4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, February 1, 1995 The Dallas Post School plan is only the start of education The Lake-Lehman School District recently adopted a new strategic plan, with some admirable new goals and many worthy old ones. Like all policy statements, it will be only as good as its implementation, no matter how impressive its words. The two most significant additions are the requirement that all students produce a senior project, and each learn a second language well enough to communicate in day-to-day matters. In addition, a portfolio of each student's best work will follow him or her through the system. In theory, this will show what the student is capable of, and provide insight for each succeed- ing teacher. The new plan doesn’t make great changes in the priorities of administrators and teachers in the district, nor should it. It does incorporate the new “learning outcomes” required by the state, most of which are focused on proving a student's competence before graduation. The most important suggestion the state made was that the curriculum be responsive to the needs of the students and the community, providing them with an educational base suited to varying abilities and aptitudes. Along that line, new superintendent William Price says he would like to see typing courses include word processing skills, and bookkeeping add training in computer spreadsheet pro- grams. Public interest was curiously absent in the 30 days leading up to the board’s vote on the new plan. Board member Patricia Gold, who was elected in part on the strength of her concerns about the new plan, was one of only three persons to view the plan prior to adoption, and one of the others was an official from the Crestwood School District. An informational meeting drew fewer than 20 people, according to Dr. Price. That is quite a contrast to the chorus of criticism that greeted the introduction of outcome-based education a couple of years ago. At that point, you could be forgiven for thinking the proposed changes were the work of the devil, or at least of Communists. Yet, when the time came to actually learn about what was being proposed, only a handful of people could be bothered. Perhaps in the interim they have come to realize that OBE isn't the radical idea it was thought to be, or maybe opponents have shown their interest is only skin deep. There's an old African saying that it takes an entire village to raise a child. Certainly it takes more than a shiny new plan and teachers to educate youngsters. Parents, other family mem- bers, business people and others must continually reinforce the importance of education in children’s lives now and in the future, or all the planning will be of no value. Publisher's notebook | We're just back from a week at Club Med in the Dominican Republic, and it was a great vacation. Every good thing we had heard about Club Med proved true, and nothing was disap- pointing, except having to leave. This resort had organized activities for children over the age of two, so Katie and Carl took the opportunity to make new friends and try new activities. One big hit was the flying trapeze — a real one complete with professional coaches and safety harnesses. It was not easy for a five and eight year old to overcome the fear of climbing about 30 feet up a shaky ladder, then swinging on a bar over the net, but they did it. So did Charlotte. Club Med is truly an international destination, and we met and spoke with people from seven nations. I had a chance to try out my Berlitz-tape French and Charlotte was able to put her German to good use. We also met families from Canada, Argentina, Austria and Belgium, and GOs (gentils organ- isateurs) from Australia and New Zealand. The food — one of Club Med’s big attractions — was generous and well-prepared. When's the last time you could fill a plate with as much escargot as you wanted? We talked with a physician from Canada who was astounded dat how his nation’s medical care system has been misrepre- sented in the U.S. He expressed satisfaction with his job as an emergency room doctor, and said stories of waits for inade- quate care were simply untrue. He, and another Canadian we met asked how Americans tolerate the level of gun violence that exists here. They simply couldn't understand our society's fascination with weapons and violence. The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispanola with Haiti, and as in most Caribbean nations, the majority of people live in poverly. A bus ride to a nearby beach took us past ram- shackle dwellings of tin and wood, with a few animals in the dirt yards. One way to make money is selling items to tourists, and we bought a couple of wood sculptures to add to our collection. Snorkeling was a highlight of the trip. Charlotte and I have snorkeled off several Caribbean islands, but this was the first time Katie had the chance to try it. We saw many brightly- colored tropical fish in our three excursions, but the coral did not seem healthy compared to other sites we had seen. I re- member reading a few years ago that coral in the region was dying from unknown causes, and this may simply be part of a ‘natural cycle of abundance and decay. All in all, I can’t think of a better way to spend a week in January. Win scholarships for a course at PSU Five Lake-Lehman High School students recently received scholarships to take a three-credit course at Penn State Wilkes-Barre this spring through funds raised from the local Penn State campus’ Annual Fund Campaign. Students are seated from left: Joel Toluba, Jen Dinger, Saranga Jain, Jennifer Feehan and Melody Sidorowicz; standing from left, principal John Oliver, Penn State academic advisor and assistant registrar, Mary Ghilani; director of academic affairs Dr. Paul Schwartz; guidance counselor, Flossie Finn. Ms. Jain’s father, Dr. Ashok Jain, is a visiting professor of physics at the campus. A Case for Conservation Alene N. Case I often wonder what happened to my friend Scotty. She was a pretty girl with long red hair and bright blue eyes. And, she was very intelligent. But, when we were in ninth grade, she quit school to marry a dashing young man who had just graduated from our high school. She was still 15 when their first baby was born. As far as | know, she never com- pleted her education. Where I grew up in the moun- tains of North Carolina, Scotty was not unusual. Many of my classmates dropped out for simi- lar reasons before graduation. In fact, in our class of 47 students, four girls were married before they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. I was the only girl to attend a university directly after high school. As | contempleted these facts in light of recent concern over teen pregnancies - wed or unwed, I read a truly astonishing state- ment in a classic text by MacArthur and Connell entitled The Biology of Populations: “In a growing population, a woman who has her first child when she is 18, and has another child each year until she has five children, con- tributes as much to the rate of population growth as another woman who has her first child when she is 30 and has ten chil- dren in ten years.” You may want to reread that statement because I am not going to give you the mathematical equation that de- scribes it. Let us simply consider As I was saying 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 2 PRINTED WITH ov INK| OFFICE MANAGER MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION AND PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER'S ASSOCIATION VOTED 3rd BEST SMALL WEEKLY IN THE U.S., 1993 ...DECEPTIVE PACKAGING? Our dog Robbie has “a mind of his own” just like the Westie books say they do. When he has fin- ished with his business outside, he needs some inducement to come back inside. What usually does the trick is saying, “Here's a biscuit!” We go through an awful lot of biscuits. Right now we are into a new box, and I'd like to quote from some copy on the outside: “Flavor Treats Introducing new Meaty Bone flavor treats...bite size treats your dog will love in four tasty varieties. BEEF. BACON. CHEESE. CHICKEN. Treat your dog to a New Delicious Flavor Every Day.” Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Well 1 have counted 35 ingredi- ents listed on the box in fine print, including potassium sorbate, 8-3/4". Teen pregnancy — a global problem needing a solution some implications of this biologi- cal fact for our human popula- tion. My friend Scotty could easily be a great-grandmother by now if her offspring also tended to marry and have children early. My own mother, who had her first child (me) at age 35, is 81 years old and is not yet a great-grandmother. Assuming that Scotty and each of her offspring had only two chil- dren (which I doubt), she could be “mother” to 30 or more people by the time she is my mother’s age! MacArthur and Connell go on to say that if a population is not growing, the age of the mother has no effect. But, our human population is growing. That means that our birth rate is greater than our death rate. I do not think that any of us wish to revert to a time when life spans. were 30 or 40 years.’ Theréfore, We had better figure out ways to control our numbers by limiting the size of our families and extending the ages of first-time mothers. The only other alternative is to con- tinue our population increase until we exhaust our resources and our population “crashes.” Appalachia and inner-city America are not the only places where early childbearing is caus- ing problems. The entire develop- ing world seems to be stuck in a wide variety of cultural habits that perpetuate this situation. At the root of most of these traditions is the low educational and economic status of women. Birth rates decrease dramatically when girls are given a chance to gain an education and when women are allowed to participate in the cash economy. In many cultures, a woman's only economic contribu- tion is in marriage and child- bearing. Such activities as grow- ing food, gathering fuel or water, caring for children and the eld- erly, making clothes, etc. are not considered “economic” contribu- tions. Improving the educational status of women has a variety of beneficial effects. These effects include better family nutrition, healthier children, more atten- tion to family planning alterna- tives, and fewer sexually trans- mitted diseases. One of the most devastating effects of the low status of women is to their per- sonal health. Women who have babies young tend to have more complications than more mature women. Young women also tend to seek illegal and unsterile abortions when they find themselves pregnant. They often become prostitutes, greatly increasing their risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases. In some areas of Africa and Asia, dying before the end of their child- bearing years. Dr. Nafis Sadik, the executive director of the UN Population Fund states that the “combination of poverty, rapid population growth and environmental damage is a powerful destabilizing factor driv- ing urban growth and eventually international migration.” In other words, if we who are affluent wish to address the immigration prob- lem in a meaningful way, we should seek ways to educate all women, give them access to ade- quate healthcare, and encourage their participation in the econo- mies of all countries. Only by doing so can the cycle of poverty, overpopulation and environ- mentaldegradation be slowed and eventually reversed. I pray that Scotty's daughters used their intelligence to stay in school and to contribute more than children to their communi- ties. Jack and Robbie-dog take on the dog biscuit people which they call a “mold inhibitor” and that is indeed good to know, but where are the instructions on just how one determines which biscuit has which delicious fla- vor? The box says my dog will love me for the four tasty varieties if treat him to a new one every day, and I want him to love me, but how do do this when the biscuits contain no identifying marks whatsover? Am I supposted to taste them first? Okay, so that is no big deal. He will just think I mixed them up wrong if he has cheese twice in a row. But what about this, which is what is really bugging me, a statement which reads: “Contents filled by weight and not by vol- ume. Some settling of contents may occur during handling.” So, here we go: Hand me the ruler please. Box height: 7-3/4". Height of contents inside the box: By means of a simple mathematical calculation which I believe is called subtraction we get the following for height of air in box: 4"! I submit this is decep- tive in the extreme. I do not, sir, pay for air. “Settling may occur?” A whole four d____ inches worth? Sorry, my mind is made up. I have instructed my attorney to prepare the papers forthwith. He hasbeen told to sue those people for every biscuit they've got. ...GREAT LINES - from the Library Association. You will like them: Want to read more? Talk less. Keep a book in your briefcase by your bed Turn off the tube Tune into books Expand your horizons Read for Fun Read for information Use your library ...FROM THE NY TIMES CLAS- SIFIED An ad, word for word, just as it appeared recently: “JOE DIMAGGIO 1950 NY Yankee home game worn flannel 100% original, no restoration, 3 letters of au- thenticity. $125,000. Call 516- 482-2108.” Did I read that right, 125 big ones? 125 large? One more ques- tion then please, is that why they are striking, they need a larger clothing allowance? Don't take me out to the ball game. Ever. $1.49 lb.; macaroni, Only yesterday 5 § i | | | § [] 60 Years Ago - Feb. 8, 1935 | STATE MUST PAY K. T. SCHOOLS $10,000 ! A representative from the State Department of Education will come here to confer with officials of Kingston Township Schpol District in an effort to clear up financial problems which have resulted from failure of the State to make a $10,000 payment due the local district. Because of thei) delay, the district has been un- able to pay $4,500 due on Janu- ary salaries and other obligations. Flames threatened to consume the building of the H.L. Bottling Works early yesterday morning and caused a loss estimated roughly at $5,000. Members of Daniel C. Roberts Fire Co. of Harveys Lake controlled the fire, but when it seemed likely that the blaze might spread to other build- ings nearby, a call was sent to Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Co. which responded and stood by ready to give assistance. : 50 Years Ago - Feb. 2, 1945 FIRST SOLDIER FROM, ORANGE DIES IN WAR. One hundred ten persons have contributed $6,500 in an individ ji ual subscription of $50 or more to the rapidly growing fund for a Back Mountain Memorial Library. Harry Ohlman, treasurer of the association announced of this amount more than $3,500 has already been deposited into the library account. William Snyder Frantz Mo MM 2/c died of wounds received jn action somewhere in the Philip- pines area, according to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Snyder of Orange. He is the first of the men in service from Orange to give his life in battle; Pvt. John Laity, 31, medical corpsman with the 77th Infantry Division died on Leyte Island, Philippines Jan. 1, according to information received by his wife the former Margaret Cook of Ide- town. 40 Years Ago - Feb. 4, 1955 ROBERTS WINS WITH ARTHUR GODFREY Granville Sowden, co-owner of Back Mountain Lumber & Coal Co,. announced the issuance of‘a state corporate charter for the incorporation of the local busi- women have a1 in 6 chance of Tess. The charter, received Jan. 14, authorizes the new corpora- tion to capitalize at $600,000 for the purpose of dealing in lumber, coal, hardware, plumbing and heating supplies. Included in the corporation is the recently ac- quired Dallas Hardware & Supply Co. Mrs. Bessie Jones of Shaver- town watched her nephew, Ken- neth Roberts, win the Arthur Godfrey Talent Show competition Monday evening with a baritone a solo. However, judging by audi- ence reaction to his appearances on Godfrey shows, he’s going to be busier than ever on his way up the ladder to stardom. 3 Now playing at the Himmler Theatre “The Last Time I Saw Paris” with Van Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor. b) 30 Years Ago - Feb. 4, 1965 SIX YOUNG MEN NAMED EAGLE SCOUTS Fifty four drivers from Com- - monwealth Telephone Company's General Office in Dallas were ‘honored for safe driving records Tuesday by Pennsylvania Manu- facturer’s Association Insurands Co. Richard Disque blasted Woy at the pins to the tune of 243-202 208 (653) as he set the pace for Gordon's Insurance at the Bach Mountain Bowling alleys. , Lake-Lehman topped Dallag 89-73 on the Mounts home cou Friday to close out the first half of North League competition. Both teams placed fourth with three ‘wins and four losses. Lake Troop 331 will fete Six scouts from Lake, Noxen an Beaumont Area at a recognition dinner ceremonies Wednesday: evening for the elevation of John, Bozek, David Finn, Robert Johnson, Charles Lee Murphy, Peter Sarmonis and Barry West to rank of Eagle Scout. 20 Years Ago - Feb. 6, 1975 NEW AREA JAYCEES CHAPTER FORMS Robert Miller Jr. family, after losing three children and Mri Miller's grandmother in an early morning fire Jan. 25, have taker an apartment on Claude St., Dallas. They are without furnt! ture, and clothing. A drive has begun to assist the family. i You could get - Round steak 4/%$1.00; grapefruit, 5/79¢; Campbell Cream of Mushroom Soup, 5/ $1.00. on FEES Fo ~ ol o € ® K ( E | oq s © ¢ © 4 L ib. | 4 1 1 | 4
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers