“4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 8, 1995 RT r ~The Dallas Post ‘Regional policing has ‘merit, could it work for ambulance, too? Nearly all Back Mountain communities are taking a thor- »‘ough look at the benefits and drawbacks of forming a single ioregional police force. This isn’t a new or unique idea; it was discussed here about 20 years ago, and more than a dozen 5 ‘Similar departments now operate in Pennsylvania. It’s easy to “see the appeal of combined departments from a statewide per- “spective. Pennsylvania has more individual police depart- “‘ments — 1,200 — than any other state, regardless of popula- “tion. That fact isn't so surprising when you know that we also have the second-greatest number of municipal governments. “But the argument for or against a combined police force isn’t if ‘only one of statistics, though numbers surely should play a part in the decision. The most important ones have to do with ' coverage, competence and cost, and those will take time to 12 ‘work out. It seems logical that a single Back Mountain police force could provide coverage to most areas that is equal or superior “to what they now receive, and improved response to the more outlying towns which now rely on state police or part-time "officers, particularly in the overnight hours or on weekends. | And the cost should fall below the total now spent individually. | That has been the experience at the Pennridge Regional Police Department, which Back Mountain officials visited last week. : The transition would be a little bumpy, as some egos would i surely be bruised if chiefs and officers had to adjust to life in | alarger, more controlled environment, and local officials ceded ~ | control to a region-wide commission. It would be worth the | disruption if the coverage and cost met expectations, as it appears they could. i There's another area of emergency services that could bene- fit from a similar regionalization, our ambulance service. Anyone with a scanner knows it’s not unusual to wait 15, 20, even 30 minutes in extreme cases to raise a crew during the day, when volunteers are at work or otherwise unavailable. As with police departments, emergency ambulance service is provided by individual community-based crews which are required by law to have two qualified attendants on board | before they can roll out of the garage. One must be a certified Emergency Medical Technician, the other must be at least a | certified ambulance attendant. That means if a call comes in ‘near the Dallas/Shavertown boundary and each ambulance ‘has one person available, the call may wait until a second person arrives at the appropriate station. These dedicated volunteers not only give up the time to take ;calls, they must complete rigorous training — 130 hours of it for an EMT — and often more to hone their skills. On top of this rare meetings of their departments, seminars and updates. All ithe training costs money, too, and it frequently comes from the \volunteers’ pockets. There are now eight fully-equipped ambulance vehicles in | the Back Mountain, plus a Medic unit operated by Wyoming Valley Health Care System. Each would cost $75,000 or more new, and improved or added equipment is an additional expense. They!all must be housed and maintained in tip-top Shape at all times. Our volunteer ambulance companies provide the best serv- tice they possibly can, and it’s very good. But it also is worth onsidering if it could be made better, and more economical by combining the considerable strengths we now possess with a gona approach. The trolley station at Harveys Lake in a 1909 post card photograph. Only yesterday | Publisher's notebook Bl Ron Bartizek y The debate over a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to run a balanced budget has flushed out ithe risks in tampering with the document that is the basis of ‘our republic. As the Senate vote came down to the wire, sindividual Senators asked for and received changes that will :make eventual application more difficult. Particularly onerous was the addition of wording to prevent the courts from forcing increased taxes should Congress fail to provide enough reve- ‘nue to cover costs in some future year. That is grounds for wreview of the wording to see if the amendment is itself consti- tutional. The Constitution is a marvel of simplicity, precisely because the authors expected Congress and the President to act re- sponsibly. The longest of the first 10 amendments, which together form the Bill of Rights, is 108 