Le. ket wey i 4 The Post EDITORIAL OUR OPINION Dallas board must explain and justify its strategy e game of musical chairs in the administration offices of the Dallas School District continues on, raising the question of whether the district will be better or worse off when the music stops. The sudden, but not unexpected, resignation of Superintendent Gil Griffiths is only the latest wave in an ocean of turmoil that has engulfed the district since the November 2003 elections that brought a new alignment of interests to the school board. Some of the new board majori- ty’s actions have been troubling to parents whose children have reaped the benefits of a district that has made notable strides in both its facilities and academic performance. They wonder why principals they trust have been told that their opinions about new hires aren’t very important; why some of those hired have been far from the top of the applicant pool; why temporary assignments were made to cover important administrative positions until Assistant Superintendent Michael Speziale returns from a one-year sabbatical; and why a respected and proven superintendent was made to feel so unwelcome that he felt it prudent to leave the district before his contract expired. Throughout this year, rumors have run rampant about the board majority’s plans, which have not been widely shared with the public. Those suspicions have proven true more than once, while the board’s justification for its moves has gone lit- tle further than “because we can.” Dallas still has a core of motivated, skilled administrators and a supportive school community. But both those qualities could be put in jeopardy by a board majority that has yet to express an overarching rationale for its disruptive maneuvers. If there is one, parents and taxpayers deserve to know about it. A winning program keeps the Back Mountain clean It’s remarkable how quickly we humans adapt to change. Barely a decade ago, verbal battles raged over the airwaves and at lunch counters, as Back Mountain residents argued the merits of a then-new trash pickup and recycling program. There were high-minded positions about government interfer- ence in people’s lives and day-to-day concerns about the cost to property owners of limited means. And now? Putting out trash on the appointed day and prop- erly separating recyclables are second nature, while none of the predicted calamities have come to pass. In fact, we've done such a good job, the state Department of Environmental Protection has awarded our communities a $50,000 grant that will be used to enhance the program, which is operated by the Dallas Area Municipal Authority. Some of the grant money will be used to support a compost site at DAMA headquarters in Trucksville, where residents can drop off lawn waste and pick up free compost. Another portion has been parceled out to the three participating municipalities — Dallas Borough and Dallas and Kingston townships — to offset the expense of their popular spring cleanup programs. The rest will be used to keep the already reasonable rates down. To employ an often misused phrase, this program has proven to be a win-win for the people of the Back Mountain. MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel ®e On Oct. 27, 1904, the first rapid-transit subway system in America is opened in New York City, with Mayor George McClellan at the controls of the train as it runs beneath Manhattan. Today, the New York subway system is the largest in the world. e On Oct. 29, 1929, Black Tuesday hits Wall Street as investors trade 16,410,030 shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a sin- gle day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America spiraled downward into the Great Depression. ® On Oct. 30, 1938, Orson Welles’ production of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” a fictional drama about a Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, N.J., airs on the radio program Mercury Theater. The show sparked a panic among listeners who believed the play was an actual news broadcast. ® On Oct. 31, 1957, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. is founded in California. Toyota’s first American headquarters were located in an auto dealership in downtown Hollywood, Calif., and by the end of 1958, 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser had been sold. e On Oct. 28, 1967, Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts is born in Smyrna, Ga. Her parents ran an acting workshop in Atlanta, where she began studying as a teenager. ® On Oct. 26, 1984, at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, Dr. Leonard L. Bailey performs the first baboon-to- human heart transplant, replacing a 14-day-old girl's defective heart with the walnut-sized heart of a young baboon. The infant, known as “Baby Fae,” survived the operation but died 20 days later. (c) 2004 King Features Synd., Inc. ie POST TIMESeLEADER Community Newspaper Group 15 N. MAIN ST., WILKES-BARRE PA 18711 * 570-675-5211 thepost@leader.net Patrick McHugh Ronald Bartizek PUBLISHE EDITOR Justin Wisnos ADVERTISIN Pat O'Donnell PREPRESS MANAGER Squiggly shapes of the season. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. Sunday, October 24, “® LIBRARY NEWS ‘Baked goods welcome for Halloween, Election Day The Haunted Library will be in business again Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30, from 6 to 11 p.m. There is a charge of $5 per person. The spooks and ghouls will reign inside the library, while activities for younger children will be held this CAROL KING requested. evening. Contributions for the Friends’ bake sale will be welcome. Bring them when you come to enjoy the festivities, or drop them off at the library during the after- noon. Non-sticky cookies and bars are (XN J The Friends will also hold a bake sale on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Plan to pick up goodies for the week! Again, con- vote. They may be brought to the library on Monday evening up until 8:30 p.m., or bring them with you when you come to Details of the Friends’ annual fruit sale have been firmed up and will be publicized in the Post. The deadline for prepaid orders will be November 15. If there are any questions about the above information, please call the lib t outside. The food booth will be open all tributions of baked goods will be welcome. 675-1182. 70 Years Ago the same day are the first direct Carverton Road light in Turner, Samuel Lawson .and Oct. 24, 1934 information Mr. and Mrs. Paul Trucksville around 8:15 David N. Schooley. Dr. J. Nulton of Beaumont have had Saturday night and was spun Rolland Crompton, also elected $45,000 FIRE RUINS from their son, Paul Jr., since he around twice by impact, but the to membership, was ill and OLD CAR BARN HERE was taken prisoner by the Kingston driver was not hurt. could not attend. Flames levelled the old car barn along the Wilkes-Barre Railway Corptracks at Dallas early Wednesday morning, causing a loss which was esti- : : mated by traction company officials to b e $45,000. William Huffman, motor- man on an early street car, discovered the blaze and summoned the local fire- men. The building was about 30 years old. Nine cars were stored in it. ONLY YESTERDAY Despite the drought of last summer, four Luzerne County potato farmers reported excel- lent yields of potatoes this past week. They are William B. Tressler, Sybertsville; Thomas Pollock, Lake Silkworth; George L. Rice of Lehman Township; and Luther E. Smith of Briggsville, Nescopeck Township. Alvah Fassett of Tunkhannock was selected this week as chairman of the district of Young Republicans of Pennsylvania, which includes Susquehanna, Wyoming, Luzerne, Columbia, Lackawanna, Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties. 60 Years Ago Oct. 27, 1944 D.A. IDE NAMED DALLAS MANAGER D.A. Ide, for the past nine years manager of the Montrose District of the Commonwealth Telephone Co., comprising the towns of Montrose, Hallstead, Springville, Brooklyn and Susquehanna, has been named manager of the Dallas District to succeed Harold Payne, recently promoted to assistant general manager of the compa- ny. Two postal cards in his own handwriting and arriving on Germans on July 17. The two cards, one written on July 31 and the other on Aug. 5, arrived in the same mail this week. Trucksville Service Mothers Club welcomed three new members at its meeting on Monday night in the Trucksville Hose House. They are Mrs. Samuel Harrison, Mrs. Thomas Ayre and Mrs. John Helfrich. Mrs. Harold Shappelle gave a detailed report on the card party held recently at the high school. 50 Years Ago Oct. 22, 1954 SCHULTZ WILL SPEAK TONIGHT Mrs. Frank Ferry, Dallas District Democratic Chairman, announces that Osborne Schultz, candidate for State Senator, will speak tonight between 7 and 7:30 at the + Honor Roll in Dallas Borough. Mr. Schultz, a resident of Shickshinny, and of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction, is secretary of Shickshinny School Board. He is also the representative of a trucking company. Cpl. Albert L. Dymond, in Korea for the past 16 months, will leave for home with the Third Division this month. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Dymond, West Dallas, he grad- uated from Dallas-Franklin Township schools in 1950. Basic training was taken at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. Karl Chamberlain, resident of Shavertown for 32 years, has taken over the Snack House Restaurant, formerly operated by Peter Malkemes in Trucksville. He will be assisted by his daughter, Karlene and his sons, Robert and Kenneth. 40 Years Ago Oct. 22, 1964 SMOKING WASHER BRINGS OUT FIREMEN A car hit the medial divider on the new highway just below Leroy G. Space, 22, told police he was passing another car, northbound, and was forced over toward the divider. Shavertown Nfremen answered a call to 60 Lehigh Street on Monday morning when they received word that a cellar was full of smoke. One inspecting the home, President Andy Roan found an overheat- ed motor on a washer causing the trouble and recommended an appliance repairman. Traffic lights long overdue at several intersections in Kingston Township are expect- ed to be installed within the next several weeks. Bids sub- mitted last Wednesday evening at the regular meeting of Kingston Supervisors showed a wide variance in price of instal- lation, ranging from $22,642 to 13,950. Board voted to call in the two lowest bidders, Kenneth Rowlands, Plymouth and Robert L. Thomas, Kingston, to see if specifica- tions were followed. Installation will probably not be completed until early December. 30 Years Ago Oct. 24, 1974 TRUCKSVILLE F.D. NAMES LIFE MEMBERS Overruns in several areas of the Dallas Borough budget prompted extensive discussion by councilmen at the Oct. 15 council meeting at the Dallas Borough Council. Stating he was “throwing up a red flag” of alarm, councilman Pete Arnaud said overruns existed in several areas of the budget including electric bills, police car repairs, insurance premiums and print- ing costs. Seven members of the Trucksville Volunteer Fire Company were presented with life memberships in the compa- ny at a dinner held in honor of life members recently. Bob Sabol presented gold cards to G. Wilbur Nichols, Ralph Hazeltine, Ray Gemmel, Fred Patricia Brooke, a Rotary Exchange student. from Rhodesia, was featured speaker on the program atthe Dallas Woman's Club’s regular meet- ing. Patricia attends Lake- Lehman High School and has been in this country since January. She is being host Mrs. Paul Wolensky of C and will return to Rhodesia in December. / 20 Years Ago Oct. 24, 1984 AMERICAN LEGION NOTES 50 YEARS Daddow-Isaacs Legion Post 672 held installa- tion of officers Saturday evening at the Legion Home, Memorial Highway, Dallas, marking the beginning ofthe local legion’s 50th anniversary, which was chartered April 29, 1935, at a meeting of the coun- ty committee. The AV (Audio-Visual) Gang at Lake-Lehman High School recently toured the studios of WBRE-TV Channel 28, guests of Jim Miller, WBRE’s sports director. The students, who are responsible for the video-taping of events at Lake-Lehman | School, where shown how television shows are or. , how sports programs are setiup and the procedures of ng an event. : Eugene D. Gorski M.D., ‘an associate with the Geisinger Medical Group in Wilkes-B and a staff physician at the Geisinger Family Health Center in Dallas, has recently been notified by the Ameri Academy of Family Physicians that he passed his board exami nations and is certified in fami ly practice. Dr. Gorski reside Dallas with his wife. Only Yesterday is compiled from th back-issue files of The Post. yy Letters invited Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, subject to guidelines regarding relevance and suitability. Letters must be signed and include-the writer's home town and a telephone num- ber for verification. Letters should not exceed 500 words. Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. Send letters to: The Post, 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre PA 18711, or by e-mail ow @ post@leader.net h They may also be left in the drops located in the Uni-Mart convenience st on Route 309 in Dallas. a FL) L American . —
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers