Susquehanna – The death of Mrs. L. C. Benson occurred Monday morning, at her home in this place, as a result of burns which she received while lighting a fire in a stove shortly after 5 o’clock that morning. In some manner her clothing caught fire and before help arrived she was frightfully burned about the face and body. Medical aid was quickly summoned and her sufferings were relieved as much as possible. The deceased was a woman very highly regarded here, where she had resided many years, and her loss will be keenly felt. She is survived by her husband and two sons, George, of Susquehanna, and Herbert, of Cleveland.

Great Bend – Dr. A. F. Merrell broke his arm Thursday afternoon while making a call near Conklin. When ready to go the starter on his car failed to work and he got out to crank it. The crank flew back and broke his arm.

Rush – The report that was circulated last week to the effect that our creamery man was going to Auburn Centre to run the milk station was erroneous. It’s strange how some people report stories without knowing whether they are so or not. Our creamery man is much appreciated in this vicinity.

Forest City – Nelson Crandall, of Uniondale, has been engaged to make repairs at the Forest city poor farm. Also M. J. Walsh has established an auto bus line between here and Carbondale, having purchased a new Maxwell seven-passenger touring car. The leaving time from Forest City will be on the even hour from Main and Dundaff streets; from Carbondale on the half hour, from Seventh avenue and Main street. The first car will leave Forest City daily at 7 a.m.

Franklin Forks – A number of the neighbors of Calvin Peirson [Pierson] helped to raise his new barn last Thursday afternoon. L. D. Watson, of Montrose, is the carpenter.

Lenox – Our stage driver, Edson Oakley, of South Gibson, has purchased an automobile.

South Ararat – Mrs. Henry Davis visited her aunt, Mrs. Cordelia Walker, on Friday. Mrs. Walker is remarkably smart for one of her age; 83 last January.

Brooklyn – Ben Jewett has purchased a “Saxon Six” automobile of agent Bert Oakley, which he expects to receive this week. We are sure “Ben” will look very handsome at the wheel.

Montrose – Thomas Payne returned from a few days in Lenox and Harford and says apple trees are in bloom there, that gardens are being planted and that all vegetation seems to be a week earlier than in Montrose. Mr. Payne is a highly successful and enthusiastic gardener and is a trifle impatient with the cold, wet weather, we suspect. ALSO Three Saxon roadsters went through town the other day, headed for Wilkes-Barre. The parties had driven them from Detroit, where they went to buy the machines.

Lynn – J. W Baker has adopted a boy from Scranton. He is about 14 years of age and will assist in doing chores. Also The State road was kept hot on Sunday last by automobiles from early morn until late at night. It is said that over 100 were counted during the daytime, besides what passed at night.

Forest Lake – A W. C. T. U. Institute was held in Forest Lake Baptist church, April 28. At the morning session 30 people were in attendance. There was a highly suggestive song by Rev. U. D. Barber, “The Diamond in the Rough.” A talk on L. T. L. work by Mrs. Ether Bushnell, of

Montrose – The afternoon session was filled in by recitations by Charles and Arthur Potts, singing, Miss Blanch Hamlin presiding at the organ, and a talk by Ms. Bushnell on Parliamentary Laws—a sort of drill. The Suffragist leader of the program was Mrs. Miller, which was some thing of an eye-opener to us who do not have a chance to hear these questions discussed often. This was the prophecy of our friends: the liquor men are having the last five years of their power and saloonless nation in 1920. Long life to our Suffragists!

Auburn – Just preceding the rain and hail of Thursday afternoon, lightning struck an apple tree stub just behind the house of G. W. Bunnell. Mrs. Fannie Kellogg, of Tunkhannock, and Mrs. Bunnell, who had just stepped from a car and were crossing the yard of the house, received such a shock as to produce a violent headache for both ladies. Also Charles Love, who suffered a bad fracture of his right arm recently, is doing as well as can be expected. While out driving in Frank Love’s new car the machine was overturned and the young man, including Samuel Robbins, was underneath until help arrived. None of the others were seriously injured and the damage to the car will not exceed $30.

Hopbottom – Phil Street, with a force of men, has been engaged the past week in setting out about 200 matrimonial trees on the steep embankment along the State road near here. It is hoped they will grow and hold up the bank, preventing the road from sliding into the creek.

Harford – On Sunday last Messrs. Ackerman, Phillips, Watkins and Davis, trail hitters [Billy Sunday’s traveling evangelists] from the Welsh Congregational church in Scranton, held services in the morning, afternoon and evening at the Congregational church. The singing was superb.

Hallstead – Benjamin C. Read has returned from the National Soldiers’ Home at Johnson City, Tenn., where he spent the winter.

Little Meadows – Miss Anna O’Brien has closed her term of school, the children giving an excellent entertainment on the final day.

Kingsley – Through the efforts of the school children and teachers, a fine flag pole has been erected on the school ground. The school extends its thanks to the friends who helped to set the posts and raise the pole.

Tips to Automobile Owners: One honk on the horn means “cross street;” two honks, “stand still, I’ll get you coming back;” Three honks, “get your old ice wagon out of my way;” a dozen honks, “Help, I’m out of gasoline!” Two automobiles should pass on either side of each other, rather than on a direct line through each other. Autos should always stop abruptly for wash-outs or burned out fuses. It is not proper for an auto to turn a corner on two wheels. Before an auto turns turtle all the passengers should get out. A woman driving an auto is always entitled to the right of way; if you don’t give it to her she’ll take it. Don’t try to lead an automobile life on a wheelbarrow salary. Also Pennsylvania’s “Good Roads Day” comes May 26. Sharpen your hoe.

I received a correspondence from an inmate at a state correctional facility requesting that I address Pennsylvania’s Revictimization Act, which provided victims of personal injury crimes the ability to seek injunctive relief to stop an offender in engaging in conduct that “perpetuates the continuing effect of the crime.”  The statute then provided a little more guidance as to what “perpetuates the continuing effect of the crime” by stating that it “include[d] conduct which causes a temporary or permanent state of mental anguish.”  The inmate asked me to discuss “the balance between victim rights and free speech.”

The Revictimization Act was enacted in response to Mumia Abu-Jabal being selected to give a video commencement address at Goddard College.  Abu-Jamal is serving a life-sentence for killing a Philadelphia police officer.  The Pennsylvania Legislature acted quickly in crafting and enacting the Revictimization Act – passing the bill less than 2 weeks after it was introduced – and Governor Corbett signed the bill.

The inmate requested that I address the balance between victim rights and free speech, but there is no need to do so as a federal court just determined that the Revictimization Act was unconstitutional.  U.S. District Judge Christopher Connor determined that the Revictimization Act was unlawful restraint upon an offender’s free speech rights.  In particular, the judge stated: “A past criminal offense does not extinguish the offender’s constitutional right to free expression.”  Even where some of the speech may be considered offensive and hurtful to crime victims, the First Amendment protects an offender’s right to communicate – even at the cost to a crime victim.

Judge Connor criticized the Revictimization Act language – noting that the Legislature had achieved a trifecta for bad legislation in concluding that the law was “unlawfully proposed, vaguely executed and patently over-broad.”  With reference to the lack of any real definition of prohibited conduct, Judge Connor stated: “Short of clairvoyance, [an offender] cannot determine whether or to what extent a particular expression will impact a victim’s sensibilities.  The result of these ambiguities is the very self-censorship identified by the Supreme Court as the hazard of vague legislation.”  Judge Connor concluded that the Revictimization Act would have a “chilling effect” on the free speech of offenders as they struggled to determine what, if anything, they could say without causing mental anguish to their victims.

Judge Connor also took to task the various legislators who had openly championed the Revictimization Act as a means to suppress free speech.  Judge Connor noted that the “act’s sponsor extolled its capacity to silence Abu Jamal in particular.  And Governor Corbett commended the Legislature for expeditiously passing a law that quells the ‘obscene celebrity’ of an ‘unrepentant cop killer.’”

Judge Connor answered the inmate’s question – the Revictimization Act did not strike the proper balance between victim rights and the offender’s right to free speech.  Judge Connor did not foreclose the possibility that an appropriate balance could be struck between those competing rights; rather, he simply noted that this poorly drafted piece of legislation could not meet constitutional muster.  Given that the bill was passed in such a short period of time, but attempted to deal with such a weighty constitutional issue, it is not surprising that it did not strike the right balance.  The bigger question remains – what is the right balance between victim rights and offender free speech?

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/. 

Is My Son Using His Inhaler Too Much?

Sam’s mom came into the pharmacy to get a refill on her son’s bronchodilator. The pharmacist commented that he has been going through his bronchodilator inhaler every 3 weeks or so, while his steroid inhaler had not been filled for almost 3 months. Sam, who is 12, has had asthma attacks occasionally throughout his childhood. But in the past year, he has refused to use his steroid inhaler because it tastes, as he said, “Yucky!” “Anyway,” said his mother, “Sam seems to be fine.”

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease reports that approximately 1 out of every 10 American children suffer from asthma. The prevalence of asthma has been increasing since the early 1980s across all age, gender and racial groups. Alarming data from the CDC National Asthma Control Program indicate that 9 Americans die from asthma each day. Over 3,300 deaths are due to asthma each year, many of which are avoidable with proper treatment and care.

Asthma is a disease for which no cure exists. With proper maintenance, the disease can be controlled. Proper maintenance means that the steroid inhaler is more important than the bronchodilator. This is because asthma is an inflammatory disease in which the airways tighten up in response to allergies, polluted air, exercise, a cold or the flu. Wheezing is generally the first signal that a more severe attack is coming on.

So, while it seems that the bronchodilator would be treatment of choice to prevent an attack, regular use of the steroid is of greater importance. By using the steroid regularly, the inflammation in the airways can be reversed. A bronchodilator, ideally, should only be used a few times a week. Overuse of the bronchodilator means that the individual’s asthma is not being adequately controlled.

Sam’s mom finally admitted that Sam stays home from school a few days each month because he is wheezing, coughing and/or has shortness of breath. At some point, the pharmacist stated, that if he does not use his steroid inhaler according to the way his pediatrician directed him to use it, then he may be facing a trip to the emergency room and/or even worse.   

After listening to the pharmacist’s warning, Sam’s mom needed no more convincing. She got his steroid inhaler refilled and decided that at his age, he should hear the facts about asthma and how his life would be better if he used his steroid inhaler correctly and did not rely so heavily on his bronchodilator. The next time Sam’s mom came into the pharmacy about a month later, she told the pharmacist, “It was a struggle at first, but I think he has realized that asthma is a serious disease. And now that he understands how his drugs work, he feels more in control of his breathing.”

Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Write him with any ideas or comments at ron@rx-press.com.