rr ey : 3 1 may have more than one letter published during a 30 day 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, September 1, 1993 The Dallas Post They ran with the ball in Dallas Borough Life in a small town sometimes means forgoing the extra amenities that make work, play or family life more enjoyable. Unless, of course, you're prepared to take matters into your own hands. That's exactly what a group of Dallas Borough residents did, and the result is a new basketball court at the Kenneth A. Young Memorial Park. Led by council members Marie Eyet and Martha Weber, volunteers held fundraising events and solicited donations from businesses. The borough, which has limited funds avail- able for anything that isn't essential, contributed the first $1,000 toward the eventual $5,000 total needed to complete the project. The court is now in steady use by youngsters in pickup games and older players in the just-completed summer recrea- tion league. All who use it owe a debt of gratitude to their neigh- bors who saw a need and worked to fill it. Pennsylvania doesn't need more gambling You can't escape them, those commercials urging you to take a chance, not just once but each and every day. The promise of a life of wealth and leisure is enticing and even if you lose— a prospect that is never mentioned—the money goes to support grandma. Of course, it’s the Pennsylvania lottery, the state-sponsored fleecing of the public that has slithered its way into respecta- bility on the back of massive promotion. Like 34 other states that have legalized gambling since New Hampshire took the plunge 30 years ago, Pennsylvania hawks its games in the most shameless ways possible through commercials that glamour- ize the act of handing over your hard-earned cash to the state. Why, it’s almost a charity. Now, Mayor Ed Rendell of Philadelphia wants to extend the hand of chance even further into our lives by licensing “river- boat” gambling on the Delaware River. Can casinos in the Poconos be far behind? ~ Gambling proponents argue that state lotteries and legal casinos simply attract the folks who would otherwise gamble illegally, and allow the state to skim a little off the top. That, in turn, will mean taxes can be lower for everyone. It’s not a moral question, they say, just a pragmatic one. On that, we would agree; and the most pragmatic way to handle gambling is to avoid it. 0 } iy Spit vind Every day in America, millions of men and women who would never buy a number or lay down a fiver on the ponies stop at the store for a lottery ticket..or.twe..or ten. And why not? The ads say you can win big, and there are so many different games to choose from. So, those few bucks a day don’t go to buying clothes, or food, or in the bank, and, little by little, they add up. Let's say four million people a day buy two tickets each in Pennsylvania. That's $8 million each and every day that doesn’t get passed through our economy. In a year, it adds up to nearly three billion dollars. ‘But there's a more insidious side to the lottery, and it is showcased in those ads. The message is clear; don’t waste your time studying, working and planning for success, just buy a few lottery tickets every day and you'll soon be on Easy Street. Your government says so. After all, it resorted to gambling rather than face its own fiscal realities. As if to add insult to injury, the odds of winning in state lotteries are generally much lower than in the casinos at Atlantic City and Las Vegas. But don’t hold your breath waiting for the government to tell you that. - Pennsylvania doesn’t need casinos, it needs industry that employs people in steady, good-paying jobs. If you get the chance, say no to any expansion of gambling in the state; it’s a game that’s rigged against you. 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 ' 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. 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Dove Reporter Paul Rismiller | Production Manager Olga Kostrobala ; Classified/typesetti Jill Urbanas ye "e Office Manager MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND THE PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION / h i Ne : N SO ANN oa Lh ER bas RIERA TIES ON \ a % : SRE 9 Fd % | / » + ir wz Pei \ N\) A Be SPE AAA — — a \ —= ANN SR \ a ¥ \ \ WITHOUT MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT THE FAT LADY WILL SING, A +A \ — | > al =y PH) SK SZ A HA 3 EAT HZ 7 IH | 7 RA 0774) > FA] i ] XX] FAA A ore 5 PTA oe FLA BA <2 N ood! a | HESS | Coos: 2 OQ p DA | ~ A Al PL QQ [L334 ol OQ | > PA WN 7%) "ee, 24 Se oN d E22 El 5 LN ] od, oa : oS rl ’ 2A [THE 2 24 [1 FRR S53 SLL] XY A. Case for conservation We must learn from ecological mistakes By ALENE N. CASE A few days ago I read about a woman who had become a grand- mother in her early thirties. Now, atthe “wise” age of 37, she worries about the likelihood of young granddaughter following in the footsteps of her maternal ances- tors. Suddenly, I realized her situation mirrored that of a larger culture. Why is it that people have such a hard time learning from the mistakes of those who preceded them? Why do we insist on rediscovering the wheel - as they say - in each generation? Let's take a look at the history of the environmental movement as a classic example of this ten- dency to ignore the past. Most of us trace concern for human im- pacts on nature to the rather radical changes in American law that began around 1960. Others look to Earth Day 1970 as a be- ginning. Scientists gathered in Madison, Wisconsin, this August to discuss the emerging theories regarding “humans as a part of ecosystems.” But, are these re- ally new ideas? Haven't intelli- gent people thought about these issues before? Yes, of course they have. And, we would do well to learn from those who worked to change the environmental degradation of other times and places. Dr. Rich- ard H. Grove of Cambridge Uni- versity wrote an article entitled “Origins of Western Environmen- talism” in a recent Scientific American. He doesn’t even men- tion the 1960's. He doesn't dis- cuss Thoreau or Muir or Leopold. No, he sets out to prove that con- cern for natural processes and knowledge of links between those processes and human endeavors predates any of these conserva- tionists. According to Dr. Grove, mod- ern ecological studies began when physicians and botanists were hired by various European East India companies. These scien- tists were not equipped with high- tech machinery, but they were trained to observe and to record details. Many of them noticed changes in the climate and de- creases in the diversity of species in areas of heavy economic activ- ity. For example, harbors would become clogged with silt from eroding hillsides so that ships could not longer carry goods back to Europe. These early ecologists were not content to record environmental degradation. They insisted that their employers change their ways of doing things so that nature could continue to function. Is-. lands, such as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, were early targets of these conservation-minded Europeans. The French governor of Mauritius was influenced by the work of Philibert Commerson who understood the relationship between deforestation and local climate change. In 1769, the governor decreed that 25% of the island would be kept as forest to reduce erosion; that all denuded areas should be reforested; and that all forests within 200 yards of a body of water should be pro- tected. Before the end of that century, laws were enacted that protected water from pollution by sugar mills and indigo factories. The British scientists who worked in the Caribbean and the West Indies were aware of the same problems. Jamaica and Barbados were already eroding from the practice of clearing to make way for huge plantations. One fifth of the land area of To- bago was set aside as forest re- serve in 1764. These reserves have been expanded over the centuries and constitute “the oldest reserves of their kind in the world.” Other efforts on behalf of con- servation were made throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in places as diverse as Poland, Aus- tralia, and South Africa. These adventurous scientists were able to convince the economic and political authorities that it was in their best interest to conserve ecological systems instead of destroying them. I think it is time we learned from their example. Americans are generally “from Missouri.” We seem to have to be shown the situation before we will agree to act. In the 1930's, there was a bill before Congress which would address the terrible soil erosion problems of the Plains states. When dust from the Mid- west began filtering into the Capi- tal building in Washington, D.C., the legislators finally got serious about its passage! Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks were set aside only after photographers convinced people that these un- usual places were real. It seems that all of us could learn a great deal from those physicians and scientists of past centuries who trusted their ob- servations and convinced others to act based on their view of the natural world. Let's not repeat the errors of the past simply be- cause we refuse to see the conse- quences. J W.J. Challenger: to succeed is to dare to fail By J.W. JOHNSON Written by her mother, the book will be called: AJournal for Christa, and it will be published this fall. Proceeds will benefit an educa- tional fund. And the legacy grows. I remember it well. Christa McAuliffe leaping into space more than seven years ago; me coming back from a trip to Washington, D.C., while listening to the radio account of the launch, only to hear seconds later that the Chal- lenger shuttle had...well, ex- ploded? What did that mean...exploded? It couldn't explode, I remember thinking. 1 remember it well, because it was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. And upon finally hearing that the shuttle was lost, I pulled off the road, and cried uncontrolla- bly for longer than I care to admit. You see, it was me on that shuttle; me, that kid who spent hours and hours designing all kinds of spaceships; me who grew up under the shadow of our land- ing on the moon; me, who im- mersed himself with Bradbury, Asimov, Herbert, Pohl and a host of other science fiction writers. It was me on that shuttle with Christa; rather, it was somehow my hopes for my own future dashed into the sea...and self- ishly I clung to those hopes, even as I, along with million of people around the country clung to the hope that the accounts were wrong, that the crew and Christa would somehow come bobbing up outofthe Atlantic, safe and sound. It was more than seven years ago that I and this nation wept. The rest of the world waited until the following day, instinctively understanding that our loss was personal, not political. And the world will continue to weep for years to come. Following the 1986 Challenger disaster, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth about who and what toblame. And until that bright, clear day in January, space travel was the safest form of travel known to humankind: 56 mis- sions in space without a loss of life. And so in the confidence of history and the arrogance of youth, the march into space continued. Yet, and even if we didn't under- stand specifically why back then, we knew that so many things could go wrong. We expected it in the early days; in the days when sci- ence didn't understand as much; in the early days when we named our efforts after the gods—Mer- cury, Apollo—striving to touch the strength of those mythologies; in claiming those names, declaring those efforts to be feeble, our knowledge to be lacking; some- how and perhaps hoping in the symbols to find wisdom. Still, with all the success, we knew, and knew even on that day, that danger lurked. And yet it - couldn't happen on that day. On that particularday...at least that's what we told ourselves...and that's because She was on board. A mother. A teacher. My dreams. We denied the possibility be- cause she was hope; of enlight- ment. And on that day, carrying with her the collective freedom born aspirations of, perhaps, the Walter Mitty in us all: To learn, to share, to touch, to taste fame, smell danger; indeed, to express that freedom in the scraped knee melding of science and joy, technology and inspira- tion, steel and soul. Suddenly, without warning, and in the blink of millions of eyes, the heartbeat of a nation stopped. We watched...no, clung to the television, so often giving us mindless mayhem and insipid comedy...now shattering our gods. We watched as She and her professional colleagues leapt into space, stepped beyond earthly constraints, daring to be truly free; daring to success by daring to fail. We mourned her death then; we mark it again. But we should also celebrate her life, as we celebrate our own. Christa McAuliffe was a teacher. With bubbly courage and the enthusiasms which lives and finds nourishment only in a free person, she taught us. And the less she gave ultimate voice to is that free people, intend- ing to remain so, must joyfully don the robes of risk, or perpetu- ally be that naked child seeking fearful solace in the god-toys of apathy and ignorance. Seven human beings died on that day. Seven heroes to free- dom. Only yesterday 60 Years Ago - Sept. 8, 1933 KIRKENDALL IS NAMED DALLAS POSTMASTER Selected by Postmaster Gen- eral James A. Farley, on the rec- ommendation of the Luzerne County Democratic leaders, George T. Kirkendall, prominent resident of this section for the last 30 years, was named acting post- master for Dallas and assumed his new duties yesterday. Lehman Township schools opened Tuesday with an enroll- ment of 410 students. Only one change was made in the faculty. Mr. Mogul of Philadelphia replaced H.A. Snyder, teacher of foreign languages who resigned to accept a position in the Luzerne High School. Isabell Llewellyn Santiago of New York City and Milan, Italy formerly of this area, who has been visiting her parents Mr. and Mrs. William Llewellyn of Mt. Airy Road, Shavertown will appearat a concert tonight at the Shavertown M.E. Church. The concert will be her last public appearance before leaving for Italy where she will join her husband now on tour of Europe. 50 Years Ago - Sept. 3, 1943 LT. WESTERMAN IS P.O.W. IN GERMANY Mrs. Mary Westerman has been informed by the Canadian gov- ernment that her son Lt. Fred Westerman, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot is a prisoner of war in Germany. The Canadian govern- ment also supplied her with the names of other crew members and she has been able to contact their families and learn that they are also prisoners. Three out of four positions open in the Lehman High School fac- ulty have been filled according to an announcement by Supervis- ing Principal H.L. Hendricks. Mrs. Hannah Orr and Mrs. Martha Smith, former Dallas Township teachers will head the Hme Eco- nomics Dept., and the Science Dept. respectively, and Seymour Grossman of Plains will teach English and Latin. No one has been named as teacher of art. You could get - Frying chick- ens, 44 ¢ lb.; lean smoked picnics, 29¢ lb.; Supreme bread, 2 Ig. lvs., 17¢; Asco coffee, 24¢ lb. bag. 40 Years Ago - Sept. 4,1954 BORO BUYS OLIVER MOTORS FOR OFFICES Dallas Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday to pur- chase the Oliver property on Main Street for a Borough Building at a price not to exceed $25,000. The property which now houses Ol- iver Motors Garage and Sales Rooms is centrally located and has been on the market for some time. Worn down by prolonged strain and overcome by joy to hear that her son John had been returned to American territory in Korea in the Prisoner of War exchange, Mrs. AlmaVavrek, Demunds Rd. Dal- las, suffered a heart attack after receiving official notificiation of her son's release and a cable gram from John himself. 30 Years Ago - Sept. 5, 1963 L-L TO DEDICATE ITS NEW HIGH SCHOOL Lake-Lehman will dedicate its new high school September 14 at impressive evening exercises in the recently accepted building. Presiding will be Lester B. Squier, supervising principal. An Open House will follow the exercises with visitors guided through the new building which has been in operation since Sept. 24, 1992 but never officially accepted until the present. Americanism Night will be pre- sented September 13, by Daddow Isaacs Post 672, 8 p.m. at the home. An award will be presented to the person in the Back Moun- tain whom the members feel has contributed the most to the ad- vancement of the area. Books on Americanism will be presented to | Back Mountain Memorial Library, ° Misericordia, Gate of Heaven and | Dallas schools. 20 Years Ago - Sept. 6, 1973 DAIRY BAR TO BE NEW | MARK Il RESTAURANT Mel Mosier, owner and opera- tor of the Forty Fort Ice Cream | Store, Memorial Hwy., Dallas told * the Dallas Post that he will proba- bly soon be giving up the busi- | ness. Asked whether there is any truth to the rumor that he will TT lease the ice cream store to the . Mark II Family Restaurant group, | Mosier answered, “I believe so, it's i ] not finalized however.” The change | could become effective October 1. Lehman's teachers greeted incoming students, the threat ofa strike had been dispelled when the education association decided Thursday night to accept the school board's previous contract offer. Vote was 47-34. Ll i LA SE EE SE SE IE SE =. EL LW, AR TP I A TT RT TT I TT el a a a a oe Bo a EE gh SS Th a ~~ =o i Fa
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers