Montrose – Jeweler Earl J. Smith has secured a patent on a mission clock of his invention. The clock is of unique design and most attractive, being intended especially for office use. Mr. Smith has made several dozen of these clocks, selling them at wholesale and has a good offer for the patent, but is undecided as yet whether to sell or manufacture them himself. Also James M. Jeffers is preparing to reopen his mill near the Lackawanna depot and anticipates being ready for business by the middle of March or 1st of April. Mr. Jeffers lately sold his electric lines and business to the Susquehanna Co. Light and Power Co., retaining the plant and continuing to furnish steam heat for many buildings in the central part of the town. He will operate the heating plant as usual, excellent service being given and may increase the number of patrons. The feed mill will be conducted on a strictly cash basis.

Springville – Report says there are 70 cases of measles in and around Springville. Also The milk station at Lynn took fire on Saturday night and but for timely discovery would have burned down. It is believed to have been set on fire. Also It is expected that school will open Feb. 16 after a four weeks’ vacation. The school building has been thoroughly fumigated (measles) and made ready for use.

Flynn, Middletown Twp. – Patrick Degnan and Edward Kelly were in Montrose on Saturday with a drove of new milch cows, which they sold to parties from the valley.

Olyphant, Lackawanna Co. – On Sunday evening Rev. Patrick J. Murphy, Olyphant’s zealous priest, after 9 o’clock, slipped into three open poolrooms in that place. The patrons fled in every direction and the places were closed tight as a drum. Father Murphy believes that at least one day out of seven should be wholly given unto the Lord. He is a brother of Mrs. McCabe, of the Montrose parish, and gave a large window when St. Mary’s was built here.

West Auburn – Last week, Tuesday, at 1 p.m., the telephone rang, the message from Central saying, “Gus France’s house is on fire, Hurry!” Realizing that Mr. France was rendered nearly helpless by a broken arm, and that Mrs. France was handicapped by a sprained wrist, everybody hustled. Horses were quickly hitched up. Many did not wait to ride but started for the house, one mile north of West Auburn, as fast as they could go. George Grover was the first to arrive. Mrs France had hastened to the barn and procured the spray pump. Taking a pail of water up to into the garret, Mr. Grover directed a slender stream of water to the roof, which was blazing, thus checking the advance of the flames. Meantime, other help arrived, ladders were put up, a portion of the roof chopped away, a line formed and pails of water poured in the blazing shingles, quickly extinguishing them. The fire was caused by the burning out of the chimney.

West Lenox – There was no school last week, as the teacher, Miss Bertha Hartman, was confined to the house with grip.

Rush – The revivals at Trinity M. E. church will begin Feb. 15. Every social and moral sin will be presented.

Hopbottom – Theodore Johnson, a well known and prosperous farmer living near here, dropped dead Friday morning, January 30, 1914. Leaving his home about 10 o’clock to go up on the hill where some men were cutting wood, he appeared to be in good health. Upon reaching the top of the hill he dropped dead of heart disease. He would have been 68 years old the day following his death. The deceased is survived by his wife, three children, Aldo and Henry, of Lathrop, Arthur L., of Springville and one sister, Mrs. Charles Osborne.

Franklin Forks – One of the most enjoyable events that the people here have know in some time, took place at Alliance Hall, Jan. 19, 1914, it being the 50th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Stockholm. One hundred and forty-four guests came from far and near. Language fails the writer to describe the dinner. Tables were loaded with good things and the waiters were genial and obliging even though they received no tips. The friends of the couple gave each of them a lovely rocking chair and their children presented each with a shining five-dollar gold piece. A poem was read and after a song, “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet,” Mr. Stockholm made a few remarks giving a little history of his courtship and marriage, closing with a splendid tribute to the wife, who for 50 years has so loyally and faithfully kept her marriage vows, saying if he had it all to do over again, he would choose the same one whom he chose 50 years ago.

Clifford – On Friday and Saturday of last week we were treated to a genuine January thaw, spoiling the sleighing and leaving everything coated with ice.

Ararat – Scratches on the face, inflicted by a boy companion in a tussle, has led to the death, from blood poisoning, of eleven year old Earl Hendrickson, son of Mrs. Price Davis. The two boys were attending school at Herrick Center and when on the way home, in the big sleigh that is used to convey the children to and from school, they got into a fight. Little Earl sustained several scratches on the face from the nails of the other lad. After a few days it was noticed by Mrs. Davis, whose first husband was named Hendrickson, that the scratches were becoming inflamed and after a spell of nose bleeding and body blisters, he was rushed to Dr. Craft, in Herrick Center, who declared the case to be one of severe blood poisoning. Earl died soon after.

Friendsville – Mr. J. Lee, our popular Justice, known as “Matt,” has served his town well and faithfully for the past 20 years. It has always been his policy to get men together and settle their differences, rather than embroil themselves in costly law suits.

Gibson – T. P. Warren, says he eats in Gibson township and sleeps in Harford township. The township line passes through his house.

Brooklyn – On Thursday of last week about 40 members of the Universalist church enjoyed a sleigh ride party and took dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lodowick Bailey. After dinner a pleasant hour was spent with music, the singing of hymns and appropriate remarks, making the day one that will long be remembered by those present.

Howard Hill, Liberty Twp. – Look out for 6 weeks more cold weather. The old bear came out and saw her shadow this morning.

I received an email from a reader expressing concern about the time delay attendant with scheduling matters in the criminal justice system – especially as it relates to DUI offenders.  The reader indicated legitimate concerns regarding offenders with drug or alcohol problems continuing to drive pending resolution of a DUI case.  I can attest that there is a danger to the systemic scheduling lag that occurs in criminal cases.  We have numerous offenders each year that will get a second DUI offense while the first one is still pending in the court system.  In fact, the other day we had a particular female offender who was cited for her third DUI offense – while two others were still pending and unresolved.

What does the criminal justice system do to streamline these DUI cases?  There are several things that have been implemented over the years to move these DUI cases quickly through the system.  First, after the initial preliminary hearing at the magistrate office, every first offense DUI is immediately scheduled for a pre-trial conference.  This assures that the cases are not sitting for a long period of time – they are scheduled quickly and we attempt to move the cases to a resolution without too much delay.  First offense DUI offenders are not entitled to a jury trial as the offense is only an ungraded misdemeanor with a potential punishment of a maximum of 6 months.  For this reason, the first offense DUIs are handled by the judge alone – and this tends to allow for us to move them a little more quickly.

A second (or subsequent) DUI offense will likely be a more serious offense (though if the BAC level is low enough, it may still be only an ungraded misdemeanor).  If the subsequent offense is graded as a misdemeanor of the first or second degree, then a DUI offender has a right to a jury trial.  To keep those cases moving, we place them on the next available trial list for jury selection.  Just the other day, a defense attorney was complaining to me because we placed a DUI offender on the March trial list (the next criminal jury selection term) even though the preliminary hearing had just occurred in the middle of January.  The goal for the DUI offenders is to get them into court as soon as possible so that remedial steps can be taken to protect the public from any potential future harm.

This does not mean that some of these cases are not continued – and some take a fairly long time to resolve themselves.  The reader expressed frustration with the fact that some offenders went many months before they were ever convicted (or placed into an ARD program).  Generally speaking, we do not agree to any continuance of a DUI case unless there is some proof that the offender is actively involved in a drug and alcohol treatment program.  I must commend the local defense bar as they generally are very good about getting clients into treatment programs prior to any final disposition of the case.

The reader went on to say that it was “difficult to see them out on the street, hear about their postings on Facebook and living normal lives,” while the rest of the community is waiting for some kind of disposition of the offender’s DUI offense.  The reader suggested that I provide the general procedural information to the public so that it was understood that we are moving DUI cases through the system as quickly as the court schedule will allow it.  I can also attest that the Court has taken an aggressive approach to assure that these cases are getting scheduled quickly with the goal toward seeking speedy resolution.  While there are some logistical difficulties and the system is far from perfect, the Susquehanna County criminal justice system is working hard to resolve DUI cases without undue delay – which is important for both the offender and the general public.

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/.