4 _The Dallas Post L.A Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 17, 1999 EDITORIALS 8750 a se As schools grow, it will tougher to keep the spirit Hundreds and hundreds of people turned out last weekend to bid a fond farewell to the Westmoreland Elementary School, which will close at the end of this school year. Opened as Kingston Township High School, Westmoreland has outlived its usefulness by modern standards, and come fall will be replaced by the shiny new Gerald Wycallis Elementary School. The change will consolidate all of the Dallas School District buildings on a single campus, a move that surely has some advantages in terms of management and expenses, even as it brings the end of an era of community schools. Oh yes, students who would have gone to Westmoreland will be in their own building, but chances are as class sizes fluctuate some will be switched back and forth with Dallas Elementary to balance things out. Perhaps that will be a good thing; smaller classes are important for young students, and trading familiar classmates for more attention from the teacher may prove beneficial. Or it may not, but it’s easy to foresee that such jiggering may take place, especially if it averts the need to hire added teachers. The Lake-Lehman School District also seems about to embark on something of a consolidation, as the school board is moving forward with a plan to add a replacement for the aging and decrepit middle school onto the high school. Once again, there are savings to be gained, but not without cost. If the district follows this path, sixth graders will soon be mingling with 12th graders, despite the best attempts to keep them separated. What will be sacrificed in the name of efficiency? One thing may be the special bond that parents, teachers and students form when they work together to make their small school work best. The districts assure us that each building will retain its own identity, and we hope they are able to make that pledge a reality. Surely they know as well as anyone that good schools are not made of bricks and mortar, but spring from the concerted efforts of everyone involved in the education process. The turnout at Westmoreland last weekend was clear evidence of that. Publisher's notebook If Pat Buchanan can do it, so can I! I hereby announce the formation of a committee to explore the possibility that I'll run for President in 2000. For those of you unfamiliar with Beltway - ese, that means you can start sending money. And why not; I have as much chance of being elected as Pat and a few others who have thrown their hats in the ring. So, by supporting me, you'll keep your hard-earned campaign cash close to home; I pledge to hold all my events at either the Beaumont Inn or the Legion hall, and will spend at least a quarter of your Kind donations on food and beverages (the adult kind). What, you ask, will I do with the other 75 percent? That's a very good question, and one I'd like to address right here. As you know, running for President has become a costly affair. News reports suggest the 2000 campaign will cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the last one. (Remember what Everett Dirksen said oh so many years ago . . “a few million here, a few million there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money.”) Now, I know you would rather campaigns were wom and lost on issues and policy, but we have to be realistic; if I'm ever going to have a chance to change this nation for the better, I first have to get elected. So, your donations will go where they can do the most good, right into my campaign account. Thank you for your support. Now that’s out of the way, let's get serious, sort of. Candi- dates like Pat B. convince me there's a whole industry out there waiting for a candidate — any candidate — to declare a run for office. That way, the donations pour in (okay, maybe in my case they trickle in), and just as quickly rush out, to pay for posh hotel rooms, first-class airline tickets, gourmet meals, limou- sine rides . . well, you get my drift. Running for President every few years is a pretty good deal, if you go in for those sorts of indulgences. Even better, as long as you maintain the image you'll run again, you get to keep the money. Of course, my campaign will hold to strict accounting rules, so you need not worry that any of your cash will end up in my pocket . . NOT! About letters, columns and editorials The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of topics in many forms. Editorials, which are the opinion of the managment of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any artwork represents the opinion of the cartoonist, and columns are the opinion of the author. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, subject to the following guidelines: : * Letters should not exceed 500 words. ~~» No writer may have more than one letter published during a 30- day period, except as a reply to another letter. ~ » Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a ‘telephone number for verification. .* Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. * The Post retains the right to accept or reject any letter, and to edit letters for grammar and spelling, as well as to eliminate any libel, + slander or objectionable wording. In addition to letters, we welcome longer pieces that may run as : columns. The author or subject's relevance to the Back Mountain will “be the prime consideration when selecting material for publication. | The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 717-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OFFICE MANAGER Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Jessica Appolo ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Kasia McDonough REPORTER Olga Kostrobala CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER | PRINTED WITH PENNSYIVANIA hs SOY INK - Member NEWSPAPER Barn in winter, Harris Hill Road. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. \ Animal rights protester would have been better off on her own Editor: I agree somewhat with your editorial of March 10. In hind- sight maybe the Dallas High ad- ministration could have handled Ms. Mallick’s protest and petition more amicably. But what never fails to amaze me is the similari- ties between generations. When I turned 16 many years ago I can still remember my father telling me that now he can throw out the encyclopedias because | already Will anyone but the poor suffer for truant eee aa ELE Editor: [ will “bet the farm” that if any- one else should ever go to jail because their children refuse to go to school it will never be a middle or upper class mother, but will always be the poorest of our society, those least able to defend themselves. In Scranton we have one mother who has seven children, now doing the last half of her cruel and unjust sentence of 15 days because her truant 14- year-old daughter would not go to school on a regular basis. The school superintendent, who in my opinion seems to be pleased with this latest attack on those least able to defend themselves, knows full well that the heavy hand of the state cannot tolerate, and will not tolerate, any of its self-pro- claimed compuslory laws to be ignored, especially where the dis- enfranchised are concerned. Now if only the news media, especially television was worth know everything. Ms. Mallick’s protests would have carried more weight in my estimation if she hadn't associ- ated herself with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PETA is less interested in treatment of animals than they are in garnering media attention and turning all events, including circuses and rodeos, into show business displays of indignation. . What do you expect from an orga- SE Gira 13. 2p Xref ts no worn 0 anything more than our scorn, and would turn their lenses away from the constant yucking it up with each other, and try to find out why Daddy isn’tin jail instead of Mom and also explain to the public whois giving a damn about that mother’s seven children now? Who is feeding them and seeing they are clean and healthy enough to carry on, now that Mom's a jailbird? Did the judge who is so concerned that a troubled teen- age girl is not getting an educa- tion really believe that she is be- hind the ages-old crime wave plaguing society, as some “offi- cials” would have us believe? Do we as a community truly believe young people want nothing more than to make us, their superiors, live in fear they will harm us, or is it just the opposite? I believe it is the latter; we set the standards and expect children to live up to them, yet we know or should know, the standards we set are as reli- nization whose main spokesper- son in California is Pamela Ander- son Lee. There I go, now watch all those young men clamor for mem- bership. Despite PETA's contention that animals are human, much of the scientific community disagrees, which is why I'm sure PETA con- tinues to protest the use of lab animals, chicken eggs and other diverse medical and scientific re- search using non-human speci- able and as responsible as our New Year's resolutions and mean about a much. All one need do is to look at the news each day and read the papers, or, failing that, . just look at your own workplace. As the Times Leader so pomp- ously editorialized “Sure some call in or fail to show for work, but not on the level of these truant chil- dren”. Sure, they use the same lies, their moms and dads use, “Fm sick”, etc. But you can bet when the students leave their workplace for the day, you won't find any stolen products in their. possession. You may hear how they were ridiculed for one reason or another by their peers, but chances are they didn't try to make fellow classmates appear to be failures, liars, thieves, or cheats just to increase their own selfworth. Finally, since I am betting my farm that no one but the poor will suffer this type of outrageous be- mens. I respect anyone who decides to “march to the beat of a different drummer,” just don’t do it in lockstep with other jackbooted fanatics. And definitely you should be prepared for criticism, catcalls and “hee-haws,” your pre- decessors’ behavior in the so- called animal rights movement dictates those reactions. LETTERS | i= John P. Bergevin Dallas PIE SNE ZR “4 havior on behalf of a law that: demands your child's physical’ presence in our institutions’ of learning, I think it only fair to.’ point out that the education in- dustry gets its share of state in- /~ come based on attendance. Now if only prisons could get reim-- bursed for attendance we could have a good thing going here. Families can become agents of ° the state, spying on and harass- ing their children on orders of a: school teacher or have the courts breaking up a family and even stealing your home for not paying: the price demanded through the ° burdensome taxations which even forces you to pay the livelihood of the very same persons who.are destroying your lives under the. . guide of the “public good”. Smil and have a good day. 3 John Allen Sweet Valley ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - Mar.16, 1929 SCHOOL NEEDS MORE SEATS Due to a rearrangement of the seats in the old school building, a recommendation was made by Director Space, who had personnally checked the matter while school was in session that some additional seats be secured. The Board authorized the pur- chase of more seats from the same firm at the same price paid for the seats recently installed. Now playing at Marinos The- atre, Luzerne, “Son of the Golden West” with Tom Mix and Tony. 60 Years Ago - Mar. 17, 1939 TRUCKSVILLE SCHOOL BEHIND SCHEDULE Another assault on.the alleged wastefulness of the State High- way Dept. in Luzerne Co. was indicated this week in the trans- fer of four highway engineers from Pittsburgh to Luzerne County. Informed sources said the Allegh- eny Co. men were selected be- cause Gov. Arthur H. James wants a disinterested survey of the county's highway system. Steel work for the Trucksville grade school has been completed by the Pine Brook Steel Works of Scranton. Discovery of rock and severe winter weather has delayed progress on the building but work is expected to be speeded with favorable weather. General con- tractor A.M. Hildebrand is mak- ing every effort to complete the school in contract time. 50 Years Ago - Mar. 18, 1949 COAL SUPPLIERS WORK THROUGH SHORTAGE Like those elsewhere Back Mountain coal dealers were hard pressed this week to supply the demand due to the two week holi- day declared by John L. Lewis. Most dealers however, were confi- dent that all customers would be supplied and there would be no harship if the public would be patient and remain satisfied with a half ton instead of a complete order. An applealing letter from the Widow Marti Stupp and Franziska Veuheuser of Luden-Scheid, Westfalen, Germany was read at the meeting of the Library Book Club. The letter was in apprecia- tion for the CARE package the club sent to Germany at Christ- mas time. So impressed with the poverty of these two elderly women was the club that members con- tributed $11.25 to have another package sent. 40 Years Ago - Mar. 12, 1959 TAXPAYERS WANT MORE BINGO TAX COLLECTIONS Concerned for the growing need for more tax revenues in Lehman Twp. to help Supervisors meet current expenditures and to pro- vide 24 hour police protection, citizens of that community are pressing for a more determined effort to collect bingo and trailer taxes. It was revealed that two bingo operations at the Harveys Lake end of Lehman Township paid a total of $918 tax last year on gross income. Bingo tax in Lehman Twp. is set at 10% of gross business. Second source of income - the trailer tax was also discussed. Some years ago Leh- man Twp. set up a tax of $2 per month for trailers occupied in the township. Since that time no tax has been collected. It was the opinion of supervisors and the citizens that every effort should be made to collect bingo and trailer taxes. 30 Years Ago - Mar. 20, 1969 CUSTOMERS PROTEST STEEP WATER RATE HIKES Several citizens protested the recent increase of water rates to Trucksville Water Co. consumers at a meeting of Kingston Twp. supervisors last week. Jacob Harrison informed the supervi- sors that Trucksville Water Co. rates to consumers had risen from 150% to 300%, another increase was slated and this was a hard- ship on those on Social Security. You could get - Chicken breasts; -, 55¢ Ib.; veal steaks, $1.59 lb. 2" Ib. pkg. Flounder fillets, 49¢. 1b; potatoes, 20-1b. bag 79¢; grape: fruit, 6/39¢; Campbell porkand beans, 4-1 lb. cans 53¢., 20 Years Ago - Mar. 15, 1979: HITCHCOCK TO GRAPPLE WITH RUSSIAN STARS At Thursday's meeting of DAMA, Jay May, Fred Kwasnik. and Edward Janosik, represent- ing residents of Orchard View Ter- race requested that sewers be in- stalled in their area. The request was made because sewage runoff is creating a problem. Although¢ Qos portion of Orchard View Terrace is sewered, Windsor Drive, Savoy: Drive and Kingswood Drive and thelower end of Dorchester Drive, are not. Although plans have been drawn up for this area, at the present time funds are not available for this project. When the Russians wrestlethe American All Stars team March 28 at King's Collerge local fans will be taking a special interest in al98-1b. match. Representing the U.S. in that class weight will'be a local wrestler Floyd “Shorty” Hitchcock head wrestling coach of Lake-Lehman High School. The match with the Russians will rep- ” resent the first competition; {or ¥ Hitchcock since April of 1978. .-.: i » 4 « No yo. 0] 4 9 @ | pe ) Vy JD
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers