Susquehanna – The Borough council is working upon a paving proposition for their streets, but are making such slow progress that Editor Bean, of the Transcript, can hardly discern whether they are “coming” or “going.”

New Milford – John W. Jay, who lives in Utica, N.Y., filed a petition of voluntary bankruptcy at that place. He is one of the best known and popular hotel men there, coming to Utica from New Milford, where for years his father, and later himself, conducted the old Jay House. He took over the management of the old Crandall House and the Georgiana Hotel in Binghamton and proved to be successful there. Mr. Jay retired to take a smaller hotel at Heart Lake, which he conducted last summer.

Brooklyn – Brooklyn Orchard Association are planting 1400 additional trees on their farm this spring. Also The Glee Club of the Wyoming Seminary will give a concert in the Methodist church, Saturday evening, April 26.

Bridgewater Twp. – The farm house of Harry Catlin occupied by Thomas Drake, near Watrous Corners, was burned to the ground Monday and so quickly did the flames spread that practically none of Mr. Drake’s households were saved. The Drakes have four children and the loss is indeed a severe one, for not only was the furniture destroyed, but clothing and bedding as well. Kind neighbors, realizing their sad plight, quickly organized a soliciting party and the unfortunate people were made very comfortable through generous donations. The house was one of the oldest in the township, being the homestead of the late Martin Catlin, a centenarian, who died a few years ago. When Mr. Catlin came to the Davis boarding house in Montrose, he rented it ready furnished, storing his goods in the farm house and they were all destroyed, we are sorry to learn. ALSO Mrs. Geo. W. Rogers is one of the brightest and smartest ladies for her age of our acquaintance. Although 86 years of age, she comes to Montrose alone and drives her own horse and carriage. She is possessed of rare will power and converses easily and pleasantly, relating interesting reminiscences of the past.

Uniondale – The Uniondale orchestra will furnish the music for the Herrick Center commencement exercises which will be held in that place, Tuesday evening, April 29.

Silver Lake – Several from Forest Lake attended the raising of a large barn for Joseph Kane.

East Lenox – Miss Leala Bennett underwent an operation for appendicitis, last Monday, at her home. Dr. Niles, of Carbondale, was the attending surgeon; he was assisted by Dr. Saxer, of Fleetville, also three nurses from Carbondale.

Montrose – A. B. Burns’ Son, Drug Store, announcing the 47th anniversary of the Eagle Drug Store, which occurred yesterday, being established in 1866. The present proprietor, Geo. C. Burns, is justly proud of the fact that his store is the second oldest drugstore in the state, being conducted by father and son. [Burns’ Drug Store closed in 1981, when Miss Helen Burns, daughter of Geo. C., retired. Her grandfather, Andrew B., drove a pharmaceutical wagon at the battle of Antietam, during the Civil War, and after returning to Montrose, established his drug store on Public Avenue with a Mr. Nichols. A few years later, and minus Mr. Nichols, A. B. moved the store to the Brick Block on Church Street. Helen and her father ran the business until his death and in 1936 she was the sole owner and operator. Helen graduated from the Philadelphia Pharmaceutical College in 1919, one of 20 women in a student body of 400].

Rush – Walter Swisher was the successful bidder for the Rush-Laceyville star mail route, and as a matter of fact, he was the only bidder, his price $898 per year. Star route carriers are permitted to carry packages outside of the mail and the revenue derived from his errands will make the pay approximately $1000 yearly, which amount is less than the rural carriers receive for driving a lesser mileage, besides receiving a two weeks vacation and six holidays with pay.

Hop Bottom – Hop Bottom looks as if it were under throes of some great upheaval, and indeed it is. Main street is undergoing the foundation work for the new state road, which is being put in by contractor T. S. Neuman. Our town is about the busiest one in the county, considering the work in connection with the new state road, new reservoir water supply and the D. L. & W. R. R. cut-of, all of which is being carried on within the borough limits. Still, good prospects of the trolley line catching us before long to add to the busy hum.

Springville – The Springville Dramatic Company gave an entertainment at the Auburn high school, Friday evening, April 18, to a not very crowded house.

Auburn Twp. – There are seven creameries here, where farmers take their milk, and they never got as good prices before as they do now, but many reduced their dairies, getting ready for the Democratic times, but it looks now as though Woodrow is going to allay all their fears and give everybody a square deal.

Heart Lake – Jud Shufelt, who has been spending a few quiet weeks at the Montrose jail, awaiting the time when he should answer in court to charges of burglary and larceny and receiving, preferred by Lewis Rose, proprietor of the boarding house at Heart Lake, who alleges that, besides stealing his household goods, his wife’s affections were also hypothecated, has been paroled on his own recognizance. Last fall Shufelt disappeared and about the same time Mrs. Rose was also missing. Later they were located in Homer, N. Y., where a quantity of Rose’s household goods were also found. Shufelt was arrested and since has occupied a cell in jail while Mrs. Rose returned to her home and husband. When the case was called an agreement was reached to postpone the case and release Shufelt.

Great Bend – Brock and Newman are soon to open a lunch room and ice cream parlor in the Newman Block.

Hallstead – Every school boy can tell what made Milwaukee famous, but how many of our home people are aware of the fact that we have the largest chamois factory in the world, or that the American Chair factory here has made hundreds of chairs for the government, for John Wanamaker’s great store, for Larkin’s soap company and many other of the greatest distributing agencies in the world.

News Brief: Fifty-six years ago, last Friday, commenced the big snowfall which is still cited by old residents. Snow commenced falling April 18, 1857, and continued until the morning of the 21st. Three or four feet of snow lay on the level, although it disappeared as quickly as it came.

There is a constitutional storm quietly brewing in Pennsylvania – and it involves our judges.  The Pennsylvania Constitution contains a limitation on the tenure of judges – Article V, Section 16 provides as follows: “Justices, judges and justices of the peace shall be retired upon attaining the age of seventy years.”  In other words, our judges have no choice but to retire when they reach the age of 70 regardless of their jurisprudential abilities and legal acumen.  When a person runs for a judicial position, he or she knows that there is a constitutionally mandated retirement date - no ifs, ands or buts about it.  After all, the PA Constitution says so.

Sounds pretty darn simple, doesn’t it?  When it comes to the law, things are never that simple.  Back in 1989, there was litigation over whether that pesky constitutional provision was really, well . . . constitutional.  Back then, Attorney Harold Gondelman was approximately 65 years of age when he suddenly woke up and realized that if he were ever elected to a judicial position, he would have to retire when he reached the age of 70.  He decided to challenge the constitutionality of the age restriction – even though he was not a judge – and predictably there were objections to his standing to bring the litigation.  At that point, however, four Common Pleas court judges road to his rescue and petitioned to intervene – each of whom was bound to retire at 70 prior to the expiration of their 10-year terms.  The argument was simple: Mandatory retirement violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In reviewing this claim, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected it – noting that the federal courts had already looked at it and determined that the mandatory retirement age did not violate the U.S. Constitution.  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court provided the following strong words: “In forming the government of this Commonwealth, the only restraint upon the people is that imposed under our federal constitution.  Having determined that the challenged classification does not offend federal constitutional mandate, it cannot be said that the people of this Commonwealth could not be permitted to employ such a classification.”  In other words, the people created this government, created the judiciary in the state constitution, and the people could decide that they did not want their judges serving past 70 years of age.

Given the whole idea of stare decisis, i.e., that courts are bound by past precedent, one would tend to think that this baby had been put to bed.  Well, not exactly, as another group of judges has again attacked their own constitution seeking to have the mandatory retirement provision amended out of the Pennsylvania Constitution by the stroke of a judicial pen.  To increase the level of drama, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has taken the extraordinary step of assuming jurisdiction of the case, i.e., bypassing all of the lower courts and simply hearing the case itself.  This has disturbed a lot of legal observers, especially since 4 of the justices sitting on the Supreme Court are within 5 years of the magic number, 70 years.

If you are like most Pennsylvanians, you were probably not even aware of what is occurring.  I know that I was not.  Thankfully, my colleague, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli recently sounded the alarm in a newspaper editorial where he bluntly stated: “For those who believe that the age restriction is subject to fair debate, the proper method is to amend Pennsylvania’s constitution through the process established; approval by two consecutive sessions of the legislature, and approval of the people at the ballot box.  Setting aside Pennsylvania’s Constitution by judicial fiat by Justices with a personal and financial interest in the outcome is dangerous and wrong.  Only time will tell whether self-interest trumps the Constitution.”

District Attorney Morganelli’s editorial plainly hit a nerve and an attorney for the judges started swinging back.  In his own editorial, Attorney Robert Heim, who represents six of the eleven judges challenging the mandatory retirement age, suggested that Morganelli’s insistence on following the Constitution and established legal precedent “would set us back not quite to the dark ages but certainly a long way in terms of our social policy.”  Incredibly, Attorney Heim then compares the aging jurists’ litigation to those seeking to eliminate racial segregation in schools.  It takes some real audacity to compare this litigation to racial segregation – and to imply somehow that District Attorney Morganelli would take us “not quite back to the dark ages.”  The only difference between the two views is that Morganelli does not have a horse in this race – and he has the law and the Constitution on his side.

Attorney Heim also neglected to mention that 34 states have mandatory retirement ages for judges – and he also failed to recognize that there are age restrictions on a lot of different positions with many of those restrictions coming on the front end of life.  You cannot serve in the House of Representatives until you are 25, nor be a Senator until 30, and you have to wait until 35 to be President.  The wisdom of age restrictions – as qualifiers and disqualifiers – can be debated and should be debated in the public forum.  As the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recognized back in 1989, it is up to the people to decide if they want their judges to serve beyond 70 years of age.  There is nothing controversial about that proposition – and the only controversy here would be if the judges decided to ignore the will of the people to serve their own self-interest.

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 Week of April 22nd, 2013

“All the romance of trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish.” ~Harold F. Blaisdell, The Philosophical Fisherman, 1969

Our local streams are now stocked with Rainbow, Brown and other varieties of trout and it won’t be long for the fishing season to begin in earnest with the dreams of standing out in the creek with your waders on or relaxing on the bank of a pond or river just waiting for the tug on your line finally coming true. Some of you are seasoned fishermen, some are “Young Sprouts” just learning the technique of baiting, casting and having patience. If you “geek” fishing, there’s always something new to learn—the various types of bait you can use, such as hand-tied flies, grasshoppers, nightwalkers, whole kernel corn, bread balls, and styles of casting, types of hooks, and so much more. Your local Library Branch has many informational books on the subject such as:

“Trout on a Fly” by Lee Wulff,

“First Fish” by C.B. Colby,

“The New Compleat Angler” written by Stephen Downes,

“Trout Hunting” by Frank Wooiner,

“Trout: The Trout Fisherman’s Bible” by Ray Bergman,

“The Armchair Angler” written by Terry Brykczynski and David Reuther,

“Fishing Came First” by John Cole,

“The Young Fishing Enthusiast” by John Bailey,

“Kids Gone Fishin’: The Young Angler’s Guide to Catching More and Bigger Fish” by Dave Maas, and “K.I.S.S. Guide to Fishing” written by Robert Roth, just to name a few titles which are available. There is even a “Marine Video” entitled: “How to Catch a Speckled Trout” that may bring insight into your family’s trout fishing adventures.

Don’t forget to join a lively group of bidders this coming Saturday evening (April 27th, 2013) for our exciting Library Auction Night!! This will be the 15th year for this fabulous event, which is being held at the Montrose VFW on Route 706. The doors will open at 4:00 pm and the festivities begin with a luscious buffet dinner starting at 4:45 pm. The Auction starts at 6:00 pm. Admission is $10.00 and tickets may be purchased at the door that evening. Please plan on attending this action-packed evening that helps the Library Association in its quest to provide you with all of the services you currently enjoy. We hope you will be bidding high and often on a treasure-trove of beautiful items, artwork, gift certificates etc., to help bring future programs to fruition in a much larger setting.

There is still one more session of “Children’s Story Hour” at the Susquehanna Branch. If you haven’t taken advantage of this wonderful program, please join Laura, Pam, Deb and Liz on April 30th, 2013 at 10:30 am. This wonderful program includes stories, songs, games and crafts. Questions? Please call the Susquehanna Branch at 853-4106.

Over the river at the Hallstead/Great Bend Branch, Angie and Valerie recently traveled to the Blue Ridge Elementary School for a special story hour and gave the Kindergarteners their very first library card. Blue Ridge Parents Please Note: If you have not filled out the card and sent it back to your child’s teacher, you are encouraged to do so. You are never too young or too old to experience the love of books, reading, and the adventures the Library holds.

Pictured are "Blue Ridge Students of Mrs. Rhone's Kindergarten Class receive their first Library Cards from Librarian,Mrs. Angie Hall"

Two more exciting, upcoming events to jot on your calendar include:

The Susquehanna County Historical Society's Antique Appraisal Night will be held on Thursday, May 2nd, 7-9 PM, in the Parish House at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Mr. Richard Axtell, who has been the Historical Society's appraiser for over 20 years, has once again agreed to bring his knowledge of antiques and collectibles to the inquisitive souls of our area. It promises to be a fun night with opportunities to increase your knowledge of your heirlooms and cherished items. Tickets are $10 per item and those not participating will be able to purchase a spectator's seat for $5. Tickets are available at the main desk of the Montrose Library and in the Historical Society.

On Saturday, May 4th, 2013, the fifth annual “Author’s Luncheon” will be held, with popular Amish Romance and Suspense Author, Marta Perry as our special guest speaker. If you are not familiar with Ms. Perry’s work, she specializes in stories centered on the lives of the Pennsylvania Amish, having grown up within the Pa. Dutch Culture. Her popular books, the "Pleasant Valley" series are favorites within the shelves of the Susquehanna County Library System. Her most recent works (she has written more than fifty novels) are” Home by Dark”, a suspense- filled novel, and “Naomi's Christmas” of the "Pleasant Valley" series. This event is sponsored by “The Library Friends to Benefit the Susquehanna County Library.” The Luncheon will be held at the Montrose VFW starting with a “Hospitality Hour” from 11:30 am to 12:30pm, Luncheon at 12:30 pm (you have a choice of meat lasagna or vegetable lasagna), with Ms. Perry speaking to those assembled at 1:30 pm. A “Meet and Greet” with the Author is to follow. The cost for this entertaining afternoon is $25.00 with all proceeds benefiting the Library Association. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly, so please stop by your local Library Branch to make your reservation.

Don’t forget to “Find Us on Facebook”: (Susquehanna County Library) and look us up on “Pinterest” for lots of interesting nooks and crannies to explore.

As I watch the dark clouds go rolling by, I leave you with this thought:

“I love fishing. You put that line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end. Your imagination is under there.” ~Robert Altman (The same could be said as you open the cover on a new title…)

April Showers and Peepers - Daffodils nodding in the wind —Hanging bits of yarn for soon-to be nests.

ENJOY!!!