ETT BEE Ua) a on ne A Ca ee 0 FV Ee woke sw 4 . The Dallas Post eH Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 3, 1996 EDITORIALS | ~ New budget offers little relief for Lake-Lehman “By a whisker — or perhaps less — the Lake-Lehman school board has adopted a budget [or the coming year. But it is a +document loaded with pitfalls, including a deficit of nearly $250,000. Since the state recommends the school district ' maintaina budgetary reserve of about $750,000, Lake-Lehman : is $1 million [rom where it should be. And there is no relief in A ~ “sight. This budget carries forward an error made last year when _. the old school board [lailed to account for money needed for anticipated retirements. As a result, taxpayers can anticipate , another large increase in millage a year [rom now, unless something dramatic is done to slow the rate of spending. =.= School board president Ed Kern hoped to {ind some help ~ when he asked the teachers to forego next year’s raises, a move ‘that, if matched by administrators, would have saved nearly $300,000. But he was rebuffed, not by a consensus of the teachers but by a unilateral refusal [rom the local union president, who lamely blamed her [ailure {o poll the teachers on bad timing. Not having been born yesterday, most people ~ will assume, correctly, that the union leader was simply doing her primary job, to toe the PSEA line against all threats to teachers’ financial well-being, regardless of the circumstances oof the community they ostensibly serve. - The budget document optimistically outlines a few strokes of Tuck that could help the district at least avoid a deficit, such as increased state subsidies. Good luck; state aid is more likely to |, decline than increase, and even if it does go up, the difference is unlikely to offer much reliel. More growth in housing and “business would give a boost to tax receipts even without a ~ millage increase, but the district has reached the point that present tax levels discourage just that kind of investment. Good luck and individual greed will not solve Lake-Lehman’s .. problems. Perhaps in coming months the depth of the district's - [financial sinkhole will become apparent to all, and everyone who depends on the schools — [or employment, [or education, for enjoyment — will come to realize that stern measures will be required to return to firm footing. The alternative, continued patchwork budgeting with no one willing to give ground, will surely drive the district to ruin, and with each step in that direction it becomes more difficult to turn the sinking ship around. This July 4th should be a bang-up time You won't have to leave the Back Mountain this year to enjoy a July 4th fireworks show, thanks to one of our newest businesses, Orloski’'s Quik Marts. A family-owned and man- aged company, Orloski’s has been putting on fireworks shows in Mountaintop and Hazleton for several years. They say it’s ! one way to repay the communities that have supported their ¢ businesses. That's a nice sentiment, and we hope they'll forgive ki is for noting that all the favorable publicity won't hurt their “"{rade in the future. We don't see anything wrong with that; businesses that do well can also do a lot of good, and providing “a fireworks show [or this area is surely a welcome sign of the c- + Back Mountain's commercial vitality as well as its appeal as a . community in which to live and raise a family. + The show takes place al the Dallas High School grounds . Friday. July 5 at dusk. If all goes well the event may broaden intoadJuly 4th festival in the future. For now, we'll be more than ~* happy lo view a close-lo-home fireworks show. 3 a oa Publisher's notebook Anyone driving or walking near the center of Dallas Borough can’t help but notice the handsome banners hanging from several ulility poles. The borough council authorized the ! purchase of the banners last year, feeling that they would . express some ol the pride they and othe . borough residents feel in their town. They . were right. While Dallas — the entire Back : Mountain [or that matter — lacks a central - shopping district of any size, it has a couple - of “Main Streets,” one each in Dallas Bor- ' ough and Shavertown. The borough is mak- "ing the most of its limited amenities by . posting the colorful banners with a welcom- . ing message around town. Some will see this ! as a [rivolous expenditure, but I think there ; are times when a little symbolism goes a long ; way. Heaven knows there's little enough . public spending designed (o raise people's * spirits these days. * Onthat note, it's good to see that Kingston | Township is planning a stylish new munici- pal building, and taxpayers aren't storming : the supervisors demanding a stripped-downs box. Al one time new public buildings were a point of pride for : the general citizenry, but that spirit is now often replaced by penny-pinching tax watchdogs. There surely is plenty of waste in some construction jobs, but a few dollars saved will be . quickly [orgotten in the lace of an ugly structure that will last , several generations. t | The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. 3 P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 § 717-675-5211 . Ronald A. Bartizek Charlotte E. Bartizek : PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER 5 : Peggy Young Grace R. Dove ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC REPORTER . Paul Rismiller PRODUCTION MANAGER Olga Kostrobala CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Jill Gruver OFFICE MANAGER viper : td INN PENNSYLVANIA NEWSPAPER Pusciame PRINTED WITH SOY INK| “avnce TOF NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION FF FF FF eve EE At the 1955 Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction, Harry Ohiman demostrated a pedal boat, assisted by Howard As I was saying BEL: Hilsher MORE ODDS ‘N ENDS: This stuff piles up, so let's tackle some of it, including a curmudgeon- type bit. First, there was a pro- posal in my mail describing some- thing called a “Voice Organizer.” For only $12.49 per month for 12 months they offered to send me a gadget about 2" x4" x 1", pow- ered by 3 AAA batteries, which they claim will place the following under my complete control: 100 names 400 phone numbers 99 personal notes 99 reminders also facts, figures, names, birth- days and much more!! Evidently I can put this sort of stuff into a kind of tape recorder by simply talking to it. Then, when I ask it for someone's phone num- ber, it plays back to me in my own Mainstream John William Johnson "Why are you a writer?” Splin- ters asks. Da Vinci is on the phone, seek- ing some inventory for his wood crafting shop. “Well,” I reply, “the short an- swer to that question is: I can't conceive of being anything else.” “And the long answer?” He smiles — until the smile fades when he realizes I'm about to give him one. ; “The long answer begins with some questions of the questioner. fe. "Do you know why you are where you are? "Do you know — within the limits of your life experiences — who you are as a human being? “Are you capable of intellectual honesty? "Do you know what we had for dinner two nights ago? "Would you know there will be There are curios in the cabinet! The curio cabinet in the commu- nity room is showing some memo- rable collectibles that survived the move from the former library on Main Street. These items have been with the library at least 35 years. There is a dark green vase filled with silver dollars. the plant Odds 'n' Ends, but mostly odd voice! Further, it says I almost (notice the qualifier) can get along with- out my briefcase. The gad- get will be my “companion” and tell me exactly what I need, or who was [ sup- posed to call, or where was I supposed to be, and when, and why ... all in my own voice! Now I should mention here that I have enough trouble with another voice, the little one in my head. I don’t need a second voice coming out of a gadget I paid 150 bucks for. How- ever, if they send me one anyway, or if happen to get one as a gift, I have just the place for'it ... my shoe. (I can hear a satisfactory crunch.) TRUE DOG STORY: It wasn't our SPCA but'it' could have been. They all do a great job and are underappreciated everywhere. This one was in Chester County, where they received a call about something being out on a street. It was moving, the caller said. and guessed “It might be a dog.” Humane agents investigated Why lam a X number of men and X number of women in any given room you might be in today? “Do you know that Jack Ruby — the man who commitited the first live televised murder — died of cancer. “Do you know who Jack Ruby was? "Do you care? "Do you inow who your slate representative is? “Do you know what kind of learner you are; visual, auditory or kinesthetic? “Do you know that 25 percent of the world’s population lives in China, or that 66 percent of the world's lawyers practice in the United States? “Do you care? “Do you kow who Thomas Mann was? Thomas Acquinas? Viclor Hugo, Samuel Johnson. Ezra Pound, Ayn Rand, John Locke. Oliver Cromwell, Marie Curie, Chou En Lai. Jean Paul Sartre. Thomas Paine, Evelyn Cameron, Bathsheba, George Eliot. What can you tell me about the Chrysanthe- mum Throne. Where the Crystal Palace is located? Or who really lives at 10 Downing Street? “All of these questions and mil- lions more go into the process of directly under the heel of Risley, left, Bob Bachman and Norti Berti. This year S auction takes place July 11-14. and found a huge mound of filth and hair so badly matted the crea- ture could not move normally at Matty, after and before! all. After careful bathing, clipping and trimming the frightened ani- mal left behind over two and a half pounds of soiled, snarled and matted hair. What had eémerged, alter more tender care, was a lovely little mini-poodle. Of course he had to be named, and what better name than "Mally.” And you just know a willing family was easily found to adopt him. That's a really greal picture...Matty is on the left and his clippings are on the right! writer being — as opposed to thinking about being — a writer. And Tho- mas Edison was correct when he said: ‘Genius is 99 percent perspi- ration and one percent inspira- tion: © Splinters ponders the response, even as he ponders the back of his hand. “I know you write a colum. but what kind of writer are you?" “A journalist or other present- ers of information is a person who provides the first rough draft of history; a columnist or other pre- senlers of ideas and opinions. takes the first rough draft of his- tory and dresses il in historical, political and/or personal cloth- ing. “Through his or her work, all other writers. celebrate the sun- shine of a new day, knowing there is, in fact, nothing new under the sun. There are. in fact, only six stories to tell: Life, death, love, hate, accident and plan. “And while each new genera- tion believes that il invented the wheel. culiure, ‘and ‘white bread...the truth is. all new writ- ers of each new generation simply are rearranging. in light of new times, experiences and under- standings, the same words [or new Library memorabilia on that has been dried through the years, brought to the library 35 years ago by Florence Crump, our devoted library auction book booth person, a large ceramic eagle. a small honey bee pitcher and a Mexican pottery pitcher with three matching mugs. The very first item sold at the library auction 50 years ago has been returned for the 50th. A mustache cup was bought by Mrs. T.M.B. Hicks. a Dallas Post and library person as the [lirst item sold at the first auction. it was brought back and sold to Patricia Reynolds. who worked with Mary ER Weir at the ticket booth selling food booth items. Patricia's father owned Goodleigh Farm. She was the youngest daughter. Marjorie Phillips has had the cup for seven years, since 1987. It will be auc- tioned again this year. The Ham 'n Yegg Club, the seed money for the auction, is running a little behind the hoped for goal. The highest amount received for this campaign was $4,095in 1991 and this year, being the 50th, we would like to go over that figure. Ham 'nYegg contributions may be mailed to the library. New CD's at the library: "Our MOVIE LISTIN REVERSE: Now that the NBA season is finally over, I'll probably need tolook at a movie [rom time- t¢ time. However in preparation 1 , have compiled this list which “~~ you may want to clip and save. It's title is “Movies I Do Not Intend Ever To Watch™ - THE RESCUERS (77) Cute mice save girl from swamp witch. - ENCINO WOMAN (196) L.A. earthquake awakes a frozen woman. =o ALL SHE EVER : WANTED (96) A woman €% (Marcia Cross) with. bipolar disorder [orgoes medication for 9 months to havea baby. - MENU FOR MURDER ('90) An upscale suburban mother (Julia Duffy) guides a detective “(Ed Marinaro) on a case of murdef by sandwich ata PTA luncheon.’ (Like ~ Dave Barry, I' swear I'didn’ t fhiake these up.) ] - THE LAST OUTPOST (51) Western starring Ronald Reagan. (Perhaps I should reconsider that last one. It can’t be as bad as the movie now playing in ‘Washing- ton, can il?) audiences; the same ideas for new 2 minds to caress, wrestle with, and challenge.” “Challenge?” queries Splinters. “Question...and you, in fact, should question. G.K. Cheslerson said it best: ‘A person should ques- tion the strongest beliefs of his age. because they are invariably too strong.’ “That's right,” Splinter S agrees. “What's right?” asks Da Vinci, coming into the main shop.. . “A person shouldn't just ac- cept, but should question,” Splin- lers says. “You're talking to the original iconoclast,” Da Vinci smiles. “Ev- erybody should question — to, in fact, understand the questions themselves. And everyone should do so. knowing they will reach false conclusions, while celebrat- ¥) ing new understandings.” i Why am I a writer? More questions: How many ol you Know Nhe taste of pure, mountain'spring walter? — the stench of a rotting carcass — the [eel of 60 grade sandpaper. or the sight ofanemptly sky — no wait...there is, a stariup there...if I just look long énough. Why would I be anything else? iO) Ws display Time in Eden” by the 10, a. niacs includes Noah's Dove, These are Days, Eden, Few and FawBe- tween, Stockton Gala Days; Gold Rush Brides, and more. “Something to Remembex” by Madonna includes “I Want ¥ou, ['ll Remember, Take A Bow, you’ 11 See. Crazy For You, This Used to be My Playground, Live to-¥ell, Love Don't Live Here Anymere. “Greatest Hits” by Bruce Springsteen includes Born to Run. Thunder Road. Badlands, The, River, Hungry Heart, Atlantic City. Dancing in the Dark, Born in the USA. Streets of Philadelphia’ & TB
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers