6 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, March 6, 2003 EDITORIAL Late justice for Jackson Township is still welcome There's a saying the justice delayed is justice denied. But even though they've had to wait 23 years, Jackson Township residents can feel like they won something last week after a judge handed down a decision in the township's dispute with American Asphalt. The controversy centered on zoning, with the company claiming land it purchased in 1977 was zoned for mining, and the township defending a decision to rezone some of it to agricultural two years later. In the years since, the com- pany has continued to mine and blast in the disputed zone. The resolution doesn’t give the township a huge settle- ment, but it is clearly the victor in several ways, not least of which is that American Asphalt must pay its years of legal bills. Equally important, if not more so, there are now clear limits on when and where the company can blast and a citi- zens committee will be established to enforce them. There seems little doubt that someone in the township's past made a mistake either in enacting previous ordinances or in failing to pursue remedies. It is unfortunate that it has taken this long to straighten things out, and a great deal of inconvenience has occurred since then. But that is water over the dam, to use another old saw, and now is the time to concentrate on forming a better future. Unhappy at Harveys Lake? Do something about it A big outpouring of support for Mayor Rick Boice and the embattled Harveys Lake Police Department struck some ob- servers as being phony as a three dollar bill. They suspect many of the people who attended the February meeting of borough council were asked to do so, to counteract recent negative publicity over the failure to meet state regulations on police officers. That may be a correct impression, but if those who are em- barrassed by the conduct of the department want to do more than whine, they have to match or exceed the mayor's fol- lowing. That will take more than private — or even public — complaining, it will take an organized campaign to present alternative ideas and credible candidates for public office. Until that happens, the entrenched power structure will maintain the upper hand, as it appears the voters want them to. Publisher’s Notebook Ron Bartizek After a long hiatus, my wife and I have begun going to the movies again. The last decade or so haven't really been movie-free, it's just that the most interesting flick we got to was The Lion King, given that we were accompanying young children. But our kids are grown up now - at least they think so, since anything less than an R rating just doesn’t cut it once you turn 13. Anyway, we've recently seen two movies with potential Academy Award winning performances; Adaptation and About Schmidt. Each included several notable performances, but in the former case the best actor on screen wasn’t Nico- las Cage or Meryl Streep, it was Chris Cooper, whose incredi- bly plausible portrayal of a most unlikely character will be hard to beat come Oscar time. Anyone who sees this movie will surely think of at least one person they've come across who shared the whacked-out passion of John Laroche, the obsessive collector of orchids Cooper plays. In our case, it is a former employee who shared not only Laroche's heedless nature, but his intelligence and appearance. The other possible award-winner is, of course, Jack Nichol- son, who seems to have an infinite range of characterizations under his hat. I wanted to see About Schmidt in part be- cause it was filmed in Omaha, Nebraska shortly after I visit- ed there. Alas, I couldn't place the non-descript shopping centers that appeared in several scenes, but that’s okay, since Nicholson's hilarious performance as a pathetic retired insurance man who suddenly feels the pain of a wasted life was well worth the price of admission. All this movie going makes me wonder why our suburban communities can’t support a decent movie house, and spare us the half-hour-plus trip to Cinemark. When I was my chil- dren’s age, my small city supported two theaters, each with a single screen of course. That meant that after our parents dropped us off in front of the Capitol, thinking we would see the latest Disney offering, we'd loiter a bit, then scoot down to the Gem and spend our quarter to view a scandalous Bridget Bardot film, leaving in time to get back to the Capitol in time to be picked up. Letters welcome The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of top- ics in many forms. Send your comments in the form of a letter to the editor, to: The Dallas Post 607 Main Rd., Dallas PA 18612 The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DAL A 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 Hangin’ out, waitin’ for winter to end. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Second baby-sitting program in April Carol King Due to the overwhelming re- sponse to the first American Red Cross course on baby-sitting, another program has been scheduled for Saturday, April 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It will be held at the library and is open to young adults, 12 to 18 years old. Stop by the library before the date of the meeting to register and to pay the fee of $25, which includes a baby-sit- ter's handbook. Checks. should be made payable to the Ameri- can Red Cross. Call the library, 675-1182, for further informa- tion. Another Young Adults pro- gram, a Red Cross First Aid and Safety course, will be offered Saturday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants will learn to follow the three emergency action steps in any emergency and be able to pro- vide basic care for injury or sud- den illness until the victim can receive emergency medical help. There is a $25 for this course and, again, registration and pay- ment must be made in advance of the program date. Take tests online: The library now offers the chance to begin preparing for any of a number of official school and career exams. Patrons can have free, unlimited access to Learnatest, a series of practice tests based on official "exams such as the ACT, SAT, GED, ASVAB, Fire Fighter, Po- lice Officer, Paramedic, EMT Ba- sic, U. S. Citizenship, Postal Worker, Cosmetology, Real Es- tate Agent and Broker exams. From your personal computer or from one located in the library, log on to’www.backmountainli- brary.org and click on Refer- ence. For more information, call the library. Slightly Read Bookstore: Fred Krohle, manager of the bookstore, announces that mys- tery novels will be on a half- price sale for the month of March. The store, located on the lower level of the library build- ing, has its own parking lot and entrance at the rear of the build- ing. Spring Luncheon: The date for this year’s “Luncheon with a Special Author” is Thursday, May 1. Mark your calendars! Book review: The Monday morning book discussion group reviewed “The Last Time They Met,” by Anita Shreve, at its re- cent meeting. It is basically a ro- mance between two 17-year-olds who meet in high school and whose paths: cross again when they are 26, with Africa as a background, and then at 52, when they meet at a convention of writers of poetry. That sounds straightforward, but the plot is narrated in reverse and then A complicated further with imaginative twist which is re- vealed at the end of the book. That twist was surprising (espe- cially to a couple of us), and an- noying at the same time, and led to a very lively and entertaining discussion. This is the third nov- el by this author that the group has read since its inception in 1995. ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - March 10, 1933 NO SCARLET FEVER REPORT- ED IN DALLAS There are no cases in Dallas borough, but Kingston Township was less fortunate than Dallas, three cases were reported in that township. No child who has been out of school three days or more is allowed to return with- out first presenting a physician's certificate showing that the child is in good health. W. B. Jeter, cashier First Na- tional Bank of Dallas, an- nounced that the bank will be open to carry on business, as outlined by President Roosevelt at a meeting. The bank will co- operate with the other banks of the country to carry out the spirit as well at the letter of the Federal regulations. Some of the items you could get at the American Stores Co. were: peas, 2 cans 25¢; shrimp, 2 cans 19%; sugar corn, 3 cans 25%; bread, loaf 5¢ Only Yesterday Is compiled from the back issue files of The Dallas Post. 60 Years Ago - March 5, 1943 11,000 REGISTER HERE FOR WAR RATION BOOK 2 More than 11,000 registered for War Ration Book No. 2 in the Back Mountain area. In addition several hundred Sugar Books be- longing to men and women who have entered the military services were turned in. Representatives of the Ameri- can Red Cross will set up a High- way First Aid Station at Daniel c. Roberts Fire House at Harveys Lake. The station will be inspect- ed regularly by Red Cross offi- cials and reports of all accidents treated there will be forwarded to Red Cross headquarters so that replenishment of supplies can be made, Approximately $45 was taken in by members of Dallas Wom- an’s Club at the War stamp and Bond booth in Dallas Post office. 50 Years Ago - March 6, 1953 DALLAS FIREMEN VIEW NEW EQUIPMENT Five Dallas firemen got a pre- view of Dr. Henry M. Laing Fire company’s new $15,905 Ameri- can LaFrance pumper on the as- sembly line at Elmira. Making the trip were: James besecker, chief; Norti Berti, assistant chief; Alvin Shaffer, driver; Henry Pe- terson, treasurer; and Arthur Dungey, trustee. Taxpayers of Ross Township held a public meeting at Sweet Valley Fire Hall to discuss a pro- posed raise in the Supervisors’ rate of pay and a proposed in- crease in the road tax levy. A collection of clothing for Ko- rea, carried out from curb to truck in metropolitan areas, was made in the Back Mountain. The collection was sponsored by Youth Fellowships of the church- es and endorsed by the Commu- nity Chest. 40 Years Ago - March 7, 1963 FIRST DALLAS WRESTLERS TO TAKE AWARD John Brominski and Thomas Borthwick became the first Dal- las wrestlers to win a P.LAA. District’ II crown. Brominski and Borthwick will compete in the Northeastern Regional Champi- onships at Muhlenburg College in Allentown. Kingston Township's aban- doned homes along Memorial Highway cannot be removed until contract is awarded for construc- tion of the proposed 4.61 miles of new highway, Senator Harold Flack announced. Once the bid has been awarded, the contractor will put the properties up for sale. Some of the clearance items at Humphrey's in Shavertown were: teen girls’ shoes, regular $7.95, now $3.99; teen girls’ canvas ox- fords, regular $4.95, now $2.49; children’s boots, regular $2.95, now $2; infants snowsuits, regu- lar $10-98, now $5. 30 Years Ago - March 8, 1973 PHOTOGRAPHER SAVES MAN FROM ICY DEATH James Kozemchak Sr., well known Back Mountain photogra- pher, was responsible for saving the life of John Fela, 70 of Swoy- ersville. It took over half an hour to rescue the nearly frozen man. Kozemchak was aided by two men in a truck who were passing by. Weather hampered constru tion of the Dallas relocatable school building on Hildebrandt Read. The $1 1/4 million com- plex was begun in October 1972 and was expected to be complet- ed by February 1973, but No- vember and December brought rain and more rain. Airman Mark J. Dorrance, Dal- las was assigned to Kessler AFB after completing Air Force basic training. Dorrance has been as- signed to the Technical Training Center at Kessler for specialized training in communications elec- tronics systems. 20 Years Ago - March 9, 1983 DOUGHTON HONORED BY LO- CAL JAYCEES Dallas Township fireman Thomas Doughton was recently presented with a plaque honoring his nomination as “Outstanding Young Firefighter” by the Back Mountain JayCees. Doughto i! was named by the local club C:) a # S participate in state competition. Dan Stadulus announced that he will seek the Democratic nom- ination for Luzerne County Com- missioner in the may 24 Primary. Parents concerned about the social and emotional growth of their children, formed a new or- ganization “Back Mountain Par- ents and Kids” (P.A.K.) Topics to be covered included drug and al- cohol abuse, ' parenting and teenage sexuality. Kingston Township reminds residents to keep right-of-way clear Kingston Township residents and property owners are remind- ed -not to place encroachments, such as fences, landscaping tim- bers, trees, shrubs or any other item within the Township street right-of-way. Property owners need to be aware that they do not own up to the edge of the roadway. Street right-of-ways vary from 33 to 50 feet. Residents that are unsure of the width of their street may call the Township Office for further information. It is very important that the right-of-way remain free of en- croachments for snow removal, utility construction and street maintenance. Residents are also reminded that this area is not their proper- ty and that the Township has the authority to order removal or to remove, the encroachments from the street or road right-of-way. The Township is asking for co- operation from all residents in re- specting the public right-of-way. Residents with questions may call the Township Administrative Office at 696-3809. Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post C f E C a S k E 5 k € I 0 lan 2) ® fi
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers