Brooklyn – The first jitney car to pass over the State Road went south toward Scranton, Wednesday morning. It was a new car, painted yellow, and was in charge of the chauffeur and was capable of carrying about fifteen passengers. Also the first serious accident to occur on the Scranton & Binghamton trolley line happened Saturday afternoon. A large trolley pole, on which Charles Strickland was working, rolled from the platform and caught Mr. Strickland’s leg against the frozen bank of earth, crushing both bones in the left leg below the knee. While the men were looking after Mr. Strickland a pike-pole, which had been left standing against a nearby pole, fell and struck a member of the pole gang on the head and felled him to the ground, rendering him unconscious for some time and cutting a bad wound in his scalp. Dr. T. O. Williams was called and administered first aid treatment to both men and later they were sent to their homes in Nicholson, where both are doing well at this writing.
Forest City – Chief [of police] Jones and the Burgess recently adopted uniforms for the entire force, consisting of dark blue serge, with cap, belt and star, with the number of the officer on the star, ranking according to the years of service. The uniforms will be provided without cost to the tax payers by money raised through a contest instituted by awarding a golden star to the member of the force securing the largest amount of votes. A lively hustle ensued over this contest and the prized star was won by Joe Cost, who has been an efficient officer on the force for the past seven years. Joe now proudly wears the golden badge presented by Chief Jones for turning in the most cash for the new uniforms, given by Joe’s many friends and admirers.
Rush – The seventh annual commencement of the Rush High school will be held Friday evening, with a program in which a few of the graduates will participate. Bernice L. Ainey will give an oration on “The Flag;” Russell S. Dayton will give an oration on “The Panama Canal;” another oration “From Hope to Hope” will be given by Mildred Stockholm and the final oration, by Harold A. Dayton, “Qualifications of a Self-Governed People.” The president of the class, Russell Dayton, will also speak before the awarding of diplomas. Also Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Devine have taken charge of the [Rush-Auburn] poor house.
Meshoppen – The Meshoppen ferry was put into operation last week. The boat has been rebuilt for the summer’s work.
Montrose – Two or three new cases of scarlet fever having developed, the schools in Montrose were closed this week. It being deemed wise to leave no stone unturned to abate what might prove an epidemic. At a meeting of the Board of Health, Tuesday, it was also thought advisable that the churches and places of amusement, etc., remain closed for a few days for developments. The few cases in Montrose are of a very light form. Notice to Catholics: Under the direction of the Board of Health, and consent of Right Rev. Bishop Hoban, of Scranton, there will be no public Easter services or other services in St. Mary’s church, owing to the epidemic here, until further notice.
Susquehanna – Robert J. Terboss died at the Arnot-Ogden hospital, Elmira, N. Y., Friday, as a result of the injuries he received by falling from a ladder in the Erie car shops at Elmira, while in the performance of his duty as an electrician.
Clifford – John Bolton, one of the oldest residents of the township, died at his home Monday afternoon. He had resided on the farm, where he died, for 80 years. He is survived by his wife. The funeral was held Thursday at 1 o’clock, Rev. Garman of the Methodist church officiating. Interment in Clifford cemetery. Mr. Bolton would have been 83 years old on July 7 next.
Harford – A meeting was held at the High school building, Tuesday evening, in regard to a new school building. An $8000 building could be erected by bonding the town for 16 years and it would increase the tax only $4 per year. A vote was taken and a majority present favored the idea. It will be necessary to hold a special election to enable the school directors to go ahead with the work.
New Milford – Landlord E. L. Yaw, who has conducted a hotel at Hopbottom for some time past, yesterday assumed charge of the Walker House here, which he will conduct as a temperance house. Mr. Yaw makes a fine landlord and has made many friends in the county. He is a retired New York city policeman, having entered the service when Roosevelt was police commissioner. Also the stork visited the following homes on Monday: Mr. and Mrs. Bert Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Aldrich, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown, and left a son at the first named and a daughter at each of the other two.
Williams Pond, Bridgewater Twp. – The ever good-natured James Webb, of this place, has been recently engaged in producing syrup from a grove of sugar maples on his farm and knowing that postoffice employees and newspaper men were sometimes addicted to its use, he presented them with a generous supply the latter part of last week. The sweetest phrases we could coin in extending thanks would ne’er equal that sweet richness of the gift, nor the kind and thoughtful generosity of the giver.
Gibson – Divine service at the Universalist church has been changed from 11 a.m. to 2:30. The pastor, Rev. R. S. Kellerman, will occupy the pulpit. There will be a special service, floral decorations, reception of members and an appropriate sermon.
Ainey, Springville Twp. – Miss Mary E. Squire is the happy possessor of a Shetland pony, a present from her father, Wm. Squire.
Alford – Carl Aldrich, son of A. D. Aldrich, expects to locate in Clark’s Summit as a veterinary surgeon in the near future. Also A. D. Richardson has purchased a fine large black horse to replace the one he lost when his son, Glenn, went over the embankment last September.
Great Bend – Mrs. O. A. Tuthill received a box of orange blossoms from here sister, who is now at the Panama Exposition.
Message for Easter Sunday prepared by Rev. Frederick A. Alden, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Montrose: This is a strange Easter Sunday for Montrose, perhaps the strangest in all her history. No sound of the Church bell calls the worshippers to the public worship of God. No sound of Anthems tell of the people’s praise on the day of resurrection. Circumstances, over which we have no control, dictated by desire for the welfare of the community and the safeguarding of its health and life, cause us to remain at home. The greater need than for the spirit of Easter in our hearts and in our homes, an Easter that brings more clearly than ever the spirits and meaning of this glad message spoken first so many centuries ago. “He is risen.” Perhaps these few words, if you read them this morning, may be helpful in our Easter meditation.
I usually try to provide some crime statistics each year to provide you with some general idea of any trends that are out there. It is always good to have some background to understand where we have been and where we may be heading. In terms of the total number of cases, we have seen an increase over the past decade, but with a more recent decrease in total number of criminal cases.
In 2005, we only had 388 criminal cases that made it to the Court of Common Pleas. This number increased to 439 in 2006, then up to 479 in 2007, followed by another increase to 558 in 2008, then another slight increase to 596 in 2009, and then slight decrease to 554 cases in 2010, followed by 586 cases in 2011, and then we jumped to 644 cases in 2012, which marked the first time that Susquehanna County had eclipsed the 600 case filings number.
You may recall that I provided you with some good news in 2013 – our case filings dropped to only 493 criminal cases, which was the first time since 2007 that we were under 500 criminal cases. Last year, we jumped back up to 559 cases, which was a significant increase, but still a lower amount than 2009, 2011 and 2012. In reviewing last year’s docket, there were 6 criminal defendants who accounted for nearly 100 criminal cases themselves – they were involved in a burglary ring that spanned several months and a large geographic area. As in past years, a few criminal defendants can often skew the overall numbers.
Drug addiction remains the driving force behind our criminal numbers. Prescription painkillers and heroin (opiates) continues to be the most serious problem in Susquehanna County – the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States. Communities have likewise seen the reemergence of methamphetamine through the gaining popularity of the “one-pot” cook method. As the illegal use of controlled substances spreads, the volume of property crimes follows – addicts need to steal to feed their addiction. The counselors in the drug and alcohol treatment community continue to tell me that they are seeing a record number of clients – both for abuse of controlled substances and alcohol.
When we talk about alcohol abuse, we are led to DUI offenses which continue to be a large class of our cases. We had 80 DUI cases in 2003, then 81 in 2004, 92 in 2005, 106 in 2006, 140 in 2007, 157 in 2008, 195 in 2009, 207 in 2010, 160 in 2011, 158 in 2012, then 147 in 2013. We only count the number of cases we have successfully prosecuted in our statistics – but as of this date we have only prosecuted 107 DUI cases from 2014 with some still pending, but we should end up below the 2013 number. The good news on the DUI front would be that the numbers are slowly decreasing from the high of 207 cases in 2010, which I hope is a testament to how hard our local law enforcement has worked over the past several years to make drivers understand that there will be police out there looking for intoxicated drivers. In fact, we saw such a dramatic increase in the DUI offenses up to 2010 as a direct result of increased DUI patrols on the county roads by state police, local law enforcement and the county DUI task force.
At this point in 2015, I can tell you that we just hit the 100 case mark as we approach the end of the first quarter of the year – which means that our numbers are significantly down from 2014 and closer to numbers we have not seen since 2006 or 2007 where we were well under 500 cases for the year. It is too early to tell where we will end up, but we are trending down which is far better than trending in the other direction.
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 Care And Eating Of Probiotics
Janice went into the pharmacy with a prescription for an antibiotic. Her doctor took a culture and concluded she had a bacterial urinary tract infection (UTI). The pharmacist counseled her on the side effects of the antibiotic, such as cramping, yeast infection, and particularly diarrhea. Diarrhea can cause dehydration, which depletes the body of nutrients and electrolytes. The pharmacist suggested taking a probiotic which would replenish the “good” bacteria normally found in the intestines and would decrease her diarrhea caused by the “bad” bacteria.
What is a probiotic? Probiotics are the “good” bacteria that aid in maintaining the health of the GI tract and make digestion of food easier. They also help keep harmful germs – both bacteria and yeast – under control in the gut. Most probiotics come from foods such as cultured milk products. Probiotics can be consumed as capsules, tablets, beverages, powders, and yogurt. Probiotics work by gathering in the small intestine and crowding out disease-causing bacteria, thereby restoring proper balance to the intestinal flora. They compete with harmful germs that consume nutrients and usually win!
The pharmacist told Janice that diarrhea is a common side effect of antibiotic use, occurring in almost 1 in 3 people who take them. And new research suggests that probiotics may help lower the risk of diarrhea. Clinical trials reveal that in people taking antibiotics, those who used probiotics were 42% less likely to develop diarrhea. Other findings demonstrate that the use of probiotics shortens the duration of diarrhea in one day and reduces by 59% the risk of diarrhea lasting longer than 4 days.
The beneficial effect of probiotics is species-specific. That is, certain bacterial cultures work better than others. Eating yogurt that has live cultures seems to be the best yogurt you can have to quell the disrupting effects of diarrhea. Look on the label for products that contain the bacterial species Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium lactis and/or Lactobacillus acidophilus. If you buy probiotics in pill or powder forms, keep them refrigerated. Antibiotics can also cause yeast infections in the vaginal cavity. Taking probiotic supplements that contain Lactobacillus and Bifobacterium help restore the natural pH that keeps the vaginal yeast infection under control.
If you are taking an antibiotic, consider changing your diet for a few days to avoid foods that commonly trigger diarrhea, such as dairy products, fatty foods, spicy foods, and foods high in fiber like whole-grain breads, cereals, and beans. You should also drink extra water and skip caffeine and alcohol (such as your morning java and after-work martini). Probiotics do not have to be eaten only when you have diarrhea. Besides yogurt, foods like kefir, pickles, sauerkraut, and dark chocolate are considered to have probiotic abilities to keep your GI track healthy.
Janice thanked the pharmacist for his insight into antibiotic side effects and was off to the market to pick up some yogurt, especially her favorite flavors: pomegranate, raspberry lemon, and black cherry.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Send questions or ideas to ron@rx-press.com.
