8 . The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, December 10, 1997 Farmers (continued from page 1) mand,” said Tewksbury, who started his own dairy farm in 1957. . Tewksbury said the basic for- mula leaves too much room for big fluctuations in prices paid the the farmers. In Sept. 1996 milk was $15.81 per 100 weight. In 10 months milk was $11.67, $4.14 less. “It allows too many ups and downs and there are more downs,” the said. Between Jan. and June 1996, the retail price of butter went up 75¢ per pound. “But the value of milk used for butter only went up 12¢ a pound,” said Tewksbury. “Who's getting the extra profit? It's eaten up between the farm level and the stores.” He said many farmers do not want to abolish the basic formula altogether, but do want to change it significantly. “We want the average of what it costs to make milk (in the equation),” he said. Tewksbury said many dairy farms big and small are going out of business because the current system of payment is not enough to make a profit. The PA Milk Marketing Board (MMB) reports that there are 25 fewer diary farms than there were 10 years ago in Luzerne County. Sands, who was a dairy farmer since he was 18 years old, sold his milk cows after the last Luzerne County Fair. The century farm that was started by his grandfa- ther had gotten smaller and smaller, following in the reluctant footsteps of others. “The family farm is a thing of the past,” said Sands. “For a young man to start out today (in farming) it would be terrible. He'd have to have a rich grandfather.” For Sands, the farm stopped making a profit from milk and he knew he had to sell or sink. “The price of feed went up and the price of milk receded,” he explained. Tracey Jackson, MMB director of consumer affairs, said as grain prices go up, the farmers would like the federal government toraise the base level in the formula to a higher amount. Jackson said farmers would be losing money if the judge’s ruling went through. According to MMB statistics, in October of 1977 a gallon of milk sold for $1.66 in PA. Ten years ago a gallon sold for $2.09, five years ago it sold for $2.40 and it currently sells for about $2.44. Most dairy farmers who do not have their own store sell their milk to a co-op, which is a group made up of farmers. - Each co-op has its own bylaws and guaran- tees the milk will be sold, said Jackson. Red Cross lifeguard review Dec. 27 The Wyoming Valley Chapter, American Red Cross, will be conduct- ing a Lifeguarding Review course, for those who took Lifeguarding in 1995. It will be held at the Wyoming Seminary Pool, Carpenter Athletic Center, Maple Street, Kingston, Dec. 27 and 30, Jan. 6 and 10. Applicants must have a current CPR/FPR certification. If certifica- tion is needed there will be a CPR/FPR recertification class at the Red Cross Chapter House on Dec. 17. For additional information and registration, call Health Services, 823-7161, ext. 37. THE COTTAGE " GIFT & FURNITURE SHOPPE 63 North Memorial Highway, Shavertown . (Next to Rave's) * 696-3036 HOLIDAY SAVINGS! Our Gift to yo (eveo “ET 20-50% Discounts Holiday Hours: Sun., 12-5 Mon.-Fri. 10am. -8 p.m. Sat. 10:30 -8 p.m. & ) | “If a farmer belongs to a co-op, the processor pays the co-op and the co-op pays each individual farmer,” she said. “If the farmer is independent, the processor pays directly.” Will Conyngham, co-owner of Hillside Farms, Inc. Dairy Store, is in a different situation since he sells the milk on the farm. He said he can set any retail price as long as it does not dip below the state’s required minimum, “Most dairy farmers cannot Teachers (continued from page 1) the Dallas district for 26 years and believes the quality of stu- dents, faculty and administration are what keep him coming back year after year. Originally from Nanticoke, Warchal attended West Chester State College and worked for the health department after gradua- tion. He then tried teaching and was hooked. “I really enjoy the students and there is a great faculty up there,” he said. “Most of us are the same age. We've kind of grown old to- gether,” he said with a laugh, referring to the faculty. : Warchal thinks students enjoy science because it is a hand-on class with experiments and field : produce milk at a price signifi- trips. He was nominated by Mike Faneck. cantly lower than what they are getting. At best they are breaking even,” said Conyngham. “There are an awful lot going out of busi- ness.” More than one milk There are different classes of milk. Class One is drinking milk, which gets the highest price, Class Two and Three are cheese and manufacturing milk. Each month the federal government sets the price for milk. For October, Class One milk in Luzerne County ran .$15.44 per 100 pounds. Gener- ally, dairy farmers are not paid this amount, they are paid a blend rate. A blend rate is somewhat lower than the class one rate be- cause the co-op cannot determine how the milk will be used. Paul Warchal, Life Science teacher at Dallas Middle School, has worked in the district for 26 years and recently receive the Wyoming Seminary Middle School Teaching Excellence Award. : awe stot HOLIDAY HOURS: M-F 8-7 Sat. 9-5; Sun. 1-5 $ UPS Ground | 1 OFF | L Expires 1/31/98 or Air Santa's anly making theo gear. a 7 S Ky a " Nv 5) les 1 #1 NE & LN FN oN 4 NN ; =h od A ’ “pW ae i ANNAN SN [UnEainnil ANN... | J [ITB gene VT Tr ~, [TisiEes Ga B02 7 pallas Shopping Cenex. 3 ee Eo A= FOI Memorial Hwy., Palas XX ; Re TEL 717-674-2429 « FAX T\1 S153 Personalized Calendars & Mouse pads_ \ ne" MAIL BOXESETC.” Let Mail Boxes Etc. pack and ship your last holiday gifts. We'll get them there on time. EE 18] OFF rt ed et er ser se ee se srg Packing Costs | Expires 1/31/98 oe se eee cs se set se ee i ie ewe ae ees For THE MOST * WEATHER VANES * WIND CHIMES * TEAK FURNITURE e HAMMOCKS UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS! e GARDENING TooLS BIG DRAWING ON DECEMBER 24th ! \ SR “) YOUR HEADQUARTERS A Growing Beidineds Since 7938 SHOWROOM * 906 WYOMING AVE.* FORTY FORT * 287-9656 SWING mom: HOLIDAYS ENTER YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A COMPLETE HAMMOCK SET Simply Enter Now ‘il Dec. 24. . .Free Delivery Just In Time for X-Mass! Qver $150.00 VALUE! No Purchase Necessary. One Entry Per Household Shop Our Forty-Fort DELIVERY & SET Up OF X-MaAss TREES! QuaLity PA. FRAISER FURS! Excellent Shapes Location Three new board members and one incumbant take their oaths from Luzerne County Judge Hugh Mundy to serve the Dallas School District for the next four years. From left, Frank Natitus; Maureen Banks, incumbent; Tony Barbose and Karen Kyle. Dallas (continued from page 1) upgrade our systems,” said Griffiths. Phase three of Link-to-Learn finances the Wide Area Network - (WAN), which connects the schools together and to the state internet. Griffiths said construction of the new Gerald J. Wycallis El- ementary School should start about mid-April. The board is setting up individual visitations with the Newton-Ransom Elemen- tary School to get a better idea of their options when choosing inte- rior materials. Banks said she heard the New- ton school maintained a comfort- able and home-like environment for the young students. Contract - (continued from page 1) “They want to contract work out. You can see why they wouldn't ~ want that,” he said. The last contract was drawn up three years ago. Both Tipping and Mike Burnside, CTCO public relations director, said they did not know if the company had any contingency plans to fall back on in the case of a strike. Holiday Tools > make great Gifts!! 4ft. x 6 ft. OTHER SIZES AVAILABLE Constructed with Sound * Deadening Homosote and 1" x 4" woodbase WE DELIVER IN THE WYOMING VALLEY AREA FORTY FORT LUMBER COMPANY Murray & Slocum Sts., Forty Fort 287-3171 Turn on Slocum St., Across from Mellon Bank Open Daily M-F 7 to 7 » Sat. 8to 5 * Sun. 10 to 4
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers