LZ ARR J Ei ry tol yu aia at 6 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, August 1, 2002 EDITORIAL Property owners, governments must be on their toes as region grows Despite our best efforts, no one has yet been able to dis- guise the messy work that must be done to sustain our mod- ern society and economy. While we like the convenience and value of fast food, some of us are put off by the vast, dirty, smelly farms where cows, chickens and pigs are grown and slaughtered. We enjoy the bargains to be found in clothing stores, even as we object to exploitation of children and women in foreign sweatshops that turn out designer brands. And we wouldn't want to go back to the horse and buggy era, -with its rutted dirt paths, although some of us are forced to put up with the noise, grime and disruption of a quarry or asphalt plant that produces the materials needed for pave- ment. That's the case in Lehman Township, where people who live near Pikes Creek Asphalt and Crushed Stone are sub- jected to lengthy days and nights of blasting and truck traf- fic. Unfortunately for them, that’s a price they must pay so all of us can enjoy the privilege of smooth highways that al- low us to travel in hours to places that only a few genera- tions ago took days to reach. The new owner of the business recently welcomed neigh- bors to a tour of the operations, apparently hoping to blunt some of the complaints leveled against it for loud, long and annoying practices. That was probably a prudent move, and perhaps even a sincere one, but it won't make the critics go away entirely, nor should it. Both the state and Lehman Township have some power to regulate the operations of the quarry to a reasonable degree, and they must look after the interests of neighbors as much as practicable. That doesn’t mean the business can or should be excessively curtailed, only that it be required to meet its obligation to take appro- priate steps to minimize its negative effect on residents. Compounding the problem, zoning maps of the township have been outdated for years, leading at least one family to believe there was a wide buffer area between their property and the quarry. It turned out the maps used by the town- ship, Luzerne County and a realtor were inaccurate, a fact that came to light only when the mining and blasting opera- tions moved closer to their home. That error has been found out, but not before this and other families made a huge in- vestment that may now be compromised. Perhaps if the realtor had been more prudent, or the family more diligent, they wouldn't be in this pickle today. But we'd like to think it’s not necessary that everyone have the in- stincts of Sherlock Holmes when conducting their daily af-. fairs. Times and personalities are changing fast, and Back Mountain communities, even small ones like Lehman Town- ship, are compelled to keep up with large and powerful inter- ests, particularly on matters that affect homes and property, usually people’s most important asset, both financially and personally. Ball field thieves sink low Catch the creep! Or creeps! Someone has decided that the concession stand at the Back Mountain Baseball field is their personal piggy bank, and has broken in to the building four times in the past year. While the amounts of money stolen aren't large — a total of about $1,000 — the victim deserves our assistance to stop the thief. Or thieves. The concession stand is one of the organization's main funding tools, and it is run entirely on volunteer power. Par- _ ents of players donate their time to man the counter, with all proceeds used to support the league’s activities that involve nearly 1,000 children. So, in effect, the thievery is making it harder to sustain this 50+ year old institution that gives kids and families the opportunity to share a summer afternoon at the diamond. If you have any knowledge, or even a suspicion, of who is . behind these crimes, call the Dallas Township Police Depart- - ment at 675-5252 and let them know. $3 . Letters, columns and editorials The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of top- ics 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 car- toonist, 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 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. * 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 li- bel, 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 publica- tion. The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER munity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALLAGIPA 18612 * 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek GENERAL MANAGER Kari L. Wachtel ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Timothy J. Raub REPORTER Claudia Blank . AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Terry Quinn PAGE DESIGN Darlene Sorber OFFICE MANAGER In the scummertime. Pond at Irem Temple Country Club. Photo by Ron Bartizek. LETTERS Accident victim's family thanks those who helped, cared Editor, A special thank you to each and every medic, fire, ambu- lance, life flight, police, parent, clergy, volunteer and friend who The final party in the series of reading programs this summer will be held Friday, August 2, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the chil- dren’s room at the Back Moun- tain Memorial Library. Local artist Leigh Pawling Mathers will give a demonstration of painting. She received her BFA degree ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - July 29, 1932 STERN MOVE TO COLLECT TAXES IS CRITICIZED Dallas borough and school district, through F.M. Gordon, tax collector, took action toward selling a portion of the house- hold goods of two Dallas fami- lies, where housewives have been unable to pay. As a result of the action frequent criticizing of borough officials has been heard. Gardens in Dallas and vicini- ty, were visited by about forty members of Wyoming Valley Garden Club. Among those visit- ed were Frank Martz farm, Mrs. Jerome Marshall, Kunkle, A.L. Stull, and Hayfield farm. At a special meeting of Kingston Township school dis- trict held at Trucksville High School, directors accepted the price set by John Kaschenbach for the site of the new high school and ordered a check for $8,750 drawn in favor of Mr. Kaschenbach. Only Yesterday is com- piled from the back-issue files of The Dallas Post. responded to the accident July 9 at the intersection of Market St. and 118. This is not only a “thank you” for your actions and response but appreciation for all the Children’s reading program final party Aug. 2 | from Wittenburg University in Ohio, and has studied art with Sue Hand in Dallas, in New York City and Vermont, and in Flo- rence, Italy. Her paintings have been displayed in many exhibi- tions, and she has received nu- merous awards. Leigh has a stu- dio, Artfulleigh, at 239 Schuyler Avenue in Kingston;. The party tomorrow will also feature Star Bingo, for prizes, and certificates will be awarded to children who have completed their eight books for the sum- mer. The Old Country Buffet’s “O. C. Bee” will bring cookies, and other refreshments will also be served. New book discussion group forming: The Back Mountain Memorial Library is pleased to 60 Years Ago - July 31, 1942 LOCAL DRAFT BOARD 1 CALLS MORE MEN Draft Board No. 1 at Wyoming has received a call for 65 men to be inducted into the army. Among them are Alan Montross, clerk at Dallas Post Office, Roy Veraaillie, “Mickey Haslinski, proprietor of Fernbrook Inn; Dan Evans, painter, Shavertown; Al- fred Glahn, painter Trucksville, and Ralph Finnen, accountant. Howell E. Rees, former editor ot The Post, and now a publicity man in the Bahama Islands, is stationed at the New Cumber- land induction center where he will be interviewed on a State- wide radio hook-up. Harold C. Thompson, son of Mrs. Gladys Thompson, Dallas, received his commission as Sec- ond Lieutenant. 50 Years Ago - August 8, 1952 LITTLE LEAGUERS TO SEE SERIES IN WILLIAMSPORT Back Mountain Little League Al-Stars deprived of their chance to play in Williamsport in the semi-finals by their defeat at the hands of St. Therese’s, will go to Williamsport to see the Little League World Series. Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Com- pany were called out to a fire at Dallas Dairy, ignited by an over- heated smoke-pipe. Very little damage was done. The Trucksville Mill Poultry Shop, owned by Stanley Moore, prayers and decisions which. helped all the individuals in- volved. Matthew and each of the passengers are at home and re- covering and thanks to your help are able to join us in thank- announce that “Life “Stories,” a new book discussion series, will meet in the Community Room at the library, 96 Huntsville Road, Dallas, starting on Monday, Sep- tember 9, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The discussion leader will be Dr. Rebecca Steinberger, Assistant Professor of English at College Misericordia. The September se- lection is “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt. The three additional books in the series are: “When I Was Puerto Rican,” by Esmerelda Santiago, October 7; “Miriam's Kitchen: A Memoir,” by Elizabeth Ehrlich, November 4; “Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster,” by Jon Krakauer, Decenber 9. All sessions are conducted was robbed of $16.55 in change. This was the fourth time in 15 years that Mr. Moore's shop has been broken into, and the first time Mr. Moore had insurance. 40 Years Ago -August 2, 1962 BACK MOUNTAIN ALL-STARS WIN REGIONAL TITLE, 10-1 Ed Dubil’s home run; Kern's one-hit ball and the base run- ning of Ken Jones were big fac- tors in the All Stars copping their first District Champi- onship. The crowd that attended was estimated at 1,500. Harry White, Dallas, top elimi- nator in Forty Fort Airport dra- graces for the last three years, registered the fastest time in his D & H Automotive Special with 115.61 miles per hour. Some of the items you could get at the A & P Supermarket were: apple pie, 39¢; pound cake 15-0z, 39¢; raisin bread, 1- Ib. loaf, 25¢; Eight O'Clock cof- fee, 1 Ib bag, 55¢; eggs, 2 doz. 79%. 30 Years Ago - July 27, 1972 PRISONERS CALL STRIKE Appproximately 600 inmates at State Correctional Institution, Dallaa, remained in their cells and refused to go to their as- signed work for the day. During a part of the negotiation, Supt. Leonard J. Mack had agreed to 10 oimmediate demands made by an eight-man “Resident Peace Committee” which represented the population. American Asphalt Paving * Company, ing you for the special care re- X=} B ceived. Matthew and The Feehan family Sweet Valley | from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Members °'@ | i | 1 the group will receive free copies of all the books. They must ¢om- mit themselves to reading all | four titles and participating in | all the meetings. “Life Stories” is part of “Read About It,” a new book discussion series developed by the Pennsyl- | vania Humanity Council, with support from the National En- dowment for the Humanities. Registration is limited to 30. | For further information, and to@ | register for the series, call the li- brary at 675-1182. New displays needed: If you have a collection that you think | will be of interest to library pa- trons, please call the library and make arrangements to display it in the case at the library. Chase, has. been awarded 20 contracts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a total of $822080.40. The local concerns contracts were let for post-flood cleanup, repairing of breaches in the = river dikes.and repairing a bridge in the Back Mountain. Disaster forces will be at work for as long as two years in some | areas flooded by Hurricane Agnes. One of the hardest hit ar- eas is the Wyoming Valley, where entire cities went under water as the Susqhehanna river reached a record 41-foot flood level. 20 Years Ago - July 28, 1982 | KILLEEN SAYS $43,000 NET It will be several months be- fore the Library Auction Com- mittee will know the exact amount of net profit raised dru- ing the 1982 auction but Gener- al Chairman Joe Killeen expects ti to be approximately $43,000. Back Mountain police depart- ments are planning the pur- chase of a breathalizer machine in the near future. Kingston Township has applied for a De- partment of Transportation Highway Safety grant to pay for the machine and accompanying equipment, which will cost in the neighborhood of $5,500. Marine Staff Sgt. Janine M. Reese, daughter of Thomas M. and Lorraine J. Reese of Box 77, Rt. 7, Shavertown, has been promotee to her present rank while serving at the Marine Corps Logisitcs Base, Barstow, California. RR EES mere 5 ! |
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers