EE, A... AT SL eMart Ai. a .4 The Dallas Post BI NT A A Tl =, é, wm www, ae So Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 19, 1995 The Dallas Post | EDITORIALS Dallas School District goals exciting to read Anyone who is uninspired after reading an outline of the Dallas School District strategic plan should immediately see a doctor, to check if they're still alive. That document, created by 15 members of the district's Executive Steering Committee with lots of help from dozens of teachers, parents and students, + lays out the district's goals from now until first year of the 21st . century. It is a summary of where the district wants to take its students, and what kind of citizens it hopes to form. Here's the Mission Statement: “To prepare all students for responsible citizenship in an expanding and rapidly changing world community and to provide an environment that will foster critical thinking, integ- : rity and personal fulfillment.” Beyond that, the plan spells out the purposes of a public © school; what teachers should know and do; what students can - expect and what will be expected of them, and provides a list : of goals for both academics and character. It is heartening to . read them. One example: “Arts and Humanities: Each student shallunderstand and appreciate the breadth of human accom- : plishment through the arts and humanities and shall have ‘ - opportunities to practice creativity of thought and action and : . to demonstrate talent in the arts.” It has been fashionable of late to accuse public education of i | abj ect failure in its mission. News reports are filled with stories about failed students, decrepit buildings, lazy teachers and irresponsible administrators. It is hard to imagine anyone in i * those stories had a hand in this document, which describes a . focused, sensitive and common-sense approach to education. . If the people who make Dallas School District work — and ! that includes administrators, teachers, parents and students | — can attain the goals they have set for themselves, there is “reason to be optimistic about future generations and the world they will inherit. Work is the operative word, because it will take constant attention and discipline to bring the ideas on the pages to life. It will be a satisfying and rewarding effort. Keep regional cooperation if Comm Center must go L] * If all goes according to plan, emergency dispatching for the ~ Back Mountain will switch over to a countywide facility next March, and the Back Mountain Communications Center will cease to exist. We hope the result is response equal or superior to what we have now, since the cost will be considerably higher. The new system, which will have features such as call-tracing and mapping, will cost the Back Mountain about $195,000 annually compared to the present total of under $160,000. And the expense will be shifted from local municipalities to a $1.25 monthly charge tacked on to each phone line. The most positive aspect of the change is that BMCC'’s chief dispatcher may move to the county facility and help train eople who will man the phones there. That will allay at least some fears that dispatchers in Hanover Township wouldn't know the Back Mountain well enough to give clear directions to emergency crews. + Local towns probably like the plan because it will mean the end of their financial commitment to the Comm Center, a substantial amount of money that can be used to defray other expenses. The bottom line, though, is that we all will pay a little more, and people who don’t pay property taxes will help foot the bill, which they didn’t before. + The Back Mountain Communications Center has been the foremost example of cooperation between municipalities in this region. It brought officials and volunteers together in a most productive way. We hope the time and effort that went into creating and maintaing the Center will now be used to attack other issues that affect all the towns, such as planning and zoning, traffic and water resources. Letters, columns and editorials * The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of topics in many forms. Editorials, which are the opinion of the managment of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any artwork represents the opinion of the car- toonist, and columns are the opinion of the author. . Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, subject to the following guidelines: » Letters should not exceed 500 words. No writer may have more than one letter published during a 30-day period, except as a reply to another letter. o Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a telephone number for verification. | e Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. ¢ The Post retains the right to accept or reject any letter, and to edit letters for grammar and spelling, as well as to eliminate any libel, slander or objectionable wording. In addition to letters, we welcome longer pieces that may run as columns. The author or subject's relevance to the Back Mountain will be the prime consideration when selecting material for publication. The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 717-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Grace R. Dove REPORTER Peggy Young ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala PRODUCTION MANAGER CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Jill Gruver OFFICE MANAGER 2) PRINTED WITH NIN hat et { CUT OFF PAYMENTS p10 UNMARRIED | | TEEAGE MOTHERS! WELFARE Sad North Armerica Syndicate ATeinaes@AOL COM Altes Ly Brie =~ yur? a S55, \ AH BAN BENEFITS TO 4) \ WELFARE MOTHERS H WHO HAVE MOKE CHILDREN! 1 cc THE ie LAWS WHICH ERCOURAGE § TEEN-AGE GIRLS To HAVE CHILDREN! [sw ECT TE | GREAT AND RESTORE MORALITY! J LETTERS Drivers: please give bicycle riders a break Editor: I am prompted to write this letter because today I had an- other close encounter with a pick- up truck. The only explanation I can come up with is that people driving cars don't realize how dangerous they can be when passing someone who is riding a bicycle. I personally know two people who have been hit by cars while biking and many others who have been forced off the road, scared silly, and even-touched by people passing them in cars. I can't As I was saying Jack Hilsher | | One had to feel sorry for Mrs. H.R. Clinton when she first real- ized the sheer size and complexity of the health care mess. Amess it was and a mess it remains. What would she have made (has she dropped it by now?) of a position with the title of, “Physi- cian Reimbursement and Reve- nue Manager?” Such was the heading of an ad in the Help Wanted recently. The position would have “Primary responsibil- ity to insure appropriate physi- cian fees and billing policies to obtain optimum reimbursement while insuring compliance with contractual, state and federal requirements.” Gee! Never knew such a field existed. Did you notice that word “optimum” in front of “reimburse- ment?” It reminds me of an article I read in a medical journal in my doctor's office some years ago. Its believe these reckless acts are all intentional, so motorists must be unaware of the potentially tragic results that could occur. This is a good time of year to point out the need for safety when so many bikers are out for exer- cise and enjoyment, and training for upcoming events such as the Triathlon and are sharing the road with motor vehicles. You are the Senior Citizen—the teenager—the young mother— who took an awful chance today while driving your K-Car—your sports car—your family van. You couldn't wait 5 seconds for the oncoming traffic to clear so you passed a bicyclist too closely or too quickly. Ask yourself this question now—before you have to ponder it for the remainder of your life after causing serious injury or death to a person riding a bicycle—"Where am I going in such a hurry that I can't take few extra seconds to be a safe and considerate driver?” Just con- sider the possible consequences. Bonnie Dombroski Dallas Odds 'n' ends: health care, good grammar and Gen X title was: “New Ways to Shake Down Patients.” Looked pretty well-thumbed too. 000 One of last year's columns (Migod has it been that long?) gently chastised the younger set, or at least it tried to, for their strange overuse of the word “like.” This was in memory of my won- derful high school English teacher (who incidently married our me- chanical drawing teacher, shock- ing me no end) telling us many times, “Once you have mastered correct and good grammar, any- thing less will grate on your ears.” And it does, really and truly. Especially “like.” As when two teeney boppers (that dates me) are discussing report cards and one says, “I got an A-.” The other may answer, “I got, like, a B- plus.” Now. She didn’t get some- thing like a B-plus. She got a B- plus. So why in heaven's name does she have to use “like?” I suppose the answer has to be, why not? Everyone else does. A noted professor of linguistics at San Diego University wrote some years ago that he though non- standard uses of “like” were “on the wane.” Now, he says, “I made a mistake. It used to be confined to teens and now it's in more general use.” That's like, bad news. 000 My favorite generation has been the Xers, that post baby-boom generation born between '65 and '75. The name stems froma 1991 novel by Douglas Coupland. He calls them the “X Generation.” Marketers eat his words up greedily and Coupland gets about ten grand to speak on the subject. Other consultants of his ilk are doing well too. For the right batch of bucks they will get you answers to such questions as, “why do they put rings through their belly- buttons? Why do they drink soda first thing in the morning? Why do they sneer at us? And how can we sell them lots of stuff?” A booking agency for the lec- ture circuit has put out some day- long seminars they call “X-Fests.” For from $20,000 to $100,000. depending on how many you want to listen to, they will haul in Xr specialists, both actual members and those who have sounded off in the past. They call themselves “the most ethnically diverse group