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Issue Home June 25, 2008 Site Home

COLUMNS:
100 Years Ago
From the Desk of the D.A.
The Healthy Geezer
Straight From Starrucca
Veterans’ Corner
What’s Bugging You?
Food For Thought
Earth Talk



100 Years Ago

GROVER CLEVELAND DEAD at Princeton, Former President, Thought To Be Improving, Passes Suddenly Away: The following statement, signed by Dr. Joseph D. Bryant, Dr. George R. Lockwood and Dr. J. M. Carnochan, was immediately given out: “Mr. Cleveland for many years had suffered from repeated attacks of gastro-intestinal origin. Also he had long standing organic disease of the heart and kidneys. Heart failure, complicated with pulmonary thrombosis and edema, was the immediate cause of his death.” Mr. Cleveland was 71 years old on March 18 last. The scene in the bedroom immediately before and after the death of the distinguished patient cannot here be recorded, as the three physicians refuse to refer to the subject. As soon as the widow could recover herself she summoned a servant and asked that Professor Andrew F. West, of Princeton University, a close intimate friend and neighbor, and Professor John D. Hibbin, also of Princeton and a neighbor, be sent for. Telegrams were prepared to the children and about a dozen other relatives who are scattered all over the country. Up to this time no one outside the Cleveland, West and Hibben families knew of what had occurred. The funeral, which will be strictly private, will be held on Friday afternoon and the interment will be in Princeton Cemetery.

MONTROSE: A number of Montrose’s young men look like “round-headed Puritans,” having had the hair cropped close for relief during the warm weather.

SHANNON HILL, Auburn Twp.: This neighborhood had two unpleasant surprises last week. The first was last Friday morning at 4 o’clock, when the patrons of the creamery were notified by telephone that the creamery had burned to the ground. No one knows how the fire started as there was no fire in the engine during the night, and no one knew it had burned until the manager, Clarence Overfield, went to his work in the morning. The second surprise came Sunday morning, when Mrs. Harriet Mowry’s house was discovered to be on fire. It was occupied by Mrs. Mowry and her tenant, Frank Northrup. The fire started in the chimney, and as there was not much help at hand, it soon got beyond control and burned to the ground. The most of Mr. Mowry’s goods were saved, but Mr. Northrup lost a good many things. There was some insurance. The family is living in Will Dougherty’s tenant house.

RUSH: The Ladies’ Aid of the Baptist church will hold an ice cream social on U. C. Millard’s lawn the afternoon and evening of July 4. The funds raised will be used to purchase gasoline lights for the church. The school board has engaged J. Riggs Brewster, Of Marsovan, Turkey [and Montrose] as principal of the Rush High School. Anna McGovern will teach the intermediate and Mary Hickok the primary room.

HALLSTEAD: Hon. S. B. Chase has served as an elder in the Presbyterian church in that place for 50 years. Of the present membership of the church, all but three out of a total of 627, have been received since Mr. Chase first became an elder. It is a notable record and was appropriately observed on the anniversary by the congregation.

SOUTH GIBSON: Mrs. Philura Powers celebrated her 93d birthday last week and has gone to Kentuck [Gibson Twp.] to visit old neighbors. AND:Blacksnakes have been quite numerous during the dry weather. J. E. Gardner shot one in a tree close to the house. They keep the windows closed now. It is supposed the snakes come from the ledges after water.

LYNN, Springville Twp.: We are having four mails daily now, which doubles the duty of our mail carrier, George H. Sheldon. AND: Webster Fish has the finest young team of matched horses in the county. They are light bays and look as near alike as two peas in a pod.

MIDDLETOWN CENTRE: The LeRaysville ball club crossed bats with the Middletown Center boys Friday, the score being 2 to 5 in favor of the Center. AND: In Flynn, the bridge club was very pleasantly entertained by Miss Mame Grace, Sunday evening.

HARFORD: Harford’s new stone crusher is doing a lively business. It is located on the lands of Frank Forsyth, using the stone walls and stone rows to good advantage. Seventeen rods of road was filled the first day.

FLOWERY VALLEY, Liberty Twp.: We have our telephone line finished, and it extends as far as J. B. Mahoney’s. We are all enjoying it very much. AND: In West Liberty: Hark! From the sounds we hear, Camp Susquehannock, at Tripp Lake, is alive again.

BROOKLYN: The town of Brooklyn seems to have the monopoly of the mad dogs of the County. A few weeks ago Luther Ely shot a dog infested with Hydrophobia, after it had bitten many dogs in the town and it is reported, two head of cattle also. A strange dog, which clearly was mad, was known to be in town Tuesday night, and a search was made for it, and it was found early Wednesday morning by James Whalen and shot. It frothed at the mouth and snapped at everything that it came near. It is not known for certain but it is thought that it might have been bitten by the dog which was shot a few weeks ago. Every dog should be muzzled at this time of year.

