Montrose - Harry Light, proprietor of the Church street poolroom and tobacco store, has just installed a baseball game table in his place of amusement. Other amusements will be added in the near future.

South Montrose - Charles B. Dayton was thrown from a wagon when the horse he was driving became frightened at an automobile driven by E. B. Hamlin, of Wilkes Barre. He was painfully bruised but not otherwise injured, and is again able to be about, although still feeling the effects of his exciting experience.

South New Milford – About 200 cords of mill-sawed wood got afire and burned recently. The wood belonged to H. Barrett and the origin of the fire is a mystery.

Harford - Mrs. P. E. Alexander and little daughter, of Butte Montana, is spending a few weeks with her father, W. S. Sophia, at North Harford. ALSO Next Tuesday will be the first day of the Fair. One of the leading attractions will be the Pigeon Shoot under the auspices of the Harford Camp, No. 43, U. S. of Pa.

Uniondale - Harry Churchill and family are spending some time amid old scenes and with old friends.

Silver Lake - Word was received this week by relatives of the death of Rev. Fr. Simon J. Kanane, rector of St. Josephs's church at Oriskany Falls, N. Y. Father Kanane was a native of this place and had served the parish where he died, for 25 years. He was a man of deep thought and highly esteemed. Interment in Binghamton.

Lawsville -Our schools opened this week with Miss Lulu Lindsley at Lawsville; Miss Mary Cosgriff, at Stanfordville; Miss Julia Mahoney, at Hillside; Miss Mary Downs, at Rhiney Creek; and Miss Ella Bailey, at Brookdale.

West Jackson - The Lake View graded schools commenced Monday with Miss Edith Corse and Miss Clara Mallery as teachers. Harry Daniels draws the scholars from the French district and Murray Houghtalen from Kansas [district]. ALSO In the town of Jackson, H. M. Benson is re-building his store; Roberts’ Bros. are getting the lumber on the ground for a new barn, and there is a movement toward building a new hall, all of which looks like keeping Jackson on the map [after the destructive fire].

Hopbottom - Miss Winifred Rought has gone to Mt. Clemens, Michigan to receive treatment for rheumatism.

Hallstead - The Prudential Insurance Co. Has paid to Mrs. Kate Fernan a check for $273 upon the life of her son, James Fernan, late of this place, who was killed recently.

Welch Hill, Clifford Twp. - As H. Woodard, of Welch Hill, was returning from Forest City recently, two masked men jumped in front of his team about a mile west of Dundaff. They commanded Him to stop but he put the whip to the team and made good his escape.

Auburn Twp. - Members of St. Bonaventure's church have announced a picnic and dance to be held in the O'Neill Grove in Auburn Twp. on Saturday, Sept. 6th. Dinner and supper will both be served and dancing will be the chief amusement afternoon and evening.

Big Crowd and Good Weather Greet Susquehanna County Fair. The Fair is now on and all things point to one of the most successful fairs ever held. Yesterday morning was bright and clear and the streets were soon filled with teams and autos, with the Montrose Fair Grounds as their objective point. The displays in the various departments average high. The horse parade was a feature. The ladies department presents a handsome appearance, while the school exhibits, vegetables, fruits, canned fruits, bake goods, paintings and flowers are of a high standard of excellence. Harrington & Wilson’s exhibit of farm machinery, engines and autos, was very large and attracted much attention. J. P. Lee, of Wyalusing, had a big exhibit of engines, threshers, feed mills, stone crushers, etc. B. L. Dutcher, of New Milford, was on the grounds, pleasantly elaborating upon the merits of the Jacobson line of gasoline engines. One of the best features of the fair was the floral display by Percy Ballantine, the owner of Louden Hill Farm in Dimock. The “fly” in the ointment, however, was the failure of the big political guns to materialize. They didn’t show up. However, the balloon was filled and it was generally conceded that the hot air was made of much better use in inflating the aerial monster, than to be generated in political exhorters and the crowd waited in breathless anxiety while Prof Allen prepared for his ascension. He made a beautiful flight. Mrs. Rex McCreary, who was here to present the Woman’s Suffrage cause, thought she got scant courtesy from the management and no one to introduce her when she was ready to speak; it was difficult to find anyone to introduce her, till finally Rev. Harmon was brought forward and did it in fine shape and she made a very interesting speech till drowned out by the band, but pleasantly announced she would speak again to-day. She won a good deal of attention and many friends for the cause. Geo. C. Comstock, one of the Vice Presidents, was energetic in pushing the interests of the Fair.

I received a telephone call from a local realtor suggesting that I address the criminality involved in removing survey pins. Over the past several years, we have had several private criminal complaints lodged by property owners against the adjoining property owner for the removal of survey pins as a result of a disagreement over a boundary line. Most people do not realize that the removal of a survey pin can be a criminal offense.

Under Section 3312 of Title 18, a person commits a summary offense (punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or fine up to $300) if he or she “intentionally cuts, injures, damages, destroys, defaces or removes any survey monument or marker, other than a natural object such as a tree or stream.” If the person acts “willfully or maliciously” with the intent “to call into question a boundary line,” then the person removing the survey monument has committed a misdemeanor of the second degree (punishable by up to 2 years in jail and/or a fine up to $2,500).

What is a “survey monument?” The statute defines a “survey monument or marker” as follows: “Any object adopted or placed by a professional land surveyor to define the boundaries of a property, including, but not limited to, natural objects such as trees or streams, or artificial monuments such as iron pins, concrete monuments, set stones or party walls.” This particular phrase, however, does not include “wooden stakes placed by a professional land surveyor as a temporary marker or place holder.”

According to the realtor, there have been an increasing number of problems with people removing survey pins as a result of boundary dispute issues. The realtor requested that we get the information out there so that folks know that you cannot remove a survey pin – even if you disagree with it and think that it has been wrongly placed by the professional land surveyor.

The statute actually provides an affirmative defense to any criminal prosecution if the person removing the marker can demonstrate that the “survey monument or marker was improperly placed by a professional land surveyor.” Of course, in order to demonstrate that the marker was erroneously placed, the person accused of improperly removing the survey marker would most likely have to get a professional land surveyor to provide an expert opinion on the boundary line location.

Finally, the statute provides a means for restitution to a property owner forced to hire a surveyor to replace the disturbed pins. In the event of a conviction for a violation of the statute, a court must order restitution to the property owner “for the cost of the reestablishment of permanent survey monuments or markers by a professional land surveyor and all reasonable attorney fees.”

With the private criminal complaints that we have received in this office in connection with allegations of the unlawful removal of survey pins, some of those complaints have been resolved with the offending party simply paying to have the survey pins replaced out of their own pocket. Other alleged offenders have incurred the expense of obtaining their own survey to demonstrate that they had a viable defense under the statute for the removal of the survey pins which they contended were wrongfully placed. Both resolutions involved expenses to the alleged offender even when there were no criminal charges ever formally filed. In the end, boundary disputes can be nasty – and if there is absolutely no way that you and your neighbor can resolve things in a mutually acceptable manner, you need to remember that there is a criminal statute out there that limits your ability to remove your neighbor’s survey marker.

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/.