—- EE RA RRR RRR EE AE The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, December 5, 2002 EDITORIAL Test scores aren’t the final answer The grades have been distributed, and public school ad- ministrators are explaining why scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests went up, or down. Some- times they sound a lot like students talking to their parents about that unexpected C- mixed in with the As and Bs. But if recent federal law stands up over time, the consequences for underperformance will be much more meaningful than being grounded for a week. The No Child Left Behind legislation states that in 2014, students in any school that hasn't achieved “proficient” or better performance across the board will be able to leave for other schools that have met the standard. That seems like a ridiculously high target, and it’s one that apparently ignores the sometimes enormous differences between individual stu- dents and even entire school districts. At Dallas Elementary, for example, 75 percent of fifth graders tested proficient or advanced in reading, among the highest in Luzerne County. But if even one student fails to test proficiently a dozen years from now, the school will have been judged a failure, and students will be able to transfer to a better-performing { school, if there is one. Skeptics say this formula for failure is nothing more than ' an excuse for the government to replace public school fund- ing with vouchers, thus greasing the wheels for the creation . and expansion of private schools. Voucher proponents con- ’ —— tend that competition will bring improved performance at. both public and private schools, but that outcome is uncer- tain. There already are examples of for-profit education com- panies cutting corners and fudging statistics to hide their mediocre results, and in some cases they have been removed + from cities that were disappointed with their results. The imposition of statewide standards has proven that test scores can be raised when enough attention and resources , are focused on students’ performance. Expecting more, and providing the necessary resources to achieve more will prob- . ably produce even better scores; but setting unrealistic goals will only lead to disillusion and deceit. Be aware, be safe on the road Last week’s fatal accident along Route 309 in Shavertown is a reminder that driving safety requires constant vigilance. A dose of extra care is in order on this busy highway, where an average of 40,000 vehicles a day travel. Not so many years ago, at least a couple of fatal accidents occurred each year along Route 309. Many of them were the result of rear-end collisions that were much more common . before the center turning lane was constructed. The widen- ing to five lanes and installation of coordinated traffic signals has greatly reduced the severity of crashes and the resulting injuries. Unfortunately, the improvements have had other ef- fects, including an increase in speed and a tendency by some. motorists to run red lights, sometimes with disastrous effect. Everyone who uses this busy corridor must be especially careful when entering from a side street, even on a green sig- nal. If you are hit broadside by a speeding car or truck run- ning a red light, the fact that you weren't the one. breaking ~ the law isn’t going to protect you or your passengers from in- jury or death. And please slow down. Doing so can help you to avoid a careless driver, or can reduce the severity of im- pact if it is unavoidable. Publisher’s Notebook Ron Bartizek The Laketon High School girls Pasketball team or I 922 posed for a photo. From left: Christine Clark, Dorothy Anderson, Mil- dred Hausch, Pearl Edwards, Marion Whipple, Pauline Davis. Davis and Hausch later became teachers at Laketon. Davis taught 1st grade; Hausch, 4th grade. Kingston Township Holiday Homes Decorating Contest deadline is Dec. 13 The Kingston Township Board of Supervisors announce the an- nual Holiday Homes Decorating Contest, to be judged on Tues- day, December 17. The Holiday Homes Decorating Contest is sponsored annually by the Board of Supervisors and judged New books added to collection at Back Mountain Memorial Library. Hie pe bis aie [ The Back Mountain Memorial Library, 96 Huntsville Road, Dal- las, announces the addition of the following books to their collec- tion. FICTION “Four Blind Mice” by James Patterson “The Christmas David Baldacci “Daughters of Joy” by Deepak Chopra “The Last Promise” by Richard Paul Evans Train” by I must confess to an extremely un-American act last week. I didn’t go shopping. That's right, despite the temptations lurking in countless circulars and the appeal of ads that seemed to burst from newspaper pages, I stayed home. In fact, no one in my family — at least as far as I'm aware — set foot in a retail store Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I hope the government doesn’t find out, although I suspect John Ashcroft already knows about my lack of patriotic fervor on a subject as important as consumption. It's not that we don’t spend enough. If you need proof, I can provide toll-free numbers to a few credit card agencies. All we try to do is not spend too much, which I think is now defined as an amount higher than the combined total of family in- come, home equity, store charges and O percent (Don't you love that phrase? It sounds so much more appealing than “free financing.”) loans available just before the holidays. This pseudo thriftiness is all that remains among baby boomers of our Depression-era parents’ admonitions to be careful with a buck. You could argue that we haven't listened well, but at least we still have a few choice words of wisdom to throw at the kids when they ask for that Tiffany bracelet or fifth video game console. 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 Kari L. Wachtel ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Erin Youngman REPORTER Claudia Blank AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Darlene E. Sorber Terry Quinn OFFICE MANAGER PAGE DESIGN ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - December 2, 1932 GEARY NEARS END OF TRANSCONTINENTAL TREK L.F. Geary, seventy-five-year- old native of Centermoreland, is on the last lap of his transconti- nental trip from Southern Cali- fornia to Johnston. He left Cen- termoreland twelve years ago to start a new life in California, then he decided to spend his fi- nal days and his long, lonesome trip across the continent. Some of the items you could get at the A&P Stores were: peaches, 2 cans 25¢; pears lge can 17¢; butter 3 lbs 79¢; cleanser 2 cans 13¢; rolled oats Ige pkg 15¢. Six dramatic groups from dif- ferent parts of Luzerne county will compete in the Luzerne County tournament to be held at the Dallas borough high school. 