Howard Hill, Liberty Twp. – The ordinance of baptism was administered Wednesday, July 30th, at the creek on Rockwell's flat, by Rev. H. M. Pease, of Sayre and Rev. R. A. Fisk, of Stanfordville, to Misses Lula Lindsley, Flora Ireland, Edna Reynolds, Mrs. W. B. Holenback, Messrs. W. B. Holenback, Fredie Travis, Lou Owens and Charlie Dean.

Brushville – The long continued drouth has caused many of the wells in this vicinity to go dry.

Springville – Stephen Tuttle, our postmaster, had a very painful accident on Saturday last, which might have proved fatal. His team, which he was driving, became frightened at an automobile; they ran into Dr. H. B. Lathrop’s hitching post, demolishing the carriage and throwing Mr. Tuttle out and breaking his right leg above the knee. Dr. Lathrop, who happened to be at home, was called and attended the patient. He is doing nicely at this writing.

Hallstead – Chas. M. Read and Henry Talmadge, former residents of this place, but who are now inmates of the National Soldiers Home, at Johnson City, Tenn., are enjoying a furlough of two months with relatives here. [Civil War veterans]

Susquehanna – The Transcript observes that “the guy who likes the slashed skirt wouldn’t like to see his wife or sister fussing around in one, you can safely bet.”

Hop Bottom – Our veteran subscriber, A. E. Bell, was visiting the Democrat’s office to renew for his newspaper, which he has taken for over a half century. When Mr. Bell returned from the war, fifty years ago, his family consisted of a wife and four children, but all have preceded him to the grave.

Glenwood – Elmer Corey and family wish to express their gratitude and thanks to their many neighbors who gave them a helping hand in the oat field, Monday last, in which two acres were nicely bound and taken care of. Friends in need are friends indeed.

Montrose – Better roads for Montrose seem now assured. At the meeting of the borough council Monday evening a satisfactory report was made that a steam drill had been purchased for use in the Post stone quarry, near the fair grounds, and that it would soon be in operation, probably within the course of a few days. This will facilitate the blasting of rock and keep the stone crusher supplied with plenty of stone, hundreds of tons of which will be placed on the streets of the town. ALSO D. A. Brown was thrown from his wagon Saturday, the horse being frightened by an auto horn, near the court house, and he narrowly escaped serious injuries. The horse ran but a short distance after Mr. Brown was thrown out. The wagon was somewhat demolished. And in another accident on Saturday evening, The Montrose House bus collided with a single wagon from the farm of W. C. Cruser, driven by G. W. Decker, on Cherry street, near the home of W. C. Cox, demolishing the wagon in which were Mr. Decker and his young son, quite badly. A dense shade at this point, the absence of a light on either vehicle and possibly too much speed on the part of the bus driver, were responsible for the side swiping.

Brooklyn – The following ladies have just completed the Teachers’ Training course and granted diplomas: Ruby Stephens, Maud Terry, Gertrude Barnes, Gertrude Peckham, of Brooklyn, and Alma Goodrich and Nellie Loomis, of Kingsley.

Great Bend – The Tannery St. bridge was badly damaged by fire Tuesday night and has been closed to the public. A spark from a locomotive is thought to have started the fire.

Ainey, Springville Twp. – F. W. Taylor’s horse dropped dead in front of Wm. Mitchell’s one day last week.

St. Joseph – Peter Jenners has purchased a new engine and will run a threshing machine and corn cutter this fall. John Jenners and Joseph Jeffers will operate it.

In Crawford County – A farmer here installed a gasoline engine and dynamo in his barn and makes electricity to light his house, yard and outbuildings. The plant cost about $300 and he says he prefers it to an automobile. Here is a hint for other farmers, plenty of light about the premises is a good thing and electricity is safer in the stables than a lantern.

Flynn, Middletown Twp. – Almost everybody here is engaged with the exception of a couple of old bachelors, and they are—almost.

South Montrose – Jerome Shannon, who has had charge of the road from Montrose to Dimock, is to be complimented on the best road this section has had for years, if ever.

Forest City – In last week’s issue it should have read Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lake, of Pittston, visited Mrs. Elizabeth Plew, instead of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Plew. It was not the editor’s fault. Also Frank Fritz and Millie Peiar, both of Forest City, applied for a marriage license.

Herrick Twp. – Mrs. Julia Walker, widow of the late Seth Walker, and the oldest resident of this township, passed away on Friday, August 1. Mrs. Walker was born at Roxbury, Delaware county, N. Y., March 28, 1821, being in her 93rd year. She and her helpmate came to Herrick more than three score years ago and continued to reside where she located until called by death. She was noted for her kindness to those in distress and in her younger days was sought when sickness prevailed, always ministering when there was the greatest need. Her life has been an open book with countless deeds of love and charity recorded therein.

News Brief: Congressman and Mrs. W. D. B. Ainey sail tomorrow from New York to Europe, where Mr. Ainey goes as America’s delegate to The Hague Peace Conference. Also Agent H. M. Cole has announced the prices for Ford cars, 1914 models, which have been received—touring cars selling at $570 and runabouts for $520. The new prices are resulting in heavy sales all over the country. During the past week he sold cars to F. L. Booth, of Forest Lake and Merchant Crisman and Mr. Roberts, of East Rush.

Every year, we prosecute some DUI cases that involve questions about the timing of the offense relative when the driver was operating the motor vehicle. The most common example would be a single car accident where there are no eye witnesses and a passerby happens upon the crash sometime afterward and reports it to the police. We also have cases where the person has pulled off the roadway and has passed out in the motor vehicle on a third party’s property. The DUI generally requires the Commonwealth to demonstrate blood alcohol content within 2 hours of driving – so it becomes somewhat important to establish the time that the driving occurred. There are exceptions to the 2 hour rule, but as with all exceptions, it is much easier if you do not have to rely upon them.

A recent Superior Court case challenged this very issue – the lack of proof as to the time of driving. In that case, the defendant was involved in a disabling crash on Interstate 81 Northbound – and a State Trooper was dispatched to the scene. The defendant’s vehicle was stuck in a travel lane with one of its tires destroyed. The defendant’s medical issues coupled with the location on an interstate highway convinced the Trooper not to conduct any field sobriety tests, but the Trooper did notice classic signs of intoxication. The defendant was taken to a local hospital and a blood test was administered which revealed a BAC level of .143%. Defendant was charged with DUI offenses and a jury convicted him.

On appeal, the defendant argued that the Commonwealth could not demonstrate the time that he was driving – and without proof of when he was driving, the Commonwealth could not prove his condition when he was driving his motor vehicle. The Superior Court soundly rejected this argument noting that the jury was permitted to draw reasonable inferences from the record with respect to the timeline. First, the Superior Court noted that the defendant had an accident on a major interstate highway. There was no reasonable probability that this accident would have gone unnoticed and unreported for any extended period of time. Second, the Superior Court observed that the defendant remained in his motor vehicle even though it was sitting in the middle of an interstate highway lane of traffic and it was reasonable to conclude that a sober driver would not have remained in the vehicle in that particular dangerous location.

As to the argument that the Commonwealth could not demonstrate that the blood test had been conducted within two hours of defendant driving the motor vehicle, the Superior Court rejected that argument as follows: “It strains credulity to suggest that traffic was so infrequent at this metropolitan location of interstate 81 during a late Saturday night that an eyewitness 911 call would not have occurred within minutes of the accident to report such inherently dangerous situation on the highway.” Even without a specific time, the Commonwealth was still able to rely upon the two hour rule based upon the reasonable inferences that could be drawn from the evidence.

Obviously, an accident on a rural road provides a different scenario and provides a little higher hurdle for the Commonwealth. If the motor vehicle is still operable, then the mere fact that the driver is sitting on a public roadway in physical control of the motor vehicle could be enough to support the DUI conviction. If the vehicle is not operable, then there are some common things that the police can do to determine a time of driving – the simplest one would be to simply put their hand on the hood to see if it is still warm. The police question the driver as to the time of the accident. If the driver is not sure, the police can question the driver on where he or she is coming from – and then follow up with that establishment to see if anyone knows when the driver left or review the security cameras to put together the timeline. If there were passengers in the car, they can provide good information as to when the accident occurred. The good Samaritans and EMT volunteers who assist the intoxicated motorist also provide valuable information about the condition of the defendant, the car, and the wreck upon discovery.

In the end, it is very rare for the “time defense” to work in a DUI case. Common sense tends to cut against a drunk driver who wants to argue that there was no way to prove just how intoxicated they were when they were driving – especially where a BAC level is significantly over the legal limit.

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/.