4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, November 4, 1992 Tie SDALLASCP0ST Dallas High band comes into its own Fans at Dallas football games this season have noticed excellence in the air as well as on the field. That's because the Dallas High School band has blossomed, as more members and greater support have translated into fine musicianship and noticeable spirit. Under director Todd Hunter, the Dallas band took fourth place out of eight entrants in their class at the recent Geisinger Children’s Network Miracle Marching Band competition, miss- ing third place by only one point. But that’s only half the story; the band has about 35 playing members this year, placing it in the smallest category. But just a few years agoonly 12 students stuck with the band, competing against much larger groups. That core of dedicated musicians now is the nucleus of today’s lively band. A high school band doesn’t live by music alone, though. A big factor in their success is how much support comes from parents, the school and the community at large. That's where the band boosters association comes in and that group, led by Bob Stair, has been a source of inspiration and support for band members. The booster club and the players themselves raise much of the money that’s needed to equip the band and to pay the cost of travel to competitions. By operating the food stand at foot- ~ ball games and by selling other items, they provide funds for an annual performance trip. They also buy jackets for senior members, send some students to band school each year, buy accessories that the school district can't afford and pay a portion of the salaries for assistant directors who help with music and choreography. Like many other extra-curricular activities, bands haven't received as much attention as most sports, even though they offer equally valuable experience and require as much dedica- tion. But that doesn’t hold back students and supporters who devote time, attention and effort to developing excellence. With its recent progress, the Dallas band has taken its place alongside the perennially outstanding Lake-Lehman marching band, bringing pride to their members and enjoyment to listeners. Trusts, easements can save region's beauty The Back Mountain is home to some of the most pleasant | vistas in northeastern Pennsylvania. It also contains much of the farmland left in Luzerne County, as well as gamelands and other open spaces that preserve the region's attractiveness. Perhaps even more important, the woods and fields, swamps and high ground provide habitat for a diversity of plants and animals and a buffer for extremes of weather such as floods. These same attractions make the region a magnet for real estate development, as open land gains value when converted to housing tracts. So landowners face a quandary; to sacrifice potential income in order to preserve their land, or to give in to the entreaties of developers. It can be a tough choice, particu- larly for those who are rich in real estate but more modest in other ways. One option will be discussed Thursday night when the Back Mountain Citizens’ Council presents a speaker on land trusts. By donating property to a land trust, or applying a permanent conservation easement to all or part of their land, owners can gain tax advantages while protecting land from development. These are proven methods that have been used widely else- where in Pennsylvania and around the nation. The financial rewards offered by land trusts or easements may not compare with the profit from selling and developing property. But money is not the only attraction for people who appreciate the special beauty of a landscape of trees and fields rather than houses and driveways. If you are among them, plan to attend Thursday's meeting, which will take place at the Center for Technology on the Penn State campus in Lehman beginning at 7 p.m. Dallas Marching Band reaches new heights Photo by Charlotte Bartizek About the opinion pages The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of topics in many forms. Editorials, which are the opinion of the management of The Post, appear on the editorial page. Cartoons are the opinion of the cartoonist and columns are the opinion of the author. Neither necessarily reflects the viewpoint of The Post. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published subject to the following guidelines. Letters must not exceed 500 words. Except in unusual circumstances, no writer may have more than one letter published during a 30 day period. Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a telephone number for verification. Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. The Postretains the right to accept or reject any letter and to edit letters as necessary without distorting their meaning. In addition to letters to the editor, we welcome longer pieces that may be run as columns. The author or the subject's relevance to the Back Mountain will be our prime consideration when selecting material for publication. To submit an item for publication, send it to: The Dallas - Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612, or bring it to our office. Te DALLAS PosT 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 Advertising Acct. Exec. Bill Harper Reporter Grace R. Dove Reporter Jean Hillard Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION Paul Rismiller Production Manager Olga Kostrobala Classitied/typesetting The economic viewpoint Libraries need support of community By HOWARD J. GROSSMAN Citizens often take services for granted and do not think about what would happen if services were substantially curtailed or abolished. Needless to say, libraries often fall into the category of forgotten community services which are by-passed or neglected unless a crisis erupts which causes great citizen concern about the lack of availability of such services. Libraries as typified by the Back Mountain Memorial Library should not be shunted aside and assumed that all is well. There are too many libraries across the nation which are currently facing serious shortfalls in funding capability to enable them to continue to provide a high quality of service. Libraries are more than repositories of books. They provide technical resources through professional librarians who offer not only information about many topics of interest to students and adults but a friendly atmosphere where patrons can utilize resources such as magazines, newspapers, video tapes, and a multitude of other resources. They are a haven for young people to carry out research on projects assigned by faculty and they often provide an opportunity to hold community events through the use of community or conference rooms. They are the touchstone of civilization and the holder of knowledge and memory upon which the foundation of community life thrives. They connect the past with the present and the present with the future. They are the source of life. If any visitor from outerspace were tuned into the system oflife on this planet, instead of saying “take me to your leader”, they would say “take me to your library”. Libraries are the engines of humanity, organized around a community capable of supporting new generations of Americans and providing opportunities for immigrants from other lands to learn about the culture, diversity, society and lifestyles of America. Throughout the land, libraries exist both in a public and private sense. Libraries are supported by public monies in many places but in other locations, libraries are supported by a combination of public/private sector funding. Libraries give meaning and purpose to life and should be surrounded by partnerships from the public and private sectors, capable of enriching and enhancing the communities of today and preparing the leaders for the communities of tomorrow. Structured in Pennsylvania through a state library system with district libraries in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre and with a multitude of community libraries across the Commonwealth, the library system serves millions of Pennsylvanians. If one library does not have a book or particular reference available, it is likely that the library can provide a-means by which the requested document can be found and provided for use by the customer. Libraries are housed in new and older facilities. The Back Mountain Memorial Library is an example of a library being housed in an older building and represents a constructive use of an old school building. The Abington Library in the Clarks Summit area is an example of a library being located in a new structure, capable of serving a major residential area of Lackawanna County. The Scranton and Osterhout Libraries are located in older buildings which form part of the rich texture of history of these communities. No longer can libraries be considered peripheral functions. They need to be represented as the sum and substance of community, cultural, and educational life as much as school buildings represent the source of instructional knowledge to inspire young people to be the leaders of tomorrow. Libraries need the financial support of all residents, and Pennsylvania offers an opportunity to achieve this through the referendum system and approval of up to a 2 mill tax which can be imposed for the support of libraries. In lieu of a tax supported system of libraries, special fundraising activities such as the Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction and other techniques can be applied along with the use of appropriate federal and/or state funding sources. Needless to say, libraries face great challenges in the 1990s if they are to appropriately provide services and be a strong backbone to help lead the nation prosperously and humanistically into the 21st century. Howard Grossman is Executive Director of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He lives in Dallas. Students learn about life in new program Commonwealth Telephone Company, in conjunction with Bell of Pennsylvania, presented “Choices” to Lake-Lehman High School students last week. “Choices” is an international educational program that shows the relationship between academic decisions and career consequences through the simulation of real life situations which students ultimately face upon leaving high school. The program focuses on building student's self-confidence and self-discipline. The “Choices” program consists of two parts. The first provides an overview of factors in life that students can or cannot control— such as family status, attitude, goals and level of education. Following this overview, a Commonwealth Telephone employee, doubling as a “Choices” volunteer facilitator, discusses the importance of effective time- managment. The second segment takes a look at true-to-life situations that students would encounter should they choose to drop out of school. The students are encouraged to review the classified section of a local newspaper to find a job, a place to live and a means of transportation. Afterwards, the students are given a one-month salary of play money to be used toward their living expenses such as utilties, rent, and groceries. From this exercise students see first-hand how basic living expenses take away from their gross pay. Adelle Mulea, coordinator of the “Choices” program, said, “Our state has been very heavily focused on improving our high school drop out rate. We see “Choices” as an important means tothatend.” Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - Nov. 4, 1932 ORGAN INSTALLED AT TRUCKSVILLE U.M.C. The Peerless Concert Company made up of a group of young Negro men and women, all of whom are college graduates will sing at Dallas M.E. Church, Monday at 8. Extensive alteration to the building and installation of a large Moeller pipe organ have been completed at Trucksville Methodist Episcopal Church of which Rev. J. Rolland Crompton is pastor. The week of November 14 has been set aside as a time of re-dedication of the church. James A. Farley, chairman of the Democratic National Campaign predicts that a deluge of ballots on November 8 will elect Franklin D. Roosevelt president, by the largest majority ever given a candidate for public office. You could get - Del Monte raisins, 2 pkgs., 15¢; Red Circle Coffee 25 Ib.; butter, 3 lbs., 67¢; tomat®® 5¢ a can. 50 Years Ago - Nov. 6, 1942 TEACHER JOINS WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS Antonia Kozemchalk, commercial teacher and basketball | coach at Dallas Townhip High School was sworn into the Women's | Army Auxiliary Corps at Philadelphia last week and is now awaiting a call to duty at the, W.AA.C. training center in Des’ Moines, Iowa. The Halloween Party sponsored by the Auxiliary of Trucksville Eg: * Co. at the Kingston Township HS SCchool Auditorum was a huge success. Over 200 revelers: attended. ; Students of Lehman High School voted to donate the entire proceeds of their scrap collection drive to the Community Welfare War Chest for" the USO. 40 Years Ago - Nov. 7, 1952 BACK MOUNTAIN BACKS IKE AND NIXON In keeping with its Republican - tradition the Back Mountag Region and the 6th Legislat District led Luzerne County in voting for Republican presidential candidates on Tuesday. Geég\ ' Dwight Eisenhower and [3 running mate Richard Nixon led the Republican ticket in every Back Mountain District where more citizens cast their ballots than in any previous election. Work is progressing on the rearrangment of the interior of the Garinger Building on Lake Street in preparation for the removal of , the Dallas Post Office to that location. Included will be a private office for the postmaster, three rest | rooms, and a loading platform is being constructed on the soutk side of the building. [ Fl starring | Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers now | “Monkey Business” playing at the Himmler Theatre. 30 Years Ago - Nov. 8, 1962 HEAVY SNOWSTORM KNOCKS OUT POWER The worst snowstorm to hit the" Dallas area in years did some $600 ' damage to the borough traffic light : system, Saturday and power failed . for about five hours all over the’ borough. ‘ For the first time in history a | Democratic candidate Daniel Flood | incumbent Congressman carried - the seven municipalities of the Back | Mountain. Even the rock-ribbed | Republic Middle School District in Dallas Township gave Flood a plurality. Dorothy Gilbert, R.N., daughty 0 of Rev. and Mrs. Charles Gilber # retired minister who resides at Mt. Zion is on her way to Idlewild International Airport, New York City where she will fly to Leopoldville, Republic of the Congo and continue her work at the Institute Medical Evangelique,: Kimpese. Dallas downed Northwest 27-7., Stan Palmer scored three touchdowns for Lake-Lehman' Knights in their 21-0 win over Luzerne. 20 Years Ago - Nov. 9, 1972 KT VOTERS DEMAND HOME RULE STUDY Thanks to an overwhelming mandate from the people of Kingston Township, the concept of. home rule will be thoroughly examined by a government study commission elected Tuesday. / The 10th Annual Holiday Fair sponsored by the Shavertown: Branch of Nesbitt Hospital, Auxiliary will be held Nov. 15 and’ 16 in the Nurses auditorium in. Kingston. Other branches of the auxiliary will also participate. The Crusaders were beaten by: Lake-Lehman 6-0 on the victor's field before a sparce rain-soaked crowd. The drama “Red House Mystery”. will be presented at Dallas Senior’ High School, Nov. 17 and 18. Donald Hopkins, drama coach will, direct. :
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers