The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, April 17, 2003 EDITORIAL Good intentions alone not enough in school plans | Governor Ed Rendell's plans for public education hold both promise and peril for local school districts. The proposal to | shift a greater share of the tax burden from property to in- | come embraces a more rational funding scheme for public | education, but other recommendations could lead to sharply | increased spending at a time when the pocketbooks of tax- | payers have been battered by a weak economy and plum- | meting stock market. : While a laudable goal, the plan to impose maximum ele- | mentary class sizes in the mid-teens will instantly make | many of today’s schools inadequate. The Dallas district, for example, foresees the need for several more classrooms. | That would be in addition to expansion to make space for all-day kindergarten classes, another potential mandate, | with a total of 15 additional classrooms needed. On top of that, each of those classrooms would need a teacher, and many of them an aide as well. State regulations aren't the only thing weighing on admin- istrators’ minds. The federal No Child Left Behind Act con- | tains its own set of challenges that put pressure on districts | to increase resources or face the threat of reduced revenue. | Again, the goals are admirable, but the practical effect may | be to add expenses without an accompanying increase in | funding. Public education certainly deserves our support, but we | must be careful to balance the potential for improvement with our capacity to pay for it. Otherwise, a backlash could | leave schools in a worse, not better position. Holy days remind us of the gift of renewal | This week's calendar contains two of the most important | holidays in Western religious culture. | The eight-day celebration of Passover began Wednesday | night with the traditional Seder meal on the first two nights. | The traditional observance includes a recounting of the He- | brews’ exodus from centuries of bondage in Egypt and | prayers of thanksgiving to God for his protection. Easter Sunday is also a time of great joy, as Christians cel- | ebrate the miracle that is at the heart of their belief in life | beyond the grave. | It’s probably not a coincidence that these two significant _holidays occur in the spring, when the natural world offers |its own evidence that life is a process of renewal and fresh | opportunities. Every bud and blade of grass holds within it I proof that the harshest conditions can give way to hope and |i promise. It is up to us to believe in that possibility, or life be- |lcomes a perpetual winter. | | | Publisher’s Notebook Ron Bartizek What do Tiger Woods and Martha Burk have in common? They both were a bust at this year’s Masters golf tourna- ‘ment, which was won by a lefty, but not the one known un- (officially as “Best Golfer Never to Have Won a Major.” | Both Woods and Burk had no one to blame but themselves [for the poor outcome. Tiger's bid to become the first player to wear the green jacket three consecutive times wilted in a fi- -nal round that went to pieces after he tried to bite off more ‘than even he could chew on the short par-4 third hole. | Burk’s Donna Quixote-like crusade to force admission of a woman to Augusta National fizzled after she made a ludi- crous and offensive comparison between women who are | fighting with M-16s in the Iraqi desert and women who are fighting a slice on manicured country club fairways. | Woods will rebound, and his successes will be measured in | a dozen or more major tournament victories. If Burk’s goal is | admission of a token rich woman to the Augusta roster, I | suppose she'll win out eventually as well, although it's hard | to see how that will be a great advance for her gender, the | game of golf, or America. i i | i i Spring runoff alongside Outlet Road. Photo by Ron Bartizek. LIBRARY NEWS Letters, columns and editorials i | The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of top- | ics in many forms. | Editorials, which are the opinion of the managment of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any artwork represents the opinion of the car- | toonist, and columns are the opinion of the author. | 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. L The Dallas Post TIMES*LEADER unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DAL A 18612 * 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek EDITOR/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 A third Red Cross baby sitters course will be held at the library Saturday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. At this writing, there are still some openings. The library will establish a wait- ing list for yet another class if this one is filled. You must reg- ister and pay the fee of $25 in advance of the meeting date. Call the library at 675-1182. Red Cross baby sitter class signups Librarian's Report: On a Sunday in March, Library Direc- tor Martha Butler and seven staff members received First Aid certification and CPR certifica- tion. Joyce Casaldi from the Red Cross donated her time as in- structor and the students paid for their books and materials. Other ventures in which staff members participated were a teleconference on Online Refer- ence Resources, a grant-writing workshop, a District Negotiation Meeting involving the prioritiza- tion of services in preparation for the proposed cuts in state aid, and a meeting to finalize plans for the District Summer Reading Game. Fifty-five children from The Trinity Learning Center, Webe- low Scouts from three dens preparing for their Communica- tor Badges, and parents and children of the Title I Kinder- garten class at Dallas Elemen- tary School were among those who visited the library during March. Statistics for the month in- cluded total circulation of 9,249; new books added, 247; new bor- rowers, 104; and active borrow- ers, 15,349. TV Turn-Off Week 2003: Would you like your child to be interested in something besides television? The Tudor Bookshop is offering a broad range of free all-ages activities, games, perfor- mances, readings, and work- shops during the week of April 21-27. Go to www.tvturnoff.org, or call 288-9697 for information, or drop by the Tudor and pick up a schedule. Easter library hours: A re- minder that the library will close at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, and will be closed all day on Good Friday, April 18. New display: Jill Kryston has put on display her collection of “Teapots for Every Occasion” and tea sets for both adults and children. I know that I enjezss. looking at the very varied colle {Sl tions that are put in the display™> case each month. I hope you take the time to look at them, too. ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - April 21, 1933 STATE TO HELP DALLAS ON ROAD REPAIR PROGRAM Dallas borough will carry out an extended program of road re- pair immediately using state aid labor for the repair and con- struction of new streets, was learned when the State emer- gency Relief board notified A. J. Rainey, local prior director, that he can place men to work on the borough streets and pay them with food orders. Arthur Rainey, poor director in charge of state work relief in this section and Leonard O’Kane, chief of Police of Dallas borough, made a tour of all local speakeasies and liquor stores warning proprietors, that charges will be pressed against them if they continue to furnish moonshine and intoxicating liquor to persons obtaining work orders or relief from the local poor district. One of President Roosevelt's reforestration camps may be constructed in the vicinity of Noxen. Several sites near here, including the U.S. Military Reservation at Tobyhanna, have been suggested as possible sites for federal camps for unem- ployed men engaged in the refor- estration programs. 60 Years Ago - April 16, 1943 TRUCKSVILLE PLAQUE 5 HONORS THOSE IN SERVICE Trucksville citizens joined by their ngithbors form surround- ing communities paid honmor th their sons in service when they gathered at the fire hall and dedicated a beautiful honor roll inscribed with more than 100 names. Some of the items you could’ get at Acme Markets were: strawberries, full pint basket 23¢; Florida oranges, dozen 35¢; cider vinegar, bottle 12¢; scrap- ple, 1b. 15¢; cooked salami, 1b 19¢. Bob Niemeyer, Dallas, pur- chased a $1,000 war bond through his brother, Harold, a student in the 9th grade at Dal- las Borough High school, help- ing the school to pass its goal of $1,165 in war bond sales neces- sary for the purchase of an army jeep. 50 Years Ago - April 17, 1953 TWO KUNKLE FIREMEN REVIVE INFANT Jason Kunkle and Fred Dod- son, saw a ten weeks infant re- lieved from suffocation when they applied the resuscitator mask and started operations. The two men were caled to the home of William Haddle and within minutes the baby was getting the oxygen she needed. Dallas Water Company will in- stall a six-inch line to New Goss manor making it possible for the installation of fire hydrants in that area. Shop students at Lehman- Jackson received permission to go ahead with plans for an out door pavilion, designed for pic- nic purposes. 40 Years Ago - April 18, 1963 AMBULANCE CORPS STUDIES ANSWERING SERVICE Dallas ambulance is studying the idea of centering control of all calls to a twenty-four tele- phone answering service, after explanation of system by a ser- vice firm representative at a meeting recently.With an an- swering service there would be one number for the ambulance ,and telephone girls would phone down a list for crewmen to call. Twenty Scouts from Harveys Lake Troop 331 were thrilled with what was probably their first face to face encounter with a real submachine gun and a real tank. Their host was 402nd Military Police Battalion. Dr. Henry M. laing Fire Com- pany put in a busy week racing from one brush fire to another Dry conditions throughout the state and nation, plagued farm- ers and fireman alike. 30 Years Ago - April 19, 1973 BOMB EXPLODED AT IREM TEMPLE COUNTRY CLUB A bomb exploded on the front lawn of Irem Temple Country Club in Dallas Township, shortly after township police had cruised through the club grounds. There ware no injuries State Police from Wyoming Bar- racks were called in. Plans were well underway in- Wyoming Valley for a major springtrime festival. A commit- tee chaired by Roy Morgan, out- going president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Com- erce, has been working for si months to put together “Rain bow Recovery Fair” Some events are “Cherry Blossom Time”, Fine Arts Fiesta, and Parade Progress. Some of the item you could get at Giant Markets were: semi- boneless hams, Ib. 89%; smoked hams 898%; pork roast lb. 73¢; pork chop lb. $1.29; Florida or- anges, 10 for 49¢; red radishes, 2 pks 23¢. 20 Years Ago - April 20, 1983 LIBRARY SETS A RECORD The library has set a new cir- culation record for a one month period in the main building. March of 1983 shows a circula- tion of 5,731 passing the previ- ous record of 5,628 set in March of 1982. Over 700 area youngsters were registered and more than 200 of those showed up at the weigh-in as the Harveys Lake Bassmasters sponsored thé third annual Youth Trout Derby. Some of the car prices at Com- munity Buick, Kingston: ‘83 Skyhawk 4-door sedan, $8,498; ‘83 Skylark, 4-door sedan, $9,680; ‘83 LeSabre, 4-door sedan, $10,351; ‘83 Electra, 4- dr sedan, $13,976. Kingston Township reminds residents to keep right-of-way clear Kingston Township residents and property owners are reminded not to place encroachments, such as fences, landscaping timbers, 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- Historical society to hold annual meeting The Luzerne County Historical Society’s Annual Dinner and Meet- ing will take place Friday, April 25 at the Fox Hill Country Club in Exeter. This year’s speaker will be Lisa Francavilla, who will present “The Other Front: The Revolutionary War in the Backcountry.” The croachments for snow removal, utility construction and street maintenance. Residents are also reminded that this area is not their property and that the Township has the authority to order removal or to re- move, the encroachments from the street or road right-of-way. The Township is asking for cooperation from all residents in re- specting the public right-of-way. Residents with questions may call the Township Administrative Office at 696-3809. Cocktail Hour will begin at 6 p.m. with the welcome and introduc- tion at 7 p.m. and dinner at 7:15 p.m. The Annual Meeting of the historical society will take place at 8 p.m. with the speaker to follow. A silent Auction will be held during the cocktail hour. The cost is $35 per person. Reservations with payment will be P cepted until Monday April 21st. For information, call 823-6244. — | i £4 #
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers