4 The Dallas Post Dallas;PA Wednesday, November 15, 2000 EDITORIALS Publisher's notebook ] Ron Bartizek In 21st century, let's dispense with 19th century elections I and many others have spent the past several months poking fun at the candidates for President, their campaign promises and tactics. But now we face a situation that requires serious thought and discourse, even in this humble space. The current deadlock has raised important questions about how we conduct elections, and how we conduct ourselves when unfore- seen circumstances arise. Generally, our behavior has been superior to our voting technology up to this point. Before anything else, though, I think we should recognize the genius - intended or not - in how and when America changes presidents. The 10-week lag between the election and swearing in of a new President provides ample time to resolve disputes like the current one. When the nation was founded, the lag was even larger, with the changeover taking place the March following election. The long gap was necessary because com- munication and travel were extraordinarily slow in colonial America. For example, it took newly elected President John Adams 17 days to travel from Boston to Washington in 1800, and some areas of the nation would not even know the result of an election until several weeks after the fact. In theory, we now could seat a new administration in a few days, but I believe the long transition period is worth keeping for its value as a buffer between eras, not only as a time to settle questionable vote tallies. We also should be proud of the manner in which the American public and our institutions cope with a difficult and confusing situation. Many European nations, where govern- mental transfers are often messy and frequent, are enjoying this glitch in the usually uneventful U.S. election. But even if some of the lawyers’ rhetoric has an edge to it, we all under- stand that this bump in the road will soon be behind us, and we will make a peaceful transition of the limited powers of the Presidency. As for the positions of the two campaigns, they each have an obligation to their party and to the 50 million voters who supported them to carry the fight to a finish that is fair and reflects the will of the people. It doesn’t seem that we will have reached that point until the present disputes are settled and all ballots are counted. But when we get there, it is incumbent upon the loser to bow out gracefully, even if not every doubt has been erased. This unique moment has brought two important questions to the forefront: Is the electoral college outdated? Can we come up with a better device for voting? There are many calls to replace the electoral college, an archaic system that was cobbled together in the nation’s early days to allay the fears of southern states that they were outnumbered by the North. The solution was to count slaves as three-fifths of a person while granting them no rights of citizenship. The result was that Virginia had a virtual strangle- hold on the electoral college, and a slaveholding Virginian occupied the presidency for 32 of the new nation’s first 36 years. Despite fears that present-day candidates would ignore small states for large ones, this election makes a good case for direct election of the President by the total popular vote, which was first proposed in 1787 as the Constitution was being drafted in Philadelphia. But even if we change the method, the system of voting will continue to bedevil us if it remains the fragmented antique it is in many places. We have access to technology that would make voting simpler, easier and much less prone to error or scandal if we would only make a commitment to installing it. A computerized system, which could include checkpoints so that voters are unlikely to inadvertently cast a ballot for someone other than their choice, is readily attainable. Such a system also would shorten the time to count votes and could include protections against fraud and abuse. Two things are standing in the way of progress on this issue: money and entrenched political machines that prefer the outdated and easily manipulated paper ballots still in use around the coun- try. Money is an issue because most of the expense to conduct elections is borne by states, counties and municipalities. Replacing our antique voting mechanisms will be expensive, and the cost should be shared by the federal government. Perhaps the money could be raised using a check-off contribu- tion on tax returns, as is done for the elections themselves. Even with their shortcomings, American elections are the envy of the world, perhaps especially at a time like this, when a nation in which the people hold less power might be in crisis. No matter which side of this race you were on, what matters most is that we preserve the best parts of our system while correcting the areas that are deficient. An apology. In our haste to appear to be a “real” newspaper, we published a photo last week that was objectionable to many readers. We now realize the photograph, of the victim of an auto accident who later died, was inappropriate for our pages, which people depend on for accurate reporting without the discom- forting images so common in our culture. We are sorry to have offended the family and friends of Marie Brokenshire, who was a respected figure in our community, and someone who lived with dignity, a characteristic that was lacking in our treatment of her final hours. We will attempt to be more respectful of readers’ feelings in the future. 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 Ken Brocious ; ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Elizabeth Skrapits REPORTER Joanna Cease OFFICE/TYPIST/CLASSIFIEDS Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER rd PRINTED WITH PENNSYLVANIA SOY INK i" Member NEWSPAPER Vine art in Lehman. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. LETTERS Council president claims inaccuracies Editor, : In reply to your editorial in the Dallas Post of November 8, 2000, 1 must respond to several inaccu- racies. Your assertion that after sey- eral weeks of badgering, a basic audit was grudgingly given to re- porters.’ The facts are that on October 9, 2000 1 saw the Times Leader’s request for the 1999 au- dit for the first time. I directed the borough office to release it imme- diately to the Times Leader and any other member of the public. I was shocked when I read a Times Leader article on October 14, 2000 that stated it was not released. Moments after my first direct con- tact with Times Leader reporter Christina Dubitsky, I faxed her the entire 1999 audit. During the same telephone conversation, Ms Dubitsky said she had left mes- sages for me with the borough office. These messages were never forwarded to me. Council has acted to make improvements to the borough office that I believe will help eliminate problems like the aforementioned. As to the “missing” parts of the audit, you are referring to the supplementary report and man- agement letter. The last sentence of the report states “This report and management letter are in- tended solely for the use of the Finance Committee, manage- ment, and others within the ad- ministration and is not intended and should not be used by any- one other than these specified parties.” Also, the Borough solici- tor has advised us this is not a public record and is not required to be released. Therefore, I hope you can understand our hesita- tion at giving you a copy of this. At this time, however, because of the suspicions raised, I am seeking consent to release this to the Dal- las Post. To date I have received approval from all council mem- bers except Dennis Garvey and Martha Weber. When I have their assent, you will have a copy. The report has two material findings that are procedural in nature: 1. There is no double-entry gen- eral ledger accounting system. 2. Bank accounts are not rec- onciled on a timely basis. I reported this at the public meeting on October 17, 2000. There are no financial irregulari- ties. I have had the honor of serving on Dallas Borough Council since October 1991. During this time I . have refused a pay raise given to council. I have never sought to: put a friend or relative on the borough payroll. I have never sought favors from the borough or its employees to enrich myself or my personal property. While it is fair to criticize my decisions on council, my ethical conduct has been beyond reproach. William Peiffer President, Dallas Borough Council Editor's Note: The Dallas Post has requested that the full audit report forthe Borough of Dallas be released, and has produced the opinion of two attorneys that the entirety of the report is a public document. Legion official responds to complaint Editor, I am responding to the letter entitled, "Air Force veteran won- ders why he's ineligible for Le- gion" in the October 18 issue of the Dallas Post. Dates for membership into the American Legion are set by formal resolution to the National Con- vention of the American Legion by any Post, District or State within the organization and either ap- proved or disapproved by the del- egates present. After the resolu- tion has been approved, the ac- tion of the convention is sent to the United States Congress for their approval. This is needed because we are a nationally char- tered organization, chartered by Congress. ; The dates currently approved and printed in a recent article in The Dallas Post are the only dates being used for membership into the American Legion. We would like very much to have all veterans able to join our organization and we are most cog- nizant of their outstanding ser- vice in the military but the dates currently used are dates that have seen our military serve in war time as approved by the Congress of The United States. Stanley W. Reinhard, Jr. Department Adjutant The American Legion Dept. of Pennsylvania. PennDOT official defends Adopt-A-Highway Editor, After reading your article, Oc- tober 4, in the Dallas Post [ want to explain why PennDOT promotes highway beautification programs. I applaud environmentally con- cerned sitizens who volunteer their valuablt time and efforts to make Pennsylvania even more beautiful. No one, including PennDOT would not need programs like Adopt-A-Highway or Keep Penn- sylvania Beautiful or maintenance needs. The Adopt and Beautify pro- gram you discuss in your article grew out of the Adopt-A-Highway program. Those wonderful volun- teersrequested todo morein their adopted areas. The reason for the press release you recieved was to inform customers that such a program exists, and detail how they could become involved should they want to. PennDOT does numerous planting and beautification pro- grams throughout Common- wealth. Right in your own area, PennDOT's Engineering District 4-0 has completed some of the most beautiful planting and high- way beautification areas anywhere in the Commonwealth- theyare models, really, and customers have noted their approval. By the time you read this letter I will be attending the annual International Adopt-A-Highway Conference with representatives of other states and several foreign countries that have such pro- grams. We will not be there meet- ing to find ways for citizens to do our work for us. We will be there looking at what others are doing to try to stop the litter problem. Please understand, picking up lit- ter after someone else is not the answer. Untill that education takes hold, citizens volunteers and PenDOT will be out therecleaning up and beautifying our Common- wealth. Robert B. Morash Statewide Highway Beautification Manager Pennsylvania Department of Transportaion 70 Years Ago - Nov. 14, 1930 EVANS FALLS MERCHANT NOTES 82nd BIRTHDAY Peter Brong, blind merchant of Evans’ Falls will celebrete his 82n birthday anniversary on Sunda; "Uncle Peter" as he is known to everyone for miles around, is en- joying good health and is prob- ably the most cheerful business man to be found in these hectic days of businesss depression and general slump in business condi- ‘tions. Now playing - "Dawn Patrol" with Richard Barthlamess at tig? Himmler Theatre. 60 Years Ago - Nov. 15, 1940 MT. GREENWOOD KIWANIS COLLECTS TOYS As one phase of its work for under-privileged children in this area, Mt. Greenwood Kiwanis Club is collecting discarded toys and children's out-grown clothing. Toys will be repaired and repaint? and clothing will be cleaned and mended for distribution at Christ- mas time. The Senior Class of Lehman Township High School is already rehearsing for the thrilling mys- tery drama, "The Spider's Web", which will be presented, Friday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Oo 50 Years Ago - Nov. 17, 1950 BANK'S CHRISTMAS CLUB PAYMENTS TOP $40,000 Next week The Dallas Post will be in the mails Tuesday morning so that our advertisers can take advantage of pre-Thanksgiving business and so that our staff may enjoy the holidays with their families. o More than $40,000, represent- ing 625 accounts will be paid to Christmas Club members by First National Bank of Dallas starting November 27. This represents the highest Christmas Club pay- ments ever made by the local in- stitution. Average payments will be more than S60. 40 Years Ago - Nov. 10, 1960 MINSTREL SHOW A HIT To comply with public demand, Rev. Francis A. Kane, Pastor of Gate of Heaven Church an- nounces that the 1960 minstrel "Slide River Buck" is being pro- duced under the guidance of Rev. Michael J. Rafferty and the direc- tion of Joseph Snee. Ten days stand between you and your op- portunity to set aside the cares o the world and relax to the strains of the old time minstrel band and the never-to-be-forgotten minstrel men. 30 Years Ago - Nov. 12, 1970 NEW ACME MARKET OPENS IN DALLAS The grand opening of the neg. Dallas Acme supermarket was held yesterday morning with store “manager Jack Hines and Stephen Hartman, mayor of Dallas Bor- ough officiating at the ribbon cut- ting. The unexpected visitors who came to dinner at Connie Shaw's home in Noxen last Wednesday evening created quite a stir. The "company" a mother bear and her young cub appeared at the Shag. home at around 9:30 p.m. run:- maging in the garbage pails for a few choice morsels of food to sat- isfy their pre-hibernation hunger pangs. Both bears lumbered off into darkness as soon as Mrs. Shaw snapped on the porch light. 20 Years Ago - Nov. 13, 1980 DALLAS PULLS OUT LAST- o) MINUTE OLD SHOE WIN : With less than one minute to play the Lake-Lehman Knights were in front of Dallas Mountain- eers 19-14 in the traditional "Old Shoe" contest at the Knights sta- dium. But a blocked punt from the Lake-Lehman 30 to the seven yard line with only 54 seconds remaining on the clock set up Mountaineer quarterback Dav Oster's five yard touchdown a?) the 20-19 win for Dallas. Send your sports reports by | | | | | a.” Br = - 5 elt To ~ 0 (@ @ = © dalpost@epix.nets, @
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers