i | | i | ks | ; | 4 | 4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, December 6, 2000 EDITORIALS All rights, not just some, must be respected Something rotten is happening to good people in Dallas Township. Tom and Joan Byron have had to endure a series of harassing - and frightening - incidents over the years. The Byrons own 247 acres of mostly wooded land off 42nd Street, land that is obviously looked at jealously by certain hunters. The Byrons allowed hunting for the first 10 years they lived on the land. At first they let hunters on with few restrictions, but when the privilege was abused, they began to be more selective about who could hunt there, where, and when. Even so, they became uncomfortable when hunters came too close the their home and those of neighbors, and eventually posted the property to ban hunting. Or so they thought. The Byrons have found that some hunters don’t respect private property rights, and they frequently hear gunshots that must be coming from someone on their land. Much worse, though, have been the cowardly attacks in the dead of night, consisting of parts of dead deer left in their mailbox, epithets and swastikas sprayed on their barn and abuse of open fields by people driving cars or trucks over them, ruining the turf. These are fields the family donates use of to College Misericor- _ - dia athletic teams and local soccer clubs. It's quite remarkable that people who probably strongly support their right to own a deadly weapon thumb their noses at property rights, which are the foundation of our economy and democracy. Perhaps more important, they continue to poach in an area that is surrounded by residential neighbor- hoods, where the danger of a serious accident is great. Time for Gore's graceful exit Even Al Gore's most ardent supporters must be thinking that it's time to throw in the towel and let America get on with the new century. No doubt Gore and George W. Bush each sin- cerely believe they won the presidential election, and in some ways they both did, with Gore claiming the overall popular vote, but Bush apparently eking out a slim majority of the electoral college. It's easy to be sympathetic with Gore’s mantra that every vote should count — he’s right, of course — and perhaps a full recount of Florida's ballots would reverse his fortunes. But it’s gotten too late in the game for that, and he can reclaim at least a smidgen of high ground by conceding gracefully before a merely contentious post-election spat becomes a battle that injures our democracy. We should all be proud that our system can weather this kind of storm with minimal damage; few other nations could have survived a month of electoral indecision. But at this point, continued challenges offer little benefit and ever-increasing risk both to Gore's reputation and to our economy and politics. There's work to be done, and it’s time to hook up the team that will be charged with getting the U.S. off to a good start in the new millennium. Publisher's notebook Ron Bartizek An e-mail that was forwarded to Dallas Post reporter Eliza- beth Skrapits contained proof that truth sometime really is stranger than fiction. It came from a Catholic discussion group on the Internet, and was probably contributed by a priest. What we need, I said to myself, is to find out who the patron saint for contested elections is, and ask his or her intercession. Well, it turns out there is one. And you're not going to believe what follows, but it’s true: his name is St. Chad. No, I am not making this up. Chad was born in ancient Britain, probably about 620, to Saxon parents. His people had been pagan, but his parents were baptized by St. Aidan. Thus he represents the Celtic, rather than the Roman stream of Christianity. As a youngster he was sent to the bishop of Northumbria to be educated. Later, he seems to have gone to the Irish monas- tery-schools established by St.Patrick, and then to Iona, where he was ordained priest, and, after the death of two of his brothers in a plague, eventually became head of a small abbey near Whitby. Chad is perhaps best known for not being Archbishop of York. In mid-life he returned to Northumbria, being called by its king to be chief bishop there (and thus, Archbishop of York). He was elected and duly installed, but various persons raised objections on the grounds that his consecrators were bishops who followed the Celtic church calendar and customs rather than the customs then being imported from the conti- nent and from Rome. Not wishing to cause division in the Church, Chad withdrew (nota bene!) in favor of another candidate! The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was greatly impressed by Chad's humility, subsequently consecrated him bishop of Litchfield, in Mercia, where he worked for the remainder of his life. Outdoor plumbing. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. e I I Habitat always open to a few new helping hands Editor, On behalf of the Board of Di- rectors and the many volunteers involved with Wyoming Valley Habitat for Humanity (WVHFH), I would like to thank you for the wonderful article and editorial column that appeared in last week's issue of your newspaper (Nov 29). We appreciated your extensive coverage and support of Library news Carol King Citrus fruit orders will be ready for pick-up at the library on Fri- day evening, Dec. 8, between 7 and 9 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 9, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Cookbooks The bookstore has 70 cookbooks in stock. Ruth Tetschner urges cookbook enthu- siasts to come and browse, for the Habitat ministry. As you men- tioned in the article, Sister Spirit and A Touch of Brass will be performing at Shavertown United Methodist Church on Friday De- cember 8 at 8 p.m. in what prom- ises to be an evening of beautiful music and entertainment for the whole family. The concert is free but an offering to support the work of WVHFH will be taken. As Pick up fruit Friday and themselves or for someone on their holiday gift list. Library gifts Other gift sug- gestions available at the library are miniature (4" x 6") prints, already matted, of the painting which Sue Hand produced at the 2000 Library Auction, @ S15 each; “Entertainment 2001” books, of- fering many discounts, @ $25 each; and two sizes of tote bags with the library logo @ $8 and $5 each. Profits from all sales ben- efit the library. The Holiday Open House will be held at the library on Tuesday, Dec. 19, and Wednesday, Dec. 20, between 1 and 4 p.m. Every- we progress with our building: projects, finishing one home in Nanticoke and working regularly on another at Madison Street, Wilkes-Barre, our need for volun- teers continues. We have been grateful for the tremendous sup- port that we have had in the past, and continue to have, from the Back Mountain community. Any group (religious institution, ser- oneis invited to come and partake of refreshments. Holiday closings The library and the bookstore will be closed on Saturday, Dec. 23, and on Christmas Day; and on Saturday, Dec. 30, and New Year's Eve. Book review The Monday morning reading group recently held a spirited discussion of the book, No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. They found it a very absorbing history of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt on the home front in World War II, schol- arly and so well documented that it could serve as a history text for the era. While the author's politi- vice club, high school etc.) that would like to become involved with Habitat for Humanity or who would like learn more about itsg § ministry is welcome to call me at™ = 675-0488. Morag Michael WVHFH Chair Church Relations Dallas Saturday © cal views are well known, she did a very even-handed job of main- taining impartiality in her ac- count. The group discussed Eleanor’s “spunkiness” and her zeal for human rights in many different arenas (Americans at the time asked, “Who's taking care of the White House?”). The book received high ratings from thos@ present, with a preponderance of 8's and an average of 8.5 out of 10. Children’s story hours will be concluded soon. Please watch the column for announcements of the registration times for the next series of story hours, which will start in January 2001. @ Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post. The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 570-675-5211 Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Ken Brocious ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Elizabeth Skrapits REPORTER Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer Barr OFFICE MANAGER Z| PRINTED WITH PENNSYLVANIA Fs 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 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 artist, 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. 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. 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 119 :S.. Mountain ‘Blvd., Mountaintop PA 18707 Hasay's district encom- passes: Harveys Lake, Leh- man 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 encom- passes: Dallas Borough, Dallas Township except for the north voting district, andgy, * Kingston Township. | | BMBPA P.O..Box 25 Dallas, PA 18612 It's time to renew your membership in the Back Mountain Business & Professional Association If you are already a member, you know the value of belonging to this community-minded organization. If you haven't joined before, you may not know what you've been missing! 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