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Issue Home February 3, 2010 Site Home

COLUMNS:
100 Years Ago
From the Desk of the D.A.
The Healthy Geezer
Library Chitchat
Rock Doc Break The Glass, Douse The Flames
What’s Bugging You?
Dear Dolly
Earth Talk
Barnes-Kasson Corner


100 Years Ago

HOP BOTTOM: The Foster basket ball team, composed of W. Hoppe, A. Hoppe, Brown, Coil and Bertholf, hopped all around the Montrose team at the skating rink Tuesday night. The score was 25-7. The Montrose players were B. Gardner, Kelly, Zopff, Stroud and Conklin. B. W. Camp refereed. The Foster contingent is a husky bunch and hasn’t been defeated this winter. The teams will probably play a return game.

FRANKLIN FORKS: The G.A.R. of this place gave a birthday party to J. J. Stockholm, of Hickory Grove, Jan. 29, in the Alliance Hall, it being his 69th birthday. About 45 sat down to a bountiful dinner and all seemed to enjoy themselves very much. John was a member of the old Buttermilk regiment, the 141st, Co. H. It was at the now famous peach orchard that he saved the colors from capture. It was there that our Daniel Searle received a wound that he would never accept a pension for. Mr. Stockholm was the first commander of Post No. 222. ALSO - The outlook now is that between the two rival barber shops, we will all get shaved.

ALFORD: J. P. Roach, who has leased the Hubbard boarding house, took possession on Monday. Rev. and Mrs. Hubbard, who have successfully conducted the place for several years, have gone to Binghamton to reside and Mr. Hubbard will resume his ministerial duties. Mr. Roach is an affable, energetic businessman and his experience in various enterprises on a large scale should result in the popular boarding house becoming even better known to the traveling public. ALSO - Orne Titus and son Jesse, the champion trappers in this section, report a fine winter for their business. The denizens of the woods and creeks have suffered at their hands very much.

HERRICK CENTER/FOREST CITY: Clarence Fives, who has had charge of the Forest City poor farm for the last two years, died suddenly Sunday afternoon. A little over a week ago the house on the poor farm was burned to the ground and Mr. Fives and family lost everything except the clothes they wore. Sunday afternoon Mr. Fives was down town and took his wife and children from the home of his brother-in-law, Ira L. Curtis, to the Barnes house, where they expected to live until spring. After dinner he was taken suddenly ill and died before 6 o’clock. He leaves a wife, two children, father, mother and a number of brothers and sisters to mourn for one who has been called in the springtime of life.

ARARAT: The heavy snow storm of Saturday caused the section foremen, along the branch, to call in plenty of help to shovel snow that night and they are still at it. Some of the men at Ararat worked Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday without sleep.

NEW MILFORD: A sad fatality occurred at New Milford Sunday morning when Harold Hill, son of Edward Hill, of Gibson, was instantly killed by a Lackawanna train. The young man, with his mother, sister, and brother, went to Binghamton on Saturday and were returning on Sunday on the milk train going west, which is due in New Milford at 12:30. The train stopped at the creamery a short distance from the station, to take out a car of milk. Young Hill got off the train and started to walk to the station and was hit by a west bound milk train which he failed to notice before it was upon him. Death was instantaneous and the body, which was badly mangled, was taken to VanBurkirk’s undertaking rooms and prepared for burial, being taken to the Hill home later in the day. He was a bright young man of 17 years and besides his parents and the brother and sister mentioned, he is survived by one other sister.

MONTROSE: Manager Ernest Caruso, of the Cnic, on Wednesday afternoon and evening last, gave performances for the benefit of the Library. Special pictures of an instructive character were presented, much to the delight of the large number of patrons. The musical program rendered by Miss Elizabeth Phillips evoked appreciation, also. The Library management and patrons have freely expressed their gratitude toward Mr. Caruso in having provided such a pleasing entertainment for the benefit of the fund.

SUSQUEHANNA: The Rev. Jas. F. Houlihan has been appointed to a First Lieutenancy and the Chaplaincy of the Fifth U. S. Cavalry, which at the present time is stationed at Honolulu. Chaplain Houlihan is a former member of the diocese of Scranton. He was born in Susquehanna, 34 years ago and studied for the priesthood at Dunwoodie Seminary and Niagara University. Chaplain Houlihan is a relative of Mrs. Matthew Griffin, at Forest Lake.

LAWTON: There is a tendency on the part of some of our young men to send their young ladies home with their brothers and some times to bring another girl home when she is to ride home with mother. ALSO - James Conboy is fast becoming known as the best buck and wing dancer in this section of the state.

CHOCONUT VALLEY: Miss Anna O’Connell entertained some 40 of her friends Friday evening. Progressive pedro was played and a bountiful lunch was served and all skipped the light fantastic to the music of E. Ames’ violin till the wee small hours.

EAST LYNN: Clyde Travis and A. D. Rogers took the job of filling the ice house at the Lynn milk station. It is reported the cakes of ice they are handling weigh over 300 lbs.

GLENWOOD: Earl Tourje has been in Great Bend the past week working on the telephone line.

ELK LAKE: The snow storm on Saturday blocked the roads so they were impassable in a good many places, but as soon as the storm was over, the men got out with shovels and opened them up, so they are out sleigh riding again. ALSO - Anyone wishing to hear good phonograph music should call on M. L. Biesecker. He knows how to handle a phonograph and has the Edson phonograph and records for sale.

THOMPSON: Watch out for a marriage license for one of the North Western’s best hello [telephone] girls.

NEWS BRIEF: At Towanda, on license day, 16 out of 78 licenses were held up for investigation by court. The judge in his instruction to the landlords, put a ban on the “village chorus” and “bar room soloists,” and also will not permit music of any kind in the barrooms or the congregating of men in front of hotels.

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

I had a discussion recently with a close friend concerning President Obama’s policies. My friend is a very successful professional who works for a major American financial institution. He has both an undergraduate and graduate degree, and he certainly has far more understanding of the complexities of the financial world than I do. When we were growing up, my friend was generally a conservative fellow, as we all were, but something happened to him along the way. His employment took him to Massachusetts, and his clarity of thought was slowly warped by New England liberalism.

Some people would say that he was growing and learning - expanding his horizons and seeing the error of his conservative roots. But there was other evidence that something sinister was happening to him. He betrayed his beloved New York Yankees to become a Boston Red Sox fan. To put this betrayal into perspective, when we were kids, I remember that he had named his dog Bucky Dent after the famous Yankee shortstop. While switching political parties or philosophies does occur with some regularity, no sane Yankee fan ever decides to start rooting for the hated Red Sox.

I am not sure if they were drugging him, using subliminal programming, water boarding, or some other nefarious scheme, but the results were clear. After many years, my conservative friend had morphed in that liberal New England cocoon. Eventually, he moved back to the area, but the damage had already been done. He now describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Our political discussions became a little more heated - though our differences never affected our friendship. If anything, we simply avoided discussion politics at any great length to avoid offending each other.

I knew that my friend was voting for President Obama, though even he had strong reservations. Still, he had a deep seated (and justifiable to some degree) anger over the direction the country had headed under President Bush. He believed strongly that the federal government was spending too much, and that there had been major foreign policy mistakes. He did flirt with supporting John McCain, but lost interest when he nominated Sarah Palin for his vice-president. In the end, he voted for hope, change and President Obama.

Things have not worked out for him. He received the notice the other day that his employer was cutting performance-based bonuses substantially as a result of taxes the federal government was requiring from banks that accepted TARP money. He told me that his financial institution did not even want the TARP money, but they were forced to take it. His employer had already paid the government back all of the TARP money with interest - yet they were being penalized. President Obama promised that there would be no new taxes for those earning less than $250,000 - and my friend certainly falls into that category. He is a middle class professional trying to raise his family. While he may not be directly taxed, his financial institution is now being taxed by the government, which means that there is less money for the employees. Whether it is a direct tax or the indirect result of that tax, either way my friend now has less money in his pocket to support his family.

Further, he then learned that his health insurance plan would be considered a “Cadillac plan” under the proposed health care reform package, and that he would be taxed for that benefit. He received a brief respite when he heard that they were going to remove that provision from the bill - only to then realize that it was only union employees who would be exempt. You see, my friend did not belong to any big labor union that had money to bribe Washington politicians. If the health care reform package passes in its current form, my friend will not only have lost a good portion of his performance-based bonus, but he will also be facing a substantial income tax increase.

As if things could not get worse, my friend understands economics, and he knows that the federal government decision to spend recklessly, coupled with the decision to print more currency, will have the inevitable effect of raising inflation, i.e., everything will cost more for consumers. In other words, he is being paid less as a result of his reduced bonus and he may have to pay more in taxes because of his Cadillac health care plan. With his income being reduced, he is faced with less pay as prices are rising as a result of an increased inflation rate. Hope and change are not really working out for him.

To make matters worse, there appears to be little “hope” of any real “change” in Washington. Like the prodigal son, my friend is coming back to his conservative roots, along with millions of other Americans. Welcome home, my friends.

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. My toe nails and leg hair don’t seem to be growing as fast as they used to. Is this age-related or is it something else?

It could be caused by something harmless, but it is possible that it is a little-known symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). If I were you, I’d go to a doctor for a check-up. [Cliche alert!] Better safe than sorry.

PAD - also known as peripheral vascular disease - usually strikes the legs, but also can affect the blood vessels to your head, arms, kidneys, and stomach.

Your chances of getting PAD increase with age. About one in five people over the age of 65 has PAD.

You get PAD when plaque accumulates in your arteries. Plaque is made of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the blood. When plaque builds up on the walls of the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis impedes the flow of blood.

If blood flow to your legs is blocked, you can suffer from pain and numbness. It also can increase the risk of infection. If the flow of blood is too low, tissue in the affected area can die. In severe cases, a leg might have to be amputated. And, if you are diagnosed with PAD, you face a high risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Because the disease reduces blood flow, there is a risk of blood clots. To help prevent clots, your doctor may prescribe a medication such as clopidogrel (Plavix).

The disease may start with damage of the inner layers of the arteries from smoking, elevated levels of fats and cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. The healing from the damage may cause plaque build-up.

The chances of getting PAD are four times greater for smokers than non-smokers. Quitting smoking slows the progress of PAD. Smokers and people who have diabetes are at the highest risk for PAD.

About half the people with PAD have no symptoms. Others have several symptoms such as pain, numbness or cramping in the leg and buttocks muscles when walking or climbing stairs. These symptoms may subside if you rest and reduce the need for blood flow.

Other PAD symptoms in the legs, feet and toes include: weak pulse, sores that don’t heal well, a pale or bluish color to the skin, lower temperature in one leg compared to the other leg, poor toenail growth and decreased hair growth on the legs, and erectile dysfunction.

The following are tests used to diagnose PAD:

* An ankle-brachial index (ABI) compares blood pressure in your ankle and arm to analyze blood flow.

* A Doppler ultrasound is a test that uses sound waves to show whether a blood vessel is blocked.

* A treadmill test can show the level of exercise necessary to develop symptoms.

* A magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) takes pictures of blood vessels inside your body. An MRA can describe blockages. An MRA is a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

* An arteriogram is used to locate a blocked artery. During an arteriogram, dye is injected into an artery and an x-ray is taken. A newer method of arteriogram uses ultrasound cameras to take pictures inside blood vessels.

* Blood tests are used to check for diabetes and cholesterol levels.

The lifestyle changes that are recommended for PAD include quitting smoking, exercising, and lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

Serious blockages may require surgery.

Bypass surgery uses a blood vessel from another part of your body to bypass the blockage. Angioplasty uses a catheter with a balloon that is inflated to widen arteries. A stent may be placed in the artery during angioplasty to keep the vessel open. During an endarterectomy, a surgeon makes an incision in your leg and removes the plaque from the blocked artery.

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

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Library Chitchat
By Flo Whittaker

No library Chitchat This Week

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Rock Doc
By Dr. E. Kirsten Peters

 

Knowing Nothin' Can Be Good

I wasn't expecting a brochure with a definition of science in the waiting room of my doctor's office. But there it was.

"The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error," the leaflet stated in a bold quotation.

The rest of the pamphlet concerned an explanation of the basic effects of cocaine on the brain. But I cogitated only on the quote while waiting for the doctor. When I finally got in to see the M.D., I showed it to him and asked his opinion. (It's probably not so easy to be my doctor.)

One way I have thought in recent weeks about that rather difficult and dense quotation is seen in my answer to a question a friend asked me recently via email.

"What's your correct mailing address?" he wrote.

I tapped in my reply.

"It's surely easier to type out the one correct address than the infinite incorrect ones," I replied. (It's probably not so easy to be one of my friends, I suppose.)

In the realm of research science and engineering, people work like dogs each day to expand our knowledge of the natural world. At least, that's one way of looking at it.

But with each thing we learn, we learn many things that are not the case - the false addresses, if you will. And, in truth, what we often unearth in research science is a false address, followed by another, followed by another, followed by another. It can be a very long road of false addresses, walking up and down streets that are even entirely in the wrong city, until we get to something like a good, useful and true piece of knowledge about the natural world.

Understandably, that’s a frustration. It frustrates people who are ill and are waiting for a cure for their disease from medical research - and instead get promises of research in progress that will take years or decades to come to fruition.

It frustrates people with environmental concerns who wait for one clear scientific theory about a particular problem - but who learn of a series of changing hypotheses, instead.

And it frustrates scientists and engineers, too, at least much of the time. (We're people, too. Even if we don’t always sound like it.)

But my strong belief is that American research in science and engineering has been a major ingredient in transforming the nation - and the world - for the better in recent generations. Diseases that killed and crippled children in my parent’s day are all but insignificant in the U.S. today.

We have knowledge and technologies for addressing environmental contamination. We cannot predict undersea earthquakes, but we have technologies in place to detect the tsunamis they sometimes produce and warn as many people as we can.

Compared to the “good ol’ days” we have engineering marvels in everything from communications to reliable and energy-efficient cars. (Yes, energy-efficient. Despite all the complaints about the American car fleet, it’s wonderful in all respects compared to the cars I grew up with in the 1970s.) We are linked by global communications in the Internet that are virtually instantaneous. We are beginning to have alternative energy generators that hold real promise for larger scale applications down the road.

A large measure of all that progress has been made by limiting our errors, step by step.

We all know the story of the zillion of attempts Thomas Edison and his assistants made to find the filament of a light bulb that would both burn brightly and not burn out. Edison walked along a lot of streets, discovering false addresses that would not work. But each step he took was still good work - it just wasn’t work with a positive result.

Patience is a virtue, in science just as in life. And it’s probably useful to keep in mind that “infinite wisdom” will always be outside our grasp in both realms. Pruning back ignorance and falsehood, the wrong addresses in useless sidestreets, is a valuable function of science, just as it is in ordinary life.

That’s good news - it’s the reason why Edison and colleagues were successful in the end.

Dr. E. Kirsten Peters, a native of the rural Northwest, was trained as a geologist at Princeton and Harvard. Follow her on the web at rockdoc.wsu.edu and on Twitter @RockDocWSU. This column is a service of the College of Sciences at Washington State University.

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What’s Bugging You?
By Stuart W. Slocum

No What's Bugging You This Week

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Dear Dolly,

Dear Dolly,

I have a rocking chair that was made by my great grandfather. It was left to me by my parents and I would like to pass it on to my daughter someday, along with the history of where it came from. What's the best way to make this happen? -Bernadette

Dear Bernadette,

It's wonderful to have family treasures to use and pass on to the next generation. Preserving the history of each piece is as important as deciding who you will leave it too.

My advice is to turn the piece over and find a smooth area on the bottom. Take a sharp pencil and pressing hard, write the history of ownership into the wood. You would start with your great grandfather's name and the date he was born and died. (The actual date he made the piece probably is not available) Next write who the next owner was, perhaps your grandfather, who left it to your mother who left it to you and then put your daughter’s name under yours. Use maiden and married names whenever possible.

This will establish provenance - and make the piece more valuable over time. Be sure to tell your daughter the rocking chair is hers when you are gone and ask her to pass it on to the next generation when the time is right.

All Transcript readers are welcome to submit their questions to Dear Dolly at deardolly570@yahoo.com.

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EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

 

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Barnes-Kasson Corner
By Cara Sepcoskiw

No Barnes-Kasson Corner This Week

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