he not blink, sleep, The Dallas Post & LETTERS Editor: Your recent article about SCI Dallas (“Prison towers manned for now”) contained some signilfi- cant'inaccuracies. _. You stated that the state's newer prisons are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment—but not Dallas. The electronic system installed at Dallas in 1995 is one “of the best and most cost-effective systems available today. It does or turn its back, and is not blinded by the heavy fog that frequently shrouds the prison and surrounding commu- nity. In addition, you quoted a cor- “rections officer who said that, 15 ~ By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library is continuing the ‘Green Jar’ eampaign at the library. The large plastic jar is set in the main lobby of the library ready to ac- cept loose change, dollars and ‘any other monies. This money is used to purchase special needs for the library that are not covered in the regular yearly budget. The public has been very willing to drop in their donations. We have just emptied and counted the money that accumulated during the -last few months and were pleased with the amount of $24.30 years ago, “two inmates hopped over the fence” in front of an un- manned tower. That was 15 years go, when Dallas had one fence (since replaced with two more- secure fences) and no electronic detection system. In 1996, the perimeter at Dal- las isas secure as the perimeter at the newer prisons you call “superjails.” The community and staff are protected by a total sys- tem that includes good internal security (inmate counts, tool con- trol, fence/lock/bar checks), two fences, 24-hour perimeter patrols, multiple rolls of razor wire, high intensity lighting and the newelec- tronic intrusion detection system. State prison boss defends Chase security plan This same electronic system is in use at SCI's Greene (a maximum security prison built in 1993) and Waymart—both have no towers, and neither prison has experi- enced an escape through this sys- tem. And although escapes are extremely rare occurrences, in Pennsylvnaia there hve been more escapes from prisons wiht walls and towers than from facilities with fences and no towers. Community and staff safety are my number one priority. I firmly believe that SCI Dallas is more secure today than at any time in ils 36-year history. Martin F. Horn Secretary of Corrections 'Green Jar' campaign on now that was in the jar. This amount will aid the special projects for the library. Total circulation at the library for September was 6,956; Adult 3,747 and Children 3,209. Book Club circulated 170 books; Refer- ence questions totaled 395 and Interlibrary loan books were 64. Audio tapes circulated 343; Vid- eos 243 and CDs 57. New books added; adult 218; children 29. New borrowers, adult 50, juvenile 45; reregistrations, adult 279 and juvenile 272. Books withdrawn, juvenile 40. Newbooks at the library: “The Sea Hunters” by Clive Cussler is ‘the author's first non-fiction book: in which he explores the special world of undersea adventure. He describes his lifelong love for the sea and ships, and how his in- volvement with the search fordohn Paul Jones’ famous Revolution- ary War ship led to his establish- ing the NUMA (National Under- water and Marine Agency) Foun- dation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and preservation of historic ship- wrecks. Dramatic and personal. “Final Victim” by Stephen J. Cannell is a heart-stopping psycho-thriller in the terrifying tradition of ‘Silence of the Lambs.’ Leonard Land is a 7 foot tall, completely hairless computer ge- nius, wired to the cyperpunk sub- culture of Death Metal and Satan worship. He is also a twisted, multipersonality maniac who is systematically murdering women. When he is the Rat, he is smart and cunning; when he becomes The Wind Minstrel, he is God and the Devil. The Rat covets women; The Wind Minstrel possesses them. J Q SHE's QUEEN OF HOMECOMING Dallas High School Principal Frank Galicki did the ceremonial honors at Monday's homecoming game, crowning Emily Schweitzer queen. At left was Francesa Stuppino, a runner-up. The queen was actually chosen at Saturday evening's homecoming dance, since rain postponed the game unti-Monday. "Hometown news *« Hometown product The Dallas Post Featuring Heat- N-Glow Fireplaces Wonderfire Stoves Atlanta Stoves & Heaters Direct Vent & Vent Free Installation We Also Carry * Gas Logs e Heaters e Hot Water Heaters e Water Cooler Rentals * Bottled Spring Water + Back Mountain = Bottled Gas Cas Fireplaces & Inserts - Call For Low, Low Prices on LP Gas | Bulk & Cylinder Delivery Located 1/4 Mile East off Rt. 29 on Rt. 118 Same Location as Country Satellite 717-477-2648 HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 8-5, Sat. 8-12 A Case for consex ation Alene N. Case The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water on Earth. As such, you would think that it would get a lot of press. But, encyclopedias tend to give it three or four short paragraphs. Lake Baikal (the largest freshwater lake on Earth), the Great Lakes, and many smaller lakes are studied and reported on much more fre- quently. In fact, if you are not interested in oil exploration or caviar production, you probably know very little about the Caspian Sea. Many of us are familiar with the terrible ecological disaster caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea. About 20 years ago, the government of the Soviet Union became concerned that the same fate might befall the Caspian Sea. It seemed logical since both seas are fed by rivers from wetter re- gions, are situated in almost desert areas, and had been experiencing drops in sea level for many years. There was, however, one major difference: the drop in the level of the Aral Sea was directly attribut- able to diversion of water for irri- gation (mainly for cotton produc- tion), whereas the Caspian Sea was, apparently, simply going through a natural phase. So, just as the government was trying to engineer a solution to the “problem,” the Caspian Sea began to rise. It has risen be- tween 2.5 and 3.0 meters (about 9 feet) since the late 1970s! No one knows why. And now, the govern- ments of five countries - four former Soviet republics and Iran - are facing an even bigger prob- lem. Scientists now know that these extreme fluctuations in sea level are natural for the Caspian Sea. Since they have only recently be- gun to study these f{luctuations, they cannot predict when the level might stabilize or drop once again. Dallas, PA Wednesday, October 23,1996 5 Caspian Sea rise: A lesson in humility They do not know what balances exist between precipitation in the watersheds of the (tributaries - particularly the Volga, which de- livers 80% of the water to the sea - and the evaporation rate. Evapo- ration is the only natural way in which water can exit this sea since there is no outlet stream. Of course, human use patterns can, anddo, alter this evaporation rate and must be taken into account in any water budget. Those of us wholive in the Back Mountain remember the problems caused by the beaver dam on the outlet stream at Harveys Lake. That only affected a small area and was only a change of two or three feel at the most. Imagine what would happen if all of Harveys Lake suddenly rose two or three times that amount. Now, picture a similar situation around a sea where docks are built for commerce instead of for pleasure, where [ishing is a way of life for many people, where the buildings swamped are homes and busi- nesses instead of boat houses, where oil and walter pipelines are now subject lo damage by storms and waves, and where agricul- tural lands, not lawns, are inun- dated. And, imagine not knowing whether the water level might con- tinue to rise another meter or two. This is exactly the situation at the Caspian Sea. Although the human difficul- ties are the most obvious in this situation, there are severe envi- ronmental dislocations as well. Wetlands along the shore and in the large Volga River delta are becoming more and more flooded. Sea grass beds in the shallow north end of the sea are under so much water now that many of them are dying and the animals, particularly fish and birds, which eat the smaller animals that live in these beds, are finding it harder and harder to survive. The water level change has been so rapid that many habitats have been unable to move or change quickly enough. And, in many cases, these habitats have nowhere to go since the surrounding land has been converted to agricultural or other human uses. In areas where the animals have not been directly harmed by the physical changes, they find them- selves at the mercy of desperate humans. The combination of eco- logical and political uncertainties has led to large-scale poaching of birds and fish by a hungry popu- lation. Hunters who used to go outa couple of times a month now go hunting several times each week to put food on the table. A shortage of ammunition is the only thing preventing wholesale slaughter of such birds as swans, flamingoes, and various diving ducks which use the Caspian Sea as a feeding, nesting, and /or win- tering place. The local authori- ties have stopped trying to en- force the rules since the demise of the Soviet Union. The same story is true for sev- eral species of fish. Sturgeon has been poached so consistently that several kinds (especially Beluga, the most prized for caviar) only occur because of stocking prac- tices. The hatcheries are even having difficulty catching enough adult females to maintain their stocks. Obviously, several problems must be solved simultaneously in order for people and their natural surroundings to adjust to this new situation. The governments of five countries and the leaders of all the cor- porations working in this region must begin to cooperate. Deci- sions must be made as to whether nature is to be lived with or fought against. Economic dislocations must be addressed and resolved. Large-scale environmental disas- ters, such as ruptured oil pipe- lines, must be prevented. And, scientific inquiry must be encour- aged. Perhaps the answers to the questions posed at the Caspian Sea will help the rest of the world deal with future climatic change. At the very least, it should remind us that nature often has its own agenda. Pain may be eliminated for millions (SPECIAL) -- A drug that is excit- ing researchers in the treatment of pain has been formulated into a new product known as "Arthur Itis," and is being called a "Medi- cal Miracle" by some, in the treat- mentofdebilitatingconditionssuch as arthritis, bursitis, rheumatism, painful muscle aches, joint aches, simplebackache,bruises,and more. Although the mechanism of aciion isunclear, experimentsindicatethat Arthur Itis_ relieves pain by first selectively attracting, and then de- stroying the messenger chemical which carries pain sensations to the brain, thus eliminating pain in the affected area. Arthur Itis, is an odorless, greaseless, non-staining cream and is available immediately without a prescription and is guar- anteed to work or your money back. © 1996. Stellar Health Products. Inc. ~~ Use only as directed. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers