4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, November 4, 1998 | EDITORIALS | Can a senseless death lead to something good? Was the tragic, senseless death of a young man in Trucksville preventable? No one will ever know, of course, if Joseph Todd Lewis III, who apparently was asphyxiated by carbon monoxide fumes in his pickup truck cab, might have lived under a different turn of events than the ones that transpired early Saturday morning. But his death is a cautionary tale for the rest of us, who may be in a position to help someone in other circumstances. Police know that Lewis was in his truck, and probably parked next to the Orloski’s convenience store, at 3:30 a.m. They know that someone opened the store a few hours later, and the pickup was outside, with the motor running. They know an acquaintance happened by at about 7:30 a.m., noticed the idling truck, and reached in to turn it off, thinking Lewis was just sleeping off a binge from the night before. Finally, about 2 p.m., someone realized something was dreadfully wrong and called the police, who found Lewis dead in the cab. Police and the county coroner believe no foul play contrib- uted to Lewis's death, this was simply a case of bad judgement mixed with bad luck leading a very bad result. But could it have been averted? The people who saw the truck, but thought nothing of it, undoubtedly feel badly now. They may blame themselves for not taking action sooner, for not responding to what was, in perfect hindsight, a situation that called for more than looking the other way. We are not trying to make them feel any worse, but all of us need to ask ourselves what we would do — could do — in a similar situation. Would we, in perfect step with a “do your own thing” society, ever intrude on someone else’s “space” if we felt they might be in danger? This is not always a question that appears in the stark context of right and wrong, more often we have just a hint that something may be amiss, end we've learned from experi- ence that 99 times out of 100, nothing is. So, we put away the troubling thought and go on our way, and no harm is done. Ninety-nine times out of 100. But what about the 100th time? Should we play the odds, avoid confrontation, and go away? Or should we be brave enough to risk a brief invasion into another’s privacy, and be willing to face the consequences if we're wrong, which we will be . . 99 times out of 100. Perhaps this tragic, senseless death and our response to it will save one life, someday, somewhere, because one of us — or most of us — have decided that taking extra care is worth the time and potential embarrassment, that we really are in some sense our brother’s keeper. Perhaps, if that happens, Joseph Todd Lewis's death won't be quite as senseless as it seems. It’s up to us to make the difference. Publisher's notebook Ron Bartizek Now that John Glenn has succeeded in finagling his way back into space, I can see many other opportunities for old fogies to make their mark - again. Actually, the great migration of our culture from one that celebrates youth to focusing on old age had already begun. We have a Senior PGA golf tour. (Which draws tiny galleries in comparison to the real tour, but is a hit with advertisers on television.) There's now a senior tennis circuit, in which it seems Jimmy Connors is a perennial finalist. Magazines are now filled with ads for prescription drugs, mostly ones that are appropriate for older people, who are the biggest consumers of such things. All this is only the beginning, though, because over the next few decades older people will become a more dominant force, and the old will get “older” in average age. Here are a few more ideas to capitalize on this movement: The Old World Series - Members of past American and National League finalists will play a one-game “Series.” They'll play on a softball field, and pitching will be underhand. The basepaths will be paved to accommodate wheelchairs. Geritol will be the primary sponsor. Can You Remember? - A television game show for people over 80. Guests will be read a sentence, or a list of items, and try to repeat what they've just heard. Alzheimer’s patients will receive five bonus points to start. Sponsored by Ginko Jaloba. Old F _ _ t Soccer - Patterned on youth soccer, but the age groups start at 60. Entirely co-ed, since folks that age (I'm thinking ahead here) welcome any excuse to rub elbows with someone from the opposite sex they haven't been sleeping with for 30 years. ~ Larry King Dead - After suffering his 11th heart attack, Larry King finally dies. But no one notices, because they embalm him and keep his show on the air, bringing in guests ‘who shout at each other for an hour. The Geezer Game - Players from past Dallas and Lake- Lehman football teams take the field to play an old timers Old Shoe game. Because of their age, it will be “one-hand touch,” and played in August, when it's not too cold for brittle bones. More of the news you want The Dallas Post Farm pond, Lake Township. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Autumn reminders AN A OF TY As winter approaches, most of us do many autumn chores around our houses and yards. We put the storm windows down and the screens up. We rake leaves and give the lawn one final mowing. The furnace and chim- ney get checked out by the heat- ing experts. And, the gutters get cleaned out by the family member who doesn’t mind getting up on the ladder. But, I want to ask you to do at least one special chore this year to make your property more environmentally friendly or to allow you and your family to walk lighter on the earth, as the saying goes. Consider composting your leaves, garden weeding residue, and kitchen vegetable wastes. It's easy. Build alow chicken wire bin in an unobtrusive location. Per- haps surround it with some slat- ted, snow-fencing for decoration. Leave a little access gate. Every month, sprinkle a pound of agri- cultural limestone on the pile to maintain a circum-neutral pH. Keep the pile mixed by simply letting the debris accumulate on one end. When it is too high, start shovelling it gradually to the other end. And don't forget to inoculate the pile with a couple of contain- ers of earthworms! Maintaining the earthworm population, a pH of about 7, and a slight moisture content will give you success. Sometime next spring, when you pull back the litter debris, you will have odor free, natural compost fertilizer for use in vegetable and flower gardening. Try making a raised-bed garden completely from the compost. People will be amazed at the vegetables you grow without pesticides and fertilizers. Begin installing compact fluo- rescent bulbs throughout your home. Change the ones that stay on the longest each day during the winter and you will see imme- diate savings on your electric bill. The 20 and 25 watt compact fluorescents are equivalent to 75 and 100 watt tungsten bulbs and fit in most fixtures. They even work outdoors in a sealed porch fixture! Each bulb costs about S15 but they last for 10,000 hours and consume a quarter of the electricity of regular light bulbs. Over the life of the bulb you will save about $56 in electricity. Multiply that by 10 bulbs in your house and you have helped your monetary budget. And most im- portantly, you have used less elec- tricity which translates into less carbon dioxide entering the earth’s atmosphere. Furnish all of battery powered devices in the home with recharge- able alkaline batteries by Rayovac. Do not use nickel-cadmium rechargeables because they only deliver 1.2 volts maximum and their disposal pollutes the envi- ronment with toxic heavy metals. The “Rayovac Renewals” deliver the full 1.5 volt power required for modern electronic instruments. They are available in AAA, AA, C, and D sizes (the 9 volt ones are not out yet, but you can lobby for them). A package only costs about $7 but when you realize that you can recharge them 25 times, the ' savings is tremendous compared to disposable alkaline batteries. rette In a portable CD player, 4 “Re- newals” is equivalent to 44 -120 regular alkaline batteries giving a savings of 827-879. Plantatree....plantlots of trees. But, not those little ornamental things. A mature white oak tree cools the air by evaporating about 1500 gallons of water a day. And, its majestic presence represents from 4000-5000 pounds of atmo- spheric carbon dioxide tempo- rarily imprisoned until it decays a century or two from now. So, do something ethical that will outlive you and reduce concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Finally, consider changing one or two bad habits. The first was suggested last week by the editor of this paper. Littering is still a major problem throughout this area. I pulled into the parking lot of a local pharmacy the other day and was greeted by a pile of ciga- butts dumped from someone’s ash tray, half a dozen lottery tickets that had been tossed aside when they did not prove to be winning numbers, and a couple of cups from a fast-food chain. There is no excuse for such slovenliness. The second bad habit is one I will continue to keep reminding you about until people quit pass- ing me at speeds of 10 to 25 miles per hour over the speed limit. Slow down! As wet leaves and snow showers begin to cover the roadways, that advice could be more important to your safety than to the environment. But, the fact remains that 40 mph is the most efficient speed to run a motorized vehicle and fast acceleration also wastes gas. Any of the above items will help you and the world in which we live. Choose one or two and have a great autumn! ONLY YESTERDAY 60 Years Ago - Nov. 11, 1938 JUDGE TO VACATION AT HARVEYS LAKE Judge Arthur H. James, Ply- mouth, who was elected 34th gov- ernor of Pennsylvania Tuesday will take a two or three week vaca- tion before he selects his new cabinet. As he prepared to slip away for a rest at his cottage at Harveys Lake late returns swelled his lead over opponent Charles Alvin Jones to more than 269,000. Atty. Jonathan Valentine was appointed solicitor of Dallas Bor- ough School Board Wednesday evening to succeed Atty. .B.B. Lewis, effective Dec. 1. Salary will be $150. per year, the Same amount Atty. Lewis received. 50 Years Ago - Nov. 5, 1948 CTCOTOBUILDNEW CENTRAL OFFICE IN DALLAS Pursuing the $2 million post war expansion program of Com- monwealth, Luzerne and Bradford County Telephone Companies, Sen. Andrew J. Sordoni disclosed plans and specifications for anew central office building at Dallas are being prepared by Lacy, Atherton, Wilson and Davis. Plans call for complete remodeling of the present building and an ex- tensive addition. The expected cost is estimated at more than $500,000. You could get - Pork loins, loin half, 53¢ 1b.; picnics, 4-81bs., 49¢ lb.; bread, 1g. loaf, 13¢; Crisco, 3 Ib. can $1.13; grapes, 2 1bs., 25¢; sweet potatoes, 5 Ibs., 29¢. 40 Years Ago - Nov. 7, 1958 GOH PRIEST FLIES TO ROME FOR CORONATION Contract for a new boiler at Dallas Borough Elementry School was awarded to the Hughes Co., Monday at a special meeting of Dallas School District Board. Price is $18,500 and installation is to be completed by Dec. 31. Rev. Francis A. Kane, pastor of Gate of Heaven, Our Lady of Vic- tory and Queen of Peace parishes, flew to Rome Friday to attend the coronation of Pope John 23. Re- turning to Rome for this occasion, renews friendships, formed in his youth. He was ordained in Rome 25 years ago. : 30 Years Ago Nov. 14, 1968 LAKE-LEHMAN BAND INVITED TO WASHINGTON In an effort to get underway with the construction of a town hall and attached garage before winter, Dallas Township Supervi- sors under advisement by their Solicitor Frank Townend approved condemnation proceedings ‘against the Charles VanHorn Es- tate at their meeting last week. Twenty five feet of property now leased to Laverne Groff for Dallas Outdoor Theatre will be included and furnish access to the land which widens in the rear. The triangular shaped propert. lies between the theatre and pipeline 20 Years Ago - Nov. 9, 1978 DEREMER SAYS HE DOES NOT OWN BEACH “Ihave no connection with own- ership of Sandy Beach” said Harveys Lake Borough Council president Robert DeRemer in re- sponse to questions about whether or not personal involvement prompted his switch from opposi- tion to borough purchase of beach to support for the purchase. The borough recently took an option to buy property for $125,000. Two’ years ago DeRemer had opposed the action when it was brought up. WORD ON THE STREET | 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 Q.: What is your opinion of John Glenn taking a second trip into space? Where asked: Dallas Senior Center ) PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER S IT OFFICE MANAGER Jessica Appolo ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Kylie Shafferkoetter REPORTER Ruth Proietto Olga Kostrobala PRODUCTION MANAGER CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING at ala MARGE MOTTERN MARIE WEIR JOSEPHINE MIRABILA FRED MIRABILA Sweet Valley Dallas Harveys Lake Harveys Lake ) [PRINTED WITH NIN Wn Deed "We're senior citizens and we think "We think it's great, It's a boost "I'm happy for him. | hope all turns mM iealous. | should've been in ; | SOY INK|_ NATIONAL NEwsPAPER NEWSPAPER it's quite an accomplishment. What for senior citizens. We alll out well for him." his category. » dd a success story." prayed for him."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers