New Milford – John Nelson is seriously ill at the Carpenter Hotel.  Mr. Nelson has been a resident of this place for 22 years.  His sister and husband, Mr. and Mrs. John Hicks, came from Wharton, N. J. on Monday evening, to see him.  Though Mr. Nelson had been only 150 miles from her, she had not seen him in 29 years.

Springville – The ball team and a bunch of fans went to LeRaysville to play a game with that team. That our boys not win was only an incident.  They had a good time.

Montrose – Chief of Police Harry L. Mack has been having strenuous times the past few days keeping autoists to the “right” on the corners at lower Public avenue.  The red flags of warning with the letters “Go to the Right” are generally observed, although some autoists still habitually “cut the corners.”  Another sign is located near the Montrose House. Some of the drivers of machines growl a little when told to swing out, but there is no reason in the world why they should not gracefully conform to the new ordinance. 

Rush - Dr. A. D. Gary, of this place, was in Montrose yesterday on his way to visit relatives in the west and also to view the sights in some of the national parks and beauty spots in the west and northwest.  He will visit his sons, Dr. A. G. Gary, of Walker, Iowa, and C. R. Gary, of Victoria, British Columbia, and daughter, Mrs. V. D. Burch, in Rifle, Colorado.  Among other points he intends to visit are Cedar Rapids, Ia., Denver, the Grand Canyon, Seattle, and other places. 

Hallstead – The W. C. T. U. of this place has started a free circulating library.  A room in the home of Mrs. Thomas, corner of Pine and Susquehanna streets, has been rented for the purpose and the library was opened to the public on September 5.  Hours for the opening will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  Many friends have generously donated about 75 books and a traveling library from the Susquehanna County Library, in Montrose, has been received.  The Hallstead ladies have worked hard to start this library for the enjoyment of the public.

Hop Bottom – A very attractive and enjoyable shower was given for Miss Lillian Rose at the home of Mrs. M. W. Stevens.  The dining room was most artistically decorated in a scheme of birds’ nests and evergreens and when little Harold Roberts and Freda Stevens, dressed as miniature bride and groom escorted the real bride to be, the scene was complete.  The spacious nests suspended above the tables had overflowed with the many beautiful gifts from 40 friends, those being beautiful pieces of hand-work, embroidery, crochet, tatting, paintings, etc.  A dainty lunch was served and the afternoon was enlivened by several musical numbers by Mrs. Sadie Tanner, Mrs. Van de Sand and Miss Byram.

McKinney Mills, Great Bend – The neighbors of this place held a picnic under the trees at the schoolhouse. A bounteous dinner was served with plenty of ice cream and cake, and 61 people sat down at the tables.  The children enjoyed themselves by swinging, and the older ones by visiting.

Ararat – The Ararat Hotel, at Ararat Summit, of which Joseph Zaveral was proprietor, burned to the ground Sunday night.  Mr. and Mrs. Zaveral were away from home at the time.

Thompson – At a meeting of the Board of Health it was decided to protect the borough from infantile paralysis.  All children under 16 are debarred from the borough who have not a health certificate and none to be permitted to attend any public gathering during September.  Also to notify all merchants to elevate and screen all fruit and vegetables; also that they have cleanup day

Uniondale – M. D. Daniels and Nelson Coleman ran a foot race, in which Mr. Daniels came out victorious.  For particulars ask either party.  ALSO The Woman’s Suffrage Club was very pleasantly entertained at the home of Mrs. Haddie Reynolds.

Herrick Center – W. H. Fletcher has moved his household goods in the store building owned by P. H. Flynn and will open up a dry goods store in the near future.

Lawton – Walter Millard, well known and popular with the base ball fans and others in the western part of the county, having been Fairdale’s regular pitcher and playing as right field in the sensational game with Camp Susquehannock, has gone to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he expects to take a position on the railroad.  He has a brother and other relatives living in Fort Wayne.