of young in the U.S. We are the hottest topic on the circuit.” Man, am I every glad to be just an easy-to-figure senior! LEGISLATORS DIRECTORY Federal Officials Congress Representative Paul E. Kanjorski (Democrat) Wilkes-Barre: 825-2200 Washington: (202) 225-6511 10 East South Street, Wilkes-Barre PA 18701-2397 or 2429 Rayburn Building, Washington, DC 20515 Senator Arlen Specter (Republican) Wilkes-Barre: 826-6265 Washington: (202) 224-4254 116 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 Senator Rick Santorum (Republican) B-40 Dirksen Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington: (202) 224-6324 Fax: (202) 228-4991 State Officials State Senator Charles D. Lemmond (Republican) (717) 675-3931 22 Dallas Shopping Ctr., Memorial Hwy., Dallas PA 18612-1231 State Representative George Hasay (Republican) 287-7505 or 542-7345 or 474-2276 or 477-3752 369 South Mountain Boulevard, Mountaintop PA 18707 Hasay’'s district encompasses: Harveys Lake, Lehman Township, Jackson Township, Lake Town- ship, Franklin Township, Ross Township, and Dallas Township's north voting district. State Representative Phyllis Mundy (Democrat) 283-9622 or 655-3375 Suite 107, 400 Third Avenue, Kingston PA 18704 Mundy's district encompasses: Dallas Borough, Dallas Township except for the north voting dis- trict, and Kingston Township. ONLY . YESTERDAY 60 Years Ago - July 26, 1935 DALLAS TO GET NEW STATE LIQUOR STORE A liquor store will be opened in Dallas soon by the State Liquor Control Board, according to an announcement made at Harris- burg this week. The store, the first for Dallas since the repeal of the 18th Amendement, will be one of four to be opened in Luzerne County and 250 new stores to be opened throughout the state. Although Dallas and surround- ing communities held staunchly to their Republican traditions “other sections of this legislative district, notably Swoyersville and West Wyoming, reported tremen- dous gains in the registration of Democrats, figures completed this week showed. The 6th Legislative District, of which Dallas and Back Mountain territory are a part, showed a Republican loss of 600 votes and Democratic gain of 2,000. 50 Years Ago - July 27, 1945 STATE PLANS TO BUILD ~ WILLIAMSPORT HI-WAY Sante Ragno, for the past three years head of the Music Depart- ment and director of the High School Band in Lehman Town- ship Schools, has resigned: to accept a similar position in the Lo} 0D 0 J schools of Haddon Heights, New Jersey. Jive Junction, Dallas Teen- Age Center, will be closed for the bal- ance of July and August uritil a new dance floor can be laid and interior decorations completed. Close on the heels of the an- nouncement that the new Wilkes- Barre-Williamsport highway con- necting with the Harveys Lake Highway and Idetown will be one of the first post-war construction jobs of the Pennsylvania Depart- ment of Highways, comes word that the department is drafting a secondary post-war highway improvement program which will cost $10,000,000. 40 Years Ago - July 22, 1955 LATE DELIVERY DELAYS SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION Steel girders for the new addi- tion to Dallas-Franklin High School were unloaded Wednes- “day after a delay of over a month. They were due June 11 at which date the construction was well ahead of schedule. Somerville Construction Co., stymied at ev- ery turn by lack of steel, expects to put full crews to work now and get the structure roofed in imme- diately so that other work de- pending upon shelter may Pro ceed. Results of the 9th Annual Back Mountain Memorial Library Auc- tion and suggestions for the 10th were heard at a joint meeting of the Auction Planning Committee and Library Executive Board." H. Peterson, treasurer, reported a gross of $15,673, with not all receipts yet tabulated. Expenses including cost of the Thunderbird and Westinghouse colored televi- sion will bring the net income down to approximately $ 11, 000 it was estimated. Mr. and Mrs. Olin Gorden will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary Wednesday. They are the parents of five children; have 21 grandchildren; and 26 great: grandchildren. 30 Years Ago - July 22, 1965." AREA NOW UNDER NEW COUNTY ZONING REGS Several municipalities in -the Back Mountain number among those governed by county zoning. Residents should be sure their building activities are acceptable by law, according to Clarence Laidler, Dallas zoning officer. All of Luzerne County has been cov- ered by a zoning ordinance since January 1. 20 Years Ago - July 24,1975 - HOME-HEALTH CUTS BACK ON SERVICES Due to lack of funding by most local and many other municipali- ties throughout Luzerne County, the Home-Health Services Board of Directors voted recently to elimi- nate all services not paid in full by patients or third party payers, such as Medicare, Blue Cross, private insurance or by a United Service agency contract in mu- nicipalities not paying the $2 per resident, requested by the agency. & | ~ a Ls J D £ £5
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers