b The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, January 17, 2002 EDITORIALS Back Mountain treated as a pawn in political chess game In their zeal to solidify a hold on Pennsylvania, Republican lawmakers have decided the Back Mountain has more in common with Hawley than with Wilkes-Barre. While there are measures by which that is true, separating this region from its central city makes no sense, unless you're a politi- cian who cares more about arranging districts to suit your party’s national standing than about social and economic common sense. Yes, the Back Mountain is mostly Republican, and it is largely suburban or rural, like the vast majority of the 10th U.S. Congressional District represented by Don Sherwood. But the Back Mountain's fortunes are linked to the Wyoming Valley, not Montrose or Milford, and removing it from Paul Kanjorski's 11th District cannot be justified by any rational argument. But redistricting isn’t about logic, it’s about politi- cal power. At this moment, the Republicans have that in Pennsylvania, and they have used it to assure dominance of the state’s Congressional delegation, at least for the next 10 years. One Republican official even acknowledged that the latest redrawing of lines was payback for a similar Democrat- ic action after the 1990 Census. Artificial lines of demarcation can’t change the way people live their lives; we won't suddenly begin shopping at a mall in Towanda or going to movies in Honesdale just because those towns are in our district and Wilkes-Barre is not. And we must hope that our new representative will work cooperative- ly with the former one to assure that regional programs aren't harmed by the new arrangement. We've heard a lot about the failure of Northeastern Pennsylvanians to think and be- have as a region rather than a collection of little fiefdoms. It is incumbent upon our political leaders, now that they've se- cured their positions, to show us how people with differing opinions can work together toward common goals. Publisher’s Notebook ie Ell It’s nice to see the facade of the Back Mountain Shopping Center in Shavertown getting some attention. The center, the oldest of its size in the area, hadn't been updated for many, many years. The Back Mountain has changed a lot over time, and it's about time this building caught up. With McCrory's moving out, maybe we'll get some new stores as well. oe “The American people are tired of partisan witch hunts and endless investigations.” Who said it? Not Bill Clinton, at least not the latest time. No, these profound words came from Ari Fleischer, press secretary to President George W. Bush. This was his attempt at stopping the investigation into the Enron crackup. Of course, it was his party that waged endless scandal wars against Bill and Hil in a futile attempt to blunt their popularity. As soon as W entered the Oval Office, I predicted this ad- ministration wouldn't be dogged by sex scandals, but by eco- nomic ones. It was plain to see then, and even more obvious now, that the Bush II White House is much too cozy with big business, especially big energy. It turns out that Enron was- n't so big, but put on a false front that made it appear to be a major player in a brand-new trading scheme that hardly anyone understood. As one Enron executive put it, the com- pany operated in a “regulatory black hole” that no one could penetrate, and thus Wall Street chose to take the company’s word for its amazing performance. If you've ever tried to get a bank to do that: when applying for a loan, you understand how important it is to have friends in high places helping you along. Suspicions are that Enron had friends at the top of the Washington pecking order, and the hubris that engen- ~ dered just made things worse. ooo Speaking of big money, how about that $25 million con- tract Steve Spurrier got from the Washington Redskins. Spurrier, who is the self-appointed genius behind the Uni- versity of Florida football team, took an offer he couldn't refuse from ‘Skins owner Daniel Snyder. Since Spurrier’s new boss was a founder of AOL, he has a seemingly endless pot of money to dip into to get the coach he wants. It didn’t matter that he'd just given the former coach a four-year $10 million contract, then booted him out after a year to get Stev- erino; Snyder didn’t bat an eye at the $7.5 million payoff. With Spurrier the fourth Washington coach in two seasons, it will be interesting to see how long this partnership lasts. Just so you know, Mr. Snyder, I'm available if Steve isn’t up to the job. Heck, at that rate, I'd take a four week contract. (Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER Cgaamunity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALLNEPA 18612 * 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek Timothy J. GENERAL MANAGER imothy J. Raub REPORTER Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Brenda McDonough ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Darlene Sorber Ron and Charlotte Bartizek OFFICE MANAGER PUBLISHERS EMERITUS Stephen Peterson PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1-800-427-8649 Carol King Story hours for 3-to-5-year- olds will start on Wednesday, Feb. 6, and Thursday, Feb. 7. If you haven't already registered your child, you'll be interested in learning that another session has been scheduled for Wednes- u 1 Vl rity fi i ji! Oh, that feels good. One of the herefords at Marianne Karalunas’s farm scratch ed an itch. Photo by Elizabeth Anderson. Children’s story hour session added days from 1 to 2 p.m. The other sessions — Wednesdays from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 10:45- 11:45 a.m., and Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. — are almost full. Call the library at 675-1182 for further information. The first story hour for tod- dlers will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 5, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. That series of sessions has been fully subscribed. Librarian's report: - Martha Butler reports that Christmas parties were held in early De- cember for the four Story Hour groups. Santa (Rick Analunas) again delighted the children with his gentle manner and authentic sleigh bells. The library staff Christmas party was held on Demcember 14 at the Stax restaurant, courtesy of the li- brary’s Board of Directors. Statistics for December in- clude: Total circulation, 4,884; books added, 217; new borrow- ers, 34; and active borrowers, 14,277. Junior Cookbooks: The chil- dren’s library has copies of Ju- nior Chefs and Artists, a cook- book consisting of recipes sub- mitted by Back Mountain chil- dren, on sale for $2 each. The Back Mountain Color and Read Book is available at 50¢ a copy. Display: There is a new dis- play at library which may puzzle you at first, as it did me. I un- derstood the title on my answer- ing machine as “smokers and neck hoppers”. Turned out to be “smokers and nutcrackers,” pre- sented by Mary Gieda. It's a charming display. Come in and learn what “smokers” are. Hint: They are related to nutcrackers. The library is always seeking new displays, If you have one you'd like to share, please call the library at 675-2508. ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - January 15, 1932 DALLAS BOY SCOUTS MAKE FINE ADVANCEMENT The Dallas Boy Scouts who have celebrated their first an- niversary are making are mak- ing wonderful advancement ac- cording by their records at the Court of Honor held at Shaver- town. Some of the boys will re- ceive merit badges for courses completed. Rev. G.E. Ruff of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Shavertown published an article in The Lutheran, a weekly paper of the United Lutheran Church in America. The article which was several pages in length was a re- port of an address made to cler- gyman in a recent meeting in Scranton. 60 Years Ago - January 16, 1942 LEHMAN BOYS TO PLAY WITH ALL STATE BAND Two Lehman High School boys will be in the All-State F.F.A. Band at the Farm Show in Har- risburg. They are Fred Schobert, saxophonist, and Ted Parks, trombonist. The Pennsylvania is the largest indoor farm show in the United States. In a six-round semi-windup bout at Trenton, Tommy Dropchinski, of Newark, former Lehman boxer, lost on a deci- sion to Frank Berzowicz of Tren- ton. Both Newark and Trenton papers acclaimed him as he stepped out into stiffer competi- tion. Epidemic of measles in Idetown and Lehman is slowly leaving the area with no new cases reported. At its peak thirty seven children were absent in the four lower grades. 50 Years Ago - January 18, 1952 JORDAN INVITED TO ASSIST WITH SCHOOL PROGRAM Dr. L.E Jordan, president of Back Mountain Citizens Com- mittee, has received an invita- tion from Roy E. Larsen, chair- man of the National Citizens Commission for the Public Schools and president of Time, Inc., to participate in the Citi- zens Assembly on Education. Dallas topped communities in sixteen counties in turning in the largest community donation on record in the two years of the Bloodmobile’s travels. Dallas had a donation of 120 pints of blood. Commonwealth Telephone Company of Dallas was func- tioning two weeks ahead of schedule. The spacious well- lighted room was completely empty and unfinished a week ‘Clarke Lewis Sr.; ago, but now has more than thirty employees who will be permanently employed in the Dallas area. 40 Years Ago - January 18, 1962 THIRD NEW UNIT OPENS IN DALLAS SHOPPING CENTER Third of the new units to open in the Dallas Shopping Center is Stanton TV & Appliances, for- merly Guyette’s in Trucksville. Warren Stanton is president of the new firm, and a graduate of Dallas High School. The Annual Clothing drive for the needy was successful ac- cording to John Rosser, princi- pal of Dallas Junior High School. Sixty-three bags of used clothing and shoes were distrib- uted. Charles John Young, son of Mr. and Mrs. max Young, Dallas and William Clarke Lewis Jr., son of Mr. and mrs. William Dallas have enlisted in the U.S. Army. Both men have enlisted for the Heavy Construction equipment School. 30 Years Ago - January 27, 1972 IREM TEMPLE ELECTS GEORGE DAVIS POTENTATE George W Davis, a Dallas resi- dent, became the 38th Potentate of Irem Temple. The newly-elect- ed potentate was presented with the most important symbol of the office, the potentate’s fez, by his son, nobel Thomas E. Davis. The appointment of John R. Lenahan, Trucksville, as a regis- tered representative of Wadell & Reed, Inc., national distributor of the Untied Group of mutual funds, has been announced by the firm's headquarters. Mr. Lenahan had been a photoen- graver with Graphic Arts Ser- vices at Wilkes-Barre. Airman John N. Grant, son of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Grant of Dallas, has completed his US Air Force basic training at the Air Training Command's Lack- land AFB, Tex. Grant is a gradu- ate of Lake-Lehman. 20 Years Ago - January 20, 1982 BEVEVINO CO-CHAIRS COLLEGE FUND DRIVE Frank Bevevino, of Dallas, has been named the Campaign co- chairman of the College Miseri- cordia Campaign of 1982 for $270,000. Bevivino will assist Campaign general Chairman, © William Smulowitz, of the Lion, Inc. in the campaign effort. Be- vivino and Smulowitz assisted College Misericordia officials in the kick-off of the event. Donald G. Gunster, son of Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Gunster, Dallas has been named Student of the Month for January. Donald is a senior at Wyoming Seminary. Following graduation, he plans to pursue a career in a science- related field. In the 1982 edition of Who's Who Among Students in Ameri- can Universities and Colleges” 4 Back Mountain students were among those named. They are: Roya Fahmy, Dallas; Maurita Gries, Dallas; Eugene Neary, Hunlock Creek and Larson Ore- hotsky, Dallas. Are you opinionated? The Dallas Post is always pleased to hear from good columnists. If you have what it takes, we can provide a regular fo- rum to write whatever you choose. (Unless it’s libelous or tasteless, of course.) If you are the one person in 1,000 who can express ideas clearly and forcefully, send The Post a letter telling why you want to be a columnist. Mail it to : The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas, PA 18612, or drop it off at our office at 607 Main Road, Dallas (across from Offset Paperback). J )
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers