Montrose – The Old Bethel church on Chenango street, which was purchased by Jno. Rutan, is being converted into a house.  The following document was found in the cornerstone, the contents of which may prove of interest to friends who took an interest in the old church many years ago—“Montrose, Pa., June 16, 1882.  This church was built in 1838 by Allen Dorsey, Daniel Brewster, carpenter.  Raised, and this basement put under it June 16, 1882, by Charles Allen, George Battle, Sr., Benjamin Nailor [Naylor], John Johnson, Nimrod Slaughter, Charles Young, and Wm. K. Harris, Board of Trustees; Rev. Sylvester J. Burrell, pastor.  Burgess& Doe, carpenters; plasterer, Henry Reynolds.  ‘May God bless the church’ –Harris.  This chimney built by C. W. Reynolds; John Wilson, tender.” This document is now the property of Mr. Nailor [Naylor], who with Rev. Mr. Burrell—now preaching in New York state—are the only survivors of the period when Mr. Harris penned the above information and placed the same in the cornerstone of the Chenango street landmark.  [The African Methodist-Episcopal Church known as the AME Zion church, is still standing on Berry Street in Montrose, not far from the location of the Old Bethel church.]

West Bridgewater – Fred Tyler is renting his father’s farm and is farming once more.  Fred says it seems like childhood days once again.

Gibson Twp. – While at work in Mr. Wilmot’s saw mill, Friday afternoon, Ralph Gelatt caught his right hand on a fast moving belt and was whirled around until his arm came off near the shoulder.  He was taken to the hospital in Susquehanna, where the stub of his arm was taken off at the shoulder—which was a very painful operation.  At this writing he was still alive with but slight hopes of his recovery.  [Ralph did survive and died in 1971.  He and his wife, Ethel May Conrad, were the parents of 6 children.]

Great Bend – The funeral of Thomas O’Neil was held from St. Lawrence church on Saturday morning.  A high mass was celebrated by Revs. Mack and Dunn, of this place, and Walsh, of Susquehanna.  The bearers were M. A. Kilrow, Thomas J. Creigh, P. O’Shea, P. M. Sullivan, G. W. Crook and J. Murray.  Burial in St. Lawrence cemetery.  Many out of town friends attended the funeral.  Mr. O’Neil had been a resident of this place for more than 50 years and was highly respected by all who knew him.  He is survived by three daughters, Misses Bridget and Mary, of this place, and Josie, of Philadelphia, and three sons, Michael, of Binghamton, Rev. Father John O’Neil, of Emmettsburg, Md., and Att. George O’Neil, of New York city.

Uniondale – Grace and Lloyd Wademan and Lester Todel, of Wyoming Seminary, are home for the Easter vacation.

Susquehanna – Mrs. Mary Mooney, formerly director of music at the Susquehanna County Teachers’ Institute, but for several years past the efficient musical directress in the Susquehanna public schools, has tendered her resignation to the school board of that place.  Mrs. Mooney for many years has been organist in St. John’s church in Susquehanna and her son, Harry, who is well-known here, is now a priest in the diocese of New York.

Herrick Center – Oscar Hugaboom, of this place, and Miss Annette Payne, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Payne, of Orson, were united in marriage, Wednesday, April 5, 1916, by Rev. Raymond Fiske pastor of the Baptist church.  The ceremony was performed at the residence of
Rev. Fiske at Poyntelle, after which the young couple left on the O. & W. train for Jersey City, where they will spend a short honeymoon.

New Milford – The Northeastern telephone exchange has changed its location to rooms in Mrs. Nettie Laff’s house on Main street, and now has an all-night service.

Springville – Anna B. Stevens & Co. wishes to announce to the public that not having sold out her millinery, dry goods, etc., that she is now prepared to sell you the latest city trimmed hats or trim your old one.  There will be no use of you wearing cotton for she can sell you yards of the natural linen, and at old prices purchased before the advance in price.  You will find bargains in all lines.

Silver Lake – A photograph appeared in the Montrose Democrat of four generations of the Conklin family. Pictured are: Mr. Edward Conklin, the father of Albert B. Conklin, of Silver Lake, and his age is 81 years.  Mr. E. Conklin was born in Bradford Co., Pa. in 1834 and came to Silver Lake and settled on the farm where his son now resides.  After living there for many years he removed to Franklin, where he now resides.  His son, Albert Conklin, was born in Silver Lake.  Beside him is his son, Earle E., at the age of 25 years, and his son, Douglass, who is three years old.  The photo was taken on March 11, 1916 by A. J. VanHouten, at Franklin Forks.

North Harford – George Richardson has been ill with grip but has now recovered and is driving the “school wagon” again. ALSO Miss Gladys MacNamara closed a very successful term of school at Sweet’s last Friday. 

Clifford – Mr. and Mrs. Frank Spedding are mourning the death of a dear baby boy about two months old.  ALSO  Will Bennett has two carloads of Ford autos on hand, and sales have already commenced.

Birchardville – Geo. Owen and family are moving into the Bela Giffin house.  Miss Louise Owen is to have a millinery store here.

Hop Bottom – On Saturday a surprise party was given in honor of Mrs. Rosetta Carpenter’s 87th birthday.  She organized the Ladies Aid Society of the Foster M. E church and was its first president.  A pleasant time was had by all.

Elk Lake – Mr. and Mrs. William Oliver have moved to Indiana, where Mr. Oliver has secured a position. ALSO  The Hunsinger Bros., who have been running a Birch distillery at the Lake, have moved their still to Auburn.

200 YEARS AGO – THE CENTINEL, MONTROSE, PA.     

New State – Bills erecting new states, from the Indianna and Missisippi territories, have passed to a third reading in the U. S. house of Representatives. [Spelling, etc. as copied from newspaper.]

ALSO  To owners of Apple Orchards,  Save your tar for [from] your carriage wheels and apply round your trees a Hair Cord, in the following manner, which will prevent the depredations of the Canker Worm: “Take cow or horse hair—let it be spun into cords of about two inches circumference—then take a pair of sharp shears or scissors, and clip off the ends of the hair upwards, and tie the cord around the tree.” 

The touchstone of any negligence claim is that the defendant owes a duty of care to the injured party – and the defendant breached that duty thereby causing injuries.  If there is no duty of care, there can be no negligence.  Over the last couple of weeks, we have discussed the duty of care that a landowner owes to trespassers, namely, the landowner must refrain from engaging in any willful or wanton conduct that the landowner knows (or should know) will place the trespasser in danger.  Here is a twist on that same question – what responsibility does a landowner have for the tortious conduct of third parties who may be on the landowner’s property.

Generally speaking, there is no duty to control the conduct of a third party.  There is an exception to this rule – where a special relationship exists between the landowner and the third party, the law may impose such a duty to control the third party’s behavior so as to avoid injuries to others.  What does the law mean by a “special relationship” that would create an obligation for a landowner to control the conduct of persons on his or her property?

There common law had some very specific examples.  A common carrier (a plane, train, bus) must take reasonable actions to protect its passengers.  An innkeeper (hotel or motel owner) had a similar duty to protect guests.  These special relationships arise from the business relationship with the invited patrons.  What about familial relationships?  Do they create a special obligation for relatives visiting your property?

In T.A. v. Allen (1995), the Superior Court considered what duty, if any, a step-grandmother (Allen) had to protect her step-grandchildren who were visiting her residence.  Allen was married to the children’s grandfather and owned the real property where the abuse occurred jointly with him.  The grandchildren were sexually abused by their grandfather.  The testimony at trial revealed that Allen was aware of her husband’s sexual desire for children and that she “averted her eyes” to the sexual abuse of the step-grandchildren by their grandfather.  After hearing the evidence, the jury awarded each abused child $10 million in damages against their grandfather and $232,000 in damages against Allen.

The trial court had instructed the jury that Allen had a duty to protect her step-grandchildren who had been invited to her home from any dangers present at the property, i.e., the pedophilic grandfather.  In considering whether this was a proper instruction, the Superior Court noted that the grandchildren were licensees on Allen’s property, i.e., they had been invited to be there.  In those circumstances, a landowner must warn licensees of “conditions on the land” that present an unreasonable risk to the guests provided the landowner has reason to believe that the dangerous condition will not be discovered by the guests.  For instance, if there was a hidden hole or pit somewhere on the property that a guest would not easily discover and could end up falling into and getting injured, the landowner would have to warn the guests and/or take steps to protect the guests.

In this case, the pedophilic grandfather was not a “condition on the land.”  Rather, he was a third party.  The Superior Court noted that the cases that create a special relationship requiring a landowner to control third parties to protect invitees deal with business relationships.  Where a landowner holds his property open for business purposes, he or she must “exercise reasonable care to protect or warn against the accidental, negligent or intentionally harmful acts or third persons or animals.”

Thus, the mere fact that Allen was a co-owner of the real property did not impose upon her a legal duty to protect her step-grandchildren from their grandfather – even where Allen was aware of his pedophilic tendencies.  As Judge Olszewski noted in his concurring and dissenting opinion, “most decent members of society would no doubt agree that [Allen] had a moral obligation to do something to protect these children from their grandfather’s acts of molestation.  Moral obligations, however, do not automatically give rise to legal liability.”  Judge Olszewski conceded that there was no special relationship in this case as the property was not being used for a business purpose: “If [Allen] had been offering piano lessons in her home, then it would not have sufficed to merely warn young students: ‘Watch out for my husband – he’s a pedophile and might molest you.’  Rather, Allen would either have to make her home safe for her students, or find another place to teach lessons.” 

The trial court improperly instructed the jury as to Allen’s liability and she avoided financial responsibility for the monetary damages awarded by the jury.  As this case demonstrates, the use of a property can determine the extent and nature of the legal obligations that a landowner owes to the persons who enter upon it.

Why would a boy need a “girl’s” vaccine?

Mrs. Jenkins came into the pharmacy and asked to speak with the pharmacist. She said “My daughter, who is 13, got the 3-part HPV vaccine this year. But now I am hearing that boys and even men should get it also? What do you think?”

The pharmacist explained to Mrs. Jenkins that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis, or head and neck. The vaccine protects against HPV, the most common sexually transmitted virus in the US. More than half the sexually active men and women become infected with HPV at some point in their lives, putting them at risk for HPV-caused cancers, including cervical cancer in females. Since its release in 2006, the vaccine has proven effective, lowering rates of HPV infections in girls by 64%. It is a good thing. So why aren't boys getting it?

There is often a mindset against getting the vaccine series overall. Parents may say “my 11 year old daughter/son does not have sex. Why does s/he need protection from a sexually transmitted disease?“ First, the vaccine protects against genital warts. Such warts, which affect the moist areas of the body, are unsightly, can bleed, and cause itching in the genital areas.  Second, the vaccine can prevent cancer caused by the virus. Parents do not want to hear that their 35 year old daughter was diagnosed with cervical cancer caused by HPV transmitted to her by her unvaccinated husband. Yet, a recent CDC study reported that only 40% of teen girls and 22% of teen boys had received all 3 doses of the HPV vaccine. 

Yes, the vaccine is actually a series of doses. Kids get the first dose at 11 or 12, with two follow-ups over the next few months. In 2015, the CDC reported that 60% of girls got the first dose, while only 40% of boys did. And the rates go down with the second and third doses. Less than 13% of boys get the full series. Ideally, who should get vaccinated and when?

Initiation of routine HPV vaccination for females at age 11-12 years up to age 26.

Vaccination of males age 13-26 years, including men who have sex with men and those who are immunocompromised.

Two HPV vaccines are licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bivalent HPV vaccine (Cervarix) prevents the two HPV types, 16 and 18, which cause 70% of cervical cancers. The quadrivalent HPV vaccine (Gardasil) prevents four HPV types: HPV 16 and 18, as well as HPV 6 and 11, which cause 90% of genital warts. Quadrivalent vaccine has also been shown to protect against cancers of the anus, vagina and vulva. Only quadrivalent vaccine is licensed in use for males.

Your child’s doctor may be reluctant to tell you about the HPV vaccine. Why? A study released last year suggested that doctors might not be fully comfortable speaking with patients and their parents about sex. Because it is recommended so early, the HPV vaccine has been the cause of anxiety for some parents who fear that inoculation might somehow promote promiscuity, though that fear has been proven unfounded in study after study. But none of the previous studies explain why there is a further, massive discrepancy in vaccination rates between girls and boys, though some evidence suggests that parents are simply not informed as to the benefits of the vaccine for boys. Bottom line: If you are the parent, then be the person who asks about it first. Mrs. Jenkins thought about all this information and said to the pharmacist, “I am going to ask our doctor about it for my son right away.”

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

An eerie silence awakened her from a deep sleep. That was the way she remembered it and related it to me. She said it was 3:22 a.m. on Monday, October 30, 2016. The space heater and furnace had gone quiet. The usual night-time amber glow from street lights was no longer streaming through the bedroom windows. The power was out, and it was more than a fuse that had blown. Hmm; she laid back in bed with the thought that there was nothing to be done, for now. Snuggling the pillow more tightly, she returned to her interrupted dream, little knowing America’s nightmare had just begun.

When she next awoke, it was full daylight, but still silent. She looked at her watch; it had just gone eight. Where was the sound of school buses groaning up the hill to transport sleepy students to campus? Five minutes passed; then another ten. Still not so much as the sound of a passing car, let alone the dozen or so buses that should be moving by now. Perhaps school had been cancelled because of the power outage, she thought. The school IS on the same street; perhaps a drunken driver had failed to negotiate a sharp curve and had claimed a power pole as his victim. The electric wall clock had moved not a whisker from where it drew its last volt of power. How could she have guessed; it had ticked its last tock at 3:22.

Grandmother walked around her house, observing that the computer, television, and stove were all dark. She picked up the phone and listened. No dial tone; but of course, she had Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), so that made sense. She tried her cell phone, but no, there was nothing at all. She had plugged it in before going to bed after the 11 o’clock news. Surely it must have recharged by now. What to make of it?

Next she went to her closet and pulled out her hand-crank emergency radio. She cranked it up and slowly moved the dial along the am, then fm, bandwidths. Rising and falling levels of static, but neither human voice nor music were to be found. She dressed hurriedly and went to her car. A drive into town for coffee and a hot breakfast would surely improve her day, she thought. And perhaps someone could explain just what was going on. As she turned the key in the ignition she was surprised by the lack of response-- not the usual turnover, not a straining cough, not even a whimper of effort. Had her battery died in the night? She slid out of the driver’s seat and considered her options.

Grandmother’s neighbor was equally perplexed by the power outage. “I don‘t get it,” he said.“There’s no dial tone on our landline; the cell phone is fried, and my laptop is dead.” As they figuratively scratched their heads, each wondered if a forgotten episode of the Twilight Zone had magically sprung to life. If only! The truth was science fact, not science fiction, and its consequences far more terrifying and less entertaining than anything found in dark corners of a mythical fifth dimension.

Unbeknownst to Grandmother at the time, the lights had been turned out on America. She was OFFLINE, and it would be another 20 years before outposts of civilization could be reestablished in North America. In the time between October 30, 2016 and April 19, 2037 there had been a massive die-off. Best guess was that 97% of those alive on Day 1, A.C. (After Catastrophe) went to their reward before electrification returned.

They say that 30% passed away in just the first 30 days when America lost her power; 90% in the first year. That winter was the most brutal--not unusually cold, but the heaviest snowfall in a decade.

The first week with no power was pretty bad, according to Grandmother’s diary. People were trying to figure out how to make do. Young people were traumatized without their telephones and internet access. Some of those kids just totally lost it. Their “virtual lives” had been wrapped up in Facebook, and now they had only their “real lives” before them. And to their displeasure, their real lives looked bleaker by the hour.

Water was also a big problem with the power out. Nothing came out of the tap for most people. Those on gravity-fed water systems were okay at first, but after a few days the purity of the water couldn’t be assured. Water hauling from streams and creeks became the norm before rain-water collection systems were set up. But all the water had to be boiled for safety reasons; and even then no one really felt safe. Sewer systems were completely backed up in a week. The joys of chamber pots and outdoor privies were rediscovered by generations that had never known anything but modern indoor plumbing. 

Food in refrigerators and freezers went bad in the first three days. Store owners had long ago gone to a system of just-in-time delivery. Without the usual three to 12 deliveries of new food stocks each and every day, grocery shelves were empty in three days, even with only cash being accepted. No checks, debit cards, credit cards, or EBT cards could be accepted since, as the hand-made signs proclaimed, “the system is down.”

The local bank never opened again. Of course, there wasn’t much real cash in the bank anyway. Since banks operated through computerized book-keeping entries of digitized money it was as if all money in bank accounts vaporized in the blink of an eye when the power went out. Grandmother never recorded whether those with safety deposit boxes could get to them, but the fiat dollar (paper) was dead within a few weeks. It eventually dawned on people that the dollar’s value was based on the “Full Faith & Credit of the United States Government.” When the existence of the federal government became a matter of debate and speculation, the reliability of its credit--and full faith in it--went wobbly fast.  Almost spontaneously vendors who had anything of value to sell demanded their buyers give something of tangible value as the purchase price.

 Hospital patients began dying the moment they could no longer get the intensive care they so desperately needed. Within a week--most after 72 hours--hospitals went dark and the power never came back. Those who needed their monthly prescriptions refilled were out of luck since pharmacies could neither open nor fill a single prescription without use of a computer. Those who needed medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, or whatever chronic condition had to rely on what they already had in their medicine cabinet or what they could obtain by barter. Healthcare was now at a premium, but the resources for actual care were essentially non-existent.

Transportation, Grandmother recorded, was at a virtual standstill. Most everybody was on foot. Bicycles were about the best most folks had. A very few number of cars still operated, but they all looked vintage 1970’s or earlier. Trouble was, gas stations were totally inoperable. No one could pump gas since every station needed electricity to operate. Those lucky few with antique cars that ran could only refuel by siphoning gas from inoperable vehicles.

After ten days of no electricity, no internet, no word from the outside world, a pall began to settle over most people. The lights weren’t going to come back on, and the cavalry wasn’t going to ride into town to rescue anyone. Everyone was either on his own to fend for himself, or would have to organize and integrate into a group of like-minded citizens for civil defense. The first winter of 1 A.C. was approaching fast. Security and staying warm were in the forefront of most people’s minds.

Where were the police? They were at home with their families or bugging out to a “safer” location. Most folks, Grandmother wrote, still had no idea how to define “safer.” Every convenience invented in the last sixty years that depended upon micro-electronics was a thing of the world that had existed before, but existed no more.  Electricity was the master innovation that keyed all other critical infrastructures of modern civilization. America, as the most complex civilization, was more dependent upon electricity and micro-electronics than any other. Her dependency on electricity was her Achilles’ Heel. It had left her vulnerable and dependent on a system of extreme fragility.

Grandmother recorded one other chapter in her diary that was frightening beyond belief. When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (or its predecessor agency) had granted licenses for nuclear power plants to operate, it had always assumed that electricity would be readily available, and if lost, that power would be restored shortly (within three days). Backup power, it was assumed, would be needed for only as long as seven days. For refueling of back-up generators beyond seven days, it was always assumed the grid would be up and running and refineries would continue supplying the needed diesel fuel for however long it was needed.

What Grandmother realized was that in the event of long term grid failure, power to oil refineries would also be offline, making re-supply of diesel fuel to emergency generators impossible. Because cooling systems would cease to function and the reactor would overheat (even if shutdown), the spent fuel pools would boil-off their coolant, resulting in a zirconium fire at all affected plants. Those fires would spew radiological contamination for at least 200 hundred miles around each plant. This would be the end-result, Grandmother concluded, for every one of the 99 operating nuclear power plants-- no power. How would America deal with multiple nuclear power plants (most located east of the Mississippi, and many in the northeast) cooking off simultaneously? America had never planned for this scenario and in any case lacked the resources to deal with it.  How much of America would even be inhabitable in 20 years?

“Grandmother’s Diary” is a letter from the future, or more precisely, one of America’s possible futures. It documents the course we may well be on if America continues to drift. Our failure to guard against an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) event is a danger of unprecedented magnitude. Scientific studies, Congressional hearings, and investigations by the 2004 EMP Commission, as well as the 2008 National Academy of Sciences Report have established that America is in grave danger and faces increasing vulnerability with each passing day.

Had the federal government taken action in 2004 to harden America’s electric grid, the task could have been completed over the course of 10 to 20 years and America would not have found herself in a position of such extreme vulnerability. The cost, had the project begun in 2004 was estimated to be about $4 billion, or 20 cents per month per electric ratepayer. Who opposed the hardening of America’s electric grid?  The boards of electric utilities have adamantly opposed hardening of the grid on two bases: reduction of profits and possible liability issues. Electric companies want the government to pay for any hardening of the grid. The liability issues stem from the fact that electric companies fear lawsuits if the grid were preemptively shut down as a precaution for an EMP attack.

What constitutes an EMP attack? An HEMP (High-altitude Electro Magnetic Pulse) has been understood to be a weapon of mass destruction since at least 1962 when both the United States and the Soviet Union demonstrated its capacity for destructiveness. EMP generated by nuclear weapons has three different components, E1, E2, and E3. The E2 component is equivalent to lightening. Everyone understands just how destructive that can be. Just imagine that E2 is the least destructive of the three components; E1 and E3 are the essential components responsible for the destructiveness described in Grandmother’s Diary.

While little action has been taken to harden America’s civilian electrical grid, the federal government has done something to prepare for the inevitable EMP event: it’s built a “microgrid” for itself at Fort Carson, Colorado. That’s where the U.S. Northern Command, next door to NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain Complex, is located. When the Cold War ended, this facility was closed. In 2015 the Pentagon opted to move mission-critical operations back into the mountain . . . citing the risk of EMP! The purpose of this action is to establish continuity of government in the face of catastrophe.

Russia and China are known to have “Super-EMP” weapons. North Korea and Iran must be assumed to have or be developing “Super-EMP” technology since they have both integrated it into their military doctrine and strategy to defeat the West. The detonation of just one Super-EMP over Kansas would presently cripple the civilian electric grid over most of North America. Russia, China, and Israel are all known to have already hardened their electric grids in preparation for EMP warfare. They are likewise preparing their nations for the next Carrington Event. That phenomenon will be discussed in a column this summer.

As fantastic as it may seem, EMP has the potential to collapse the machinery of modern civilization, both in America and everywhere on earth. EMP would essentially reverse the world’s pecking order. The most advanced society would be reduced to the most helpless; less advanced societies with less dependence on electricity and microelectronics would be hurt the least because they still perform so many tasks manually without the benefit of labor-saving conveniences America has taken for granted. Societies with hardened grids will naturally be better able to recover than those unprepared. If America remains collectively unprepared for EMP because of government inaction, the only recourse is individual preparation. EMP’s very real potential is that it will return humanity to a life that is nasty, short, and brutish.  Wake up, America!