Dallas, PA 4 4 2he Dallas Post Wednesday, October 11, 1995 HIT a : The Dallas Post “am - ww ~~ EDITORIALS Celebrate a special week with the library The entire region can feel proud of this week's celebration of the Back Mountain Memorial Library's first 50 years. The library is a unique community resource; it also is the single most important unifying institution in the Back Mountain and it has survived and prospered only with the help of the people it serves. Plans and proposals for the library took shape during the World War II years. Even in that traumatic time, community leaders foresaw the need for and uses of a community library, supported by the same people who would use it. Those ideals came to fruition when the vacant Ryman home was purchased and converted for the first library. The official opening was to be marked by a parade, but that event was postponed by uncooperative weather. So the library opened with little fanfare until the parade took place a week later. The library has gone through many changes since October, 1945. It's bigger, of course, and has moved. It contains ten times as many items, not all of them books; now there are videotapes and CD's as well as the printed page. One thing that hasn't changed is the requirement that the Back Mountain's library be supported by the Back Mountain’s people. There is some public funding from state, county and local sources, but it must be supplemented by donations and fund raising. Through good times and not so good, those sources have been sufficient to maintain and expand the facilities and the collec- tion.. The demands of a high-tech world won't lessen the library’s importance, since not everyone can afford the gadgets being so incessantly touted these days. Instead, the library's challenge will be to provide the latest in information technology alongside the venerable shelves of books that form the basis of a literate society. The Dallas Post is proud that so much of the Back Mountain Memorial Library's history is intertwined with its own. Post publisher Howard Risley was among the group of leaders who created the library, and his consistent editorials of support helped raise the initial funds. A year later he took charge of the first auction, later loaning use of his barn for the event, which is the library's largest fundraiser. We've been walking arm-in- arm with the library ever since. .Ifyou've been a library supporter, take some time this week to give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. If you haven't paid much attention to this vital institution, take a few minutes to visit during this celebratory week. You'll be im- pressed with the library's present, and you'll get a glimpse of the future when plans for an expanded children’s room are unveiled. Perhaps most important, you'll gain a sense of the Back Mountain as a community that you may never have experienced, and you'll meet some awfully nice people who are ie a hand to make it even better. i i ! i Let's all work together on new high school schedule Now that the Dallas school board has voted to adopt a four- period high school class day known as intensified scheduling, it’s time for all parties to do their best to assure success. It was clear as the board considered the change from a seven-period day that the majority of members were sold on the new schedule because they believed it would improve students’ education. That result will be possible only if teachers are able to adapt to the new methods a 85-minute period requires. The high school faculty has been less than enthusiastic about the change. Whether their reluctance stems from sincere misgivings about the longer periods or is simply the conse- quence of inertia is unknown. One sure thing is that teachers must receive adequate training if they are to learn to hold a room full of students’ attention for an hour and one half. We hope the administration recognizes that such a radical change demands fresh thinking about training, too, not the same formula that has been used in the past. We are not encouraged by the projected budget of $10,000 or less for training and $200,000 for hardware. No matter how many computers and gadgets the school buys, they are of little value if teachers are either unable or unwilling to use them to best advantage. More resources should be allocated to train teachers — many of them 20-year veterans — in the new methods that are necessary to make the revised schedule work. Dallas High School students have produced a mediocre record of achievement in past years, and that has troubled school officials as well as many parents. If this change can spark improvements in test scores and college acceptances, it will be well worth the attempt. But that won't happen just because the classes are longer; it will take a concerted effort on the part of students, teachers, parents and the administration. We hope they all can work together to provide an atmosphere in which excellence is expected, achieved and rewarded. Queen of Peace Episcopal Church, Harveys Lake. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. LETTERS | School schedule change is too much, too fast Editor's note: The author brought this letter to the Dallas School Board meeting Oct. 9, prior to the vote to adopt "intensified schedul- ing” for the high school. Editor: I am a very worried mother of a ninth grade student, as well as a past and hopefully future substi- tute teacher in the Dallas School District. I feel a sense of panic and anxiety for my own child and every child in the district whenever the phrase “Intensified Scheduling” is mentioned. We will have less than a year now to prepare for its coming. That means less than a year for our teachers to retrain, rethink A Case for Conservation | Alene N. Case | Hometown news » Hometown product The Dallas Post . Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. § P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 ’ 717-675-5211 ‘1 ©. Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek “1 - PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ‘I Peggy Young Grace R. Dove # ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC REPORTER Paul Rismiller Olga Kostrobala PRODUCTION MANAGER CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING ) oq » |] " Jill Gruver p OFFICE MANAGER | eA 7] : 2) PRINTED WITH NIN PENNSYLVANIA : SOYINK]| NATIONAL INEWSPARER NEWSPAPER My family used to belong to several large environmental or- ganizations, but when the boys went off to college, we simply could not afford the membership fees. So, we decided to retain certain essential memberships (like my husband's professional organiza- tions) and discontinue the rest. Over the years, I have discovered wealth is not necessarily a pre- requisite to staying informed on environmental issues. In fact, many newsletters and worthwhile memberships are available for $15 or less — some are even free. Let me give you a sampling of excel- lent resources that are affordable for most folks. The most recent addition to my conservation library is the_Rus- sian Conservation News. It is published by the Biodiversity Conservation Center and contains all kinds of information about the efforts to preserve land and pro- tect endangered species in the countries of the former Soviet Union (one-seventh of the earth's total land areal). The subscrip- tion price is $10 per year payable {0 PEEC/RCN, R.R. 2, Box 1010, Dingman'’s Ferry, PA 18328. Hey! Wait a minute, you say. That's not in Russia; that's in Pennsylvania. True. PEEC stands for Pocono Environmental Edu- cation Center and is another or- ganization well worth joining. In addition to cooperation with a variety of international organiza- tions, PEEC provides a residen- and retool the learning processes that began when we entered kin- dergarten. Is that enough time? I am very uneasy after learning that teachers do not seem ready or eager for the change. The burden of making this curricu- lum work falls heavily on their shoulders and those of our stu- dents. Curriculum loss is’ another | great concern, as is the tradi- tional format and grading. Unfor- tunately, colleges will still be assessing our children using tra- ditional methods. How will our students fit in and measure up? I feel our children are being well served using current meth- ods. Ido not understand the need for change or the sense of urgency in pushing this new curriculum through. Is there a reason it must be introduced next year? I know that Administration, some board members, and some teachers have had several years exposure to this new plan, but students and par- ents have not. I feel we are leaping into the unknown and anything unknown causes fear. Replacing fear with knowledge takes time, much more time that we have been given. Please consider your decision carefully. You are holding the educational lives of many people, presentand future, in your hands. Kathy Millington Dallas Inexpensive ways to be environmentally informed tial center for environmental education to school students and teachers, families, and other or- ganizations. They publish PEEC Seasons, appropriately once a season, to highlight their activi- ties and to enlighten their readers about the habits of wild creatures such as mushrooms or turkeys. Students can belong to PEEC for $5 per year, senior citizens for $15, and other individuals for $20. If there are several members in your family, you might consider $25 for a family membership a realbargain. (Address is the same as above, without the RCN.) Now, let's consider the free lit- erature. First, there is the Bay Journal that is published 10 times a year by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, 6600 York RD, Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21212. This fine little journal in newspa- per format is provided free to inter- ested citizens through a grant from the US EPA. Recent issues have covered topics as varied as the Endangered Species Act, a canoe trip on the Juniata River, forests in the bay watershed, and air quality. Another periodic newspaper is that published by the PA Wild Resource Conservation Fund entitled “Keystone Wild! Notes.” | am sure that contributors to this fund through either the income tax refund check-off program or the license plate program receive this newpaper, but all I did was ask about it. Write to the Wild Resource Conservation Fund at P.O. Box 8764, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8764. You will be treated to information on the reintroduc- tion of fishers into Pennsylvania after a century of absence, how scientists study clams using a glass-bottomed bucket, lists of the best places in the state to view wildlife, etc. Then there are a couple of in- teresting publications that are free but probably shouldn't be. The first is the bi-monthly ECOLOGIA Newsletter edited by Carolyn Schmidt (ECOLOGIA, P.O. Box 171, College Street, LaPlume PA 18440). If you want to learn more about waste management strate- gies, risk assessment, nuclear power, and other international issues, send $5.00 to cover post- age and printing along with your request. The second is our PA State Parks Magazine. With all the reorganization in Harrisburg and budget cutting in general, this magazine is unfortunately becoming slimmer and less fre- quent. Phone 1-800/63-PARKS to subscribe. But, perhaps you would rather not receive any more reading material and wonder if there are worthy causes which would ap- preciate a small contribution. There are many, but I will only mention one here. “Seeds of Hope” is a program through which you can plant one tree here in the United States in a Global ReLeaf Forest and one tree in Ukraine where Chernobyl survivors have settled. Send $10 to Global Re- Leaflnternational, P.O. Box 2000, Washington DC 20013 and they will not only see that the two trees are planted but they will also send you a dozen beautiful notecards designed by Ukrainian artist Jaques Hnivdovsky. So, if you are short on cash, that is no excuse for being envi- ronmentally uninformed. Join me in supporting conservation efforts near and far by contributing $10 to $15 to the organization of your choice. Ifyou want more informa- tion, please contact me through this newspaper. ~~ 23¢; cabbage, 3¢ Ib.; Old Dutch ONLY YESTERDAY 60 Years Ago - Oct. 18, 1935 BORO MAKES STATE CHANGE GUTTERS Ra Dallas Borough Council ‘com- E plained this week that the type ‘® 3] A & (} 1] gutters being constructed along Lake Street by State Highway Department employees is unsat- isfactory, has received assurance that planswillbe changed toconfer closely as possible to standard set by council. Construction of an addition © Dallas Borough High School Building was one step nearer realization this week as directi® prepared to submit plans for the annex to Works Progress Adminij- stration officials to learn if thepro- ject can be financed with Feed! funds. 50 Years Ago - Oct. 19, 1045" 3 NEW SAWMILL IS BUILT, AT HAYS CORNERS The Dallas Post this week: an- nounced that it has Purch « the Dr. Alexander Watt propeért : at the intersection of Machell Avenue and Harveys Lake High- way and will erect there shortly one of the most modern commu- nity newspaper plants to be found anywhere in a town the size of Dallas. Workmen for Whipple Broth; ers Lumber Co. were busy this week erecting a sawmill just backea ’ of Hay's Corners where Housing Foundation of America is clearing off several acres of timber land jn preparation for the erection of its main buildings. You could get - Stewing Tinh, 19¢ Ib.; Swift's skinless franks, 37¢ Ib.; sweet potatoes, 4 lbs., a Cleanser, 2 cans 15¢. iff 40 Years Ago - Oct. 14,1955, PHOTO SUPPLY STORE OPENSIN DALLAS © Since Chase Dairy's installa- tion of a milk-vending machine. near the cafeteria windows at. Lehman-Jackson-Ross - High, School, consumption of milk has skyrocketed and purchases of pop | and candy are correspondingly _ : lower, according to a repgrt given S| by Lester Squier at Tuesday night's f joint board meeting. : E.E. Phillips, Orange, : ‘has, opened a Camera and Photo- graphic Supply Store in the old post office buidling at 24 Main Street, Dallas. A native of Plains, Phillips has been interested .in photography as a hobby for many years. | Back Mountain Little League ® Champions for the fifth time insix — years, the boys of Lehman=- Jackson team received trophi€s, : Monday before a large gathejing “of parents, teachers and friends | at the PTA meeting in Lehman-' Jackson-Ross High Scheol audi- | torium. ! 30 Years Ago - Oct. 14,1965 | RESIDENTS PROTEST ® 1 NURSING HOME PLAN KB The tiny borough council room was jammed with a delegation of protestors from Machell and Ster- - ling avenues, alarmed at the pros- pect of a 75-bed convalescent home at the site of the old Machell barn near the Jacobs clinic. Dr. Irwin Jacobs, represented by Atty. Andrew Hourigan, was the appli cant for a variance from the zon- 7 | 4 ing ordinanc. Protestors were not buying the lawyer's contention that the convalescent home would be “an asset to the community’ with a “country club setting” more residential in character than commercial. Dallas School Directors will meet in special session Nov. 3. to discuss plans of architects already interviewed and to decide whether, @ [ other than local firms will be in- vited to present their specifica- tions before the board. A delega- tion of parents from New Goss Manor urged that an access path} be made available for children to reach the high school, since many - now travel through the orchard: adjoining the school and encoun- | ter muddy terrain. PP ® ww 20 Years Ago - Oct. 16, 1975 - oq FRANKLIN TWP WANTS MUNICIPAL BUILDING Supervisors of Franklin Town- ship at their Oct. meeting in Or- | ange Methodist Church approved | a resolution to seek bids for the: erection of a metal building on Williams Road in the Orange sec- - tion of the township for use as a. ® | 4 municipal building. Bids will be | open at a special meeting of su-, pervisors Oct. 23. 2 4 Pe
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers