Jackson – On Thursday, March 30, as Mrs. Lulu Penington, of this place, was walking along the Erie tracks, about two miles north of Herrick Center, she was assaulted by two foreigners, who chocked and robbed her of a small sum of money which she had. Her screams attracted the attention of the section hands, who were working a short distance away and they reached the spot in time to catch the two men, who had concealed themselves in the bushes. They were taken to Uniondale, and given a hearing before Squire Lowry, where they pled guilty and were taken to Montrose to await the action of the grand jury.
Montrose – I. W. Oakley, who delights in working with hammer and saw, has just completed a beautiful cabinet clock. It is made of quartered oak, the case being beautifully designed by the maker, and was made entirely by Mr. Oakley with the exception of the movement. It is very handsome and is well worth a visit to his store to see. He has now started to construct another clock which is to be operated by electricity. Both clocks are on the “grandfather” style, being some seven feet tall, but are more in keeping with modern ideas. ALSO the regular monthly meeting of the Montrose Suffrage club will be held at the office of Attorney Sue M. Strous, on Wednesday evening, April 12th, at 7:30 o’clock.
Fairdale – The extremely popular schoolmaster, Harold E. Pierson, who has for three years taught the school at Fairdale, was married on Thursday evening, March 30, 1916, at the Fairdale parsonage, by Rev. Fred C. Bulgin. The bride, Miss Dora Palmer, who was very prettily dressed for the occasion in a dress of Copenhagen blue silk, is from Spring Hill, Pa. Mr. Pierson is a native of East rush. In addition to his duties as schoolteacher, he has filled the office of postmaster, at Fairdale. After the wedding a reception was held for the young people, in Grange Hall, at Fairdale. The terrible condition of the roads prevented many who ardently longed to be present from attending—but in spite of this, a very pleasant time was enjoyed.
Liberty Twp. – David Banker, one of the best-known farmers of the county, died at the home of his brother, Charles Banker, April 1, 1916. His age was 75 years. The deceased was known among cattle breeders through this section of the country, his purebred Devon stock having won prizes at many local and state fairs, notably Philadelphia and Syracuse, and stock from his farm and that of his brother, the late Jeremiah Banker, with whom he was associated in cattle-breeding, was shipped to practically every state in the union. He was a life-long resident of Franklin township, residing on the farm cleared in the primeval forest by his father, the late David Banker, the farm being in the family for 90 years. Interment in the Upsonville cemetery.
Craig Hill, Auburn Twp. – Several of the farmers were busy last week hauling lime and feed from Meshoppen. Trips were made daily with but little shoveling. ALSO We have missed the honk, honk of the automobile for several weeks. Can it be that owing to the high price of gasoline that they are going out of style?
Williams’ Pond – A wood-bee was held for Nick Williams on Saturday. Eighteen of the neighboring men were in attendance and a goodly lot of woodcut.
Forest Lake – Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Raynor are moving to Silver Lake, where Mr. Raynor has accepted a position at Sheldoncroft.
Nicholson – Editor Henry T. Birchard, of the Nicholson Record, who was reported as a candidate for the Republican nomination for the Legislature in Wyoming County, characterizes the story as a “pipe dream.” Henry ran for representative once in Susquehanna county and spoke of the experience as like being run over by an ice wagon.
Lathrop - Mrs. R. T. Everson held a banquet for the Enterprise Book club, Thursday evening, March 30. Owing to the condition of the roads, only parts of the members were present. An enjoyable evening was spent and a good program rendered.
Franklin Forks – John Webster has put his sugar camp in order, ready for the sap to run, but for some reason it does not start up briskly.
Flynn – The Guiton & Curley wood cutters have finished cutting the wood for the Middletown creamery.
Choconut Valley – The large body of snow which has blocked the roads for a long time is fast disappearing with the warm weather and hot sun. If we get a hard rain soon fears are entertained of a big flood along the valley.
Glenwood – Glenwood is to have a grocery store in the near future. Walter Carpenter, of Lenoxville, has bought the blacksmith shop of Chas. Conrad and expects to have it remodeled and up-to-date in a short time. We wish him success, as a store in this town is needed.
Lynn, Springville Twp. – Our boys have organized a baseball team for the season, comprised of the following officers: C. A. Taylor, Pres.; William Sherman, Vice Pres.; Robert Smales, Captain; Walter Hartman, Secretary; Ralph Loomis, Treasurer. Without doubt this will be a hard team to beat.
Harford – Elijah Carney Harding was born Feb. 15, 1830, at this place, the son of Stephen and Anna Harding, and died March 7, 1916, aged 86 years. Mr. Harding was born and brought up and always lived in this place, where his father settled in 1800 on Christmas Day. He was married to Sarah Green in 1854 and seven children were born, six of whom are still living. Elijah served nine months in the Civil War as a private in Co. E, 177th Regiment, Pennsylvania Drafted Militia Infantry.
Fair Hill, Jessup Twp. – Wm. Mulkey’s people have moved to New York State on the Wapsening Creek, near the Stone Jug, instead of Wyalusing Creek, near the stone bridge.
Little Meadows – W. D. Minkler, of this place, is planning to resume bus service between Little Meadows and Binghamton as soon as the roads will permit. His automobile bus line was greatly appreciated last year and did a good business. The service will be greatly improved this year.
200 Years Ago – NOTICE. THOSE persons who are indebted to me for the tuition of their children (in the first part of the year 1815) are requested to call and settle their bills; for the old paper has got badly worn, and I do not wish to have [it] recorded on a Justice’s docket. C. CARR, Montrose, April 8th. 1816. ALSO MILITIA NOTICE. In obedience to the 17th sect. of the Militia Law, passed in 1814, the several Colonels within the bounds of the 2d Brigade, 8th Division Pennsylvania Militia, are hereby directed to have their Regimental or Battalion trainings on the following days, viz: The first Battalion in the 70th Regiment, commanded by Col. Isaac Dimmick, on Monday the 13th day of May next: The second Battalion, on Tuesday the 14th. The second Battalion in the 76th Regt. Commanded by Col. Frederick Bailey, on Wednesday the 15th: The first Battalion, on Thursday the 16th. The first Battalion in the 2nd Regiment, commanded by Col. Isaac Bowman, on Friday the 17th: The second Battalion, on Saturday the 18th. The Colonels to designate the places for Training, with the privilege of meeting by Regiments on either of the days above mentioned for the Trainings of their Battalions. ISAAC POST, Inspector 2nd Brigade, 8th Division, P.M. Montrose, April 2, 1816.
Have you ever wondered what duty the law imposes on you to assure the safety of people trespassing on your property? Your initial reaction is likely that there is no duty whatsoever to protect someone who has entered your property without permission. But the law recognizes that a landowner does owe a duty to a trespasser. If a trespasser is injured on another’s real property, he or she may recover monetary damages from the landowner where the landowner was guilty of wanton or willful misconduct. What does that really mean?
In 2013, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided a case involving a trespassing ATV that had an accident on real property where there was a coal mining operation. The ATV operator and his passenger admitted that they were trespassing on the landowner’s real property. While operating the ATV, the driver came over a rise and drove into a large pit with a 35 foot drop which had been created as a part of the mining operations. The passenger sustained serious injuries and sued the property owner for the injuries.
The injured trespasser argued that the coal company knew that people trespassed on the property, rode ATVs there, and contended that the coal company’s knowledge of trespassing ATVs required that the coal company engage in a greater standard of care to protect those trespassers of the dangers on the commercial property. The Superior Court disagreed – noting that an injured trespasser was required to demonstrate willful or wanton misconduct by the landowner. In this case, the coal company did not engage in any wanton or willful misconduct – the injuries were not caused by the landowner, but by a condition on the real property itself, namely the large mining pit.
What is wanton misconduct? It has been defined as an intentional act of an unreasonable character, where the landowner disregards a known (or obvious) risk that makes it highly probable that harm will result from the conduct. Wanton misconduct usually involves a conscious indifference to the consequences of the offending behavior which translates to “at least a willingness to inflict injury” on the trespasser.
In reviewing the record, the Superior Court concluded that the coal company had not engaged in wanton misconduct simply be engaging in mining activities. The Court concluded that there was nothing about the conduct that “recklessly disregarded” the risk to trespassers – or that the coal company’s conduct amounted to “a willingness to inflict injury.”
In contrasting the coal company’s conduct, the Superior Court cited to the case of Antonace v. Ferri, a 1983 decision involving a landowner who placed a wire cable across a path used by trespassing dirt bike riders – and one of the riders was killed as a result of his collision with the metal wire. In considering this conduct, the Superior Court had opined “that a jury could conclude that [the landowner] knew that dirt bike riders such as the decedent were using the property, and that in view of this knowledge, erection or maintenance of a steel cable, in a position of limited visibility, without markings or warning signs, constituted an act of unreasonable character, in disregard of a risk known to him or so obvious that he must have been aware of it, and so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow.”
In contrast to that case, the coal company did not dig a large hole for the sole purpose of blocking trespassers in their use of the property – it was part of the mining operation. There was nothing to suggest that the coal company was aware that the location of the large mining operation would interfere with a known ATV trail. Moreover, the mining area was not small and difficult to see – unlike the wire in the dirt bike case. The ATV operator drove into a large, visible mining area. The Court noted that it could not conclude that the coal company, in conducting its mining activities, was engaging in a reckless act that amounted to an implied intent to cause injuries to trespassers.
Just because a person is a trespasser does not mean that the landowner does not owe the trespasser a duty of care – a landowner must refrain from wanton or willful conduct that the landowner knows will likely cause injuries to trespassers.
How a pharmacist can tell if a prescription is fake
A man walked into the pharmacy, looked around briefly and then approached the pharmacist with a prescription. “Have you been here before?” the pharmacist asked. “No. I’m new in town.” The pharmacist saw that the prescription was for a narcotic. Yet, he still did not think anything of it. After all, the man was clean, neatly dressed, and polite. “Do you have your insurance card?” inquired the pharmacist, about to put his information into the computer so he could process the prescription. “No, I’ve got cash.” “It’s $225,” the pharmacist informed the man. “No problem,” he replied. RED FLAG!
While the man did not look like what could be called your typical junkie – dazed look, dirty clothes, shifty eyes, cheap tattoos – it would not be the first time someone like this man presented a phony prescription. For example, the whole “new in town” bit has been used countless times. Yet, the prescription was written by Dr. Fine, whose handwriting he knew. Still, the man was willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a pain killer when he did not look like he really needed one. The pharmacist excused himself and went into the back to photocopy the Rx and to call the other pharmacy in town. That pharmacist informed him that the man had, indeed, used that pharmacy in the past. He used his insurance to pay the last time. The last time was 5 days ago. The prescription the man gave him was for a 30 days’ supply and it was written by Dr. Howard in the next town.
What should the pharmacist do? In this case, the pharmacist stayed behind the counter for safety reasons and explained to the man that he was out of that strength and it was on back order. The man left. At this point, he called both physicians to inform them that the man was “doctor shopping” for narcotics.
Has this man broken the law? Federal law makes it “an offense to falsify prescriptions by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge to obtain substances not intended by the prescriber.” Yet in this case, the man had 2 scripts for the same thing written by 2 different doctors. There could be a case in favor of the man. He could have said he could not read the doctor’s handwriting and did not know it was the same drug. Or he could have “lost” the original prescription. In any case, it is not in the best interest for the pharmacist to put his life on hold to charge somebody for something out of which they can weasel. However, the physicians can take action and decide whether to expel the patient from their practices and/or contact the authorities.
Druggies out there, listen up! Many pharmacists have been practicing a long time and have learned many of the tricks of the drug trade. For example, junkies arrive at the pharmacy the millisecond it opens because they know the first hour of the day is crazy with phone calls, insurance problems, and other business. Or s/he comes in at 5 minutes to closing, expecting you to put in the entirety of the patient’s information, hoping that the pharmacist is tired and wants to close up. When prescriptions have been filled and lost, the same tired old excuses are used: “They dropped into the toilet,” “They were in my car and someone took them.” “My apartment got robbed and my pills were missing.” Druggies are not very creative, it seems, when explaining why they need a replacement. If you are going to be a lair as well as a druggie, try to be inventive.
Increasingly, computers have been telling pharmacists if a prescription for the same drug (or in the same drug class) has been recently filled somewhere else. The drug war is on! If only the prescribers of narcotics would have a stronger backbone to scrutinize the patient before handing out a script that can be diverted, or sold to children or anybody for whom the prescription was not written.
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.
