Susquehanna – Andrew and Abram Clendenning found a number of Indian arrow heads of flint near this place the other day that had evidently been unearthed by the recent high water. This part of the country along the Susquehanna river, as far north as Windsor, N.Y., appears to have been a favorite camping ground for the noble Reds of centuries ago. Charles McKune, who lives near Lanesboro, has a fine collection of Indian relics picked up on his farm as has also J. Fred Carl, of Great Bend. Nearly every year new specimens are brought out by the floods that loosen the earth near the river bed. Tradition has it that an Indian burying ground was once located near Windsor and that skeletons have occasionally been found by farmers in that city. The Susquehanna valley extending from Windsor down past Susquehanna, Great Bend and Binghamton to Waverly, N. Y., where Queen Esther [of French and Iroquois descent and famous for her role in the Wyoming Massacre] was located in Revolutionary time, is the most fertile of any land on the Pennsylvania and New York state border line and it was undoubtedly the home of some of the tribes of the six nations before they turned their faces westward and settled in Ohio and Indiana.

Lawsville – Merchant Geo. W. Meeker offers a quantity of flour and sugar, in all seventeen attractive prizes, to the ladies, baking best bread from flour to be purchased at his store, the bread to be on exhibition and judged at the Lawsville Grange Hall, Friday evening, May 29th. Lawsville Grange will also give a membership to the lady taking first prize. The ladies of the grange will serve a variety supper the same evening.

Flynn, Middletown Twp. – Miss Green, of Jackson Valley, is dressmaking for Mrs. John Murphy and Mrs. L. L. Curley.

Hopbottom – The Commencement exercises of the Hop Bottom High School were given in the Universalist church, Friday evening, May 8th. A large and appreciative audience was in attendance. The graduating class was a follows: Beulah Downey, Ruth Mead, Elizabeth Mahar, Ruth Miller, Gladys Rose, Stewart Button, Laurence Bertholf.

East Kingsley – Mrs. Alzina Hull has been visiting her son, Charles and family. She is past 80 years old and cares for herself and lives in a house alone, near the “Acre” in Lenox.

Springville – Maxwell Agent, C. H. Young, was in Montrose, driving up a Maxwell, nine years old, which negotiated the muddy, rutty road easily. Mr. Young says the Maxwell grows better with age.

Montrose – The Bible conference will be held July 31 to August 9th, both dates inclusive. A strong program is arranged with Rev. W. H. Riley, of Minneapolis, Rev. R. V. Miller, Rev. Canon Howit, of Hamilton, Ontario, Rev. Joseph W. Kempt, of Edinburg, Scotland and Rev. James M. Gray, D. D., of Chicago, as the principal speakers. Also parents in Montrose, whose children are in the habit of playing and romping in our cemetery and taking and demolishing flowers, vases and other properties belonging to lot owners, are requested to look into the matter and prevent their children from making a playground of the resting place of the dead. The lots and accessories are private property and sacred to the owners. There is a law which fines and imprisons the perpetrators of these deeds.

Shannon Hill, Auburn Twp. – The large barn of Andrew Maxwell burned to the ground on Thursday last, together with the farming tools, hay, grain, etc. Mr. Maxwell was away attending a funeral the time. His wife, who has been sick a long time, succeeded in getting one horse out. Much sympathy is felt for Mr. Maxwell in this heavy loss.

Hallstead – There is considerable complaint from people who have to travel the township roads that the roads are in some places dangerous to travel, have not been worked and have bad ruts in them. One of the places complained of is the river road, a short distance above this place, where it is very narrow and rough, with no guard rails to prevent one going into the river in case of accident. Also the old Margaret Hines building has been purchased and removed, by W. P. VanLoan, to his “Riverview Farm,” near Hallstead.

Uniondale – The Uniondale band reorganized Saturday evening with all members present. The boys are determined to make a success of the undertaking and should receive encouragement from our people. They cannot be expected to play without being recompensed. Give the boys a chance.

Forest City – The party who have been planting trees under the auspices of the Delaware and Hudson company on the mountain side east of the Lackawanna broke camp Saturday and started for Quebec, where they are to transplant 600,000 trees. The men were delayed in their work by the frequent rains and it will be necessary to increase the force to insure the early planting of their new contract. There were 280,000 trees planted in this vicinity and next year there will be a larger lot set out. The company proposes next year to do a larger business than ever before.

Deaths of two Civil War Veterans – James Curry, a member of Four Brothers Post, G. A. R. having been in the marine corps during the Civil War and saw considerable service, died at his home on Jackson street, May 14, 1914. He was greatly interested in all pertaining to the conflict and the organization to which he belonged, and to the last took an active interest in the present Mexican situation. He was a man loyal to his family and friends, of quiet disposition and kindly nature and those who knew him will miss his cheery face and hearty greeting. Capt. Abel T. Sweet, died at his home in Harford on May 7, 1914. He spent three years in the Union army, in Co. H, 4th Pennsylvania Reserves, enlisting as a private and came back a captain. He participated in about 20 battles. His comrade, M. H. VanScoten commented that it is just 50 years since the battle of Clyde Mountain, VA was fought. “After we had routed the enemy General Crook, who was in Command, seeing the indomitable bravery displayed by the right wing of the army, rode up to where the men were standing and inquired who was in command of that detachment. Capt. Sweet was pointed out as the man and Gen. Crook saluted him by taking off his hat and congratulating him and the men under his command for their conspicuous bravery.” Everyone feels a personal loss in the passing away of Mr. Sweet. No man in the village was so well known and general beloved as he. His genial presence will be missed in every place and especially in his chair in front of his home, leaning on his cane, with his pleasant smile, betokening contentment within. There were elegant flowers in great profusion and the U. S. flag covered his coffin. Burial was in the Harford cemetery.

I received an email from a reader who had recently watched a loved one battling a heroin addiction through the rehabilitation and treatment process.  The reader reflected on how difficult an addict can be – and quipped that he did not “relish” the job that law enforcement and prosecutors had in constantly dealing with people addicted to drugs.  It was an interesting comment especially from someone with firsthand experience with an addicted family member.  On the other hand, the first people to often know about addiction problems are family – they know because they find money missing, items stolen, and their son or daughter “out of it” a good portion of the time.

Unfortunately, most parents (and other family members) do not report crimes committed by their children.  I have heard the same story from parents repeatedly – they wish that they had come to law enforcement sooner instead of waiting until their child began breaking into the homes of third parties and stealing from strangers.  This is not to say that reporting a child is not a difficult thing to do, but as the reader noted, most people lack the tools and insight necessary to manage a drug addict.  Frankly, even those with vast experience and training have a difficult time getting addicts back to sobriety.

The reader went on to note that he wished that drug dealers could be charged with “murder,” and he noted just how many drug overdoses resulting in death we have seen this year in our small community.  It was that comment that prompted this column because there is a statute that deals with that question – and it is located in the homicide section of the Crimes Code.  Section 2506 (Drug Delivery Resulting in Death) provides that it is a felony of the first degree for any person to intentionally “administer, dispense, deliver, give, prescribe, sell or distribute” to another person where that person ends up dying from the use of the controlled substance.

Initially, the courts ruled that this particular statute required the Commonwealth to prove malice, i.e., that the drug dealer had an evil intent when he or she distributed or delivered controlled substances.  This made the offense equivalent to a third degree murder conviction – it had to be a malicious killing.  It is often difficult to prove who actually provided the controlled substance to a person who dies of a drug overdose.  In many investigations, the delivery of the controlled substance involves another family member, romantic partner or friend – not a distant third party drug dealer who had a malicious intent to kill anyone who used his products.  Rather, the logical argument would be that the drug dealer does not have a malicious intent – if he kills all his customer base, then he is out of business.  The drug dealer certainly knows that drugs can be lethal, but he or she also knows that most of the customers come back for more.  The proof of malice was often difficult for the Commonwealth to prove in drug overdose cases – and the charges were rarely filed.

In 2011, the legislature then eliminated the malice requirement – the proof necessary was simplified to delivery of the controlled substance resulting in an overdose death of a third party.  It should be noted that the statute requires actual death.  There is no charge for “attempted drug delivery resulting in death.”  The reason for this is pretty simple.  Any attempt crime requires the specific intent to commit the underlying crime itself.  As noted above, most drug dealers are not attempting to deliver controlled substance for the sole reason of having a customer overdose of the product.

Given that the statute itself is still new, the courts are reviewing it to determine whether this elimination of the malice requirement is permissible.  The new statute certainly makes prosecution of a drug dealer easier where an overdose death occurs – assuming that the Commonwealth can piece together evidence to show who actually delivered the drugs.  Given that there are usually only two witnesses to a delivery (the drug dealer of the user), and one of the witnesses is dead (the user), and the other generally does not admit to it (the dealer), the bigger problem in drug overdoses lies in the proof itself – not in the language of the statute.

If you are wondering, a conviction under this statute is the same as a third degree murder conviction – which means incarceration for up to 40 years.  If law enforcement uncovers sufficient proof as to who supplied the controlled substances involved in a lethal drug overdose, the Crimes Code provides for a very serious penalty for such conduct.

Finally, the reader asked for some guidance as to what the general public can do to combat controlled substances in our community.  I wish that I had a silver bullet to offer – but I do not.  The entire country is struggling with this problem.  I would start by encouraging family members to report crimes committed by another family member to support a drug addiction.  I would encourage people to consider the criminal justice system as a resource – not an enemy – and that we have the tools that can assist in the rehabilitation process.  Too many families have tried to handle these problems themselves only to see their loved one progress onto criminal acts against non-family members – and some families have buried loved ones as a result of drug overdoses.  I cannot promise you that the criminal justice system will solve the problems, but I can promise you that there are people within the criminal justice system who deal with it every single day.  At least, they have the tools, knowledge and expertise to help the addict.

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/.

“Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.” ~Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

I’m so pleased to say “I’m back!”. I’ve missed writing the column for the past month and I wish to thank-you all for the wonderful cards, messages, thoughts and Prayers. They certainly helped with my healing process. I’m doing well and enjoying our beautiful springtime unfolding with my new gift of sight. A lot has happened in my absence, so allow me to try to catch up on things.

The Library Auction Night (held on 4/12/14) was a huge success! As I write this, the total profits realized have not been finalized, but it is understood to be well over $10,000. Many, many thanks to all who donated items, for those who created such a delicious buffet, everyone who worked so hard, before, during and after the Auction, and of course, all of the generous bidders who made this event a resounding success.

The Art, Pottery and Book sale, held on a recent weekend (4/26-27/14), drew large crowds of folks, perhaps looking for a special gift for Mom or Grandma, or just a new delight for themselves. Again, profits have not been totaled, but it is reported to have been another successful event and we would like to thank all of those tireless souls who give so much of themselves to make the sale run smoothly and special thanks to all who purchased items, thus helping us to provide the programs and services you and your family enjoy.

We would like to extend a large thank-you to “Proctor and Gamble” for their generous donation of paper goods. With State Budget cuts being what they are, money does not always cover the necessities that the Branches need. Their generosity helped all four Library Branches and is very much appreciated.

If you see a flurry of activity at the various Library Branches in the next week or two, it will be due to some new additions—new public computers! Grant money is responsible for the much needed electronics which, hopefully, will be installed soon.

The Susquehanna Branch Readers' Group will be meeting on May 15th at 4:00pm to discuss "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson. The winner of a 2005 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, “Gilead” is an intimate tale encompassing three generations, from the Civil War to the twentieth century, within a timeless story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist Minister John Ames, “Gilead” reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.

Please get your calendar out and circle Wednesday, May 21st—the Sixth Annual Author Luncheon.

The Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association is pleased to announce that the guest for the luncheon will be a local Author of Young Adult Fiction, Jeanne Moran. The luncheon, sponsored by the “Library Friends to Benefit the Association”, will be held at the VFW , Rt. 706 in Montrose, commencing with a hospitality hour at 11:30am, luncheon will be served at 12:30pm, and Ms. Moran will speak at 1:30pm. The menu includes lasagna, (meat or vegetarian options will be available) complete with a tossed salad and home-made desserts. Reservations are $25 per person and, as has been the norm with all of the previous Author Luncheons, the tickets tend to go quickly, so stop by your local Library Branch soon to make a reservation. Originally from New York City, Jeanne Moran now calls Northeast Pennsylvania home. When she’s not writing, Jeanne works as a physical therapist and is a member of the Early Intervention Evaluation Team, which works with children with special needs. Jeanne Moran’s debut novel , “Risking Exposure”, features a young heroine growing up in Munich, Germany in 1938. Fourteen year old Sophie Adler is a talented photographer and a member of the “Hitler Youth”. Sophie’s path takes an unexpected turn when she contracts polio, causing her to fall from the good graces of the perfection-obsessed Nazi party. The inspiration for Jeanne’s novel was developed from her childhood experiences. Jeanne spent her youth surrounded by the rich heritage of her grandparents, all of whom emigrated from Germany between the world wars. Her younger sister, Joyce, (to whom “Risking Exposure” is dedicated) was diagnosed with multiple disabilities, which inspired Jeanne’s life and her writing as well. “Because of what I learned from her about joy, patience and the value of human dignity, I became a physical therapist,” Jeanne says. “ I’ve worked most of my career with children with disabilities. Supporting them and their families is a life-long passion for me.” Please come and join us and meet this talented Author, make new friends, renew old friendships, enjoy a delicious lunch, and help the Library Association as well. Sounds like a win-win to me! Hope to see you there!

Check out our updated website (susqcolibrary.org) for exciting news from the Branches, events, and the latest titles by your favorite or new Authors. Don’t forget to find us on “Facebook” (Susquehanna County Library). Look us up on “Pinterest” for lots of interesting nooks and crannies to explore. If you “Tweet”, follow us on Twitter (@susqcolib) to check out event information, local scoops and much more.

As I admire God’s handiwork in the beautiful daffodil blossoms, I leave you with this thought:

“Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

A Mother’s Voice—May Baskets—Goldfinches

Enjoy!