words. In that brief space an accused felon is required to be indicted by a grand jury; we are protected from being charged twice for the same offense; accused criminals are protected from being forced to testify against themselves, or be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; and the government is prevented from taking property for public use without paying for it. How appalled the Founding Fathers would be at the spec- tacle of the Congress attempting to amend the Constitution after failing miserably at one of their most sacred duties, as if their failure was the document's fault and not their own. It is ironic that politicians who lack the spine to propose a respon- sible budget expect to be praised for their courage in support of the amendment, which is designed to absolve them of blame for the hard choices that everyone knows must be made. Yet, I've bowed after years of opposition to the notion that an amendment may be the only way to bring our budget under control. We surely owe our children the attempt @hostwriter by Paul Rismiller Justwhen you thought the "Trial of the Century" (so-called because it seems it will take that long) couldn't become a more ludicrous example of American culture, along comes this piece of nauseating news. In one of the more aggravating signs of our times, the O.J. Simpson "Dream Team" is reportedly plan- ning a Pay-TV victory celebration. Although he claims to be "100% Not Guilty", he's 99.9% more cer- tain of the outcome than I am, and the fact that the plans for the gala are already under way point to an arrogance of dizzying proportions. Even if the jury acquits O.J., or the trial ends in a hung jury, the former football golden boy is, with- out question, an abuser of women. And for the record price of $75 per home, Americans can hear this wife beater give a blow-by-blow account of his slow motion chase, see celebrities sing his praises in pre-recorded segments, and see the hero take the stage with Nicole's orphans and his defense team. The worst part of this tasteless piece of programming is the fact that a lot of misguided people will contribute to O.J.'s defense fund by watching it. A source was quoted i in the New York Post as saying "A lot of big- time operators are putting a lot of big-time money into this venture because they believe in his inno- cence, and also because they be- lieve that an acquitted O.J. will become the most talked about human bein on the planet for the next 20 yeas. That makes him very, very bankable and they want a piece of the action." "Sounds about right, except for the part about believing in his in- nocence. The "big-time operators" As Iwas saying Jack Hilsher 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 2) PRINTED WITH SOY INK A recent column of mine, the one about UFO's being unlikely, did the trick, caused Mr. Bob Shortz of Dallas to send in a very well-written rebuttal, gently tak- ing me to task for reaching a wrong UFO conclusion. I appreciated his effort and noted his intense interest in the subject over a five-year period. And since he dropped a few names, he shouldn't mind ifI1 do the same. Having read everything in the considerable footage of UFO books in local libraries, I believe I am qualified to make a few further observations. I've read Budd Hopkins, and Whitley Strieber's Communion, and Transformation too. I've read Heynek, and Klass, and George Adamski. I also know Hopkins thinks that Strieber may be “mentally unbalanced.” It does bother me no end that Strieber used to write strange fiction like Wolfen. (Talk about credibility...that stretches it some- O.J. heading for pay per view? Warm & fuzzy GOP couldn't care less if the man had been caught in the act. "Bankable"” is the operative phrase here, make no mistake. And please, don't make the mis- take of contributing to this voyeuristic sewage by tuning in. ® 00 We're finally recovering from the midterm elections, and what do you know? It's time to crank up the 1996 Presidential elections! Aarrgh! Even a political junkie like me has his limits, and I'm about to O.D. on this stuff, just like I'm overdosing on O.J. I wish these guys would at least wait for a decent interval before starting up the primary cycle. But since they don't have the decency to cut us a break, I'll go over the field of candidates as they now stand. On the Republican side, which is where the real feeding frenzy is: e Lamar Alexander - former Gov- ernor of Tennessee. Weird name. ¢ Robert "B-1 Bob" Dornan - What can Lsay? This guy is nuts, But we dan tlook forward to’ ‘Bob trashing Bill Clinton in every con- ceivable way, and it is always a pleasure to watch people who en- joy their work. e Patrick Buchanan - He's Baaack! Yes, the original loose cannon has thrown his hat into the ring. Slightly more sane than "B-1 Bob", he's still to the right of Mussolini. His "America First" stance is really short-sighted and aggravating, but supplies some comic relief. * Arlen Specter - Pennsylvania's less than favorite son. I don't understand how this "moderate" actually qualifies as a Republican, but I do know this - he has as much chance of snagging the nomi- nation as Dornan and Buchanan. ¢ Phil Gramm - The self-pro- claimed "ugly" candidate. While his unattractiveness is kind of cutesy, Gramm has a long history of being a turncoat and back- stabber. While the recent flap over his Korean-American wife may gain him some sympathy votes, I don't expect Phil to get much more than the 10% rating he currently holds in New Hampshire. * Bob Dole - You have to admire a guy who thinks a "warm, cuddly, fuzzy" image is a joke. Dole is none of the above, but he is experienced, principled, and the front runner. Some may argue that he's drag- ging his heels on the House "Con- tract with America", but a more moderate approach might be the ticket. I think Dole can sew up the nomination - and the presidency, if he breaks tradition and names a V.P. candidate before the conven- tion. My personal picks - Gen. Colin Powell, often mentioned as a possible third party candidate, would be a great running mate, offering relative youth to the ticket, not to mention being the first black to run for the Vice Presidency. My second choice would be N.J. Governor Christie Todd Whitman, for basically the same reasons - youth and the shot at being the first woman to hold the second highest office in the land. Having the first black or first ! svoman V.P, wouldbeamajorcoup | for the GOP, opening the "big tent" | and leaving liberals gnashing their teeth. Of course, leftists in the civil rights apparatchik will try to paint the General as some sort of oreo. Butwhatcan theyaccuse Whitmen of? Being a man? So Christie it is! As for the Democrats, Rush Limbaugh is convinced they're go- ing to dump Clinton. I think it unlikely, but possible, so who will be the A.B.C. (Anybody But Clinton) Candidate? Well, there's the faithful AlGore. He's sounding like a candidate - but putting Gore at the head of the ticket will only be possible if the Demos can strong-arm Clinton into leaving gracefully. Dick Gephardt? As I've noted previously, this guy is 20 pounds of manure in a 5 lb. bag. A total light-weight and probable big loser. Bill Bradley? The N.J. Senator and former basketball player will look better in shorts than Clinton, but that's not saying much. UFO's and extraterrestrial pancakes: the untold story what, I would say.) Anyway, I guess my point is that I wasn't speaking idly in that column, that I've read and read and thought and thought some more. The expert who most im- pressed me was Jacques Vallee, PhD, a computer scientist whose books are reference manuals for UFO investigators. Dr. Vallee touches on that “other reality” mentioned by Mr. Shortz, and I'll explain why, but first one of Vallee's case studies: “Over 30 years ago Joseph Simonton, a 60-year old farmer from Eagle River in Wisconsin, heard peculiar noises and stepped outside to investigate. He faced a silvery saucer-shape, ‘brighter than chrome,’ hovering off the ground. It was about 12 feet high and had three men inside, each smooth shaven and ‘resembling Italians,’ with dark hair and skin. They wore turtleneck tops and knit helmets. “One held up a jug of silvery material and motioned to it, so Joe filled it with water and gave it back. He saw one “frying food on a flameless grill; the craft inside was black.” He saw instrument panels and heard a generator-like hum. One man, dressed in black with red trim on his trousers, handed Joe three cookies, each three inches in diameter with small holes in each one. “One man closed a hatch with no outline, the craft rose from the ground and took off with a blast of air which bent nearby pine trees. Two deputies were sent by the sheriffbut found no evidence, and they both admitted Joe talked very sensibly about the incident.” Vallee reports then that the three cakes were sent to the U.S. Food and Drug lab and found to contain hydrogenated fat, starch, buckwheat and wheat bran. In other words, they were ordinary pancakes of terrestial origin! What does Dr. Vallee say next? Well he reminds us that in Irish fairy and folk tales mention is made of crispy pancakes given to people, who when they had eaten them suddenly prospered. He asks if a parallel exists between fairy antics of old and behavior of UFO occupants, both of which have a penchant for abducting humans! He adds that such phenomenon have been with us throughout history. The Romans had wood nyphs; in the 10th century there were sylphs reported; “Little Green men” were seen in England in the 12th century; in the 15th, fairies, and so it goes, back into time, time after time. “There are more things in heaven and on earth...” Send your school news to \_ 60 Years Ago - Mar. 15, 1935 BOUNTY HUNTERS HAVE GOOD MONTH Although two other bidders had the same price, Leonard Machell received a contract for furnishing 50 tons of buckwheat coal to Dallas Borough School District because he is a resident of the borough and the other bidders were not. Machell's bid was $3.75 ton. Businessmen of Dallas Bor- ough have been invited to meet with Burgess G. Harold Wagner and members of the borough council public safety committee in Oliver's show rooms on Mon- day night to discuss proposed traffic regulations. The Game Commission in January paid out $24,086 in bounty on 16,780 weasels, 1,738 gray foxes, 21 wildcats and seven goshawks. 50 Years Ago - Mar. 9, 1945 FIRST HARVEYS LAKE MAN DIES IN SERVICE From an Army hospital at Hol- landia, Dutch New Guinea, came word this week that Pfc. Roy Schultz, member of the 11th Air- borne Divison, famous for its work on Luzon had died of infantile paralysis, Feb. 19. He is the first Harveys Lake boy to die in service. A paratrooper, he took part in the invasion of Leyte and Mindoro in the Philippines. He was stricken with Poliomyalitis on Dec. 23. Interest is running high in the establishment of three Teen-Age Centers in the Back Mountain Region. This week, Trucksville, Shavertown and Dallas were tak- ing the necessary steps to bring them into being while Carverton took the lead and opened its cen- ter in the Mountain Grange Build- ing. The Pennsylvania State Library, through Miss Evelyn Matthews of its extension department, this week assured the Back Mountain Library Association that it's pre- pared to furnish 2,000 volumes on a twoyear loan basis to provide a nucleus for the new library. The number of books will depend upon the need and upon the number of children belonging to or served by the library. 40 Years Ago - Mar. 11, 1955 AREA MAN STARS IN THE CAINE MUTINY Lee Tracy, Broadway actor and television star, will leave shortly for Australia and New Zealand where he has been assigned the part of Capt. Queeg in the state production of The Caine Mutiny. Tracy is the nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Scott of Mt. Green- wood Road, Trucksville. The Tracy's are Library Auction fans. Mrs. Tracy seldom misses one and hopes she will be back from Australia in plenty of time to at- tend the ninth auction this July. The new home of Daddow- Isaacs Post American Legion is beginning to take shape at the intersection of Center Hill Road and Memorial Highway. Cinder block walls are up and workmen this week were doing the rough work on the roof structure. When completed the building will have an attractive brick veneer. You could get - Porterhouse steak, 79¢ 1b.; Legs O'Lamb, 59¢ lb.; Heinz ketchup, 2-14 oz. bots. 45¢; U.S. No 1 Red Bliss pota- toes, 5 Ibs. 29¢; Crisco, 3-lb. can 90¢. 30 Years Ago - Mar. 11, 1965 GAVY'S MARKET GETS NEW LOCATION - Today marks the official open- ing of Gavy’'s Market, Memorial Highway, Shavertown, formerly located on Main Highway, Trucksville, next to the Post Of- fice. With the new highway, park- ing space was gone, and traffic was flying past the door. The enitre market had to be moved to Laceyville, where the Gavigan family proceeded to hold a grocery business together until a suitable location in the Back Mountain could be found. Happy result is the present property just off Memorial Highway, Shavertown, where parking is more than ample and accessibility is tops. Six members of the Donald Boltom Jr. family of Perrin Ave- nue, Shavertown, narrowly es- caped death in a raging inferno which engulfed their home, Sat- urday morning. The back section of the home was entirely destroyed. \ r—— The Dallas Post P.O. Box 366 Dallas PA 18612 or drop it off at our office at 45 Main Road, Dallas / | a ER Ships ssl » LB * ® 4 «l a » k
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers