4 TheDallasPost Dallas, PA Wednesday, April 17, 1996 EDITORIALS Shoes should go, but more needed at Lake-Lehman . The suggestion that property taxes in the Lake-Lehman School District might rise 30 mills sends shudders through the spines of many district home owners. A 16 percent increase in their taxes could be the straw that broke the bank for some, driving the cost of home ownership beyond their means. ‘At the same time, the district remains alone in the region as a supplier of shoes to athletic teams, a sore point with critics of the district's financial management. While a minor item, it is a symbol to them of the discipline they say has been lacking on the board and in the administration. What they may be forgetting, however, is that Lake-Lehman has had a total tax increase of only five mills — 3 percent — in the last five years, and is running on empty with little money in reserve. - Lake-Lehman serves both the wealthiest and poorest sec- tions of the Back Mountain, but overall has not enjoyed a growing grand list on the scale of neighboring Dallas, which has managed to avoid a tax rate increase for several years even as budgets have expanded. Combined with slimmed down state and federal contributions, the modest revenue base makes it both more difficult and more critical that the district run efficiently. The district's largest expense is teaching salaries, which are being swelled by early retirement incentives that will save the money in the long run, but represent a short-term expense. Taxpayers’ fury at higher millage is likely to intensify in future years, and it is incumbent upon the board and admin- istration to seek savings where it makes sense to do so. Dispensing with the district's role as a shoe store seems one ‘good place to start, though a small one. At the same time, if the district's education quality suffers because of imprudent bud- get cuts, the tax base will grow even more slowly, and a spiral of decline will begin. Media shares some of the blame in little flyer's death The tragic death of 7-year-old Jessica Dubroff wasn't an accident. It was as close to murder as you can get without charges being filed. The police have a name for this: Negligent Homicide. It means someone died as a direct result of the negligence of another, and the death could easily have been avoided. All one need do is listen to the mother to understand the extent of Jessica's parents’ indifference to the danger they willingly placed her in. Let’s not waste time trying to figure out ifthe instructor or Jessica was flying the plane, or if they should have sat out bad weather before taking off. All of that is irrelevant. A 7-year-old should never be put in the position little Jessica was, and anyone who pushes a child into such a stunt should be held accountable. Unfortunately, the media played the role of accomplice in this loathsome affair, gleefully promoting the outrageously irresponsible flight. Even after the crash, headline after head- line trumpeted “Jessica’s dream,” as if a first-grader conceived the idea and determined its final outcome. So, the glory hound parents were egged on by news people who suspended good sense for the sake of the story, and now are politely questioning the imprudence of the adults who contrived this scheme. The whole thing is sickening. There's always hope that some good will come out of tragedy, and perhaps that will be the case now. If Jessica's mother continues to spout her irresponsible tripe, and editors recog- nize that they have a duty to ignore harmful reports equal to the need to publish useful ones, maybe Jessica won't have died in vain. As for her mother, the years of anguish she faces are insufficient compensation for the harm she helped bring to an innocent child. Publisher's notebook Got a call from Newt Gingrich the other day. Well, it wasn’t really Newt, it was a brief recording he made, and I was one of a select one million Americans on his list. I was honored. Newt said his Republicans had passed nine of the 10 Contract with America items, and warned that if his mates didn’t retain control of Congress, I would be a captive of the “old, failed liberalism.” Actually, Newt was quite mild compared to the fund raiser who then came on the line. She said, “You and your business will be in serious trouble,” if President Clinton is re-elected and Newt's party loses control of Congress. I wasn’t sure if that was a warning or a threat. Then she offered to send a replica of Newt's gavel, if 1 sent her $250. I didn't need a gavel, so I declined the offer. Do you agree? Disagree? Editorials are the opinion of the management of The Dallas Post, and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. We welcome your opinion on contemporary issues in the form of letters to the editor.Send letters to: The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612. Please include name, address and a daytime phone number so that we may verify authenticity. We do not publish anonymous letters, but will consider withholding the name in exceptional circumstances. We reserve the right to edit for length and grammar. 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 Olga Kostrobala CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Paul Rismiller PRODUCTION MANAGER Jill Gruver OFFICE MANAGER Emer ; Ed © PRINTED WITH NIN PENNSYLVANIA | SOY INK ASSOCIATION PER NEWSPAPER They're back. A flock of American mergansers has returned to the Huntsville Reservoir, where they were first sighted last fall. Very timid birds, they scramble at the slightest disturbance. In left photo, three ducks swam quickly away from the photographer. At right, a lone male appeared to be swallowing a fish. Photos by Charlotte Bartizek. LETTERS Flower tents are the target of a witch hunt Editor: You asked if I agred with ar- ticles or editorials in your paper. Well, some I do and some I don't. And since I'm granted freedom of speech by our Constitution which also proposes a free enterprise system, I have a comment con- cerning two articles and an edito- rial. I'm referring to the two front page articles by Grace Dove “Flo- rists protest tents,” and “Tents’ have unfair advantage, shop own- ers say.” The editorial was en- titled “Time to toss out the flower tents.” It seems to me, people, it’s time we grew up. First because some- one brings a different ball game to our game, we have to chase them away? Are we afraid of a little compe- tition - no matter where it comes from? Or is it because we have had our way so long that we can’t stand to have someone else inter- fere. Are some of these same busi- nesses going to try and stop me from growing my own flowers? Are they going to say that I can’t have garage sales? Are they going to try and run me out of town for speaking my mind? Let's grow up, for God's sake, we are in the late 20th century going on “witch” hunts. Will Aldrow Dallas P.S. The businesses repre- sented at the town meeting in Kingston Township seem to forget they started that way, right guys? Flower tents don't help the Back Mountain Editor: Your recent editorial on the flower tents was right on target. When we allow transient vendors to set up in our Back Mountain community are we sending the right message? Allowing businesses to operate temporarily in a tent is not good for the Back Mt. These busi- nesses do not pay local taxes nor do they encourage permanent jobs or support of community activi- ties. They are here to take advan- tage of prime selling time and then gone. The message we are sending is that we welcome transient busi- nesses that are more appropriate for a bazaar or a carnival. Our Back Mountain is a great community, let's keep it that way. I invite readers and residents to please support businesses that are permanent contributors to our community. Ralph Edwards Pres. Huntsville Nursery Inc. Many thanks to those who helped Troop 640! Editor: My name is Stephanie Yavorchak. I am the troop leader of Brownie Troop 640. Our troop has participated in many activi- ties this year and I would like to extend my gratitude to the many people in our community. In October we went to the Pizza Hut in Dallas. The girls each made their own pizza. The girl that ran the tour did a great job. She was very kind and patient with the 11 girls in my troop. Also in October, we had our Halloween party, where the girls painted faces on small pumpkins. The pump- kins were donated by Mr. Civarellas pumpkin stand near the old Sunshine Market on Rt. 309 Wilkes-Barre. The girls hada lot of fun with them. We also went to a Halloween Dance held at the V.F.W. in Kingston. It was well planned. We all had a wonderful time. I hope itbecomes an annual event. In November, we took a tour of the Wegmans store. The tour guide was very good. The best part of the tour was seeing the meat and ice cream freezers. We also took a tour of the Price Chop- per store. The tour guide was exceptional. He kept the girls interest the entire time. He was also kind enough to end the tour in the bakery, where he allowed the girls to have some goodies. Which, of course to them, was the best part of the tour. In December, we had a Christ- mas Bazaar at the West Side Mall in Edwardsville. We made angels form cellophane paper, foam balls and pipe cleaners. The cellophane paper was donated by the owner of The Courtyard on Main Street in Nanticoke. The angels came out beautiful. We sold them at the bazaar which was a great suc- cess. In January, we went to Anntie Ann's pretzel place at the Wyo- ming Valley Mall, where the girls each made their own pretzels. The tour guide did an excellent job. Aside from making pretzels, we also learned where pretzels origi- nated, where most of them are made today, and how to make the flavorful dough they use at Auntie Ann's. In March, we had a Booth Cookie Sale at K-Mart on Rt. 309 in Wilkes-Barre. It was very kind of the manager to let us use a space in the front of the store, where we would get the most vis- ibility. The girls learned the responsiblity of making the right change. Thank you again for making my first year as a Brownie leader an enjoyable one. Stephanie Yavorchak Leader of Troop 640 Shavertown Undercover cops don't need to wear wires Editor: State Representative Phyllis Mundy, D-120th Legislative Dis- trict, proposal to pass a law to let undercover cops wear a wire in order to protect themselves is a Pandora's Box. This will infringe on Mundy’s own constituents con- stitutional rights. Lawmakers such as Mundy are nearly as dan- gerous to your rights as the com- mon criminal. Ifthis lawis passed, a so-called amendment could be added and your rights are totally gone. If Mundy did her homework, she would know there are elec- tronic signaling devices the un- dercover policeman could use to set off to alert his backrup offic- ers, to let them know he was in trouble. Police departments in other states use them, at an af- fordable price. Lawmakers like Mundy, who use law and order as an excuse to get votes from a crime fearing public, reminds me of another lawmaker and chancellor who once said, “Gun control would help our police efficiency, stop the increase in crime and put crimi- nals away for good.” His contitutents agreed with him. Born in Austria in 1889, his name was Adolf Hitler. The civil liberties union and the NRA, have fought for years to protect constitutional rights against misguided legislatures, such as Rep. Mundy, who may have honest intentions but never studied history. John Pitcavage Shavertown If you missed The Post - you missed the news! ONLY YESTERDAY 60 Years Ago - Apr. 24, 1936 vs TOWNSHIP STUDENTS . PRESENT COMEDY =" ~ “Hobglobin House" a 3-act mys- tery drama, will be pre sented May. 6 at the Dallas Borough School auditorium by the junior ¢ class of Dallas Township. This play is filled with horrifying shrieks and ghostly situations. It promises to, be areal thriller. The play is being. directed by Miss Margaret Wallace, Dallas Borough Council. re- duced its tax levy 1/2 mill at a meeting in the borough building Tuesday cutting the millage from, 16 to 15.5. Reduction was, ac- complished by cutting the’ sink-, ing fund from three mills to 1.5 mills, increasing the general fund: from 10 to 11 mills and keeping the light fund at three mills. ; 50 Years Ago - Apr. 26, 1946 MEMORIAL TREES - PLANTED ALONG HI-WAY More than 50 former service-: men and employees of the State: Highway Department under the- direction of John Clark, State Highway Department forester’ started planting memorial. trees’ along the highway " from: Trucksville to Idetown early. Wednesay morning. Many men’ recruited by Commander: Frank- Ferry of Daddow-Isaacs: Post. American Legion represented. Wyoming Valley Posts as well ‘as every Back Mountain vets organi: rot a on : zation. Now playing at Shaver Tories. “Pride of the Marines” with John Garfield, Dane Clark and Eleanor Parker. 7 40 Years Ago - Apr. 20, 1956 RENOVATIONS TO ST. -- « PAUL'S ARE COMPLETED Five school boards ironéd ‘out’ their differences at Wednesday night's jointure meeting, leavin a smooth and unruffled surface or the Dallas Area Schools jointure, which is slated to to go into effect - July 2 if board members adhere! to. their present resolution to, sign, articles of agreement next Tues- day evening. : With their $50,000 chugch ex- pansion and renovation program completed except for minor de-; tails, the congregation of St. Paul's * Lutheran Church, Shavertown is - making plans for a three-day re- dedication service early in May. ' Former pastors of the church, which was formed in 1925, will; play a leading part in the services. 30 Years Ago - Apr. 21, 1966 : WOOLBERT LEAVESFOR : SOUTHAMERICA = Noxen Fire Co. saved a home. on Race Hill Monday morning, | after a quick-witted head of the: household assured all windows : remained closed, calledthe fire. company, evacuated his family ® and then threw buckets of water » on the hot spot until firemen axr- | rived. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth] Trowbridge and their three chil- 4 dren living in the two story home » owned by Hayd Newell escaped, injury. Judy Woolbert, R.N., daughter | of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Woolbert, . Shavertown, left by plane” frorh Philadelphia yesterday for Miamt, FL where at midnight she will + enplane again for Bogota, Colum-, bia and Quito, Equador. She will spend two months in the South American countries, where she. will work and study with undef; privileged children of the Mestizo: Indians who live in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, 20 Years Ago - Apr. 22, 1976 RECORD NUMBER OF BRUSH FIRES INAREA | : A rash of brush fires Has ‘af, 3 flicted the Back Mountaiti *area! during the past week, reaching what at least one fire chief termed, “a record number.” Residents; burning trash or yard refuse have! found their fire moving out, of con-: trol. One brush forest fire in Lake; Township, Monday took firefighting crews from three de-: partments all day to extinguish. | ; John Majewski turned ina high; jump of 6-7 3/8 inches to set a new school record in the Moun-+ taineers meet with Bishop Hoban, at the Mounts field Thursday. He! broke his own school record-of 6-+ 7 set the week before. Last week's. jump was less than two irfehes; short of the state record Whish | is! a a EE FF SF ew 6-9. crwrmct § P SNE Na 3 | P
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers