6 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday,May 16, 2002 EDITORIAL Township’s record of excellence is at risk It's not clear what the cause is, but the operation of Kingston Township government has changed radically in the past few months, with the result that this formerly exem- plary institution is consistently in the news for less than laudatory reasons. The latest incident may be the most seri- ous, with the assistant township manager charging the Board of Supervisors with a variety of improprieties, among them rewriting the requirements for the open township man- ager’s position after she had applied for it. The revised edu- cational requirement effectively shut her out of considera- tion, despite two years of experience, including several months as acting manager. This allegation follows passage of an ill-advised ordinance waiving permit fees for churches and an appointment process for two supervisor vacancies that, if not illegal, cer- tainly raised troubling questions about the process. Three of the current supervisors had no hand in any of this, but are stepping into a climate of distrust and skepti- cism not of their making. Perhaps they are in the best posi- tion to lead the township out of this brief era of darkness and back to its former status as an open, progressive com- munity. Good teaching and eager learning pay dividends Once again, a bevy of Lake-Lehman High School students have impressed judges at the Pennsylvania National History Day competition. Six of 19 Lake-Lehman students finished in the top six in their categories, with Jared Salla finishing first with his individual exhibit. The student contingent was led by A.P. History instructor John Comitz, who was honored with the National History Day Teacher of Merit Award, which would appear to be well- deserved given the record his students have posted in recent years. Salla will be making his second trip to the national competition in June, hoping to match or exceed the perfor- mance of a student group in 2000 who placed second na- tionally. We are pleased to add our voice to those singing the prais- es of this outstanding teacher and his students. They prove that great teaching can make a difference, and that today’s high school students can meet challenges as well as any who have come before them. Publisher’s Notebook Ron Bartizek Perhaps nothing better summarizes our 21st century American lifestyle than the annual cleanups sponsored by local municipalities. Spend a few hours viewing the proces- sion of minivans and pickup trucks that arrive stuffed with the detritus of modern life and you can’t help but come to some not-so-startling conclusions: * We have way too much stuff. If we can toss out dozens of toys, furnishings and assorted other remnants of daily life each year, perhaps we shouldn't have bought them all in the first place. * Maybe we have more money than brains. A decent per- centage of the articles that show up in the dumpsters are used and worn, but easily repairable. It must be fiscally painless for us to replace them instead. * Or, maybe there aren’t any repairmen. ¢ Cheap lawnmowers don't last. Just look at the lineup each spring, and you'll see what I mean. Ditto for cheap bicycles. I must confess that these criticisms apply to our family. It's amazing how much junk (and maybe not junk, just stuff we're bored with) we cart to the cleanup each year, although I've noticed that as the kids get older there are fewer broken toys to discard. Instead, closets bulge with once-worn cloth- ing that may have a better chance at a second life than a ragged teddy bear. When I was young, at the very beginning of the consump- tion binge that has lasted 50 years, we didn’t throw out old toys, in part because we didn’t have many. As I recall, the ones we did have were better made, like the set of wooden blocks now in an upstairs closet that have stood the test of time and generations with barely a scratch. Or maybe I just didn’t notice, since in those ancient days we made a weekly trip to the dump instead of hoarding damaged goods in the basement for a year, counting the days until cleanup week arrived. Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALL A 18612 « 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek GENERAL MANAGER William J. Dunn Jr. ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Timothy J. Raub REPORTER Ruth Proietto AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Terry Quinn PAGE DESIGN Darlene Sorber OFFICE MANAGER A Ra Sa An old barn in Kunkle appears to have received the Salvador Dali treatment. Photo by Ron Bartizek. LETTERS Together, Scouts and you made food collection a success Editor, Wow, what can be achieved when we work together! Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts through- out Northeastern Pennsylvania wish. to thank everyone who helped make Scouting For Food such a huge success. Food pantries across the region are better prepared to meet the needs of hungry families thanks to the Scouts’ efforts. According to preliminary re- ports from all involved, 5,386 Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and 27 area companies in nine coun- ties collected and donated ap- proximately 297,000 pounds of food to 72 food pantries and soup kitchens throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. In ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - May 13, 1932 HUGH RANSOM WINS OBERLIN COLLEGE HONORS Hugh Ransom of Dallas, is one of the students taking part in the Democratic Mock Conven- tion to be held at Oberlin Col- lege. Ransom, a senior in Ober- lin will be a member of the dele- gation from texas. At the A & P Stores some of the items you could get: butter 3 lbs, 59¢; peanut butter 1 Ib. jar, 10¢; grapefruit 2 cans, 19¢; cheese 1 1b., 17¢; salad dressing pt. jar, 15¢; grape juice pt bot, 10¢. Arguments for and against the creation of Shavertown borough will be debated at the meeting of Mt. Grenwood Kiwanis club. 60 Years Ago - May 15, 1942 HORSE-AND-BUGGY-DAYS RETURN TO BACK MOUNTAIN FOR MEMORIAL DAY Dozens of persons who haven't ridden in a horse-drawn buggy for twenty years will pack basket Welsh Cookie and Soup Sale on Election Day A Welsh cookie and homemade soup sale will be held on Election Day at the Franklin Township Fire Hall. Choice of soup is vegetable beef or chicken noodle at $3.50 a quart. The Welsh cookies are $2.50 a dozen. Orders may be placed by calling 333-4286, 333- 4480, or 333-4493 by May 14. Pick-up will be Election Day at the fire hall on Orange Road. The project is sponsored by the women of the Orange United Methodist Church. short, Scouting For Food is a great example of the power of partnership in action. Our com- munities benefit by working to- gether to produce this “good turn.” A very special thank you goes to our Scouting For Food Chair and the leader of this collabora- tive effort; Scouting - enthusiast Denise Cesare; “President ~and CEO of Blue Cross of Northeast- ern Pennsylvania. We continue to appreciate Denise's personal involvement and corporate sup- port that inspires and challenges the Scouts, volunteers, and par- ticipating companies to act. We must also note the dedicated support of many Blue Cross em- ployees who led by example. Numerous other partners played an important role and we hope they know they are appre- ciated: United Way, the Commis- sion on Economic Opportunity, WBRE-TV and WYOU-TV, and Wendy's Restaurants. We are also grateful to the 27 of the re- _gion’s businesses and corpora- “tions that joined the Scouts and “ieollected food at their facilities. Thanks goes out to the count- less dedicated volunteers who guided the boys’ and girls’ efforts and to the generosity of thou- sands of folks throughout North- eastern Pennsylvania who do- nated food items to help feed their neighbors in need. What a great partnership! Scouting For Food is a won- derful example of the great things young people can do when their communities support them. We firmly believe projects like Scouting For Food introduce young people and families to the important lifelong lesson of com- munity service. We all benefit from programs like this, ‘now and well into the future: Thank ® Ce Ee of you again. Barbara Naranche Scout Executive, Penn’s Woods Girl Scout Council Ethan Draddy, Executive Director, Northeastern PA Council,” Boy Scouts of America lunches and drive to the old- fashioned patriotic program at Lehman on Memorial Day, be- hind a team of horses. As a result of some communi- ty leaders, special bus service for residents of Lehman, Hutsville an other settlements along the Hillside-Outlet Road was tentatively approved. Seventeenth anniversary of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Shavertown was observed. St. Paul's Lutheran Church was or- ganized May 10, 1925. 50 Years Ago - May 16, 1952 AUCTION KICK-OFF DINNER ATTRACTS CROWD OF 300 A crowd of nearly three hun- dred devotees of the annual Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary Auction thronged past a replica of the Auction Block. The anual Kick-Off Dinner was a huge success. Two hundred and thirty-three boys have been officially signed up for the coming Back Moun- tain Little League season which will begin with a parade at S. Main St. Shavertown. The resignation of Harold G. Payne, vice-president and gener- al manager of Commonwealth Telephone Company, was an- nounced. A three manual Moeller pipe organ had been given to the Church of the Prince of Peace by Andrew J. Sordoni. The pipe or- ganas previously installed in 1920 in the Wilkes-Barre Elks Club. 40 Years Ago - May 17, 1962 ELEANOR RODDA HEADS LOCAL PTA COUNCIL Mrs. Paul Rodda succeded Atty. Enoch Thomas as head of Back Mountain PTA Council which included representation from Dallas Schools and Lake- Lehman. The new Lake-Lehman High School took form at Lehman. The second major educational building project in the Back Mountain area within recent years. The building was de- signed by Roushey, Samith and Miller. General Contractor is Raymon R. Hedden. Donald D. Smith, West Dallas, member of the firm of Roushey, Smith and Miller, engineers and architects, was installed as vice president of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers at its Convention in Hershey. 30 Years Ago - May 15, 1972 DALLAS DISTRICT BUDGET REDUCES MILLAGE RATE A proposed budget of $3,546,169 was approved by Dallas School District Board of School Directors, with a tax rate of 58 mills on real estate. This represents a four-mill reduction in the real estate tax, which is the primary source of local rev- enue. The Dallas Kiwanis Club cele- brated 45 years of service to the Back Mountain area with a black tie dinner dance at Irem Tmeple Country Club. Dallas ended its 1972 track season the same way it started, with two defeats, but finished with a 6 and 5 overall record, and collected the Class B Jor- dan Relays title. 20 Years Ago - May 12, 1982 JACKSON TWP. TO BUY NEW AMBULANCE The Jackson Twp. Volunteer Ambulance Association is preparing to purchase a new ambulance and the people of that community have come forth with the financial help. The as- sociation recently ended its an- nual membership and fund dri- ve and reported that 282 con- tributors gave a total of $6,192 toward the new vehicle. Dallas Lions President Frank Rollman presented a check for $300 to Patrick Sheridan, direc- tor of the Wyoming Valley Chap- ter of American Diabets Associa- tion and Douglas Lare, volunteer of ADA. The check is to sponsor two local youngsters to Camp Louise, a camp for diabetics, near Berwick. Three area Lions Clubs rank high in standings, released by District 14-H Governor Conrad Mayeski. Gold division went to Lake Silkworth, blue division, Kingston Township and Dallas. Borough evaluating Crime Watch Dallas Borough residents interested in orga- nizing a neighborhood crime watch patrol pro- gram are asked to contact the Dallas Borough Police Department at 675-0161 or the Dallas Borough administrative office at 675-1389. - Upon evaluation of the level of interest the Borough will announce a date for a general community meeting.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers