; 2 i ide “The Dallas Post ited 4 The Dallas Post Wednesday, May 5, 1993 Dallas, PA “You are the key I a #5) ' t : ! to town meeting €u 3 ‘ i 1 Residents of the Back Mountain have been invited to a “town © meeting” Thursday by the Back Mountain Citizens’ Council. The council, formed in 1990, has invited office holders and candidates to attend and take questions from an audience of “‘icitizens. The meeting will be moderated, so that no individual “' or issue can dominate what is intended to be a wide ranging “discussion about the Back Mountain's present and future. The town meeting has played a long and important role in = American history. Begun by the earliest settlers, it remains a -» tradition in many New England towns, frequently attracting hundreds of citizens. The title is an apt description; a meeting © of the entire town to air grievances and hash out solutions to Luproblems. - Because Pennsylvania lacks the open government tradition of New England, this meeting can be as much an opportunity for citizens and officials to get to know one another better as a ~ forum for problem-solving. And, like all similar gatherings, the evening's success or failure will depend on the people who are really in charge, the voting public. The quality of discussion will spring from the relevance of the questions more than the eloquence of the answers. . The meeting will take place Thursday, May 6 in Room 105 of Hayfield House on the Penn State campus in Lehman; begin- ning at 7:30 p.m. No reservations are required, just an open mind and a good ear. Lake Township takes a bow for recycling .. Lake Township has added new meaning to the phrase, “ “Small is beautiful.” The smallest community in the Back Mountain, the township recently was honored for the achieve- ments of its recycling program. ~ With a population of 1,924, Lake Township falls well short of the size at which recycling becomes mandatory by state ST i «= statute. But the people who live there are way ahead of the 7 “state, having instituted a voluntary drop off program in Octo- ber, 1990. The program, which is staffed by about 20 volun- eers, accepts aluminum, bimetal, glass and #1 and #2 plastic & bottles. The center is open the second Saturday of each month. #%* The township'was cited by the Luzerne County commission- ers, in a ceremony where Irene Thomas, chairman, and other members of the Lake Township Recycling Committee took a bow on behalf of the conscientious citizens who make the program work. ~ Many larger communities must envy the dedication and concern shown by the citizens of Lake Township. They are living proof that people who care, and will take action, really Can make a difference. Back Mountain can't lose magistrate race The Back Mountain is fortunate to be able to choose between two excellent candidates in the race that will decide who replaces retiring District Justice Earl Gregory. Jim Tupper and Carl Miers each bring years of law enforcement and public service experience to the race, and both are conducting positive campaigns that are respectful of each other and the voters. The local Magisterial District is the largest in Luzerne County, serving about 30,000 people. The office handled 4,500 cases last year, from non-payment of debts to murder, and eve- rything in between. The majority, though, were motor vehicle- related and those seem certain to rise with the increased attention being devoted by police to the Route 309-415 corri- dor. That means judgement must be combined with manage- ment skill if the office is to avoid being swamped by the caseload. Carl Miers and Jim Tupper each have much to recommend them, and we're not about to split hairs just for the sake of endorsing one over the other. We're satisfied that each has sufficient qualifications and character to serve the Back Mountain well, and, measured by their campaigns, a healthy dose of common sense and good judgement as well. Individual voters will make their decision based on their own experience and expectations, but the Back Mountain will be a winner either way. OEE, S.A SA, a ———_—_n, 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 verify authenticity. We donot publish anonymous letters, but will consider withholding the name in exceptional circumstances. We reserve the right to edit for length and grammar. The 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 Grace R. Dove Advertising Acct. Exec. Reporter Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala Production Manager 7 Classified/typesettin g Jean Hillard yp g Office Manager 8s MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION AMIN RS CA Ca NILA Ee reridant AER, ” 4 72 M High water at Huntsville dam Photo by Ron Bartizek Letters Unity is key to developing better education system Editor: In light of the fact that I re- cently decided to run for School Director in the Dallas District, and also because of the publicity regarding a demonstration sched- uled for May 3 at the regular monthly board meeting, 1 would like to take this opportunity to express my views on public edu- cation in our state. Once again, it appears that a volatile environ- ment will exist in our community when we should be concentrating on the primary issue of educating our children. I do not blame the Taxpayer's Forum for feeling that the recent salary increase was abruptly announced by the board without Clinton violated rights of Branch ‘Davidian mem Editor: The President's oath of office includes the words: to PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Thus, it is clearly indi- cated that the Constitution is to be our compass and its tenets provide the State's authority. It is our Constitution—in particular its first ten amendments—that has been attacked and which may thereby become the ultimate casu- alty of "WACO", How have we allowed this Government—once so simply defined by our founding fathers— to become so devious and com- plex that a minor federal bench appointee can procure a dubious allowing the public to give input, but I honestly feel the frustration everyone is feeling is with the entire state education process rather than simply with this last salary issue. If the Taxpayer Forum wants to change the way things are hap- pening regarding teacher salaries and benefits, then they must shift their efforts to eliminating the union at the state level. We must establish the fact that the pri- mary focus of our schools is not providing jobs and financial secu- rity to school employees, educa- tors and administrators; but educating our children. Causing a huge disturbance at a: local sJLE LE Fo isos] dsob warrant which subsequently un- leashes horrific events after abro- gating the Civil Rights of a group of our own citizens? Almost every religion has at one time or another been consid- ered “Cult Wackos" and were cruelly persecuted—the Chris- tians (in Rome), the Protestants (in Europe), the Puritans, the Quakers, the Mormons, etc. Whatever the Branch Davidians believed, their Constitutional rights were clearly violated and their lives were forfeit, The wanton destruction and murder exhibited in the Los Ange- les riots had no place in a civi- lized, lawful society. Perhaps, envisioning a future of savagery meeting, in my opinion, won't change anything, but a well or- chestrated effort at the state level might wake everyone up. Instead of wasting our energy on a futile effort to change what has been passed, why don't we change direction and focus on improving the education offered to our students by cooperating with faculty and planting the seeds of their cooperation in two years when the present contract expires. The most recent assessment of U.S. schools shows that we have not made much headway in im- proving the learning process, and that we still lag behind other nations when: measuring the or anarchy—the founding fathers added the Second Amendment to the Constitution—giving us the right to keep and bear arms. In- herent in this right is the right to defend our lives, families and property from assault. Lacking proof of any insurrec- tion, it appears that a hitherto peaceful group of people were arbitrarily selected for violent persecution by the minions of the state, who quickly marshalled an effort of maximum force. Yet the Fourth Amendment states that “The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated.” amount of knowledge our stu- dents actually absorb. If parents, teachers, students, administra- tors and community leaders would begin towork together rather than against each other, maybe we would achieve some positive re- sults. We need to concentrate on communication and cooperation rather than confrontation. I, as a parent, understand the frustrations felt by everyone in- volved, but I can't excuse the fact that our children are the big los- ers in this current mess, and that, to me, is unconscionable. Pamela M. Langdon Shavertown LA AS BN of BIN | OF Ba | Ini rgeniyacrr A ers In view of the Second and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution, it appears that there was little or no justificaton for the level of force used, or the subse- quent harassment and vicious tank/gas attack which ensued. Rioters in prison have received better treatment, more considera- tion. By thoughtlessly permitting this massive attack on the Branch Davidians President Clinton has obviously failed in his oath to “Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution,” Richard Nixon faced impeachement for less! Joan Hiller Dallas A. Case for Conservation A tribute to PA native Rachel Carson and her work Editor's note: A typographical error in this column last week changed the meaning of a quote by Jormer Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. We are re- printing the entire column this week. By ALENE N. CASE Earth Day has been celebrated once again. Some years I have wondered rather cynically if any- thing of substance has been ac- complished by such festivities. This year is different — I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the changes that have transpired during the past 30 years and for the people who have made these changes happen. The streams of Appalachia are no longer choked with silt from mines and quarries. Children are no longer tempted to cool off by running behind the “fog” truck spraying DDT in our neighbor- hoods. Ospreys and eagles once again soar above many areas in which they had previously been extinct. Of course, many people have been responsible for these posi- tive changes in our environment. But, one lady who challenged the notion that we could - or should!- change our environment for our own convenience deserves our eternal gratitude. That lady was Rachel Carson. From her earliest days as a child in Springdale, Pennsylva- nia, Rachel Carson had two loves. She loved exploring the fields and woods along the Allegheny River. And she loved books. By the age of 11, she was a published writer in a children's magazine. Carson intended to major in English in college and pursue a career as an author. But, a required biology course turned out to be so inter- esting that she decided to forgo that dream and become a marine biologist. Her biographers insist that she did not realize that she would be able to combine her two interests. Rachel Carson may have been the youngest of three children and protected in many ways by her mother, but she managed to de- velop a strong determination when it came to accomplishing a goal or ambition. That determination proved very useful as she stepped into the “man’s world" of science in the first half of this century. Her second indispensable attrib- ute was a keen sense of curiosity and an attention to detail. Indeed, one commentator remarked after reading her best-selling book The Sea Around Us “I assume from the author's knowledge that he must be a man.” The ocean had been unknown to her except for the sound in a conch shell or the lines of a favor- ite poem until Rachel graduated from college. The summer between college (Pennsylvania College for Women - now Chatham College) and graduate school at Johns Hopkins University she traveled to Woods Hole, MA to work at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Here, she not only saw the ocean for the first time but also began a life-time of research on the organ- isms that live there. My first introduction to Rachel Carson's work was her classic book The Sea Around Us, which I read in high school — long before I had my first chance to visit the ocean. Her vivid descriptions and logical explanations made marine biology come alive for me and probably influenced my decision to major in zoology at Duke, She also wrote two other books about the sea: The Edge of the Sea and Under the Sea Wind. Much of her early writing was done as an employee of the US Fish and Wild- life Service and is now found only in out-of-print government publi- cations. I, for one, am grateful that she did not stop there but published books for a more gen- eral audience. Of course, most people know Rachel Carson as the author of Silent Spring. There are whole books written about the process of producing that book and other books about its impact upon the environmental movement in the United States. She is credited with beginning the push which finally created the Environmental Pro- tection Agency. However, Carson did not write the book with the idea of starting anything. She merely wanted to alert America to the dangers of uncontrolled use of pesticides. The research for Silent Spring was begun in 1958 and required almost four years of full-time work. She was determined to present the facts as they were available at that time so that ordinary citizens could make informed choices about the chemicals that were being used on farm fields and home gardens, in wetland areas, and above forests all over Amer- ica. When the book was published in 1962, she found herself in the center of ahuge controversy. Many critics resorted to personal at- tacks because she had done her research so well that one could hardly argue with the facts. Supreme CourtJustice William O. Douglas summed up the book with these words: “The alarming story is calmly told, with no theat- rics and in a sober, factual way. This book is the most important chronicle of this century for the human race.” But, one agent of the government's pest-control system belittled her by saying, “I thought she was a spinster. What's she so worried about genetics for?” Rachel Carson died of cancer before she would see the many positive results of her great effort. I only hope that we, as a people, have come closer to her dream for us: “Now, I truly believe that we in this generation must come to terms with nature, and I think we're challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and our mas- tery, not of nature, but of our- selves.”
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