4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 14, 1999 IEDITORIALS Hoopla over the Women's World Cup makes perfect sense After Sunday's victory, what could you say about the perfor- mance of the U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer team that hadn’t already been said? Plenty, judging from some of the commen- tary on radio and television, especially what escaped from the mouths of people who just don’t get it — who don’t understand how and why this team attracted so much attention and caused so much excitement. After all, they're only girls. First, to answer those who question why this was such a big deal. For one thing, a U.S. team beat the best in the world in a sport that is much more popular nearly everywhere else than it is here. Just like the 1980 U.S. hockey team that won Olympic gold, this team captured our hearts because they performed at their peak against the toughest competition available, and came out on top. The reasons soccer caught on earlier elsewhere are many and varied, but we would hazard a guess that soccer’s simplicity and low cost have allowed the sport to bloom in the most backward and poor nations on Earth, as well as in some of the most advanced. All you need is a ball and a few kids to play a game, not a hoop on a 10-foot metal pole, or pads, or a precisely turned bat. There was more at work in this team’s popularity than the players’ combined excellence, though, and it wasn’t just Mia Hamm's good looks. In the past decade or so, soccer finally caught on in the States, attracting millions of young players, both male and female. Across America, in small towns and big cities, kids are playing soccer, on intramural teams, in travel leagues, around the backyards and in the school playgrounds. Women’s soccer — and the men’s side as well — is reaping what it has sown; fans who are or were players, and their families. The biggest boost comes from girls, who only a generation ago weren 't expected to do much more than cheer for boys’ teams, buit now suit up and take the field with enthusiasm, and more than a little skill. It’s only natural they would £0 gaga over new role models who seem to embody their wildest sports dreams. And we are fortunate that in America, women’s sports can receive ardent support, while in some of the most soccer-crazy nations women are still regarded as too fragile to play sports at a high level. Apparently there are still some people in America who feel the same way, or perhaps they are threatened when women — girls — show some grit and stamina. It still may be some time before the majority of sports fans of either gender sit back and enjoy a women’s game just for the quality of the play and the drama of the competition. But that’s not a problem for the outstanding players who brought home the World Cup trophy — or rather who kept it home. Their victory was sweet, and judging by their swelling fan base, there - will be plenty of players coming up the ranks to keep the U.S. at the top of the soccer ranks. LEGISLATORS DIRECTORY Federal Officials Representative Paul E. Kanjorski (Democrat) Wilkes-Barre: 825-2200 Washington: (202) 225-6511 e-mail: paul.kanjorski @hr.house.gov # 400M, 7 N. Wilkes-Barre Blvd., Wilkes- Barre PA 18702 or+2353 Rayburn Building, Washington, DC 20515 Senator Arlen Specter (Republican) Wilkes-Barre: 826-6265 Washington: (202) 224-4254 e-mail: senator_specter @ specter.senate.gov 116 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 or 711 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510 Senator Rick Santorum (Republican) Scranton: 344-8799 Washington: (202) 224-6324 © Fax: (202) 228-4991 e-mail: senator @santorum.senate.gov 527 Linden St., Scranton, PA 18503 120 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 State Officials State Senator Charles D. Lemmond (Republican) (717) 675-3931 e-mail: smurphy @pasen.gov 22 Dallas Shopping Ctr., Memorial Hwy., Dallas PA 18612-1231 State Representative George Hasay (Republican) 287-7505 or 542-7345 or 474-2276 or 477-3752 144 North Mountain Boulevard, Mountaintop PA 18707 Hasay'’s district encompasses: Harveys Lake, Lehman Township, Jackson Township, Lake Township, Franklin Township, Ross Township, and Dallas Township’s north voting district. State Representative Phyllis Mundy (Democrat) 283-9622 or 655-3375 Suite 113, 400 Third Avenue, Kingston PA 18704 Mundy'’s district encompasses: Dallas Borough, Dallas Township except for the north voting district, 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 letter 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. Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Gregory Culver ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 717-675-5211 7] PRINTED WITH PENNSYIVANIA SOY INK a. Member NEWSPAPER Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OFFICE MANAGER Kasia McDonough REPORTER Olga Kostrobala CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Patiently waiting for the harvest. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. LETTERS A thank you to all the auction helpers Editor: Although the 53rd Back Moun- tain Memorial Library Auction is now just a memory for those of us who attended, the auction volun-. teers and library staff who made it all possible are still at work: sort- ing, tabulating, assessing, and setting goals for the future. For the past eight or nine years, have painted on location at the auc- tion, and I am continually amazed at the organization, camaraderie and unselfish devotion of the people who make it all possible. A Case for consgavation Alene N. Case Human beings, especially those of us who live here in North America, are attracted by any- thing that is very large. We think that large houses, large cars, gi- ant basketball stars, and blue whales must be most interesting and most important. But, [ am here to inform you that tiny plants called diatoms (one-celled algae that have thin silica walls) are at least as important and as inter- esting as those gigantic red woods in California. Diatoms live in almost every imaginable place on earth from the ice flows of Antarctica to brine lakes to fast flowing streams. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes - round, rectangular, long and slender, star-shaped, etc. They often live singly, but some- times form mats or chains by stick- ing to each other in various ways. Although they are plants, many of them can move slowly from one place to another without the as- sistance of currents or winds. In spite of the fact that diatoms are so tiny that one author esti- mated that 25 million of them - would fit into one teaspoon, these plants provide between 20 and 25 percent of the oxygen we breathe. They are also the base of most aquatic food webs. Insect larvae, fish, and other animals eat them and, in turn, are eaten by larger animals. In fact, one quarter of all plant life by weight (!) on the earth at any one time consists of dia- toms. That's alot of glass houses! As you can see from the picture that accompanies this article, the glass (or silica) cell wall of a dia- tom is often quite intricately de- signed. All have small holes which makes the cell wall somewhat like a sieve. These, in addition to the ~ oils and other lightweight inclu- The time and energy they expend before, during and after the event is incredible. This year I was excited to cre- ate a painting of the auction as viewed from high in the air in a bucket truck. [ would like to pub- licly thank Ray Conrad and Conrad Electric for donating their bucket truck and their time (and patience!) for making the view pos- sible. I would also like to publicly thank Charlotte Bartizek of The Dallas Post, one of the auction committee chairpersons. Charlotte's encouragement, sup- port, and arrangements gave me the impetus to make my ideas for the painting a reality. Special ap- preciation to all of you who bid on my painting! Thank you to all of you who made the 53rd Library Auction a wonderful event for all of the fami- lies and friends of the Back Moun- tain community. Sue Hand Dallas Diatoms: Tiny plants that live in glass houses A single diatom, made visible by a scanning electron microscope. sions in the cell itself, help the cells stay suspended in the water so that they can use sunlight to produce “food.” Some diatoms also have spines which act to keep them suspended. One of the most fascinating ° things about diatom shells is that they are made of two valves which fit together like the parts of a petri dishin thelaboratory. That means that one half is slightly smaller than the other. Since most repro- duction of diatoms is vegetative (non-sexual), each time the valves separate to form two new cells, the resulting diatoms are some- what smaller than the original. After several generations, the cells are only about one third of their normal size and can no longer function properly. At that point, most diatoms reproduce sexually to regain their optimal size. Diatom frustules, as the shells are called, do not go away when the cell dies. Most are preserved in the mud that accumulates on the bottom of the lake or ocean in which the diatom lived. There are many places, especially on the west coast of the USA, where an- cient frustules are piled into strata thousands of feet thick and miles long. These deposits are used for a wide variety of things: fillers in paints, filters for swimming pools, silver polish, absorbents, and in- sulation materials. We know it commonly as diatomaceous earth. Scientists also use these dia- tom frustules to help them learn about the climate and conditions when the diatom lived. Since each species can be identified by the characteristics of its shell, diatoms can tell the researcher a great deal about the kind of river or lake or bay in which it lived. Such things as temperature, sa- linity, and acidity can be esti- mated by looking at the various communities of diatoms in the mud. Some people have speculated that diatoms could meet the fu- ture needs for human food. How- ever, these tiny plants are better cared for in their native environ- ments. Itis rather ironic that the very petroleum products that are causing the most problems for diatoms, and aquatic environ- ments in general, were likely origi- nally derived from diatoms and other algae. We would do well to respect the tiny plants on which so much of the other life on earth depends. In keeping their watery habitat natural, we just may learn the secret of our own longevity. ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - July 13, 1929 ROAD IMPROVEMENTS MAKE GETTING AROUND EASIER Completion of two Luzerne County projects and inaugura- tion of paving operations on a third, during July is announced by Chief Engineer Eckels of Har- risburg. Division Engineer S.P. Longstreet, Shavertown has re- ported four miles of new surfacing open to traffic during the week on two routes, the Harveys Lake road on the east side to Alderson and Route 115, Luzerne and Courtdale Boroughs. 60 Years Ago - July 14, 1939 SNAKES HAMPER WORK NEAR BOWMAN'S CREEK Driven from the mountains by the dry weather, an unusual num- ber of rattlesnakes is being killed along Bowman's Creek by work- men who are building the new. concrete link on Rte. 92 above Lute’s Corners. As many as four snakes had been killed in one day and one of the serpents had 10 buttons. You could get - Lambs liver. 19¢ 1b.; chuckroast, 19¢1b.; Little ‘Neck Clams 100 for 55¢; water- melons 45¢ ea.; red beets, 3 1g. bunches, 10¢; Ivory Flakes, 3 small pkgs., 25¢. 50 Years Ago - July 15, 1949 LIBRARY AUCTION DRAWS NATIONAL ATTENTION The greatest community auc- tion gets underway at noon today in Dallas. Unique from every angle *- the auction has attracted the at- tention of nationally known news- paper and magazine writers: - Starting two years ago as ameans . of raising money for the Back Mountain Memorial Library, the ‘auction has excited the enthusi- astic response of an entire com-- | munity and is the culmination of.’ weeks of effort on the part of no’ less than 200 informal committee members. Now playing at Himmler The-. atre, “The Barkleys of Broadway” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. 40 Years Ago - July 9, 1949 DALLAS POLICE CRACK BURGLARY RING Prompt and alert work of Dal- las Township Police operating on a course of action suggested by Pennsylvania State Police has pro-*. duced the first break in the long list of crimes that has terrorized Back Mountain and Wyoming Valley residents for more than a year. enced criminals which has been operating in several states are now in Lycoming County Jail at; Williamsport, in lieu of $20,000¢ bail each on charges of burglary;- conspiracy and possession of bui- glary tools. 30 Years Ago - July 17, 1969 DALLAS JR. HIGH MAY NOT BE COMPLETED IN TIME Dallas School Board met Tues- day with contractors to determine whether the new Junior High School will be ready for occu- pancy in the fal]. No definite answer was forthcoming. The end of the month was set for a final: review. Several stikes and short-. ages have held up the schedule. Should the classrooms not be ready, half day classes may be resorted to for a time. The old Four Philadelphia men;. members of a big gang of experi- school annex will shortly be torn". down. Early returns on the Libra: Auction indicate that the library will net over $20,00 O after all bills « are settled. Antiques Committeé: is responsible for around $5, 000: of this amount. Full returns are: not yet available. 20 Years Ago - July 12, 1979 HL TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION INJUNCTION TURNED DOWN. Harveys Lake Borough Council!’ could wind up its controversial*: borough building purchase withirt-* two weeks according to its presi- to dent, now that the Taxpayers As". » sociation attempts to obtain an. injunction have been turned. down. Just the day before, Coni-!- , monwealth Court in a: turned down Harveys Lake Tax- payers Association appeal of -; Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olzewski's refusal to grant the: injuction it had sought to halt the.’ purchase proceedings until the law suit could be ruled on. 9 e oe » .e
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers