The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday,August 22, 2002 EDITORIAL | Each of us has a place in battle against drug use “Say no” didn't seem to work, and “This is your brain on drugs” ads attracted little but derision. Meanwhile, as the government sustains its “war” on drugs, people continue to abuse their minds and bodies seeking chemical thrills, but too often destroying families and dying as a result. Drug dealers, like all aggressive business people, have taken steps to make their product more popular, and one “improvement” in particular, adapting heroin so it can be used without nee- dles, has contributed greatly to a recent surge in use of the drug and the harm that follows. The Back Mountain, for all the collective affluence and in- telligence of its residents, has not escaped this scourge. Some observers even suggest that higher incomes simply mean children are more able to afford the substances that can kill us. That may or may not be a valid observation, but there’s no doubt that we can’t take lightly the threat posed by drugs to our children, and some of us who are not so young any more. So, what can a parent do to inoculate children against a life of uncontrollable agony? There are limits, of course, par- ticularly once the age of independence is reached, or appears to be in the eyes of a teenager. Still, we shouldn’t underesti- mate our influence, both positive and negative, and the value of our opinions, even if they seem to be rejected out of hand. At the very least, adults need to offer an opposing position to what is presented by those who are trying to lure kids into danger, whether for profit or companionship, and to respond quickly to danger signs. ; One need only listen to the anguished stories told by family members who have watched loved ones sink into the despair of drug dependency to understand how important each of us can be in this struggle to protect young lives. No one can shirk this responsibility to the next generation, even when it seems hopeless. Keep pressure on for Rt. 118 safety Like a bloodhound on the chase, State Representative George Hasay is not backing off his quest to entice the state Department of Transportation to make safety improvements on Route 118. That highway has been the scene of far too many accidents in recent months and years, and the place where too many people have died. So far, PennDOT has seen fit to install some rumble strips to alert motorists they are drifting into the center of the two-lane roadway, but even that step was resisted at first. The possibility of installing traffic signals at the Lehman Center intersection also may be getting consideration. Lehman Township officials are lending their support, and doing what they can to alert drivers to danger points along the roadway. State officials have frequently demonstrated reluctance to take strong measures that seem clearly logical to others, but they have also been responsive when enough public pressure was applied. If you think more should be done to make Rt. 118 safer, write to: Chuck Mattei, District Engineer, Engi- neering District 4-0, P.O. Box 111, Scranton PA 18501. Your voice matters. Publisher’s Notebook August seems to be car show month in this region, as or- ganizations of all kinds raise funds by providing a time and place for owners of antique autos and hot rods to display their treasures and for gawkers to admire them. These shows also tickle the memories of people like me, who, when we were young, spent far too much time and money on cars while neglecting activities that might have actually improved our lives. (Yes, children, cars had been invented when I was young.) I admire people who have the patience to turn a rusting hulk into a gleaming collector’s item. Or the money to pay someone else to do it. Patience was always my downfall, an insight I should have gained at about age 12, as I methodi- cally broke every piece of a model car that had resisted my best efforts to assemble a tiny front axle clearly designed by masochists. Instead of taking that experience as a warning to avoid devoting too much effort to anything that has wheels, I must have assumed bigger would be better. Not that I didn’t enjoy messing with cars, or produce some good results later on. I still recall with fondness the ‘63 Ford Falcon V-8 restored from a burnt-out shell to a gleaming chrome yellow road car, complete with four-on-the-floor and Chevy II buckets. No, the cars were fine, it was the money that was a problem. It’s obvious that it still is. One can’t es- cape the fact that most of the top cars at these shows aren't owned by young people struggling to make ends meet — they're the proud possessions of older people who recall an edrlier time when they could only dream of being able to pay someone else to bring a long-dormant engine to life or buff a fender until it gleams like a diamond, or who have the free time and patience to do it themselves. It's tempting to think about acquiring one of these steel beauties and showing it: off, but each time that sentiment rises I resist by calling on memories of vanished dollars and greasy elbows. That always works. The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALL A 18612 » 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek Timothy J. Raub GENERAL MANAGER REPORTER Kari L. Wachtel Claudia Blank ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Darlene E. Sorber Terry Quinn OFFICE MANAGER PAGE DESIGN Little house in the woods, Manor Drive, Shavertown. Photo by Ron Bartizek. New books added at Back Mountain Memorial Library The Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary, 96 Huntsville Road, Dal- las, announces the addition of the following books to thelr col- | lection: FICTION “Red Rabbit” by Tom Clancy “Her Father's House” by Belva Plain “The Best is Yet to Come” by Ju- dith Gould : “Stone Kiss” by Faye Kellerman “Charleston” by John Jakes ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - August 19, 1932 SHAVERTOWN HILL CLIMB HELD DESPITE PROTEST The hill climb held in Shaver- town was the first to be held in many years in the area. This was a success despite the protest of the Shavertown church people who objected to holding the affair on Sunday and asked the sheriff's office to bar it. Post Publications, publishers of The Dallas post, completed plans for a new department to cooperate with high school stu- dents and faculty members in preparing, editing, financing and organizing the school publica- tion and training the students who are members of the staff. Kingston township school board held a special meeting to open bids for the furnishing and isntalling electrical fixtures in the new high school building. Only Yesterday is compiled from the back issue files: of The Dallas Post. “The Soul Catcher” by Alex Kava “Faking It” by Jennifer Crusie “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Se- bold “In a True Light” by John Harvey “A Love of My Own” by E. Lynn Harris “Angels” by Marian Keyes “Absolute Certainty” by Rose Connors “The Big Gamble” by Michael McGarrity 60 Years Ago - August 26, 1942 STATE AWARDS ROUTE 192 MACADAM CONTRACT Contract for 2.21 miles of macadam highway and two steel bridges on Route 192 between Bowman's Creek and Noxen, Wyoming County, was awarded this week to the Spooner Bridge Construction Co. of Albany, N.Y. Members of Greater Dallas Rotary club held a clam bake and corn raost at the home of Warren Yeisley. At the American Sttores Co. some of the items you could get were lima beans can 11¢; string- less beans, 1 can 9¢; tomato juice, 6 cans 32¢; Del Monte as- paragus tips, 1 can 25¢; eggs, carton 29¢; sliced bacon, 1.2 lb., 10¢. 50 Years Ago - August 29, 1952 MANY OPENINGS FOR WOMEN IN LOCAL INDUSTRY At a special service to the Back Mountain area, the State Bureau of Employment Security Office at Wilkes-Barre had a representative at Back Mountain Memorial Library to interview women between the ages of 17 and 30 to fill job openings in various sections of Wilkes- Barre. Trucksville Mill was broken into for the second time in a month, thieves scaled a ten foot wall and came through a back window. The robbers took NON-FICTION “Firehouse” by David Halber- stam “Among the Heroes” by Jere Longman “Wealth and Democracy” by Kevin P. Phillips “Conquer Your Food Addiction” by Caryl Ehrlich BIOGRAPHY “American Son” by Richard Blow $21.80... In response to an editorial in the Dallas Post, Harveys Lake Light Company consented to number its 6,000 poles through- out the Back Mountain area as a convenience to home owners living alont its lines. 40 Years Ago - August 23, 1962 HAUCK, POAD MENTIONED FOR KT BOARD VACANCY Several names have been mentioned to fill the vacancy on Kigston Township Baord of Su- pervisors caused by the residna- tion of Austin C. Line after com- pleting only two and one half years of his six-year term. At the Ben Franklin store in Dallas some of the back to school items you could get: zip- per sports bag, $1.99; metal lunch boxes, 88¢; cellophane tuck tape, 21¢; book bags, 88¢ to $2.98. Twenty-one Rotary Exchange students have left for a yer’'s ex- perience in living and attending schools in another country. Three are from the Dallas Area School and a fourth is a Shaver- town resident who attended Wyoming Seminary. They are: Sandra Ambrose, Nancy Seiber, John Parry, and Dale Mosier. 30 Years Ago - August 17,1972 NATIONAL NEWS REPRESENTATIVES ARRIVE TO SEE FLOOD AFTERMATH Members of the antional news MYSTERY “Slow Dollar” by Margaret Maron “The Torso in the Town” by Si- mon Brett REFERENCE “The Hospital Phone Book 2002-@ 2003” “Weiss Ratings’ Guide to Bro- kerage Firms” Summer 2002 LARGE PRINT NONFICTION “Report From Ground Zero” by Dennis Smith media arrived at the Scranton- Wilkes-Barre Airport to tour the @y flood-stricken area. It was hoped that the newsmen’s first handin- spection. would be brought to national and governmental at- tention. Lakd-Lehman willl participate in four educational assistance programs, including S.P.E.E.D. which provides employment for persons at the high school building to assist in cleaning thé buildings and gorunds which were used to house and feed flood evacuees. A home rule ordinance was approved by the three su- perisors of Kingston twonship and will be placed on the No- vember ballot for voting by township residents. 20 Years Ago - August 18, 1982 L-L VISITORS WIN RIGHT TO SPEAK OUT AT MEETINGS The Lake-Lehman School Board voted to change policy and reinstitute two visitor spots on its monthly meeting agenda. The onlyy dissenting vote came from president Donald Jones. Dr. Richard Shipe, superin- tendent, Dallas School District, announced that Dr. Brook Hunt, assistant principal of Dallas Se- nior High school, resigned. In Dr. Hunt's resignation, he stated that he war resigning because of personal reasons. Lisa Loke of Trucksville was awarded a red merit ribbon for her consumer education presen- tation in the 1982 4-H State Achievement Days. Lake-Lehman School District property taxes due September 15 Lehman Township Tax Collec- tor, Peggy Moyer, reminds resi- dents that the 2002 Lake- Lehman School District property and per capita taxes were mailed July 15. All bills were mailed to the property owner and/or resident at their last known address. Anyone who did not receive their bill should no- Q: ‘Where do you find the most Back Mountain new tify the tax collector immediate- ly. The new 911 address changes have been made with the courthouse for next years tax bills. Anyone with an escrow ac- count should forward only the property tax bill on to their mortgage company for payment. Per capita tax bills are to be paid by all residents 18 years and older. If you did not receive a bill, contact the tax office. All residents should be using their new 911 address. If you have not received your new ad- dress call 674-7788 and leave a message; someone will return your call. The forwarding of mail is due A: Only i in T he Dallas Post to expire September 1. Tax payments must be post- marked on or before September 12 to be eligible for the 2 per- cent rebate value. To receive a receipt, enclose a self-ad- dressed, stamped envelope with your payment. Office hours and closed dates are listed at the top of the tax bill. act h w r |
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers