v W A f] & ol 2 ® The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, February 15,1995 5 2 [Jack Hilsher | _ Ina previous reincarnation, for one year I wrote a column for another paper, and during that time, I suggested to their editor that some of my columns be res- taurant reviews. I had planned to slant them primarily at senior and pick places which were bargains, and offer comments on the food and serv- ice, prices, etc. pretty much like Elaine Tait does for the INQUIRER. I was certain it would be interest- ing reading besides being helpful to the dining out set. Well the editor squelched my idea. She said (and now you know which paper) that owners of local restaurants got upset “when their establishments were criticized.” She'added, somewhat haughtily I thought, “This valley isn't ready for anything like that.” ‘Well it wasn't long after that we parted company (no, silly, not over that...you could say it was by mutual agreement.) Then that same paper suddenly started printing weekly restaurant re- views, all on the exact same lines I had suggested but with this disclaimer, “The reviewer's iden- tity is withheld to avoid the possi- bility. of preferential treatment.” And so in the spirit of friendly @hostwriter | by Paul Rismiller I've recently been. accused of being out of line with my criticism (mockery would be a better phrase) of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Perhaps my dismay and disgust with the leader of the free world, and her hus- band, will be more understand- able if I get something off my chest. I'was a Clintonistal ‘Yes, I confess - I not only voted for Bubba, but I actively worked as a campaign volunteer for "the man from Hope!" Now I must work overtime to expiate my sin. -You see, | actually believed that Bill Clinton was a "New Demo- crat". That he was done with the liberal lie that the government could solve social ills by shoveling more and more of our tax dollars at them. I was self-deluded. I'wanted to fire George Bush for betraying the legacy of the Reagan years by cutting a deal with the congressional Democrats to rip us off, Voting for the "little general", Ross Perot, was out of the ques- tion. Despite the comic relief he provided during the '92 campaign, I would have given serious consid- eration to emigration if he had, by some disastrous happenstance, become president. And even though I had serious doubts as to Clinton's character, | blew them off. As a vet, I shrugged off his draft scam, when I should have known better. I ignored the "bimbo eruptions", glazed over shady financial dealings and Hillary's wacko left leanings. In short, I settled for the lesser of three evils. And what did I, and the rest of the nation get? Whiplash from the sharp left turn Bill made after drop- Yummy for competitiveness we'll do our own review, only in their inimitable and unique style. If you haven't read any of theirs, you'll get the idea pretty quickly. I wouldn't call my version satire exactly, for its synonyms are caustic, sarcas- tic and ironical, and heck no, I won't be like those. No, it's all in fun, but if they get upset about it, then frankly, my dear, I don't give a you-know-what! So here goes: The first thing I noticed about the Old Log Inn was that the en- trance was through the front door. I prefer that when we dine out; going through the kitchen to get to one’s table is so tacky. The foyer was stall and not too well lighted. Aswe hung our coats on the moosehead rack I noticed the wallpaper had a tad too much pink. The flower design was a bit fusty also. Chairs in the dining room all had the correct number of legs, which I prefer, and the table seemed to be just about the right height once we were seated, which did not take a tad too long. On the one-page menu - hard the tummy to see in the oil lamp’s light - there were no appetizers at all. I found this rather disappointing because it meant that I would have to order two entrees. However as luck would have it, there were two on the menu although the wait- ress, when she finally returned, said some nights there were three entrees on the menu. My first selection, tarte aux legumes beurre de citron, turned out to be a sort of inept quiche in an overcooked crust. Crepe deris de veau was a flaccid wrapper filled with hard little nuggets that might once have been sweet- breads. A galette de crabe a la bisque my companion had was a soggy mess, while it should have seen a lovely puff filled with fat chunks of crab meat in arich and delicious sauce... Oh my! I am sorry! I must have mixed up my notes from a week- end in Philadelphia. Those dishes weren't from the Old Log Inn at all! Thinking back I am not sure what we had there. Mine was possum I believe, underdone, and with a tad too much tarragon, while my companion had wild boar, which he complained was done too well and had a tad too much tad. Oh well, anyway they told us not to come back after we com- plained about there being no desserts. I had been looking for- ward to at least a brownie or two. I prefer two. With French Vanilla. Two scoops. So, see you next week when we perhaps will have dined at a more civilized hostelry. Learn and live, I always say. And, as the Romans always say, “Bon Appetitus!” Confessions of a Clintonista; pulling the plug on PBS, O.J. ping his right hand on inaugura- tion day. (Which, by the way, wouldn't have been covered by Hillary's power-grab, er, Health Care Plan.) And boy, did Clinton hit the ground running! Gays in the Mili- tary, Nannygate, Travelgate, the Health Care scam, Bosnia, North Korea, Whitewater, the Foster sui- cide, Jocelyn Elders, etc., etc., ad nauseam. Even now, at the mid-point of his first (and hopefully only term) what have we got? - Barbara Streisand seems to have become Hillary's stand-in. Whatever talent Ms. Streisand pos- sesses has always eluded me, but she isa successin her field. Unfor- tunately, her field isn't politics. B.S. has been more and more vis- ible as a Bubba-Booster, obviously confusing her freedom of expres- sion with a right to be taken seri- ously. - The troubled nomination of Dr. Henry Foster for Surgeon Gen- eral. As a OB-GYN man, it would have surprised me if Dr. Foster had not performed any abortions, and whether you're pro or anti- abortion, the fact remains that the procedure is legal. But the number of abortions isn't what's sinking the nomina- tion of "Elders Lite" - it's the fact that the number is changing on a seemingly daily basis. It betrays the administration's institutional, pathological, avoidance of the truth. The Clinton philosophy seems to be: "How can we fool them today?" (Dittos to Rush.) - Clinton's sticking his nose in the baseball strike, and as usual, proving to be a national em- barassment. Bad enough trying to inject the federal government in something it has no business in, worse still to be ignored by the parties involved. As to the ballplayers, I don't care if they ever come back. Given all of the above, my criti- cism is hardly out of line. LN J As the government finally be- gins the debate on curtailing the albatross of welfare for the poor, it seems only fitting that we include welfare for the affluent in the dis- cussion as well. One example has already been booted about - cutting taxpayer funding to PBS. Critics of public broadcasting point to a decidely leftward ideological bent. Defend- ers point to quality, culturally en- riching programming, available no where else. fing Both sides have valid points. But the question is - should fed- eral tax money be supporting it? The answer is a resounding no! While tax funding was obviously necessary to get PBS up and run- ning, it is now a going concern, receiving only 20% of its budget from the feds. PBS's defenders are trying to hide behind Barney and Big Bird, claiming the heartless Republicans want to croak these lovable characters, but these crit- ters pull in billions of dollars - none of which are going into PBS's coffers. They should certainly get a cut from money-makers, and they may actually have to tighten their belts. But PBS most assuredly can make up the shortfall when Uncle Sam, rightfully, pulls the plug. LN J I know I can't be the only one sick and tired of the O.J. spectacle, and here I find myself weighing in on the mess! While I don't want to discount the sad and savage deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goodman, there are, tragically, murder trails tak- ing place in every state of the union every day. Just because the ac- cused in this case is famous, the press has been cramming it down our throats. At this point, I don't care if O.J. is found innocent or guilty, drops dead, or is stuffed in the trunk of the next space shuttle. If] thought it might be taken seriously, Id consider confessing, if only to purge the airwaves of O.J.! And that's the saddest part of being beaten over the head with this case every day. As a citizen I should care whether an innocent man is imprisoned...or a murderer walks free. L-L pre-school program "Charles James and Robert Kunkle, Elementary Principals for the Lake-Lehman School District, announce the third installment of Lake-Lehman'’s Early Childhood / Pre-school Program is scheduled for February 21, 22 and 23, and will feature nutrition and health, along with an explanation of kin- dergarten. Faculty from each building will conduct the nutrition and health presentation. Separate activities including storytime, games, crafts and snacks are scheduled for the children at each elementary school. The schedule for this pre-school presentation is as follows: Feb. 21, Ross, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m: Feb. 22, Lake-Noxen, 9a.m.- 10:30 a.m.; Feb. 23, Lehman-_ Jackson, 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Program topics: Nutrition and Health - On this date parents and children are invited to be our guests for lunch with the Kinder- garten classes. Explanation of Screening Procedure. To register for this third pres- entation, call the neighboring elementary school office and let them know how many adults and children will be attending: Ross Elementary School, 477- 5050 or 256-7897; Lake-Noxen Elementary School, 639-1129; Lehman-Jackson Elementary School, 675-2165. The program is intended for four-year olds only. It is kindly requested that you not bring younger brothers and sisters unless there is no alternative. Penn State to host paralegal open house Penn State Wilkes-Barre will hold a Paralegal Program Open House February 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Hayfield House at the campus in Lehman. The Paralegal Ca- reer Night is free and open to the public, and recent high school graduates are encour- aged to attend. Reservations are requested by February 21. For more information or to RSVP for the Open House, call Penn State’s Continuing Edu- cation, 675-9251. A Case for Conservation RIT: th BL Alene N. Case When I began writing this. col- umn, I knew that I had a bias that would make the choice of topics somewhat difficult. That bias had todo with trees and forestry. Over the years I have written several articles on these issues, but I have tried very hard not to overdo it. Apparently, I have succeeded too welll Judging from the re- quests from readers to address the loss of large trees in our neigh- borhoods, I am not the only one with a‘ bias in favor of trees. Therefore, I pledge to continue to write on this subject as often as seems appropriate. February is an excellent time to consider the health of our com- munity forests. Pruning - espe- cially of fruit trees - is best done during the very next “warm” spell (that is, when the daytime tem- perature reaches 40°F. or more). A quick review of pruning tech- niques is advisable each year before you sharpen those imple- ments. And, don't forget to in- spect other trees and shrubs for “winter Kill” (tips of branches that have been hurt by freezing) or for damage by ice and snow. Late winter is the best time to take care of such pruning. If you wait until spring, the loss of sap could be harmful for the tree and insects might attack the wound before it heals. Speaking of in- sects, this is also about the right time to spray with “dormant oil” so that the egg masses and larvae that have over -wintered on your trees will not have a chance to hatch or turn into adults when warmer weather arrives. Suppose you do not have trees to prune or spray, but you would like to get involved in some way — you could attend a workshop or conference on the care of commu- nity trees. There is a wide range of possibilities, both local and na- tional. Workshops on topics as varied as funding, liability, and creative development are being held in northeastern PA during late February and March. Call Vinnie Cotrone at 825-1701 to get the latest information. He is our local urban forester associated with the Luzerne County Coop- erative Extension and I know he would be thrilled if citizens in the Back Mountain would take a more active role in planning and pro- tecting our suburban forest. The National Arbor Day Foun- dation plans workshops and con- ferences all year round. Some of these are held in Nebraska, but many others occur closer to us. In March there are two confer- ences on Building with Trees — one in Richmond, VA and one in Burlington, VT. Or, if you are heading south in mid-March, you could sign up for a one-day work- shop given by “tree guru” Dr. Alex Shigo in Atlanta or Orlando. Call (402) 474-5655 for more informa- tion on any Foundation activities. One of my favorite activities on a cold day is to curl up with a stack of nursery catalogs and plan spring tree-planting and summer gardens. This year we will be adding to our tiny plot of future Christmas trees. As a “thank you" for our tiny order, the Na- tional Arbor Day Foundation will be sending us two free sugar maples. We have nowhere to plant them. Do you? I also have a few flowering trees of assorted types heeled in near our shed. These are also looking for good homes. Please contact me through this newspaper if you would like any of these free trees. But, perhaps you would rather order your own trees. There are many important considerations. Since many of our neighbors have an irrational fear of large trees and have cut them down or “topped” them, itis important that the rest of us plant large trees to | Our trees, our friends: ‘take good care of them replace them. If our community turns entirely to small ornamen- tal trees and severely pruned. shrubs, the natural benefits of the plants will be much less than if we nurture and plant larger species. The city of Frederick, MD recently discovered that their city trees reduce air conditioning costs by $1,000,000! And, that did not include benefits such as slowing storm run-off, cleaning the air, reducing heating costs, or hold- ing soil in place. Our communi-- ties need such an appreciation of the actual benefits of our trees. - But, have digressed — let's get back to the choices we make. I recommend that you plant the largest tree for which you have space (please do not think that you must buy a tree that is al- ready large - a seedling will grow fast and costs much less). Ifyou live close to a busy highway, pick avariety that is not sensitive to air pollution. 2! If you only have room for small trees, consider planting something useful such as a dwarf fruit tree (these grow to be smaller than full-sized trees but the fruits are regular size). Trees will make your surroundings more comfort- able, more beautiful, and also more interesting. Birds like to have branches on which to rest when they fly back and forth from your feeder. Many trees bear seeds or fruits that attract birds and small mammals. Your yard will begin to look less like a putting green and more like a part of the wider creation. Concern for the trees of our community is one of the best ways to “actlocally,” as the saying goes. Let us begin with our own yards and branch out intoour boroughs © and townships. Iwill be happy to ° supply ideas and facts and fig- - ures. Please let this paper know about tree-planting events and other activities that can be an- nounced in order to encourage: actions by others. ine Together we can make a differ-. ence. : Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? | : 129211 SOME If your Bank* is: with headquarters in: iH uble your interest at FIRST HERITAGE BANK!!! : It’s true. Open a Statement Savings account at First Heritage Bank and you could double the interest you're earning at your current bank.” It’s guaranteed. Your account will earn this high interest § through September 30, 1995. your savings account interest rate is: and your APY is: Pittsburgh 2.10% 2.129 New Jersey 2.18% 2.20% New Jersey 2.25% 2.27% x . WILKES-BARRE A NEW TRADITION IN BANKING FIRST HERITAGE 64 North Franklin Street Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30 Friday 8:30-5:30 Saturday 9 am-12 noon APY- Annual Percentage Yield. Minimum daily balance of $200 required to avoid a monthly maintenance fee of $2. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers