dd (Ye WE AV ed (VP (PY 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 2, 1995 5 With next year's federal elec- tion relatively a short time away, you can be sure the Republicans o, And Democrats will once again be wallowing in traditional mud— with likely at least the presence of Ross Perot and/or his support- ers, pouring in the water. Oh, there will be more talk ‘about the environment, about term limits, about a need for a re- “structured military in light of ‘recent geo-political changes, and the assorted scandal or two to de- liberately muddy the political wa- ¢ ters. ) - But what it will all come down to is what it always comes down to: the voter's wallet and who has how much. ~~ Democrat: “The rich are get- ting richer and the poor getting poorer.” Republican: “That attitude sets up class warfare.” There's clear evidence that, indeed, there is a growing gulf between the haves’ and have nots’...but that is largely because of cross purposes among the Democratically inspired and pro- ‘tected welfare system, an educa- ‘tion system which devalues voca- -tional education, and a third ele- ment which the do-gooders ref- use to accept: there are those among us who simply refuse to sign the social contract which say, with hard work, the best and brightest among us will rise to -reap the rewards of free enter- prise. ‘The constitution says nothing about a guarantee of happiness; -it'clearly states that we have the right to a pursuit of happiness. It's also ironic that with all the tinkering over the last 40 years to 9 ‘and address issues of alleged economic inequality, the rich have, indeed, been getting richer and the poor poorer...but at a more rapid rate. It's ironic, but it is not a coincidence that the tinkering [itself has created some of the per- ceived inequities, and has has- 'tened the process. This fact also begs the question of - self-serving politicians who 3 The economic Howard Grossman | cose ———— N L A new initiative has been launched in Northeastern Penn- sylvania. Itis the founding of the Conservancy for the Pocono North- east, Inc. This new land trust will serve nine counties including Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyo- ming. It comes about as a result .of 12 months of intensive assess- ment as to the needs to protect land which should not be devel- oped in Northeastern Pennsylva- nia. An Eastern Pennsylvania Land #@ rust Coalition Steering Commit- tee, was organized to study the opportunities which exist to cre- ate a larger land trust than exists in many places in Northeastern Pennsylvania. With the trend toward the establishment of smaller land trusts and with the difficulty of raising funds and maintaining properties, the thought is to establish a major {@and conservancy which can e Pe i | benefit a larger region of North- eastern Pennsylvania. The mis- sion of the Conservancy for the Pocono Northeast is to protect and enhance a natural quality of the nine county Northeast Penn- sylvania region, both in terms of i.area and interconnecting links. To carry out this mission, the Conservancy will undertake the following responsibilities: e Direct land saving actions, such as land acquisition and acceptance of conservation ease- ‘ments. e Technical assistance to local communities and other conserva- ‘tion organizations, including lo- The Constitution contains no guarantees for anyone point to the growing wealth gap and cry out for even more ma- nipulations of people and sys- tems, buying votes in the process. Nevertheless, it is part of the American melting pot psyche for us to dislike seeing the poor get poorer; it's just somehow wrong for the American dream to turn into a nightmare, even if the real- ity is that many dreamers can only fantasize about having the necessary combination of intel- lect and drive to change their cir- cumstances. Other dislike seeing the rich getricher, although in many cases those getting richer deserve what ‘ they're getting because they have “capitalized” to do so. You re- member that word...capitalized? That's right...it is an integral part of free enterprise. Otherwise known as capitalism, but also a word dropped from the do-good- ers vocabulary. And while the vote buying poli- ticians continue to lament the rich getting richer, the focus of genuine concern is the poor get- ting poorer. Some suggest raising the mini- mum wage again. Raising the minimum wage again perhaps would help temporarily...but it won't help those millions not employed, among them millions not seeking employment. It won't help the drug addicts, alcoholics and the welfare system trained beggars who just won't work, many of whom prefer to live on charity and welfare of one kind or another. - Fact is, welfare benefits often equal or exceed the pay of many jobs. This creates a disincentive to work. As a result of misplaced humanitarian concerns, many states now give welfare recipients a package of benefits which far exceed the value of the recipients potential earnings. Conversely, there's no small connection be- tween an individual being pushed into (and unable to grasp) an in- tellectual (as opposed to voca- tional) educational track, and that same individual ending up on welfare in the first place. And as we've seen with drug arrests in theoretically tranquil Wayne County, we have far more drugs addicts today than ever before...which is (when added to long lines at the State Lottery ticket counter) on reason there are more poor getting poorer. Drug addiction, and public gambling against impossible odds, are re- cently expanded and expensive vices. Another reeason for the poor getting poorer is that, in the past 40 years, this country has stead- ily become a less self disciplined society. Beyond the educational system devaluing vocational train- ing, and otherwise turning out many persons unfit for employ- ment, the old disciplines of hard work, responsibility and self suf- ficiency have been replaced in many cases by dependency, de- spondency, addiction and the disease of welfare. There are also millions today who can get work but who won't accept the jobs available...which doesn’t sit too well for those who remember the 1930's when citizens leaped at any chance for employment. Any employment. The truth is that in the last two decades, more jobs were created than at any time in this nation’s history. A record number of indi- viduals are now employed. Per- centage unemployment is not his- torically high. And all of us know that if a person wants to work badly enough, he or she can usu- ally find work today, some kind of work. This is less true in metro- politican areas, but work can usu- + ally be found if the search is deter- mined enough. The shiftless, addicts and quit- ters are often lulled by the self- serving words of self-righteous politicians who imply that gov- ernment owes them employment, higher wages and a better life...clearly a wrong attitude in a society which supposedly cher- ishes free and independent hu- man beings, finding the best and brightest among us through re- wards of the free enterprise sys- tem. It's also clear that the rich will probably go on getting richer and the poor poorer until we cnce again value vocational education; until we once again value self-dis- cipline and the work ethic over * today’s values which find unedu- cated and unqualified millions out . to do their own thing rathér than get ahead by hard work and relia- bility. Pocono NE Conservancy forms to protect open land cal and regional land trusts. e Education of public officials and agencies, the business com- munity and the general public regarding their interest in envi- ronmental quality and their com- monality in interst with land trust community. o Active participation in regional planning activities. The Conservancy has been : incorporated as a 501 (c) 3 not- for-profit corporation in Pennsyl- vania. Recently, the Conservancy Board of Directors met for the first time in the conference room of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania (EDCNP). It has prepared a set of by-laws which will be adopted by the Board at its next meeting. The Board will conduct a one day re- treat meeting in September of this year. A Conservancy feasibility study is underway to help develop and direct the actions of the Conser- vancy over the next few years. Furthermore, the four major land trusts serving Eastern Pennsyl- vania, the Nature Conservancy, the Wildlands Conservancy, the Heritage Conservancy, and the Natural Lands Trust have joined together to submit an application under the Key 93 bond issue program to the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs for a grant of $50,000 to under- take a major effort leading toward the identification of resources which are important to the con- servancy movement in the nine- county region. Land trusts exist in various parts of Northeastern Pennsylva- nia to help protect treasured land areas in portions of the region. Such groups as the Back Moun- tain Regional Land Trust, the Delaware Highlands Land Trust, the Pocono Heritage Land Trust and others are all interested in the new organization. The Board of Directors of the Conservancy includes representatives from the land trust community, the busi- ness community, the academic community, government and the non profit community. It is estimated that there are 1,200 land trusts or conservan- cies scattered throughout the nation. With much concern being expressed by Congress as well as legislation being introduced in the General Assembly in Pennsylva- nia concerning private property rights, the role of land trusts and conservancies should prove to be of extreme importance in coming months and years. The ability to blend both economic growth and environmental sensitivity within a given governmental jurisdiction is a key and complex issue. In the near future a new report published by the Lincoln Insti- - tute of Land Policy, based in Cambridge, MA on the topic of “Managing Land as Ecosystem and Economy” should be a sig- nificant contribution to the dia- logue necessary for the benefit of Northeastern Pennsylvania and other substate regions across the nation. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is an outstanding institution which has contributed to much dialogue in the past on issues such as land development, planning, community develop- ment, and a variety of other topics ofimportance to this nation. Those who would like to communicate with that organization may write 113 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Anyone interested in learning more about the new Conservancy should write Conservancy for the Pocono Northeast, Inc., 1151 Oak Street, Pittston, PA 18640 and request information. Howard Grossman is Executive Director of the Economic Develop- ment Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He lives in Dallas. Joan, why haven't you Written? Let the Back Mountain know what you “think by writing a letter to the editor. Always include your name, address and a daytime phone number; we don't publish anonymous letters. Send letters to: The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612 LIBRARY \ N=RNES By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library is displaying a unique collection of Matchbox Cars in the showcase in the showcase in the office area of the library. These cars were borrowed from Marty Musto of Shavertown. Marty is 9 1/2 years old and will be in 4th grade at Westmore- land Elementary School. He has been collecting Matchbox Cars for eight years; having received his first one from McDonald's in Shavertown with a Happy Meal when he was a year old. He col- lected 12 cars from McDonald's. He also buys some at Toys ‘R Us and Kay Bees and receives them for gifts at Christmas and for birth- days. His favorite car is a red Dodge Viper; a new one is a Lexus. Another special one is ared Chevy 4 x 4 truck and a really old 1969 rig without a back with a blue Matchbox car collection is on the roll in the library windshield. The cars are divided into groups: a fire engine division; sports cars; racing cars; tow trucks and road equipment trucks: emergency trucks, police carsand helicopters; jeeps and tanks: a motorcycle ice cream truck and Good Humor truck. This display has already delighted the chil- dren who have been in. It will be here until Augst 23. New books in the Children’s Room for 4th to 6th grade read- ers: “The Dark Stairs” by Betsy Byars tells of the mystery that is in Herculeah Jones's blood. How could it not be, with a father on the police force and a mother running a private eye business? “The Crystal Garden” by Vicki Grove begins when Eliza and her mom are each trying to make a fresh start at their new home in Gouge Eye, Missouri. Eliza’s mom is crossing her fingers that her country-singer boyfriend can fi- nally find success in nearby Bran- son. “Darnell Rock Reporting” by Walter Dean Myers tells of 13- year-old Darnell who is not the New equipment to serve the community | Sind oi Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company president Harold Hoover, left, and board member Louis Bedford, right, accepted a Legislative Initiative Grant check from Representative George Hasay, center. Hasay and junior legislative aide Rachel Hasay, in the truck’s cab, stopped by the fire company to see the new pumper/tanker which was recently purchased. kind of kid who would normally volunteer on a school newspa- per—it sounds way too much like homework. But Darnell is being given one last chance to get his act together. “Shark in School” by Patricia Reilly Giff starts with, although Matthew Jackson still misses some of his old friends at the Polk Street School, he's gotten along pretty well in his new town of Deposit, Ohio. He has made friends with J.P. from next door and expects changes. “Guests” by Michael Dorris is the story of Moss, who is frus- trated when his father brings dif-, ferent people to the harvest meal: but he is told ‘Someday you'll understand why’. © He grapples with the utlimate truth of being a grown-up: you are who you are. “A Teen's Guide to Going Vege- tarian” by Judy Krizmanic is writ- ten in a relaxed nonjudgemental style and covers all the bases: from nutritional requirements to dealing with anxious parents and skeptical friends and deals with answering tough questions. POST PHOTO/GRACE R. DOVE The Back Mountain's hometown paper from people who live here "You'll like coming over to The Dallas Post. Jill Gruver is easygoing and helpful. You get the feeling she really cares that things go smoothly and well." any sport. Jill just became Mrs. Ron Gruver in a June wedding. The Gruvers live in a newly-purchased home in Shavertown, but she grew up in Dallas. There are no pets yet, but there is an empty fish tank which is soon to be filled with exotic goldfish. Both Gruvers are active sports fans - Jill's title of Office Manager covers more than it implies. She handles the paper's accounts receivable, sends out ad billings and does the "Local Pros” page. Jill says, "I also fill in on the typesetting computer, and some days the phone keeps me going all day." Jill Gruver is just one of the local people who help put out the Back Mountain's hometown paper, The Dallas Post. dil The Back Mountain's The Da =, A peer A" Newspaper S as Post nce 1889
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers