Forest City/Friendsville – Thomas P. McCormick, postmaster elect of Forest City, will make a worthy successor to F. F. Gelder, editor of the “News” who has served in this capacity and in a very satisfactory manner, for the past eight years. Mr. McCormick’s appointment gives entire satisfaction, not only to the local Democrats, but the general public as well. Mr. McCormick was born in Silver Lake township, Aug. 13, 1866. Completing his studies in the high school in his native township, he taught school there for six years and in 1891 removed to Forest City where he embarked in the mercantile business with J. T. Brady, under the firm name of Brady & McCormick. In less than one year Mr. Brady’s interests were purchased by Joseph McCormick and the brothers still conduct the business very successfully. Mr. McCormick has served as a member of the borough council and is now serving his 16th consecutive year as a member of the school board. In 1908 he was a delegate to the national Democratic convention at St. Louis. At this time 7,000 persons receive their mail through the Forest City postoffice in addition to two rural routes.
Lawsville – The revival meetings conducted by Rev. Honeyman are being very well attended with unusual interest shown. Many travel long distances to attend the meetings. A large number have accepted Christ. Friday Rev. Honeyman will give a lecture on New York slum and rescue work and Saturday will give “Showing to the Wind”—an anti-booze sermon.
Lynn, Springville Twp. – People that have sugar camps are getting in readiness for a good run of sap in the near future. Miner Avery has already made five gallons for a starter. ALSO Some different weather than the first of March last year when the snow was piled from ten to fifteen feet in depth all over the county.
Jackson – The members of the Odd Fellows Lodge wish to thank the Jackson Dramatic Society for their services in presenting the drama “A Noble Outcast” at the opening of their new hall last Friday evening. Also, Pierce’s orchestra, for their excellent music and the public, for their liberal patronage. The play, with new specialties, will be repeated in the near future.
Susquehanna – Chas. O’Malley, a student of [St.] Bonaventure College, Allegheny, N. Y., is called here by the serious illness of his mother, Mrs. M. J. O’Malley. ALSO Evangelist Crabill is drawing large crowds to the Tabernacle every night. He and his assistants are located at the Hotel Oakland.
Hop Bottom – Miss Mary L. Dawes and Joseph Rockwell were quietly married at the M. E. Parsonage, Wednesday, Feb. 17, by Rev. P. N. Taylor.
Bridgewater Twp. – A year ago this week, the first week in March, there was a fierce blizzard on, the L & M train being snowed in from Sunday night till Thursday morning. ALSO Guy Angle, who is employed with the Dr. .Kilmer [Medicine] Co., of Binghamton, in a letter home, says he has canvassed the territory of Louisiana and is now in Missouri with fine warm weather. Does not see how we can winter in the north, although is pleased that he is coming north.
Montrose – Charles R. Sayre, of Rosemont Inn, says there are twice as many applications from persons wishing to come to Montrose this summer, as in any previous year. He thinks the town will be crowded.
Glenwood – In spite of the thaw, Lambert Bennett succeeded in filling his ice house and has it nicely preserved with saw dust. And, in the meantime, he is busily cutting his summer wood.
Uniondale – Our Postmaster has a cat 16 years old that weighs 10½ pounds. He has been in Uncle Sam’s employ for thirteen years. Every day you will find him at his post of duty, sitting on the desk, watching the distribution of the mail; he varies the monotony of the occasion several times a day by sitting on the scales to be weighed. He thinks if President Wilson does not consign him to the scrap heap he is good for another term. ALSO Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Orce, of Uniondale, are making a special effort to give their town, now “dry,” good hotel accommodations. They are renovating the Basham property and will soon open the place to the public, with new furniture throughout, and will make the place an up-to-date establishment. An auto, purchased from postmaster McMahon, of Susquehanna, will be used in conveying his patrons to nearby towns.
Hallstead – H. A Clark has returned from an extended business trip to the island of Cuba, where he went to look over the properties of the Cuban Fruit Company, by whom he is employed.
Clifford – Our sugar makers are making ready for the next warm spell. Andrew Miller has our tinsmith, L. E. Taylor, employed making a new sap pan for boiling sap and Emery Greene has laid in a large supply of pails for syrup, which he finds more profitable than making sugar. ALSO A petition was circulated here a few days ago for a State road from this place to Archbald through Scott township via the nearest route. Should we get this road it would make a more direct route to Scranton. However, should the State take no better care of this road than it has of the other roads in this vicinity, better leave it as it is.
Rush – On Thursday evening, March 18, the Philathea class of the Rush M. E. church will present two sketches. They are entitled “Married to a Suffragette” and “Not a Man in the House.” The evening promises to be a treat.
Springville – There died at Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5th, 1915, Romine P. Scott, in the 77th year of his age. Mr. Scott was a son of the late Ira Scott, for a long time merchant and postmaster here, where he was born and spent his early years. But the stirring days of ’61 called him to “follow the flag,” and he was among the first to heed the President’s call and enlist.
The hardships and privations of army life wrecked his health and he was honorably discharged before his enlistment term expired. In 1866 he removed to Delaware and a few years later to Washington. The funeral on the 7th was in charge of the G. A. R., and he was buried at beautiful Arlington with full military honors. [Romine P. Scott was a member of Co. E, Ninth Cavalry, mustered into service Oct. 17, 1861 and was discharged on surgical certificate Oct. 20, 1862].
Auburn – The Auburn High school teachers and young people will give the entertainment, “The Time of His Life,” at West Auburn on Saturday evening, March 6. Just a glance at the names of those taking part will make everyone desire to hear it. Teachers—Principal L. M. Payne, Misses Susie Swackhamer, Dessie Carter and Bessie Shannon. Others assisting—Kenneth Corey, Byron Tewksbury, Harold Corey, Vernon Haines and Arleigh Reynolds. Adm. 25 and 15 cents. Come out and encourage these worthy young people.
There was a great deal of media attention to Governor Wolf’s “moratorium” on the imposition of the death penalty in Pennsylvania. What has not received as much attention is the response from the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association to the “moratorium.” R. Seth Williams, the District Attorney of Philadelphia County, filed a “King’s Bench Petition” directly with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court in response to the Governor’s “moratorium.” District Attorney Williams was the prosecutor with the first case impacted by the “moratorium,” namely the execution of Terrance Williams, which had been scheduled for March 4, 2015.
Terrance Williams was convicted of robbing and beating a man to death with a tire iron in 1984. Although Williams was only 18 years of age at the time of the homicide, he already had a prior homicide conviction in addition to other violent felonies in his past record. The second homicide was an aggravating factor that permitted the imposition of the death penalty. After hearing all the evidence, the jury convicted him of first degree murder and imposed the death penalty. For three decades, the legality of his death sentence was litigated – and was affirmed by both state and federal courts. When an execution date was finally set, Governor Wolf issued his “moratorium,” which would purportedly postpone the execution date. The Governor contended that the “moratorium” was a constitutionally permissible exercise of his executive power to grant a reprieve of executions.
A King’s Bench Petition is a direct appeal to the Supreme Court to use its inherent judicial power in some unique matter including reviewing the constitutionality of acts of other branches of government, and it may be utilized in emergency situations where no other prompt and dispositive review is available prior to a specific date. Because there was no other means to seek final review of the Governor’s “moratorium” prior to the scheduled execution date, the Commonwealth proceeded directly to the Supreme Court to attempt to strike down the Governor’s “moratorium.”
The Commonwealth argued that Governor Wolf’s “moratorium” is an unlawful reprieve outside his constitutional authority. While a governor has the ability to grant a reprieve, the case law suggests that a reprieve may only be granted to allow a defendant the time to address an issue in a pending legal proceeding. In a previous litigation against Governor Casey, the Superior Court specifically noted that a reprieve cannot be opened ended and unlimited in nature. Governor Wolf contends that the reprieve is necessary to allow for the completion of a legislative task force report on the death penalty and “any recommendations contained therein are satisfactorily addressed.”
Given that a reprieve must be limited in scope for purposes of allowing a defendant to pursue some legal remedy, the Commonwealth requested a judicial declaration from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that a blanket “moratorium” on the death penalty exceeds the Governor’s constitutional authority. In particular, the Commonwealth posited the following argument: “In law and reality, therefore, the Governor seeks to nullify valid, final judgments of sentence in usurpation of the judicial function, and seeks to subject the law governing capital sentencing to the test of his personal standard of satisfaction, which in this instance happens to be a test of infallibility that is impossible for mere mortals to satisfy. This is not permissible in a government that is founded on the principle that the people are to be ruled by laws enacted by their representatives in the legislative process, and not the personal whims of a king or dictator. The constitutional role of the Governor is to execute the law, not sabotage it.”
It is hard to imagine stronger words. This is not a political battle either – District Attorney Williams is a Democrat just as is Governor Wolf. This issue transcends political parties and politics – and ultimately transcends personal opinions on the death penalty itself. It is a constitutional question regarding the scope of executive authority and power under the Pennsylvania Constitution. There is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will even consider the King’s Bench Petition – it is a rare occurrence – and the Court could simply decline to intervene at this time and let the parties battle the constitutional question out in the lower courts. On the other hand, if the Court decides to consider the issue, then the result will be very interesting regardless of which way it comes out.
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/.
I found pills in my son’s room. Now what?
Roy came into the pharmacy and was obviously upset. “Look what I found in my son’s room,” Roy said to the pharmacist. “What are these pills?” The pharmacist took the three capsules and used her knowledge and expertise to identify them. She told Roy that one was a prescription anti-nausea medicine and the other two were prescription anti-histamines. What the 15-year old boy was doing with them seemed unclear. The pharmacist explained to Roy that even though the pills were not narcotics or even a controlled substance, the reason why his son had them should be explored. Most mental health care providers agree that the child should be confronted in a calm manner, with both parents taking a firm stand and a united front to impress upon the child that pills are dangerous. Keep in mind that the child may not understand what medications are used for and why. But that does not make them any less dangerous. However, if the pills were narcotics, the conversation should be stepped up to reveal the person who gave the child the drugs.
Drug use in children is an alarming problem. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 220,000 children between the ages of 12 and 17 experiment with pills each day. Thus, parents should educate themselves as to the ramifications of adolescent drug experimentation. Upon finding loose medications in your child’s room – those that are not in a prescription vial – you can call your pharmacy for more help. Or Google “pill identifier” and you will see a number of medication identification websites. Once there, you can enter the shape and color of the medication. The most important clue would be any imprints on the pill itself. Manufacturers use many different symbols on their products. Yet, while there are thousands of round white pills, for example, only one would have an imprint such as M35 or 347. Knowing the imprint would identify the pill very quickly. If the situation is more complex, you can make a call to the local drug hotline and speak with someone who can tell you what to do and where to go for more help and information.
Roy was relieved that the pills he found in his son’s room were not narcotics. Yet, they were prescription drugs stolen from someone’s prescription bottle and signaled that his son was experimenting. Should Roy’s son be punished? Every household should be built on a foundation of order, respect and discipline. Thus, to discipline the boy, Roy took away some of his liberties: cell phone, computer, and TV. This child needs to understand that just as the parents can take away certain privileges, the authorities can take away his freedom for a long time. Should the authorities be contacted in this case? If they were not narcotics or controlled substances, then no. However, the school should be informed that Roy’s son was given pills by a classmate, who may be supplying others with pills that are more dangerous. If the pills were determined to be a controlled substance, both the school and the police should be notified. In Roy’s case, his son was grounded for a month, and phone and Internet access was reinstated based on good behavior (and good grades). Also, although children have a right to privacy, in this situation, regularly going through the child’s room would be prudent. Roy was glad to have spoken with the pharmacist and felt that he had passed another milestone in being a parent.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him at ron@rx-press.com.
