a at A AA Hn 4p 6 The Dallas Post Friday, July 25, 2003 OUR OPINION Time is running short to grab reins of our destiny An article in this week’s Dallas Post by staff writer Erin Youngman details the degree to which residential development continues to dominate the Back Mountain’s landscape, both lit- erally and figuratively. With construction on a total of more than 300 homesites either approved or underway, it’s clear that this region’s position as a magnet for growth is secure. Now the question becomes whether we are comfortable with the in- creased pressure on local resources that accompanies all the new families. Demand for more businesses and services follows popula- tion growth as surely as night follows day, so it’s important that local officials think beyond the next subdivision plot that lands on their desks. People may be attracted to the Back Mountain for its peacefulness and scenic beauty, but not long after arriv- ing they begin to long for the convenience of nearby stores, restaurants and services. That’s perfectly understandable, and should be anticipated in long-range plans that incorporate well- defined residential and commercial zones that fit the scale of our region. There’s another aspect to our popularity among home builders and buyers, and the affluence many of them possess — they all have vehicles that add volume to an already clogged network of roads and highways. To its credit, the state Depart- ment of Transportation (PennDOT) has tried to keep up with the ever-swelling traffic composed both of people who live here and those passing through. In an ironic twist, the improve- ments PennDOT makes both ease and add to the problem, as more lanes and fewer delays attract a greater number of mo- torists who are on their way to someplace else. There have been heartening signs that the communities that comprise the Back Mountain are moving to address these criti- cal issues on a regional, rather than one-by-one basis. The peo- ple behind that process must work hard to catch up with mar- ket forces that are relentlessly changing the region’s character in ways that may not be to our long-term benefit if they are not channeled properly. PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK You needn’t be a golfer — or even a serious fan — to appre- ciate the British Open, the third of four “Major” tournaments each year. Last weekend’s 132nd edition offered the kind of de- licious scenes that duffers everywhere cherish, as the world’s best struggled to break par on an unforgiv- ing, windswept “links” course that hasn’t changed a great deal in decades. One reason courses across the sea play so tough is that they receive far less grooming than a typical > £ U.S. tournament venue. In an interview, the {Lely B head greenskeeper at Royal St. George's re- RON marked that he had a staff of 10 to care for BARTIZEK the course, compared to 50 at Augusta Na- tional, the site of the Masters. Even for The Open, as the British like to call it, his staff was increased only to 15. It showed, as in place of perfectly clipped, overfertilized fairways and rough, the players had to contend with tight, dry conditions that require a different style of play and that make good fortune a much bigger factor in determining a winner. Not that Ben Curtis needed a fairy godmother. The young Ohioan who became only the second player in modern profes- sional golf to claim his first victory at a major just had to hold his game and emotions together as he came down the stretch with a slim lead. He did — barely — and left Tiger Woods and other big names to wonder why this untested 26-year-old was able to make the shots he needed to and they could not. In the end the golf course was the winner, as it always is in the British Open. And I like it that way. 000 We are approaching the stage in our children’s lives at which the long-anticipated college search begins. We've always em- phasized to the kids that they should do their best in school so they will have the widest range of options open when it comes time to move up to higher education. Little did we know how misguided our advice was, at least until now. Many big-name colleges and universities, it turns out, don’t emphasize academ- ic achievement as highly as we thought. No, they have a differ- ent opinion about how to attract students willing to pay tu- itions that would make a Mercedes dealer blush — football! If you don’t follow college sports, you may not have heard the biggest story of the last 10 years. No, it’s not about gam- bling by coaches, violence by players or cheating by adminis- trations, although those are all common items. No, it’s about the courtship by the Atlantic Coast Conference of the Universi- ty of Miami and other Big East Conference schools. You may be surprised to hear this — I certainly was — but this gigantic switcheroo is all about money! Can you imagine — colleges be- ing more concerned with television rights than graduation rates? Shocking! In the end, Miami did the right thing by current scholastic standards and jumped from the conference that was willing to accept it a decade ago when no one else would. As a result, the university may be able to break even on its vast athletic pro- gram, which should warm the heart of any tuition-paying par- ent tired of subsidizing stadiums, weight rooms and private dorms for the favored few who pull on a uniform. Letters, columns and editorials Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, subject to certain guidelines. Send letters to: Editor, The Dallas Post, 607 Main Rd., Dallas PA 18612. Or send them electronically to dallaspost@leader.net. Be sure to include a daytime telephone number that we may use to verify authenticity. Tre DALLAS POST TIMESeLEADER C unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DALLA 18612 » 570-675-5211 dallaspost@leader.net Ronald Bartizek EDITOR/GENERAL MANAGER Justin Wisnosky ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Erin Youngman REPORTER Claudia Blank AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Darlene E. Sorber OFFICE MANAGER Just hangin’ around in Dallas Borough. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Thanks to all the 57th library auction volunteers successful event. CAROL KING Thank- you — Martha Butler, Li- brary Director, extends thanks to all the volunteers who served at the 57th Annual Auction, and to sup- porters who helped in other ways. It took a tremendous effort on the part of everyone to achieve such a Baby-sitters course: The Ameri- can Red Cross will hold another baby-sitters class tomorrow, July 26, at the library from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is re- quired. Call the library for details. Summer reading game finale: The end of this year’s reading game, “Get in the Game @ Your Li- brary,” will be celebrated on Mon- day, July 28, at 6:30 p.m. Magician and Ventriloquist John Carlson will present his “Read and Grow Magic Show”. Certificates and prizes will be awarded and there will be re- freshments. “Donuts and Discussion”: The last book of the season, “A Wrinkle in Time,” will be discussed on Mon- day, August 11, from 4 to 5 p.m. Current display: The current dis- play of teacups and demitasse cups and saucers is on loan by Ton; Joanne Pirouz. New books added to BMT library’s collection The Back Mountain Memorial Bubbles Ablazeby Sarah Ann B. Ross Library, 96 Huntsville Road, Strohmeyer Into the Inferno by Earl W. Dallas, announces the addition Emerson of the following books to their LARGE PRINT FICTION The Return of the King by collection. The Second Time Around by J.R.R. Tolkien Mary Higgins Clark Have You Seen Dawn? by FICTION Keeping Watch by Laurie R. Steven Saylor Bad Company by Jack Higgins King The Harbor by Carla Neggers Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs Johnny Angel by Danielle Steel Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Tri- giani Fear Itself by Walter Mosley Conclave by Roberto Pazzi The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman Cold Pursuit by T. Jefferson Parker The Tail of the Tip-Off by Rita Mae Brown Birthright by Nora Roberts The Confessor by Daniel Silva Seduced by a Rogue by Connie Mason LARGE PRINT NONFICTION The Boy on the Bus by Debo- Last Dance, Last Chance by rah Schupack Ann Rule Miss Julia Hits the Road by BIOGRAPHY Living History by Hillary Rod- ham Clinton BOOKS ON CD The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough Cosmopolis by Don DelLillo Isaac Newton by James Gleick The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey The Wandering Hill by Larry McMurtry ® Hawke by Ted Bell Star Wars Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover 70 Years Ago - July 28, 1933 BENNETT BARN BURNS DURING HARD THUNDERSTORM During a severe electrical storm, lightning struck a barn on the Z. Platt Bennett farm on the Huntsville to Idetown road in Lehman township and destroyed it before an- htying could be saved except two cows. The barn contained new farm machinery that had never been used, and a quantity of hay, straw and rye. ONLY YESTERDAY Post-O-Graf manufac- turing company of Trucksville recently shipped a number of orders of duplicating machines to Honolulu, Hawaii, Columbia, South America and Buenos Aires, Argenti- na. The company is doing a considerable amount of export business, and has pre- pared special mailing pieces, printed in Spanish, Italian and French for distribution among agents in foreign countries. Representatives of the Mack Truck compa- ny were in Dallas taking the Dr. Henry M. Laing fire company’s truck and pumper to the Allentown plant of the Mack Company where it will be renovated and a new six cylinder motor installed. 60 Years Ago - July 30, 1943 HENDRICKS WILL LEAD LEHMAN TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS Howard Hendricks, supervising principal of Springville Susquehanna county shools for the past nine yeears, has been appoint- ed supervising principal of Lehman Town- ship schools to replace H. Austin Snyder. Lawrence Updyke will open his new hard- ware store under the namd of The Dallas Hardware and Supply Company in the building on Main Street. In order to facilitate the distribution of can- ning sugar in the area served by Dallas War Price and Rationing Baord, members of the Community Service Panel have made arrangements with various stores in com- munity centers to ration and distribute the sugar. 50 Years Ago - July 24, 1953 DALLAS POSTOFFICE GETS TRUCK LOAD OF NEW EQUIPMENT A van load of new office furniture and fix- tures from the federal equipment Manufac- turing company of Carlisle, will turn the in- terior of Dallas Postoffice into a more effi- cient institution and take on a more mod- ern appearance. Some of the furniture was oak fixtures, new screen line composed of 315 combination lock boxes. For those who will rent these the cost will be 90¢ per year. Efforts are being made by Dallas township citizens to have Wilkes-Barre Railway Cor- poration extend its bus lines from Fern- brook to DeMunds Corners at least two times a day. Some movies that played at Sandy Beach Drive-In Theatre were: “Call of the Wild” with Clark Gable and Loretta Young, “Sirocco” with Humphrey Bogart and Mar- ta Toren, “Titanic” with Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyek. 40 Years Ago - July 25, 1963 MRS. ANDERSON NAMED DIRECTOR OF CANCER BOARD A Shavertown woman was elected to mem- bership on the Luzerne County Unit Board of the American Cancer Society. Mrs. Fred- erick Anderson, was named a director of the annual dinner meeting. Sale of candy bars by Little Leaguers to help defray cost of the new buildings at the field on Church Street netted the league about $1,600. Cost of the buildings them- selves cost about $2,900. Back Mountain All-Stars hoping to push their record to a second state champi- onship in a row, were beaten by as a strong Pittston team broke a 3-3 tie in the last in- ning. 30 Years Ago - July 26, 1973 QUESTION OF FOURTH PATROLMAN REMAINS UNSETTLED IN BOROUGH The question of whether Dallas Broough will have a foruth fulltime policeman may be up in the air. Harold Brobst, a borough committeeman, told the councilmen who had voted for the additional man, that he may not vote to approve the man’s salary diring the upcoming readings of the budg- et. Kingston Township police made three ar- rests during a five-day period, involving 17 persons in connection with several Back Mountain robberies and a beer drinking party. The arrests included five minors and 12 juveniles. Bill Umphred chairman of the 1973 Library Auction, reported that the net sales form the 27th annual auction will exceed $26,000. Mr. Unphred also announced yhat Atty. James Anzalone has accepted ) chairmanship of the 28th annual auction in 1974. 20 Years Ago - July 20, 1983 THREE CHASE PRISON INMATES EARN ASSOCIATE DEGREES Three inmates at the State Correctional In- stitution at Dallas have received Associate Degrees from Luzerne County Community College. Larry Stephenson, Clinton Ander- son and Mike Vaccarello recently complet- ed the necessary requirements of the col- lege and were awarded their degrees of the college. Their achievement were made pos- sible through a program instituted by the Pennsylvania Jaycees. After 30 years as a mailman for Dallas Postoffice, Andy Sokol will retire. He was known as “Andy the mailman” to those he delivered mail to. Airman Joseph Tomaselli, Dallas, has been assigned to Lowry Air Force Base, Colo, af- ter completing Air Force basic training. Tomaselli is a 1982 graduate of Lake- Q: Where do you find the most Back Mountain news each week? A: Only in The Dallas Post Lehman High School.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers