6 The Post EDITORIAL Sunday, November 30, 2003 OUR OPINION Advantages of address updates worth the hassle But it’s scandalous we ve waited this long and spent this much Oh, it all sounded so enticing. When Luzerne County offi- cials began to romance municipalities, fire and ambulance companies in the mid-1990s, they wove a tale of a sophisticat- ed, modern emergency response system that seemed too good to be true. As it turned out, it was. Back then, wishing to impose the allowed maximum charge of $1.25 per month on each personal and business telephone line, the county promised new relay towers that would elimi- nate dead spots, fax machines for every emergency vehicle from which would spew accurate directions to each call, and a high-tech computer program to display a caller’s exact location and medical history. The up-to-date and accurate addresses were to be mapped out by the county, in part using the Jeeps they had purchased, ostensibly for that purpose. It is now nearly six years after the county 911 system was imposed along with the onerous surcharge, and it appears we will finally enjoy the benefits of at least one of those long-for- gotten promises. According to a spokesperson, the Luzerne County 911 Center is now testing the advanced software that will throw up on dispatchers’ screens a myriad of useful infor- mation on callers, and it will be in service as soon as all the bugs are worked out. Alas, the software will be only as good as the information that is fed into it, and much of that has yet to be compiled. It’s not that the county has been slow to do so; no, they decided long ago that they would not and asked local town and emer- gency services officials to do it themselves if they wanted to get easy-to-follow directions from dispatchers who don’t know Lake Street from Lakeside Drive. Fortunately, the people who actually provide police, fire and ambulance services care enough to spend their own time, and surely some of their own money, tracking down every house, office and farm. Theyre trying to conform to an addressing system that was recommended by the county — how nice of them to make a suggestion — and while it’s far from perfect, once completed it will yield a more logical addressing pattern than what has been left after decades of hodgepodge additions and subtractions. It’s best for everyone if we accept the inconvenience and ex- pense that go along with changing addresses. Those factors won't seem at all relevant when you make a call in the middle of the night and responders quickly and accurately find you. It’s just regrettable that it has taken this long and cost this much to reach a point where we get even a fraction of the ben- efits we have been paying for. Ji : Inscription on a Canadian barn “When your barn is well filled, all snug and secure, Be thankful to God and remember the poor.” Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. - EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK You may have heard last week about a new discount airline being created by United Airlines. Apparently someone in their marketing department suffers from attention deficit disorder, since in a flash of brilliance they've decided to call it “Ted,” as in the last three letters of “United.” I wonder how much they paid for that scintillating idea. But this got me to thinking that this is not a bad concept. Clearly, they are trying to project the no-frills nature of this service, and we must assume the accompa- nying bargain fares. Thus, peeling a few let- ters away from the established corporate nameplate to create a whimsical title just might work. Perhaps we’ll do the same thing, and become “Tost.” Notice we have four letters. That seems unavoidable when condensing a two- or three-word original. Of course, it takes more than a cute name to make a discount operation successful; if you follow Wal-Mart's lead it’s also neces- sary to employ undocumented aliens who will work seven days a week for a pittance. But let’s not go there, lets stick to our little region of the world. In our case, in order to provide a cheaper .. I mean less expensive .. paper, we might have to trim a few luxuries. One thing that takes time, and thus costs money, is writing headlines, so we'd have to dispense with them. The downside is that slothful readers would then have to actually read the stories, which might not be well-received. Maybe it would be simpler to just leave a couple of pages blank, which is the newspaper equivalent of lunch on a cut-rate airline, where peanuts are not a snack but the main meal. Tost shouldn’t be the only local business or organization to jump on this bandwagon. I can think of plenty more that with a little creativity — and a great deal of subtraction — could of- fer the same wonderful experience as a flying boxcar. Here are a few of them, using a combination of letters from their presently bloated names. Can you guess who they are? Mery — They're in Dallas and Shavertown. Croom — I hear it’s scrumptious. Kip — They really need to cut the frills. Zap — It’s really busy on Friday nights. Cheater — It’s actually very nice, and quite entertaining. Thone — Get the connection? Answers appear below. No cheating} ROK auoydofa], yireamuouruio)) — UOY J, “19389 J, YOLIII(] — J9)edy) "J09L19 ezzid — dez “diysumoy, uojssuny] — dry "Woy [[LIX) S,Jouu0)) — W00X) ‘AI9[[eD) SAO] — AION 70 Years Ago — December 1, 1933 TRUCKSVILLE FIREMEN ASK FOR CITIZENS HELP — Notified by Hamburg Bank and Trust Co. of Ham- burg PA, that the note for $200 on new equipment, due on De- cember 16, must be met, mem- bers of Trucksville Fire Depart- ment this week asked for immediate pay- ment of pledges from as many residents as possible. ONLY YESTERDAY — The reduction of the cash street car rate between Wilkes- Barre and Dallas will become effective December 15, it was announced this week. The cost will change from 32 to 24 cents. — Some items that could be purchased at the A&P Market: Pineapple, two cans, 25 cents, Pillsbusy flour, 24.5 pound bag, $1.25, six soap cakes, 19 cents. 60 Years Ago December 3, 1943 STUDENTS MOURN SHOOTING VICTIM — Lester Humphrey, 17, president of the senior class at Lake Township High School, was almost instantly killed late Saturday afternoon in the woods, near Loyalville when he was struck in the back from the gun of his companion and life long friend, Benjamin Smith. — (Calling attention to the se- rious plight of the Dallas High School band which has been without a director for for the better part of a year, members of the band parents’ association met this week to discuss the fu- ture. — A three-year-old was fatal- ly injured from a fall in a barn. Howard James harrison, was initially considered to be okay, but died two days later unex- pectedly. The Trucksville Trestle, which spanned Carverton Road just behind the present Trucksville Pharmacy, was taken down 40 years ago, after the demise of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. 50 Years Ago December 4, 1953 COUNCIL HAS FIRST MEETING IN NEW HOME — Dallas Borough Council held its first meeting in the new Borough Building Tuesday night and approved building permits in the amount of $45,850. — Mrs. Margaret S. MacLean, daughter of the late Attorney William Swan and Ann S. Roberts MacLean, early residents of Wilkes-Barre, died Wednesday night at her home on machell Avenue, Dallas. She was 77. — Mrs. Jewel Matock Ruddy, graduate of East Stroudsburg State Teachers College, as- sumed directorship of girls physical education classes at Dallas-Franklin High School November 16. Mrs. Dolbear had been substituting. 40) Years Ago December 5, 1963 RAILROAD STATION CLOSING, TRUCKSVILLE TRESTLE COMING DOWN — Opened and closed and opened and closed: The old Lehigh Railroad Station now stands shivering in the heatless winter wind, bereft of light, heat and station master, await- ing final official closing. — When the railroad goes, and it has already begun to, so does the famous Trucksville Trestle, a landmark in the vil- lage. Contractor’s men have al- ready begun to ask permission of neighboring landowners to allow demolition cranes on their property. — Edgar J. Lashford, Huntsville, was named presi- dent of the Greater Wilkes- Barre Chamber of Commerce this week at the Hotel Sterling. 30 Years Ago November 21, 1973 MOUNTS WIN BACK OLD SHOE TROPHY — The mountaineers still have the Old Shoe! The Dallas High School gridders returned the prize to their Trophy case for the fourth consecutive year after defeating Lehman 34-6. — Whereas it has been de- clared and proven that a seri- ous energy crisis exists and will continue to exist for some time to come, I Stephen F. Hartman, Mayor of Dallas Borough, by virtue of my position, sincerel request that all citizens cong serve energy both at home and at their place of work. — Nine or ten boys have ad- mitted that they were responsi- ble for the vandalism which oc- curred at the school. Sixteen Japanese Cherry trees were felled, a school bus window smashed and more. 20 Years Ago November 30, 1983 TAXESARE LOWERED — Kingston Township super- visors announced they will low- er the 1984 property tax rate from seven mills to five mills. The announcement was made at a special budget meeting held November 23. — Principal Frank Galicki presented the Most Valuable Player trophy to John Farre in the Old Shoe Game. Farrell had six carries for a total of 70 yards against the knights. — The Dallas School Board voted November 25 to fire John Gabriel, the school district's building and ground’s keeper. The vote came after 11 hear- ings held since September con- cerning the case. for his outstanding offense pla¥§§l’ * tue POST TIMESeLEADER Cogagunity Newspaper Group 15 N. MAIN ST., WILKES- E PA 18711 « 570-675-5211 dallaspost@leader.net Patrick McHugh Ronald Bartizek PUBLISHER EDITOR Justin Wisnosk ADVERTISING ACCT. Exec. Greg Stauffer AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Erin Youngman REPORTER Letters, columns and editorials The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of topics in many forms. Editorials, which are the opinion of the management of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any artwork represents the opinion of the cartoonist, and columns are the opinion of the author. 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