PAGE 4 THE POST EDITORIAL Sunday, July 9, 2006 TO THE EDITOR Flooding of 20006 leaves hard lessons Editor: The recent flooding of 2006 left behind some valuable lessons for those who wish to learn them. As rain fell and creeks swelled, a copy of the Back Mountain COG Master Plan sat on my desk, along with news articles on its fate. As a member of the Kingston Township Zon- ing Board, I was given the opportunity to review the plan, but the importance of this document was never so clear as it was today. In everyone’s defense that has been involved in it conception, it is full of good ideas but lacks substance in other areas. However, the section of limiting development and construction of new infrastruc- ture to support present and future homes is probably the most impor- tant. Known to many as the “Green Area” section, this part of the plan seeks to limit, not restrict development in areas of the Back Moun- tain. It was my pleasure to be active in the development of the up- dated Kingston Township Green Space Ordinance passed several years ago. This was the blueprint for a safer, more environmentally safe and secure development plan for Kingston Township, meant to protect property and life from acts of God like the recent flooding. As we have become more commercialized in the Back Mountain, we have poured many more concrete, laid more asphalt, added more rainspouts and cut down more trees in the past 30 years since Agnes, than maybe was prudent. This week’s flooding was a direct result of our short sightedness and a hard reminder. Runoff, from the hard sur- faces not in existence in the Back Mountain flood plain during Agnes in 1972, feed the creeks and storm sewers like gasoline on a fire, caus- ing mass destruction in its wake. Something must be done, and done now. The opportunity is here for every citizen of the Back Mountain ‘community to do something about it. As several of the local governments from Dallas, Dallas Township, Jackson Township, Kingston Township, and Harveys Lake look to take action on the plan, I urge every citizen to send a letter, fax, or the Master Plan, but rather to have it modified, to implement those parts of the plan essential for the survival of the Back Mountain and its citizens. Don’t wait, don’t let the short sightedness of the past con- tinue. Do it today and get involved in the future of your hometown and the Back Mountain area. James Reino Shavertown STRANGE BUT TRUE The History Channel * In China, anyone who attends .a wedding is honor-bound to give a substantial gift of money to the happy couple. This is such an im- portant custom, in fact, that in one region of the country, the Wenz- hou Province, residents spend more than 10 percent of their annual income on these wedding gifts. e We recently celebrated Father's Day here in the United States, but some may feel that Americans shortchange our dads. In Norway, for example, all of November is designated as Father's Month. * Those who study such things claim that because of the way their knees are shaped, cows are able to travel up stairs but not down them. ® The bird known as the English sparrow is neither a sparrow nor English; it's actually an African finch. * Danny McGoorty, a well-known billiards player of the mid-20th century, was something of an expert on the subject of competition. It was he who said, “Try to hate your opponent. Even if you are playing your grandmother, try to beat her 50 to nothing. If she already has three, try to beat her 50 to three.” |t was famed poet T.S. Eliot who observed, “Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.” * The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing the practice of slavery, was ratified on Dec. 6, 1865. Not all the state legislatures at the time approved the Amendment, however; only two-thirds of the states were needed to change the Constitution, and some legisla- tures refused to formally ratify the 13th Amendment. In fact, it wasn't until 1995 that the state of Mississippi got around to doing so. ® © 0° Thought for the Day: “When | was a boy | was told that anybody could become President; now I'm beginning to believe it.” - Clarence Darrow (c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc. MOMENTS IN TIME * On July 12,1862, President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a mea- sure calling for the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor. In 1863, the Medal of Honor was made a permanent military decoration avail- able to all members of the U.S. armed forces. ® On July 11,1938, the "Mercury Theater on the Air" radio drama featuring Orson Welles debuts. The show is best remembered for its 1938 broadcast of "The War of the Worlds," a fictional drama about a Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, N.J. * On July 13,1943, the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in histo- ry, ends as the Soviets repulse a German offensive at heavy cost. Some 6,000 tanks, 2 million men and 5,000 aircraft were involved in the fighting. * On July 14,1955, Volkswagen introduces the Karmann-Ghia. The car's sleek lines and hand craftsmanship attracted the attention Volkswagen had hoped for. Nevertheless, the Ghia's power suffered from its 36 horsepower, flat-four engine. The car was last produced in 1974. ® On July 15,1965, the unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passes over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sends back to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet. The pictures revealed a vast, bar- ren wasteland of craters and rust-colored sand, dismissing 19th- century suspicions that an advanced civilization might exist on the planet. ® On July 10,1989, Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, dies from complications of heart disease. Other character voices that Blanc created included the Road Runner, Sylvester, Twee- ty Bird and Woody Woodpecker's signature laugh. (c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc. Tae POST TIMES LEADER Community Newspaper Group 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 ® 570-675-5211 thepost@leader.net Patrick McHugh PUBLISHER David C. Konopki EDITOR Erika Calvert ADVERTISING e-mail to your local government. Encourage them to not just abandon can see nature through an intangible palette, as if Georgia O'Keefe stopped by for a visit. udacious dabs of cerulean, brilliant luminescent shapes, trails of emerald arcing across shadow. Get close enough to the garden and you Books added to library shelves The Back Mountain Memorial Library announces the following new additions to the library’s collection. For more informa- tion, call the library at 675-1182 or visit the library at 96 Hunts- ville Road in Dallas. EXPRESS(1 week) “Twelve Sharp” by Janet Eva- novich “The Highly Effective Detec- tive” by Richard Yancey “The Lambs of London” by Pe- ter Ackroyd FICTION “A Secret Splendor” by Sandra Brown “Lady Thief” by Kay Hooper “In the Shadow of the Law” by Kermit Roosevelt “Leeway Cottage” by Beth Gutcheon “Twelve Sharp” by Janet Eva- novich “The Lambs of London” by Pe- ter Ackroyd “Dark Tort” by Diane Mott Da- vidson “Triangle” by Katharine Web- er “Across a Hundred Moun- tains” by Reyna Grande NONFICTION “Real Food: what to eat and why” by Nina Planck MYSTERY “The Highly Effective Detec- tive” by Richard Yancey LARGE PRINTFICTION “At Risk” by Patricia Daniels Cornwell “Dead Watch” by John Sand- ford “The Doctor’s Daughter” by Hilma Wolitzer “Dark Light” by Randy Wayne White “Susannah’s Garden” by Deb- bie Macomber “The Rapture” by Tim F. La- Haye “Arthur and George” by Julian Barnes “The Prey” by Allison Bren- nan “The Sea” by John Banville BOOKS ON CD “Q is for Quarry” by Sue Graf- ton “Hour Game” by David Bal- dacci “Last Man Standing” by David Baldacci “Cane River” by Lalita Tade- my “Big Bad Wolf” by James Pat- terson “London Bridge” by James Patterson “Double Homicide” by Jonat ) | an and Faye Kellerman “Shadow Divers” by Robert Kurson “Lost City” by Clive Cussler YOUNG ADULT “Heat” by Mike Lupica “Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You” by Hanna Jansen “Alice in the Know” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor “The Pluto Project” by Melis- sa Glenn Haber “Here Lies the Librarian” by Richard Peck 70 Years Ago July 3, 1936 BATTLE OF WYOMING REMEMBERED IN POST The thrilling story of what happened nine miles away from Dallas on July 3, 1778 never grows old. It was shortly after noon — 158 years ago — ONLY that a little YESTERDAY mv of 300 men marched bravely out of Forty Fort, hard by ) the Susque- hanna River and up The Great Road, now Wyoming Avenue. Flags waving and drums beating, fifers played a lively tune — a valiant band headed toward bloody but brave defeat. For a time, the outnumbered Americans, three to one, main- tained order and returned fire. Then the wild yelps of the savage warriors, the cool strategy of the enemy and its obvious strength began to affect the morale of the men who had been trained for farming, not soldering. The line broke and the battle wound up lasting 30 minutes. However, the orgy of murder and cruelty continued all night. The blood-curdling war whoops of the Indians echoed through the Valley as the savages hunted down fugitives and subjected ° them to the most horrible and re- volting cruelties. The hopes and love of his mother, Mrs. W. L. Tracy of Pio- neer Road, Shavertown, will ride with her famous son, Lee Tracy, moving picture star, when he steers the nose of his 63-foot yacht, Adore, out of Santa Mon- ica, Cal., harbor tomorrow into the setting sun. It will be the start of the race with twenty-one other boats to Honolulu, Hawaii, 2,000 miles away and for Lee it will be the realization of a life- long dream. 60 Years Ago July 5, 1946 EXPLOSION INJURES GARAGE EMPLOYEE The explosion of an alcohol drum Friday afternoon at Ol- iver’s Garage shook Dallas and seriously burned Richard West- erman, an employee, who was cutting the empty sheet metal tank with an acetylene blow- torch. Westerman was treated by Dr. Sherman Schooley of Shaver- town and is in Nesbitt Memorial Hospital suffering from shock and second degree burns to the abdomen, chest, face and arms. An average increase of 2.7 cents per dozen eggs during May offset skyrocketing prices for poultry feed and save Pennsylva- nia poultrymen from what other- wise would have been heavy losses, the State Department said today. Poultry feed prices went to an all time high, a feder- al-state survey revealed. The av- erage price received for May eggs was 38.7 cents per dozen, compared with 36 cents in April and 39.3 in May 1945. - “The Story of Wyoming,” a simple, understandable and con- cise history of the early ears of Wyoming Valley, written by the late Louis Frank, will be publish- ed in The Dallas Post in serial form beginning this week. 50 Years Ago July 6, 1956 DALLAS LEGION LOSES FIRST GAME The Hanover White Sox in a hard-fought battle lasting 11 in- nings downed Dallas Legion, un- defeated in six starts. Martin went the route for the Legion and pitched ball good enough to win but Milliman, Hanover ace, was tight in the clutches and held Dallas to six runs while his mates collected eight off Martin. Hanover scored a single tally in the first and two more in the fifth but Dallas tied the score in the sixth when they pushed three runs across. Hanover made it 4-3 in the seventh but Dallas pulled ahead in the eighth when Hendershot bounced a long drive over the right field wall for a ground rule double, scoring two mates ahead of him. Hanover tied it up in the ninth and then came up with the three in the 11th to ice the game. Hen- dershot homered over the left field wall in the Dallas half of the 11th to make the score 8-6. Jack Heidig, chairman of the Idetown Civic Association an- nounces Open House at the new playground on the Gilbert Ide property, adjacent to Oak Hill, on Saturday, July 14th, starting at 4 p.m. Bagged lunches are to be brought by each person. 40 Years Ago July 7, 1966 HUGE CROWD ATTENDS HORSE SHOW PARADE The Lake-Lehman Horse Show Parade drew a throng of spectators on July 4. Horses stamped their feet restlessly Monday morning, waiting for the starting whistle. Fire appara- tus were parked in the parking lot. The Lake Lehman band, spic and span in white shirts and black pants, or skirts, lined up on the crossroads. Huge cattle van, a pair of ponies, a car of candi- dates, and the queen of the horse show followed. Sirens went off and the parade ended in success. Daniel C. Roberts Fire Compa- ny on the Newell Wood property fought a stubborn blaze. The first call went out at 2 p.m. on Saturday and then two hours lat- er the fire was thought to be out. At 6 p.m. firemen were recalled along with state forest fire crews until 3 a.m. State foresters brought in a bulldozer on Sun- day to combat the underground blaze. 30 Years Ago July 8, 1976 LAKE-LEHMAN ADOPTS $3.5 MILLION BUDGET The Lake-Lehman school board adopted a $3,497,227 bud- get by a slim 5-4 margin June 29 which may require “furlough- ing” an infinite number of teach- ers. The $3.5-million budget re- flected an increase of seven mi over last year’s 60-mill budg but as Finance Committee Chairperson Gilbert Tough pointed out, had been pared down from the 10-mill increase proposed last month in the ten- tative budget. A resolution to furlough two guidance counselors and the one elementary teacher died for the lack of a five-vote majority de- spite the presence of all nine of Lake-Lehman’s school directors at a special meeting Tuesday night. The measure had been considered necessary to balance the district’s $3.5 million bud- get. The Kunkle Fire Co. is plan- ning its first annual Fireman’s Festival to be held at the fire company grounds on July 22, 23 and 24. Chairman for the fire- man’s festival is Fire Chief Jack Dodson. The co-chairmen are Andy Roan Jr., Wayman Mie and William Jones. There will b lots of games, food, beverages and fun for all ages. $ | CR
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers