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COLUMNS: AINEY: George L. Williams, of Missouri, is visiting relatives and friends here. He left this place April 6, 1868, and this is his first visit East since that time. He is a veteran of the Civil war and knows how to shake the hand of the old vets with a good grip. GELATT: The old Pope woolen mill, an old landmark here, owned by W. A. Wheeler and occupied by him as a storehouse, was destroyed by fire, also a small grist mill owned and operated by C. W. Davis, Tuesday night. The fire was of incendiary origin. The woolen mill was a total loss, being uninsured. The grist mill was insured. LAWTON: Last Friday evening the horizon to the southwest in the direction of Lawton was lit up with a glare which showed unmistakable evidences of a large conflagration – the lurid light reflecting on the buildings here in Montrose, although the distance is some twelve miles. By use of the ‘phone it was learned the building burning was the large hotel barn of former County Commissioner Isaiah Haire. Wm. H. Millard is the landlord, at present, having leased the hotel from Mr. Haire last winter. The origin of the fire is unknown. It was after the evening chores had been completed that the flames were discovered and had gained considerable headway. What could be done, however, with the limited means, was attempted, but soon the building with its contents, including farming machinery and the like, and the season’s crops of hay and grain, were a heap of ruins. SILVER LAKE: Our meat man, J. Stanford, did not come on Tuesday, and all his customers were without meat for dinner. Mr. Stanford was badly injured by falling from an apple tree. His patrons and their dogs and cats trust he will soon be out again. AND: Rev. J. T. Russell has masons at work on a new barn, the stone work being nearly finished. FAIRDALE: John Shelp, of Wisconsin, is calling on his many relatives and friends in this vicinity. He has been gone from Pennsylvania for over 29 years, and this is [his] first visit here in all that time. MONTROSE: An up-to-date funeral car, modern in design and rich in style, arrived on Tuesday, and will be used by undertaker Henry L. Kraiss, at his undertaking establishment on Church street. AND: F. H. Wilson, of the firm of Mahon & Wilson, having sold his interest in the cut glass business to his partner, has gone to Middletown, N.Y., where he has accepted a position. Mr. Mahon has removed his place of business from the old cutglass factory to L. B. Hollister’s building, in the rear of the Horseshoe billiard parlors, on south Main street, where he will be pleased to receive orders for any fancy articles in the cutglass line. LENOXVILLE: C. G. Stephens’ new grist mill is now in working order. He has a fine grade of meal and cracked corn, and will soon be ready to grind buckwheat. UNIONDALE: The Carpenter boys are erecting a fine new house on the site of the old homestead on Maple street. SOUTH GIBSON: One of our highly esteemed young men, Chas. T. Howell, is taking a course in the Renourd Training School for Embalmers in New York City. BROOKDALE, Liberty Twp.: Mrs. Dudley Clapper met with a painful accident a few days ago. Her son, Henry, was riding horseback and in some unknown manner the horse fell with the boy under it. He cried for help and his mother ran to his assistance and in trying to lift the horse’s leg off her son, Mrs. Clapper was kicked in the face by the animal, thus breaking a bone in her face, and cutting and bruising it badly. She was taken to a doctor in Binghamton and is now doing as well as could be expected. CLIFFORD: On Saturday, Oct. 5th, there were 17 automobiles that passed through our town in the forenoon. We learned since it was the Carbondale Automobile Club going to Oneonta. On their return they met O. W. Crandall, wife and a boy in a buggy. Crandall’s horse became frightened and ran away. They were all thrown out of the buggy and sustained serious bruises. The autos returned through here Sunday night. SPRINGVILLE: Two suits have been started against the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Wyoming county by Atty. Paul J. Sherwood, one on the part of Mrs. Elizabeth A. Koons, of Springville, for $50,000 and the other on the part of Bessie Koons, of the same place, for $5,000. Mrs. Koons and her daughter, Bessie, nine years old, were injured in the wreck on the Montrose branch at Tunkhannock, a short time since. FOREST CITY: Startling allegations were contained in the bill in equity filed in the Lackawanna county court a short time since by D. R. Braman, of Forest City, against his wife, Mary, who separated from him and resides in Carbondale. They were married 22 years ago. He claims he had over $4,000 in the First National Bank of Forest City, $415 in cash beside that, stock and other personal property worth $1,500 and that she secured it all and left him a charge on the poor board. She, it is alleged, secured the cash in bank, upon a forged check and the rest of the items along similar lines. The suit is brought to compel her to restore the amount to him. EAST KINGSLEY: I’ve been spending the summer at Moxley farm. / A very good place, if not so well known. / But now I’ve come back to the old home place / Back to East Kingsley where I know every face. / There are very few changes as I have seen, / The Fairs are over to which many have been. / George Whitney is still the happy milk man, / Who also brings mail or does errands whenever he can. / Watson Jeffers has a new porch and new milk house too. / At present they are picking applies so there’s work to do. / The happiest people are Mr. and Mrs. E. Loomis, they say. / ‘Gene wears a smile the live long day. / For he has a daughter and she is brand new, / I don’t blame him for smiling, now do you? / Williston Oakley and family are living still / In the large red house on the top of the hill. / Williston this week has been ploughing the ground, / While Mr. Lott has been fixing his fences up around. / They tell me Harry Carey had a loss this summer / His mowing machine was burned, (too bad) t’was a hummer. / Melvin Tingley has had a chimney relaid / And Mr. John Howell was the man that he paid. / On Wednesday last Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Tiffany and Mr. and Mrs. W. J. / Attended Ladies Aid at Harford some miles away, / Mr. Ed Tanner still drives the school hack / Which carries the children to Harford and back. / And Now as I’ve told all the news I will close / And next time I write it will be in prose / For if this has offended no woman or man / You will soon hear again from---Sister Ann.
From the Desk of the D.A.
In the early morning hours of October 31, 2004, Tory Bowen, a college student in Nebraska, contends that she was sexually assaulted by Pamir Safi. In this regard, Safi, a 34-year old male, admits to sexual intercourse with Bowen, but contends that it was consensual. Ms. Bowen argues that she did not consent as she was severely intoxicated and was incapable of giving valid consent. In a bold move, the defense requested that the trial judge prohibit any party or the prosecution from using the word “rape” in the trial. The defense contended that the use of the word rape would mischaracterize the alleged assault as most jurors associate rape with a violent or vicious attack. The trial judge agreed and entered an order barring any person, including the victim, from uttering the word “rape” during the trial because the term was “unduly prejudicial and unnecessary.” The trial judge contended that the defendant could not receive a fair trial if Bowen told the jury that Safi raped her when there was no evidence of any violence or forcible compulsion. In the trial judge’s wisdom, the court could not allow the victim to “mischaracterize” the incident by using a word that connotes a violent attack. The judge made clear that the victim could use the alternative, and sanitized, term of a “sexual assault.” In other words, the court has determined it proper to tell a sexual assault victim how to describe the attack that she endured. Of course, the judge went further than merely eliminating the word “rape” from the trial. He also directed that no party would utter the following words: “victim, assailant, sexual assault kit and sexual assault nurse examiner.” The prosecution cannot refer to its own victim as a victim! The prosecution is not permitted to explain that a sexual assault kit was completed, or that a sexual assault nurse examiner examined the victim. Oops, did I say victim? Sorry, Judge. Apparently, sexual assault is fine on its own, but it becomes unduly prejudicial when combined with “kit” or “nurse.” The decision has understandably outraged advocate groups, and prompted the victim, I mean Ms. Bowen, to file a federal lawsuit against the trial judge seeking an order directing him to allow her to describe her assault as a rape, not a mere sexual assault. The federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, but, in a footnote, the federal judge expressed confusion over the need for the gag order and the reasoning behind it. Should a trial court have the power to tell a sexual assault victim the words that she may use in describing the trauma of sexual abuse? Does a defendant’s right to a fair trial extend to the point of censoring the victim’s memory and vocabulary? How will this impact upon the jury’s perception of the victim when they hear her describe her attack with words chosen by the court, not herself? Does the victim have any rights in seeking justice and having her day in court without a judge editing her testimony so that it meets his personal views and sensibilities? The Rules of Evidence are filled with mechanisms to prevent unreliable or unduly inflammatory evidence from being presented to a jury. But can one word such as rape be truly eliminated from a criminal trial where a defendant is charged with rape? This ruling is even more problematic in the sense that the judge has relied upon common usage and understandings of the word rape – though there is no real evidence to support his conclusion. In fact, if you review most rape statutes, including our statute in Pennsylvania, the crime of rape includes performing the act of sexual intercourse on an unconscious person or a person who does not understand what is occurring. If the Legislature has determined that rape includes sexual intercourse with an unconscious person without the use of violence, how does a judge determine that rape only means a vicious and violent attack in the general public perception? Even if this were true, how does the judge decide that a jury, when hearing all of the evidence, would be prejudiced by the utterance of a single word by a victim? Shoot, did I say victim again? It is a good thing that I am not trying the case – I am not sure that the judge would approve of my vocabulary. 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
Q. I was at a party recently when a nurse told a friend of mine to see a doctor because his nails were kind of white. He went to the doctor and found out he has a liver problem. Were there two events just coincidental? The condition of your nails can tell medical professionals a lot about your health. Most doctors include a nail examination during a physical checkup. Common problems that produce symptoms in the nails are the following: white nails – liver diseases; thick, pitted nails – psoriasis; nails that are half pink/half white – kidney diseases; red nail beds – heart conditions; thick, yellow nails – lung diseases; pale or concave nail beds – anemia; light yellow nails, with a slight blush at the base – diabetes. Nail growth is affected by disease, hormone imbalance, and the aging process itself. Many seniors suffer from nail problems because nails thicken as we age, there are greater circulation difficulties, and we use more medications that impact nails. Before we go on, some nail anatomy: The nail plate is the part of the nail you can see on a digit. A nail bed is the skin under a plate. The cuticle is the tissue that overlaps the plate. The matrix is the part of the nail that’s tucked under the cuticle. The lunula is the crescent moon at the base of the nail. Nails are made primarily of keratin, an extremely strong protein that is also a major part of skin, hair and teeth. The nails grow from the matrix. Some interesting facts: Nails grow faster in the summer than in winter. Fingernails grow faster than toenails. The nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the other hand. Men’s nails usually grow more quickly than women’s, except when women are pregnant or seniors. Nails grow about one-tenth of a millimeter daily. Most minor injuries to nails heal without help. Some nail problems can be treated with medicines. Other conditions may require nail removal. If a nail is infected, discolored, swollen, painful, get to a doctor. Taking good care of you nails can avoid many disorders. Here are some tips: To prevent infections, wash your nails often and keep them dry. Thick toenails, which come with age, are difficult to trim. Soaking your feet in warm salt water will soften them and make them easier to cut. Trimming after a bath or shower makes sense. Toenails should be cut straight across so that the nail does not extend beyond the tip of the toe. Do not round off corners. Don’t bite your fingernails... if you can help it. Don’t remove cuticles. To remove any snags, use a fine file. Disinfect your nail-trimmers and files. Don’t try amateur surgery on yourself to fix an ingrown toenail. Get professional treatment. If you use public showers, wear flip-flops to prevent getting infections. Make sure your shoes and socks fit properly and they are made of materials that don’t suffocate the feet. Shoes and socks should be changed often. Healthcare professionals recommend changing more than once daily. 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
The Road Less Traveled Terrorism Made Easy Really, the least Bin Laden should do is send Bush the Lesser a thank-you note. After all, he's been giving the Saudi terrorist a helping hand for years. Inadvertently to be sure, but the result is the same. He has but to sit in his cave, finger his string of worry beads, and wish for the US to continue four policies that are working just fine for him, thank you. It's terrorism made easy. Wish No. 1: the US will continue killing insurgents. The military has a straightforward method of dealing with insurgents. There are a finite number of bad guys, kill enough of them and there aren't any more. But suppose the arithmetic of subtraction operates something like this: minus l = plus 2. Kill an insurgent and you have his family, friends, and acquaintances on your enemies list. To them he was not an insurgent and certainly not a terrorist but a freedom fighter. He was not a fanatic anxious to die for Allah but a martyr willing to sacrifice his life for what he believed. He is a hero. In the circle of those who mourn his death will be one or two young men looking for payback, hence the arithmetic minus 1 = plus 2. Killing insurgents is a losing strategy for the US but one that always works in favor of the enemy. Stop killing them and stem the flow of recruits. Wish No. 2: the US will continue building military bases in other peoples' backyard. Officially there are some 700 military bases on foreign soil. They are in 36 nations and on every continent except Antarctica. In Iraq, the US has 14 "enduring" bases. (The military avoids the word permanent because it knows that these bases are unpopular.) The garrisons run down the spine of the country. They are concrete and steel evidence that the US has no intention of leaving – ever. Every base in Iraq, as well as many others throughout the world, are focuses of infection around which anti-Americanism festers. We fear them here because we're over there. Deconstruct some of the bases and defuse the terrorism they fuel. Wish No. 3: the US will continue interventionism. Since the end of WW II the US has attempted to overthrow 40 governments and has suppressed 30 popular uprisings against oppressive dictatorships. Two nations, Iran and Iraq, provide representative examples of interventionism. Iran. Mohammed Mossadegh was democratically elected prime minister in 1953. One of his first acts was to nationalize the British owned oil fields. He was overthrown in a CIA engineered coup. In his place the Shah was installed and immediately rescinded all plans to nationalize the oil. The US and Britain divvied up 50 percent of the profits. In 1979 the Shah was overthrown in a popular uprising by the present Islamic Republican government. The oil is back in Iranian hands but for how long? Wonder no more why the US is resented and distrusted in Iran. Iraq. Oil is a slippery commodity to hold on to. No one knows this better than the Iraqis. For more than 50 years they have struggled with the West to maintain control of their oil. Here's a scorecard of that tug of war: 1) Brits are winning – 1952 King Faisal II gives British oil companies 50 percent of the oil profits 2) Iraqis are winning – 1958 General Abdul Kasem overthrows King Faisal II and gets oil back – almost 3) Brits together with the US are winning – 1958 General Kasem is killed in a coup. The Brits together with the US retain control and split 60 percent of the profits 4) Iraqis are winning – 1972 Saddam Hussein wins back oil 5) US is winning – 2007 after wresting back oil, big oil is in the process of negotiating a contract for up to 75 percent of the profits. President Bush thinks, "They hate freedom, and they hate people who embrace freedom." Or do they hate us for what we did, what we are doing, and what we plan to do? Stop interventionism and you stop terrorism. Wish No. 4: the US will continue supporting Israel to the exclusion of Arab and Palestinian interests. The US' overwhelming military aid to Israel has created an imbalance of power in the Middle East. Further, it is a virtual passion play of hypocrisy to turn a blind eye to Israel's hundreds of atomic bombs, yet to forbid Iran to produce fuel for its nuclear reactor. An evenhanded policy in the Middle East would silence the "Death to America" chants. US bombs raining down on a third Muslim nation, Iran, would be the Saudi terrorist wish No. 5. It would unite the world's 1.8 billion Muslims squarely against the United States. But that would be just too much to wish for.
No A Day In My Shoes This Week
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