Montrose – George L. Battles, one of the best known and most highly respected colored residents of Montrose, died at his home on Locust street, Tuesday morning, Aug. 17. Mr. Battles had been in failing health for some years, having suffered for a long time, particularly from rheumatism, which he patiently bore and until a short time before the final summons continued with such activity as age would permit the activities of a useful, well-lived life. The deceased was born in the Southland, seventy-seven years ago, and his early life was spent in servitude. The greater part of his life was spent in this place, where his uprightness, courtesy and industry won for him the honest admiration of all. His wife died some years ago, and he is survived by two sons, George, of this place and Henry, of Binghamton. The funeral was held from the house yesterday afternoon and was largely attended. Rev. Carl Councilman, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, conducted the service. Members of the choir of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church sang. Interment was made in the local cemetery. The bearers were George Henry, Charles Wycoff, Sampson Reed, George Cruser, Luther Smith and Ed Thompson.

New Milford – Saturday, last, was a red letter day in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. David N. Hardy, of this place. It was the observation of their 50th wedding anniversary and about 125 people were present to share in the joys of the occasion. ALSO H. B. Miller, of this place, attended the 50th anniversary of the mustering out of his regiment, the 89th New York Volunteers. There are but few of his old comrades living.

Herrick Center – Henry Corey is improving his residence by the addition of a bay window, porches, furnace and bath.

Springville – George Haldeman took a load to Montrose, on Tuesday evening, to hear Dr. Conwell. Mr. Haldeman has just added cushioned spring seats and a cover to his auto truck, making it much more comfortable for passengers, as well as affording protection from storm.

Hop Bottom – William Green, Jr., was drowned in Lords Pond Friday. Mrs. Green and several other women had gone to the lake earlier in the day and Green thought to surprise them. The women were some distance away so the young man secured a row boat and started for them. When within a hundred feet of the party he dove into the water and started to swim towards them. Suddenly he threw up his arms and went down. The body was recovered an hour later. The funeral was held Monday morning with interment in the new cemetery at Dalton.

South Harford – The neighborhood picnic will be August 25. Everyone invited.

Glenwood – Last Thursday Miss Lucille Wilson gave a variety shower at her home in honor of Miss Blanche Hoppe, who is soon to be married. Those present were: Mrs. Walter Hoppe and children, Mrs. A. W. Conrad, Miss Jeannette Conrad, Mrs. G. N. Bennett, Mrs. W. O. Medler, Mrs. N. B. Marcy, Mrs. Earl Conrad and Mrs. C. W. Hoppe.

Uniondale – Steven Bronson has purchased a new automobile for purpose of carrying meat to the city.

South Montrose – E. L. Sutton and wife, from Montrose, Colorado, are here, visiting the former’s half-brother, T. L. Ainey, in this place, and other relatives at New Milford. Mr. Sutton was born in Montrose, Pa., 72 years ago. In 1861, at the age of 18, he enlisted in Co. A, 57th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and when mustered out went West, where he has resided, this being his first trip East.

Franklin Forks – To have lived in one community more than 63 years and have retained the high esteem of all the neighbors and friends during that long period of time, is a matter to give any man the keenest thrill of exultation. Aaron Stockholm, one of our much loved citizens, has this satisfaction, having spent all these years there excepting the time given to the service of his country during the Civil War. He is now 78 years of age. Visiting an old cemetery several years ago, with a view of better acquainting himself with the family lineage, he found out of 60 burials of the name of Stockholm, 14 bore the name of “Aaron,” all being first sons, as was himself. His great grandfather, “Aaron” was a Colonel in the Continental Army, serving under Gen. Washington.

Susquehanna – The death of C. Leander Benson occurred August 16 at his home here, after a lingering illness. He was one of the oldest residents of this town and for many years was one of the leading contractors. He was held in the highest esteem by his many friends. He is survived by one son, George Benson, of Susquehanna, and two brothers, A. M. Benson, of Cleveland and H. C. Benson, of Canton City, Colorado. The funeral was in charge of the Masonic Lodge, being held from the family home on Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock. Burial in North Jackson Cemetery.

Jackson Twp. – The berry pickers social was held at John Hall’s, August 10th. There was a large attendance. The Brushville Ladies’ Aid served ice cream and cake, taking in $13.00.

East Rush – The lecture given last Wednesday night by Mr. Ross Hibbard, on the subject of Prohibition, was very good and he brought out some thoughts that were convincing even to the most skeptical. He speaks from experience having been a bar-keeper for several years.

Forest City – Tomaso Camillacci, who has been employed by F. P. Flora the past two years, has received notice from the Italian Consul, at Scranton, that his class of reservists will be called on or about the 15th of September. He will join the colors.

News Brief: Motor cars are coming into use at funerals quite generally. They promise to displace horse drawn vehicles entirely while the roads are in proper condition. ALSO Christian Dorflinger, who died at White Mills on Wednesday of last week, was the pioneer of the glass industry in Wayne county, and in the country in fact. He was of French origin and learned the trade of glass-making in his native land. He came to America in 1845. He lived for some time in Philadelphia and Brooklyn and moved to Wayne county in 1863 when he succeeded in building up the largest cut glass works in the world. ALSO Supt. D. J. Stowe, of the Highway Dept., of Scranton, is sending out strict orders in regard to Auto drivers or chauffeurs of automobiles which says, “The auto driver or owner who stops at a hotel to get a drink of anything stronger than water must forfeit his license hereafter, according to the Department of the State Highways at Harrisburg, and anyone operating a licensed car when he shows the slightest evidence of being intoxicated or of having taken a drink, he must be reported to Harrisburg and he will lose his license. Speeding should also be prohibited in the small towns as well as the larger ones. ALSO Those low neck shirts that young men are affecting would be called peek-a-boos if there was anything to peek at, observes an evil minded editor.

In prosecuting sexual assault cases and negotiating resolutions of cases, one of the components of plea negotiations relates to Megan’s Law registration.  There have been many victims who have told me that the Megan’s Law registration requirement was more important than incarceration.  Conversely, some defendants propose additional incarceration in return for a plea agreement that avoids sexual offender registration. 

Over the years, the Legislature has tightened up the registration requirements under Megan’s Law.  There used to be lesser level sexual offenses that did not require Megan’s Law registration, but most of those loopholes have been eliminated.  There are still a few minor offenses that do not require registration: Indecent Exposure and Open Lewdness are two misdemeanors that are not Megan’s Law offenses.  Statutory sexual assault would be the only felony sexual assault offense that is not a Megan’s Law offense, but this applies only where the offender is between 4 and 8 years older than the victim.  If the victim is more than 8 years older than the victim, then registration is required.

Megan’s Law now has three tiers of offenders – which defines their registration requirements.  First Tier offenders need to register for 15 years, Second Tier offenders need to register for 25 years, and Third Tier offenders need to register for life.  There is a list of offenses that qualify for each tier – and the Commonwealth will treat convictions from other states (or countries) as being a conviction for the offense in the Commonwealth whose elements are most similar to the out-of-state conviction.  This sometimes causes problems for registrants as state registration requirements differ from state to state – an offender might move to the Commonwealth and then discover that they have to register here even though they no longer were registering in their previous state.

Failure to register constitutes a felony offense – and convictions for failure to register carry mandatory minimum sentences that range between 2 and 7 years.  Thus, an offender could be convicted of a misdemeanor sexual assault offense that perhaps carried a several months of incarceration (or perhaps even probation), but if the offender is convicted for failing to register, then the offender has committed a felony offenses with years, not months, of incarceration.  In other words, the law could treat the failure to register as a more serious offense than the underlying sexual assault conviction.

With the creation of all of these sexual offender registries in each state, there are now companies that conduct searches for employers and volunteer agencies to assure that employees and volunteers are not sexual offenders.  For instance, I volunteered and coached for the local Little League – and part of that process involved a background check.  To my surprise, my local Little League chapter received a letter warning them that there had been a positive match to my name – and as a courtesy, the background check agency sent me a copy of the “match.”  It turns out that there is another Jason Legg living on the West Coast who is a registered sexual offender.  The background check agency was providing notice of a potential match to the local Little League chapter for any further action deemed necessary.

When I reviewed the information, I noticed that our middle names were different, eye color was different, height was different, weight was different, and race was different.  I then followed up with my own search – and I found the same information by looking under that State’s sexual offender registry.  The only thing that matched was “Jason Legg” and “male.”  I had no problems with the local Little League, but then I did not even wait for them to contact me, I sent an email out as soon as I received the information noting that this was a different “Jason Legg.”  This provides a pretty strong example of just how wide spread the use of technology has become and how it can provide a very valuable tool for any organization seeking to assure the safety of children. 

          Admittedly, it did cause me some level of inconvenience and consternation, but I was amazed that this information was located with such ease despite being a conviction from the other side of this continent.  In the end, registration and technology provide the general public with a vast array of information concerning sexual offenders – we need only take advantage of it to protect our children.

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.