| |
| COLUMNISTS |
|
Please visit our kind sponsors |
|
||||||
|
COLUMNS: JONES LAKE [Lake Montrose]: While Deuel & Keough, the icemen, were harvesting ice at Jones’ Lake, on Wednesday afternoon, they met with a thrilling experience which will not very soon be forgotten. While their two teams were passing near together, with wagons well loaded up with ice, out several feet from the shore, there was a low crash and the ice suddenly gave way beneath, precipitating the horses, the ice harvesters, and some Montrose High School students, who were skating, into the cold waters. Pandemonium reigned at highest pitch, and in an instant an alarm was given, which met with immediate response from passers-by, men from Borden’s creamery and Harrington’s mills. Leo Keough did valiant work in assisting to safety two students, Esther Daunie and Benjamin Roach, who were catching hold of and skating behind the wagons, when the unexpected crash came. In this he was helped by his brother, and George Finn – who narrowly escaped a chilly plunge with the others. Despite the excitement which prevailed, all seemed to realize the necessity of keeping cool and not losing the head and it was that fact alone which prevented a horrible drowning accident. The Deuel brothers, George and Ray, succeeded in holding the heads of the white team of horses above water until help came, but the wagons went down into the water, the harnesses being out to let the horses loose. One of the brown horses was rescued, but the other one, which belonged to Edward Keough, was drowned. Shortly afterward the animal was removed from the water. It is quite a loss for the young men, yet all concerned feel that they were most fortunate indeed to escape with their lives. FAIRDALE: On Sunday last, while G. Brotzman and wife were coming from Rush to see her parents, J. Robinson and wife, who were sick, when they got near the Iron bridge just below Fairdale, the buggy slid and tipped, throwing both out. The horse ran several rods and struck the fence, hurting the horse but not seriously; but wrecking the buggy. Mr. and Mrs. B. were not seriously hurt. SOUTH NEW MILFORD: The Christmas entertainment at the Moxley church passed off O.K. Many gifts were on the tree and under it. Among them was a fine single harness for the pastor, given by his friends. The night was cold but the house was fairly well filled. OAKLEY: W. H. Wilmarth is in need of a housekeeper. Middle aged lady preferred. LENOXVILLE: Clarence G. Stephens, the Lenoxville grocer, an automobile enthusiast, has now found a new use for his automobile. He has taken the top off his gasoline buggy and connected the engine part to a Burr grinder, with which he grinds corn and oats at a fast rate. He is doing this temporarily, as he will install a grist mill in the spring. SOUTH GIBSON: A fire was started in G. G. McNamara’s store, late on a recent evening, from a candle in a Japanese lantern. The flames soon spread to the light fabrics near by and it was feared that the whole store must go, but by vigorous work by the large number in the store at the time, the fire was subdued. Considerable damage was done to goods and breakable wares. Had the store been burned, several other buildings would have been consumed with it, for they could not have been saved, on account of being to close to the store. HARFORD: Mr. and Mrs. Frank Forsyth entertained their entire family of children and grand-children Christmas. Several presents were received; their son Lynn, of Gibson, presented them with a fine Morris chair. GREAT BEND: One of the special Erie detectives arrested two of our young men for jumping trains Saturday night. They were taken before Justice Williams, and let off on payment of a fine. The Erie is going to stop this nuisance at this place. There are a number living here if they had heeded the warnings would not be minus their foot or leg today. NORTH JACKSON: F. S. Butterfield, having exchanged his North Jackson farm with N. A. Benson for [his] Susquehanna property will shortly remove to that place. Jan. 15 he will offer at public sale his farm property. BRIDGEWATER TWP.: The team of W. H. Hendershot, who lives on the Corwin farm, on the New Milford road, ran away Friday afternoon and it was by only the greatest good fortune that his little son was not killed or seriously injured. Mr. Hendershot has a spirited young team, and leaving them in charge of a little daughter, who was on the ground a few moments to get a coat, the team was started by his little son, four years old, who was in the sleigh. The team quickly took a furious gallop and Mr. H. was horrified to see his little boy in that position and had to witness this sight, while the team was going a mile a minute, as they took the old plank road above Tiffany station and proceeded toward Alford. A. L. Millard saw the runaway and the boy’s precarious position. He was near the old East Bridgewater postoffice and ran his team to overtake and stop the runaways. This he did after pursuing them for a couple of miles. Strange to say, the boy came out without a scratch, and neither sleigh nor horses were injured. UNIONDALE: The Old Year pauses at the door to bid us good bye. Rain is falling like great tears of regret – ice nearly covers the ground. The wind whistles a requiem through the leafless branches of the trees. The moon and stars have covered their faces that they may not witness humanity’s offering of purity, that the old year drops silently into eternity’s treasury. Broken resolutions, lost opportunities – blighted hopes – and disappointments lie in a tangled mass beside the unaccepted blessings of His Peace, Wisdom, Understanding and Charity. The New Year steps across this abyss and takes in his hands the reins of time; and marches on. EAST FRANKLIN FORKS: Christmas was celebrated by three trees in this vicinity: One at Franklin Forks, One at Franklin Hill, and one at the Franklin Forks school house. All report a merry time. NEWS BRIEF: As the new pure food law goes into working order it is said there will be some remarkable changes in the appearance of many foods on the market, especially canned meats, vegetables and fruits. Tomato catsup will no longer be the rich red that it has been, but will be a mottled gray and brick red. Canned tomatoes will not be the appetizing color we have known, but a blotched out red. Green peas and string beans will no longer be the beautiful shade of bright green we have been accustomed to, and the beautiful green of cucumber pickles will be seen no more. The beautiful marmalades and preserves in glass will fade. Mustard will no more be the bright yellow, but will be of yellowish grey. Butter will in many cases be nearly white. Granulated sugar will be of a decidedly yellow shade.
Along the Way...With P. Jay
Time out for cheers! Not enough can be said about the work being done by the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association. It is our link to the past, the present and the future. The historical museum observed its centennial a few short years ago, and the library will be 100 years old in 2007. So we can look forward to a celebration sometime in the forthcoming year. Last week, some members of the Historical Society/Free Library Association attended a meeting of the Susquehanna County Commissioners. A number of friends of the association were also on hand. The purpose of the visit was to convince the commissioners not to decrease the library tax. Susan Stone, administrative librarian, was the spokesperson for the delegation. While I can assure you there is no resemblance whatsoever, she reminded me of Teddy Roosevelt, who was known to walk softly while carrying a big stick. She approached the commissioners with all of the confidence of a person who was armed with petitions containing hundreds of signatures, all in support of leaving the library tax at .33 mills. Probably because she did have petitions with almost 900 signatures urging the commissioners not to cut the library tax. Incidentally, all the signatures were gathered in just five days. Working in the library for 32 years paid off for Susan. Quietly, but effectively, she told the commissioners about the petitions and urged them to keep the library tax unchanged for 2007. When she had finished, the commissioners responded by restoring the library tax to .33 mills rather than .30 mills as they initially proposed. It kept an additional $20,000 in the library coffers and had a very minimal effect on the taxes to be paid by county property owners. (See meeting coverage elsewhere in today’s Transcript.) Commissioner Jeff Loomis said at .30 mills the library would still have received the dollar amount it requested from the county. That may be so, but don’t look for the library board and staff to throw a whale of a year-end party in 2007. While the county has no control over the spending plan put together by the museum/library association, the law requires the association to use any money it receives for service to the public. And the money cannot be carried over to the next year, leaving out any hint of some money being held back for the new library. “Every penny we get,” Ms. Stone told me, “must be used in the year in which it is received.” And what will happen when the new library is built near the Montrose High School? The Historical Society is so cramped for space, it has some artifacts that people are ready to donate on hold until it can take over the entire building when the library moves to its new quarters. We will keep you up to date on the progress being made when construction starts on the new library. In the meantime, next time you visit the main library in Montrose or any of its satellites in Forest City, Hallstead-Great Bend or Susquehanna Depot, say thank you to any employees you might come in contact with. Believe me, nowhere can you hope to find a more dedicated bunch of employees, all of whom have hearts of gold and pay envelopes filled with peanuts. Because of time constraints and space problems, we did not get in all we had hoped to tell you about the library and its plans. We will be telling you more about them in future editions. Goodbye, Mr. President I had the privilege of interviewing President Ford in 1967 when he was a Michigan congressman and Minority Leader in the House of Representatives. He was in Morristown as guest speaker for the annual Morris County Republican Dinner. He was the most soft spoken and sincerest politician I have ever met. After spending a couple of hours with him, I was ready to follow him anywhere. A few days after the interview I received a letter of thanks from him that I still cherish in my memoirs of the years I spent in journalism. The letter was brief and I would like to share it with you. “Dear Mr. Amadio “It was a pleasure to meet you when I was in Morristown on May 12th for the Morris County Republican Dinner. “I appreciate the time which you took from your hectic schedule to cover my visit and I hope that you will extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all those concerned. “Kindest personal regards, “Sincerely, “Gerald R. Ford, M.C.” He signed it, Jerry Ford Farewell, Mr. President, I shall always remember you and that interview.
From the Desk of the D.A.
The best rule would be to say nothing – simply refuse to comment to the media on any pending matters, and save commentary for the conclusion of the case. The media, however, can behave like a pack of rabid wolves – literally howling for information. For example, I remember one reporter calling the office 8 times in one day, demanding information from me. Imagine a situation where a case attracts national attention – and the media zoo that follows. If you need a concrete example, look to the infamous “Duke Lacrosse Scandal.” For those who have not heard of the case, it involves a 28-year old woman who was performing as a stripper for a college lacrosse team party, and she alleged that she was gang-raped by a number of the lacrosse team players. This case has attracted the national pack of media wolves to the door of the prosecutor’s office – and the national media, in its wisdom, has investigated and tried the entire affair for all of us. In the early stages of the investigation, when the media’s fever pitch was at its height, the prosecutor gave numerous interviews and statements to the howling wolves. Those statements have now come back to haunt him. As a result of apparently 40-odd comments to the media, an ethics complaint has been filed against the prosecutor, alleging that he was improperly attacking the character and integrity of the accused players through his media comments. In particular, the prosecutor allegedly made comments to the media that the lacrosse players were “a bunch of hooligans.” Even if he spoke the truth, the prosecutor should not have made such a characterization of the accused players – this statement serves no legitimate law enforcement purpose and serves to only heighten public condemnation of the accused players. The prosecutor also appeared on a national sports show and questioned why the lacrosse players needed attorneys if they had done nothing wrong. This comment is especially bizarre – the prosecutor certainly knows that every citizen has a right to an attorney. He also knows that a prosecutor is not permitted to comment or suggest that a person is guilty because he or she exercised their constitutional right to counsel. This comment really serves no legitimate purpose, and, it could be argued, is aimed solely at engendering a public perception that the accused players are guilty because they hired attorneys. Finally, the prosecutor also allegedly stated that he was “convinced” there was a rape. Of course, if the prosecutor did not believe that there was probable cause to support the charges, he has an obligation to decline prosecution. Thus, this comment appears to state only the obvious. The problem with this alleged comment is that the prosecutor injected his personal opinion into the case, which is prohibited. If he is a respected public official, there is substantial danger that his personal assurances as to the guilt of the offenders would result in the public developing and maintaining a negative opinion of the accused. As a public official, a prosecutor is expected to respond to inquiries by the media – but a prosecutor must carefully consider his or her special responsibilities prior to making any comments to the media. This balancing act can be difficult, but it is essential. Even where the media is making constant personal attacks against the prosecutor and his or her honesty and integrity, a prosecutor must take the heat and prove the case in a court of law – not in a sound byte to the nightly news. Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org.
The Healthy Geezer
A bruise – also known as a contusion – occurs when the tiny blood vessels under your skin break after being struck. When you bruise, the blood leaks under the skin and leaves a black-and-blue mark. The harder the impact, the bigger the bruise. As the blood is reabsorbed by your body, the bruise goes away. You can enhance healing by elevating the injury and applying a cold pack for a half-hour at a time for a day or so after you are injured. After there is no swelling, a warm compress can accelerate reabsorption. Blood-thinning medications can contribute to bruising. So you might bruise more easily if you take Plavix or Coumadin. Aspirin will have a similar effect. The thinners allow more blood to pool under your skin. So, if you’re taking one of this drugs, what seems like a harmless bump against a coffee table could lead to a nasty bruise. Some dietary supplements can thin your blood, too. Be careful if you are consuming more than normal amounts of fish oil, ginkgo, ginger and garlic. It’s easier to bruise if your skin is thin. With age, your skin becomes thinner and loses some of the fat that protects your blood vessels. Corticosteroids are known to make your skin thinner, so these drugs can make you more bruise-prone. Aging capillaries contribute to bruising, too. Over time, the tissues supporting these vessels weaken, and capillary walls become more fragile and prone to rupture. There is a special type of bruising known as “Bateman's purpura,” which usually is seen on the back of the hands and forearms. Unlike everyday bruises, the bruises you get with Bateman’s purpura are not tender and last longer. They start out red and become purple. They darken and then, in time, fade. They can last for weeks. This condition, also known as “actinic purpura,” is usually seen in seniors. It is caused by blood-vessel walls that have been weakened by years of exposure to the sun. In addition, the skin is sun-damaged and thin. Daily application of alpha hydroxyacid lotions to the skin have been shown to increase skin thickness up to 15 percent in patients with sun-damaged thin skin. This occurs through the stimulation of collagen production, the skin’s natural support protein. For women, the hormone progesterone in lotion may also help. Most bruises are not a cause for concern, but you should have bruising checked by a doctor if you are experiencing the following: unusually large or painful bruises, bruises that seem to have no cause, abnormal bleeding elsewhere, sudden bruising after beginning a medication. These symptoms may mean that you don’t have enough platelets in your blood. Platelets help your blood to clot. You can take steps to prevent bruising from falls and collisions. Here are some: Always hold the handrails on stairways. Don't stand on a chair to get to something. Clear floors where you walk. Mount grab bars near toilets, tubs and showers. Place non-skid mats, strips, or carpet on all surfaces that may get wet. Put night lights and light switches close to your bed. Tack down all carpets and area rugs. Close cabinet doors and drawers so you won't run into them. Be especially careful around pets. If you have a question, please write to fredcicetti@gmail.com.
ASK The Family Doctor No Familiy Doctor This Week
No Veterans Corner This Week
News
|
Living
|
Sports
|
Schools
|
Churches
|
Ads
|
Events
Military | Columns | Ed/Op | Obits | Archive | Subscribe © |
|||||||
As I have noted in prior columns, prosecutors have special ethical responsibilities that generally do not apply to other attorneys. One such responsibility includes the manner in which a prosecutor deals with the media. When dealing with the media, a prosecutor must be careful about what, if anything, he or she discloses in the context of a criminal case. In fact, a prosecutor must refrain from making statements to the media “that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused.” So, what, if anything, can a prosecutor tell the media?
A tendency to bruise easily is common when you age. It’s especially common among women.