Brooklyn – Hundreds of friends throughout the county will be greatly grieved to read that E. L. Weston, one of Brooklyn’s prominent and highly respected citizens, died this morning, Oct. 8, 1914, following an illness of pneumonia, which he contracted about a week ago. His age was 59 years. The deceased was a man of sturdy constitution, fine moral character and a mind of unusual resourcefulness and versatility, and will be greatly missed in the community. In addition to operating a large farm, he was a skilled surveyor, his duties taking him all over the county. He was the son of late E. A. Weston, a noted educator, and author of the History of Brooklyn, Pa.

Hopbottom – Miss Maude Willis, the popular dramatic entertainer, who has delighted Hopbottom audiences for two seasons past, will make her third visit here on Thursday evening, Oct, 15, when she will present her latest drama, “In The Vanguard.” The entertainment will be given in the M. E. church under the management of the Lyceum entertainment course committee. There will be a series of entertainments to be given during the winter months but Miss Willis has been secured as a special number in response to the general desire of those who have heard her previous entertainments to hear one more.

Harford – Mrs. Kate Thatcher, who has been visiting relatives and friends in this place, returned to her home in Michigan. Mrs. Thatcher is in her 90th year. Very few women of that age could make such a trip.

News Brief: The world’s series of baseball games will be received by special wire at H. A. Patrick’s cigar store, every afternoon, during the progress of the games. Baseball fans can learn every play made almost as quickly as though on the bleachers. The first two games will be played in Philadelphia, October 9 and 10. The third and fourth will be played in Boston.

Montrose – Prof. Edward Halsey, of Philadelphia, has been visiting in town this week. Mr. Halsey is listed among the best church organists in Philadelphia and whenever he comes to his former home, the worshippers at St. Paul’s church usually receive a rare musical treat. Also Mrs. Maxwell Chapman, Chairman of the 3rd Division, will address a suffragette meeting in the Library Building, Friday evening, Oct. 9. The ladies of Montrose and vicinity are most cordially invited to attend this meeting and hear this noted speaker on women suffrage.

Rush – Prof. Dayton was operated upon, last Thursday, at Binghamton. His cheek bone was replaced and he is getting along nicely. Also work was started on the basement of the M. E. church Friday, when the building was raised.

Gibson – Dr. Frank C. Hill returned to Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, to take up his senior year. His sister, Josie, accompanied him and entered Jefferson Hospital, where she underwent a successful operation for chronic appendicitis. Her many friends will be pleased to know that she is doing well. Also C. W. Lewis has purchased the hotel site at South Gibson and will erect an up-to-date hotel. Building operations will begin at once.

Birchardville - James Strange, a member of Co. H. 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry, dropped dead here, just as he was to start for Montrose to take the train for the Hampton Soldiers’ Home, in Virginia, where he had planned to spend the winter. His age was 81 years.

Dimock – The leaves are beginning to fall, which reminds us that we are nearing another cold and long winter. Are we ready for the change?

Choconut – The great popularity of the dances at Choconut Valley Inn, with the young people, is attested by the fact that the last hop given by McCahill Bros. was attended by over 300 people. The date of the next dance is Monday evening, Oct. 12.

Apolacon – Jerome H. Ryan, of Sloan, Erie Co., N. Y., has been visiting his brother, James, of Apolacon, and visited Montrose. Friday, the first visit here in 35 years. Mr. Ryan conducts a large sand and gravel business, his works being within one-half mile of the city line of Buffalo, which city is a large user of his products.

Susquehanna – At the Binghamton Fair, Saturday, the Susquehanna band captured a prize of $75. The prize was awarded the band for the number of men in line, appearance and the excellence of the music they discoursed.

Lymanville – An accident, which might easily have resulted far more seriously than it did, occurred at the home of P. H. Lyman, near here, on Monday. Mrs. Lyman was engaged in doing the weekly wash when, by mistake, some gasoline was placed on the stove to heat, instead of water. As soon as Mrs. Lyman discovered the error she grabbed the stuff and started to carry it out, but not in time to prevent it taking fire. She was quite badly, though not dangerously, burned about the face and arms.

She is able to be about the house as usual.

South Auburn – There is a feeling of deep sadness in this community owning to sickness and death in our neighbor’s home. The death of Mrs. P. N. Bennigar [Benninger] occurred Tuesday forenoon about four hours after the death of her little son, Grant, and just at sunset Thursday evening, Frank, the oldest son, aged 19, was taken. Interment was made in South Auburn cemetery. No public funeral was held owing to the nature of the disease, diphtheria. Two other members of the family, baby Foster and Grace, aged 7 years are stricken, but their recovery is hoped for.

Forest City – On the first of the month John Franko sold the Forest House barber shop to Leo Scully. Mr. Franko will open a shop in the Piatkowski building in the near future.

Thompson – One of the greatest improvements on Upper Main street, for a long time, is the felling down and clearing away some of the lofty maples and other trees belonging to C. M. Lewis, which throws light into many of the homes and makes a healthier atmosphere. Everyone is praising Charley for the good work he is doing.

I have only a vague recollection of my college graduation commencement address back in May of 1993.  I do remember the speaker – which I guess is something – it was actor Paul Sorvino, who had just had a major movie hit with “Goodfellas” a few years prior to the graduation ceremony.  Unfortunately, I do not remember much about Mr. Sorvino’s speech itself – not because I did not pay attention – I think I did – but I remember not feeling any real connection with his message.

In the hopes of reconnecting with the past, I did a quick Google search to see if I could find the commencement address itself – and I found nothing, except a brief blog from another classmate (Matthew Davidson) who had this to say: “I remember that actor Paul Sorvino offered the commencement address at my graduation from the University of Scranton, but I remember not one word or idea from the actual address.”  While I do not remember Mr. Davidson from my college days either, it is also good to know that I was not alone in lacking any lasting memory of our graduation commencement address.  As did Mr. Davidson’s blog, I will apologize to Mr. Sorvino for my poor memory.  Mr. Davidson indicated that he questioned a lot of people about their commencement addresses and the general reaction was the same – no memory of the content of the address.  It seems that non-recollection is the nature of the beast – which makes it an odd tradition to actually make someone take the time to prepare and deliver remarks that most people promptly forget – even if they bothered to listen in the first place.

Assuming that you have managed to get to this point – you are likely wondering whether I have a point to these ramblings.  Well, I do and thanks for sticking with me.  A fellow district attorney sent me a news report that Goddard College in Vermont had selected Mumia Abu-Jamal to be a commencement speaker at one of its graduation ceremonies.  Well, more appropriately, the graduating students apparently voted to have Abu-Jamal give a commencement address at their commencement ceremony.  This little college holds 20 commencement ceremonies each year – and allows the students in each degree program to vote on their own personal commencement speaker.  A small group of graduates voted to have Mumia Abu-Jamal provide them with words of wisdom as they enter into the real world.  Goddard College President Bob Kenny provided commented upon their selection: “Choosing Mumia as their commencement speaker, to me, shows how this newest group of Goddard graduates expresses their freedom to engage and think radically and critically in a world that often sets up barriers to do just that.”

For those who have never heard of Mumia Abu-Jamal, he was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for murdering Daniel Faulkner, a Philadelphia police officer.  Abu-Jamal’s legal challenges to his conviction have turned him into something of a celebrity despite the fact that the validity of his conviction has been upheld by every court who has considered it – although his death sentence has been reduced to life without parole.  Because Abu-Jamal cannot come to the campus, his address was recorded by Prison Radio at a state correctional facility and will be sent to Goddard College.

As one reporter quipped upon hearing the news, “Did the school run out of potential speakers who weren’t jailed for murder of a public servant?”  As it turns out, Abu-Jamal has actually delivered two other commencement addresses – in 1999 to Evergreen State College graduates and 2000 to Antioch College graduates.  So, this is not the first time that a school has selected – for whatever reason – a convicted cop-killer to provide words of wisdom and encouragement to their graduates.  Over a decade ago, the public outrage over Abu-Jamal’s selection to be a commencement speaker apparently convinced other schools from following suit, but now the students themselves have decided to select him – and the College Administration is thrilled that the kids are “thinking radically and critically” about the world.  While I would agree that we should seek to create “critical” thinkers – I am not sure why they would be proud of creating “radical” thinkers.

At the University of Scranton, We were not provided the opportunity to “vote” on a commencement speaker – but I would like to think that my fellow students would not have selected a convicted murderer.  I just don’t think that we were taught to be that “radical.”  Perhaps, my Jesuit education missed the boat in terms of “radicalizing” me. 

As I was reading about Abu-Jamal, my mind jumped to the student protests at Rutgers University this spring when Condoleezza Rice was selected to be a commencement speaker and the students (with the prompting of faculty) marching about the campus calling her a “war criminal.”  Rice ended up declining to speak as she did not want to have commencement disrupted by her appearance.  I guess this is another example of how schools are teaching kids to think “radically.”  This new “radical” way of “thinking” embraces a cop-killer while disparaging a respected, accomplished woman who served her country with distinction during a very difficult time.  The world is truly turning itself upside down.

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/.

Are over-the-counter pain pills totally safe?

You see lots of TV ads plugging pain medications for arthritis, back aches, and headaches. These are called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – or NSAIDs – and include low-dose products such as Advil and Motrin (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen), and Tylenol (acetaminophen), as well as many cough, cold and flu products that contain these drugs mixed in with other symptom relievers. They are over-the-counter (OTC) and are accessible without a prescription. However, they are also available behind the counter in higher doses and/or combined with a narcotic.

So, because these are OTC, the assumption is that they are safe to consume liberally. Not so. They can, over time, chew up your vital organs, particularly the stomach, liver, heart, and kidneys. Gastrointestinal side effects from these drugs are obvious because you know if you have a tummy ache, gas, diarrhea, constipation, or heartburn. This is why they should be taken with food. But the heart, liver and kidney damage is not noticeable – at least not right away.

Consequently, the FDA, which ensures that medications are safe and effective for human consumption, has placed stern warnings on the package inserts of these drugs, alerting the consumer about their hazards. Specifically, they inform the patient that NSAIDs can cause stroke, heart attacks, fatal skin reactions, plus result in worsening of asthma, liver failure, blood disorders such as anemia and clotting problems, stomach bleeding, and kidney failure. These hazards increase with age, daily dosage, and length of time taking the medication. Very recent evidence published in the journal Rheumatology has shown that people who regularly take NSAIDs double their risk for cardiovascular problems such as venous thromboembolism (VTE) deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Not only do they result in symptoms such as leg swelling and paralysis, but also are often overlooked and can result in death.

What to do? Ask your pharmacist whether you may be at risk for any of the above. He or she can counsel you and also determine whether any prescription medications you are on can heighten your chances of injuring your internal organs. Also, use according to the instructions on the drug label. Do not take any more than what the manufacturer recommends. Popping a pill whenever you get a twinge of pain can be dangerous. Instead, look into other ways to stop pain such as ice for headaches and joint pain, exercise, even if it means walking around the block once a day, and lose weight which may be putting undue pressure on your joints. Of course, this is entirely up to you and whether you want to retain your independence, improve your quality of life, and extend your years so that you can dance at your grandchild’s wedding.

Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him at ron@rx-press.com.