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Issue Home August 4, 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

HEART LAKE: Among the highly esteemed residents of many, many years, of the Williams Pond neighborhood near Heart Lake, were Mr. and Mrs. James Calph. Mrs. Calph’s death occurred July 17, and her funeral was held Tuesday, July 19, and on Tuesday of this week, being just two weeks later, the funeral of Mr. Calph took place. He was 88 years of age and his grandsons and great grandsons, James Williams, Clarence Williams, L. Williams and Harry Hawley acted as pall bearers. Rev. Shaw, of Heart Lake, officiated at both funerals of Mr. and Mrs. Calph.

FOREST CITY: St. Anthony’s Lithuanian church, on Lackawanna Street, is being given a new coat of paint. It will be done in grey, the national color of Lithuania. This church property, during the summer months, is the finest beauty spot. The trees and shrubs, many of them planted during the early years of Rev. John Kuras’ pastorate, have now attained a considerable growth, and the present pastor, Rev. M. A. Pankovski, has followed out the good work, grading, planting and improving, until the buildings and their spacious lawns are a church property of which the congregation can well afford to be proud.

SPRINGVILLE: “Dad” Whitney has the best field of corn to be found in this “neck o’ timber.”

THOMPSON: The 22nd annual reunion of the descendants of Capt. Joseph and Lois (Guernsey) Potter will be held at the home of Ernest S. Potter, Thompson, Aug. 18, 1910. As this is but a few minutes walk from the railroad station, it can easily be reached by all relatives from down the valley who wish to attend. Please report all births, deaths and marriages since last meeting to the secretary before that date. Julia A. Potter, Sec’ty.

HARFORD: The descendants and relatives of John Brundage, Sr., and Polly Wayman, his wife, will hold their 18th annual reunion on the fair ground, Saturday, Aug. 20, 1910. Dinner will be served for 35 cents each, also accommodations for horses will be furnished.

MONTROSE: When we met George Felker the other morning with a large load of his famous soft drinks, our inquisitorial proclivities got the best of us and we asked him where he was bound for and he told us the load was going to Vestal Center. The demand for Mr. Felker’s goods, which are of excellent quality, is constantly growing and it keeps him busy this time of the year keeping his customers supplied.

NEW MILFORD/NORTH JACKSON: During the electric storm last week the barn belonging to Isaac Shimer, east of here, was burned with its contents, the new crop of hay and farm tools. A large barn belonging to William Whitney, of North Jackson, which had also just been filled with hay, was also completely destroyed. The residence of Mrs. F. W. Boyle, of New Milford, was also struck, damaging the roof, but did not set the building on fire, and it was not discovered until the next morning.

BROOKLYN: The danger of playing base ball, even in fun, where people are within reach and in a public street or a public place, was well illustrated Tuesday morning at the L & M station, while the people were gathered to take the train to the Baptist Sunday School picnic. Two young men were playing catch with a hard ball, which got away from one of them and struck Miss Mollie Strous near the temple, making a very painful wound, which bled profusely. It was certainly no place to be pitching a ball in a crowded place like that and unfortunately an innocent bystander who was hurrying to take her train for a trip to Binghamton, received the punishment, instead of the parties who threw it.

NORTH BRIDGEWATER: George Winfield feels very grateful to his neighbors, who in view of Mr. Winfield’s poor health very generously came to his farm one day last week and gave him a big boost with his haying, in the day cutting and putting into the barn 19 big loads. Mr. Winfield’s neighbors giving their assistance were: Charles Fancher, John Parks, Charles Holbrook, Glen Taylor, Jack Furey, Mr. Wademan, John Murray, Ed Tyler, George Holbrook, M. McMahon, E. Pickering and Mr. Clink sent Mr. Winfield a nice remembrance on that day and Mrs. H. N. Gunn gave valuable assistance in the house, when a sumptuous dinner and supper were served. The possession of such friends as these is an asset more valuable than any measured by worldly effects.

UNIONDALE: Report says 38 cases of hooping cough here in the boro. The music is served night and day. It is claimed that it beats the band by at least two points. ALSO Lake Idlewild is getting the people from the city these hot days. And why shouldn’t they go there? It is a lovely place to go and they get good accommodations and the right change back, and a fine breeze from the lake thrown in.

SOUTH HARFORD: L. L. Conrad went to Binghamton, Thursday, to have a piece of steel removed from his eye.

EAST RUSH: We understand that Fred Pierson will teach the Prospect Hill school; Clark James the Fargo school, and Harold Pierson the East Rush school the coming winter. ALSO As the result of the ball game between the East Rush Giants and Fairdale Tigers at East Rush, July 30, Fairdale still holds the championship of the county by a small margin.

EAST KINGSLEY: Harry Smith lost a valuable colt, last week, by falling from a bridge driveway into the barn. They heard it walking on the bridge and thought it was stamping flies, but when they went to it, it was dead.

DUNDAFF: Our school vacation will soon be over, perhaps not - as our School board has not hired any teacher yet. Applications from first-class teachers would receive prompt attention from the Secretary.

DIMOCK: The address on “Hygiene in the Home and School,” by Dr. George Norris, at the Baptist church, last Friday evening, was interesting and instructive and highly appreciated by the audience. Lectures of this kind are of great value to any community.

NEWS BRIEFS: Young men should be careful when talking with their best girl over the telephone. [Remember party lines?] ALSO A young lady is in the county this week giving a demonstration of the famous Heinz goods, pickles, etc., largely and popularly known as the “57 varieties.” These goods have become famous through their excellent qualities, rigidly maintained through many years. It will be worth one’s while to go in and see the display and sample some of the various products.

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

It has been interesting to watch the federal government’s response to the Arizona Immigration Law. On the one hand, the federal government often indicates that it lacks the resources to effectively enforce immigration law. On the other hand, when a state steps up and agrees to willingly assist in that enforcement, the federal government responds by suing the state to stop them from helping. This would be like watching your house burn down, and, when your neighbor shows up with his hose, you tell him to get off your yard or you’ll have him arrested for trespassing. It is plain insanity.

The other strange thing about the entire episode is the simple reality that law enforcement officers across the country are already doing exactly what the Arizona law formally authorizes every single day. Every time there is a traffic stop or other investigation, law enforcement officers request identification from the parties involved in the incident. There is nothing outrageous about such conduct; rather, we expect it to occur. The question becomes what happens when the person cannot provide identification to the police. What should the next step be in the process? Common sense would suggest that the police should take additional steps to verify the person’s identity. Otherwise, criminals everywhere would evade capture by refusing to carry identification and simply lie to the police about their identity. Thus, police routinely take custody of people who cannot provide identification in order to run their fingerprints through a national system to determine their status.

The person may be a wanted fugitive from another state or country. The person may be a dead-beat dad attempting to evade child support. If it is teenager, the person might be a runaway. The person may be an illegal immigrant. If the police are already running checks on people without identification, you would expect that the federal government would thank the police for reporting any illegal immigrants to the appropriate federal authorities. The thank you card that the feds sent to Arizona was a federal lawsuit - and a federal judge recently agreed and told Arizona to take their hose and water and get off the fed’s yard - even if the fire threatens Arizona’s own house. Just sit back and watch the fire spread - burn, baby, burn!

The entire episode reminds me of a situation we had a few years back. The State Police arrested a middle-aged woman who had been pulled over driving a car that had been reported stolen in El Paso, Texas. Her heritage appeared to be eastern European. The woman had no identification whatsoever - and even running her through the system produced no further answer to her identity. She claimed that her name was Zane Lane (or sometimes Lane Zane). She provided different versions of her family history - but could not provide anything that would confirm her identity, no birth certificate, no driver’s license, no social security number, nothing at all. Literally, there was no way to tell who she was - and we prosecuted under the name Zane Lane. She was sentenced to serve a period of incarceration in the Susquehanna County Correctional Facility.

We notified the federal immigration officials that we had her in custody. I believed that they would take the appropriate steps to identify her and, if necessary, deport her. I was sadly mistaken. We were told that there was nothing the federal government could do because they did not know who she was. Well, yes, that was the reason that we called the immigration. We were told that they could not deport her because they did not know where she came from - and, as such, they could not hold her. Think about that logic for a minute. The federal administrative entity charged with ensuring that persons are not here illegally takes no action against those persons that they cannot identify or lack sufficient information to determine where they originated. The moral of the story is simple - if you are here illegally, don’t tell anybody anything because eventually they will let you go.

In the end, Zane Lane served almost her entire 2 year sentence in the Susquehanna County Correctional Facility. I objected to her parole repeatedly on the basis that I would not agree to her parole until she provided her identification. She refused - and she stayed in jail until her maximum date expired. At that point, she walked out of the jail. Where she went, I don’t know. Nor does the federal agency charged with enforcing immigration laws. We spent more time trying to figure it out than did the federal authorities who simply shrugged it off and said “what do you want us to do?” As I said, burn, baby, burn.

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. I'm going to the doctor and I don't want to forget to ask him important questions. Any suggestions on how to prepare for this visit?

Whether you're talking to a family physician, a specialist or pharmacist, you need to know the right questions. My research turned up hundreds of possible questions. I narrowed the list down to the ones I considered to be the most significant. You can pick out the ones that apply to you. Here goes:

Family Physician

What is the outlook for my condition?

Could relatives get this?

What changes will I need to make?

What are my treatment options?

What are the benefits and risks associated with my treatment options?

What are the expected results?

Are there any side effects and what can be done about them?

What organizations and resources do you recommend for support and information?

Which hospital has the best care for my condition?

Specialist

What are the benefits and risks of having this test?

How is the test done?

Is this test the only way to find out that information?

What do I need to do to prepare for the test?

When will I get the results?

What's the next step after the test?

Do I need surgery?

What are the benefits and risks of having this surgery?

Is there some other way to treat my condition?

What will happen if I don't have this surgery?

Have you done this surgery before?

How successful is this surgery?

Which hospital is best for this surgery?

How long will I be in the hospital?

How long is the recovery?

Where can I get a second opinion?

Pharmacist

What are the side effects of this medicine?

When should I report a side effect to my doctor?

Can I take a generic version?

What is the primary use for this medicine?

When should I take my medicine?

How long do I need to take the medicine?

When will the medicine start working?

Can I stop taking my medicine if I feel better?

Do I need to avoid any food, drinks, or activities?

Does this medicine conflict with other drugs I'm taking?

Which over-the-counter supplements can I take with this prescription?

Are there any tests I need to take while I'm on this medicine?

In addition to being armed with questions, you should be ready with answers for a visit to any healthcare professional. Here's a checklist of items you should take with you to your visit.

* A description of any symptoms you are experiencing.

* A list of all the medications and supplements you take. These include both prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Some doctors ask you to bring all your medicines with you to your first visit.

* Medical records

* Insurance cards, names and phone numbers of your other doctors, and the phone number of the pharmacy you use.

* A list assistive devices you use such as canes, walkers, scooters, glasses, hearing aids, reachers, grab bars, and stair lifts.

* Lifestyle habits. Your diet. How do you sleep? Do you smoke or drink alcohol. Activities such as dancing and sports.

* Events in your life that may be affecting your health. These include moving, changing jobs, a divorce, a death in the family.

If you would like to ask a question, please write fred@healthygeezer.com.

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Library Chitchat
By Flo Whittaker

No Libary Chitchat This Week

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Rock Doc
By Dr. E. Kirsten Peters

No Rock Doc This Week

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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,

My boyfriend and I are on a break because we argue too much. He's deciding if we should break up. We've been serious for one year and he's letting me choose between: A - stopping all contact with him; or B - talking to him on-line and over the phone, but not seeing him at all.

We've discussed reasons and solutions to the problems; and if we continue to talk, it will be about everyday normal things. I'm worried that if I continue to talk to him he might see me as just a friend and end things. I think that would hurt me even more. On the other hand, if I break off all contact maybe he will miss me more.

Which option will give me the biggest chance of winning him back? -Lorelei

Dear Lorelei,

Arguing too much is a red flag in any relationship. It's good you both picked up on that because it rarely gets better. Constant arguing is an indicator of different core values and life goals.

Your boyfriend is not really giving you any options. He is breaking up with you and trying to make it look like it was all your decision.

Going a full year with no contact with this guy, will give you the opportunity and freedom to move on and make some new friends. A year will give you maturity, perspective and life experience that can help you make better choices. You may learn that there is no such thing as "just a friend." Friendship is the foundation of every healthy, lasting relationship.

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

No Earth Talk This Week

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Barnes-Kasson Corner
By Cara Sepcoskiw

No Barnes-Kasson Corner This Week

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