CLIFFORD: A jolly crowd of from 10 to 15 couples passed through town Sunday on their way to Royal, where they all partook of one of Charley’s chicken suppers, he knows so well how to provide. They were a lively set and made Royal a lively town while they were there. AND: B. F. Wells and wife, formerly our old undertaker, but of late years a resident of Sea Breeze, Florida, are now visiting their old town. It looks good to see them on our streets once more.

UNIONDALE: Carpenters are at work on the fair grounds, replacing the old grand stand and stables with others more spacious and convenient, preparatory to celebrating the 4th of July. A full program and an enjoyable time is expected.

NEW MILFORD: DeWitt C. Vail, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Vail, of this place, who enlisted in the United States navy some months ago, since then being stationed at Newport, R. I., started on Monday on the U. S. Prairie in company with a squad of 400 men, for the Panama Canal zone, crossing he isthmus by rail, they will sail by steamer for San Francisco, where on July 7th they will embark on a warship for a voyage to the Hawaiian islands, Philippine islands, Japan, China and Australia.

JACKSON: Arra Benson and daughter, of Cleveland O., are visiting in this place, it being his birthplace. He has one sister living, Mrs. Caroline Bingham, and a host of friends who are glad to welcome him back.

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From the Desk of the D.A.
By District Attorney Jason J. Legg

Words are important. They are the tools that we use to communicate with each other, to express our feelings, explain our positions, and tell our stories. Most of us take for granted the ease with which we speak and talk everyday – rarely giving a thought to how difficult it would be if we were forced or told that we could not speak in a particular manner. In fact, there is a game out there known as Taboo – where you are given a word and you have to get your teammate to guess the word without using certain “taboo” word clues. The game is interesting because the “taboo” words are those that would commonly be used as clues – so the game becomes a fun (and frustrating) way of trying to describe something in an uncommon way. If you have ever played this game, you know how difficult it can be to express yourself without the proper tools.

Last year, I did a column regarding a judge in Nebraska that had determined that certain words were “taboo” in the courtroom during a rape trial. As in the game of Taboo, the prosecutor and his victim were given a card that contained the taboo words that could not be uttered: rape, victim, assailant, sexual assault kit and sexual assault nurse examiner. If the prosecutor or the victim used a taboo word – the buzzer would go off and a mistrial declared. If the court determined the use of the taboo word was intentional – the mistrial would be with prejudice. In other words, there would be no second trial and the defendant (the rapist) would walk.

This decision received a lot of attention nationally – and there was a blind hope that it would be an aberration in the criminal justice arena. But judges are finding that they enjoy playing Taboo – and the trend is growing. Another judge in Missouri also banned the use of the word “rape” in a rape trial. According to one news report, other judges have banned the use of the word “homicide,” “killer,” and “murderer” in a homicide trial. It must be great fun for the judge to watch the prosecutor come up with a way to convince a jury to convict the defendant of a homicide without using the word homicide. Perhaps, it goes something like this – “Ladies and Gentleman, the prosecution has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed a homicide, no, not a homicide, I am sorry, I meant to say that the defendant is a killer, no, that is not it either, the defendant is a murderer, no, please disregard that statement, I mean the defendant is a person who killed another person without lawful justification or excuse.” While this may be an entertaining game to play in your living room with friends, it is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion to have judges playing the same game from the bench in felony trials. The stakes are simply too high for such silliness.

In the end, victims suffer the greatest indignity and injury. A judge telling a rape victim how to describe the manner in which she was sexually assaulted in egregious. It is hard enough for a rape victim to relive the trauma of the rape without the judge eagerly waiting with his hand on the buzzer for her to use an impermissible phrase or word in her efforts to communicate her experience to the jury in a convincing and honest fashion. By arbitrarily and artificially forcing victims to use a different vocabulary, it undermines the victim’s credibility and sincerity and threatens the entire integrity of the criminal justice system.

Words matter – and I often reflect upon that when writing this column. In the rush to get it out, there are times when things do not come out exactly right – and I create a perception or impression that was never intended. This occurs without anyone putting restrictions on what I write – imagine how much more difficult it becomes when you are looking over your shoulder wondering whether you are saying the right words to make the judge happy. Utter nonsense.

Finally, with the idea that words matter, and communication being important, Robert Curley, the volunteer who created the District Attorney website, has now created a blog as a forum to discuss the issues raised in this column. I do not know much about blogs – or even bloggers – but I can tell you that the site can be located at DADesk.blogspot.com. If you are interested in blogging – have fun.

Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org or discuss this and all articles at http://dadesk.blogspot.com/.

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The Healthy Geezer
By Fred Cicetti

Q. Is it possible for bipolar disorder to first appear when you’re older?

Bipolar disorder can strike anyone at any age, but it isn’t likely to start when you are old. However, it is possible that a person could suffer from bipolar disorder for many years and not be diagnosed until late in life.

It's not known what causes bipolar disorder, but a variety of biochemical, genetic and environmental factors seem to be involved in causing and triggering bipolar episodes.

