; learning, and productive er } ployement in our modern ecor omy. i] e US students will be first in . world in science and mathematies achievement. e Every adult American will bg literate and will possess the knowl : edge and skills necessary to co ) pete in a global economy and exer cise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. * Every school in Americawillb ol free of drugs and violence and offer a disciplined ro conducive to learning. Perhaps the most importar issue of the 1990s in the Unitec States is the question of educa: tional reform. Preparing the future workforce of the nation‘is an awe: some responsibility and one which requires the involvement of as many citizens and officials as possible. It is not solely a questior of revenues and expenditures, taxes and assessments, although these issues are extremely impor- tant. It is a question of initiatives innovations, and the ability to bring together through a collaborative process all parties who can con- tribute to constructively changing how and in what matter the educa- tional system can be modified and changed to meet the needs of 21st century America. Howard Grossman is executive director of the Economic Develop: ment Council of Northeastern Penn: sylvania. He lives in Dallas. Builders' Home The Builders Home Show, fea- turing nearly 170 exhibitors, will fill the inside and outside of the Coal Street Ice-A-Rama in Wilkes- Barre, Friday through Sunday, March 27 to 29. The show, sponsored by the Building Industry Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BIA of NEPA), will represent every aspect of a home, both new and old. The show's exhibits cover all phases of home ownership. The show also brings together the larg- est contingent of local building trades representatives to offer the public the chance to see the best Save Hundreds of Dollars! SPECIALTIES COMPANY RURSTEE Over 40 Years Experience REPLACEMENT WINDOWS - PATIO COVERS - PORCH ENCLOSURES 527 Scott Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 717-824-3572 1-800-233-7284 (PA Only) Show will run March 27 to 29 the building industry has to offer, as well as the latest and most innovative products and services available. The BIA was organized in 1957 by George L. Ruckno to serve homebuilders, persons, firms and corporations engaged in allied trades, industries and professions in Northeastern Pennsylvania, The 1992 edition of the Builders Home Show will run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Friday. On Saturday the | hours are from 10 a.m. to © p.m. and Sunday from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. A $2 admission fee for the show automatically registers patrons for: drawings and door prizes. Chil- dren will be admitted free if they are accompanied by an adult. BU \ VN i Al / TH] GE HOME SHOW ql nl = > = -— > be (o) = 5 ~ 3 J A ~~ | = Lo Fo AVA [1] P= T {od H(i SET] Ce FAVA TF: T od 4 fds J Sunday, March 29..............10 A.M. to 5 P.M. See the BEST the Building Industry has to offer, the latest and most innovative products, services and ideas available for in and around the home. Sponsored By THE BUILDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION of Northeastern Pennsylvania affiliated 1 PENNSYLVANIA BUILDERS ASSOCIATION E cies .....5 P.M. to 9 P.M. «ee... 10 A.M. to 9 P.M. = NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS ANNUAL DERS® eH Mt I R SATURDAY, MARCH 28| SUNDAY, MARCH 29 | At The ICE-A-RAMA Coal St. Recreational Complex E Coal St. & N. Sherman St. Wilkes-Barre ADMISSION $2 Children Free | I-81 N. to exit 45B onto 30 Complex is to your right. DIRECTIONS: From Scranton, I-81 S. to exit 45, right onto 309 N., 1.4 miles take left at 3rd light. At first light, complex is to your right. From Hazleton, take N. 2 miles take left at 4th light to first light.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers