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COLUMNS: LYNN, Springville Twp.: W.A. Welch is repainting the old Presbyterian church near the Lynn cemetery. It was built in 1832. FRIENDSVILLE: The old frame structure formerly used as a place of worship by the Catholics will be offered at auction sale on Tuesday, August 13. The building is 40x80 and contains about 28,000 ft. of good lumber. AND: James Murphy, chief supervisor of the State hospital at Cleveland, Ohio, is spending his vacation at his home, the stone house at Friendsville. GREAT BEND: The Erie Railroad has purchased the Calvin Towner property, known as the Skinner store, and will convert it into a lodging house for employees of the Erie shops. The company is negotiating for additional places. MONTROSE: The strong Phoebe Snow team of Scranton was “Snow-ed under” at this place on Saturday by the one-sided score of 7 to 1. The features of the game were the pitching of Shafer, who struck out 10 men in seven innings, and the batting of Saville. The Montrose team consists of C. Shafer, F. Shafer, Conklin, Dillon, Gardner, Kelly, Strous, Allen, Birchard and McCain. “Relentless fate!/ Sad to relate--/They always struck at balls too late./Their score was light,/We played with might,/And beat the boys of anthracite. SILVER LAKE: The wedding of Miss Anna McGraw, formerly of Choconut, and Frank Monahan, of Silver Lake, took place in St. Paul’s church, Binghamton, on Monday afternoon, Father Simmons, assisted by Father Commerford, officiating. After the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Monahan left on a tour including Rochester and other places, and after August 1 they will reside at Silver Lake. KINGSLEY: On Thursday evening of last week the Ladies Aid held an ice cream social on Milvin Tingley’s lawn. The band was present and discoursed fine music to a large crowd of people, which was greatly enjoyed. HOP BOTTOM: Peter Johnson, of Denver, Colorado, has been calling on friends in this place. He is 87 years of age and came east alone. He has great vitality for a man of his years. AND: Eben Woods’ dog went mad and was killed. Since that time Eben had to kill three mad cows. Mr. Downey’s horse also went mad and had to be killed. It is causing a great deal of excitement in this place. HARFORD: Harford Grange seems to be in the front rank in the county with 229 members on the roll and ten applications at hand. Let’s hear from the next largest. BROOKDALE: The Liberty school board met Monday and hired the following teachers for the coming year: Brookdale, James Kelley; Stanfordville, Margaret Downs; Lawsville, Mary Cosgriff; Mountain Valley, Anna Dolan; Hillside, Nellie Banker; Tripp Lake, Mr. Rockwell; Rhiney Creek, Mable Southworth. BUNNELL HILL, Auburn Twp.: Those who lost their crops, fruit and gardens in this place by the terrific hail storm, wish to thank their many friends for sympathy and kindness shown by work and all kinds of plants given them. We know that such storms come from a higher power than we can control, so we humbly submit to the will of our Heavenly Father who doeth all things well and are thankful our buildings and lives were spared. LENOX: The Glenwood ball team had their fighting clothes right on Saturday and defeated the South Gibson boys by a score of 13 to 7. The West Nicholson base ball club traveled to Glenwood and met an awful defeat, the score being 32 to 1. Nick Matthewson was in the box for Glenwood and his catcher from Factoryville was with him. UNIONDALE: A number of people residing in the vicinity of Uniondale met there one night to hear H. O. Aimy, a local district labor organizer, discuss the advantages to be derived from union labor. While Mr. Aimy talked a hanging lamp suspended from the ceiling fell and set the hall on fire. The damage was slight. The lamp wick was too high and the heat became so intense that it burned the lamp from its fastenings. Oil from the bowl spilled over the floor, igniting as it fell. There was a stampede for a moment but cooler heads fought the flames and succeeded in putting out the fire. FOREST CITY: The Forest City Poor Board have a number of men at the Poor Farm repairing the house and barn. SUSQUEHANNA: The death of Edward Hynes, an old and respected citizen, occurred at his late home on Friday morning at the age of about 65 years. He was for many years employed in the Erie shops. Deceased is survived by three daughters--Misses Kittie, Annie and Mary Hynes and three sons, John, William and Edward. The friends and relatives in Montrose and Forest Lake extend sincere sympathy. FAIRDALE: The Mission people, who have been holding meetings in the tent north of the two bridges for the past four weeks, have gone to Cascade Valley to hold meetings there. NEWS BRIEFS: A boy was recently killed near Oneonta by the careless driver of an automobile who failed to obey a signal to stop. This so incensed the farmers in that region against automobilists that the former carry revolvers, declaring they will shoot any autoist who will not halt his machine when commanded to do so. The other day an Otsego farmer, in a rage, blazed away at a man in a machine who refused to halt when signaled to do so and now fear of the angered farmers makes the autoists tremble. If the men who run automobiles would obey signals given them by drivers of horses, lives and limbs would be less endangered. AND: An old man tramps through the rural districts of Ohio and plants nuts by the wayside. The old man is a philanthropist in his way. He is working for generations yet unborn. He carries across his shoulder a sack filled with walnuts and hickory nuts. He seeks out of the way places and plants a nut or two there with great care. All the year round he keeps going, and already the nuts he planted are springing up into large trees. Years ago nearly every farmer in Ohio knew “Apple-Seed Johnny,” who tramped as this man tramps, and planted by the roadsides, not nuts, but apple seeds. There is hardly a farm in Ohio today that has not at least one apple tree planted by “Apple-Seed Johnny,” and they grew thickly along nearly every public road.
Along the Way...With P. Jay
Is some sewer talk hogwash? At the July 10 meeting of the Clifford Township Board of Supervisors, Jack Williams of Crystal Lake took over the public portion with a long, drawn out sermon on the need for the township to sewer its portion of Crystal Lake. He made his point early in the presentation and he could have stopped right there, but he didn't. I have been covering municipal meetings since 1956 and I am amazed at public portions of some of them. For some unknown reason, taxpayers who address municipal and school agencies feel they cannot make a point unless they eat up some clock. Mr. Williams strolled about the meeting room like a lawyer in a courtroom. Unlike an attorney, however, Mr. Williams’ vocabulary was a bit abrasive at times. Nothing anyone in the audience has not heard in public before, but for a retired executive, he surprised me with his choice of words. Mr. Williams also repeated much of what he said, not just once or twice, but over and over and over again. He emphasized the fact that grant money could be taken away and the township may never get it again. Not a bad point to focus on because it just might happen that way. However, was it really necessary to dwell on it time after time? I’m pretty sure the supervisors and the rest of the audience got the message the first time around. Another item that appeared to hit below the belt, was his repeated insistence that John Regan, chair of the Board of Supervisors, initially supported the proposed sewer project, then waffled and opposed it. “The only reason I supported you,” Mr. Williams told Regan, “is because you favored the sewer project!” Researching all that I have written about the Clifford sewer project took some time but I just could not recall John Regan ever supporting the proposal. In March, 2003, when the supervisors gave its engineering firm the green light to proceed with an application for funds to help finance the project, Regan said: “If the state does not finance 75 percent of the project, the township will not proceed.” He went on to say he believes Crystal Lake needs sewers but that he will flag the project rather than place the township in a serious financial bind. “We want to go forward,” Regan said, “but the dollars must be there.” In March, 2005, the supervisors voted 2-1 in favor of proceeding with the project. John Regan voted no. He expressed concern for township residents who must pay $6,000 in hook-up fees. In May 2005, Regain said: “Not everyone can afford to part with the $6,000 hookup fee.” He further noted that he would prefer that the township continue its hunt for state and federal grant money that might lower the hook-up costs. As stated earlier, I find no mention anywhere in my files indicating that John Regan ever supported the sewer project. Another thing that should be straightened out is a comment made at the June meeting, that the $6,000 hook-up fee includes a lifetime warranty. The person said anything that goes wrong will be repaired for free including the replacement of a bad pump. I’d like to see a copy of that guarantee. Quiet Campaign...So Far Not too much political activity in the county at the moment but I believe it will be an interesting campaign. Oh, there are some nasty rumors floating around about some candidates and the wish here is that county residents will not vote for or against anyone on the strength of rumors. Oh, yes, and while we are on the subject, we most certainly hope that voters will ignore rumors about incumbent candidates. Elected officials seeking another term in office are easy prey because it is extremely difficult to take action that will satisfy all voters. Before long, we look for the 2007 election campaign to heat up on the local and national fronts. And there is the possibility of a very interesting scenario in our county that could impact on the commissioners office. For instance, what happens if Tom Jurista, an independent candidate, emerges as a winner along with two Republicans? Will the Democratic Party be without a representative on the Board of Commissioners? From here it certainly appears that way.
From the Desk of the D.A.
Recently, there has been a move to increase the penalties and sentences for defendants who sexually abuse children. Five states have decided to return to the death penalty as punishment for those who rape children even where the child does not die from the sexual assault. Four of those states require that the offender have prior sexual assault offenses. One state, Louisiana, allows for the death penalty for a first-time child rapist. The Louisiana State Supreme Court finally addressed the constitutionality of its death penalty statute for a child rapist. The case involved a stepfather who raped his 8-year old stepdaughter, causing severe injuries to the child that required surgical repair. The stepfather initially told his stepdaughter to tell the authorities a false story about her rapist, but law enforcement was able to uncover forensic evidence linking the stepfather to the crime, and the young girl tearfully told the police that she had been forced to lie by her stepfather and that he was the person who raped her. In August 2003, a jury convicted the stepfather and sentenced him to death. In his appeal, the defendant argued that the sentence of death was disproportionate to the crime that he committed, and, as such, it constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected this argument and noted that child rapists rank among the worst criminal offenders. The court also noted that the United States Supreme Court has specifically found that rape is second only to homicide in the harm that it causes to a victim. Where a small child is sexually abused and suffers such severe physical injuries, it is apparent that such an act manifests such depravity that it comes within the same gravity as a homicidal act. In rejecting the argument that the death penalty was a disproportionate penalty for his violent rape of his 8-year old stepdaughter, the Louisiana Supreme Court concluded: “Rape of a child under the age of twelve years of age is like no other crime. Since children cannot protect themselves, the State is given the responsibility to protect them. Children are a class of people that need special protection; they are particularly vulnerable since they are not mature enough nor capable of defending themselves. A maturing society, through its legislature has recognized the degradation and devastation of child rape, and the permeation of harm resulting to victims of rape in this age category. The damage a child suffers as a result of rape is devastating to the child as well as to the community.” Thus, the nearly unanimous Louisiana Supreme Court determined that the death penalty was not a cruel and unusual punishment when compared with the horrific crime committed by this defendant. There was only one dissenting justice in this case, who simply stated: “Capital punishment is unique in its severity and irrevocability and it is reserved by the Eighth Amendment for the worst of fully culpable offenders committing the worst crimes different in kind and degree from all others because they result in the taking of human life.” Because no death resulted from this criminal conduct, the lone dissenting justice concluded that the death penalty in this case was disproportionate and therefore cruel and unusual punishment. The stage is now set for the United States Supreme Court to consider, for the first time in three decades, the applicability of the death penalty for non-capital cases. Will the Supreme Court determine that the Eighth Amendment allows a state to execute a rapist who preys upon a young child? Or will the Supreme Court determine that the execution of such a rapist is cruel and unusual punishment when compared to the act of violently raping a small, 8-year old girl? Or will the Supreme Court sidestep the issue by simply declining to consider the matter at all? I will keep you posted. 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
Because of better care, most heart-attack victims survive today. There are improved tests, drugs and surgery to defend against heart attack. Tests An electrocardiogram (ECG) records the heart’s electrical activity. This test is done because injured heart muscle generates abnormal impulses. If the ECG picks up abnormalities, physicians will know that a patient has had a heart attack or that one may be in progress. If you have a heart attack, there are heart enzymes that leak slowly into your blood. So, physicians will draw blood to test for the enzymes. A chest X-ray is done to evaluate the size and shape of your heart and its blood vessels. A nuclear scan enables doctors to locate places where blood is not flowing properly to the heart. A radioactive material is injected into your bloodstream. Then cameras detect the radioactive material as it flows through your heart and lungs. An echocardiogram can tell if a part of the heart has been damaged by a heart attack. Sound waves are bounced off your heart and converted to images. An angiogram employs dye injected into your arteries. The dye makes the arteries visible to X-rays, which illustrate blockages. A stress test on a treadmill or stationary bike while hooked up to an ECG machine measures how your heart and arteries react when you exert yourself. Drugs Drugs that help dissolve clots blocking blood to your heart are lifesavers. These drugs are known as thrombolytics or “clot-busters.” The earlier you are given a clot-buster, the better. A “super-aspirin” is given with a clot-buster. The super-aspirin prevents new clots from forming. Nitroglycerin is used to open arteries, improving blood flow to and from your heart. Regular aspirin keeps blood moving through constricted arteries. Therefore, paramedics may give aspirin when they respond to an emergency to treat a heart-attack victim. Aspirin reduces mortality from heart attacks. Beta blockers, which lower your pulse rate and blood pressure, can reduce damage to the heart. Drugs to lower cholesterol may be helpful if given soon after a heart attack begins. If you are in great pain, you may be given morphine. Surgery Angioplasty opens blocked coronary arteries. In this procedure, a catheter is run through an artery to the blockage. The catheter, which is a long thin tube, has a balloon tip that is inflated to open the blockage. In most cases, a mesh tube (stent) is also placed inside the artery to hold it open. Coronary artery bypass surgery is not usually done when a heart attack occurs but it may be recommended after recovery. During the operation, surgeons take a segment of a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body and make a detour around the blocked part of the coronary artery. If you have a question, please write to fredcicetti@gmail.com.
Straight From Starrucca No Straight From Starrucca This Week
No Veterans Corner This Week
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Society has always ranked murder as the most horrific crime, but sexual abuse has always been viewed as a close second in gravity and depravity. Prior to 1977, some states punished sexual assault crimes with the death penalty. In 1977, the United States Supreme Court determined that the execution of a defendant for raping an adult woman was disproportionate to the crime, and overturned the death sentence. Since that time, no defendant has been executed for committing a sexual assault.
In the last column, I wrote about the causes of heart attacks. In this last installment of a three-part series, we’ll discuss treatments for heart-attack victims.