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COLUMNS: NEW MILFORD: The bake contest held at F. T. Austin’s was an entire success. Prizes were awarded as follows: first prize, three sacks of flour, to Mrs. Bingam, of Jackson; second prize, two sacks of flour, to Mrs. D. Bennett, of New Milford; third prize, one sack, to Mrs. Corse, of Lakeside. SUSQUEHANNA: Hallowe’en will be celebrated Saturday night. Chief McMahon states that no rowdyism will be tolerated and as long as masqueraders and others behave themselves they will not be molested. ALSO McClure’s Magazine wants a man or woman in Susquehanna and vicinity to attend to its subscription interests. Whole or spare time. There is a liberal guaranteed salary. Experience desirable, not necessary. Profitable, permanent and pleasant business. Write today. McClure’s Magazine, 42 East 23d St., New York city. RUSH: Rush has a flourishing High School this year, with some 90 pupils enrolled and the outlook is that the number will pass over the hundred mark before the close of the term. HOP BOTTOM: Work has begun for the foundation of Hop Bottom National Bank. BROOKLYN: The funeral of Rev. G. B. Rogers was largely attended from the M. E. church. Gurdon B. Rogers was the son of Andrew and Silence Ely Rogers, who came from Connecticut about 1816 and settled west of here, where the subject of this sketch was born, Oct. 1, 1821. The home of his parents was made the home of the Methodist preachers as they traveled around the circuit. In those days they went “two by two,” the Brooklyn circuit taking in most all the territory covered by the Binghamton district in this State. In 1838 we find Gurdon working in the large paper mill then located just below the village, and on Dec. 13, he made a profession of religion and united with the M. E. church. In 1842 he was called out by Rev. Erastus Smith to be an exhorter and in 1851 he was given a local preacher’s license. Miss Juliana Tucker became his wife in 1844 and after her death he married Mrs. Celia Newton (in 1891). His field of usefulness had been in Susquehanna county and he served the charge at Dundaff, East Bridgewater, Alford, Hopbottom, Union and was a great help to the pastor at Brooklyn. Rev. Rogers was the able justice of the peace of Brooklyn and to him belongs the credit of the special road law which Brooklyn has enjoyed since 1872. FAIRDALE: Tuesday, Nov. 2, being election day, the Ladies’ Aid of the Fairdale M. E. church will serve one of their 25 cent dinners, to which all are cordially invited. FOREST CITY: The hall on the third floor of the borough building will be greatly improved when the changes now underway are completed. The large wooden posts have been replaced by iron ones, a steel-ceiling is being put in by Holl, of Scranton, and the walls have been plastered by Contractor Eicholzer. SILVER LAKE: Potatoes have turned out better than expected. On Col. West’s place nine potatoes were dug from one hill that weighed nearly nine lbs. and other large yields of potatoes are reported. However, no water in wells or springs yet. There are a few springs that are not dry and the owners kindly supply their neighbors, but it requires a long walk to reach these springs in some instances. ALSO Mr. Dayton, of Montrose, has moved to Silver Lake and will manage the Russell farm. SHANNON HILL, AUBURN TWP.: Jessie Wells’ boy is sick with diphtheria, so there is no school at the Dunlap schoolhouse this week. LENOXVILLE: A number of our farmers are having their buckwheat flour made in South Gibson. ALSO In West Lenox, many farmers are putting concrete floors in their barns. GELATT: While halter breaking a colt, Will Gelatt had the misfortune to break one and crack two of his ribs, but is getting along nicely under the care of Dr. Cole, of Jackson. FLYNN, MIDDLETOWN TWP.: E. Kelly drove to Binghamton with a load of ladies to spend a few days seeing the sights in town. ALSO There has been a new bell placed in the new St. John’s church and was rung for the first time on Sunday. LAWTON: The young people of Rushville Sabbath school will hold a masquerade party at the home of G. L. Pickett, Lawton, Friday evening, Oct. 29. NORTH BRIDGEWATER: Legrand B. Gunn, of Everett, Wash., has been visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. N. Gunn. Mr. Gunn went west about 20 years ago and took up government land near Seattle, which had heavy timber on it and proved to be valuable. Later he became a lawyer and has a successful practice in Everett, to which place he returned Saturday. MONTROSE: A system of synchronizing clocks, operated by electricity, is being installed in Montrose this week. The master clock is located at F. D. Morris & Co.’s store and controls the system, the remaining five being located in the jewelry stores of F. B. Smith, E. J. Smith and E. H. True, in the commissioners’ office at the court house, and the First National Bank. The correct Washington time is received each day at noon over the Western Union lines. If there is any variation from the correct time the clocks correct themselves automatically and they require no winding or other attention. ALSO As Hallowe’en falls on Sunday this year, the Annual Masquerade Dance at Colonial Hall will be held on next Monday evening, Nov. 1, 1909. Music will be furnished by Mahon’s Orchestra, and there will be many unique and interesting costumes. Admissions to gallery will be 10 cents as usual. NEWS BRIEF: Commissioners W. H. Tingley, A. J. Cosgriff and J. E. Hawley started out in wagons yesterday to deliver the ballots for Tuesday’s election to the proper custodians in the numerous election districts. It is not an enjoyable trip, involving many miles of driving over rough roads, and is generally made in inclement weather. Each commissioner is assigned a certain section and all are glad when the trip is over. ALSO This is the time of the year when one is often reminded of a saying of Josh Billings, that the “only thing some underwear is good for, is to make a fellow scratch and forget his other troubles.”
From the Desk of the D.A. Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of discussion on mortgage lending in connection with the large number of foreclosures arising, in part, from adjustable rate mortgages. In other words, some homeowners purchased homes that they could afford when interest rates were low, but because they did not have a fixed rate on the mortgage, as interest rates went up, so did the mortgage payment. Coupled with higher energy costs and a shrinking job market, the results were unfortunately too predictable and devastated many families. The question is whether we have learned anything from this experience. In some respects, the United States represents our collective home - and the liabilities of the United States represent our collective mortgage. So what do we owe and how are we handling our debt as a National household? By the latest estimates, the national debt has increased by about 20% in this year alone to nearly $12 trillion. To put this is perspective, the federal government collected $2.5 trillion in revenue in 2008 - and that revenue was not sufficient to even come close to covering government expenditures. This required additional sums to be borrowed and the national debt increased. As most people know, the debt problem is scaring our creditors to the extent that they are no longer as willing to lend us monies. We are currently operating on the most dangerous form of a mortgage - a mortgage that provides only for payment of interest, not principal. Each year, we “service” the debt by making interest payments but never reduce the principal owed - and then borrow more money to spend on government operations. As a result of the increased borrowing, principal grows, the yearly interest payments increase, and the hole simply gets deeper. In fiscal year 2009, the interest payment on debt amounted to $383 billion compared to a total of $904 billion raised through income taxation, i.e., forty percent of all personal income tax revenue goes just to pay the interest on the national debt. Even if all government revenues were considered, it is estimated that the federal government received about $2 trillion in revenue in fiscal year 2009 (down $500 billion from the previous year) - which still demonstrates that nearly 20% of the total tax revenue is dedicated just to paying interest on the national debt. The problem with using the total revenue figure of $2 trillion is that it includes payroll taxes for such things as Social Security and Medicare that are intended to be specially designated for those programs. Of course, politicians from both parties have been stealing from those funds for decades to the extent that there are not sufficient funds in either program to continue operation into the future. This is the “unfunded entitlement” problem that no one really seems interested in talking about - the elephant in the room. The estimates for the “unfunded entitlement” liability range from $50 to $70 trillion, i.e., future obligations that the U.S. government owes to its citizens but does not have the money (or the ability) to pay for. In reality, these “unfunded entitlements” are a debt as sure as the national debt - and results in true debt of anywhere between $60 and $80 trillion. So, we have a government generating $2 trillion in total revenue in the past fiscal year, which was insufficient to run its operations and required additional borrowing. The budget deficit forecasts demonstrate that the government has no plans on eliminating the deficit, only reducing it, so that we know the debt will continue to grow over the foreseeable future. There is not a single politician in either party who can provide any plan as to how the country intends upon getting out of debt and pay for the unfunded entitlements under Social Security and Medicare. We have a true debt that is anywhere between 30 to 40 times our annual revenue. In terms of the mortgage world, it would be like making $100,000 a year, but buying a house that was worth $3 to 4 million dollars. You might be able to figure out a way to do it with some crazy borrowing scheme, but you would never keep it. Our national financial house is literally falling down around us - the foundation is crumbling, the roof is leaking, and the plumbing and wiring need replacing. Rather than addressing the dangerous structural problems, some politicians have decided it is time to add another addition to our teetering house. With national debt that cannot be paid down and existing entitlement programs that are beyond bankrupt, these pandering fools want to create another entitlement program without any real concept of what it will cost. The answer is simple, and I remember my parents telling it to me many times, we cannot afford it. 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/.
The Healthy Geezer [This is the second of two columns on hearing aids.] About one in three Americans over 60 suffers from loss of hearing, which can range from the inability to hear certain voices to deafness. However, only about one out of five people who would benefit from a hearing aid uses one. Hearing aids have a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. Sound is received by the microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier boosts the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker. It’s important to understand that a hearing aid will not restore your normal hearing. With practice, however, a hearing aid will increase your awareness of sounds and what made them. The two primary types of electronics used in hearing aids are analog and digital. Analog aids convert sound waves into electrical signals, which are amplified. Analog programmable hearing aids have more than one setting; the user can change the aid for listening in different environments. Digital aids convert sound waves into numerical code before amplifying them. Because the code also includes information about a sound’s pitch or loudness, the aid can be specially programmed to amplify some frequencies more than others. These aids also can be programmed to focus on sounds coming from a specific direction. Hearing aids vary in price according to style, electronic features, and local market conditions. Price can range from hundreds of dollars to more than $2,500 for a programmable, digital hearing aid. There are many kinds of hearing aids. Behind-the-ear hearing aids are made of a plastic case with electronic components worn behind the ear and connected to a plastic earmold that fits inside the outer ear. There are also open-fit behind-the-ear hearing aids. Small, open-fit aids fit behind the ear completely with only a narrow tube inserted into the ear canal, enabling the canal to remain open. Some prefer the open-fit hearing aid because their voices do not sound “plugged up.” In-the-ear hearing aids fit completely inside the outer ear. Some of these aids may have a small magnetic coil that allows users to receive sound through the circuitry of the hearing aid instead of a microphone. This feature helps with phone conversations. Canal hearing aids fit into the ear canal and are available in two styles. The in-the-canal hearing aid is made to fit the size and shape of a person’s ear canal. A completely-in-canal hearing aid is nearly hidden. A middle ear implant is a small device attached to one of the bones of the middle ear. Rather than amplifying the sound traveling to the eardrum, a middle ear implant moves these bones. Both techniques improve sound vibrations entering the inner ear. A bone-anchored hearing aid is a small device that attaches to the bone behind the ear. The device transmits sound vibrations directly to the inner ear through the skull, bypassing the middle ear. The following are some important questions you should ask when getting a hearing aid: * What features would be most useful to me? * Is there a trial period to test the hearing aids? * How long is the warranty? What does it cover? * How long should you I wear my hearing aid while adjusting to it? * Please check to see if my hearing aid works with my cell phone. If you have a question, please write to fred@healthygeezer.com.
Library Chitchat “You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania” used to adorn our license plates. Friends are important in peoples’ lives and friends are also important to libraries. Susquehanna County Library has many friends that copartner with it to reach its goals. It also has one special group called the Library Friends. This group is made up of community residents who are deeply committed to providing continuing support. On October 14, the Library Friends sponsored their first local author’s luncheon at the Inn at Montrose. Speaker for the event was writer and poet Karen Blomain. She told those gathered about the tremendous influence that libraries had upon her life as a young girl growing up in Archbald, PA. She is a strong advocate for libraries, a strong friend of libraries. Library Friends are an adjunct group who are involved in each of Susquehanna County Library’s fundraising activities and who also volunteer their services as needed for routine tasks. This year, in the face of a significant budget appropriation shortfall, the Library Friends have sought out new avenues to raise funds for the Library’s operating expenses, such as the local author luncheon. If you too would like to become a friend of the Library, we invite you to attend a meeting. Library Friends meetings are on the third Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. (except for the months of December and January) at the Main Library in Montrose. Help us to reach the Susquehanna County Library’s goal to become your resource for lifetime learning.
What’s Bugging You? No What's Bugging You This Week
Dear Dolly, My son will be 2 shortly, and my husband and I feel we can start giving "time-outs" when necessary. We do not want to use his crib for punishment (so we don't create a negative association with it), but he does not yet understand that he has to stand in the corner after he has misbehaved. Do you have any other time-out suggestions? -Lauren Dear Lauren, Giving "time-out" is an effective tool for behavior modification. The action removes the child from the situation and gives him a couple of minutes to think about what he did that was wrong. I would take a cue from Supernanny and have a "Naughty Chair." Getting him off his feet will help to keep him in one spot. The time should be one minute for each year of age. When you put him on the Naughty Chair, get down to his level and simply tell him what he did and why he is in the chair. After his time is up you need to get down to his eye level, and ask for him to say "sorry." Give him a hug, tell him you love him. This may take a few tries, involve tears and tantrums and will surely try your patience. Keep with it and you will be rewarded. I want you to applaud you both for not resorting to physical punishment. In my opinion the only thing hitting a child teaches him or her, is that a bigger person can hit a smaller person. This isn't a lesson you want your child to learn. All Transcript readers are welcome to submit their questions to Dear Dolly at deardolly570@yahoo.com.
EARTH TALK Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that military sonar exercises actually kill marine wildlife? Unfortunately for many whales, dolphins and other marine life, the use of underwater sonar (short for sound navigation and ranging) can lead to injury and even death. Sonar systems - first developed by the U.S. Navy to detect enemy submarines - generate slow-rolling sound waves topping out at around 235 decibels; the world’s loudest rock bands top out at only 130. These sound waves can travel for hundreds of miles under water, and can retain an intensity of 140 decibels as far as 300 miles from their source. These rolling walls of noise are no doubt too much for some marine wildlife. While little is known about any direct physiological effects of sonar waves on marine species, evidence shows that whales will swim hundreds of miles, rapidly change their depth (sometime leading to bleeding from the eyes and ears), and even beach themselves to get away from the sounds of sonar. In January 2005, 34 whales of three different species became stranded and died along North Carolina’s Outer Banks during nearby offshore Navy sonar training. Other sad examples around the coast of the U.S. and elsewhere abound, notably in recent years with more sonar testing going on than ever before. According to the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which has campaigned vigorously to ban use of the technology in waters rich in marine wildlife, recent cases of whale strandings likely represent a small fraction of sonar’s toll, given that severely injured animals rarely make it to shore. In 2003, NRDC spearheaded a successful lawsuit against the Navy to restrict the use of low-frequency sonar off the coast of California. Two years later a coalition of green groups led by NRDC and including the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the League for Coastal Protection, Cetacean Society International, and Ocean Futures Society upped the ante, asking the federal courts to also restrict testing of more intense, harmful and far ranging mid-frequency types of sonar off Southern California’s coastline. In filing their brief, the groups cited Navy documents which estimated that such testing would kill some 170,000 marine mammals and cause permanent injury to more than 500 whales, not to mention temporary deafness for at least 8,000 others. Coalition lawyers argued that the Navy’s testing was in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Two lower courts upheld NRDC’s claims, but the Supreme Court ruled that the Navy should be allowed to continue the use of some mid-frequency sonar testing for the sake of national security. “The decision places marine mammals at greater risk of serious and needless harm,” says NRDC’s Joel Reynolds. Environmental groups are still fighting the battle against the sonar, lobbying the government to curtail testing, at least during peacetime, or to at least ramp up testing gradually to give marine wildlife a better chance to flee affected areas. “The U.S. Navy could use a number of proven methods to avoid harming whales when testing mid-frequency sonar,” reports IFAW’s Fred O'Regan. “Protecting whales and preserving national security are not mutually exclusive.” CONTACTS: NRDC, www.nrdc.org; IFAW, www.ifaw.org. Dear EarthTalk: How does the microwave compare in energy use, say, to using a gas or electric stove burner to heat water for a cup of tea? The short answer is that it depends upon several variables, including the price of electricity versus gas, and the relative efficiency of the appliances involved. Typically, though, a microwave would be slightly more efficient at heating water than the flame on a gas stove, and should use up a little less energy. The reason: The microwave’s heat waves are focused on the liquid (or food) inside, not on heating the air or container around it, meaning that most if not all of the energy generated is used to make your water ready. Given this logic, it is hard to believe that a burner element on an electric stovetop would be any better, but an analysis by Home Energy Magazine found otherwise. The magazine’s researchers discovered that an electric burner uses about 25 percent less electricity than a microwave in boiling a cup of water. That said, the difference in energy saved by using one method over another is negligible: Choosing the most efficient process might save a heavy tea drinker a dollar or so a year. “You’d save more energy over the year by replacing one light bulb with a CFL [compact fluorescent lightbulb] or turning off the air conditioner for an hour - not an hour a day, one hour at some point over the whole year,” says consumer advocate Michael Bluejay. Although a microwave may not save much energy or money over a stove burner when heating water, it can be much more energy-efficient than a traditional full-size oven when it comes to cooking food. For starters, because their heat waves are concentrated on the food, microwaves cook and heat much faster than traditional ovens. According to the federal government’s Energy Star program, which rates appliances based on their energy-efficiency, cooking or re-heating small portions of food in the microwave can save as much as 80 percent of the energy used to cook or warm them up in the oven. The website Treehugger.com reports that there are other things you can do to optimize your energy efficiency around the kitchen when cooking. For starters, make sure to keep the inside surfaces of your microwave oven clean so as to maximize the amount of energy reflected toward your food. On a gas stovetop, make sure the flame is fully below the cookware; likewise, on an electric stovetop, make sure the pan or kettle completely covers the heating element to minimize wasted heat. Also, use the appropriate size pan for the job at hand, as smaller pans are cheaper and more energy-efficient to heat up. Despite these tips for cooking greener, Bluejay reiterates that most of us will hardly put a dent in our overall energy use just by choosing one appliance over another. According to his analysis, for someone who bakes three hours a week the cheapest cooking method saves only an estimated $2.06/month compared to the most expensive method. “Focusing on cooking methods is not the way to save electricity [at home],” says Bluejay. “You should look at heating, cooling, lighting and laundry instead.” CONTACTS: Home Energy Magazine, www.homeenergy.org; Treehugger, www.treehugger.com; Michael Bluejay, www.michaelbluejay.com. Send Your Environmental Questions To: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
Barnes-Kasson Corner National Group B Strep Awareness Week October 25 - 31 Barnes-Kasson Hospital is observing National Group B Strep Awareness Week, October 25 through 31. Group B Strep (GBS) is a natural, normal bacteria found in 1 in 4 women. This normal bacterium usually goes unnoticed by its carriers, because it presents itself with little or no symptoms. However, when a woman becomes pregnant, other complications from the bacteria arise. GBS most commonly causes infection in the blood (sepsis), the fluid and lining of the brain (meningitis), and lungs (pneumonia). If a baby is exposed to Group B Strep during birth or while in the womb, they can be miscarried, stillborn, or die after being born. Some survivors of GBS develop permanent handicaps, such as mental retardation, blindness, deafness or cerebral palsy. 80% of all cases of GBS among newborns occur in the first week of life. This is called early onset disease. Most of these babies are presently ill within a few hours after birth. GBS may also develop in infants one week to six months after birth. This is called late onset disease. Meningitis is known to strike with late onset GBS disease. About half of late onset GBS disease can be linked to a mother who is colonized with GBS; but the source of infection for other babies with late onset GBS disease is unknown. It is now the standard of care in the USA and Canada for all pregnant women to be tested for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy. The test is very simple, and the results are usually available within two to three days. This test is considered the "Gold Standard" - it is the best GBS screening available to date. It is usually very accurate, and catches approximately 95% of those who have the bacteria. If a mother did not have a test done and 37 weeks, or if she is in labor before the results arrive, a rapid screening test is available. This test can give the results within an hour, but is not as accurate as the “Gold Standard” test. A positive test result means that the mother is colonized with the GBS bacteria. It does not mean that she has Group B Strep disease or that her baby will become ill. Rather, a positive test means that a woman and her doctor need to plan for her labor and delivery with this test result in mind. The results of a GBS test should be available at delivery. If they are not available, a woman should not hesitate to tell a doctor or nurse her results as soon as she arrives in Labor and Delivery. GBS disease can be prevented in both mother and child, but precautionary actions must take place. Giving antibiotics through a vein during labor and delivery to women who have a positive GBS test effectively prevents most GBS infections in women and their newborns. For the best protection, the mother should receive intravenous antibiotics at least 4 to 6 hours before delivery, the longer a mother is given the antibiotics, the more her risk factor decreases. Barnes-Kasson hospital would like to remind you that if you are expecting, to ask your doctor about testing for GBS.
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