4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA
Wednesday, February 19, 1997
i
EDITORIALS
New candidates add
yeast to election mix
One of the great privileges we hold as citizens of the most free
nation on Earth is the right to run for public office. With a few
réasonable restrictions, nearly everyone can at one time or
another make a bid for any elected office, from the lowliest to
the highest. In past years, the greatest obstacle to success
might have been an individual's ethnic background or religious
affiliation. Those factors have diminished in importance, and
that’s a positive step for the United States and all who call it
home. But a new stumbling block has taken the place of the old
ones; the huge amount of money now considered necessary for
a candidate to have any real chance of success.
There was a time when expensive campaigns were needed
only for national office, but the cancer of outlandish spending
reaches deeper into our political system each election cycle. It
appears to have reached the county row office level this year,
with candidates for controller already talking about raising war
chests of $100,000 to $250,000. That is an extraordinary
amount of money, the mention of which makes us wonder
whether or not the election will turn on the merits of the
candidates or the volume of their advertising.
Into that breach steps Clarence Michael of Dallas, a well-
known figure at meetings of the Dallas School Board and other
governmental bodies, where he has often acted as the self-
‘appointed conscience of local government. Undoubtedly there
are those who view Michael as a crank who disrupts the go-
along mentality that rules at most levels of government. Others
perhaps see him as a Don Quixote type, always tilting at
windmills but with the best of intentions. The characterization
is irrelevant for now — what's important is that he is stepping
forward to exercise the right we all have to offer ourselves as
candidates for elective office, and by doing so to give voters a
choice between competing ideas.
‘When the time comes, we may agree with or dispute Clarence
Michael s stance on issues, but we congratulate him on having
the gumption to take up the challenge of running for office. This
area needs more real competition for governmental positions;
% is the yeast that adds real substance to our society.
“There's time for others to throw their hats into whatever
rings they like, as the election season has only begun. Call the
Luzerne County Bureau of Elections to find out how to get
involved, if you re so inclined.
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Publisher's notebook
[TET—
y Wer ve been hearing for years that today’s families just don't
have the financial security prior generations enjoyed, particu-
larly the post-WWII group. Wages haven't kept up, we're told,
and both husband and wife have to work just to make ends
meet. The result i is the lowest U.S. rate of saving in history, and
one of the lowest in the developed world. But it can’t be helped,
because it just costs that much more to live these days. I
wonder how true that nostrum is.
~ Hasit occurred to the people making these claims that many
people feel they're entitled to live in a manner only the wealthy
could afford in years past? I don’t know how you grew up, but
mine was what's called a “middle-class” household, in which
my father worked and mom stayed home with the kids. Our life
was made easier by a military pension for my dad’s injuries
suffered in the Pacific, but that was small compensation for the
pain he lived with for more than 40 years. So, we got a new car
(Ford or Chevy) every five or six years, lived in a small house and
took one glamorous vacation that I recall, a trip to California in
1960. My parents could have spent a lot more of their income
if they chose to, but they believed in saving for their own future,
and their children’s.
~ Compare that commonplace lifestyle to today’s family. I can
hardly think of anyone who hasn't been to Disney World, many
of them more than once, and planes are filled with vacationers
to even more obscure spots. (I plead guilty; we've been to the
Carribean five times.) The average home size continues to
expand, along with expected amenities such as whirlpool baths
and fancy windows. Count the number of Ford Explorers,
Chevy Suburbans and similar vehicles driven by people who
have no real use for such exotic — and expensive — hardware.
And how many one-television households do you know? Per-
sonal services like maids and lawn care are growing at an
amazing clip, as more of us pay someone to do jobs we could
handle but don’t care to. All those luxuries come at the expense
of saving, and none of them except a home (If you're lucky) will
return the money spent on them.
You have to wonder what the long-term implications will be
of our personal spending habits and those of our government.
I'm afraid if we keep going down the path we're now on, our
children won't look back very fondly on their parents. They'll be
too busy trying to survive.
A Real Hometown Paper
you can feel good about
The Dallas Post
The Dallas Post
Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc.
P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612
717-675-5211
Ronald A. Bartizek
Charlotte E. Bartizek
: PUBLISHER
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Dennise Casterline
ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC
Kylie Shafferkoetter
REPORTER
Paul Rismiller
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Olga Kostrobala
CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING
Jill Gruver
OFFICE MANAGER
NIN hh
NEN PENNSYLVANIA
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
ASSOCIATION Pus
PRINTED WITH
SOY INK|_
I. AE Sat Se Ca aa HL vgs
All stocked up, but — hopefully — not needed much longer. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek.
LIBRARY
By NANCY KOZEMCHAK
The Back Mountain Memorial
Library Board of Directors met
recently for the 1996 annual meet-
ing. The annual statistics report
was presented. The number of
books in the library on December
31, 1995 was 62,741. Books
added in 1996: 1,823 adult and
607 juvenile, a total of 2,430 added
to the inventory. Books with-
drawn and discarded were 2,297.
The total inventory on December
31, 1996, was 62,874. Circulat-
ing materials in 1996 included
. 28,562 adult fiction; 19,721 adult
non-fiction; 29,453 juvenile fic-
Annual statistic report
tion and 11,176 juvenile non-fic-
tion for a total circulation of
88,912. Reference questions an-
swered were 4,700; Interlibrary
loan transactions: books borrowed
560, books loaned 220 and
xeroxed for a total of 786. Book
Club books circulated 1,893; new
borrowers 12,150; re-registrations
2,866. Volunteer hours given at
the library 4,252. Estimated ac-
tive borrowers on December 31,
1996 was 11,489.
New books at the library:
“Evening Class” by Maeve Binchy
is a new novel filled with warmth,
wit and unforgettable characters—
a powerful, moving tale of ordi-
nary men and women whose quiet
lives hide the most unexpected
things. Aidan Dunne, a Dublin
Latin teacher, but as years passed,
he concentrated on usual
struggles of daily life until the
evening class. “HIS class.”
“The Dancing Floor” by Bar-
bara Michaels, is the story of
Heather Tradescant who had
dreamed of the journey she and
her father would take to England—
a pilgrimage to the great gardens
of history.
Now that her father is dead,
she is determined to fulfill his
dreams, although the trip won't
be the same without him. In the
heart of the English countryside
lies an ancient secret.
“Marrying Mom” by Olivia Gold-
smith is the story of Phyllis
Geronomous, a senior citizen and
still trying to run the lives of her
three grown children. As far as
they're concerned, her best at-
tribute is that she lives in Florida,
while they live in New York.
Then Phyllis decides alone in
Miami is not for her and she’s
going to move back to the Big
Apple. Her arrival in New York
will be the unraveling of them all.
They try to marry her off.
LEGISLATORS DIRECTORY
Federal Officials
Congress
Representative Paul E. Kanjorski
(Democrat)
Wilkes-Barre: 825-2200
Washington: (202) 225-6511
10 East South Street, Wilkes-Barre PA 18701-2397
or 2429 Rayburn Building, Washington, DC 20515
Senator Arlen Specter
(Republican)
Wilkes-Barre: 826-6265
Washington: (202) 224-4254
State Officials
State Senator Charles D. Lemmond
(Republican)
(717) 675-3931
22 Dallas Shopping Ctr., Memorial Hwy., Dallas PA
18612-1231
State Representative George Hasay
(Republican)
18707
287-7505 or 542-7345 or 474-2276 or 477-3752
369 South Mountain Boulevard, Mountaintop PA
Hasay’'s district encompasses: Harveys Lake,
Lehman Township, Jackson Township, Lake Town-
ship, Franklin Township, Ross Township, and Dal-
las Township's north voting district.
116 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre PA 18701
Senator Rick Santorum
(Republican)
B-40 Dirksen Building
Washington, DC 20510
Washington: (202) 224-6324
Fax: (202) 228-4991
State Representative Phyllis Mundy
(Democrat)
283-9622 or 655-3375
Suite 107, 400 Third Avenue, Kingston PA 18704
Mundy's district encompasses: Dallas Borough,
Dallas Township except for the north voting dis-
trict, and Kingston Township.
Do you agree? Disagree?
Editorials are the opinion of the management of The Dallas Post. We welcome your opinion on
contemporary issues in the form of letters to the editor. If you don't write, the community may
never hear a contrasting point of view. Send letters to: The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA
18612. Please include your 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.
LL el
ONLY
YESTERDAY
60 Years Ago - Feb. 26, 1937
FARMERS GRANTED LOANS
FOR SEED AND FERTILIZER
| Donald G. Rose, field supervi-
sor for the Emergency Crop and © ©
Feed Loan Office, has informed
The Post that loans will be made
this year to farmers for the pur-.-
chasing of seed and fertilizer to":
produce a crop. Loans will be’
granted from $15 - $400 bearing
interest at the rate of 4% to farm-
ers who are unable to receive fi-
nancial assistance elsewhere.
Coach Walter Hicks’ Kingston
Township basketball team, which “+ ~~
stretched its string of victories to. .
five last Friday evening will have
its crucial crack at the Back
Montain championship tonight. .
If the team can defeat Dallas Town-
ship, it will tie with Coach Ernest».
Line's league leading Dallas Bor-
ough five and a three-game post
season series will have to be played
to decide the championship.
50 Years Ago - Feb. 28, 1947 + + ©
TAXPAYERS CONTEST ROAD
TAX INCREASE
Thirty Kingston Township tax-" +
payers were present in Quarter;
Session Court Wednesday morn- -
ing to contest action taken by
Kingston Township supervisors
for an increase of 2 mills in the.
township road tax. The supervi-"-
sors contend that the present 7
mill levy for road purposes is not ,
sufficient to cover increased labor
and truck hire.
Dedication of Charles H. Long’ 3
new Farm Machinery Building .
took place as scheduled on Fri-.
day. $40,000 worth of modern
farm equipment, some of it being
introduced to this territory for the
first time was on display. Tea
You could get - Sirloin steak, ~~
59¢ Ib.; hamburg, 35¢ Ib.; cab- ,
bage, 5¢ Ib.; potatoes, 3 lbs. 23¢;
Palmolive Soap, 2 bath bars 29¢. .
*
40 Years Ago - Feb. 22,1957 +
DRUG STORE WINS TROPHY
Sheldon Evans owner of Evans’.
Rexall Drug Store is one of the
nation’s first Rexall druggists to- =.
receive the new Mortar & Pestle |
Trophy, presented by the Rexall *.* -
Drug Co. as an annual award to
outstanding member-druggists for
high professional standards and."
community service. 1
Two motorists were arrested in
Kingston Township by Trooper
Leon Gallowicz of the Pennsylva-.
nia State Police for passing a' '.
school bus stopped on Memorial:
Highway to discharge students..."
The red warning light on the top of
the bus was flashing at the time. Ld
Drivers will be fined $25 and $5
costs when they appear before
Justice of Peace Beatrice Will-".
iams of Trucksville.
Now playing at the Himmler
Theatre - “Friendly Persuasion”
with Gary Cooper and Dorothy
McGuire.
A
\
30 Years Ago - Feb. 23, 1967 +. &
PROPERTIES NEEDED FOR *
DALLAS SCHOOLS
The Neuman and Lipp proper-
ties in Dallas Township are needed « .
for the new proposed school build-
ings of Dallas District. Directors
met Tuesday evening in an ad-
journed meeting to act on the
matter. Milton Evans, chairman
of the property committee and’. '
Mr. Fritzges, financial chairman, ry
had contacted the owners and
both had refused on the appraisal
value offered.
With the creation of the new
Lake Borough, there are those’
who are convinced that a man-
ager type government is best and
other residents who oppose this
form of administration. With com-
plete fairness to both factions, the J
Dallas Post last week published = =~
an uncensored report of the meet- *
ings of both groups. This we shall °
continue to do.
20 Years Ago - Feb. 24, 1977
HL WOMAN TRIES TO MAKE
BOARDING HOUSE
The effort of Mrs. Elizabeth
Maher, Harveys Lake to make her
home a boarding house is the
basis of a suit against officials of" @ 7)
the borough. Borough council
members approved the use of the
Maher home as a “nonforming
use” in a single family residential
zone and became defendants ina ’
suit brought by neighboring resi-
dents opposed to the boarding
house.
/
LC