6 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, January 16, 2003 EDITORIAL Back Mountain must be more than a big bedroom There was an ironic contrast in two articles that appeared on last week’s front page. One recounted the relatively up- beat performance of Back Mountain retail stores through the just-completed holiday season. The other told a sadder tale, the imminent closing of Energy Converters, Inc., the Dallas company that employed more than 200 people at its peak. Energy Converters, known as Encon, is a manufacturing concern that builds specialized electric heating elements, such as the ones found in glass top kitchen stoves. Founded here 30 years ago, its management successfully carved out a niche by developing products and processes that were supe- rior to those offered by other companies. Encon was ac- quired nearly five years ago by the largest company in the field, and now the work being done here will be transferred to other plants in the Midwest. None of the nearly 100 work- ers left in Dallas will be offered the opportunity to go along. Encon’s closing continues a disturbing recent trend of em- ployment leaving the Back Mountain, even while the region continues to grow as a residential community. First, 300 Commonwealth Telephone jobs were lured to a tax-free zone in Wilkes-Barre; then Epix followed and now Encon is leav- ing. None of those losses came about because the Back Mountain isn’t a good place to do business or because our work force is inferior; it’s simply a case of financial engineer- ing that benefits the companies and leaves no room for com- munity concerns. And the path is often made easier by state and federal government programs that encourage irrational activity, such as Commonwealth’s move of 10 miles. In order to stay vibrant, the Back Mountain needs to be more than an oversized bedroom for people who work some- where else. Without varied local employment, the retail stores and restaurants that have sprung up won't have a re- liable base of customers and they, too, will pull up stakes and head elsewhere, or worse, go out of business. We hope the same folks who worked so hard to lure Commonwealth down the block will turn their efforts toward filling the now- vacant spaces here. Publisher’s Notebook There are plenty of complaints to be made about television advertising, including that there's just too much of it. My personal beef is with content that flaunts illegal, irrational and unsafe behavior. Ads for cars are among the worst. In one, a Cadillac Escalade, billed as the world’s most powerful SUV, approaches a railway crossing where trains on oppos- ing tracks seem frozen in time awaiting its arrival. But as soon as the bloated pickup truck races through, the trains are shown moving at speed, with the obvious implication that the Caddy has crossed just in time to avoid a collision. This is not the only Cadillac commercial to show a car chal- lenging a train, a mismatch is there ever was one, and one that results in hundreds of deaths at railroad crossings each year. These are simply the most egregious examples of auto ad- vertising that encourages reckless, dangerous driving. Be- lieve it or not, your government is supposed to review ads for this kind of content, but either no one’s home or no one cares to do so. Another ad that sticks in my craw features the driver of a Dodge that is tailgating an 18-wheeler. Egged on by an elf- like racer on his shoulder, he pulls out to pass when it’s clear that he is in no position to see the opposing lane or the road ahead. This is not to mention the innumerable commercials in which drivers race up, down and around winding roads, clearly at speeds well above any reasonable limit, as a nearly illegible warning not to try this yourself is posted on the screen. I know all the arguments about how people can decide for themselves to drive safely or not, and that government ought to just get out of the way. Laissez-faire types also like to say that television doesn’t really influence people anyway. But if advertising isn’t persuasive, why do companies spend billions of dollars a year on it? Granted, 99 percent of viewers aren't going to careen out of the driveway and burn rubber until they hit top speed, but surely the constant dis- play of reckless driving influences the impressionable 1 per- cent. I could go on, but maybe this is becoming a fogey rant. Don’t even get me started on the beer ads. Letters are welcome 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. e 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. The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALL 18612 » 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek Erin Youngman GENERAL MANAGER REPORTER Kari L. Wachtel Claudia Blank ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Darlene E. Sorber Terry Quinn OFFICE MANAGER PAGE DESIGN Carol King Author Susan Vreeland will participate .in ..a Times. Leader Community Book Club discus- sion of her historical fiction nov- el, “The Passion of Artemisia,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 30 at Wyoming Seminary Bucking- ham Center for the Performing Arts on Sprague Avenue in Kingston. The free event is spon- sored by the newspaper and The Tudor Book Shop. Call Tudor for further information. Librarian's report: Martha Butler and Brian Fulton attended a meeting at the Osterhaut Li- brary in December to discuss up- dates on automation systems and to resolve issues that have arisen. 1 Statistics for the month of De- ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - January 20, 1933 VALUABLE CLAY DEPOSITS ARE FOUND AT NOXEN Considerable interest is being shown in the drilling operations being carried to completion on the former Hettisheimer property at Noxen. Drilling equipment has been at work for several months, and rich deposits of clay have been found at more than forty feet. Two new candidates for the Dallas postmaster position have developed recently. The candi- dates are W.B. McGuire, and Bernard McNellis. At a special meeting of the Dallas School Board, Homer E. Nelson of Cochranton, Crawford County, was elected from a list of fifty applicants for the posi- tion on the school faculty left va- cant by the resignation of Don- ald Wormley. 60 Years Ago - January 15, 1943 THREE MEMBERS NAMED TO RATION BOARD Three new members of the Food and shelter, all in one place. Photo by Ron Bartizek. Noted author to appear locally through her family siatior fl) but it occurs to her one day that cember include total circulation, 5,630; books added, 121; new borrowers, 29; and active borrow- ers, 15,098. Children’s story hours: Regis- tration for the story hours for toddlers and 3-5-year-olds has begun. Call the library, 675- 1182, for the exact dates and times for the programs, which will start in February. Slightly Read Bookstore: Fred Krohle, the bookshop manager, announces big clearance sales during the month of January. Es- pecially low prices will prevail for children’s books, selected adult non-fiction, and mysteries that have been withdrawn from li- brary circulation. Come in for some real bargains! Book reviews: In December the evening book discussion group read “Stones from the Riv- er,” by Ursula Hegi. Pam Oliviera reports that “the book was either really loved or really disliked, no middle ground. It is the story of a girl who is a dwarf living in Ger- many during the two World Wars. She is surrounded by quirky characters who shape her into Dallas War Price and Rationing Board were sworn into service. They are H. Austin Snyder, su- pervising principal of Lehman Schools; Walter Elston, owner of Shady Side Dairy, Kunkle, and Howard Risley, editor of The Dallas Post. Majority of the selecitons who will make up the quota of 114 men to called for induction into the army during February by Draft Board No. 1 of Wyoming will be from the eighteen to twenty age group. Some of the items you could buy at Acme Markets were: let- tuce,. head 11¢; sausage, 11b.35¢; corn flakes, 11-o0z pkg ;7¢; flour 24 lb. bag 83¢; Pal- molive tiolet soap, 3 bars 22¢; Octagon toilet soap, 3 cakes 14¢; scrapple, 1 1b., 15¢. 50 Years Ago - January 16, 1953 LEHMAN-JACKSON APPROVES PLAN FOR INSURANCE An insurance policy to protect school children while under school auspices was discussed by Lehman-Jackson school board. Cost of $1.25 per child would be borne by parents. The first Back Mountain resi- dent to appear on television is John C. Bush, Dallas, a member of the “Sports Tonight” panel seen over WBRE TV Channel 28. More contributions were need- ed for Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire Company's new American LaFrance fire truck. Harold Smith, chairman of the drive, the woman she becomes, as she is raised solely by her father. Nothing in this book is ever quite what it seems; those who are strong turn out to be less than heroic when the Nazi regime comes to town, and vice versa. It is not an easy read and is quite thought-provoking.” The next meeting will be at 7 p-m. on Monday, January 27th, to discuss “Catch Me If You Can,” by’ Frank Abagnale, who will speak at the Celebrity Luncheon to be held in April. E-mail Pam at pamo@epix.net, or call her at 674-9935, for the place of the meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend. The Monday morning discus- sion group's last book was “Back When We Were Grown-Ups,” by Anne Tyler. The central charac- ter, Rebecca, is in her 50s, a wid- ow, very busy with daughters and grandchildren with odd names, and a job of arranging for, and catering, parties in her old, somewhat shabby house in Baltimore. She performs the job with skill and sensitivity and weaves her way successfully stated that many of the solid cit- izenry have pledged but have not yet come forward with the cash. 40 Years Ago - January 17, 1963 KEY CLUB AND CHEERLEAD- ERS PACK CLOTHING In early December, students from the Dallas area made a concerted drive for warm gar- ments. Key Club boys worked three days boxing the clothing. Twenty-eight boxes, including food, were delivered to needy families in the area the day be- fore Christmas. David Kozemchak, 13, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Kozem- chak, Huntsville, was official Key Club photographer at the inauguration of Governor William Scranton. Dallas ambulance’s new stretcher is too big for anybody short of 300 pounds weight, the Ambulance Association decided at its meeting it will be re- turned, if possible, for a smaller one. 30 Years Ago - January 18 , 1973 NEW CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTION HAMPERED BY FRIGID WEATHER Wet weather has hampered construction of the $1 1/4 mil- lion 23-classroom building which will house 690 elemen- tary students. Wet ground ham- pered grading and pouring of concrete footing. she has been living a life she hadn’t intended to live. She looks up a former beau from high school days — when she was “grown up” — but the relation- ship doesn’t flourish and she re- turns to her familiar routine, re- alizing that she “really had been having a wonderful life.” A few members found it a trivial book, but the majority found Rebecca endearing and the details of her frenetic life drawn in an interest- ing syle, with humor and com- passion. The group will discuss “The Founding Brothers,” by Josep ) Elias, on Monday, January Members are reminded to come prepared to pay for the four books ordered for the rest of the year. New display: Viola Gommer has loaned to the library a set of figurines of women dressed in their native costumes which she has collected as she and her hus- band have traveled in African and South American countries and other places around the world. Kingstown Township Board of Supervisors instructed their so- licitor, Ben R. Jones III, to draw up an ordinance establishing the position of township man- ager, at the regular monthly meeting. Michael J. Stanley, present secretary-treasurer, will | be named to the position when the ordinance is passed. 20 Years Ago - January 19, 1983 DUCK NETTING re — y MOVE AT HARVEYS LAKE Some residents at Harveys Lake were upset when Game Commisiion employees con- ducted a duck netting operation at Old Sandy Bottom Beach. Over 200 ducks have made their home in the waters near the beach because they can count on a constant supply of food from patrons at nearby Taft’s market. Shavertown Water Company has recieved a $26,800 rate in- crease retroactive to Jan 1. The company had asked for $58,800, which would have in- creased billing rates for its 916 customers to $335 annually. The present increase will raise the average customer's bill from $265 to $287 or about $22 per year. Some of the items you could get at Daring's Market were: smoked franks, 1 lb. $1.59: cooked salami, 1 1b. $1.79: Per- due chicken breasts, 1 1b. 59¢; naval oranges, 10 lb. bag 9 honey ham 1 lb. $2.99; swi¥®~ cheese, 1 1b. $2.49.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers