4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, September 8, 1999 EDITORIALS As the season begins, let's keep things in perspective ‘Tis the season. No, not Thanksgiving, the Christmas holi- day, Hannukah or anything like that. It’s the real season, when fall high school and college athletics gear up for another year. Soon many of us will be spending afternoons in the crisp autumn air, watching our children and their classmates run and jump, kick and block, smash and putt; except for the ones at volleyball games, who will see kids dive and spike, dreading the screech of flesh on hardwood. There are many benefits to scholastic and college sports: The games are fun to watch, the competition keeps young people in shape and sports even make tons of money for the most successful programs. But let’s keep it all in perspective. While it's understandable that young people would harbor unrealis- tic expectations about the long-term value of athletic excel- lence, in most cases whatever benefits there are disappear after high school. Few students go on to play in college, and only a tiny minority of those will ever have the chance to play a sport professionally. Even students who get scholarships usually are given a fraction of the cost of college tuition. “That is surely not to say athletic competition lacks merit. Those who are inclined to play — and who possess adequate skills — gain reinforcement for behavior that leads to success in other ways. In team sports they learn to blend their talent with teammates of varying ability to reach a common objective; they gain confidence by seeing growth and improvement in their skills, and they learn to set and achieve goals. Sport is, of course, far from the only way to have these experiences, and for many children it is not the best way. There are groups, clubs, churches and activities galore that offer precisely the same lessons, and more young people take those paths than hit the playing fields. And there’s always the classroom, where every emotion, virtue and vice can be found as readily as in the gym. What about winning? Can losers learn the same lessons as winners? The answer is yes, because the most important thing “anyone can take away from an endeavor is knowing they did their best, regardless of the outcome. Losing isn’t fun, but it is inevitable more of the time than we'd like to accept, and sometimes we learn more from defeat than from endless victory. : ~ So, fear not, those of you who don’t care to get bumped, bruised or broken. Go to the games, enjoy the camaraderie of cheering on your team, and rest easily knowing that you aren't missing anything that can’t be had in countless other ways. Charity that begins at home has worldwide effect Charity may begin at home, but it can travel to undreamed of places, and sometimes do untold good far.away! That certainly is a lesson learned from the support parishioners of St. Therese’s Church in Shavertown have given to Sr. Mary Sponsa Beltran, a missionary who works tirelessly to help handicapped young people in northwest Africa. Sr. Sponsa Beltran is a Wilkes-Barre native and graduate of College Misericordia. Now 74 years old and nearly blind, she first discovered the plight of handicapped children in Liberia when she realized that in 20 years at a clinic, she had not seen a single handicapped child. Investigation revealed that parents believed such children to be “witched,” and hid them away or abandoned them. Shortly thereafter, she established a school and clinic for such children, who arrived one after another. Her work became more complicated when civil war broke out, and nearly 700 refugee children were added to her charges. Toward the end of the war, sympathetic soldiers removed Sr. Sponsa Beltran and the children to safety, and today she is hard at work trying to build a compound that can serve the children’s health and educational needs. Sr. Sponsa and two of the children will be at St. Therese’s and nearby venues during the next week, on a sort of “thank you” tour to show supporters just what their donations have helped - accomplish. There is much more to be done, though, and anyone who would like to meet the Sister, or become a supporter, may attend an event, or call 675-3397 for informa- tion. out 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: : e Letters should not exceed 500 words. ¢ No writer may have more than one letter published on a single subject during a 30-day period, except as a reply to another letter. e Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a telephone number for verification. e Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat tothe 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 publi- cation. i : I ——————————————————————————————— Ab The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 570-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OFFICE MANAGER Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Gregory Culver ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Kasia McDonough REPORTER | Olga Kostrobala CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Christine Pizzano OFFICE ASSISTANT vd PRINTED WITH PENNSYIVANIA SOYINK| ho NEXSTAIER bi Dog days of summer in downtown Dallas. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Library news Carol King Registration for the fall story hours for toddlers and 3-to-5-year- - olds will continue until Saturday, Sept. 11. Call the library, 675- 1182, between 9:30 a.m: and 5:30 p.m. The sessions will start on October 5; the exact times will be available upon registration. The Monday schedule for Sep- tembér is a busy one. On Sept. 13 the evening book discussion group will hold its first meeting this Fall at 7 p.m. in the community room. Several people have just joined the group; it is still not too late to Library groups gear up for the season register. Call Pat Hinchey, the discussion leader, at 333-5285, for further information. On Sept. 20, the Book Club, a long-established group at the li- brary, will meet at 1 p.m. in the community room. New members are welcome. Call Mary Panaway, president of the Book Club, 675- 8823, for more information about the club and its programs. Members of the Monday morn- ing book discussion group, who will begin their fall season Sept. 27, are asked to stop by the library and pick up a copy of the book to be discussed at that meeting. The new display at the library consists of a collection of glass etchings hand-drawn by Doreen Henderson. She started glass etching sixyears ago when a friend gave her a diamond-tip engraver that had been used in jewelry- making. Doreen decided to use it on glass and, completely self- taught, has etched many pictures since then, either freehand or traced. She admits a lot of pa- tience is required for some of the techniques used, but finds even these phases relaxing and reward- ing. One of her etchings, thatof a dalmatian, is on display in the Harveys Lake firehouse. The millennium has arrived early at the library, with a tremen- dous addition to its resources available for research. The “Penn- sylvania Online World of Electronic Resources” (POWER) includes the following: EBSCO - a comprehensive pe- ‘riodicals and reference database, a wonderful tool for magazine re- search Encyclopedia Americana - Online SIRS - an interactive reference tool for young adults, including full text articles and graphics, country facts, World Almanac for kids, Funk & Wagnall's New En- cyclopedia, biographies and more Associated Press Photo Archive - over 500,000 current and historical photographs. 800 photographs are added daily. Access Pennsylvania Data- base - a resource for locating books and other materials not available in the library, which can be se- cured through inter-library loan. Staff members will be glad to guide you through accessing this vast array of new programs. Stu- dents working on school projects — or trying to decide on one — are especially urged to come to the library to get acquainted with the POWER Library. Adults are wel- come, too, of course! And to think that the new. mil- lennium has not yet really be- gun... ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - Sept. 7, 1929 DRY WEATHER INCREASES RISK OF BRUSH FIRE Forest fire crews from Dallas, Shavertown and Noxen were called out this week to help extinguish and keep under control a serious forest fire that has been raging this week on the mountains north of Dinstles, along Bowman's Creek. The unusually dry weather of the summer has led in many sections to the serious outbreaks of forest fires and the drying up of many mountain streams and lakes. Now playing at the Himmler Theatre - "Bellamy Trial” with Leatrice Jay. 60 Years Ago - Sept. 8, 1939 LAKE SILKWORTH CLOSES RURAL SCHOOL Only one rural school at Lake Silkworth will be maintained in Lehman Twp. this year since the construction of the new high school has relieved crowded con- ditions in the Lehman Centers Grade School.: With four rooms ready for use in the new high - school, provisions will be made in the old frame building for stu- dents from the Idetown and Meeker Districts. School will be- gin at the same time at the two room Lake Silkworth school house. : Republican registration in Dal- las Township exceeds Democratic by a margin 3-1. There are 975 registered Republicans and 387 registered Democrats. 50 Years Ago - Sept. 9, 1949 MERGER CREATS NEW TELEPHONE COMPANY Three telephone companies of Sordoni Organizations: Common- wealth, Luzerne and Bradford County Telephone Co. will be merged to form one company to be known as Commonwealth Tele- phone Co. Decision to merge was made at a meeting of stockhold- ers of the three companys held last week. “Themerger will achieve greater efficiency and more eco- nomical operation. It will also expedite the program of rehabili- tation of the properties and of the "$2 1/2 million plant expansion and dial conversion program now well underway to provide sub- stribers with metropolitan ser- vice second to none,” Harold G. Payne, vice president and general manager declared. 40 Years Ago - Sept. 10, 1959 AM. LEGION WILL HONOR OUTSTANDING CITIZEN Daddow-Isaacs Post 672 Ameri- | can Legion will honor an out- standing Back Mountain citizen Friday night at its annual Ameri- canism program at the Post Home on Memorial Highway. A group of distinguished guests and speak- ers will take part in the program. The Post will present its Distin- guished Service Award for Out- standing Service to the Commu- nity to a Dallas man. The award last year went to Howard Risley, editor of The Dallas Post. Lake-Lehman High School foot- ball team has been admitted to the West Side Conference replac- ing last year's championship Wilkes-Barre Township eleven. Acceptance of the Back Mountain area school was possible when the local team was able to arrange a schedule playing all members of the conference. Lake-Lehman will open its eight game schedule Fri- day evening away when it meets Forty Fort. 30 Years Ago - Sept. 11, 1969 DALLAS TOWNSHIP OPENS MUNICIPAL BUILDING After 152 years Dallas Town- ship has its own municipal build- ing. The modern structure not yet completed became the prop- erty of the supervisors August 30 ¢ when the police department moved into its new quarters. All township equipment has been placed in its garage which occu- pies the rear of the structure. A large plaque was presented to the supervisors by township solicitor Frank Townend, which will hang in the foyer. Atop the plaque are the years 1816-1969. 20 Years Ago - Sept. 6, 1979 DALLAS ACCEPTS NEW BUS CONTRACTS On Thursday the Dallas School Board accepted a $1,870 per day contract with Emanuel Bus Lines for transportation of elementary and secondary school students in the Dallas School District. Ac- cording to Patricia Gregory chair- man of the transportation com- mittee this 10% increase over last year’s contract is strictly a gas increase. The Board also accepted a contract with Russ Bus Service for transportation of pupils to Child Service Center, Wilkes- Barre at the rate of S11 per day and also for transportation of dis- trict students to Sweet Valley Christian Academy at a rate of $38.50 per day. You could get - Center cut pork chops, $1.691b.; Top round steak, $1.99 1b.; cooking onions, 8 lbs., 81; gr. cabbage, 10S lb.; Tokay grapes, 2 lbs. $1; Cottonelle Tis- ' sue, pkg. of 4, 86¢. 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 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 Town- ship except for the north voting district, and Kingston Township. DX @ @ o [93% i) BY
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers