Hop Bottom – The death of Elijah C. Tingley, postmaster, and one of the county’s highly esteemed citizens, occurred at his late home, Thursday, Nov. 20, following a brief illness of erysipelas, and other complications. His age was about 65 years. His wife died a few years ago. Although a man of quiet demeanor, he united sound sense with his convictions, was candid and outspoken for the right when occasion demanded, and personally established a high standard of citizenship for the citizens of his community. Also Miss Candace Brown, assistant principal of the Dalton High School, spent the Thanksgiving vacation at her home in this place.
Springville – Friends of Stuart Riley are showering him with congratulations on his appointment as postmaster here. Mr. Riley was for many years one of the leading merchants of Springville and with his business experience, ability, and courteous manner, will give the patrons of the office a splendid administrations. He succeeds Stephen Tuttle, whose health is very poor.
The office will be located in Mr. Riley’s home, with large rooms specially fitted up, having furnace heat, gas lights, etc.
Little Meadows – Joseph Hynes and P. McNamara were in Owego last week repairing their auto.
Hallstead – After having spent more than four months in the heart of the war zone, Mrs. Adelaide Clune, of this place, has reached this country in safety. With her were her two grandsons, Charles Melvin, aged 19, and Melvin McTighe, aged 20, of Atlantic City. All three were in Suxi, near Neuf Chateau, two miles from the line of actual battle. For weeks they were deafened by the constant roar of artillery and sickened by the sight of dying and wounded soldiers brought into the little town. The two boys declare that they saw five German soldiers killed by their comrades by the order of the commander. The men, exhausted and unable to march further, were lined up and shot, they assert. Mrs. Clune asserts that Americans in the war zone are treated with the utmost respect by all belligerents. The German forces were extremely kind. Mrs. Clune, despite her age, bore up remarkably under the strain and suffered no ill effects. She was born in Belgium and has returned to her native home nearly every summer. When she arrived in New York on the Cunard liner, Transylvania, and was met at the docks by her sons, John Clune, of Hallstead and Frank Clune, of Carbondale, she was already planning for next year. “I’m going right back next summer,” she protested to John. “I guess, mother, you’ll stay right here at home,” was the reply. “You’ve started one war already.” Mrs. Clune sailed from New York, on the Lusitania, June 22.
Gibson – Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Sweet celebrated the 60th anniversary of their marriage on November 23, and entertained their four sons and their wives, C. A. and E. H. Sweet and wives of Binghamton, E. A. Sweet of Union, N. Y. and I. A. Sweet and wife of this place. Also rumor has it that a black bear is roaming about this vicinity; his tracks having been seen by hunters in the mud around the swamps and where he has been rooting for beachnuts. Who is going to be the hunter to get him?
Uniondale – The game supper at G. W. Bayless’ was a success financially and socially and a good time generally. One hundred and fifteen dined on venison, chicken and rabbit. Music and singing were also enjoyed.
Susquehanna – The water conditions here are something terrible. The State certainly ought to take hold of it. Also Frank Cross, the man who was found crouched under a stairway at the Susquehanna postoffice by Chief of Police McMahon, on the night of July 31st, just after the postoffice window was broken, has been taken to the Western penitentiary, at Pittsburgh, where he will serve three years for attempted postoffice robbery. Cross has a criminal record, having served time for a postoffice robbery in For Leavenworth, Kansas and in other prisons. He escaped jail sentences three times by insanity pleas, being sent to insane asylums each time. He always recovered in a month or two, when placed in an asylum.
Forest Lake – The Forest Lake Women’s Christian Temperance Union met at Mrs. A. S. Horton’s, Dec. 1st. Received one new member and planned work that would keep a regiment busy. Members had better take notice. Also James Broderick is furnishing wood for the Warner School.
Harford – The ladies of the M. E. church are getting ready for their church Fair to be held sometime this month. This fair is not confined to the Ladies Aid, but the whole church, or anyone that would like to contribute. The men are asked to help with products of the farm; in fact, anything salable will be thankfully received.
Lawsville – Archie Southworth went to Washington state a few weeks ago and returned, last Saturday, with a bride. They brought with them some fine specimens of apples from the apple show which they attended while there. A few specimens found their way to Thompson when his daughter, Miss Gertrude Southworth, returned to her school. They were of the variety known as the Delicious apple and rightly named they were.
Middletown Twp. – The entertainment and box social given by the pupils of Biglan school, last Friday evening, was largely attended. The proceeds are to go for the improvement of the school.
Forest City – Dr. Grander says that the rumor of his gunning for rabbits. Thanksgiving, is false. He spent the day with his lame shoulder in the Emergency hospital, Carbondale.
Montrose – R. H. Donlin, proprietor of the Exchange Hotel, purchased a handsome, four-year old standard breed mare, combination driver and saddler, of Scranton parties, the first of the week. “Bob” is a lover of good horses and knows a good one when he sees it.
News Briefs: Binghamton now has a motor hearse, the first one ever in that city, having been recently purchased by one of the city’s undertakers. It is of 50 horse power. Also one of the steels in her corset probably saved the life of Miss Frances Coyle, a Pittston high school teacher, Monday. Miss Coyle was on her way to school when she heard the report of a pistol and then felt a stinging sensation in her back. The pain was intense, but she managed to keep up until she reached the school building. An examination revealed that a bullet, probably a twenty-two caliber, had passed through Miss Coyle’s coat and waist and struck the corset steel, bending the shield considerably and just grazing the flesh. The plucky young woman was able to continue her duties throughout the day, although suffering considerable pain. The authorities have not found the person who fired the rifle. ALSO Pennsylvania is taking measures to increase the efficiency for her national guard. It was announced today that regular army officers will begin an inspection of every unit of militia in the state on January 4, with special request to report the needs and deficiencies. In addition the artillery is to be increased by the location of a new field battery to be located at South Bethlehem, where an armory and drill ground of thirty acres are being provided. At the same time a field hospital will be mustered in at Tacony, Philadelphia.
Mary Evans, Susquehanna County Recorder of Deeds, has again brought to my attention that there are companies soliciting real property owners for purposes of acquiring “real estate property records.” I have written about this issue on two other occasions in the past 18 months – but given that Susquehanna County residents continue to receive these unwanted solicitations coupled with the confusion that these solicitations produce – I suspect that it is worth reprinting the previous warnings that we provided regarding these solicitations.
The correspondences are generally addressed to a property owner and suggest that the property owner acquire a copy of their “current grant deed” along with a “property profile.” The solicitation goes further to suggest that the property profile includes: (1) the property address; (2) owner’s name; (3) comparable values; (4) and legal description or parcel identification number. You can get all this amazing information for one easy payment of $83.00!
Let’s take a look at what you are really getting for your $83.00 payment. First, the company will get you a copy of your current deed – a strange use of words given that deeds do not change on their own and the current deed would be the same deed as when you purchased your property. Moreover, after purchasing your property, the Recorder’s Office mailed the original deed back to you for your records. In other words, a property owner already possesses the original deed to the property – why would a property owner need to get a copy of something that they already possess?
Well, perhaps a property owner has a filing system like mine and that property owner lost the deed. This is the reason that deeds are recorded – you are protected and can get a copy anytime from the Recorder’s Office. Even assuming that you have a very lengthy deed containing numerous pages, the Recorder’s Office can provide you with a certified copy of your deed for under $10. That is right – and the certified copy comes with a very pretty gold seal stamped and signed by the Recorder herself – or her designee. The $83 proposed solicitation does not even promise that the copy of the deed that you will get will be certified, i.e., no fancy gold seal on it confirming its authenticity. In other words, it does not make a lot of sense to pay $83 for a simple copy of the deed to your property.
As to the other items mentioned, you possess most of that information without paying the $83 for it. First, if you live at your property, then I suspect that you do not need the property’s address. In fact, the solicitation that the Recorder provided to me went to the deeded address. It would be a rare property owner indeed who did not know the address of their property. If you cannot remember it, the United States Postal Service will tell you for free – don’t bother paying $83 to find out your own address.
Second, I am not sure why you have to pay $83 to find out the “owner’s name.” I suspect a property owner knows his or her name – unless they have forgotten they own property or forgotten their name. Third, the legal description for the property is contained within the deed – and the parcel identification number can be obtained from the tax assessment office. If you can stand the anticipation, simply wait until your next tax bill comes – that will have the parcel number on it. No need to pay $83 bucks in addition to your property taxes!
Finally, the only thing that this service allegedly provides that arguably you would not have readily available to you by a simple visit to the courthouse – or a simple trip to your filing cabinet – would be the “comparable values” component. Frankly, I am not sure what you get for “comparable values,” and it might be worth $83 to you to satisfy that curiosity. On the other hand, the only time you really need this information is when you are considering selling your property – and your realtor will gladly provide that information to you as part of the service in helping you sell your property.
The problem with the solicitation that the Recorder provided to me is that is has the appearance of an official document – and makes it seem like you need to respond and do something to protect your property. You need to read it carefully in order to understand that it is simply a bunch of hooey. At the very end of the solicitation – in big bold letters – there is a concession that you can likely get a copy of your deed for a lot less money. I suspect that the service that created this solicitation were banking on many people simply responding quickly without getting to page two – and then they would have spent $83 largely for information they already possess or simply do not need. Be cautious!
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/.
Can pills be cut in half to make them last longer?
Diane, 66, was having a hard time paying for her three heart medications. When she went to the pharmacy to get refills on them, the pharmacist asked her if she was adherent to her medication regimen. She replied “Yes, I take them every day.” The pharmacist was confused and said that according to her drug profile, she should have gotten refills 3 weeks ago. Diane responded by saying “Oh, I cut them in half so they last longer.”
In recent years, more than one in five Americans age 50 and older has to cut down on their dosages or completely give up on their medication because the cost of their prescriptions is so high. Data from the 2009 Internet Survey of the Health and Retirement Study show that more than 20% of those aged 50 or older made prescription drug changes such as switching to cheaper generic drugs, discontinuing a medication because the doctor had no more free samples, stopping pills altogether, or reducing dosages. Those in poorer health sacrificed even more with 30% making prescription drug changes. Compared to other demographic groups, single women (23%) and blacks (25%) made the greatest number of prescription cost adjustments to save money.
By cutting pills in half or taking them on alternate days instead of daily means that the levels of drug in your blood are probably not going to be high enough for the drug to do its job. Your doctor might say, “So, why should I prescribe them to you if you are not going to take them correctly?” You can save money on your prescriptions. Websites for brand name drugs offer coupons and discount cards. Switching to a generic can be a sensible way to cut costs. Ask your pharmacist. Programs for specific medications are available through medicare.gov: type “pharmaceutical assistance program” into the search engine box. State assistance programs are also available in 21 states and the Virgin Islands. Go the medicare.gov and type in “State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs”. Medicare and Social Security have a program for people with limited income and resources that helps pay for prescription drugs. If you qualify, you could pay no more than $2.65 for each generic or $6.60 for each brand-name covered drug. Go to medicare.gov and type in “save on drug costs.”
Diane took the pharmacist’s advice and enrolled in several programs and she was happy with the reduction in costs and resumed taking her prescriptions as directed by her doctor.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him at ron@rx-press.com.
