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COLUMNS: MIDDLETOWN CENTRE: The Centre base ball team crossed bats with the Irish Hill boys for the first time this season, Sunday. It was an exciting game from start to finish. The Centre went to bat first, scoring 1 run in the first inning by an error of Irvin Wood’s. The next two were pitched by Frank McCormick, holding them down to 3 scores. He was relieved in the 4th by Ed Redding, whose appearance in the box was received with cheers from the grand stand, bleachers and players on both sides, but the Centre boys’ cheers soon changed to groans as it was soon evident that Ed had control of the situation, especially the spit ball. The Centre’s pitchers, Jones and Golden, did fine pitching, as the result of the score shows: Centre 5, Hill 3. Time 1 hour and 40 min. Umpire, M. Golden. PLEASANT VALLEY, Auburn Twp.: B. B. Lowe, Glen Linabery, Lewis Postlemen and Mort Grow, visited the huckleberry Mountain Tuesday and Wednesday and report huckleberry picking not very good. FRANKLIN: We see a new up-to-date mail wagon on Route 2. W. Bailey is an up-to-date man. AND: We hear that Dr. Caterson is making very long trips with his auto, giving his neighbors delightful spins. Very nice for the people in the auto, but how about the people who have to meet him on the road? HARFORD: The ice cream social held on the lawn of E. E. Jones, under the auspices of the Congregational C. E. Society, realized over $22. HEART LAKE RESORT: is again open to the pleasure-seeking public, with one of the best boat liveries in Northern Pennsylvania; also nice naphtha launch for pleasure riding and with merry-go-round, pavilion and grounds in good repair. H. Griffing is ready to wait on picnics, fishing or sailing parties as usual. Cottages to rent by week or month. MONTROSE: Some of the newest and most popular books just in Montrose Library for your summer reading. New catalogues. Only 25 cents a month draws 2 books, twice-a-week. GREAT BEND: The little son of Wm. Sullivan killed a rattle snake 4 1/2 feet long, with 13 rattles. GLENWOOD: Catchy weather for haying. Dog days must be blamed for it as well as for souring the milk. BROOKLYN: L. Tewksbury has recently had a telephone installed in his residence. FOREST CITY: The dilemma of the town authorities in regard to the collection of taxes has at last been solved. M. J. Walsh having consented to accept the position of tax collector. The tax collection job in Forest City is not a pleasant one and it is often difficult to fill it. SUSQUEHANNA: J. D. Miller gives notice that he will make application to the Governor, August 28th, for Henry M. Beach, Allan D. Miller and John D. Miller for the charter of an intended corporation called the Beach Sanitarium, to maintain and operate a Sanitarium in the county of Susquehanna for the board, care and medical treatment of diseased and convalescent persons and particularly those afflicted with cancer, tumor and diseases of like nature; such medical treatment to be [by] qualified and licensed physicians employed by said corporation. WEST AUBURN: W. R. Parker of Ralkaska, Mich., was calling on old friends here last week. He is a native of this place but had not visited it for about 16 years. Although he is 72 years old, he is lively as a boy, getting from place to place on his bicycle. SPRINGVILLE: Capt. John Guyle died suddenly, Wednesday, from apoplexy. Deceased was a member of Four Brothers Post G.A.R., of this place, and a number from the Post will attend the funeral, which is to be held at his late home this afternoon at 2 o’clock. SPRINGVILLE: The Beardsley house now owned by C. D. Shepard, is being renovated throughout, which will include paint and paper. “BOYS ON STRIKE”: Because a half dozen boys decided they would rather go to the drum corps picnic than work Saturday afternoon the Clinton colliery experienced a real live strike on Tuesday and a half thousand men were thrown out of work. From time immemorial picnics and circuses have cut up the “Old Harry” with the coal companies. Boys will play hooky to attend such things notwithstanding the most direful threats of the driver boss, and on Saturday a half dozen of the little fellows turned up missing at the mines and present at the picnic. Monday they were “sacked” to use the parlance of the underground workings and Monday night they called a meting of the less adventurous lads who had remained at work and to them aired their grievances with such eloquence as to cause them all to stay away from work on Tuesday morning. Without the boys the mines couldn’t work very well and so there was a suspension on Tuesday. The boys have not gone back to work yet and as a consequence there is an indefinite suspension at the workings. The demand is made that the discharged ones be taken tack. A committee has been appointed to urge this demand before Superintendent Rose. Forest City News, Aug. 2, 1906 [Boys worked in breakers as young as 7 or 8 and those that worked in the mines would have to be at least 11 or 12. The “Breaker Boys” would pick the slate and other debris from the coal and worked approx. 10 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and made only .45 to .50 cents a day.] NEWS BRIEFS: The R.F.D. carriers are rejoicing over the law passed by the last Congress allowing them an annual vacation of fifteen days with pay. The department is now preparing regulations governing these vacations and the announcement is anxiously awaited by the rural carriers. AND: There are about 82,000 automobiles at present in use in the United States. There were 121,369 automobile registrations in 28 states up to the first day of June this year. About 40,000 of the automobiles are practically out of commission, according to the records of the Motor Directories company. New York leads with 30,874 registrations; New Jersey second, with 19,500; Massachusetts third, with 15, 208; Pennsylvania fourth, with 10,500; Ohio fifth, with 7,000; California has 6,000, Michigan 6,000, Kentucky 450, Oregon 275, and South Dakota 462. AND: The Susquehanna County Fair will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its birth at Montrose, Sept. 12th and 13th, with special attractions and the biggest fair in its history.
Along the Way...With P. Jay
Hillary/Oprah??? Hillary Clinton may be giving serious thought to taking a shot at the Presidency but I have to believe her recent exchange with Oprah Winfrey was just a couple of friends exchanging laughs. The internet is filled with silly, ridiculous and insulting responses to a report in Star Magazine that Hillary asked Oprah to be her Vice Presidential candidate. According to the magazine, Oprah rifled off a reply advising Hillary that she is not accustomed to being number two and perhaps Hillary should consider running for Vice President and let Oprah be the candidate for President. The internet already has Hillary/Oprah campaign paraphernalia for sale. It may be just a continuation of the joke conjured up between Hillary and Oprah. But if it is the first in a series of spoofs on the issue, it could backfire with damaging results. In any event, the thought here is that Hillary may also be considering an all female Cabinet so we thought we would give her a couple of suggestions. For instance, how about Elizabeth Taylor to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs. C'mon now, if you were to go on a search for a veteran of affairs, wouldn't Liz be the ideal choice? And who better to serve as Secretary of Defense than Bea Arthur. In a tense situation that requires a woman’s touch could any female throw a better right hook than Maude? With all due respect to Condoleezza Rice, the choice here for Secretary of State would be Madonna. Hey, don’t laugh. Not long ago one columnist described her as the “world’s most powerful celebrity.” And as far as I am concerned, there would be no contest for Attorney General. My choice would be Brooklyn born Judy Sheindlin, better known as Judge Judy of television fame. Dolly Parton gets my vote for Secretary of Interior. And Exterior too for that matter. My Secretary of Labor selection would be that little old lady that lives in a shoe. With all those children, no one can possibly know more about labor than her. Other considerations for Cabinet appointments would be Sheryl Leach, Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, Betty White, Penny Marshall, Judy Tenuto, and Edith Bunker. Nice work gang! There is still a lot of work to be done in many Susquehanna County municipalities before things get back to the way they were prior to June 28. It’s amazing how powerful water can be and the damage it causes when it is raging out of control. To attempt to name everyone who had a hand in saving a life, a piece of furniture, or a family pet, would be flirting with the impossible. And it would not be fair to leave anyone off such an impressive list. So we will not even try to name all of the unsung heroes who distinguished themselves during the recent flood. But we do owe them something more than thanks even though that would be the most appropriate word to utter. And so, to all of you out there who took the time to help a friend or neighbor or just someone who needed a hand, “Thanks.” Freddie’s running!! Fred Baker has told some people he intends to run for county commissioner next year. Well, it is a free country and it certainly is his privilege. But what makes Freddie run? Freddie told a mutual acquaintance that he is running because of me. While I am flattered – I guess – if that is his only reason, don’t vote for him. A candidate for office should have something more to offer than an insensible excuse. I can hear him now. “Hi! My name is Fred Baker and I am running for county commissioner because I do not like P. Jay Amadio.” Enough said!
From the Desk of the D.A.
No Story From The D.A. This Week
The Healthy Geezer
Q. You know, I thought maturity with its wider perspective on life would bring me some peace, but I’m more anxious now than when I was younger. Is that common among geezers? Because the stresses of health problems, losses and other major life changes build up as we get older, we tend to become anxious. Some surveys suggest that one in five older adults suffer anxiety symptoms that require treatment. In addition to psychological causes, medical disorders common in older adults can be directly responsible for the anxiety we feel. These include heart disease, neurologic illness, thyroid and other hormone problems. In addition, anxiety can be a drug side effect. And seniors take a lot of medicine. Until recently, anxiety disorders were believed to decline with age. There has been more research into depression and Alzheimer’s than anxiety among seniors. But mental health experts are altering their views about anxiety. Anxiety disorders in seniors have been underestimated for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that older patients are more likely to emphasize their physical complaints and downplay emotional problems. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 40 million American adults. They all involve excessive, irrational fear. Anxiety disorders are chronic and can worsen if untreated. Panic disorder brings on sudden, unpredictable attacks of terror. These attacks create additional anxiety because victims worry about the next one. Older adults who get panic attacks usually had them when they were younger. The following are some symptoms: pounding heart, perspiration, dizziness, fainting, numb hands, nausea, chest pain, feeling that you’re smothering, fear of loss of control, a sense that you're losing your mind or about to die. If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you may be haunted by unwelcome thoughts or the need to engage in rituals. You may be obsessed with germs or dirt, so you wash your hands repeatedly. You may feel the need to check things repeatedly. The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals that are performed to try to prevent or get rid of them are called compulsions. Victims of OCD consume at least an hour a day with their compulsions. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after a frightening experience. Often, people with PTSD have repeated memories of the experience both during their waking hours and in nightmares. A person having a flashback may believe that the event is real. Victims of PTSD may have trouble sleeping, feel detached, or be easily startled. They may have intimacy problems. They can become aggressive or even violent. Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, involves excessive self-consciousness in social situations. People with social phobia are afraid of being judged by others and being embarrassed by their own actions. Social phobics can be afraid of one type of situation or they may experience symptoms almost anytime they are around other people. Symptoms include blushing, sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking. A specific phobia is an exaggerated fear of one thing. Some of the more common specific phobias are triggered by heights, animals such as snakes, closed spaces, and flying. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) means excessive worry about a variety of things or life in general. People with GAD expect the worst and seem unable to relax. Often, they have trouble falling or staying asleep. Anxiety disorders are treated with medication and psychotherapy. Both approaches can be effective for most disorders. Anxiety disorders are not all treated the same, so it is important to determine the specific problem first. Although medications won't cure an anxiety disorder, they can keep the symptoms under control and enable people to have normal lives. If you have a question, please write to fredcicetti@gmail.com.
The Family Doctor School will be starting in just a couple of weeks and already I am getting approached for “ADHD Medicine” refills. It’s always a difficult request for me to address and a complicated issue to consider. The whole question of whether or not we should medicate children to control behavior is a profound one, but in practical terms, many children need medication to function properly and effectively. Refilling and continuing medications for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is something that requires careful consideration by both parents and their children’s’ doctors. Clearly, many children have trouble thriving in school. Determining why this may be requires close collaboration between educators, parents, and health care providers at many levels. With very clear definitions for the conditions, about 19% of children exhibit significant behavioral problems and about half of those involve problems with significant attention deficit or hyperactivity. Those statistics alone suggest that only half of school-age kids exhibiting behavioral problems in school or at home actually have ADHD. Symptoms attributed to ADHD can have multiple causes and explanations. This is an important point because no child should be prematurely labeled as having ADHD. The medications used for the condition wouldn’t be very helpful if the child doesn’t have it, and missing a different (correct) diagnosis could have profound consequences. Behavior, of course, is a complex product of genes, upbringing, environment, learning and development. The first step in evaluating a child’s behavior is to recognize that all of these elements are important, and pay appropriate attention to them all. There are medical conditions that must be considered, and things like anemia, thyroid disease, lead poisoning, metabolic conditions, and developmental delays must be identified and ruled out. Fortunately, these usually only need be considered when establishing the diagnosis, and can be permanently ruled out after one test. Parenting styles and coping skills must be candidly discussed. Children can always find our buttons and push them, thereby driving us crazy, and it’s an important part of parenting to recognize when we’re overwhelmed or stressed. High-maintenance children don’t all have ADHD, and medications can’t be used to take the place of parenting. Teachers and school resources can be used to identify specific problem behaviors and it is important to involve them early in the school year if the child is having difficulty. Just as parents mustn’t rush their children into the diagnosis, neither should the schools, but parents and teachers can work together in the child’s best interest, and determine if medications, or other specific interventions, are truly needed. One of the key diagnostic tools in determining ADHD is a questionnaire that is completed by both parents and teachers. Because the diagnosis is based on behaviors, the questionnaires ask about the presence of these behaviors. It’s important to think about whether the behavior is truly a problem. Much like a horoscope or fortune cookie, the things on a questionnaire can always seem to apply to everyone, at one time or another, and so the true relevance of any statement to a specific individual should be carefully considered. Once the problems have been identified, possible causes considered, and other conditions ruled out, the next determination involves optimal treatment. Again, there are many possible avenues one can take in addressing behaviors, but for the small subgroups of children with a true neurologic condition that affects behavior and attention, medicines are clearly helpful, and strongly indicated. Concerned parents and reluctant physicians have tried many things to avoid medications. While there is no arguing with the importance of a nutritious diet, the benefit of eliminating artificial dyes, food additives, or even extra sugar has never been conclusively shown to help treat ADHD. Similarly, supplements of everything from Vitamin A (which can actually be toxic) to Zinc (which is rarely significantly depleted) don’t help and may hurt. People have advocated special eyeglasses and “focusing” lenses for ADHD, and a quick search of the Web will reveal hundreds of non-prescription herbal and nutritional products, behavior modification programs, and homeopathic “cures” for ADHD. The first question to ask of any of these approaches is, where’s the evidence that it works, and how can you prove that it’s safe? The prevalent theory to explain ADHD involves activity of neurons in the brain, and underdevelopment of inhibitory (calming) pathways. The theory is that stimulating these pathways results in less brain “static” and allows better focus and calmer, more controlled behavior. That’s the reason stimulants are used to control the symptoms of ADHD. Because stimulants are tightly controlled by the FDA, there are strict limitations to how many can be prescribed at a time, and how closely patients taking them must be seen. Stimulants are not necessarily dangerous, but like all medications they should only be used only when clearly needed, clearly helpful, and clearly safe. It’s obviously important to use medications particularly carefully in children, and there are many side effects that must be carefully looked for in children taking stimulants. In short, ADHD should not be a “knee-jerk” diagnosis in response to bothersome behavior. It’s certainly a possible explanation, but not the only explanation, for why children may be doing poorly in school. It’s not a diagnosis of convenience and it’s not a shortcut to better learning. Children should not be rushed into a diagnosis or a treatment program for the convenience of the parent, the school, or the healthcare provider. At the same time, it’s critical to recognize that some children simply cannot do it on their own and need some intervention to succeed. By working together and respecting the contributions each one brings to the discussion, the parents, educators, and healthcare providers can collaborate to do what’s best for a child, and provide exactly what is needed. As always, if there is something you want to learn more about or have explained in general terms, write to me at “Ask the Family Doctor” c/o Susquehanna County Transcript, 212-216 Exchange Street, Susquehanna, PA 18847. You can also e-mail me at rhacker@BKHCS.org. To schedule an appointment, call my office in the Barnes-Kasson Health Center, 853-3135 or 879-5249.
Straight From Starrucca School reunions, family reunions always come in July and August, so it seems. On Sunday, July 23 a family reunion was held at Ruth and Lee Slocum’s with all the siblings and plenty of nieces, nephews, and cousins in attendance. An afternoon of fun, food, games and reminiscing was enjoyed by all. By the way, you should see the size of the lawn that Ruth Slocum mows. She says she enjoys it. Pretty soon she’ll be mowing around the trees in the woods. Looks real nice, Ruth. Last Friday and Saturday, June Downton’s brother and wife, Ron and Karen Henry, Newburgh, NY were guests of hers. Mary Cooksey and children, Florida have been staying with mother, Vivian Baker since she fell. Coming Friday, this week is another daughter, Sue Cavis, Florida, who will be helping her mother out for two weeks. Starrucca Senior Citizens met last Wednesday to hear Margaret Cross, Hawley, PA speak on “Caregivers of America.” Very nice, friendly lady who knew her topic. Joy Mead and Marie Swartz have spent the last couple weeks dismantling Maxine Dickey’s house and home, preparing for a yard sale which took place Saturday, the 29th of July. They have done a masterful job and I am grateful. Maxine has decided to stay at the SNF, Barnes-Kasson Hospital. I had a pleasant visit with my grandson, Jim and his G.F., Raylean, who flew in from California on Thursday and left on Sunday. After graduating from Cornell University last May, he interviewed for a job in California, supervising a herd of twenty-five hundred Jersey cows. He was accepted for the task and has been there almost a year. Jim says he enjoys it. I think the G.F. has a lot to do with it. If you should buy a package of Hilmar cheese, that’s from Jim’s dairy. Son, Dan was down last Sunday afternoon and helped the girls finish the job of clearing out the Dickey house and had supper with me. Daughter, Nancy, Moscow, PA was up Wednesday and helped me out. Breakfast for Senior Citizens and Bag Ladies, featuring blueberry pancakes and accompaniment will be held August 9 at Vivian Baker’s home. Cheerio!
EARTH TALK Dear EarthTalk: The soda bottle I'm holding only lists a few U.S. states and deposit amounts on it. Aren't more than just a few states requiring that bottles be returned for recycling? Calvin Terry, Castine, ME Currently 11 American states have “bottle bill” laws on the books that require a deposit of usually five or 10 cents on beer and soda cans and bottles that can be redeemed when empties are returned to the store. The state of Oregon pioneered such legislation, passing the first U.S. bottle bill back in 1971. Hawaii has the newest one, enacted in 2002. Meanwhile, all but two of Canada’s 13 provinces (the remote Northwest Territories and Nunavut) have bottle bills. As with the American laws, Canada’s provinces require deposits on all beverage containers other than those containing milk. The Container Recycling Institute (CRI), an advocacy group based in Washington, DC, works for the passage of new bottle bills and the strengthening of existing ones. According to CRI, bottle bills make sense because they encourage recycling and, in conjunction with curbside recycling programs, extend the life of landfills by keeping cans and bottles out. Indeed, recycling rates in states with bottle bills can be as much as three times higher than in states without them. Such programs also help reduce litter. Studies have shown that beverage container legislation has reduced total roadside litter by as much as 64 percent in regions with bottle bills. Another documented benefit has been a reduction in incidents of glass laceration, simply because fewer glass bottles end up broken on sidewalks, streets and in kids’ play areas. One Massachusetts study attributed a 60 percent decline in reported childhood glass lacerations once the state’s bottle bill went into effect. Despite these benefits, however, many beverage manufacturers oppose bottle bills, arguing that the five to 10 cents added to the price of their products deters customers even though the deposits are redeemable. These companies have effectively squelched bottle bills in many U.S. states through the sheer power of their lobbying efforts. Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others have spent millions fighting bottle bills, complaining that such legislation duplicates community recycling programs already in place. But CRI says the argument has been “wrongly cast in either/or terms,” that refundable deposits and curbside recycling programs are not mutually exclusive and should be part of a comprehensive approach to recycling, “If the goal is to maximize recovery of recyclables [and] reduce reliance on raw materials for manufacturing new containers, then a combination of recovery options should be employed to ensure the highest recovery rates possible.” Beverage sales are growing, especially bottled water and other non-carbonated drinks. And the waste has been growing as well. According to CRI, some 118 billion aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers were discarded and not recycled in 2002 alone, more than double the number 20 years earlier. The main issue is really who should pay the costs of recycling. Refundable deposits are fair, says CRI, because they put the costs on the producers and consumers of the beverages instead of on the local communities and taxpayers. CONTACT: Container Recycling Institute, www.container-recycling.org. Dear EarthTalk: What are the implications of the massive thaw that is taking place right now in Western Siberia? Brad Arnold, St. Louis Park, MN Russian researchers returned from an exploratory mission in Western Siberia last year to report that the world’s largest frozen peat bog there, land as large as France and Germany combined, was quickly melting away “into shallow lakes.” Sergei Kirpotin, a botanist at Russia’s Tomsk State University and the leader of the research effort, told the journal New Scientist that the situation was an “ecological landslide that is probably irreversible and is undoubtedly connected to climatic warming.” The main worry is that as much as a billion tons of methane – a “greenhouse gas” 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – could be rapidly released from the bog, where it has been sitting harmlessly for thousands of years. This flush of methane into the atmosphere could, in turn, further warm the atmosphere. Western Siberia has warmed faster than almost any other area of the planet, with an average temperature increase of about three degrees Celsius over the last four decades alone. Kirpotin believes that man-made climate change, combined with cyclical changes in atmospheric circulation caused by melting ice, is to blame. Similar patterns are developing in Eastern Siberia and across the Arctic stretches of Alaska. Siberia’s peat bogs formed about 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The huge bog in question is thought to contain 70 billion tons of methane, or about a quarter of all the methane stored on the Earth’s surface worldwide. If it continues to thaw, as it seems likely to do, researchers fear that the methane could force a “tipping point” (point of no return) in the ability of the Earth’s climate to regulate itself. “When you start messing around with these natural systems, you can end up in situations where it’s unstoppable,” says climate researcher David Viner of England’s University of East Anglia. “This is a big deal because you can't put the permafrost back once it is gone.” In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international group of climate researchers, estimated that global temperatures could rise as much as 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, thanks to known sources of greenhouse gas emissions. According to Viner, scientists did not even anticipate the possibility of events like this when making their predictions, and how much they could add to the warming. Environmentalists are using the Western Siberia findings to step up pressure on world leaders to take concerted action on climate change. Says Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth in the United Kingdom, “If we don't take action very soon, we could unleash runaway global warming that will be beyond our control and it will lead to social, economic and environmental devastation worldwide. There’s still time to take action, but not much.” CONTACT: New Scientist, www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18725124.500. GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
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