60 Years Ago - November 27, 1942 LAING FIREMEN RECEIVE ANOTHER PAYMENT Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Com- pany received an additional $25 payment for its sale of scrap to George Solomon & Sons, Wilkes- Barre scrap metal dealers. The final payment made a total of $135 received from the Solomon by the Recreation Commission. All residents interested in regis- tering their home for the contest are urged to contact the Munici- pal Building Administrative Of- fices in person or by mail at 180 East Center Street, Shavertown, PA 18708, or by calling 696- “Breakout” by Richard Stark “The Fifteen Streets” Catherine Cookson “The Rana Look” by Sandra Brown “The Human Pool” by Chris Petit “I Don’t Know How She Does It” by Allison Pearson by NON-FICTION “Portrait of a Killer” by Patricia Daniels Cornwell 3809. Members of the commis- sion are looking for attractive original displays that best exem- plify the holiday spirit. Prizes will be awarded to the top three displays as determined by the judges with a first prize of $100, second prize of $75, and BIOGRAPHY “Kitchen Privileges” Higgins Clark by Mary LARGE PRINT FICTION “Chasing the Dime” by Michael Connelly “From a Buick 8” by Stephen King “Four Blind Mice” by James Patterson “The Christmas David Baldacci Train” by third prize of $25. When regis- tering your home for the contest, please provide your name, ad- dress and phone number. Any questions about the contest may be directed to 696-3809. The deadline for registering will be December 13, at 4:30 p.m. 0 “Chesapenise Blue” by Nor Roberts YOUNG ADULT “Great Poems by American Women” edited by Susan L. Rat- tiner SPECIAL DONATIONS “Pennsylvania Battlefields and@® ¢ Military Landmarks” by Arthur P. Miller, Jr., donated by Dad- ‘In Ruins” by Christopher “City of the Beasts” by Isabel dow-Isaacs Post 672 American Woodward Allende Legion. firm. preident of Dallas Township cilmen, Atty. Charles D. Lem- One of the top awards for scale model aircraft of frame construction has been given Ray Jones Jr., Dallas Township High school student, for his entry in the Wings of Youth contest con- ducted jointly by Piper Aircraft Company and the New York Dai- ly Mirror. Faced with declining business because of gasoline and tire ra- tioning, Gerald Frantz, Hun- stville merchant, will close his store for the duration on Christ- mas Day. Frantz will sell his stock of merchandise and has accepted a position in the cleri- cal department of the Martin bomber plant in Baltimore. 50 Years Ago - December 12, 1952 MASONS APPROVE PLAN TO BUILD $40,000 HOME ON MAIN STREET George M. Dallas Lodge F & AM at a special meeting com- missioned James Lacy of the architectural firm of Lacy, Atherton& Davis to proceed with plans and specifications for the construction of a new masonic Home on Main Street, Dallas. Lake-Noxen and Lehman- Jackson schools will inaugurate a wrestling progrram challeng- ing Forty Fortand Kingston Bor- ough in the freshman class, each other in heavier weights and older ages. Larry Drabick and Lester Squier will instruct wrestlers at Lehman-Jackson, Thomas Longmore and George Taylor at Lake-Noxen. Dallas Township has dropped its appeal in the Natona Mills Annexation case, John Jurista, Supervisors, announced at the Board's meeting that there will be no further court litigation in connection with the Township's appeal on annexation of Natona Mills by Dallas borough. 40 Years Ago - December 6, 1962 EIPPER ELECTED FOR THIRD TERM IN CONNECTICUT Robert J. Eipper, a graduate of DallasTwonship schools, had just been reeleted to a third term as a Connecticut State Representative. Mr. Eipper’s victory was noteworthy because he is a Republican and Con- necticut went Democratic. The biggest Santa Claus that ever came to the Back Moun- tain region arrived in Dallas and stood twenty-four feet high in front of Dallas Hardware. The huge Santa Claus was ob- tained by James Hutchison, owner of the store, from a Danville Merchant. Tommy Andrew, Shavertown made an appearance on Mel Al- len’s NBC Radio program, Mon- itor, whch emanates from New York City. Andrew, who serves as a judge in all the major rab- bit shows, was interviewed by Mel Allen but never expected to be on his show. 30 Years Ago - November 30, 1972 BOROUGH RESIDENTS REVIEW ZONING ORDINANCE A tentative zoning ordinance complete with a map of the bor- ough has been completed for consideration by the residents of Dallas Borough and their coun- mond Jr. informed borough - council at its last regular meet- @ ¢ ing. Commonwealth Telephone Company recenly celebrated its 75th anniversary and the in- stallation of its 150,000th. The 150,000th telephone was dedi- | cated to Commonwealth's 650 employees who were honored at dinners given throughout the company’s territory. Army Specialist 4 Paul E. Scovell, Harveys Lake, recently was assigned to the 1st ar- mored division in Germany. Scovell is a surveyor with head- quarters batter, 2nd battalion of the divison’s 16th artillery. 20 Years Ago - December 1, 1982 FIRE COMPANIES SHARE FEDERAL DOLLARS O Kingston Township supervi- sors have decided to offer the community's two volunteer fire companies and Ambulance As- sociation $3,000 each from Revenue Sharing Funds for fis- cal year 1988. Harveys Lake Mayor Frank Picchi introduced an innovative crime-fighting concept for the community. He is formulating definite plans for a Neighbor- @ 4 hood Crime Watch for the area. The State Environmental Pro- tection Office probably will al- low Dallas Area Municipal Au- thority to transport sludge through Jackson Township for dumping on the 80-acre Man- zoni farm jn that comminity. Against public protest, DER of- ficials have ;indicated they in- ] { tend to approve an application for the dumping. | 4 |
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers