The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, December 13, 2001 EDITORIALS Thankfully, DEP is better at cleanup than public relations People who live near the American Asphalt facility in Jack- son Township are upset that the state Department of Envi- ronmental Protection (DEP) took an inordinate amount of time before notifying them of the presence of a chemical cont- aminant in wells both on an off the property. They have a le- gitimate beef with the agency regarding its failure to commu- nicate, but that shouldn't obscure the message that contami- nation levels never were considered harmful and are rapidly decreasing. It's understandable that people are concerned about poten- tial health dangers, particularly in the absence of consistent information. It's not as though DEP has ignored those con- cerns, just that the agency has neglected to actively distrib- ute test data and background information to neighbors of the plant. Fortunately, the agency has done a creditable job of searching out and monitoring the chemical, as it did up Chase Road when gasoline spilled from a ruptured pipeline. The result is that contamination, which never exceeded ac- ceptable levels, is dropping and in many cases is on track to fall below detectability over the next few years. Even with that assurance, it’s reasonable to expect that DEP officials will be more careful to keep information flowing to those who are affected. Police, township can do better in negotiations Surely the Dallas Township supervisors and the union that represents police officers can reach a reasonable settlement of the present contract dispute if they set their minds to it. That's assuming each side accepts that its definition of rea- sonable may not match the other's. According to reports, the officers want an immediate 15 percent raise that would bring them up to par with Kingston Township pay levels. The supervisors’ response has been to make a “take it or leave it” offer of 3 percent. It’s hard to be- lieve either side believes their hard line will hold up if the dis- pute goes to arbitration, but perhaps each fears giving: in more than an outside party would demand. That means one side is likely to be severely disappointed with whatever con- tract an arbitrator recommends, and perhaps both will be. A protracted dispute could add to an already strained rela- tionship between township officials and their police officers, and undermine public confidence in both. That is an out- come more costly than a few dollars either way. Publisher’s Notebook Perhaps you've come across the story of grade inflation at our nation’s most esteemed institution of higher learning, Harvard University. If you haven't, here are the highlights: About half of all the grades handed out at Harvard last year were A- or better, and 91 percent of the class of 2000 gradu- ated with honors of one sort or another. What, you may be thinking, does this have to do with me, or you, since neither of us graduated at the top of our high school classes or scored 1600 on the SAT. (If you did, please skip to last paragraph.) Well, let's bring this down to the real world level. Most of us have jobs, and this is the time of year that our bosses present evaluations and wage recommenda- tions, right? And I'd venture a guess that most of us think were in the top half of our “class” in terms of job perfor- ‘mance. After all, those early morning meetings and late nights on the computer ought to count for something. You can probably see where I'm going (you'd better, if you think you're in the top half); we all deserve an A, which of course translates into a nice raise, or at least, in today’s cli- mate, a job for another year. Some people are concerned about this grade inflation thing; they worry that students are being cut some slack just be- cause they're good enough to be accepted into a school like Harvard. Others blame it on a system in which students grade teachers, so any professor handing out Cs must be a masochist of the first order, or else too dumb to continue teaching at Harvard. Me, I think it's the parents who are the target - as the say- ing goes, “follow the money.” I figure every one-tenth of a GPA point probably adds $1,000 to the old endowment, proving that Harvard really does understand the real world. QQ: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER Cgmunity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALL A 18612 ¢ 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek Heather B. GENERAL MANAGER eather B. Jones REPORTER Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Brenda McDonough ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Darlene Sorber OFFICE MANAGER Ron and Charlotte Bartizek PUBLISHERS EMERITUS Stephen Peterson PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1-800-427-8649 It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Photo by Ron Bartizek. ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - Dec. 11, 1931 SISTERS OF MERCY CELEBRATE CENTENARY The centenary = of their founder is being celebrated by Sisters of Mercy throughout the word this week. At College Misericordia the centenary cel- ebration began. Bishop Thomas C. O'Reilly D.D. of the Scranton Diocese will be pre- sent at the Solemn High Mass observing the hundredth an- niversary of the founding of the Order. The second season of the rural league was opened at Meridian Hall with a good sized crowd. “Red” Swartz was introduced. as the new presi- dent. The opening game be- tween Dallas and Beaumont started right out to give the type of game that has always featured in the league. At the Himmler Theatre some of the shows that played were: Get Rich Quick New Wallingford, with = William Haines; The Star Witness with Walter Huston; Side Show with Winnie Lightner; and Alias The Bad Man starring Ken May- nard. 60 Years Ago - Dec. 12, 1941 TWO DALLAS BOYS LEAVE FOR FORT MEADE Two Dallas boys and one Trucksville man were among thirteen selectees under the jurisdiction of Draft Board No. I}, Wyoming, who left for Ft. George Meade, Maryland. They are: Joseph Maculis, Dallas; Richard Peter Williams, Dallas and Donald M. Gabel, Trucksville. In addition to its work of training youths in the metal trades for National Defense, Dallas Township Defense Schools assisting local farmers by repairing all kinds of farm machinery as another phase of its national defense effort. The central office of Com- monwealth Telephone Compa- ny in Dallas has noticed an in- creased volume of telephone traffic since the attack by Japan on Sunday. During Sunday afternoon and evening all lines were loaded, with a continued surge of calls reach- ing their peak on Tuesday morning. 50 Years Ago - Dec, 14, 1951 OPEN INSURANCE OFFICE IN DALLAS Arthur and Ernest Gay will open their new Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance office in the Garinger Building on Lake Street. Mr. Gay and his son have been associated with the Farm Bureau companies for the past several years and had . recently maintained their office in Luzerne. At Flannigan Furniture in Dallas, some of the items you could purchase were: U.S. Koylin foam mattress, $89.50; bed springs, $69.50; Koylon pillow, $9.95; white-porcelain top-bread drawer, 934.95; knee hole desk, mahogany, $49.95. On display at the Back Mountain Library, under glass, are a collection of out-dated Christmas post cards. Miss Miriam Lathrop, Librarian, says that the most popular card with children is one from 1908, which shows a picture of Santa Claus and his pack in the driver's seat of an automo- bile. 40 Years Ago - Dec. 14, 1961 BESECKER BUYS BUSINESS PROPERTIES ON MAIN ST. James Besecker, Dallas real- tor has purchased two vacant business properties Viola Mor- rett, Kunkle, located on Main Street, Dallas. The properties include the former Jewelry Store Building and the build- ing formerly owned by Hislop’s Market. Rev. William McClelland, pastor of Prince of Peace Epis- copal Church for the past nine years, has presented his resig- nation to the Vestry in order to accept a call to St. David's Parish in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Dallas Senior High basket- ball squad brought its exhibi- tion record to 2 wins against 1 loss by downing West Pittston at home with a score of 65057. Coach Clint Brobst used his starting five all the way for the second straight game. Lynn lewis, 30 Years Ago - Dec. 16, 1971 DALLAS BOROUGH GETS NEW DODGE POLICE CAR A 1972 police cruiser was delivered to Dallas Borough Police Department. James Richardson, representing L.L. Richardson, Dallas Dodge au- tomobile dealer, officially pre- sented the cruiser’s keys to po- lice committee Chairman William Berti and borough Mayor Stephen Hartman in ceremonies at the municipal building. Many months of practice and competition in county and dis- trict shows paid off for a num- ber of county 4-H members when they won awards at the State 4-H Horse and Pony Show in Harrisburg. They are: Shavertown and Jerry McDonald, Wyoming. The annual Christmas Madrigal dinner hailed the hol- iday season on the College Misericordia campus. Merrick Hall was transformed into an old English Great Hall of the 16th century, Shields and de- vices, garlands of fresh green- ery, red tapers and brightly be- decked Christmas trees cap- tured the attention of the 225 guests which attended. 20 Years Ago - Dec. 9, 1981 ‘ST. FRANCIS CABRINI CHURCH BREAKS GROUND Ground was broken for an addition to St. Frances X. Cabrini R.C. Church in Carver- ton. Taking part in the ceremo- ny were members of the parish, together with Jason Prokopchak and Chris Lushes- ki, altar boys; Mrs. Mary Miko- laichik, Rev. Father Hugh Mc- Groarty, pastor and members of the church. The State Emergency Man- agement Agency has approved a $13,500 loan to aid Kingston Township Ambulance Associa- tion, according to Senator Frank J. O'Connell, R-20 and Representative Frank Coslett, R-120. The loan will be used to aid volunteer fire, rescue, and ambulance squads who wish to upgrade their equipment. The Boy Scouts of America recently bestowed the Silver Beaver Award (Scouting High- est Local Adult Award) upon Robert Schooley, Dallas. Mr. Schooley, an Eagle Scout, has contributed to the Scouting program for over twenty years. Memorial books added The Back Mountain Memorial Library announces the addition of new memorial books. In memory of Ruth Foley, “Un- common Clay” by Margaret Maron, presented by Audrey Ide. In memory of Ruth Foley, “Death on the Downs” by Simon Brett, presented by Alpha Rho Chapter Delta Kappa Gamma. In memory of Ruth Foley, “Fleeced” by Carol Higgins Clark, presented by Elin M. Northrup. In memory of Ruth Foley, “Flowers A to Z” by Cecelia Hef- fernan, presented by Mrs. Car- olyn Foran, Mrs. Bradford Kin- ney & Mrs. John Turner. In memory of Ruth Foley, “The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis” selected & in- troduced by Caroline Kennedy, presented by Betsy, Ed, Ned & Scott Stankus. In memory of Ruth Foley, “My Favorite Things” by Wendy Beckett, presented by Arno and Donna Miller. In memory of Ruth L. Foley, “The Art and Craft of Pounding Flowers” by Laura C. Martin, presented by Betty Emery. In memory of Ruth L. Foley, “Suspicion of Vengeance” by Barbara Parker, presented by Jack & Mary Williams. In memory of Anne Yonkiondy, “Cooking the Italian Way” by Alphonse Bisignano, presented by Harry and Debbie Cooper. In memory of:Aine McDowell Goeringer, “Cooking the French Way” by Lynn Marie Waldee, presented by Eileen McDowell. In memory of Joseph E. Fay, “Shades of Blue” by Martin W. Bowman, presented by Carol Crawford. In memory of Irene Mappes, “Complete Novels” by Carson McCullers, presented by Pat, Joe and Michelle Zikor. In memory of Sylvia Solinsky, “No Greater Love” by Mother Teresa, presented by Cathy Moss. In memory of Mimi and Elmer Phillips, “This Cold Heaven: sev- en seasons in Greenland” by Gretel Ehrlich, presented by Joe Welgos. i In memory of Elwood Sheldon, “Fundamental Tennis” by Marc Miller, presented by Michael E. Daly. In memory of Ruth Foley, “Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook: by Dawn J. Ranck, presented by Herb and Charlotte Levy. In memory of Hilda Frey, “Changing Stages” by Richard Eyre and Nicholas Wright, pre- sented by Mary Ann and Don Hopkins. HONOR BOOKS : In honor of Judy Roeder, “Marsupial Sue” by John Lith- gow, presented by Lacey Cooper. In honor of Judy Roeder, “A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton” by Steven Kellogg, presented by Lacey Cooper. In honor of the 45th Anniver- sary of Tobi and Howard Gross- man, “Philadelphia and its Countryside” by Ruth Hoover Seitz, presented by Dreher, Davis and Niskey Families. Holiday deadlines Due to the Christmas and New Year's holidays, the dead- line for all contributed news items, photos and classified _ and display advertising for the December 27 and January 3 issues of The Dallas Post will be 5 p.m. the Friday prior to the publication date. Delivery of subscriber and newsstand copies will not be changed. Winter parking rules for Kingston Twp. Kingston Twp. Police reminds residents that the Township Winter Parking Ordinance is ef- fective Nov. 1, and runs through March 31, 2002. Under this or- dinance residents are prohibited from parking vehicles on town- ship streets between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily. Ve- hicles are not permitted to be parked on township streets dur- ing snow storms or for eight hours after the end of a storm. Residents with questions about the ordinance may contact Po- lice Chief James Balavage at 696-1175. L nh AY BY red ed TR ed pond oY pf (WIS OE Tune Tarr | a rue hee TYTN ¢)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers