Welsh Hill, Clifford Twp. – Arthur Owens is the owner of a new, five passenger, Studebaker automobile.
South Ararat – The South Ararat Sunday school held their picnic on the school house lawn, on Saturday. The day was an ideal one, tables were set under the shade trees and a dinner was served fit for a queen, 70 were present and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. The young ladies and gentlemen amused themselves with a ball game, the younger ones by swinging while the older people spent the afternoon visiting. A good time was reported by all.
Uniondale – Burns Bros. are building cement dams for the Uniondale Milling Co. and Douglass & Yale.
Susquehanna – “Gratitude” -Yesterday Leo Ryan, of Main Street, found a wallet said to contain $285 which he returned to the owner and received the munificent sum of five cents for his honesty.
Stevens Point – There will be a ribbon social at J. W. Vaughn’s, Wednesday evening, for the benefit of the Mount school.
Rhiney Creek – A. B. Roe and family, A. B. Mitchell and wife, and E. J. Fish and wife, attended the Webster reunion held at the home of Edmund Webster, at Franklin Forks, Saturday. A good time was reported. The next reunion meets at the home of John Webster, at Sanataria Springs, N.Y.
Starrucca, Wayne Co. - The schools and churches here have been closed by the Board of Health on account of an epidemic of Diphtheria.
Glenwood – Freeman Tingley was busily engaged here last week filling silos. Tingley has the best machine on the creek this year and the farmers were very much pleased with his work. Come again next year, Freeman.
Oakley – Work for an up-to-date modern barn has been begun on the Jeffers farm to replace the one that was struck by lightning and burned this summer. Alonzo Pickering is doing the carpenter work.
Forest City – To the People of Forest City: I understand that a committee of ladies has been soliciting funds to be presented to me for the purpose of taking a trip to Mt. Alto for my health. I do not feel the need of outside assistance at this time and have requested the committee to return the money to those who have contributed. I wish, however, to thank those who have been so kind as to contribute for their good intentions. Mrs. William Forrest.
Lenox – Miss Blanche Hoppe has returned to Springfield, N. J., where she will teach school.
Forest Lake – The Kane school has opened after being closed for some time, with Mary Heavey as teacher.
East Kingsley – Measles are playing sad havoc with the graded school, as so many of the scholars were sick and only one of the corps of five teachers had ever had them. Nearly every home is under quarantine. In Ainey, Springville Twp., Eddie Millard has his house fumigated after the measles and last Monday his three boys started to school.
Tunkhannock – Accidents marred the Tunkhannock fair on Thursday of last week, although there were 8,000 people and some 1,200 autos on the grounds. The biplane failed to ascend high enough to clear the carriages nearby resulting in its crashing into one and demolishing it, as well as putting the machine out of business, and also painfully injured Reba Miller, daughter of Stark Miller, of Lynn. The child was picked up, unconscious, but was not seriously hurt. Dust on the track also caused two racing automobiles to run foul of each other and one of the machines crashed through a fence. No one was injured, but the races were called off.
Dimock – The board of managers of the Dimock Campmeeting Association has voted to offer several different cottages upon the grounds which have apparently been abandoned by the people who erected them, and which are becoming dangerous nuisances upon the premises, at a public sale to be held upon the grounds of the Campmeeting Association on Saturday, Sept. 25, 1914.
Brooklyn – M. W. Stephens, of Scranton, as attorney for Glenn Richardson, has begun suit against the township of Brooklyn and also against the Lackawanna Railroad for damages for injuries sustained when he and his horse went over the side of the road near Alford to the tracks of the railroad below, a distance of 50 feet. In the suit no amount is asked for, pending the result of the accident. As contractor McManus took over the road and changed it without order from court or consent of the supervisors, and the township has not accepted the new road, it is held they are not liable, or if they are liable to Richardson, then they may recover from the company.
Montrose – Owing to the advance in barbers’ supplies and also the high cost of living, and the European war causing a lack of customers, we, the union barbers of Montrose, have agreed upon the following prices, to go into effect Oct. 1: Shave, 15c; haircut, 25c; massage, 35c; razor honing and axe grinding, 35c; plain shampoo, 25c; oil shampoo, 50c; hair tonic, 15c; mustache trim, 5c; singe, 25c. Also Myron Grubham, of the U. S. submarine boat E2, is spending a 24 day furlough at his home in this place and with his mother at Corbettsville, N.Y.
Lanesboro – An attempt was made to wreck an Erie express train on Thursday night of last week near the iron bridge. The attempt was frustrated by Joseph Callahan, who was walking the track at about 11:30 and noticed a flash of light and two men working at the rails. When he approached the men ran away and he found a heavy chain attached to several heavy pieces of iron, which they evidently planned to tie to the rails. He notified the operator at the Lanesboro tower and a warning was sent out, resulting in precautions being taken to prevent a wreck. The express car contained valuables that would have meant a “good haul.”
News Brief: Hunters this year must wear the white tags issued from the State Game Dept. or render themselves liable to arrest. Last year the tags were on buff cloth and it is said that some hunters, to evade paying the $1 this year, are going to use the same old tag, but the game wardens have been charged to keep a sharp lookout and any hunter caught wearing last year’s buff tag will be arrested on sight. Thus far every county treasurer in the State has been furnished with a full complement of license tags, and all who apply will be served. The hunting season is on now for some birds, but within the next four weeks the season will be open for a number of birds.
A few weeks ago, I voiced opposition to teaching methods that potentially created moral equivalents that did not exist. The example I used was a question that originated from teaching materials composed by a Common Core educator: “Was George Washington any different from Palestinian terrorists trying to protect their country?” I went into a rant about the idiocy of such a question – and expressed fears that the question itself could instill in some students the belief that Washington shared the traits of a Palestinian terrorist.
I had a friend call me out – he suggested that there was nothing wrong with the question so long as the students get to the write conclusion, i.e., there is no rational way to compare Washington to a Palestinian terrorist. My friend suggested that this exercise would allow children to engage in critical thinking to come to the conclusion that Washington was a great leader and a passionate defender of liberty and that there was nothing remotely connecting him to terrorist activities. I conceded in an intellectual vacuum that his point was correct: students should come to the inescapable conclusion that Washington had nothing in common whatsoever with a Palestinian terrorist. After all, we want our kids to actually think – not simply engage in rote recital of memorized facts, right? And I have written here in the past just how important critical thinking tools are, so intellectually challenging questions should be encouraged.
After our conversation, my thoughts continued to linger on whether this was a proper teaching tool – and what had caused me to have such an initial strong reaction to the question itself. In the end, I realized what bothered me the most about it – the wording of the question. In the legal world where I live, a properly worded question will often “lead” the examined party into the desired response. There are some questions that are plainly “leading,” and objectionable, but there is a whole other sphere of questions that “suggest” the answer subtly.
When you deal with children, there is a case law that’s really cautions against “suggestive” questioning – it “taints” the child as a witness because of the tendency for children to answer questions in a way they believe that an authority figure wants them to respond – not necessarily with the facts of what happened. If you look at the proposed question, there is undoubtedly a suggestive nature to it. First, the question asks if Washington was “any different” from a Palestinian terrorist. Second, the question uses sympathetic language to describe violent acts of terrorism as simply “trying to protect their country.” The question suggests that the terrorists are “trying to protect their country” thereby placing a moral justification to acts of terrorism, and relate that alleged patriotism back to George Washington and the Continental Army.
If the question were going to be neutral – not suggestive – then it would have simply read “Explain the differences between George Washington and a Palestinian terrorist.” Even this question is absurd – as it suggests that there is some moral equivalent between the two – but some differences as well – but a student could critically define what the differences are without fear that the teacher did not believe any differences existed or that terrorists were simply protecting their country.
My friend was right to some degree – and he said I did exactly what he would expect a student to do – recognize the absurdity of the question and eviscerate it. From my perspective, here is the bigger question: why even compare Washington to a terrorist in the first place? It is bizarre – especially when the wording and suggestive nature of the question has the potential for “tainting” the child’s perception of George Washington – who is universally judged by historians to be our greatest President. Is there really any educational value in such a question?
I was not going to write about this again – until I saw another news report about a 6th grade English teacher who gave his students the following assignment: “Now that we have read about two men of power who abused their power in various ways, we will compare and contrast them and their actions. Please refer to your texts ‘Fighting Hitler – A Holocaust Story’ and ‘Bush: Iraq War Justified Despite No WMD’ to compare and contrast former President George W. Bush with Hitler.”
There is so much wrong there – it is hard to even begin to address it – but again the question suggests (tells) the kids that Bush and Hitler are similar and comparable. A diligent parent objected and, to their credit, when the school administrators learned about this “English” assignment, they reacted quickly and issued a statement noting that the teacher exercised “extremely poor judgment and short sightedness” and that the teacher “deeply regrets this mistake.” I bet he is sorry . . . that he got caught before he could complete his propaganda exercise. And therein lies the dark underbelly of this problem – let’s just educate, not indoctrinate.
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 question of Co-pays
Jim’s doctor prescribed him a medication for diabetes that Jim thinks his insurance pays very little on. He tells the pharmacist that the co-payment - $50 – for the medication he needs is too high. “I don’t get why I am paying for insurance if I have to pay for my medicines,” says Jim.
A co-payment, or co-pay, is the price you pay when you visit the doctor or get a prescription filled to share with your insurance company the costs of your healthcare. Co-pays vary by policy, and can change if you see a specialist instead of your primary doctor, or seek treatment out of your provider's network. Prescription drug co-pays can increase for specialty medicines, and decrease for generic drugs. However, to encourage healthy behavior, many insurers waive co-pays for preventive care, such as certain vaccines and tobacco cessation products.
Let's say Jim goes to the doctor with a case of bronchitis. His doctor charges $25 as a co-pay for the visit. When Jim subsequently takes the prescription for his bronchitis medicine to the pharmacy, he will pay $5 as a co-pay to the pharmacy. His total out-of-pocket costs are $30, and his insurance company will reimburse the pharmacy and the doctor for the difference between the co-pay and the cost of treatment.
In the case of his diabetes medication, for which he has a $50 co-pay, the pharmacist informs him that the drug actually costs $1,100 and that the insurance paid for 95% of it. Even so, many people cannot afford a $50 co-pay each month. If this is the case, ask the doctor if there is a more economical medication for the disease or condition. Because doctors may not have a clue what the medication costs, go to the pharmacy and have the prescription run through your insurance. If the co-pay is too high, ask the pharmacist for alternative medications. Often, the pharmacist is only too happy to call your doctor and request a change. And the pharmacist can reverse the more expensive medication right there on his computer. You don’t have to pay for the more expensive medicine plus the cheaper version. Incidentally, co-pays generally do not vary from pharmacy to pharmacy – so don’t bother shopping around for lower co-pays. Again, your insurance company – not the pharmacy – dictates what your co-pay will be.
Bottom line: do not be reluctant to speak up and tell your doctor you cannot afford a medication. In some cases, a switch can be made. However, the more expensive drug may be necessary to save your life.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him at ron@rx-press.com.
