Gibson – Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Barrett, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Estabrook and Mrs. Lovisa Wilder attended the G. A. R. installation at Jackson on Saturday last. At the close of the business session Comrade C. E. Washburn, in behalf of the G. A. R. boys, presented Mr. and Mrs. Barrett with a beautiful rug as a token of love and good comradeship. They were married 50 years ago Christmas. Mr. Barrett is of a family of six boys, and five out of that number lived to celebrate their golden wedding.

Highlands – As our school teacher, Miss Carrie Sandell has been ill since the holidays, there has been no school.

Ainey – Albert Moody is seriously ill at his home near Parkvale. His age is nearly 80 years and his recovery is doubtful.

Prospect Hill – The people in this place would like to know what is the penalty for a drunken wife beater, who makes it a regular weekly business. It would be a good case for the State police.

Hopbottom – By night and by day and on Sundays the blasting on the cut-off goes on. Also Miss Maude Willis presented “The Fortune Hunter” in the Hop Bottom Universalist church, Tuesday evening, Jan. 21st. There was a large attendance and those who were not present have a great deal to regret. To be entertained for an evening by an artist such as Miss Willis is surely a treat. It is to be hoped that we may be fortunate enough to secure her for one number on the entertainment course, which will be conducted next winter. These entertainments are managed by the Shakespeare club of the town. Also The Hop Bottom Water Company has their plant in operation now and is furnishing water to several parties. They will extend the system to all parts of the town in the spring. They have a fine supply of spring water and the water system is a big improvement to the town.

Rush – Our town is certainly prospering and bids fair to outshine many larger towns. Two new automobiles have recently been purchased—one by Ude LaRue and the other by Oscar Hardic.

Montrose – It is hoped that all true lovers of the Flag will assist the Daughters of Veterans in making the Lincoln Tea a grand success. It will be held at the Palace Skating Rink this year, on Feb. 12th. Heretofore, it has been held in Mrs. James’ millinery store, but a change has been made in order to accommodate the big crowd expected. Also The Story Hour will be held at the library tomorrow afternoon. All children invited. The library will be closed evenings until the electric lights are again ready for use. Also No. 2 Fire Co. will hold a supper next Wednesday night. Proceeds to be used to help pay for the new chemical. Everyone should try to attend, or at least send some one.

Silver Lake - C. F. Cady, who has held a position on the Sheldoncroft farm, has been made manager, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Chas. B. Dayton. Mr. Cady is a graduate of an agricultural college and is well qualified for the position.

Deaths of two veterans – William Rosencrans, a veteran of the Civil War, died at the home of his sister, Mrs. A. L Merriman, in New Milford, on Saturday, Jan. 11, 1913. He had suffered from asthma for some time, but his condition was not regarded as dangerous. He died shortly after being found in a critical condition from the disease. Interment in New Milford cemetery, Rev. I. D. Mallery officiating. George H. Burman, one of Ararat’s pioneer residents, died at his home in that place on Sunday, Jan. 19, 1913, after a long and painful illness. He was born in Ararat and resided there during his long life, with the exception of the time during his service in the Civil War, he serving as a member of C. A, 56th PA, Volunteers. Fifty-three years ago he was united in marriage to Mary A. Boothroyd and to them three children were born—Mrs. E. L. Avery, of Uniondale, and Wellington and Ernest, who survive him. The funeral will be held from his late home.

Springville – Nathan Comstock has recently purchased the meat market of Lake Brothers and will continue the business, residing in the rooms over the market. The Lakes are going elsewhere. Your correspondent does not know their arrangements, but hear they will conduct a hotel.

New Milford – An effort is being made to have an all night electric light service for all streets. Also Wm. Interline, station agent, is contemplating resigning his position and going into chicken raising, on account of his health.

Forest Lake – The work of rebuilding the Methodist church sheds [for horses and carriages], which were blown down in the recent wind storm, is progressing finely.

Susquehanna – Mrs. Nellie Munson, of New York City, a former resident, was instantly killed at her residence, 158 East 104th street, Friday morning. It appears the deceased was attacked by an epileptic seizure, to which she was subject, while standing near an open window, and fell through it to the yard beneath.

Auburn – James W. Cavanaugh, of Auburn, who lives on the James Matthews farm, has purchased the Riverside hotel at Meshoppen, of F. E. Donlin, who has been proprietor of the hotel for several years. Mr. Cavanaugh will take possession early in April.

News Brief: It seems once there was a year without a summer; we wonder if this is to be a year without a winter. Also One of the penalties of greatness is that of kissing girls. If we are to believe the so-called historical novels, George Washington spent most of his time kissing the mush-wushy girls celebrated in recent literature. Later on General William T. Sherman won international fame as the best kisser of modern times. He is said to have kissed more girls than any other man living during his time. Lt. Hobson, who won fame during the Spanish war, gave the general a close race for the pennant. Now President Taft seems to be bent on taking the flag from all the historical characters of the past. It is related of General Grant that on one occasion he was introduced to a notoriety seeking female of more or less charm, who gushed: “Oh, General, I want to kiss you.” The great silent state man looked at her with disgust, and replied: “Well, miss, you can’t.” One of the greatest kissers of modern times, whom history has overlooked, was James Buchanan, the old bachelor president of the United States. Grover Cleveland was seldom invited, and always firmly declined. Benjamin Harrison would kiss anything, but William McKinley seldom got a chance, because Mrs. McKinley was always close to him.

I want to delve into the issues raised in last week’s column a little further. As you will recall, last week I discussed some common sentencing questions regarding how offenders end up with different sentences. Sometimes people see offenses that they think are less serious with defendants getting periods of incarceration while other defendants receive probationary sentences despite being convicted of a more serious offense. Unfortunately, this causes people to get a little confused about sentencing issues.

As I said last week, there are a lot of discretionary factors that go into a sentencing proceeding. The two biggest factors are the ones that you would expect: the gravity of the offense and the defendant’s prior criminal history. The problem with sentencing reports in the paper is that you often only know one side of the story, i.e., the gravity of the offense. You rarely know whether a particular defendant has been sentenced as a first time offender or career criminal. The prior criminal history is a huge factor in Pennsylvania’s sentencing scheme. The gravity of the offense and prior criminal history are the two factors that determine the applicable sentencing range under the guidelines – but even then the sentencing court must consider other factors in fashioning a sentence. The factors would include things like a defendant’s family history, employment history, medical history, military service, or mental health issues.

Last fall, I was at a function where someone gave me a clipping of an editorial written by Judge Jeffrey Sprecher, who sits on the Court of Common Pleas in Berks County. Judge Sprecher has also written a book entitled “Justice of Just This,” and his book, like his short editorial, criticizes the “usurpation” of the judicial function by the legislative and executive branches. The person who provided the clipping to me thought that it would provide an interesting topic for the column – and given last week’s column, I thought this would be a good time to address Judge Sprecher’s editorial.

Judge Sprecher objects to the sentencing constraints placed on the judiciary by the legislature and the executive branches of the government. In essence, Judge Sprecher attributes the current problems with overcrowded prisons to the loss of control that the judiciary has experienced in the sentencing realm. To quote from his editorial letter: “We got into this mess because of a constitutional trespass committed in the last 30 years by the executive and legislative branches. In reality sentencing discretion has been taken away from those elected to perform this important judicial duty and has been given to an 11-member legislative sentencing commission and to local district attorneys.”

In other words, Judge Sprecher does not like the fact that a sentencing judge is limited in the ability to sentence a defendant by the Sentencing Guidelines, i.e., the ranges attributable to a particular criminal offense based upon its gravity and the defendant’s prior history. Judge Sprecher is highly critical of the power that prosecutors have in crafting plea agreements that result in the judge being forced, either through mandatory minimum sentences specifically imposed by the legislature or the presumptive sentencing ranges under the guidelines for a particular criminal offense, to impose sentences that the judge does not believe is appropriate.

First, Judge Sprecher completely misses the mark when he complains about the Sentencing Guidelines – and he is disingenuous with the reader as to the control that those Guidelines have on a sentencing judge. The Guidelines only provide a presumptive range for an appropriate sentence – and this provides some assurance that defendants across the Commonwealth receive similar treatment. Prior to the Sentencing Guidelines, a sentence was more often determined by the personal sentencing philosophy of the sentencing judge so that similarly situated defendants could receive radically different sentencing depending simply upon the whims of the sentencing judge. It is hard to argue that there is justice in such an approach.

Moreover, the Sentencing Guidelines allow sentencing judges to depart from the ranges – but require the sentencing judge to give reasons why the particular guideline range in not appropriate. So, if Judge Sprecher determined that a particular defendant did not need incarceration – even though the Guidelines required it – then he simply needs to explain his decision. Is there a “constitutional trespass” when we simply ask judges to provide an explanation for a particular sentence? The answer is obvious – no such trespass has occurred, nor would the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allow it to occur.

The Sentencing Guidelines do provide a check on unfettered judicial discretion in the sentencing process and assures that defendants are treated with some level of consistency. As with beauty, justice often depends upon the eye of the beholder, but I think we can all agree that people should not be treated differently simply because they have different judges.

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/.

As I write this, we are in the midst of another snowstorm of undetermined amounts. Take heart, for Spring can’t be far away as the mailbox holds seed catalogs from companies near and far. In the meantime, we have something special to celebrate—for on January 29th, the very beloved children’s book character, Amelia Bedelia turns the big 5-0!!

What? You say you are not acquainted with Miss Amelia Bedelia? Well, let me fill you in! The tales of Amelia Bedelia were written from 1963 to 1988 by the late Peggy Parish who based Amelia Bedelia on a real maid in Cameroon, who she knew in her young life. That maid was known for her vast collection of outrageously-plumed hats, while Amelia is noted for being kind-hearted, a lover of life and taking her employer’s (the Rogers Family) requests literally. They quickly learn to be careful with what you say, and all mishaps with comical results, somehow work out alright in the end. This leads to some amusing situations. For example, when she is told to scale and ice freshly caught fish, she weighs the fish on a scale, then ices the fish with cake frosting! Amelia has worn many hats throughout her 50 years, among them are: Housekeeper, Teacher, Student, Political Candidate, Amateur Rocket Scientist, Baseball Player, Babysitter, Librarian, Musician, Doctor, Camper, and Construction Worker, just to name a few. Amelia Bedelia books are published as an “I Can Read” series and were found to be enjoyed just as much by boys as girls, and the more they laughed, the more they wanted to read. In 1995, Herman Parish, Peggy’s Nephew, continued the Amelia Bedelia series that his Aunt started, and has gone back to Amelia’s childhood with such titles as “Amelia Bedelia and the First Day of School”. A statue of Amelia Bedelia stands in Manning, South Carolina, Peggy Parish’s hometown. With Amelia’s milestone birthday, let’s hope she’s doing her crazy antics for many generations to come! Of the 35 titles in the Amelia Bedelia series, your local Library Branches have eight to offer you and you can request the other titles in the series through Interlibrary Loan at no charge through your local Library Branch. These include:

“Amelia Bedelia Helps Out”, where we find Amelia helping out her neighbor, Miss Emma, with her usual merry mess of results.

“Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping”, and since she has pitched a tent or caught a fish, her experiences in the great outdoors are rib-tickling.

“Happy Haunting Amelia Bedelia”-- No matter what month you read this classic, it’s laughter-filled. Amelia wants to help with the Halloween Party, but with the directions she’s given, nothing is as it seems.

“Amelia Bedelia’s Family Album”—Ahhh, a chance to meet Amelia’s zany and lovable family!

“Amelia Bedelia’s First Valentine’—With the sweetheart day just about a month away, Amelia B. is excited! She just knows she’s going to love everything about Valentine’s Day, from making cards to fizzy pink punch and a huge family hug.

“Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia” – Uh-Oh! The Doctor is out but Amelia Bedelia fills in and cares for some rather grouchy patients with her brand of medicine—laughter!

The Branch Libraries are also able to offer “Amelia Bedelia Treasury”, and “Amelia Bedelia”, an introduction to this confused but good-hearted Maid. Happy 50th Birthday Amelia Bedelia!!

Now for some heart-warming news. As you recall, Chocolates by Leopold, Montrose's gourmet chocolate factory and store, donated a 3 foot tall Chocolate Santa to be raffled for the benefit of the Library Association. Samantha Nikula was the lucky winner and generously donated it to a children’s home near Binghamton, New York. Samantha, you get the “Unselfish Elf Award” for your kindness to others. Outside of those paying for someone’s lay-a-ways in local chain stores, this act showed a true meaning of the Christmas spirit for me. Here’s hoping your New Year is bright and beautiful.

I have had some exciting news. I know there are many fans of Author Joanne Fluke and her wonderful cozies centered around Hannah Swensen and her bakery/coffee shop, “The Cookie Jar”. Well, her latest Hannah adventure, “The Red Velvet Cupcake Murder” is scheduled to be released in February and I’m proud to say that not only are two of my cookie recipes included in those pages, but Joanne has written me in as a character, namely Lisa’s (Hannah’s baking & business partner) Aunt Nancy! I am honored to be in one of Joanne’s mysteries and hope this latest title will be gracing the Library shelves soon.

Please remember the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association during the 2o13 Support Drive. It is thanks to you and your generosity that make it possible for us to bring you the myriad of programs that we offer. With the funding cuts, it is more important than ever, that we ask for your help. If you have not received a donation card in the mail, they are available at any of your local Library branches.

As I close on this blustery afternoon, I leave you with this thought—

"The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February, at least we notice that the days are getting longer. Minute by minute they lengthen out. It takes some weeks before we become aware of the change. It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day, until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour."
- Vita Sackville-West

Curl up, Stay cozy and Happy Reading!!