Sayso

Tuesday, February 01, 2000     Page: 8A

I’VE BEEN AT numerous events at the arena. I don’t know why you just don’t
get a Pennsylvania state constable at 10 bucks an hour and not have to worry
about overtime. I’m sure those guys would be interested in standing around the
hallways shooting the breeze making themselves 40 or 50 bucks a night. That’s
pretty high to pay a deputy to pretty much do nothing, because if anything
serious breaks out, we’re going to need the police anyway.
   
MCGROARTY AND THE traffic signalization system. I think the real issue is
everyone knows the phone lines weren’t there, but why didn’t he include Bell
Telephone in the planning of that to begin with? That’s where McGroarty makes
mistakes in developing partnerships with the business community.
    ANOTHER SNOWSTORM and the people of Mayflower who live in these side
streets, especially Kent Lane. Get these streets cleaned.
   
OUR SINCERE THANKS to the three unknown good Samaritans who shoveled the
apron of our driveway so beautifully on Walnut Street, Forty Fort. Words can’t
express how much we appreciate your efforts, as we are senior, senior citizens
and age does make this task difficult. Thank you so much.
   
THIS OIL SITUATION, I think the public is getting gouged, and I think the
public, you’ve got to start calling your congress people.
   
WE HAVE SOMEONE who has sugar diabetes very bad, hasn’t been able to work
and has lost feeling in his feet and his hands and now it’s affecting his
eyesight. Presently, he’s going to try to get disability, which is at a total
standstill. He hasn’t worked for over six months and can’t work. He’s on a
very strict diet, takes insulin, follows everything he’s supposed to do. I
just can’t believe that something like this is just at a standstill,
absolutely nowhere, going nowhere. Any ideas from anyone?
   
CAN ANYONE TELL me? Smoking, with all the proven health problems and often
considered a suicide wish of those people who do smoke, is this a form of
mental illness and insanity?
   
I LIVE IN SWOYERSVILLE and have no complaints about the streets, for the
taxes we pay. If you don’t like it, move across the river to Wilkes-Barre, pay
their taxes and the 3 percent wage tax and see what you can find to complain
about over there.
   
CONGRATULATIONS SWOYERSVILLE council for using solar energy for snow
removal. Guess what? Salt and road crews work a lot faster, that’s what I’m
paying my taxes for in Swoyersville.
   
HEY LARKSVILLE, one of the biggest snow falls this season and we see that
you’re still practicing private plowing for certain special taxpayers. Keep up
the good work.
   
I WANT TO THANK the Wilkes-Barre police yesterday when we had the big
snowstorm. I was stuck at work and I couldn’t get home to my children because
none of the taxis were running and they gave me a ride home, and I’d just like
to say, thank you, thank you, thank you. WHY WAS STEVEN Stahl not appointed
to the Northwest school board? Obviously, he sat on the School Board for four
years and he was an executive director at West Side Vo-Tech. He’s very
qualified. How could he not be appointed to the School Board?
   
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Northwest Area School Board appointed Nancy Hudack as a
board member after Randy Tomasacci won a two- and four-year position in the
November election. Board president Peter Grella responded to the call by
saying, “I think the majority of the board spoke when they voted in Nancy
Hudack.”
   
WELL, HERE IT is, 11 o’clock in the morning in the great borough of Sugar
Notch and the hills haven’t been plowed all morning. I wonder what the borough
is going to do when somebody tries it on these hills and doesn’t have a
4-wheel drive and wrecks their cars and sues them, because trust me, if I do,
that’s what will happen.
   
WHY DO TIMES Leader subscribers in the Pittston area not receive a weekly
insert on Thursdays like the Wilkes-Barre, Kingston and Back Mountain areas
do? We pay the same subscription rates as these areas. Perhaps the Sunday
Dispatch should be included for Pittston area subscribers?
   
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Pittston Dispatch is a special publication with long
roots in the community. If you have specific coverage needs that we’re not
addressing, please call Allison Walzer at 829-7162 or Kim Capitano at
655-1418. Thanks.
   
IT’S TOO BAD the Times Leader paper couldn’t somehow give spelling and
reading tests to the middle school in Nanticoke. They would find out that
three quarters of those kids can’t really read well and the spelling is really
pathetic. Trying to help them on the home front, but with the teachers not
caring what they misspell, it’s hard.
   
HOW COME YOU don’t have the snowfall amount in the weather forecast? That
.22 precipitation was pretty hard to shovel.
   
THESE PEOPLE GRIPING about the one penny extra for a stamp for the postal
workers: I’d like to see these people walk in that storm like we had
yesterday.
   
THEY HAVE A CONTEST for children to send in poems for Valentine’s Day. I
was wondering if they had anything for adults to send in something that they
would like to say to someone they love?
   
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, you are partly correct. The Our Town staff is holding a
Valentine’s Day card contest for children in kindergarten through eighth-grade
only. Entrants are invited to design a card with a message, not necessarily a
poem. Although we do not have a contest for adults, you may pay to have a love
line published by the Classified Department. For details, call 829-7130.
   
WYOMING VALLEY HEALTH Care is in negotiations with the union about the
nurses contract. Rumor has it Wyoming Valley Health Care won’t budge an inch
and the RNs will probably strike. I just want to give my support and tell the
RNs don’t give up. Wyoming Valley Health Care can’t afford to close the
hospital. Please nurses, don’t back down. You have the public support.
   
TODAY I GOT in the mail from Discover Card that they’re going to increase 2
percent annual percentage rate for my account, it said unfortunately due to
rising interest rates. Can anybody tell me, once it’s a fixed interest rate,
can a company just charge you extra interest whenever they want? I really
don’t know who else to ask.
   
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, credit card companies may raise their rates. You need
to read the fine print in your original agreement with the Discover Card. Your
agreement will spell out what commitment the Discover Card made when it issued
your card.
   
Also, consider shopping around for a less-expensive card that will allow
you to transfer your balance. Or, at a minimum, call the Discover Card and
threaten to transfer your account balance to another card if your old rate is
not restored. We’ve read consumer advice that says being proactive can get you
a lower rate.
   
I DON’T KNOW why I’m calling about this, but I already can’t stand it. But
why is everybody bothering that store owner down in Shickshinny because he has
that gorilla in front of his store? Hey, it’s not bothering anybody. If he
wants to do it, let him. That gorilla has been there for I can’t remember how
many years and I look forward to seeing it.
   
QUITE OFTEN YOU make some really outstanding mistakes on your business
page. Today, for instance, you have about the return showing off for 12 months
and they’re obviously not for 12 months cumulative return on mutual funds, it
looks more like it perhaps is a four week. That’s very important to some
people, especially when they’re thinking about investing and they look at
returns like that it might change their mind. I know enough about it to know
that it had to be a mistake. But I think for something like that you should be
much more careful when you’re recording numbers.
   
EDITOR’S NOTE: Please call Pam Turfa at 829-7177 if you spot what you
believe is a mistake.
   
We receive our stock and mutual fund information from the Associated Press.
After we received your phone call, we checked whether the information we
received matches the headings we list. According to the AP, it does.
   
Here’s the schedule: On Tuesdays, we publish four-week returns; Wednesday,
12-month returns; Thursday, three-year cumulative percentage return; Thursday,
five-year cumulative percentage return; Sunday, 12-month percentage return,
five-year cumulative return; 52-week high; 52-week low; week last; and change.