Hallstead/Great Bend – John E Clune, Wm. Hunt and Charles Lines, and a number of other Hallstead men who are interested in the work of the good roads in Hallstead and Great Bend, have gone to Harrisburg to go before the State Commissioner of Highways and take in the matter of the impassable condition, at certain times of the year, of the short piece of road between Hallstead and Great Bend, which is part of the highway between Scranton and Binghamton controlled by the State. During the spring freshet [flood], and in fact whenever the river comes up, this short pieces of road is simply impassable except by boat, and as an elevation of only a few feet would put the road above the high water mark and would be an improvement and a great convenience to the traveling public.

Brooklyn – L. S. Ely has received the appointment for the Brooklyn Post Office and is receiving congratulation of his friends. Mr. Ely is not only well qualified for the office, but is accommodating and popular with patrons of the office.

Thompson – Mrs. George Roseboom and children, Madeline and Milton, are spending a few days with her mother, Mrs. P. R. Tower, before sailing for Florida. They, with Mr. Roseboom, expect to leave New York on the steamship, Apache, about the middle of this week. There is also a colony from Thompson and vicinity who are going to start overland to Florida on Jan. 28th. Those included are: Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. C. Z. Pickering and Mrs. Alden Hubbard, of Thompson, and Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Pickering, of Jackson.

West Jackson – We are enjoying an unusually warm winter. There has been but very few mornings when the thermometer has been as low as zero, while last winter it was 22 below zero at this place, while others told of it being as low as 30 below.

Auburn 4 Corners – Snowing this morning, but no ice for our creameries. At West Auburn the people are thankful to say that the quarantine on account of scarlet fever is now off. People with children are no longer afraid to come to West Auburn.

Royal – The steady warm weather of the past December and January beats all records I ever saw or heard for mildness for the two months.

Gibson – The Universalist Aid met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Bailey, Jan. 23d, for the purpose of sewing for Mr. and Mrs. George Bailey and family. A large amount of work was done. A goodly number attended from the M. E. Aid and helped the good work along. All contributed very generously.

Susquehanna – Thomas Murphy, formerly of Susquehanna, died Friday, January 17, 1913, at the home of his son, John Murphy, in Hancock, NY. He had been ill for the last year and practically helpless for the last six months. Mr. Murphy was a veteran of the Civil War and was 77 years of age. ALSO Plans are under way for a new opera house. New York parties are said to be behind the enterprise. It is to be located on First street, between Washington and Main streets, according to a correspondent.

Lynn, Springville Twp. – Miner C. Avery is getting his sugar camp in readiness for the sugar season which will soon be on hand. Also The Grip has been playing sad havoc with the people in this vicinity and is at it yet. Also It is rumored that A. D. Rogers and family intend moving away soon. They have lived here many years and during the time have won many friends who are saddened to learn of their intention of leaving.

Parkvale, Dimock Twp. – Walter Bush had a very pleasant surprise on his birthday. When he came in for dinner he found 30 friends had assembled to help him celebrate the day. Also Miss Hazel Bailey, of Billings, Montana, is visiting at W. W. Kinners.

Bridgewater Twp. – Mr. J. W. Bunnell is the well-known house mover who has many demands for his service. Also John Yeomans has improved his carpet weaving business by buying a new spring shuttle loom and is now ready to receive orders.

Brushville – Mortimer Brush and Miss Daisy Benson were married at the home of the Bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Warner Benson, the evening of January 23.

Uniondale – As Mrs. Chas. Gorton was walking along the road Saturday afternoon, close to the house of Oney Rounds, she was suddenly attacked by a foreigner, whose name was Andrew Ambros. He knocked her down and then brutally kicked her, and might possibly have killed her, it is alleged, if he had not been frightened away by H. J. Howell, who was returning from Forest City. A party of men from this vicinity went to the place and finally succeeded in catching the man and brought him to the jail. He had a hearing Saturday evening before J. F. Bass, Justice of the Peace. He was proven guilty and was taken to the Montrose jail Monday morning by constable, E. T. Rimron.

Glenwood – A terrible electric storm accompanied by hail and wind swept through this valley the 18th, doing considerable damage to property, up-rooting trees, breaking windows and raising havoc in its course.

Harford – There will be a meeting in the High School building, Tuesday evening, Feb. 4, of all who are interested in the Harford Fair. The matter of holding a three-day fair, and of taking out a charter, so as to get aid from the state, will be discussed. Also Some of our young folks are staying at home nursing their good looks. Chicken pox has appeared in our midst

Ararat Summit – Mr. and Mrs. Randall Belcher and daughters, Roene and Ila, of “the Deltz,” Oregon, arrived at the home of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Rankin, Thursday evening, a great surprise to them and great was the joy thereof. Mr. and Mrs. Belcher and children, with their brother and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Rankin, left Carbondale, for Oregon, nearly 3 years ago. The Rankins are still on a ranch in Oregon.

South Montrose – A new switch has recently been put in west of town on the L.V. railroad, which we understand will be used to load lumber from the sawmills at Fairdale and any other business that will naturally come on that side of town.

Perhaps one of the most dangerous things we do every single day is done without much thought or consideration of the risks involved. It is simply part of our day – we get into our car or truck, turn the key, and off we go. But the statistics are pretty staggering on the frequency of automobile accidents, injuries and fatalities. Roughly, the statistics tell us that 40,000 people die every year as a result of traffic accidents. To put it another way, this means that every single day traffic accidents claim the lives of over 100 people. This figure does not even consider the number of people injured or the property damage caused by traffic accidents.

This is one of the reasons that there are so many laws and regulations relating to motor vehicle operations. Motor vehicles are obviously dangerous if not operated properly – or even if the motor vehicle itself is not appropriately inspected and equipped. The myriad of laws relating to motor vehicle operation seek to assure that folks pay attention and use appropriate caution and care when driving. We were all taught the principles of defensive driving by our parents and by our driver’s education teachers. It all comes back to complete focus and attention to the operation of the vehicle. Given the technological changes in the world, there are more and more distractions that can divert a driver’s attention – and it is that moment when accidents can occur.

The public has been well informed on the dangers of impaired driving – if you are under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, you simply lack the physiological abilities to safely operate a motor vehicle. Impaired driving is just another deadly form of Russian Roulette. A concerted effort has also been made to make sure that people understand that distracted driving can be just as deadly. There are countless scenarios that create the potential to distract us from the focus and attention – such as talking on the telephone, texting, playing with the radio, trying to eat a quick meal on the go or trying to get the children to behave. For those who have had the misfortune of being in a motor vehicle accident, you know just how fast everything happens. Accidents are going to happen – but if each driver is taking a defensive approach to driving, it would go a long way to lowering all those traffic fatalities.

Pedestrians account for nearly 13 percent of all traffic deaths. So, if there are around a 100 traffic deaths every single day, then 13 of those deaths would be pedestrians hit by an automobile. Under the Vehicle Code, a driver must yield to a pedestrian “crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.” A driver who fails to yield to a pedestrian in those circumstances faces a fine of $50. In the area around the Susquehanna County Courthouse, it is unfortunately very common to see motorist who fail to yield as required under this Vehicle Code provision. There was recently a very tragic situation where two pedestrians were hit on Public Avenue as a result of the failure of the motorist to yield to them in the crosswalk. One of those pedestrians sustained serious injuries from the collision – and it all could have been avoided if the driver were just paying attention and following the rules of the road.

A colleague came to me yesterday to relate to another situation where she was almost struck by a motorist as she was attempting to walk through a designated crosswalk on Church Street in Montrose. Given that the temperatures were brutally cold, common courtesy would suggest that a motorist ought to allow the pedestrian to cross quickly – but this motorist was in too much of a hurry to either be courteous or obey the law.

Pedestrians are particularly at risk to distracted drivers or drivers who are in too much of a hurry to worry about the pedestrian. As I stated, the operation of a motor vehicle can turn into a dangerous situation quickly – and we all need to watch out not only for ourselves, but each other so that we can avoid becoming part of those tragic statistics.

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/.