6 The Dallas Post EDITORIAL Friday, September 19, 2003 OUR OPINION Grateful donors are key building block for Back Mountain A commemoration ceremony at Shavertown United Methodist Church reminds us that a strong community is composed of many different and distinct parts. The congregation — and anyone who would like to attend — will be treated to a performance by Rev. William Summer- hill as he portrays Theron Ferguson, who operated a butcher shop a century ago and donated the land on which the church now sits. Such benevolence was not only welcome, but often necessary at that time, since wealth was spread less evenly in the population and institutions were still in their formative stages. We are fortunate that prosperous Americans continue to share their good fortune with the communities and nation that have provided them the opportunity to build wealth. The Back Mountain Memorial Library, the soon-to-be regional recreation center and every one of the region’s churches have benefitted from the philanthropy of neighbors who have done well and wish to do good. A consistently rising standard of living, expansion of gov- ernment services and the financial strength of public and pri- vate institutions has helped to relieve many of the burdens in- dividuals and organizations face in today’s America. But we still rely on generous people like Theron Ferguson to help smooth the rough edges of society. Perfection exists only in bureaucrats’ minds, if there Test scores have been consistently positive for students in the Dallas School District. That’s the good news. The other side of the story'is that no matter how hard teachers, students and administrators try, the district’s schools cannot satisfy the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. Why? Simply because perfection is not a human trait, and the act requires nothing less by 2014. That’s a long time, you might say, and there’s a reason; by then, the architects of this ridiculous mandate will be long since out of office and collect- ing hefty speaking fees on the lecture circuit. Aside from a requirement that 100 percent — 99.9 isn’t good enough — of students perform at “proficient or ad- vanced” levels in math and reading, NCLB demands that at- tendance levels be above 95 percent and never decline. Hello! If they're 95 percent now and can only go up, they too will have to be 100 percent by 2014. There goes your winter vaca- tion. Anyone with the mental aptitude of a “proficient” fifth grad- er recognizes that this act is not just about better perform- ance, it’s a free pass to vouchers. Well, it’s not free, because you and I will be paying for them in our school taxes, whether our kids benefit or not. But not to worry. The NCLB will go the way of other ideo- logical mandates when a new administration takes over in Washington. The only question is when that will be. EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK The first edition of what will undoubtedly become an annual event illustrated the best qualities of the Back Mountain. Not only was the turnout for the first Dallas Harvest Festival stu- pendous, visitors were exposed to the impressive variety of products, services, organizations and talents that combine to make this a desirable com- munity in which to live and work. Commer- cial exhibitors ranged from long-standing produce farms like Brace’s and Darling's to Cathy Blum’s hand-crafted breads. Organiza- tions covered the gamut of interests from 4- H — with Kurt and Sylvia Mass staffing the table and dishing out the burgers — to the Back Mountain Trail group’s display set up on the porch of Alan Boonin’s magnificent restored Victorian. As for talent, well it bridged any generation gap with perform- ances by tiny dancers, the “Sister Act” singers and others in be- tween. Best of all, the crowd was filled with neighbors mingling and chatting, in the process universally praising the event. Among the comments were some like this: “I didn’t have to take the kids to the mall or the arena to have a good time.” Some festival organizers stopped to shake hands with Mark Albrecht, who in his day job helped lobby for coverage on WBRE-TV, where he is a cameraman. Spotted among the enthusiastic visitors were Jeff Box, the former Kingston Township Manager, and Shirley Moyer, a su- pervisor who once suggested a similar event be held at Center Street Park. How about this idea — do it in the spring and hold it on Shavertown’s old Main Street. Combined with the family festival sponsored by the Back Mountain Business and Professional Association, we could bookend the best seasons and keep the spotlight on the full range of Back Mountain amenities. Noticeably absent were candidates for county political of- fice, which seemed odd given that an election is looming in a little over a month. Do they think we don’t matter, or does our reputation as a reliable Republican voting bloc lead them to take us for granted? It would have been nice to see at least Greg Skrepenak, who lives a few blocks from Main Street, out shaking hands. Unless I missed him, although that’s unlikely, since he’s so easy to spot! RON BARTIZEK 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 J Snosky Erin Youngman ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. REPORTER Darlene E. Sorber Greg Stauffer OFFICE MANAGER AD PRODUCTION MANAGER A good walk, not spoiled, at Irem Temple Country Club. Photo by Jim Phillips. Land Trust nature walk, bake sale, rafile at Hillside Farms ap The North Branch Land Trust (NBLT) invites members and the public to a nature walk, raffle drawing and bake sale on Saturday, September 27 at Hillside Farms in Trucksville. Naturalist Rick Koval, a new staff member of NBLT, will lead the walk as part of an af- ternoon of activities that in- clude a bake sale and raffle. “Rick has the ability to re- veal the world of nature in the most amazing way,” said Will Conyngham, of Hillside Farms. “Any walk with him is totally enlightening.” This is a peak time of year for a number of migratory birds that frequent the area and that participants are e couraged to bring binocul for bird watching. The bake sale will be held outside of the Dairy Store in the greenhouse parking area, starting at 10 a.m. The raffle drawing will occur at 12 noon. Tickets can be pur- chased until noon. The Nature Walk will begin at the Hillside Diary Green- house at 1 p.m. and will wind along a creek that ambles through the farm property. The Percheron draft horse wagon rides will run 12 noon until 4 p.m. and will cover points of interest and the natu- ral scenic beauty of the Hill- side Farms property. Seating is limited. Tickets are available at the dairy story. Raffle tickets are available at Hillside Dairy Store; at the Plains Animal Hospital, 242 S. River Street, Plains; and by calling Donna Schuler, 639- 1447; Sarah Carr, 836-0889; and the North Branch Lan Trust, 696-5545. Will the small ‘urban’ business district fit here? By HOWARD J. GROSSMA N AICP Northeastern Pennsylvania is replete cially in the many boroughs that dot the re- gional landscape. The prime example may be Luzerne Borough where special activi- ties and leadership resulted in the revital- ization of that downtown area. Others are in the Pocono Mountains in Hawley and Stroudsburg. Stroudsburg is a Main Street community, meaning that Commonwealth funding has helped stimu- late the way that municipal and business leaders plot the rebirth of these urban dis- tricts. Examining the way business districts can be shaped and organized for 21st cen- tury life is an important action that may be applicable to the small urban districts that exist in the Back Mountain. A clear direction for the future of these geographic places is represented by Dallas Borough, which serves as a center for com- a IS re] “merce and is a central business district that with small urban business districts; espe" "je ; | as always been a gathering point for de- velopment opportunities. Shavertown is another commerce area that has a cluster of businesses. Harveys Lake has long been a place of business in light of the develop- ment that continues to occur around the largest natural lake in the region. All of these examples call for the best ideas and thoughts to be applied to enable commer- cial development to continue through the responsive activities of municipal and busi- ness leaders. Whether or not in some of these situations governmental funding can be utilized, such as the Main Street pro- gram, remains to be seen. Think of the op- portunities that can accrue if a well-de- signed plan and action program were to be created and implemented, one that looks at all of these sectors simultaneously and can adjust to the residential development that continues at a strong pace in the Back Mountain. Many of the older boroughs in the state have required significant and sometimes massive redevelopment programs, utilizing a variety of state and sometimes federal as- sistance monies. The federal community development program is widely utilized in Luzerne County, since this jurisdiction is the only so-called urban county in the @) gion and receives much more of this type of funding than do others across the Pocono-Northeast. Community develop- ment is an important adjunct to the overall means by which small communities can improve their competitive posture and See BUSINESS, pg 7 70 Years Ago - September 29, 1933 DALLAS HELD TO OBSERVE NATIONAL RECOVERY ACT DAY Indicating its whole-hearted approval of the principles advocated by President Roo- sevelt’s national recovery Act, Dallas and vicinity joined with Wyoming Valley in a colorful parade which symbolized the unity of purpose behind the movement. Many men ONLY and women from the YESTERDAY Back mountain region were in the line of marchwith different organizations. Attendance records for the Bloomsburg Fair were broken when the turnstiles clicked 15,853 paid admissions. Thirty per- cent of the patrons, were from Luzerne county. Some of the items you could get at American Stores Co.: Asco coffee, 1b. 19¢; cooked spinach, 2 big cans 25¢; peaches, 2 big cans 29¢; pickles, 2 gt. jars 29¢; lettuce, head 10¢. 60 Years Ago - October 1, 1943 COL. NORMAN SMITH WILL HEAD ATHLETICS IN PACIFICAREA Chosen by officers of the Air Corps to su- pervise the establishment of athletic pro- grams at all of the major air bases in the Pacific area, Lieut. Colonel Norman smith, of Huntsville, left for Lexington, Va., after spending a brief leave here. William Baker resigned as Street Com- misioner of Dallas Borough and Ralph Eip- per, veteran employee of Oliver’s Garage has been appointed to the vacancy. Movies that played at the Shaver The- atre: “China” with Alan Ladd and Loretta Young; “Reveille With Beverly” with Ann Miller, and Frank Sinatra; “Aerial Gunenr” with Jimmie Lydon, and Chester Morris. 50 Years Ago - September 25, 1953 GEORGE TAYLOR RESIGNS FROM LAKE-NOXEN George El Taylors resignation as super- vising principal of Lake Noxen Township Schools was accepted at a special board meeting. Robert Belles, principal, will take over until definite replacement arrange- ments can be made. Taylor will assume su- pervision of South Middleton Schools in Cumberland County. Repatriated prisoners of war have been insturcted not to give too much informa- tion about conditions in Korean prison camps, according to Sgt John Vavrek, De- munds. Vavrek was wounded through the chest, and was taken prisoner at Kunri. Vavrek enlisted in the Army when he was seventeen. Forty seven children from other locali- ties or schools have been enrolled at Dallas Brough-Kingston Township schools, some of the most distant newcomers children of Air Force personnel stationed at Red Rock and living in Meadowcrest. 40 Years Ago - September 26, 1963 BISHOP OF SCRANTON DEDICATES NEW BUILDINGS A T MISERICORDIA In solemn procession led by Bishop Jerome D. Hannan, trustees, officers of ad- ministration, president’s advisory council, the building committee, notables and guests, and Sisters of Mercy, visited the two new buildings, Merrick Student Cen- ter, and Alumnae Hall. Dedication ad- ddresses were delivered by Rt. Monsignor James T. Clarke and his excellency Bishop Hannan. Charlie Gosart’s Grocery Store in Dallas will be under new management. William Davis, Shavertown purchased the stock of Gosart’s Grocery Store and will rent a por- tion of the building Sweet Valley telephones will change to all-number dialing, said Commonwealth Telephone Company The letters “GR” pre- ceding the number become “47” which cor- respond to them on the dial. 30 Years Ago - September 20, 1973 POST TO CARRY COLLEGE COURSE Twenty of the academic world’s most dis- tinguished scholars will be featured in America and the Future of Man, the unique Courses by Newspaper a program to be printed by this newspaper over 20 weeks. The Dallas post is one of 13 newspaers car- rying the course statewide. Harveys Lake Borough council chairman William Hoblak read from a report that the annual sewer rate for a borough home will actually be $225 rather than the $178 that the Harveys Lake Municipal Authority (HLMA) has been projecting. A vandal or vandals fired three shots at the Daniel C. Roberts Fire company build- ing, Harveys Lake. The bullet which did the most damage entered through the door of the garage and struck the front end of the fire engine. 20 Years Ago - July 20, 1983 INMATES EARN ASSOCIATE DEGREE Three inmates at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas have received Associ- ate Degrees from Luzerne County Commu- nity College. Larry Stephenson, Clinton Anderson and Mike Vaccarello recently completed the necessary requirements of the college and were awarded their degrees of the college. Their achievement were made possible through a program institut- ed 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, after completing Air Force basic training. Tomaselli is a 1982 graduate of Lake-Lehman High School. LP a
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers