4; The Dallas Post Dallas, PA’ Wednesday, June 5, 1996 { lw Lake-Lehman Yow os t he ¥ 4 : As shocking as the Lake-Lehman School District's tentative 1996- 97 budget seems, it may represent the future for many schol districts. Lake-Lehman projects a 15 percent tax in- crease will be necessary to cover expenses next year, an alarming number by itself. Even worse, the district projects nothing in reserve at the close of the year, as the higher taxes sete only to cover a $236,473 operating deficit. he district faces such dire prospects in part because it failed to. face the music in past years. This year’s budget includes money to pay for early retirements; money that should have been in the present spending plan. But the new budget doesn’t ude funds to pay for next year’s early retirees, so last year’s error will haunt the district again. Lois Kopcha, a school board member, has suggested that coaches volunteer their time to save Lake-Lehman about $200, 000. Actually, it's more than coaches who would have to volunteer; so would band directors, chaperones, ticket takers and ‘all others who work on extra-curricular activities. Money could also be saved if participants in sports and other activities bought their own uniforms and other supplies. Athletic shoes have already felt the budget ax, cutting the supply expense for winter and spring sports by 35 to 40 percent. Fall sports shoes cost even more, but had already been sent for bid before the budget was completed. Dr. William Price, superintendent of schools, says Lake- Lehman must focus on basic academic education if it is to remain viable. He's correct, but the path to that goal will not be easy. All the savings outlined above amount to about 1.5 percent of the district's projected $16.6 million budget. While $250,000 isn’t chump change, it is less than should have been included to pay for next year’s retirees. One thing seems certain; students, parents and taxpayers cannot be the only ones contributing to Lake-Lehman’s fiscal health. Students will see course ollerings limited, and not just in the shop and business classes which have already been curtailed. Some honors courses, which attract few students, will probably be combined or eliminated, and other changes are being contemplated. - Parents may find themselves picking up the tab for extras that once were provided by the district. And all taxpayers will see their bills rise, although hopelully not as sharply as in the pretiminary budget. ~ Teachers, who have enjoyed substantial salary increases in recent years, will have to help. Next year will be the last of the current contract, which granted annual raises of about 4 percent. That contract followed two successive agreements which provided about 8 percent per year. Thus, the three contracts combined to raise salaries by nearly 80 percent in less than a decade. That is a huge increase by any measure, and certainly far more than the typical private sector worker received. There was a time when teacher salaries lagged far behind similar careers, and catching up was justified. That time has passed; teachers are now among the highest paid professions of their type, with salary and benefit packages few others receive. Lake-Lehman’s teachers could make a grand and welcome gesture by volunteering to forgo the final year’s increase. That's what teachers in Connecticut did a few years ago, when the state was mired in recession and school budgets reached the breaking point. Such a move is unlikely here, however, since the state union has been so clearly focused on its own goals regardless of the public’s ability to satisfy them. Still, we hope Lake-Lehman’s teachers, who have been impressive in their commitment to their students, will consider such a sacrifice. If | they did, surely the administrators would match them, and in the process they could begin together not only to restore a bit of financial integrity to the district, but to regain a chunk of the piiblic esteem that has been lost, Publisher's notebook th JO J BES RE Jo a ot SEL Sh J SE J. LI Se NE 3 : Our new neighbor — who was our old neighbor when the newspaper office was in the 309/415 Plaza — earns commen- dation for saving a tree behind his office instead of cutting it down. Dr. Peter Kaminski, a podiatrist, moved in last week, but before doing so had parking spaces paved. An old white pine tree is smack in the middle of the parking area, and could easily have fallen victim to the penchant for clear cutting that has become evident lately. This tree is none too healthy, either, providing more incentive to dispense with it. Instead, the parking spaces now lie on either side of the tree, and, scrawny as it is, the tree will throw at least some shade on the cars and the rear of the building. | People who cut trees may not realize how valuable they are. When the summer sun is beating down, shade {from trees provides welcome relief, as well as saving on cooling costs if it falls on a building. Trees also offer homes for birds and other critters, replenish the soil with dropped leaves and needles, and their root systems absorb water, helping reduce runoff. Last, but not least, trees add visual interest to the landscape, whether it's an individual lot or 100-acre hillside. So, follow Dr. Kaminski s lead, and save (rees instead of cutting them down. y gE Ef i i The Dallas Post 5 Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. b P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 ¢ 717-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Grace R. Dove REPORTER Peggy Young . ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC TE TE ER Ne x Paul Rismiller PRODUCTION MANAGER Olga Kostrobala CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Jill Gruver OFFICE MANAGER - a wm Ww Te Bells & Tw ) [PRINTED WITH PENNGYVANIA SOY INK] Sy i wtnioes NEWSPAPER / Recent hatchlings greet the spring. A Case for consery ation Alene N. Case After dinner in the evenings, I often relax by watching Wheel of Fortuneand Jeopardy on TV. Over the past several months, these shows have promoted enthusi- asm and financial support for the Olympic Games in Atlanta and for the US athletes who are training to compete there this summer. As we look forward to the high spirit and entertainment of the Atlanta Games, there are many people working very hard to improve Atlanta’s urban forest by planting and protecting trees. This is not the first time that tree-planting activity has been linked with the Olympics - it also happened in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Let's explore this bit of Olympic trivia in some depth. In 1981, the City of Los Angeles drafted an Air Quality Manage- ment Plan in order to comply with the 1970 Clean Air Act. They called " for the planting of one million trees and estimated that it would take twenty years and require $200 million dollars. What they failed to take into account was the energy and resources of a group of L. A. citizens known as TreePeople. TreePeople mobilized politicians, government agencies, community groups, religious organizations and individuals and planted all one million trees prior to the be- ginning of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles! And, bet- As I was Jack Hilsher We lost two musical giants re- cently. Each had the same first name, although spelled differently. Jerry Garcia for one, a rock gui- tarist whose music I cannot vouch for or describe; the other was Gerry Mulligan, jazz saxophonist, whose music I can. Mulligan died on January 20th at 68 of complications following surgery. He was one of those ones- of-a-kind, who had chosen for his jazz improvisations a most un- likely instrument, the huge and ungainly baritone saxophone. (And he was a pianist yet!) With the hordes of jazz saxo- phonists active today - altos and tenors - only a hand(ul play bari- tone. The great Serge Chaloff [rom one of the Herman Herds comes to mind ... his “Body and Soul” remains a classic, even after many years. (Mulligan admits his influ- ence.) Then Harry Carney of the Ellington band, freelancer Nick Brignola, and that's about it. Trees and the Olympics ter yet, it did not cost the city a single dollar! TreePeople was begun by a teen- ager, Andy Lipkis, after he discov- ered that trees in the mountains near L. A. were being killed by air pollution. His first project was to plant 8,000 smog-resistant trees in those hills. More than twenty years later, Andy and his wife, Katie, are still working to create positive change in Los Angeles and throughout the world. TreePeople has planted 200 mil- lion trees to date and has an an- nual budget of $1.6 million. They have trained more than 300 Citi- zen Foresters in the methods of J tree planting and maintenance, . species selection, and community organization. They are promoting ways of conserving water in the dry climate of California: planting drought-tolerant trees that hold soiland absorb water; using “green waste” (twigs, leaves, and lawn clippings) as mulch; and collect- ing rainwater in tanks and cis- terns to use as irrigation water. In the words of Andy Lipkis, “our goal is to teach individuals to be- come managers of their piece of the ecosystem and to instill re- spect for our planet earth.” Just as in Los Angeles, tree- planting activities were already organized in Allanta before the announcement of the Olympic site selection committee. Trees At- lanta, a group headed by Marcia Bansley, has been working since 1985 to get good tree ordinances in all the local communities and to see that these rules are en- forced. Their impetus was a study that showed that metropolitan Atlanta was losing 30 acres of woodland each day. In spite of these and other efforts, Atlanta rated last in a 1991 survey of the twenty major cities in the USA in terms of the number of trees shad- ing its streets. This lack of tree cover was much more than an esthetic problem - downtown At- lanta and the Hartsfield Airport are often 9-12°F higher than in the surrounding countryside! Obviously, small trees planted in the past couple of years will not be able to cool this urban heat- island much during this summer's games. But, the consortium of community groups that has been activated to address this situa- tion will continue to work in At- lanta as the TreePeople of Los Angeles have done. Atlantais now working with the Cool Communi- ‘ties program of American Forests: in using low-tech solutions to their heating problem. These strategies include using light colors on out- door surfaces such as roofs and parking lots as well as planting - trees. If these activities continue, the city will not only feel cooler; its inhabitants will save lots of en- ergy and the air will be cleaner. It has been estimated that each de- gree increase in temperature above 720F leads to a 6% in- crease in the possibility of smog formation. Therefore, trees can contribute to clean air in more ways than one. These stories from LosAngeles and Atlanta areinspiring. 1 am very glad that there are people who are concerned about the con- ditions in our Olympic cities as well as the conditioning of our Olympic athletes. But, I do have one question: Must we wait for the unlikely event of hosting these prestigious games in order to mo- bilize ourselves to care properly for our communities’ trees? Two musical giants who will be missed Peter Watrous in The New York Times describes Mulligan's play- ing the usually stiff baritone as “supple and elegant. His solos had grace and gentleness, whether a ballad or up-tempo, and were always warm and personal.” Mulligan’s sense of jazz humor was always in evidence, in his playing and even in the titles of his own compositions. Example: "Bike Up the Strand,” an obvious takeoff on the chord changes of “Strike Up the Band." and once you heard his “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” you'll never hear it again without thinking of his version, which actually im- proved it! Jazz histories will note the Mulligan impact on what is called the “Cool School,” developed in the late 40s [rom his collabora- tions with Miles Davis. Then on the West Coast he and trumpeter Chet Baker formed their famous “pianoless quartet.” Judy Holliday and Mulligan were an “item” and he was featured by TIME in 1953. Mulligan groups toured Europe and he played at Newport Jazz Festivals. He recorded extensively A and became one of the top jazz concert draws, cutting quite a fig- ure with his stylishly long white hair, neatly trimmed beard, and - wonder of wonders - shirt, tie and suit! (He always claimed his mu- sic fun but he usually managed to look like a college professor about to lecture.) You needn't rush out for a Mulligan CD, although that would certainly broaden your tastes. Instead, try your FM dial for a station which plays a lot of his records: Temple University's Pub- lic Radioat91.1 frequency (WRTY). Depending on where you live, you may fare better with 94.9 (Wilkes- Barre) or even WRITI (Philly) at 90.1 Try ‘em all. They call them- selves “JAZZ FM" and program- ming is superb. One segment, “Turn On the Quiet,” features smooth jazz you don’t hear any- where else. Dan Evans fans will think they've found a replacement, ex- cept they hire greenhorns. Their Tiffany Bacon refers to Sidney Bechet, the New Orleans soprano sax legend, as “Sidney Bechit!" But I forgive her ... she tries! oF ‘NERY YESTERDAY iy AGREE ON NEW ROUTE, Early construction of the sec-'| ond link in the long-neglected:i Dallas-Tunkhannock highway. seemed likely this week as result | of agreement upon the route-to be followed. As originally planned.s the route would have necessitated | the removal of E.H. Ney's barn: and Eatonville school house. This week Wyoming County Commis=. > sioners met with State engineers: and agreed upon a course that: would avoid these buildings. ° » - In what was unquestionably: one of the smoothest exhibitions of baseball skill ever seen in this: section, Dallas Township broke.» the tie for first place in Back Moun- +, tain Scholastic League last Friday-! with a 2-1 victory over Kingston Township. In the seventh inning - Fred Stevens of Dallas, socked a: record-breaking home run which soared past the auditorium and’ tied the score. veh gp | Ric 50 Years Ago - June 14, 1946 ® LABARTO BREAK | GROUND FOR GARAGE * A contract has been Sigel” between Dallas Township School District and the U.S. Veterans’ i Administeration for the opening of a Veterans Agricultural Train- 3 4 ing School in Dallas Township this fall. The school will present courses in general agriculture for, former servicemen who are either! working on farms or own theif: own farms and are working . orf: them. Caddie LaBar, athletic coach and former captain of special ser- vices in the Army Air Corps, ex+! pects to break ground along the Harveys Lake highway next week DJ 4 for the foundation of his new ser- ; vice station and automobile body shop. Mr. LaBar expects to'do all’ types of automobile body and fender work and will have ‘the. agency for Sunoco gastlinel End lubricants. : ) Rev. Fred M. Sellers, Pati of 3 Shavertown United ‘Methodist , Church from 1933 to 1937 ied at his home in Staten Island, NY, Monday. 40 Years Ago - June 8, 1956. . THREE SCOUTS EARN" EAGLE SCOUT AWARD : . « Surrounded by friends, fathily | 1 and members of Squadron 151; Explorer Scout William Hall," Shavertown, became the third Scout in the history of the Squad- Of | 4 ron to receive the Eagle Scout award last Tuesday. Ohers*who*} received the award were Woh Fr * SheehandJr. and Lee Ohlmart, both ¢ of Dallas. Ary Mr. and Mrs. William, NV. } Shedleski will celebrate their first i anniversary as owners of Dallas 5 Motel with the opening of their new $100,000 20 room addition; The community is proud of the Shedleskis and of their rhgtel which is spreading the fame of Dallas far and wide to the motor: . ing public. Fil du » BA 3 Sy BY on ¢ | 30 Years Ago - June 6, 1966 TOWNSEND TO STUDY AT ; AIR FORCE SCHOOL Lgl ae ed NE Irem on Club pavilion Tues- day night to receive their ‘diplo- mas were 208 members of. the graduating class of Dallas ‘High School. The pavilion was the only place in the area large enough to hold the throng, the schools au- ditorium long having been out- | grown. ) Jeffrey Townsend, Dallas Se- _ { nior High School, will enter the U.S. Air Force Academy Prepara- tory School in September. Jeffrey is one of a select few to enter the schoolin quest ofan appointment : to the Academy after a Jelrs study. 20 Years Ago - June 10, 1976 g SHAVERTOWN SCHOOL © ¢ IS UP FOR SALE ly The Dallas School Boafd ap- proved a motion made by Richard : Hislop, chairman of the property | committee, to advertise for bids ! for the sale of the Shavertown elementary building by a vote of 6 to 3. The building and 1.23 acres on which it is situated will be'sold | as a whole and in present condi- tion. PTE INE SE (Fo
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers