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COLUMNS: LANESBORO: Mrs. Minnie Lee was brought to Montrose on Wednesday morning by Coroner Ray Lyons and placed in the county jail to answer the charge of poisoning her husband, Willis Lee, whose death occurred July 10. The Coroner’s jury rendered a verdict to the effect that “Willis Lee came to his death from arsenical poisoning, the poison being administered by his wife, Minnie Lee.” The report of the analysis done by Chemist Moore, of Philadelphia, showed both stomach and liver had been permeated by the poison, leaving no doubt as to how the man’s death was occasioned. Mrs. Lee, as she entered the jail yard, on her way to the woman’s ward, piteously exclaimed: “I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it! Why don’t they let me alone?” The ward pleasantly overlooks Lake Ave. The wife of the sheriff, Mrs. Conklin, is providing Mrs. Lee with sewing, books and magazines in the hope of occupying her mind. SOUTH MONTROSE: South Montrose young men are simply “carried away” by Montrose young women. Three of our athletic young ladies, pedestrianizing through that town one day last week, brought back three young men who were never known to walk so far. SOUTH AUBURN: Last Friday when Mrs. Frank Baldwin entered the kitchen to prepare the noonday meal, she was surprised to see a large blacksnake coiled upon the floor. The snake showed a disposition to attack, rather than retreat, and Mrs. Baldwin called her husband from the field and he dispatched the reptile, which measured over four feet long. ALSO, Miss May Ross, of Auburn Four Corners, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Mericle, was born July 10, 1864 and departed this life March 26, 1911. When eleven years old she was adopted by Henry D. and Harriet Ross and for nearly 36 years was a member of that home. FOREST CITY: Lawrence Wasnak, who was charged by Telban & Beber with causing the death of a horse by over driving, was given a hearing before Squire Morrison on Friday night and held under bail for court on Cruelty to animals charge. Wasnak claims the horse was sick and that he drove carefully. KINGSLEY: The members of the Kingsley Book Club, with invited guests, numbering in all about thirty, enjoyed a picnic at Heart Lake on Wednesday of last week. HOP BOTTOM: The apple evaporator men have made arrangements to commence business here again this fall. ALSO, Glenn Roberts has purchased N. M. Finn’s stock of dry goods and expects to move into M. McVicar’s house this fall. We welcome him. STEVENS POINT: Justice A. G. Spears killed two rattlesnakes one day last week - both of which were over 5 ft. long. One had fourteen rattles and the other thirteen. MONTROSE: There are many people who have not been carried away by the auto fever and who still have an eye largely for a good-looking one-horsepower, propelled vehicle. A. L. Titman, the carriage dealer, is selling large numbers of fine carriages and only recently has added several carloads to his stock. Besides the Church Street repository he has an additional sales room nearby in the same block, and the spacious skating rink has been filled with late shipments of carriages and wagons of all descriptions and kinds - all good. They are ready to harness to and all that is needed is to have the “niftiest turnout that ever came down the pike” and to match the carriage with the right kind of animal. Good carriages will be in demand as long as there are good horses, and Susquehanna county conditions are conducive to raising good horses. SUSQUEHANNA/OAKLAND: Clarence Carnegie, a 16 year-old Oakland boy, lost an arm by falling from a freight train he attempted to board Saturday afternoon. The young man fell on the track and the wheels of the train passed over the arm, making amputation necessary. When found, he had crawled on to an adjoining track, and but for the vigilance of the engineer on an approaching locomotive, would have been run over. NEW MILFORD: Thirty “fresh air” children arrived from New York city on Monday and are being given a two weeks vacation in the homes of that vicinity. While the country people are more than glad to give the youngsters from the city the pleasure of rural life during the hot summer weather, just imagine the independent country people letting their children be entertained, free of charge, in the city, two or three weeks during the year! Providing, of course, the city would do it. DIMOCK GROVE CAMPMEETING: Commencing August 9, lasting eight days. Famous spring of water and fine grove makes it a fine place to sojourn for several weeks during hot weather. Train service the best. Rooms or cottages rented very cheaply. Inquire of M. E. Compton, Springville, Penn’a. S. ARARAT: There are about 12 families finding great pleasure in camping at Fiddle Lake. SPRINGVILLE: We are very sorry to learn that we are to loose two of our townsmen and their families. Nick Titman goes to Factoryville in a few weeks to engage in the mercantile business. James Wescott will still continue in the milk depot business, but at a much more paying station 4 miles from Little Falls, near Utica. We wish them success. HARFORD: The second annual tournament of the Harford Camp of United Sportsmen will have a pigeon shoot on the Harford fair grounds on August 2. A cordial invitation is extended to all to come and bring guns. Shooting will commence promptly at 10 a.m. with practice events during the morning. THOMPSON: Mrs. Dr. Barnes and son, of Ovid, NY, were visiting her old home and friends here last week. Dr. Barnes began his practice here and married one of our girls, Miss Gladys Davis. CHOCONUT VALLEY: Sister Anatalia, of Binghamton, and Sister Ignatius Loyala, formerly Miss Ella Mooney, of Hudson, spent several days with Mrs. Mooney and Mr. and Mrs. John Mooney and called on Rev. J. J. Lally and other friends down the valley. HALLSTEAD/GREAT BEND: Owing to a disagreement among the proprietors of the Herbeck-Demer Co., manufacturers of glass ware, who recently removed their plant from Honesdale to Hallstead, the Demer Bros. have withdrawn and will open a cut glass factory at Great Bend. They have purchased the equipment of the Kohlar Glass Co., at Clark’s Summit, and will occupy the Day building. This will give the twin villages two cut glass factories and it is expected each will employ about forty men. From the Desk of the D.A. I had someone approach me about a trial that they were watching on some live cable program. It involved a tragic situation involving a DUI accident involving two cars. A passing motorist decided to stop and provide assistance. Another drunk driver came along and hit the Good Samaritan and killed him. Both of the drunk drivers were charged with the DUI offense and homicide offenses for the death of the Good Samaritan. The drunk driver who actually struck and killed the Good Samaritan pled guilty to the DUI and homicide charges. The other driver went to trial. The question was a simple one - to what extent was the first driver criminally responsible for the death of the Good Samaritan? You might be wondering, as the viewer did, how the first driver could even be charged with vehicular homicide as he did not directly kill the Good Samaritan - the other drunk driver did and the other drunk driver pled guilty to it. I am receiving the information second hand - so I cannot say for sure what theory the prosecution was utilizing to charge the first drunk driver with vehicular homicide. The criminal law allows for an individual to be charged with homicide even where the person was not the direct cause of the death to the person. I remember in Criminal Law class back in law school that there were countless wild examples of criminal causation and what is required to support homicide charges. For instance, if the villain pushes the victim off a skyscraper, but before the victim can hit the ground, another villain uses a high powered rifle to shoot and kill the victim, which villain should be charged with homicide? Clearly, the second villain killed the victim - but the first villain was definitely trying to do so as well. What if the victim had a heart attack prior to hitting the ground and died from natural causes? My law school professor had a wealth of these “what if” questions, but I remember he saved the best ones for the final exam. In the end, the question really becomes one of direct causation and a person can be found guilty of homicide if the victim would be alive but for the defendant’s conduct. So, the second drunk driver was clearly the direct cause of the defendant’s death but as for the second drunk driver’s conduct, the victim would still be alive. You can see where this is headed. You can argue that the victim would also be alive, but for the first drunk driver having an accident that resulted in the victim stopping to provide assistance which placed the victim in a position to be struck by the second drunk driver. In other words, the first drunk driver set into sequence a series of events that led to the Good Samaritan’s death. The Pennsylvania Standard Criminal Jury Instruction regarding causation in a homicide case requires a jury to conclude that the defendant’s conduct “must be a direct and substantial factor in bringing about the death. There can be more than one direct cause of death. A defendant who is a direct cause of a death may be criminally liable even though there are other direct causes.” Given that there can be more than one direct cause, more than one person can be guilty of a homicide if each conduct substantially contributed to death. Imagine a situation where multiple people shoot and kill a victim - they all contributed directly to the victim’s death even if it cannot be said for certain which bullet killed the victim. The jury instructions also use the chain of events analogy with the following language: “A defendant’s conduct may be a direct cause of death even though his conduct was not the last or immediate cause of death. Thus, a defendant’s conduct may be a direct cause of a death if it initiates an unbroken chain of events leading to the death of a victim.” This would be the argument for the first drunk driver - he started the chain of events that led to death. There is a caveat, however, in the jury instructions that makes clear that a defendant is not responsible for a victim’s death where the actions of a third person play “such an independent, important and overriding role in bringing about the death, compared with the role of the defendant, that the defendant’s conduct does not amount to a direct and substantial factor in bringing about the death.” In other words, even if a defendant starts the chain of events, the question becomes whether the defendant’s conduct is so serious and substantial as to support a homicide charge even where subsequent third party actions actually killed the victim. I was told that the jury acquitted the first drunk driver of the vehicular homicide charges. Obviously, the jury must have concluded that even if the first drunk driver had started the chain of events that led to the homicide, the actions of the second drunk driver superseded those of the first drunk driver so as to absolve him of any criminal liability for the homicide. 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
Recent research indicates that cinnamon may be helpful for people with Type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects the way your body processes sugar. Type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening if you don't treat it. One study found that cinnamon taken twice a day for 90 days improved the condition of people with poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes. One theory is that cinnamon may act like insulin, a hormone that controls the concentration of sugar in the blood. Insulin deficiency causes diabetes. Researchers at the University of Maryland used a roundworm that has some genetic and biochemical similarities to humans to examine complex herbal preparations believed to combat aging. They found that cinnamon bark increased the worms' life span. According to some studies, cinnamon may improve cholesterol levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. The results of a study from Pakistan showed lower levels of cholesterol in people consuming cinnamon after 40 days. Cholesterol continued to drop for another 20 days. In other studies, cinnamon did not decrease blood sugar or cholesterol levels. It is important to stress that more research is needed to determine what health benefits - if any - can be attributed to consuming cinnamon. Do not increase your consumption of cinnamon without discussing it with your physician. Seniors are at risk when making dietary changes because they usually are taking one or more medications that might react to ingesting a lot of cinnamon. Cinnamon dates back in Chinese writings to 2800 B.C., and is still known in China as kwai. Ancient Egyptians used cinnamon for embalming. Medieval physicians included cinnamon in medicines to treat coughing, hoarseness and sore throats. The spice was also valued for its ability to preserve meat. Cinnamon comes in two varieties - Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon is the kind most Americans use for baking. It's also the variety most researchers have used when they've studied cinnamon and diabetes. Cassia cinnamon is a plant. People use the bark and flower. Cassia cinnamon has been used for gas, muscle and stomach spasms, preventing nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, infections, the common cold, and loss of appetite. Some people use it for erectile dysfunction (ED), hernia, bed-wetting, joint conditions, menopausal symptoms, menstrual problems, and to cause abortions. Cassia cinnamon is also used for chest pain, kidney disorders, high blood pressure, cramps and cancer. More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of cassia cinnamon for these uses. If you would like to read more columns, “How to be a Healthy Geezer” is available at www.healthygeezer.com. Library Chitchat Everything is coming up “blueberries” in Montrose next weekend. The 32nd annual Blueberry Festival will be the focus of activity on the Green on Friday, August 5 and Saturday, August 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Featured activities include our famous pancake breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily, the giant book tent in the center of the Green and an overflow location (the old Liberty Carpet Building) filled with paperbacks and audio items, games for children, the massed band concert at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and visits from Newberry the Blueberry. Of course, there will be plenty of food to go around. It is a fun time for all. The Blueberry Festival began in 1980 as a fundraising event for the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association and it has grown steadily each year. It is a community celebration, supported by hundreds of volunteers and the dedication of local business. Funds raised through this festival are used to operate the Historical Society, the Library with its four locations in Forest City, Hallstead-Great Bend, Montrose, and Susquehanna, the Outreach Service Department, the County Museum and a genealogy research center. I have had the privilege of serving as the co-chair of this festival along with Cookie Capotosto and Jean Dunn for the last five years. We hope that the 2011 festival will be the best one ever. We invite you to see small town life at its finest. Stop in and take something “blueberry” home with you. Rock Doc
You and I have our challenges and some real worries, too. There are bills to pay and doctors to visit, to say nothing of mulling over those strange sounds coming from the rear of the car. But I confess I thought the life of a cow was rather placid. Eating and sleeping, I would have guessed, pretty much summed up the existence of the more than one billion bovines that share the planet with us. But as I’ve recently learned, both beef cattle and dairy cows often have trouble just catching their breath. It’s not that they are gaily running across their pastures, frolicking joyfully in the sunlight, until they simply overdo it. It’s that they are suffering - and I do mean suffering - from serious infections of their respiratory tracts. The problem is caused by a malady called Bovine Respiratory Disease or BRD. It kills more than a million animals each year in the U.S., resulting in a loss of about $700 million to American ranchers and dairy farmers. Those are staggering figures, well known to those involved with the beef and dairy industries but oddly outside the world of typical Americans who see the food chain on which they depend only via aisles in the supermarket. The BRD problem has been a difficult one for researchers to address. It’s a broad category of disease, a bit like pneumonia in us humans. I might have pneumonia due to a bacterial infection that’s enhanced by the fact I’m drinking far too much and staying up all night. You might be living a healthy life but nonetheless contract pneumonia due to a virus you happened to pick up from a little old lady at church. BRD is likewise probably caused by a variety of agents and conditions. But it’s useful to think of it as one problem because it ends up causing a similar set of symptoms, just as pneumonia does. Those symptoms lead cows to struggle to get their breath. And despite modern veterinary science, more than a million head of beef and dairy cattle in this country die each year due to BRD. A few strains of cattle clearly have some resistance to BRD, a fact that suggests that part of the BRD picture is genetic. On the other hand, transporting cattle - which introduces stress into their lives - can increase the incidence of BRD. And if sick animals are introduced to a herd of cattle, BRD can spread from the ill animals to the healthy ones. Animal scientist Holly Neibergs at Washington State University is one member of a team of researchers recently formed to research causes of BRD. Neibergs will work to identify genetic markers that correspond to susceptibility or resistance to BRD. Simply put, she’ll try to find the genetic signatures that are useful for cattle so they can better put up a serious fight against respiratory infections. Results could help determine the selective breeding of cows to eventually reduce or even eliminate BRD. Neibergs and her collaborators will examine 6,000 dairy and feedlot cattle in the U.S. for their research. That’s a lot of cows - cattle that as I calculate it have a total of 12,000 hind-end hoofs to kick the researchers if they’re not careful. “Prevention of respiratory disease will allow cattle and producers to breath easier,” Neibergs told me. I wish Niebergs and her co-workers the best for all sorts of reasons. Clearly, limiting the wide prevalence of BRD would aid a major American industry. Beyond that, it would also help keep food prices as low as they can be for all of us. And decreasing or even eradicating BRD would lessen the suffering of the animals themselves. Let’s hoist a glass (of wholesome milk) to that ideal. 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 Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University. EARTH TALK No EarthTalk This Week Barnes-Kasson Corner No Barnes-Kasson Corner This Week
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Q. My Aunt Lillian is a total health freak. The other day she said cinnamon is good for you. Come on! Cinnamon?
Helping One Billion Bovines