Hallstead – At a meeting of the recently organized patrol of the Boy Scouts in this place, which was held in the DuBois building on Saturday evening, the following officers were elected—Patrol Leader, Gregory McCreary; Assistant, Henry Clayton. They are making arrangements for a trip to Elk Mountain for a week’s camping sojourn. Arthur W. DuBois will accompany the party.
Jackson – Franklin Barnes, aged 93 years, died at his home near Jackson on July 10, 1913. He was a veteran of the Civil War and a man respected by all who knew him. His wife died some years ago and he is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Selinda Benson, of Jackson, and two sons, B. F. Barnes, of Thompson, and K. D. Barnes, of Windsor, N.Y. The funeral service was held Saturday morning, it being the 93d. anniversary of his birth. Interment in North Jackson Cemetery. [Franklin S. Barnes was a member of Co. C, 151st Regiment. He was wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, and mustered out with the company, July 27, 1863].
Birchardville – Miss Chadija C. Dayton, who is training in the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital, is spending a few days at her home here.
Elk Lake – The following young people are enjoying a week’s outing at the Stewart cottage, where Mrs. Mame Stewart and sons are spending the summer: Misses Helen Burns, Dorothy Cruser, Sue Armstrong, Anna Struppler and Messrs Carlisle Smith, Norman Stewart, Charles Mackey and William Finn.
New Milford – The New Milford Advertiser says the automobile signs in its village are six feet long, but the speed fiends go through the town so fast they do not seem able to see them and the slower going motorists, who can read the signs, don’t need the admonishment. The only solution seems to be to enter the fines on the borough cash book. But the new state automobile law establishes a general speed limit of 24 miles an hour, making local ordinances ineffective. So here’s more trouble for our sister town.
Factoryville – Young women students can board at Keystone Academy no more. Hereafter it will be conducted as a boy’s boarding school. Young ladies who live at home or can find board outside may come to the institution to recite.
Glenwood – Mrs. Frank Miller, of Cameron Corners, met with a surprise last week. On going up stairs she encountered a large black snake, lying on the carpet, that measured over six feet. She hastily called her son, Floyd, who in a short time dispatched Mr. Snake to lower quarters. It is thought that he gained entrance upstairs by the aid of a peach tree growing close by an open window.
Dimock – Several summer boarders are stopping on the large Dolan farm during the warm weather. They are mostly from Wilkes Barre. Tom Dolan now drives a fine colt which leaves the dust far behind.
Hop Bottom – Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Brown, of Toledo, Ohio, and mother, Mrs. E. P. Gillispie, of Binghamton, were recent guests of their grandmother, Mrs. Alva Scott. Mrs. Scott is a feeble old lady, 82 years of age, and [she] enjoyed her first automobile ride to Hop Bottom in her grandson’s car, not having been in town before in over a year. Mr. and Mrs. Brown came from Toledo in the automobile, coming by way of Niagara Falls, making a trip of nearly 600 miles.
Lanesboro – Friday morning, Raymond Lyons, ten year old son of Dr. Ray Lyons, had a narrow escape from drowning at Lanesboro. With other boys, the lad was amusing himself near the binnacle in “skipping stones.” One of the boys threw a stone which accidentally struck Raymond on the back of the head, dazing him and being near the water’s edge, he fell into the stream. The water is quite deep at this point and being unable to swim, the lad sank immediately. One of the larger boys, retaining his presence of mind, jumped in and rescued the lad before he sank. Aside from a bad cut on the head the boy is not much the worse for his experience and is able to be about today. However, Thomas Reed, aged 19 years was not so fortunate and was drowned while bathing in the Susquehanna river at a point known as “the rocks” near Lanesboro, at about 6:30 o’clock on Saturday evening. It is supposed he was attacked by cramps. Edward Lannon, of Oakland, went to his rescue and succeeded in bringing his lifeless body to shore. Dr. Lyons was summoned, but all efforts to restore life were unavailing. The body was taken to the home of his father, near Comfort’s Pond, from which place the funeral was held Tuesday.
Fowler Hill, Auburn Twp. – The dogs made sad marks with J. Wooton’s sheep, Thursday night, also Bruce Swisher’s, killing several and hurting others.
Silver Lake – Royal Meeker, of Princeton, N. J., has been named by President Wilson as commissioner of labor statistics. Mr. Meeker is a native of Silver Lake, a son of William Meeker and a brother of Postmaster George W. Meeker, of Lawsville. Mr. Meeker has been a close friend of the president for many years and accompanied him on his campaign through New Jersey for governor.
Heart Lake – Mr. Hadsell’s cottage, on the east shore of the lake, is nearing completion and when finished will be one of the finest at the lake.
Binghamton – Forty-one bodies have been recovered from the burned Binghamton Clothing Co. factory, which was destroyed by fire on Tuesday, and is believed there are still 12 victims in the ruins. Of the 123 girl workers in the factory, it is believed 50 have lost their lives and nearly as many more received injuries, some of whom have died in the hospitals. Thinking the alarm was only a fire drill, many of the girls were tardy in getting in line to march out. Others lost valued time in going to the locker rooms for coats and hats. Many of the girls loitered along, still believing it a drill. Miss Nellie Connor and Sidney Dimock did heroic work in getting the girls out of the building but many of the girls, including Miss Connor, who remained until the last, were cut off from escape, the stairways being in flames. Rushing to the fourth floor they attempted to descend by the fire escapes, only to find flames bursting out beneath them. Dimock reached safety but twice went back and brought out the limp form of a girl. The third time he returned to the rescue he did not reappear. It is planned to bury the unidentified remains in one large grave and a public funeral will probably be held in Stone Opera House Sunday afternoon. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
What do you think would happen if a judge dismissed parking tickets that had been filed against her? This seems like a fairly easy question – it screams abuse of power and violates the sacred duty entrusted to judicial officers. Surely, a judge who decided to dismiss her own parking tickets would no longer be a judge, right? Well, let me tell you the curious tale of Judge Kelly S. Ballentine, Magistrate District Judge in Lancaster County.
Judge Ballentine received 24 parking tickets from the City of Lancaster from April 21, 2008 through September 5, 2012. Nineteen of these parking tickets involved violations where Judge Ballentine illegally parked her motor vehicle in front of her home and the other five violations for parking illegally in other parts of Lancaster. Judge Ballentine actually paid the fines and costs associated with 22 of these parking tickets, but those were not the ones in question. Rather, there were two parking tickets issued in November 2010 that she did not pay; instead, those parking tickets were marked as past due and sent to the magistrate judge’s office for enforcement. Those particular parking tickets had not been paid by the Judge as a result of some health problems that she was having at the time – and the tickets just never got paid. When the unpaid tickets were referred to the a magistrate’s office, it just so happened that the judge assigned to handle those tickets was Judge Ballentine – and she decided to dismiss her own parking tickets. No fines, no costs, no problem.
Several months later, Judge Ballentine sent the following correspondence to the Judicial Conduct Board: “Please be advised that it has come to my attention that action taken in the course of my judicial authority as Magistrate District Judge amounts to behavior that may have the appearance of impropriety and as such should be reported to the Judicial Conduct Board.” In other words, Judge Ballentine suddenly had a moment of clarity and realized that it just might appear improper to the public for a Judge to dismiss parking tickets that had been filed against her. After its investigation, the Judicial Conduct Board moved to discipline Judge Ballentine for her actions – and recommended that she be removed from her judicial position and barred from ever holding any judicial office in the future.
The entire affair was litigated in the Court of Judicial Discipline, which rejected the request by the Judicial Conduct Board to remove Judge Ballentine. The Court was impressed that Judge Ballentine had reported herself – and noted that it demonstrated “high standard of conduct” that promoted “public confidence in the judiciary.” Moreover, the Court accepted (hook, line and sinker) the Judge’s explanation for her conduct, namely, that she was suffering from a medical condition that resulted in her having emergency restroom issues, she did not like using the public restroom at her office, and she would rush to her home that was close to her office and park illegally because she had to go to the bathroom. The Court commiserated with Judge Ballentine and understood that she would not want the public to become aware of this condition. Thus, the Court empathized with her decision to dismiss her own parking tickets rather than have them assigned to another judge and ask for a hearing. If she had done the right thing, then the entire world would know that she had a painful medical condition that led to unexpected, emergency potty breaks – which caused her to park illegally in front of her residence so that she could make it to the bathroom in time. The Court indicated that it understood her reticence in not wanting the world to know about her embarrassing medical condition.
Rather than permanently removing her from her judicial position as recommended by the Judicial Conduct Board, the Court of Judicial Discipline suspended Judge Ballentine without pay from February 22, 2012 through May 31, 2013, and she was placed on probation until December 31, 2014. She was ordered to pay back the Commonwealth for the wages she was receiving while on suspension pending the decision of the Court of Judicial Discipline, essentially 15 months of salary and benefits. Judge Ballentine is now back on the bench in Lancaster County.
So, do you think that the Court of Judicial Discipline got it right? Should a judge who dismissed her own traffic tickets be allowed to keep her job? Do you think that it was a reasonable justification to dismiss her parking tickets because she did not want to have to appear at a public hearing to explain her medical condition? There seems to be something elementary about the idea that a person charged with an offense should not also be the person sitting as a judge in the matter. It does not take a legal scholar to understand that judges should never be involved in any case where they are also a litigant. Yet, despite this fundamental concept, it still took Judge Ballentine six months to send a letter to the Judicial Conduct Board that it had “come to [her] attention” that she “may” have engaged in inappropriate behavior. While the Court of Judicial Discipline was impressed by this confession – it seems to me to be rather lacking in terms of a heartfelt mea culpa – and suggested that Judge Ballentine still did not really get it.
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.” ~John Lubbock
When the heat of summer bears down and the walls of your kitchen seem to close in, what better time than now to try preparing different meals on your gas or charcoal grill? It’s not just for cooking hot dogs and hamburgers anymore! If you “Geek” grilling, your local Library Branch has several wonderful books filled with tips to make your grilling experience a success plus oodles of recipes that even the most skilled “Grill master” may not have tried or even considered. From appetizers to and including desserts, you can prepare dishes for any occasion from a family meal to potluck suppers and casual celebrations. Some of the titles on the Library shelves include:
“Grill It Right” published by Better Homes and Gardens,
“All Fired Up! Outdoor and Indoor Grilling” by Margaret Howard,
The Gas Grill Gourmet: Great Grilled Food For Everyday Meals and Fantastic Feasts “ written by A. Cort Sinnes.
“Backyard Entertaining” by Debbie Mumm,
“The Gas Grill Cookbook” compiled and published by Better Homes and Gardens,
“Grill it Right” by Shelli McConnell,
and “The New Grilling Book—Charcoal, Gas, Smokers, and Indoor Grills and Rotisseries”—another fantastic book published by Better Homes and Gardens. Think about taking a moment and stopping in at your local Library Branch and borrow one of these informational volumes. Who knows? You may concoct your own prize-winning recipe with some of this inspiration!
Has everyone got August 2nd and 3rd marked on their calendar? The highly anticipated Blueberry Festival is right around the corner! With the amount of sunshine, punctuated by showers and lots of humidity we have experienced, the blueberries should be ripening by the bushels as you read this.
Umm---Blueberry pancakes, muffins, pies—makes my stomach grumble just to think about it. Don’t miss out on this important event. Your participation and generosity help us to continue the programs and services that you and your Family enjoy.
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 and now, if you “Tweet”, follow us on Twitter (@susqcolib) to check out event information, local scoops and much more.
As I try to catch a gentle breeze, with the umpteenth frosty glass of iced tea in hand, I leave you with this thought:
“Heat, ma'am! it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.” ~Sydney Smith, Lady Holland's Memoir
Fresh garden peas—dipping your toes — Ice Pops
Enjoy!!
