4 The Post
EDITORIAL
Sunday, March 21, 2004
OUR OPINION
School attendance
shouldn’t come at
too high a cost
For all its faults — and there are many — the federal No
Child Left Behind act has forced school administrators to look
with new intensity at policies and procedures that can affect
student performance. While the federal government has speci-
fied standards for test scores, teacher qualifications and gradu-
ation rates, each state can pick from a basket of other bench-
marks and Pennsylvania chose attendance. That seems like a
wise decision, at least if you believe the old saying that half of
success derives just from showing up.
The NCLB standard for attendance is 95 percent. That may
sound high, but when applied to an individual student leaves
room for nine absences in a 180-day school year, not an unrea-
sonable number for someone with a strong constitution and a
reasonable family life. But not all students live in such circum-
stances, so to reach the 95 percent threshold, schools must
work conscientiously to reduce chronic absenteeism, since fail-
ing to hit the mark or show improvement can lead to a failing
school label. That designation triggers consequences that in-
clude having to provide transportation to a supposedly better
school in another district.
The Dallas and Lake-Lehman school districts are both hov-
ering around the acceptable level, but not without a great deal
of effort. Each district has its own approach, and Dallas has
the advantage of a full-time Home and School Visitor, who
spends a portion of his time working with truant students and
their families. But try as they might, both districts don’t get
through to a certain number of families each year, and send
them to the magistrate when all other approaches have failed.
It’s our guess that even that drastic action doesn’t always get
unwilling students back in class.
So, what are we do do? Should schools — in order to meet
some theoretical standard — direct even more resources to
students who don’t value a traditional education or clearly
don’t want to be in school? Under the NCLB system, our
schools have little choice, or they'll be faced with even more
disruption if placed on the bad list. This seems like a misuse of
administrators’ talent and energy that could be better used on
students who demonstrate some interest in their own im-
provement. Perhaps a better solution is to offer classes and ac-
tivities that will attract reluctant students to school, even if
those offerings don’t fit the standard curriculum. Then, legal
action could be reserved for only the most egregious cases.
The worst option is to commit even more teacher and ad-
ministration time to chasing down students and families who
show no interest in school, diverting resources from those who
recognize the benefits of a good education. But as long as
NCLB exists, that may be the only real choice.
Student achievements
tell a positive story
And now the good news from the schools — lots of it. Each
week, The Post receives or reports on student achievements
from the mundane to the meritorious, and it’s remarkable how
many there are. From dean’s lists to diving medals, business
clubs to science fairs, local students demonstrate a remarkable
range of accomplishments, and we are more than happy to re-
port them.
This week’s issue carries stories about two large groups of
achievers — the Future Business Leaders of Dallas and science
students from both the Dallas and Lake-Lehman districts —
and a host of others. The business group is sending its largest
contingent ever to state competition — 15 students — and
there is hope that some of them will earn a spot at the national
event, as Steve Losh did last year. In science, several teams
from both schools qualified for the state level Science
Olympiad by placing well in a regional competition held at
Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
The sports pages are loaded with names of individual and
team champions at all levels. While skill at basketball or swim-
ming is unlikely to bring lifelong benefits, it’s always interest-
ing to note how many young people excel both on the field
and in the classroom, setting a pattern for a lifetime of achieve-
ment.
So, keep those items coming. We may not be able to get
them in as quickly as you'd like, since often there are too many
to fit in a single issue, but we're honored that you trust us to
spread the word about these worthwhile deeds, which foretell
a bright future for your children and our region.
Letters are welcome
Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, subject
to the following guidelines:
e Letters should not exceed 500 words.
® Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town
and a telephone number for verification.
* Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear and verifi-
able threat to the writer.
e No writer may have more than one letter addressing the
same topic published during a 30-day period, except as a reply to
another letter.
e 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 libel, slander or objectionable wording.
Send letters to: The Post, 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre PA
18711, or by e-mail to: thepost@leader.net.
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Field in Noxen looks
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arlotte Bartizek.
GUEST COLUMN
Land trust says thanks to property owners
By RICK KOVAL
The North Branch Land
Trust is proud to have complet-
ed four wonderful land conser-
vation projects during 2003 —
three in the month of Decem-
ber alone. Totaling 617 acres
on four properties, these proj
ects bring the total number of
acres preserved by NBLT to
more than 1,000 acres, thanks
to the dedication of 11 proper-
ty owners. You may view and
-download pictures of the prop-
erties preserved in 2003 at
www,nblt.org/2003inreview/.
NBLT would like to extend
special thanks to the following
landowners that helped us
reach this goal in 2003.
— Julianne and Howard
Daly with 243 acres in Lake
Township, Luzerne County.
— Gerard Kipp with 42 acres
in Sweet Valley, Luzerne Coun-
ty.
— J. Harvey with 52 acres
near Lopez, Sullivan County.
— Bill Dittmar and Freder-
ick Kulikowski with 280 acres
in Silver Lake Township,
Susquehanna County.
These properties all have
unique conservation values —
from mixed mature hardwood
trees to unique plant and ani-
mal habitats, watersheds, or
scenic viewsheds that help
make our communities special.
Specifically, on the Kipp prop-
erty, the plant and animal in-
ventories conducted on the
property revealed an impres-
sive and diverse listing of
species. Landowner Gerard
Kipp of Rhode Island was over-
whelmed by the number of
species listed in his baseline in-
ventory report.
only reflective of a limited
number of mid-to-late season
flora and fauna visits.) In addi-
tion, according to Mr. Kipp,
(And that’s
“the signing of this easement is
obviously one of the more im-
portant events of my life.”
Aside from the environmen-
tal benefits of conservation, the
landowners may qualify for
substantial income tax savings
based on the value of the devel-
opment rights donated to
NBLT. Finally, preserving open
spaces helps keep Pennsylvania
beautiful — an important con-
sideration since tourism is one
of the state’s largest industries.
“Preserving Precious Land
Forever” is why the North
Branch Land Trust was creat-
ed. This means working with
property owners to permanent-
ly conserve their land using a
tool called a conservation ease-
ment (more info at
http://www.NBLT.org). A con-
servation. easement , allows a
property owner to retain own-
ership and possession of the
property, while donating select-
ed development rights to
NBLT — meaning the farm,
wetland, mountain or other ,
property will never be the site
of inappropriate development.
In addition, NBLT helps to save
historic structures (like the
Noxen Train Depot), and we
recognize and try to address
land-use issues such as urban
open space, and sustainab
land-use planning while pr
serving the community’s cul-
ture. :
decay, suburban sprawl, loss of i
The North Branch Land ;
Trust — formed a decade ago
to help protect the quality of ;
life in this region. For more in-
formation on this event or the
NBLT in general, please call
Rick Koval at 696 1691 or e-
mail koval@nblt.org.
Rick Koval is the Land Pro-
tection Specialist for the North
Branch Land Trust.
Tie POST
TIMESeLEADER Community Newspaper Group
15 N. MAIN ST., WILKES-BARRE PA 18711 + 570-675-5211
thepost@Ileader.net
Patrick McHugh Ronald Bartizek
PUBLISHER EDITOR
Justin Wisnosk
Erin Youngman
ADVERTISIN
REPORTER
Greg Stauffer
AD PRODUCTION MANAGER
GUEST COLUMN
Land trust says thanks to property owners
Editor,
Your editorial about state
grants and Harveys Lake was
irresponsible and biased as well
as grossly unfair to the people
of Harveys Lake!
First let me say that the peo-
ple of Harveys Lake pay their
fair share of state taxes — in-
come, sales, gasoline, etc. —
and are certainly deserving of
their fair share of state grant
monies.
Secondly, I want to point out
that millions and millions of
state grant monies are awarded
across our state each year for
all kinds of projects. Grant
money doesn’t just fall into
your lap. The amount for
which the community qualifies
and what programs for which it
qualifies are largely based on
population. Small communities
must compete to get their fair
share. I don’t gain anything be-
cause a library across the state
gets a state grant; or some
Growing Greener Grant is
awarded to preserve some wet-
lands in the northern counties;
or to build a new bridge some-
where else in the state. There-
fore, why should you expect
the people of Harveys Lake to
provide something to benefit
the entire state with their state
grant monies? That is ridicu-
lous!
As far as I am concerned, the
people of Harveys Lake are do-
ing more than their fair share
to preserve this natural re-
source by way of a $600 a year
sewer bill. The sewer system
was state mandated and re-
quires 14 pumping stations to
pump around this big lake. Our
small population must share in
this cost. More than half our
population does not own shore-
line. I will agree that even so,
their property values are higher
because of the quality of our
lake water. I think the state
should do more to help our
community keep the lake clean.
After all, it is the largest natu-
ral lake in the state and does
have a nice, free state access
ties, used by people from all
over the state. The last I knew,
this lake is also listed as an
emergency water supply.
It would be in the best inter-
est of the state to help out here
more. I read your opinion, this :
is mine.
Michell’e T. Boice
Harveys Lake
Editors Note: Perhaps the ed-
torial wasn’t clear. It was not
our intent to dismiss the efforts |
being made to improve the wa-
ter quality at Harveys Lake,
only to point out that few people |
share in the benefits, since pub-
lic access is limited to a boat
launch.
®
area complete with toilet facili-
70 Years Ago
March 16, 1934
WATER SHORTAGE ENDS
AS WEATHER WARMS
— Slowly rising tempera-
tures this week thawed many
of the wa-
ter mains
which
have been
frozen for
several
weeks.
— The
Dallas Ro-
tary will
conduct its annual Easter Egg
hunt for children at Fernbrook
Park on Saturday, March 31.
— The debating team from
Misericordia defeated the team
from Pittston Council, Knights
of Columbus, in the college
gymnasium last Friday.
ONLY
YESTERDAY
60 Years Ago
March 17, 1944
LABARS BOMBARDED
WITH MAIL
— The Timothy LaBars of
Main Street, were literally
bombarded with letters from
all sections of the country, call-
ing to their attention the arti-
cle written by Ernie Pyle about
their son, Jimmy.
— Claude Newhart, junior at
Lehman High School, took
tests this week for the Army
Aviation Cadet Reserves.
— Items that could be pur-
chased at the ACME Super
. Market: Pork Loins, 37¢ per
pound; iceberg lettuce or new
carrots, 2 for 15¢.
50 Years Ago
March 19, 1954
TRIPLETS FOR HADSALLS
— The tiny triplets born last
week to Mr. and Mrs. Carlton
B. Hadsall are holding their
own at Nesbitt Hospital. The
three had a combined birth
weight of 11 pounds.
— Back Mountain Horse-
men’s Club has made plans for
a 100-mile ride in April.
— The Women’s Missionary
- Society of Trucksville Free
Methodist Church is searching
for a used treadle-operated
Singer Sewing Machine to
send to Pearl James in the Do-
minican Republic.
40 Years Ago
March 19, 1964
CRANE RAISES CROSS
— A steel cross covered with
aluminum, weighing about
1,000 pounds is raised by a
crane to the top of the new
chapel at College Misericordia.
— One of Noxen’s most
beloved citizens, Lawrence
Race, 77, passed away at his
home Monday morning, fol-
lowing a long illness.
30 Years Ago
March 21, 1974
SWINGLES TO OBSERVE
70TH ANNIVERSARY
— Mr. and Mrs. Ellis
Swingle, Sterling Farms, Har-
veys Lake, will observe their
70th wedding anniversary,
March 24. The couple was mar-
ried in 1904 by the late Rev.
Stang.
— Three-hundred guests at-
tended a Saint Patrick’s Day
dance held in the Gate of Heav-
en auditorium.
— Items that could be pur-
chased at the A & P Market
whole beef loin, $1.38; famil{§@®
pack pork loin, 88¢ per pound;
Chase and Sanborn coffee, 99¢ .
per pound.
20 Years Ago
March 21, 1984
LIBRARY PLANS MOVE
— The library should move ~
to its new quarters in the old
Dallas Borough School by Jan.
1985. Architects estimate it
will require about $300,000 to
revamp the building.
— A creek improvement
project from the Main Street
bridge in Shavertown to about
1,000 feet north is set to begin #
soon.
— Aspect Associates deci-
sion to withdraw its applica-
tion to build 38 townhomes on
the corner of North Lehigh
Street in Shavertown has resi-
dents of the area elated.
Only Yesterday is compiled
from the back-issue files
“of The Post.