Bipolar disorder – also called manic-depressive illness – causes extreme mood swings. When people with bipolar disorder are happy and energetic, they are in the mania phase of the illness. When they are sad and listless, they are in the depression phase.

The shifts from mania to depression and back again can occur quickly. The deep mood swings of bipolar disorder may last for weeks or months. Often, there are periods of normal mood in between.

Sometimes, severe episodes of mania or depression include symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations. Some people with bipolar disorder become suicidal.

The cause of bipolar disorder is not known. A variety of forces seem to be involved in bipolar disorder. Some studies indicate that people with bipolar disorder have physical changes in their brains. And researchers are trying to find genes that may be involved in the condition.

As people get older, symptoms of bipolar disorder may change in nature and severity. Because of this, treatments may need to be adjusted.

Bipolar disorder is treated with medicines to stop the mood swings. Mood stabilizers are used to even out highs and lows. Antidepressant medicine can help reduce the symptoms of depression. Counseling is an important adjunct to drug treatment of bipolar disorder.

People with bipolar disorder can lead healthy and productive lives when the illness is treated effectively. Without treatment, however, the natural course of bipolar disorder tends to worsen.

Bipolar disorder runs in families. If you have a parent who has bipolar disorder, you have a greater chance of having it.

Alcohol and drug abuse are very common among people with bipolar disorder. Anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, also may be common in people with bipolar disorder.

Some specific symptoms of mania include: irritability, anger, rapid speech, decreased need for sleep, difficulty concentrating, spending sprees, inflated ego, substance abuse, increased sex drive, high energy level, restlessness, poor judgment, aggression, denial that anything is wrong, increased physical activity and risky behavior.

Some specific symptoms of depression include: no interest in pleasure, anxiety, hopelessness, loss of sex drive, unprovoked crying, low energy level, feeling unworthy and guilty, thoughts about death and suicide, appetite change, insomnia or oversleeping, forgetfulness, body aches, restlessness, weight loss or gain.

If you have a question, please write to fred@healthygeezer.com.

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Straight From Starrucca
By Danielle Williams

No Straight From Starrucca This Week

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Veterans’ Corner

No Veterans' Corner This Week

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What’s Bugging You?
By Stuart W. Slocum

Caterpillars: Spring’s demolition crews

Along with the warm days and mild nights of spring, we welcome the sight of the green foliage cloaking the previously stark trees. However, we no sooner begin to enjoy this lush scenery when it is disrupted by the unsightly appearance of white blotches of silken nests, home to the Eastern tent caterpillar. That distraction is soon followed by the appearance of another woodland nemesis, the forest tent caterpillar. Although this “worm” doesn’t construct a nest, it is frequently seen “bungee jumping” from treetops on long, dangling silk threads. If this isn’t disturbing enough, a third type of irritating caterpillar, the gypsy moth, appears everywhere, on our cars, clotheslines and sidewalks.

While both of the tent caterpillars are native to our area, the gypsy moth is a well-intended experiment that went awry. It was introduced into the United States from Europe in 1869 with the intention of using it to produce silk, but the venture was a total failure. Some of the gypsy moths escaped and survived, establishing a naturalized population in Massachusetts. From there they have spread throughout the Northeast, with sporadic occurrences in other parts of the United States and Canada.

Although these three species of caterpillars are frequently misidentified, there are some simple characteristics to aid in differentiating each.

The eastern tent caterpillar, usually found within close proximity of a “web tent”, is dark with a continuous white line down its back. It has light blue and black spots along its side and a black head. The mature eastern tent caterpillars, about two and one-half inches in length, are slightly larger than the other two species.

The young forest tent caterpillars are often found in clusters on tree limbs and leaves. They are dark colored with intermittent white spots down their back. They have blue streaks down their sides.

The raised spots along their back easily identify gypsy moth caterpillars. The first 5 pair of spots are blue and the next 6 pair are red.

These three species of caterpillars also differ in their food preferences. The eastern tent caterpillars are most often found on black cherry trees and fruit trees, including apples, cherries and crabapples. In the absence of these preferred trees, the eastern tent caterpillars will also partake of ash, birch, maple, oak and poplar.

The forest tent caterpillar has a preference for sugar (hard) maple, but will not feed on red (soft) maple. They will also consume aspen, cherry, oak, birch, ash, alder, elm, basswood and willow foliage.

The gypsy moth caterpillars have a strong preference for oak trees. They will also feed on apple, basswood, gray and white birch as well as poplar and willow. The older larvae will feed on such conifers as hemlock, spruce and pine. However, if populations are very dense the larvae will feed on most any tree or shrub.

In a future article, I will elaborate more on these caterpillars’ life cycles and various ways to control them. Questions, comments and suggestions regarding this article or any other insect related matters are welcome. Please email them to bugman95@gmail.com.

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Food For Thought
By Lauretta L. Clowes DC

No Food For Thought This Week

EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

No Earth Talk This Week

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