4 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA January 17, 2001 EDITORIALS Planners correct to recommend tower rejection The Kingston Township Planning Commission, which deserves credit for simply staying awake through a series of meetings about a proposed wireless communications tower, earns more praise for recommending that the township's supervisors reject the application of Nextel Communications for permission to put up the tower in a residential zone. Now it is up to the supervisors to decide whether or not to accept that recommendation. While there seems little doubt that on principle the tower should be rejected, practical considerations might intervene. Nextel and other large concerns have deep pockets with which to appeal decisions they don't like, as they did with a prior application in the township. It can be expensive for municipalities to defend their position in litigation that could last for years. In this case, it’s just as likely residents opposed to the tower will appeal a decision in Nextel’s favor, which perhaps removes the threat of subsequent legal action as a factor. We urge the Kingston Township supervisors to require that Nextel conform to the township’s ordinances, just as any other business or individual would be expected to do. Through intent or error, the company’s application for the tower did not meet minimum standards for accuracy, and its plan falls outside the bounds of the township's zoning ordi- nance. Publisher's notebook A lot has changed in our region in recent years, and one of the most striking differences between then and now was brought home while searching for a place to grab dinner after a ski outing at Montage. I and three fellow sliders aged 11 to 14 were famished after a day on the slopes, so we began to look for a restaurant not long after heading off the mountain just after 5 p.m. We stopped at one “family dining” spot after another, only to find the parking lots jammed and people standing ten deep waiting for tables. And this was all before 6 p.m.! Our quest ended in Dallas, where we found a table, but a quick call home revealed that dinner was waiting there. Boy, was I glad I made that call! Anyway, this got me to thinking about how our eating habits have changed, at least in terms of where we stuff our faces. When we came to northeastern PA, not so many years ago, Mark II, Franklin's and Elby’s competed with a smatter- ing of fast food spots. They co-existed with the established fine dining places, many of which still serve up fancy meals worth a trip out. A few years later, it was as if a flashing red arrow suddenly pointed at this area, at least in the offices of restaurant chains, and a wave of similar dining rooms flooded in, most with memorabilia nailed to the walls and menus that shared so many cute listings you might think they were cribbed from a food preparation test at LCCC. But how can this be? We're told people are leaving the area, and incomes here are lower than the national average, yet it seems if they build a dozen new restaurants, we will come to spend our hard-earned cash on mediocre but generous portions of ribs, steaks, pasta, deep-fried onions and other assorted mid-priced servings. I'll admit to enjoy eating out as much as the next guy, but there must be a limit. How we can afford all this may be a mystery, but the explosion in restaurants here and across the country provides a clue to another puzzle — the cause of the expanding Ameri- can waistline. Is it a coincidence that the more we eat out, the more we must fight the battle of the bulge? I don’t think so, especially after dragging myself to the car following a full meal at any of these tempting spots. 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: * 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. * 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 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. The Dallas Post TIMES@LEADER COMSUNITY NEWSPAPER GROUP P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA"18612 » 570-675-5211 Julie Imel EDITOR Elizabeth Skrapits REPORTER Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Ken Brocious ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Ronald and Charlotte Bartizek PUBLISHERS EMERITUS Stephen Peterson PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1-800-427-8649 4 Pd red s : a i Winter hibernation at Harveys Lake. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. (0 Jl I 4 YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - Jan. 16, 1931 ICE SHIPMENTS INCREASE LOCAL FREIGHT TRAFFIC Ice harvest at the Stull Dams at Mountain Springs is now at its height, the ice being about 12 inches thick. The work of cutting ans storing the ice is furnishing employment to a large number of men, who have gone from this region to the dams for the remain- der of the season. Most of the ice now being cut is being loaded into cars and shipped out immediately as the cold weather is ideal for the transportation of ice to city ice houses. The increase of freight traffic on the Bowman's Creek branch of the Lehigh Valley has necessitated the addition of an- other freight train to the branch line and ice shipments are also being made on Sunday. The following article of the death of Macy S. Hoover, a former resi- dent of Dallas, who died in Twin Falls, Idaho, on December 5, was written specially for The Dallas Post by the Editor of the Twin Falls Daily News. Mr. Hoover was a former pupil of Prof. Frank Morris, of Dallas. Macy S. Hoover, 55, founder and owner of the Gregg Business Colege, Twin Falls, and for many years an outstanding figure in the field of commercial education in Western States, died atthe county general hospital here at 10 o'clock on the night of De- cember 5, within three hours after he was suddenly stricken and col- lapsed on the walk on Sixth Av- enue near the high school build- ing. More than 3,000 students have graduated from his school since it was established here 12 hears ago. He was born near Dallas, Pennsylvania, and at- tended the schools there. 60 Years Ago - Jan. 16, 1941 INFLUENZA RAVAGES LEH- MAN, IDETOWN Physicians through the Back Mountain area worked long hours this week particularly in the Leh- man, Idetown and Meeker regions where influenza and grippe struck scores of homes. Dallas, Kingston Township and Centermoreland were apparently little affected with schools reporting no more than usual number of absentees, but in Lehman shools more than 25% of the students and four teachers were out because of illness either from grippe or influenza. There were also four cases of chicken pox and one of scarlet fever. H. Austin snyder, supervising princi- pal asked Dr. W. F. Davidson, County Medical Director, to make a check of the schools and help to combat the epidemic. Pellets from Christmas air rifles have broken windows and auto- mobile windshields of so many citizens that Chief Walter Covert has issued a warning against shooting such guns within the Borough limits. Chief Covert calls attention to a Borough ordinance which restricts the use of Flobort guns and provides a penalty. 50 Years Ago - Jan. 19, 1951 FFA MEMBERS WIN PRIZES Frank Rozinski and Abe Slater were awarded State Keys for their individual efforts in safety at the state FFA Assocation convention. Lake Township High School, under the sponsorship of the Com- mercial Club, issued its first offi- cial newspaper, produced by mim- eograph in red and green ink, with appropriate ceremony in the chapel exercises just before Christmas. A contest for selection of a name for the publication is now in progress. The newspaper is the first major project of the school, other than the yuearbook, and is supervised by a joint faculty committee con- sisting of Mrs. Carrie Rood, David Davis and Miss Bettie Sullivan, teacher of English and Commer- cial subjects. Mrs. LeVan Beisel counted 40 ducks on White Lake in Lehman. 40 Years Ago - Jan. 19, 1961 LIBRARY GAINS 1,500 BOR- ROWERS DURING THE YEAR Fifteen hundred persons be- came new borrowers at Back Mountain Memorial Library dur- ing 1960 . Miriam Lathrop, librar- ian, told Directors of the Asociation at their January meeting Tuesday night in the Library Annex. She also commented on the increasing use of library facilities by students home on vacation and having term papers to write. Mr. and Mrs. F. Gordon Mathers, Knob Hill, have deeded all of the land on the east side of Carverton Road used by Trucks- ville Fire Company to the Fire Com- pany. Atty. James L. Brown and John T. Jeter contributed their services toward running the llines searching the title and preparing the deed. Eleven College Misericordia stu- dents will do practice teaching this term in Dallas Schools. Among them is Marilyn Carr, who has been teaching French I to ninth grade students. 30 Years Ago - Jan. 21, 1971 HIGH SCHOOL BEGINS CON- SUMER EDUCATION A pilot program in consumer education recommended in No- vember by the President's Com- mittee on Consumer Interess will be introduced at Lake-Lehman High School . The innovative pro- gram, to be funded by a $9,337 grant provided by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was approved at the regular monthly meeting of the Lake Lehman Schoo® ® Board. Anthony Marchakitus. assistant supervising principal and program coordinator at Lake Leh- man, recommended that an 80- day “splash” program be iniated in grades one through nine, with 2 three teacher team providing in- struction for small groups of chil- dren. The Dallas Hardware Store. closed for over a year since the illness of former owner James Hutchinson, will re-open undei new management. Located or Main Street, the hardware store has been incorporated under the name of Dallas Hardware Inc., anc is owned by Harrry C. Roat, 2 resident of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Roa is affiliated with Roat Suppply Co.. Kingston. The building which houses Dallas Hardware has beer’ part of the Dallas landscape for years. Prior to Mr. Hutchinson's buying it 11 years ago, the’ store housed Ray Daring’s Market. 20 Years Ago - Jan. 22, 1981 PG&W CO. MAY TAP LAKE There is a possibility that Har- veys Lake will have to be used as 2 source of drinking water if current drought conditions do not casegy According to Gerald Taylor, vice- president for operations and engi- neering at the Pennsylvania Gas and Water Co. in Wilkes Barre, his firm will have to consider asking for permission to draw water from Harveys Lake if the drought holds and water rationing is institurec but does not ease the water short- age sufficiently. Dallas School District tax co! lectors had theirincome cut while members of the Dallas Service Personnel Association have inked out a 2-year contract with the board. Members of the Dallas School Service Personnel Associa- tion, a bargaining unit represent- ing maintenance, custodians, most secretaries, housekeepers, and one groundskeeper have hammered out a new 2-year contract. LEGISLATORS DIRECTORY State Officials State Senator Charles D. Lemmond (Republican) (717) 675-3931 e-mail: smurphy @pasen.gov 22 Dallas Shopping Cir., 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 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 Blvd., 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. Federal Officials Representative Paul E. Kanjorski Send letters to the editor at dalpost@epix.net Pick up your copy of Wyoming Valley Proud People, Proud History featuring hundreds of historic photographs contributed by community organizations, businesses and families who have helped shape the history of our region. at the office of The Dallas Post, 607 Main Rd., Dallas $39.99 + tax (Democrat) Wilkes-Barre: 825-2200 Washington: (202) 225-6511 e-mail: paul.kanjorski@ hr.house.gov # 400M, 7 N. Wilkes-Barre Blvd.g 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 0) 120 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 i A i UI LP a ah
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers