4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 19, 1998 oi eh 3 TELE Find what makes America tick right here at home While Washington is all atwitter over Bill and Monica, events in the Back Mountain prove that ours is a nation with a strong foundation resting on the values of service, self-sacrifice and concern for the common good. Oh, not always; sometimes selfishness, greed and evil take center stage, but these base motivations are always pushed into the background by an overwhelming bias towards good. Some examples in the past week: ._.* At the Meadows Nursing Center in Dallas, 53 teen volun- teers were honored for contributing 1,658 hours of volunteer service to residents in the past year. The Meadows treated the - youths to a pizza party and presented service awards to individuals who had spent hundreds of hours helping out in recent years. e In Shavertown, Chris and Pam Evans and Tom Baseski laid plans to re-open the BiLo in the fall as a truly locally owned and operated market. The trio, the oldest of whom is 31, is taking on this responsibility confident they can win customers who will appreciate quality products and hometown service. ¢ At the Back Mountain Memorial Library, 80 young readers gathered to celebrate the successful completion of the summer reading program. Children had read at least nine books this summer, and many went beyond that. But they didn’t do it alone; they needed the encouragement of parents, volunteers and library staff. Surely, this summer's accomplishments will be reflected in a new generation of intelligent boys and girls who will leverage their reading skill into great accomplishments. ‘s Elsewhere in Kingston Township, two more families have added their names to the list of “Adopt-A-Roadway” volunteers, pledging to keep South Lehigh St. clean. They join five other groups and individuals who are willing to take time out of busy schedules and lend a hand, even when it means taking on a function most of us think should be handled by government. The list could go on and on. It's not that we in the Back Mountain are indifferent to the goings-on in Washington; we just know a childish President won't prevent us from reaching our goals in life, any more than a lovable one would deliver our hearts’ desires. .- We have work to do, and enough sense of individual respon- sibility to get it done in order to make our lives and those of our families and neighbors better. And we aren’t really any different from the majority of Americans, who have faith in a system that has survived and prospered through every President, from scoundrels to saints, because in the end our success rests firmly on each of us, not with one man, or woman. Publisher S notebook “T'hate to admit it, but Rush was right, or at least half right. Anyone who has listened to the bombastic radio talker knows Limbaugh warned that Bill Clinton lacked the “character” necessary to be President. Jumping on “I didn’t inhale” and other Clinton evasions, Limbaugh predicted a moral train wreck if the man from Arkansas was elected. Boy, was he ever on the mark. One of the first indications that Clinton was not at all that he seemed was the manner in which he jettisoned appointees to high public office, often immediately after proclaiming their fitness and his solid support. Thank goodness I've never been a “Friend of Bill.” Who knows what fate may have befallen me by now! ‘Now we've gone through agonizing months in which Clinton -has tried to slither out of a “compromising” position with a starry-eyed White House intern, who, according to what Clinton aides offered up, was the only actor in a two person XXX-rated drama in a room off the Oval Office. This was one of the trial . balloons floated while Clinton and his advisers tried to figure - out which “truth” to tell the grand jury. But, as I said, Limbaugh was only half right. He was on the mark about Clinton's character — of lack thereof — but wrong to; ‘suggest the President's weaknesses would bring great harm to'the nation. Think about it; we've lived through an adminis- tration that has produced more shady dealings than any in recent memory (and that’s without counting illegal foreign campaign donations, by far the most serious), and the country’s doing great. Well, at least most of it is doing much better than under a couple of previous leaders. Meanwhile, Clinton has been able to enact few of his ambitious plans -— remember health care reform — being content to steal Republican ideas and claim them as his own. Rather than continue to trample down a President whose personal failings are glaringly apparent to everyone, conserva- tives should delight that he has proven their main contention; the less the government does, the better off we will be. I may not agree with that point in its entirety, but it’s pretty obvious the current occupant of the White House has accomplished far less than he said he wanted to, although I suspect for the most part he simply tells the audience what they want to hear, then moves on to his next peccadillo after leaving the room. Mean- while, the maligned bureaucrats trundle on, keeping impor- tant functions going and their heads down in fear that Clinton will ask them to take a bigger role in his discredited adminis- tration. The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 717-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Kylie Shafferkoetter REPORTER : Jessica Appolo ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Olga Kostrobala ' CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Ruth Proietto PRCDUCTION MANAGER Jill Gruver OFFICE MANAGER Pl EE OLR HC i RN A EE ey fam 7 2) PRINTED WITH NY PENNSYLVANIA EWSPAPER | "=Z|SOY INK] NATIONAL NE NE wspap NEWSPAPER Grassy tentacles reach into Harveys Lake. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. A Case for consgavation Alene N. Case This summer has been busy but not ridiculous. We took our vacation early so most of the time we have been at home to work in the garden or do odd jobs around the place. I have only my writing and oneresearch project to “work” on. Therefore, this year I really have been able to keep up with reading some of the magazines and’ other publications we get. Maybe your summer is too busy for reading so I thought perhaps you would appreciate a few snip- pets gleaned from mine. A friend of ours has recently become very interested in feeding the birds in her backyard. She is also trying to plant things that will attract the birds to her lot in town. She had discovered the periodical Birds & Blooms (Reiman Publica- tions, 5400 S. 60th ST, Greendale WI 53129-1404) and gave me a gift subscription. When I first saw this magazine advertised, I was immediately suspicious. [ thought it would be filled with ads for chemicals or gadgets to help gar- Library news ~~ Nancy Kozemchak The Back Mountain Memorial Library has announced the fall story hours will hold registration September 8-12. Sign ups should be made at the library. Toddler will be held Tuesday from 11- 11:30 a.m. beginning Oct. 6. The three to five year old story hour will begin Wed., Oct. 7 with Snippets of summer readings deners get such fantastic results. I was wrong. It has no ads at all. It is simply a magazine written by gardeners for gardeners. The August/September issue has ideas for interesting bird feeders, short stories about humming- birds, landscape ideas for large lots, planting for butterflies, and lots and lots of great pictures. The articles are so short that even the busiest summer reader could get through one over coffee. The kids will love it, too. Did you know that a glass bottle could last a million years if it gets tossed out with the garbage? A disposable diaper will still be around 300-500 years from now? These amazing facts are in the summer solstice issue of “PEEC Seasons,” the newsletter of the Pocono Environmental Education Center, RR. '2, Box 1010, Dingmans Ferry PA 18328. Also in this issue is an article on na- ture writer John Burroughs and one on how to make a wetland in a jar. Another newsletter thatis much more than just a “pretty face” is the Bay Journal put out by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, 6600 York RD, Suite 100, Balti- more MD 21212. I haven't quite finished reading the July-August issue, but so far I have learned that there is now a 40 year mora- torium on the commercial catch- ing of sturgeon all along the east- ern seaboard. The cover story gives details of a new concept in trail building - the “water trail.” Groups are working to create a trail that can be canoed instead of hiked. Stopovers might be nights camping on islands in the middle of the Susquehanna or lodging at bed and breakfasts. Other ar- ticles highlight the current condi- tion of the bay and its many ani- mal inhabitants. Perhaps the best thing about this publication is that it is free to anyone who is interested. And, since it comes in newspaper format, if you ever wish to discard it, it can be recycled. One of my favorite magazines is Audubon. It does have advertise- ments, but even those are inter- esting. It comes with a member- ship in the local Audubon Society. The July-August issue was one I read from cover to cover. I was amazed at the differences in envi- ronmental awareness among golf course designers and managers. I was able to confirm what I already suspected: that the Yellowstone fires of a decade ago were not the natural disaster that many claimed they were at the time. There was an excellent up-date on the state of development of beachfront property and the risks associated with engineering coast- lines. There was also a one-page article on the growth of a move- ment called “wildlife cooperatives” in which landowners make com:* pacts with each other that they will work together to enhance and preserve the wildlife habitats on their land. One such reserve is now 7000 acres in Vermont. One, of the owners says “I've seen £00! much of people who think they know how to lumber, but when. they get through with the land it might as well be a dooryard. We! don’t need any more of that.” But, the very best article in the | whole summer's reading was the | one in Audubon by Scott Russell | Sanders simply entitled ° ‘Simplic- ity.” In it he relates’ the ironies and stresses of returning; to:thes “real world” after a camping trip. with his teenage son. “Time in the’ wild, like time in meditation, re- minds me how much of what 'T ordinarily do is mere dithering, how much of what I own is mere encumbrance.” Perhaps my reading this sum- mer has been part of my own' response to the quest for simplic- ity. I know the gardening and bird-watching have been. So, while you are on your way to the library to look up some of these periodicals or getting out pen and paper to write for subscriptions; I will go to the kitchen and start: making our first batch of tomato sauce for “simple” winter meals.’ See you in two weeks. Fall children's story hours scheduled three sessions at 9:30-10:30; 10:45 -11:45; and 1-2 p.m. The children’s wing has been a bee- hive of activity during the sum- mer. Many activities have been held and the children are excited about the new room and the extra tables and chairs plus many new books. The summer reading program was well attended and the projects that went with it were very enjoyable. The second ‘brick campaign’ is underway. These commemora- tive bricks will be sold for $100 and include the engraving. They will be placed at the library en- trance in a permanent position. The project is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Forms are available at the front desk in the library. New ‘Book Club’ books at the library: “Greentown” by Timothy Dumas is the story of murder and mystery in Greenwich, America’s wealthiest community. Martha Moxley haunts Greenwich, Con- necticut. She is the town’s dark- est secret, its deepest shame. The battered body of the pretty and popular 15 year old girl was dis- covered on Halloween in 1975, known as ‘mischief night’. “The First Eagle” by Tony Hillerman offers a finely wrought plot and a wealth of signature gifts—glorious evocations of the high desert, delicately drawn char-' acters, and eloquent insights into" the foibles and wisdom of the Southwest's native people. Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn discover a deadly stalker. They find them-, selves in the enigmatic web of scientists hunting answers. *.* “Blood Money” by Clive Egleton begins when British intelligence operative Peter Ashton returns: from an out-of-the-country assign- ment to discover the office in. an uproar. An SIS safehouse in York: shire has been the site of incred- ible carnage—three agents have, been savagely murdered and ans other one is missing, as is the man. they were guarding. Q.: What is one of your favorite books? Where asked: The Back Mountain Memorial Library ZACHARY KOSAK Centermoreland, 5 "Any book on the Pittsburgh Steelers." MATTHEW STEPHENSON Vernon, 6 "| like every book." CARA SYMONS Shavertown, 12 "A Girl Named Disaster." WORD ON THE STREET AARON MIKOWSKI Hunlock Creek, 8 "The Magic Treehouse Series." [J ® >)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers