4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, July 28, 1999 EDITORIALS an Common sense prevails at last in cell tower debate Finally, someone has correctly interpreted the rules that apply to the construction of cellular telephone communication towers. Judge Thomas Burke, of the Luzerne County Court of €ommon Pleas, handed down a ruling last week that upholds an appeal filed against a decision by the Kingston Township supervisors that would have allowed building of a 150-foot tower behind the old municipal building. The appeal, by three families who live near the site, won approval because Judge Burke clearly understood the circumstances surrounding the proposed tower and its location. In a nutshell, Judge Burke ruled that the Telecommunica- tions Act of 1996, which cellular phone companies try to use as a sword over the neck of local officials, does not preclude a municipality from applying its normal zoning rules to these ugly and intrusive structures. In this case, Cellular One had facetiously argued that the Act — adopted by Congress osten- sibly to increase competition and lower prices for telephone and other services — superseded local ordinances, a premise that is incorrect to even an untrained reader. A summary of the ~ Act, freely available to anyone caring to read it, says the Act “preserves the authority of state and local governments over decisions regarding the placement, construction, and modifi- cation of personal wireless service facilities,” except as specifi- cally provided in another paragraph. The exceptions are that states and towns cannot discriminate among companies, and cannot entirely prohibit cell phone facilities. .. Unfortunately, two local municipalities, Kingston Township and Dallas Township, chose instead to accept the obviously self-interested position of Cellular One and the poor advice of their solicitors when the company came to town. In Kingston Township's case, it was determined that the tower was a “semipublic” use, even though cell phone companies are not public utilities. Another lurefwas an S800 monthly payment to the townships for as long as the towers remain standing. And in Dallas Township, there was the added bonus of having the township's radio transmitters hung on the tower at no cost. Citizens protested the towers in both cases, and Cellular One chose to build the Dallas tower even though an appeal to its construction was — and is — active. Apparently the company thought better of it in Kingston Township, waiting until a decision was made. Now the company may appeal Judge Burke's ruling, which will mean another several months of waiting before a final resolution is reached. . It's unfortunate it had to come to this. Local governments should be in the position of supporting and protecting citizens, not selling taxpayer-owned space to the highest bidder. When all is said and done, even Cellular One and its customers may have been better off if the townships had stood up to the company’s heavy-handed tactics, and forced Cellular One to seek alternatives to a couple of large towers, such as a series of smaller antennas place unobtrusively on existing commer- cial structures. Publisher's notebook The original “Woodstock Generation” was known for peace and love, as well as music. Even in the years of the flower children, this wasn’t an entirely accurate characterization, “since it’s not possible for such a large group of people to escape: hatred, avarice or worse human traits. Rest assured there were plenty of people taking advantage in those days, whether selling drugs or using the cover of the times to sleep around out of lust rather than love. Even so, I remember the era for the live- and-let-live attitude most people exhibited, which was best displayed at the original Woodstock, when 400,000 people gathered in the rain and mud for several days of music and reverie, and then went home, leaving a mess but not destruc- tion. * Contrast that with the latest “Woodstock,” which was held last weekend at, of all places, a former Air Force base. A crowd about half the size of the original ponied up $150 or more each for tickets, then found a drink of water cost $5 once they were inside the chain-link fence installed to keep gate crashers out and their dollars in. Still, it was mostly all in good fun until Sunday night, when the music ended, and crowds of fans ripped up the stage and other structures, built bonfires, tried to break into an ATM machine and torched a dozen large trucks in a rampage someone tried to blame on the high prices. Say again, the prices made me do it? Gee, I guess all those people thought it was a love-in, not a profit-grabbing venture, but they must have misplaced the love on the way to the concert. = While I can’t accept that kind of rationalization (a real ‘60s word, that one), I'm not shocked at the violence, given what we see all around us today. Popular culture, at least as dictated by the entertainment industry, is rife with murder and mayhem, coarse language and disrespect for others. Is it any wonder that alarge crowd of mostly young people, who have been watching professional wrestling and Die Hard movies, would think it inappropriate to smash something once they're finished with it? The message today is not “question authority,” it’s take what you want — you deserve it — and destroy what's left. And it's certainly not “buyer beware,” which would mean denying yourself the opportunity to have your wallet lightened by a pale imitation of a real gathering of peace, love and music. The Dallas Post > Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. A . P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 t 717-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OFFICE MANAGER Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER eR RASS Gregory Culver ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Kasia McDonough REPORTER : Ruth Proietto Olga Kostrobala 7 PRODUCTION MANAGER CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING 7) PRINTED WITH PENNSYLVANIA You can almost walk on water if you use these stepping stones at Frances Slocum State Park. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Shorter days, no shortage of activities Library news Carol King Although the days are getting shorter (and hotter and dryer) and the season is winding down, there are several summer activities still to come at, or in behalf of, the library. Brian Freeman of the Par 4 Cafe announces that the third annual golf tournament sponsored by the restaurant to benefit the library will be held Monday, Au- gust 2, at the Mill Race Golf Club in Benton, with a 12 noon shot- gun start. The entry fee is $70 per person and covers a cart, greens fees, refreshments and dinner, and a chance to win any of a number of prizes. What an opportunity to play golf not only for fun, but for a good cause besides! There's a limit of 30 foursomes, so, if yours isn't already registered, stop by the library right away to pick up an entry form. The last party for young read- ers at the library, “Walk on the Wild Side,” will be held in the library Friday, August 6, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. If your young reader plans to attend, please RSVP as soon as possible. “Route for Read- ing” participants should come to the library and fill in their game cards by August 4, in order that certificates will be ready for distri- bution at the party. The Bookstore will reopen Au- gust 2. Ruth Tetschner promises special prices on books by Danielle Steele and Sidney Sheldon. We want to congratulate the collector whose materials are now on display at the library. He is 8- year-old Brandon Reichart, who is, to put it mildly, wild about fishing! Here's what he has to say about his favorite pastime: “My Pop-Pop and Uncle started taking me fishing when I was 2 years old. I love to catch big fish! The one on display I caught on a deep sea fishing trip. It was really awesome when I caught it! My favorite lure is the Rapala. I learn lots of things about fishing from books I borrow from the Library also.” Come in to see Brandon's inter- esting display before the middle of August, and to visualize how your treasures might fit in if you loan them to the li- brary. Call or come in to talk with Martha Butler aboutyour collection. In- cidentally, the display case is kept locked at all times. The first Fall meeting of the Monday evening Book Discussion Group will be held September 9 at 7 p.m. in the Commu- nity Room at the library. The size of the group is limited to 20. There are a few openings for new members; apply soon to assure yourself of a place. Dr. Pat Hinchey is the discussion leader. There will be more news as the year goes on about this group and about the one that is held on Monday morning. The latter group was formed in 1996, at the time of the celebration -of thelibrary’s 50th anniversary, and now has a waiting list. Please call the library to inquire about either group. ies Brandon Reichart held a string of fish, caught while out with "Pop-Pop." (ON \ HI 4 YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - July 27, 1929 LAND BUY COULD MEAN $100,000 BUSINESS IN NOXEN With the purchase this week of the Hettesheimer plot of land at Noxen, which contains valuable deposits of clay, it is expected that Noxen will soon have a new $100,000 industry employing 50- 100 men. Purchase was made by Max Dattner and associates of Wilkes-Barre. On reliable infor- mation The Post is informed that machinery will be moved on that plot in the very near future. 60 Years Ago - July 28, 1939 NATIONAL SWIMMING RACE HELD AT HARVEYS LAKE The attention of the aquatic fans throughout the nation will be focused on Harveys Lake, Sat- urday when 28 of the country’s flashiest long-distance swimmers shove off from Hanson's dock at - 12 noon in a 5-mile race for the U.S. championship. The race is the high spot of the swimming season for the A.A.U and is the first event of such magnitude ever staged at Harveys Lake. Most of the stores in Dallas have agreed to close every Wednes- day afternoon to give employees a weekly half holiday. The new plan went into effect on Wednesday this week. 50 Years Ago - July 29, 1949 NEW DRY CLEANING BUSINESS FOR TRUCKSVILLE Contracts ¥amounting to $16,197.20 for cafeteria and home economic equipment and renova- tions were awarded to low bidders by Kingston Township School Board atits meeting Monday. The board hopes to have contracts signed and work started within 10 days so that the cafeteria will be ready shortly after the opening * of school. Announcement was made this week that Ben Davis, Rice St., has purchased the plot of land north of Trucksville Mill from Stanley Moore and will establish there shortly a dry cleaning business. 40 Years Ago - July 30, 1959 PAIR OF POST OFFICES MAY MERGE An extensive survey of postal facilities in Trucksville and Shav- ertown is being made this week by Postal Inspector Walter Popejay with a view to determine the fea- sibility of city delivery of mail and possible consolidation of the two offices. When interviewed con- cerning the project Richard Griffith, Trucksville Postmaster said the survey includes inter- views with patrons, a determina- tion of population densities and the need for improved postal ser- VICE. You could get - Boneless chuck, 69¢ 1b.; smoked picnics, 33¢ 1b; honeydews, 49¢ ea.; nectarines, 2 1bs., 39¢; Cracked wheat bread, 17 ¢ loaf; Kraft sharp cheese, bulte Ib.; 65¢. 20 Years Ago - July 26, 1979 PETITION ASKS FOR LIGHTS, LOWER SPEED ONRT.309 A meeting of Kingston Town- ship supervisors and residents concerning the hazardous traffic conditions along the business sec- tion of Rte. 309 will be held Aug. 8 at the Kingston Township Mu- . nicipal Bldg. Mrs. Carolyn Bulford : in charge of circulating petitions requesting a traffic light at the’ intersection of Franklin St. & Rte. ° 309 and a reduced speed limit. along the section of Franklin St. and Rte. 309 urges all residents" to attend. Frank Finn, PennDOT engineeer district and Michael Czar, traffic engineer were invited to attend the meeting. Sen. Frank O'Connell will attend and will sup- port whatever solution is recom- mended by PennDOT officials. Only Yesterday is taken from the back-issue files of The Dallas Post. - l > 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 Town- . ship, Jackson Township, Lake! Township, Franklin Townsihs Ross Township, and Dallas + Township's north voting district. State Representative. -: Phyllis Mundy ht : (Democrat) he 283-9622 or 655-3375 : Suite 113, 400 Third Avenug,.. Kingston PA 18704 ‘ub Mundy’s district encompasses: Dallas Borough, Dallas Town- ship except for the north voting district, and Kingston Township. Ler lr) LX © Do you agree? Disagree? Editorials are the opinion of the management of The Dallas Post, and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. We welcome your opinion on contemporary issues in the form of letters: to the editor. If you don't write, the community may never hear a contrasting point of view. Send or bring letters to: The Dallas Post, 607 Main Rd., 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. -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers