~6 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday February 13, 2003
EDITORIAL
Fresh thinking about
traffic worth pursuit
Last week's meeting between members of the Dallas Bor-
ough Council, the hopeful developer of a large retail complex
in Dallas Township and engineers from the state Department
of Transportation (PennDOT) brought to light an intriguing
possibility — the installation of a traffic circle at the present
“five points” intersection where Route 415, Main, Church
and Lake streets meet. While the immediate focus of the
meeting was to address potential congestion posed by traffic
going to and from the proposed development, it progressed
into a broader discussion of present and future concerns
over traffic and its impact on both the economic soundness
and quality of life in the Back Mountain.
Chuck Mattei, the PennDOT chief engineer who has been
very accommodating to people who have approached him
about this issue and others, such as safety along Route 309
in Shavertown, broached the idea of a “roundabout,” the
preferable term, and said his department had been looking
for a place to build one. He suggested such an arrangement,
properly done, could handle more traffic, more conveniently
than other solutions, many of which have already been ap-
plied to Back Mountain highways.
Given the complexity of roads in the center of Dallas,
there's no guarantee that a roundabout is feasible, or would
be effective. While commonly referred to as a five-way inter-
section, the area is actually comprised of eight separate
streets and roadways within a couple of blocks, and any im-
provement — roundabout or not — must include all of them
in its plan. But that doesn’t mean this idea isn’t worth pur-
suing, and the time is ripe to do so. Mattei offered that pre-
liminary work could begin soon, in time for the roundabout
or other solutions to be included for consideration as Pen-
nDOT prepares its new long-term plans this spring and
summer. :
An eager core of advocates from the public and private sec-
tors will try to keep the Back Mountain in general and this
possibility in particular in PennDOT’s sights. As they pro-
ceed, though, they must also consider that it may be wiser
to channel housing and commercial growth in ways that
conform to the topographic realities of our region rather than
focusing only on added capacity that comes at too high a
price.
Publisher’s Notebook
. Apparently feeling that arguments against the admissions
‘program at the University of Michigan aren't sufficient to lev-
el the playing field for white males, the Bush administration
is taking aim at Title IX, the landmark law that seeks to
‘equalize opportunities offered by men’s and women’s college
‘athletic programs. Since its inception in 1972, girls and
‘young women have hit courts, fields and pools in unprece-
‘dented numbers, proving the theory of “build it and they will
come.” But now, in response to whining from colleges and
‘universities that haven't been able to balance the needs of
‘both genders — or haven't cared to — the administration is
considering rolling back the years to a time when men were
‘men and women were on the sidelines cheering for them.
‘Well, anyone who has attended a girls game from pee wee
‘soccer on up to the WNBA could tell them it ain't that way
any more.
One of the. mest. persistent arguments against funding
women’s Spofts has been that they don’t generate the inter-
est and income of men’s competition. As a result, some
schools have chosen to shut down minor men’s programs
‘rather than try to build up the women’s side. Perhaps the
most common example is wrestling. But according to one
study, nearly as many wrestling programs were disbanded in
the years 1984 to 1988 — a period when Title IX was sus-
pended for review by the U.S. Supreme Court — as in the fol-
‘lowing 12 years after the law was reinstituted. This would
seem to indicated that some sports are withering on their
own, not being pushed into the grave by the field hockey
team.
The real problem is football, which except for a minority of
high-profile programs, struggles to cover expenses just as
much as lacrosse or swimming. Except football costs more, a
lot more. The major.reason is that Division 1A schools can
offer 85 scholarships, many of them going to players who
don’t get off the bench until the last few minutes of their fi-
nal game as seniors, if then. Since a National Football
League team has a roster of 53 players, it's awfully hard to
understand why colleges need so many more recruits. One
economist contends that if football scholarships were re-
duced by 25, the savings could fund a wrestling program
and one other sport.
I like big-time college sports as much as anyone. And I'd
place the recent showdown between the Duke and UConn
women’s basketball teams in that category, as would the
9,000+ fans who packed Cameron Indoor Stadium, selling
out a women’s event there for the first time. So, let's hear
less about lack of interest and more about opportunity for all
students, regardless of gender.
The Dallas Post
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—
Bundled up against the cold, along Beaumont Hill Road. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek.
LETTERS |
Someone must be held accountable for shuttle tragedy
Editor,
Who will pay for the mistakes
that caused the disintegration of
the Columbia?
Will this be the same kind of
coverup that has occurred with
the destruction of the Twin Tow-
ers and the loss of 3,000 plus
lives due to the mistakes of our
CIA, BBI, DIA, and other agen-
cies who received 30 warnings
and ignored them, resulting in
the Twin Towers destruction? To
this date not one reprimand or
demotion has resulted from
these errors of management.
One NASA engineer has al-
ready come forward and said
that he was forced to retire be-
cause he had fought for an es-
cape pod for each of the four ve-
hicles including the Columbia
and was reprimanded and forced
to retire.
Who ignored the recommenda-
tion from this engineer and what
will be done about his neglect of
duty?
NASA officials knew that the
vehicle had potential damage at
lift off yet refused to come for-
ward and make the potential
damage known to the astronauts
before the vehicle was destroyed
on Saturday's attempted land-
ing. Is this the way we are run-
ning our space program
putting our astronauts at risk
and not letting them know the
potential danger when it be-
comes apparent to NASA and its
engineers? This was supposedly
corrected after the 1986 acci-
dent and at that time it was
promised that any potential
problems were to be made
known to the astronauts as “@
as NASA was aware of them.
NASA must take the appropri-
ate action to rectify these errors
of management and make the
proper reprimands.
Thomas Dombroski
Trucksville
ONLY
YESTERDAY
70 Years Ago - February 17, 1933
JOBS FOR JOBLESS CUT
SCHOOL COSTS
Dallas borough and Kingston
township have both benefited
their school systems by the em-
ploymemt of Emergency relief
workers in the improvement of
their buildings and grounds.
Some of the items you could
get at the American Stores Co.
were: bread 3 for 10¢; apple but-
ter 2 jars 25¢; diced beets 3
cans 25¢; mixed vegetables 3
cans 25¢; sugar corn 2 cans
19¢.
Movies that played at the
Himmler Theatre: “Trouble in
paradise” with Kay Francis;
Texas Bad Man with Tom Mix;
Faithless with Robert Mon-
gomery, Conquerors with
Richard Dix.
60 Years Ago - February 12, 1943
NEW SIGNALS EXPLAINED
TO AIR RAID WARDENS
Two hundred air raid wardens
jammed the library and corri-
dors of Kingston Townnship
High School to listen to Zone 9
and District leaders outline the
new air raid warning system. At
the conclusion of the meeting
“wardens in the“Shavertown and
Trucksville districts received
night sticks and whistles.
Twenty-eight Back Mountain
boys, many of them from the
eighteen-year-old age group,
took their final physical exami-
nations at Wilkes-Barre Induc-
tion center. They are part of a
big contingent of 114 men called
for induction by Local Board No.
1 of Wyoming.
Dallas War Price and Ra-
tioning Board was criticized by a
Shavertown citizen because
members of the Board object to
discussing rationing at their
homes or places of business.It
was the contention of this citi-
zen that the board has adopted
an “independent attitude” and
has failed to adjust its office
hours to the convenience of the
public.
50 Years Ago - February 13, 1953
DR. ROGER OWENS RESUMES
PRACTICE HERE
Dr. and Mrs. Roger Owens
and children, Susie and Sherrill
who have spent the last two
years in Germany where Dr.
Owens was Dental Councilor for
the First Division returned home
aboard the Army transport, Gen-
eral Hodges. Dr. Owens will re-
sume his practice in Dallas.
Henry L. Jones, Huntsville has
been named Chairman of the
Northeast Area of Pennsylvania
for the 1953 Cancer Crusade to
be conducted by the American
Cancer Society. Mr. Jones an-
nounced a goal of $92,000 for
the Northeast Area.
William Simms, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Alfred B. Simms of
Lehman, received his honorable
discharge from service with the
U.S. Army. Simms served six
months in Korea and eleven
months in Japan.
40 Years Ago - February 14, 1963
SCHOOL BOARD SHOWS
QUORUM DESPITE STORM
Dallas school directors eyed
anticipated raises in salary for
teachers at a meeting in the Se-
nior High School Library esti-
matinf the increases in terms of
millage. Discussion of the PSEA
requested salary schedule, with
regular increments of $300, re-
sulted in approval for purposes
of budget estimation.
John Butler's Scout Troop 232
camped out in the Shavertown
Shopping Center, despite brisk
winds and plummiting tempera-
tures. The boys were nestled
comfortably in sleeping bags
resting on mounds of straw and
clustered about pot bellied
stoves in the center.
Power was uninterrupted
when George Laverick, West
Pittston, escaping serious injury,
sheered off Pole 20 at Harveys
Lake and four guard-posts with
his car and plunged fifteen feet
to the ice, which held.
30 Years Ago - February 15, 1973
LEHMAN SUPERVISOR
SPENCER RESIGNS FOR
HEALTH REASONS
Bruce Spencer, LehmanTown-
ship Supervisor, tendered his
resignation at the boards regular
New books added at BMT library
The Back Mountain Memorial
Library, 96 Huntsville Road,
Dallas, announces the addition
of the following books to their
collection:
FICTION
Final Justice by W.E.B. Griffin
The Adventures of Flash Jack-
son by William Kowalski
The Seduction of Silence by
Bem LeHunte
The Dante Clubby Matthew
Pearl
Ice Ageby Brian Freemantle
A Memory of Warby Frederick
Busch
NON-FICTION
The Punch: one night, two
lives, and the fight that changed
basketball forever by John Fein-
stein
Wiring a House by Rex Cauld-
well
BIOGRAPHY
Leadership by Rudolph Giu-
liani
SCIENCE FICTION
The Briar King by Greg Keyes
STORY COLLECTION
Pushcart Prize XXVIII: best of
the small presses edited by Bill
Henderson
REFERENCE
Writers Market 2003
AUDIO TAPES
Kitchen Privileges by Mary
Higgins Clark
My Losing Season by Pat Con-
roy
YOUNG ADULT
Before the Creek Ran Red by
Carolyn Reeder
meeting. He indicated he was
acting on the advice of his doc-
tor, who, recommended the move
to conserve Mr. spencer’s health.
The Boy Scout Troop at
Lehman, No. 241, after 30 years
in existence, is now inactive due
to the lack of leadership. William
Dawe was the last scoutmaste
of the pack. William Simms, I
one time member of the troop;
held the position of scoutmaster
for eight years.
Lake-Lehman girls’ basketball
team enjoyed a good season in
the “B” division of the Wyoming
Conference. the girls have ended
the first half with a 5-1 record..
20 Years Ago - February 16, 1983
‘FREE STORE,’ A BIG HIT IN
THE COMMUNITY
Shoppers in the Lake-Lehman
School Dsitrict received a special
treat when the Lake-Lehman
Education Associationheld its
first “Free Store,” The “Free
store” offered clothing, toys and
other articles to local customers
completely freee of charge. The
items were all donations from
members of the Association
(teachers at Lake-Lehman) and
their friends.
Harry Lefko,
Board member,
from hos position as a mem
of the District's negotiations
committee but not from hos po-
sition as board member.
Registration was brisk during
the last hour of the Red Cross
Bloodmobile at Dallas United
Methodist Church, as people
came from work to donate their
pint of blood. In all 264 people
registered.
Dallas Scho
has resign
Taxpayer assista
The Kingston Town
Board of Supervisor
nounces that both the Ce
monwealth of Pennsylvania D
partment of revenue and the
Don Wilkinson Agency
have taxpayer assistanc
able for residents at the
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