CT iA ee a dr ) af ~ a 4 The Dallas Post wa a A SE Ee a 2 a Aa rr A EW TF OC CTE TET EEE ETFE ET EEFTO ELT ESAT ERE TR Erbe en EE ah Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 10, 1994 | The Dallas Post Regional policing deserves a good look Officials from most Back Mountain communities cast off outdated misgivings last week and agreed to cooperate in a region-wide survey of law enforcement needs and costs. That may sound like a small step, but it could prove to be the first significant movement toward true regional planning. The state Department of Community Affairs has been push- ing regional policing for several years. Early on, their cheer- leading fell mostly on deaf ears, but gradually, contiguous communities in other parts of Pennsylvania have warmed to the idea, and there are now more than 20 such arrangements in the Commonwealth. None of them are in the northeastern part of the state, although the Back Mountain isn't the first place to think seriously about it. An effort in the Clarks Summit area fell apart when officials in outlying towns de- cided against allying themselves with then-powerful political power brokers. And there’s the rub. “Politics,” though maybe not the big- + city kind, is the most difficult obstacle to be overcome when in- ¢ dependent municipalities consider whether to share some- + thing as important as police protection with their neighbors. ¢ Many questions come up: Will our streets be patrolled as often © as they are now? Will response to an emergency come as + quickly? Will the patrolman know all the street names and ¥ shortcuts? Will our loyal officers be treated well by a larger . entity, or will they be swallowed up in the bureaucracy? The { answers to these and many other questions must be forthcom- ing if this notion has any chance to become reality. wr On a purely logical basis, it’s hard to make a good argument against a regional police force for the Back Mountain. It should cost less and provide equal protection to larger municipalities; for smaller towns, the availability of full-time officers around the clock would be a marked improvement, and such an ar- rangement should cost less than a cruiser and a barebones » department. One certaintly, though, is that more than one + station house must be maintained to serve such a large area. We'll leave other details to people more acquainted with the ‘nuts and bolts of policing, but the concept surely seems worth investigating further. wr wy Publisher's notebook When Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell was being ‘interviewed about his health care proposal on National Public ‘Radio, he told a classic New England joke to illustrate his - position that it’s not how you get there that counts, it's the destination. Seems a fellow was driving up to Maine and as he crossed the state line, saw two signs. One read: “Portland, I- 1 95.” The other was: “Portland, Route 1.” So he pulled over to ask which was the best way to go. Encountering a crusty - Mainer, he asked, “Does it matter which way I go to Portland?”. To which the Mainer replied, “Not to me, it don’t.” i Park naturalist Jerry Kozlansky frets that not enough Back - Mountain folks visit Frances Slocum State Park, or at least ' areas beyond the swimming pool. In addition to the park's ! natural attractions, he offers a full schedule of nature walks . and other programs for all ages, covering everything from bird : watching to fishing. The park is a delight to visit in all seasons. . We have fished, hiked, picked berries and ridden sleds there . for several years. It's a great place for the kids to get some . exercise while learning a little more about nature. So are . Rickett’s Glen and Moon Lake; we are fortunate to have so : much of the outdoors so accessible — and free, too. 000 We were approaching a minor crisis with waste newspapers » last week. The Post and its sister paper The Abington Journal - don't generate that many leftovers, but combined with copies . of other papers we get at the office, they had filled our back . porch over a period of several months. A farmer in Sweet Valley . had been picking them up regularly, then suddenly stopped . doing so. I figured he was disappointed after his last trip here, - when there weren't enough papers to make it worthwhile. I hoped he was just staying away until he was sure the pile was - big enough, but after nearly six months, I was coming to the * conclusion we had let him down one too many times. Was I surprised and pleased over the weekend to see an empty - porch! If you are reading this, thank you. Please give me a call because I've misplaced your phone number. Recycling newsprint is a hot topic in our industry, both in ; getting rid of the old and for printing the new. State and federal . officials frequently introduce legislation, none of which has yet - passed, that would mandate the use of a minimum percentage . of recycled paper. Fortunately, the rules would skip small ' newspapers like ours. Because we contract for printing, we use whatever newsprint our printer keeps in stock and that . may not meet the requirements. ~ Manyindustry observers think the issue will resolve itself as . more recycled paper reaches the market, where demand . presently outstrips supply by a good measure. ol at a RWANDA REFUGEES &lo John W. Johnson The Dallas Post Published Weekly by Bartsen Media, Inc. | P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 Telephone: 717-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Grace R. Dove REPORTER Peggy Young ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala PRODUCTION MANAGER CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Jill Urbanas OFFICE MANAGER MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION VOTED 3rd BEST SMALL WEEKLY IN THE U.S., 1993 Es en Sw ee em Believe it or not, the island of Cuba, and its fiery Marxist leader Fidel Castro, has joined the rest of the communist world in throwing off the shackles of a morally and otherwise bankrupt system of government. In the last year, Castro has allowed Cubans to use U.S. dol- lars openly, has permitted self employment, and has increased agricultural production by giving farmers a stake in increase pro- ductivity. Of course, the reality of no more subsidy from the former Soviet Union had as much to do with Castro's sudden change of heart as anything else. It was 33 years ago (April, 1961) that the abortive Bay of Pigs inva- sion of Cuba was unceremoni- ously thrown back into the sea. That same year, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. : In 1962, President John F. Kennedy served notice that, if fired upon, American advisors in Viet- nam would fire back. The United States actually suffered its first Vietnam casualty a year earlier. It was also in 1962 that Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring was published, launching the environ- mental movement. The space program, of course, grew and resulted in a man on the moon 25 years ago in 1969, and seven heroes to freedom dying in 1986 aboard the shuttle Chal- lenger, from which the latter inci- dent it will take many years for NASA to recover. The Vietnam War expanded, shattering this nation’s innocence, the shards of which still scar the American soul. The environmental movement has grown into Earth Day, and finally a planet-wide conscious- ness that Mother Earth is as frag- ile as its caretakers. Finally, in October, 1962, this nation worried under the perceived threat of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis. And what has remained con- stant since the Bay of Pigs and the missile crisis, of course, has been the focus of those two events in Castro is batting .300 against United States the first place: Fidel Castro and ‘his self-styled revolution, based on Marxist-Leninist communism. In recent discussions with a friend of mine who was in Wash- ington at the time, and who was what insiders call a ‘White House intimate’, a clearer picture had emerged about what actually happened in October, 1962. The American public was told that then Russian premier Nikita Krushchev had backed down. A more accurate account follows: The crisis was partially politi- cally inspired. Republicans were making political snowballs of the fact that Kennedy had failed to send in U.S. aircraft to help Bay of Pigs invaders during the previous year, in effect insuring victory to Castro. Republicans were also saying that Russia was arming Cuba to the teeth, while in September, 1962, Kennedy warned the Rus- sians not to send missiles to Cuba. When U.S. intelligence discovered that the warnings had been ig- nored, that in fact, some 40 mis- siles were on ships bound for Cuba, Kennedy found himselfon a political hot seat. The next seven days following the missile discovery resulted in a Kennedy speech that announced a naval blockade of Cuba, begin- ning October 22. The question then was whether the Russian ships would turn back, be stopped and boarded, or sunk by the U.S. Navy. And at the time the U.S. held a significant naval advan- tage, and had about 5,000 nu- clear warheads to Russia's 300. But in announcing the naval blockade, and apparently risking war, Kennedy was at the same time secretly telling Khrushschev he would remove U.S. missiles near Russia's border with Turkey if the Russians wouldn't station missiles in Cuba. Kennedy was honestly tryingto avoid war. But in addition to the Turkey missile offer, Kennedy then sweetened the deal by, effectively guaranteeing the survival of Cas- tro. Kennedy did so by pledging to Khrushshev that the U.S. would henceforward not lay hands on Cuba. Even the communists were impressed by this pledge...for it negated the Monroe Doctrine...repeat, it negated the Monroe Doctrine. That doctrine in essence opposed European (or other) intervention in the Ameri- cas and had stood for more than 130 years up to that point. Kennedy's offer to the Russians also did something the Russians would never had done: relinquish- ing influence overa countryinour sphere of interest, literally in our own backyard. That is, in essence, what Ken- nedydid...to avoid a possible mili- tary incident, but also to win the domestic public relations and political contest. It was this secret agreement that caused Khrushchev to turn his ships around and bring back those 40 missiles which had been destined for Cuba. In doing so, he had won what amounted to U.S. non-interference with his com- munist protege just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, a pledge which should never have been made. Parenthetically, in 1978 the Russians sent nuclear delivery MIG 23's to Cuba, which are there today. Thus any romanticizing of our efforts in the Cuban missile crisis are misplaced and yet another at- tempt to romanticize the Kennedy presidency as Camelot. There was, in fact, the potential for conflict, but ti could have been resolved without a sacrifice of the: Cuban people on the doomed al- tar of communism. The so-called Russian back- down wasreally a secret deal which. killed the Monroe Doctrine. Khrushchev got all he wanted and more than he expected. Castro's regime was made sacrosanct. And there's nothing romantic about that. And to bring the entire situ- ation full circle, Castro has since 1962. —attempted on several occa- sions to shut down the Guantan- amo Naval Station by cutting off its water supplly. —in 1980, allowed 125,000 persons to leave Cuba, including an estimated 30,000 criminals, in the now infamous “Mariel boat- lift". And despite recent—and self serving—attempts to bring Cuba into a free market economy, there are many in Cuba, Florida and throughout the United States who fervently wish that President Kennedy had followed less of his political agenda. They fervently wish that Castro had stayed in New York to become a major base- ball player, a dream he held as a young man. He's certainly batted .300 against United States politicians. Library news Unique snow dome collection is on display By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library is showing a collection of Snow Domes in the display case borrowed from Philip Weaver of Sweet Valley. Philip is 9 1/2 years old and will be in fourth grade at Ross Elementary School in the fall. He was always fascinated by the water domes and started sav- ing them when he was five years old. He received his first one as a Christmas ornament with a Ninja Turtle. His favorite one is a double dome of sea creatures. It has a sea turtle on the base; which is special, because he had a pet turtle, Freddie, who died and now he has this water dome to replace Freddie. Many of the domes are bought on trips. There are some from Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Long Boat Key, Florida, Knoebel's Grove and a special one of Lady Liberty from Liberty Island, New York which holds center spot in the display. His latest addition is a carousel. It has a pull string which swirls the water to make the horse inside appear to move. This one he found at Knoebel's Grove. He received these as holi- day gifts and birthday presents. His birthday is October 23 so he has many that are for Halloween. Included in the display are domes for Easter, New Years, Christmas, Halloween, ocean scenes, and special places. There is a dome from Canada; two from Philadelphia, Franklin Institute and Liberty Bell; and a neat one filled with sea shells. The most important one to Philip has a dolphin on top and it was brought from Florida by his late uncle and namesake, Philip Walker. This makes a nice dis- play for the weeks before school begins again. It will be at the library until August 31. New books at the library: “Eye Contact” by Stephen Collins is the author's first novel, and it is a riv- eting story of actor Stephen Collins as he entices us into the world of Nicolette Stallings —Nick—a New York actress whose best perform- ances are off-screen, in her dan- gerous relations with men. He is a perfect proper stranger, sitting across the trendy restaurant with his wife. Nick nubs him, Wally Wall Street, but when their eyes meet Nick can tell he's trying to connect. Eventually, she will stand alone—suspected of mur- der. “Hidden Riches" by Nora Roberts is a jewel of a romantic suspense novel, in which precious treasures are masked in tawdry disguises and the price tags are written in blood. This story plunges into the exotic and deca- dent world of antiques with a story in which possession is a lethal obsession and a simple mistake leads to a string of savage mur- ders. Dora Conroy, a Philadel- phia antiques dealer, buys a curi- ous selection of auction items which turns out tobe a magnet for something sinister. She discov- ers a shadowy path leading to a smuggler. Only | yesterday i E:! 60 Years Ago - Aug. 17, 1934 | | KIDS' DAY AT LAKE | Tap dancing lessons which are | given under supervision of Play- ground & Recreation Association of Wyoming Valley are attracting | an increasing number of children from this section. This afternoon | at Fernbrook Park, J. McAndrew, teacherofunusualabilitywillhave charge. 3 Thousands of children are expected to be present at Harveys Lake Picnic Grounds Aug. 19 when the management, in coop- eration with employees and Wyo- ming Valley business firms, holds | its 2nd annual Children’s Day. Members of the committee in | charge of the recent Carnival held | by Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Co. announce that after payment of ~ all expenses proceeds from the ™ affair show a profit of $442.43. 50 Years Ago - Aug. 11, 1944 STRITZINGER KILLED IN ACTION IN FRANCE Staff Sgt. Willliam Stritzinger, 22, a Dallas Township boy and a former guard on his high school football team, was killed in action _ on July 9, in France. There were al} no details of his death in a tele- gram from the War Department to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Stritzinger Sr., of Fernbrook. Atourofvocational educational projects in the Back Mountain Region will be conducted Aug. 15 under sponsorship of Anthracite, Laketon and Lehman Chapters of Future Farmers of America. All voctional-agricultural students '/ their parents and friends are in- vited toaccompany the tour which starts at Demunds Corners at 8:30 a.m. You could get - Potatoes, 10 Ibs., 49¢; Elberta peaches, 2 lbs., 19¢; fresh ground beef, 25¢ Ib; Pork butts one size piece, 35¢ Ib.; onions 3 lbs., 16¢. i 40 Years Ago - Aug. 13, 1954 BEAUTY CONTEST IN HELD AT THE LAKE Lehman-Jackson-Ross Town- ship school board appointed four teachers at Tuesday's meeting and selected a custodian for the ele- mentary school in Sweet Valley; Appointed were Nancy Royer; Marie Mizdail, Mary B. Pleban and John Armstrong. George Birth was named custodian for “ the Ross Township building. | The Harveys Lake Lions Club i$ sponsoring its annual “Lady of the Lake” Beauty Contest to be held Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. Pre; 1 liminaries start this Sunday and finals the following Sunday at Sunset Park, Harveys Lake. ! Now playing at the Dallas Out+ door Theatre - “Men of the Fight; ing Lady” with Van Johnson; Walter Pidgeon and Keenan Wynn: OD |] { 30 Years Ago - Aug. 13, 1964 | SEWAGE CLOSES : LAKE TO SWIMMING The Health Department is working as fast as it can to find violators of the ordinance prohib- iting discharge of raw sewage into Harveys Lake, Dr. Richard Potter, director told the Dallas Post this week. Contrary to rumor, the lake is still not safe for swimming. Vandalism at the Westmore- land Elementary School has con- tinued, according to Dr. Robert Mellman, superintendent of Dal- las Area schools. Lumber stored outside the building for the con- version of two new classrooms was damaged when vandals rolled large boulders on top of the two by fours. Dallas Rotary Club Fall Fair and Fashion Show will be held Sept. 18 and 19 on Lehman Horse Show Grounds. One of the most popular events of the Fall Festival last year, the baby show is sched- uled for 10 a.m. Saturday. 20 Years Ago - Aug. 15, 1974 NEW ENCON FACTORY OPENS IN FERNBROOK Keys for the new ENCON fa¢- tory were presented to Energy Convertors Inc. by Alfred H. Ach- erson, chairman of Luzerne County Industrial Authority, Aug. 8. Receiving the keys on behalf of the corporation was Hanford L. Eckman, president. : A legal action was filed Friday by Frank Burnside, Harveys Lake to prevent the statute of limita- (J) tion from runnning out on a $57,000 harness racing grant many people claim the Harveys Lake sewer designers Glace & Glace failed to apply for. : Mr. and Mrs. John Baur, Dal- las will observe their 50th anni- versary Aug. 23. They are the parents of four children, 14 grand- children and three great grand- children. The Baurs will be hon- al x N i + i pe tly 1 ored by their children at an open house at the Continental Inn, Luzerne, Sunday at 2 p.m. ol
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers