Lathrop Twp. – Evelyn Wells, one of the New York opera singers, spent last week with her grandmother, Mrs. T. J. Wells. She is one of the sweetest singers of her troop, or is so complemented by the papers. She starts in about two weeks on a trip to Cuba. Burmuda Islands and South America.
South Ararat – The campers have all left at Fiddle Lake and things look rather lonely as the cottages have all been occupied most all summer and some from Carbondale came very early this season. Also At East Ararat, Mrs. Eva Stone, of Binghamton, held the Avery reunion at the home of her brother, Clark Avery, at Ararat Summit, Saturday. Over 100 relatives and friends were present and a good time was enjoyed by all.
Montrose – At a meeting at the Library building, Friday afternoon, a temporary organization of the Women’s Suffrage Association was effected, Mrs. Barry Searle being selected as temporary chairman.
Thompson – Our school opened Sept 2nd with Prof. Burleigh, of Thompson, principal; Miss I.(?) Appleman, of Mehoopany, intermediate, and Miss Nellie Aldrich, of Thompson, primary teacher.
Little Meadows – Thomas Fitzmartin has purchased the hotel at Apalachin, owned by Mr. Donovan. They expect to move this week. AlsoEsmond B. Beardsley visited in Montrose on Saturday. He was on his way to his position as superintendent of schools at Montgomery, Pa.
Hopbottom – The greatest ball game of the season, the married men and single men of Hop Bottom, will play on the ball grounds, Friday afternoon, at 3:30, Sept. 12th. Don’t forget the date. Some of the star players of the married men are: Postmaster Chas. Miller, Tom Murray, Prof. Tiffany, M. W. Stephens, Glenn Roberts, etc. Don’t forget to take along with you some of the “Tingley’s Famous Cough Drops.” They will help you to look pleasant.
Harford – Mrs. H. G. Richardson and daughter, Pauline, attended the meeting of the North Harford Book club at Mrs. Arthur Tingley’s.
Herrick Center – School opened Tuesday, Sept. 2, with the following teachers, all of whom have been with us for several years: Principal, Charles J. Savige, of Brooklyn; Miss Susie Hathaway, of Thompson; Miss Edyth Smith, of Uniondale. Over 100 pupils are enrolled and the number in the high school is considerably larger than usual.
Elk Lake – Attorney and Mrs. D. C. Harrington have closed Happy Retreat cottage and returned to Scranton. Mrs. Max Lamke and daughter, Madeline, who have been sojourning at Clear View cottage, have returned to their home in Binghamton.
Forest City – A Chalmers auto, with a California pendant on the windshield, attracted attention on Main Street, Tuesday. The car was owned by L. B. Thomas, formerly of Uniondale, and as its travel-stained appearance indicated, had just made the journey from the Pacific coast, a distance of 3620 miles, from San Francisco to Forest City. The journey was made in 33 days without mishap, excepting tire trouble. New tires were put on the rear wheels at Salt Lake City and on the front at Chicago and 240 gallons of gasoline were consumed on the trip. Accompanying Thomas were his wife and son and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Thomas. The family will probably reside in Binghamton.
Brushville, Oakland Twp. – The 18th annual reunion of the descendants of Ard and Jonathan Brush was held here on Thursday, Aug. 28, and at the dinner hour 82 people were registered. Officers for ensuing year—Pres. John Hall; vice pres., Grant Brush; sec. Mrs. W. E. Chidester; treas., Mrs. U. G. Brush. There was a short program of recitations by the little ones. The reunion will be held next year at Riverside Park, Lanesboro, last Tuesday in August.
Susquehanna – An orchestra pit has been installed in the Hogan opera house.
Auburn – E. T. Smith threshed 11 acres of oats that yielded over 700 bushels, a yield of 64 bushels per acre, and on land that has been in cultivation over a century. Also In West Auburn, Allen Jayne is very busy these days gathering apples and shipping them to Philadelphia to be placed in cold storage. Also Charles Overfield, oldest son of C. N. Overfield, who lives in the far West, has taken unto himself a wife.
Heart Lake – Heart Lake Resort has closed for the season, and Nature regrets the departure of the visitors who made merry in the cottages and tents during the summer. Proprietor Mack, who returns for the fall and winter to devote his attention to the Subway Lunch in Montrose, feels greatly pleased at the result of the season of 1913 at the lake.
ALSO Josephus Orangeblossom White, who has been employed here, has returned to Montrose this week, as the season closes.
Birchardville – The 20th annual reunion of Co. H, 143d Regiment, Penna. Volunteers, will be held at the hall here, Sept. 17, 1913. All comrades, their wives, sons and daughters, and honorary members are cordially invited. The Ladies’ Aid will serve dinner. Asa Warner, Sec.
Lynn, Springville Twp. – F. W. Taylor and wife attended the 15th reunion of Bat. H, 1st Pa. Light Artillery, at Lynn, last Wednesday, and report a fine time. Ninety partook of the fine dinner which the ladies provided. A vote of thanks was given Mrs. Frank Greenwood and Mrs. Dean Baker for entertaining the old vets and others.
S. Montrose – While running a fodder cutter Monday last at Claude Snell’s, Thomas Rowe had one of his hands cut off.
News Brief: On Monday morning at 2:20 o’clock, a heavy charge of dynamite was set off on the steps leading to the hotel of Buffalino Bros., in Pittston. The entire front of the hotel was blown out, but no one was killed. The affair is wrapt in mystery.
Last week, I watched the movie “Flight,” which stars Denzel Washington who played Whip Whitaker, as an intoxicated commercial airline pilot suddenly faced with an emergency situation and forced to attempt to land a severely disabled jetliner. Whip Whitaker had been on a drinking binge prior to the flight, started his morning out with some beer and cocaine, and then was secretly drinking vodka and orange juice as he flied the plane. Whitaker was actually sleeping in the cockpit when the mechanical failure occurred that caused the plane to enter a rapid dive toward the ground. Blood tests after the crash revealed the Whitaker had a blood alcohol content of .24% in addition to the cocaine in his system – things that did not play well with the investigators.
In any event, after the mechanical failure, Whitaker took control of the situation despite his severe intoxication. Whitaker managed to get manual control of the airplane and inverted it in order to stop the dive, i.e., they were flying upside down. Eventually, Whitaker put the plane down in a field – and only 6 people died out of 102 on the plane. He was hailed as a hero – and other pilots were astounded that he had landed the jet. The investigators put 10 other experienced (and sober) pilots into simulators under the same circumstances, and they all crashed the plane – no survivors. But the investigators had the blood tests – and they knew that Whitaker was intoxicated. Of course, the entire movie is fictional – it never happened – but it was a powerful tale that covered the course and path of chemical addiction.
As I watched the movie, I was thinking about the legal question of causation. Could the authorities go after Whitaker for the deaths that occurred in the crash simply because he was intoxicated? I asked my wife what she thought – and she thought it was a crazy question. In her mind, he was intoxicated and that was the end of the story. It did not matter that he landed the plane – and did so according to the movie under circumstances that likely no other pilot would have done. From a legal perspective, I wondered how a jury would view it.
Many years ago, I did a DUI trial for an aggravated assault while DUI, i.e., the intoxicated driver ended up in a crash that injured another motorist. The facts were pretty simple and uncontested. The defendant came over a knoll where several cars had come to a stop for some reason, the defendant barreled into the cars and hurt one of the occupants. The driver had a BAC level that was over the legal limit.
At trial, there was a lot of testimony regarding sight distance, stopping distance, speed, and reaction time. The defense never contested that the defendant was intoxicated, they simply argued that the accident would have occurred even if the defendant had been sober – simply because of the nature of the location on the highway. It was a causation argument, i.e., the intoxication did not cause the accident.
In response, I presented evidence about how alcohol impairs reaction time and reflexes and argued that the intoxication prevented the defendant from reacting appropriately to the sudden circumstances. The law required the Commonwealth to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the intoxication caused the accident. In a criminal case, the defense never has to prove anything – they simply had to show that there was a reasonable doubt that the intoxication may not have caused the accident, i.e., a sober driver would have ended up in the same accident given the topography of the accident itself.
In the end, the jury convicted the defendant of the DUI offense, but did not convict him of the aggravated assault while DUI. The jury determined that there was no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the accident occurred because the defendant was intoxicated. I was thinking about that case as I watched “Flight” and pondered legal causation. As I discussed it with my wife, she simply rolled her eyes, told me to enjoy the film and stop thinking like a lawyer all the time. Easier said than done.
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 attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom” --Rudolph W. Giuliani
Where were you on that fateful day—the day that changed all of out lives? Were you home catching up on laundry, only to be glued to the television, watching in horror as the events unfolded? Or, perhaps at your workplace, clinging to friends and fellow workers for support. I was working at a fuel company’s local office at that time and was equally numb with shock as well as horrified and angry that something like this could happen in our beloved country. What tried to destroy us, only made us stronger as a people and a nation. We came together and showed our inner strength in so many ways. We can do it again, we just need to remember and to appreciate the freedoms we enjoy, cherish those around us that mean so much (and tell them so) and salute those who have given their all for our Country—while flying the flag proudly to let the world know we are strong and indivisible.
Over the river the Hallstead/Great Bend Branch Library reports that their 11th (and final) Golf Tournament, sponsored by Trudy and Dale Henry raised $3355.00 and, over the years, has raised more than $35,000, which has helped to purchase shelving, computers, an alarm system, air conditioning, magazine subscriptions and many other much needed items. On this year’s “Wish list” is a “Facelift” for the outside of the building. Of course, all of this would not be possible without the generosity and dedication of Trudy and Dale --many, many thanks for the countless hours and continuing support you give to the Hallstead/Great Bend Branch, and a round of applause to all who participated.
Back at the Susquehanna Branch, the Reading Group has read and discussed two selections in August, “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand—A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, and “Remarkable Creatures” by Tracy Chevalier. A novel set on the beaches of the English coast, it is about two remarkable 19th Century women who are also fossil hunters, with one’s unique gift and the other’s talent, changing the scientific world forever. The discussion for the above titles was held on August 15th, but don’t despair. If you are interested in joining, drop in at the Branch and speak with Laura, Pam, Deb or Elizabeth and they’ll be glad to sign you up. While you’re there, you may want to check out the group’s September selection as well. “The Time Keeper” by Mitch Albom, of “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” fame. This is a compelling fable about the first man on earth to count the hours, the man who became “Father Time”. Mark down the discussion date of September 19th at 4:00 pm for this one.
If you have September 19th marked down on your calendar, then you’re planning to join in the Sixth Annual “Author’s Luncheon”, sponsored by “The Novel Woman Book Club”. This wonderful event, starting with “Hospitality” at 11:30 am, will be held at the Stonebridge Inn and Restaurant with lunch (complete with homemade desserts and breads!) being served at 12:15pm, and the speaker’s program commencing at 1:15pm. This year’s featured guest is Author, Actress and humorous Public Speaker, Angela Shelton. She is best known for the film “Tumbleweeds” and the documentary” Searching for Angela Shelton”, which she wrote, directed, and edited. She has just released her book, ”Finding Angela Shelton”. If you haven’t made a reservation, please do—seating is limited and you won’t want to miss this! There is a cost for the luncheon, with the registration deadline being Sept. 11th and tickets may be purchased at any of the Library Branches. For more information, please call the Forest City Branch Library at 570-785-5590. Proceeds from this event help to purchase much-needed items for the Forest City Branch Library.
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 sit here offering a silent Prayer and gazing at our flag, I leave you with this thought:
“Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” --President George W. Bush September 11, 2001.
Canning pickles --- Apple Picking – Bonfires
God Bless America!
