Heart Lake – Loyal automobilists are giving Horton Reynolds and N. O. Roach considerable praise for their voluntary efforts in improving the Heart Lake state road. State road employees are also on the job.

Brooklyn – Miss Alice Lee is sojourning in the mountains of Tennessee for a short time, collecting data for her literary work. Miss Lee is a contributor to several periodicals. Also a bolt of lightning entered the home of Daniel Yeomans on Tuesday evening, while an ice cream social was in progress. Half a dozen young people were stunned and some seared about the face and body. The lightning entered the house on the telephone wires, the instrument attached to the wall being shattered by the bolt.

Great Bend – Theodore A. Spearbeck, aged 78 years, died at his home in the township on Thursday, May 22, 1914, after a long illness. He was a veteran of the Civil War and long in the employ of the Lackawanna railroad. He is survived by his wife and one daughter, Mrs. Tennant, of Alford. The funeral was held from his late home Sunday afternoon, Rev. W. I. Andrews officiating. Interment in Woodlawn cemetery, Great Bend. ALSO Some surveyors employed by the Lackawanna Railroad walked across the fields of J. A. Florance to get to their work on the new cut off. Florance had them arrested for trespassing and Squire Carl fined them five dollars each. The defendants declined to pay and have removed the cases to the Montrose Court. Some of our contemporaries have erroneously attributed the arrest to K. D. Johnston and assumed that it related to the right of way controversy.

West Auburn – Many protests and much regret is felt here that contractor Gill should feel it necessary, owing to delays caused by the wet weather of March and April, to work his men on Sundays on the new state road in order to finish his contract within the specified time. We feel sure that if the State Highway department would extend the time limit so that the contractor would not feel obliged to break the Sabbath to finish the job it would give much greater satisfaction to the great majority of the people.

Harford – “Hell” will be the subject of the sermon Sunday morning in the Congregational church.

Forest Lake – M. J. Kane is advertising for young pigs for shipment. These little porkers are not slaughtered, but shipped to other sections where they are grown by farmers. Mr. Kane shipped about 800 pigs from Montrose last fall.

Williams Pond, Bridgewater Twp. – Chandler Stevens, a Civil War veteran and highly esteemed resident of this place, will celebrate his 85th birthday anniversary tomorrow. Mr. Stevens has been in quite feeble health for some years, although able to be about. The very best wishes of a wide circle of friends are his on this auspicious occasion.

Forest City – On Tuesday of last week Forest City voters, by a vote of 178 to 51, authorized a bond issue of $30,000 for a new high school building. The new structure will be of brick and will be erected on main street. It will have a large auditorium and in addition to facilities for the high school will also accommodate several of the lower grades.

Hallstead – The 125th anniversary of the forming of the Hallstead Presbyterian church fell on May 21. The church was organized on that date in 1789. The congregation celebrated the event at the morning service on Sunday, when Rev. F. E. VanWie, the pastor, delivered an interesting historical sermon.

Glenwood – The latest news just read from E. J. Pickering’s family, at Whitewood, S. Dakota, by relatives here, is that nine of the family were very ill with smallpox, but the crisis has passed and all are thought to be on the gain.

Dimock – It is reported that the people around Dimock have raised a fund, by popular subscription, to purchase the old hotel at the corners and to do away with the bar, thinking it better to buy the property than fight a license application every year.

Montrose – Members of the G. A. R., by invitation of Prof. Hosterman, visited the High School Tuesday morning, special patriotic exercises having been arranged. The pupils were addressed by Chaplain C. C. Halsey and Post Commander M. H. VanScoten. Mr. VanScoten spoke of the analogy between patriotism and courage, and said the soldier who ran never wanted to face his friends back home. He contended that the young men made the best soldiers. Of the more than two million men engaged in the Civil War, 1,700,000 were boys between 12 and 21 years of age. The old veterans were greatly pleased with the program given by the High School students and speak very favorably of the courtesy of Prof. Hosterman.

Uniondale – The Uniondale band has been re-organized. ALSO It is about time the railroad company got busy and put in bells at crossings. The council meets again in a few days.

South Ararat – Rev. Webster, of Thompson, delivered the memorial sermon at the Presbyterian church in Ararat. He spoke from Joshua 10-14. Those who attended were benefitted and those who stayed away missed a great deal. Only five old soldiers were in attendance at the services here Sunday, the ranks are being broken so fast.

Lynn, Springville Twp. – The Lynn base ball team played the Lemon boys, Saturday last, on the latter’s grounds, resulting in a score of 11 to 17 in favor of the Lynn boys. It is needless to say that Robert Smales, the pitcher, threw some fancy curves. Lemon will play at Lynn, Saturday. Game called at 2:30 sharp.

Auburn 4 Corners – The Ladies’ Aid will have an ice cream festival at the home of Benton Lathrop, Thursday evening, June 4. Everybody invited to come.

News Brief: Pennsylvania is about to come into possession of one of the most treasured war flags in American history. It is the famous “Rattlesnake Flag” carried by Proctor’s Westmoreland county battalion during the Revolution. We are all familiar with the inscription which appeared on it, “Don’t Tread On Me” and the figure of a rattlesnake on the yellow background lent force to the argument. At the transfer of flags to take place at the State capitol, early in June, Lieut. M. H. VanScoten, of Montrose, one of the original color bearers of the rebellion, will participate.

A few weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided the case of Commonwealth v. Gary, which addressed the question of whether police need to obtain a search warrant prior to any search of an automobile. The facts of the case were pretty simple – Shiem Gary was pulled over by Philadelphia police as a result of illegal window tinting on his SUV. As the police approached the motor vehicle, they could smell the odor of marijuana emanating from the inside of the SUV. Gary then admitted to the police that there was marijuana inside the vehicle – and the police searched the vehicle without a search warrant and located 2 pounds of marijuana. Gary was convicted and sentenced to 4 years of probation.

On appeal, Gary contended that the search of his motor vehicle was unlawful as the police did not have a search warrant. This is where the legalese of the decision gets a little tricky. Under federal law, there is a vehicle exception to the Fourth Amendment search warrant requirement. In other words, federal courts have determined since the 1930s that the transitory nature of automobiles creates an exception to the search warrant requirement. In other words, federal law provides that police may search an automobile without a search warrant provided they have probable cause to support the search.

Pennsylvania had a different rule – and that rule was based not on the protections afforded by the United States Constitution, but by Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Thus, the Pennsylvania Superior Court agreed with Gary and concluded that the search of the SUV was unlawful because the police had not obtained a search warrant. The Commonwealth appealed and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to take the case.

In a 4-2 decision, authored by Justice Seamus McCaffery, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the Pennsylvania Constitution did not afford any greater protection than the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In other words, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided the Pennsylvania automobile search rules should be the same as the federal automobile exception to the search warrant requirement. In short, if the police have probable cause to believe there is contraband in a motor vehicle, the police can search it without first obtaining a search warrant.

What is the reasoning behind this rule? The federal courts have recognized for years that automobiles present a special problem for law enforcement. First, they are inherently mobile which presents problems for law enforcement in terms of securing the vehicle while attempting to get a search warrant. Second, the federal courts have repeatedly noted that there is a diminished expectation of privacy in a motor vehicle. There are countless regulations relating to the operation, control and condition of motor vehicle that necessarily limits the motorist’s expectation of privacy.

In response to this ruling, several editorials have lamented the loss of liberty in the security and privacy of our automobiles in Pennsylvania. In an editorial entitled “Insecure from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures,” an editor for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review made the following hyperbolic declaration: “The decision is shocking not only for its cavalier dilution of a constitutional right more than two-and-a-quarter centuries old but for its abject ignorance of history.”

These are strong words containing misguided anger. The reality is pretty simple – Pennsylvania is now following a federal rule that has effectively operated for over half a century without need for abandonment or alteration in the federal system. Law enforcement still requires probable cause of criminality within a motor vehicle in order to search it without a warrant. There has been no elimination of the threshold question that probable cause must exist prior to a search – there has been no diminution of any rights by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Rather, the Court has simply recognized the wisdom of the federal rule, which decades of experience has demonstrated strikes an appropriate balance between individual privacy and law enforcement concerns.

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/.

“Sweet May hath come to love us, Flowers, trees, their blossoms don; And through the blue heavens above us The very clouds move on.” ~Heinrich Heine

Ahh, the month of May. A time to honor Mothers, those Military individuals who gave all so that we may have the freedoms we enjoy today, and, of course, to celebrate the re-birth of the land around us. But, did you know that May is also “Get Caught Reading Month”? It’s true! “Get Caught Reading” happens to be a nationwide campaign to remind people of all ages just how much fun it is to read. What better time to encourage your family to visit your local Library Branch and take advantage of all it has to offer, than with summer not far away. Titles, sure to please every age group, are just waiting to be enjoyed. A nationally-recognized newspaper recently published a list of the 50 best children’s books published in the last 25 years—and guess who has many of them on shelves, waiting for you? That’s right! Your own local Library Branch! To whet your literary appetites, I’ll name some examples. “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. ,”The Three Billy Goats Gruff” by Paul Galdone ,“Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss, “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” by Laura Joffe Numeroff ,“Brave Irene” by William Steig, “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfeister , “Stellaluna” written by Janell Cannon , “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes, “Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam Mc Bratney, “Officer Buckle and Gloria” by Peggy Rathmann, “Time for Bed” by Mem Fox, “Falling Up”, only one of many by the beloved Shel Silverstein, “Mouse Paint” written by Ellen Stall Walsh, “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly” by Simms Taback, “I Went Walking” by Sue Williams, “Click, Clack Moo,Cows That Type” by Doreen Cronin, “Olivia” by Ian Falconer, “Over in the Meadow” by Ezra Jack Keats, “Bear Snores On” by Karma Wilson and the 2003 award-winning, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” written by Mo Willems. These are just a fraction of the titles you can choose. Reading to your children starts them on the path to literary enjoyment, heightens their imagination and creates an atmosphere that brings families closer together.

A Bake Sale, held May 10th, benefiting the Susquehanna Library Branch, was a resounding success. Many thanks to all those talented souls who baked, those who gave donations and, of course, our many wonderful customers. We couldn’t do what we do, without your thoughtfulness and generosity.

On May 15th, the Susquehanna Branch Readers' Group held a spirited discussion of this month’s selection, "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. If you have not joined this lively group, please stop by and speak with Laura, Pam, Deb or Elizabeth to sign up.

Please mark on your calendar, the dates for the 2014 Blueberry Festival, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, August 1st and 2nd and plan to join us for
“All things Blueberry”.

Keep watching this column for the announcement of the Summer Reading Programs coming to a Library Branch near you.

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 put out more orange halves for the visiting Baltimore Orioles to enjoy, I leave you with this thought:

“With each day going by hope is reborn, dreams come true and a little step is taken toward happiness. May this May be unbelievably exceptional, amazingly colorful and filled with Joy, laughter and love.” ~Anonymous

Warm Breezes – Apple Blossoms—Prom Memories

ENJOY!!