Death of a Veteran – Gilbert R. Whitbeck, aged 84 years, a native of Susquehanna county, having been born near Montrose [Bridgewater Twp.], died in Boone, Iowa, on Aug. 27th.  He was until three years ago a resident of St. Paul, Minn.  The body was taken to that city for interment. Mr. Whitbeck enlisted in Co. C, 151st Regt. Pa. Vols.  Comrade Geo. M. Wilson, of Downs, Kan., who is probably the only surviving member of this company, has kindly sent us this notice.  At the recent G. A. R. reunion in Kansas City, he writes, he thought he might meet some members of his regiment, but failed.  We believe he would appreciate a letter very much from any veterans in this county who may remember him.

News Brief: Owing to the many stories being circulated relative to Infantile Paralysis, in regard to the ban that has been placed upon children attending fairs, I deem it but just to our society that a statement be made to clarify the atmosphere from the delusions.  It is true that the State Board of Health sent a letter to the president of the society “ADVISING” that children under 16 not attend the fair.  There was nothing MANDATORY in this letter, but merely ADVISORY and the officers of the Susq. Co. Agricultural Society take the stand that the hysteria existing in the promulgation of many of the stories being circulated, as well as many of the needless orders sent out, shall be treated as the letter received, that if fathers and mothers will exert the care of their children as they always should, it will meet with the requirements of the State Board and of the officers of this Society.

200 Years Ago from the Centinel, Montrose, PA, Sept. 10, 1816. 

+MARRIED – In Harford township, on Sunday the 1st inst. By Squire Tiffany, Mr. Edmund Worth, to Miss Mary T. Carpenter, all of that place.

+ANOTHER BRIDGE, Over the Susquehanna

It is a source of the highest gratification, to observe the spirit of improvement which is extending through the interior of our country.  Wilds, where only a few years since, the noise of the owl and the wolf were heard, have given way to cultivated fields: and extensive turnpikes are opened, where the warrior’s lone path wound its serpentine way through the forest.  The visions of a poetic fancy could with difficulty imagine a greater change that a few of the last years have produced in the northern and western part of Pennsylvania and New York.  Six yr’s since, there was not a bridge over the Susquehanna in its whole course from the northern boundary of Pennsylvania to its mouth; and in one year more it may boast as many bridges as the Rhine, which has washed the feet of Imperial Cities for 2000 years.  Lewis Wernwag esq, the architect who constructed the beautiful bridge over the Schuylkill, at the upper ferry, opposite the city of Philadelphia, has contracted to build a bridge over the Susquehanna at this place, upon the same model of the excellent bridge over the Delaware at New Hope, of which he was the inventor and constructor.  This bridge is to be commenced immediately, and to be passable by the first of November, 1817.  It is to consist of four arches, of 185 ft. each and will be erected opposite centre street.  In this contract, the public have the most ample assurance of the faithful -performance of the work, which will be an ornament and a valuable acquisition to our country.

[Thinking this was the first bridge built across the Susquehanna in Great Bend, a few trips to Google and Wikipedia convinced me that I was wrong.  However, a lesson was learned—don’t assume and check Miss Blackman’s history. Peter Burgot was awarded the contract for the first bridge at Great Bend and in September of 1814 bridge inspectors were appointed and accepted the construction. So what bridge is “Another Bridge, Over the Susquehanna?”  Lewis Wernwag did build a bridge over the Susquehanna, in Wilkes-Barre, in 1817.]

As you may recall from previous columns, the United States Supreme Court has determined that (1) mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional as it violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and (2) that this rule applies retroactively, i.e., any juvenile offender serving a mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is entitled to sentencing relief.  The United States Supreme Court did not find that a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a juvenile offender was wholly unconstitutional, but a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.  If the sentencing judge considered individualized factors as to the particular juvenile offender and developed a record as to the reasons that a life sentence without the possibility of parole was necessary, the Supreme Court suggested that such a life sentence without parole would meet constitutional muster.

Prior to these Supreme Court decisions, in Pennsylvania, there was only one sentence for a first or second degree murder conviction for juvenile offenders – life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.  The sentencing judge had no discretion.  Regardless of the individual circumstances of a juvenile offender who committed a first or second degree homicide, the Court was required to sentence that offender to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.  Thus, Pennsylvania’s mandatory sentencing for juvenile murderers violated the Eighth Amendment – and all of those juvenile “lifers” must now be resentenced.

In response to the Supreme Court’s decisions, the Pennsylvania Legislature enacted legislation that addressed the sentencing of juvenile murderers in the future – but the Legislature has provided no guidance as to how the sentencing judges should address those juvenile offenders sentenced prior to July 25, 2012.  A recent decision from a federal district judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania highlights the challenges that Pennsylvania courts are facing when implementing this new juvenile lifer rule.  In Songster v. Beard, the federal district judge discussed the “Pennsylvania dilemma” as it related to juvenile lifers.

The federal judge noted that only the Legislature can establish the penalty for a crime – yet the Pennsylvania courts are left in a circumstance where no such new penalty has been defined by the Legislature for juvenile lifers convicted prior to July 25, 2012.  The Court went further to note that the Parole Board was also powerless to act as it is not permitted to parole a person serving a life sentence.  Further, under Pennsylvania law, a person is only eligible for parole upon serving a minimum sentence.  The juvenile lifers have no minimum sentence – they received a straight sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.  When would the “minimum” period of incarceration expire of a juvenile lifer so as to make him or her eligible for parole?

The federal judge went on to note that a sentencing court was required to determine whether a particular juvenile offender was “irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible.”  In considering the question of Pennsylvania’s juvenile lifers, the federal judge noted that there can be no “doubt that there are defendants who should be released immediately after a weighing of all the favors.  There are those whose rehabilitation will be beyond question.  In those instances, the sentencing court cannot discharge its responsibility by passing the decision to the Parole Board.”  The judge went further to note that some of these offenders are “now graying adults” who “should not be required to suffer delay and another proceeding before gaining the freedom they already deserve had [the initial sentencing proceeding been done properly and the sentencing judge considered the individualized factors as to each juvenile offender].”

But the federal judge noted that it was not the role of the federal courts to interpret Pennsylvania law – or even direct how the Pennsylvania courts would solve their juvenile lifer dilemma.  At least, the federal courts would not get involved at this point.  The Pennsylvania courts have the first shot at addressing the constitutional violation as it relates to each juvenile lifer – and only after the juvenile lifer exhausted all of his state court remedies, then the federal court would have jurisdiction to consider whether the judicial solution met the constitutional requirements.

Wife claims husband saws wood all night

Mrs. Smith came into the pharmacy and yawned loudly. “Working hard?” the pharmacist asked. “No, my husband snores so loudly, I can’t sleep through the night. It’s like being in the same room with a fog horn!”

Like musicians, snorers are judged on range and projection. They can go from a barely noticeable hiss to the standard grunting, from squeaks to squawks and high-pitched whistles. Many are capable of making sounds only a cat in heat could duplicate. And upon complaining to the snorer that you got 5 solid minutes of sleep all night because of his (or her) snoring, the person looks at you innocently and says “You are the only one who tells me I snore.” 

About 45% of adults snore. A person’s snoring can be the butt of a joke (Grandpa snores so loudly that the people 3 houses down are complaining). But it can also disrupt a relationship to the point where separate bedrooms – or divorce – are the only answers. “Isn’t there some pill or remedy I can give my husband?” Mrs. Smith asked.

First, any product that claims to cure snoring may not work and you have wasted your money. Second, occasional snoring is not unusual but can be an irritation for your bed partner. However, if you are a habitual snorer, it is a good idea to get checked by a physician to make sure a more serious problem is not causing your snoring. Not only is snoring a nuisance, but 75% of people who snore also have obstructive sleep apnea (when you actually stop breathing for short periods during sleep), which increases the risk of developing heart disease.

Make the decision to see a physician. During the physician’s visit, you will be asked about your symptoms. A complete medical history will be taken. A general physical exam will be performed, paying particular attention to your nose and throat. Your weight and blood pressure will be evaluated, and your blood may be tested for thyroid function. You may be referred to an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor). These specialists are better equipped to examine your nasal passages for any blockages, also called occlusions. Additionally, you may be referred to a sleep lab for further testing. The overnight sleep test allows researchers to monitor multiple bodily functions while you sleep.

So, you got a clean bill of health. Mazel tov! Yet, your bed partner is still exasperated. The next step would be to make some lifestyle changes. Sleeping on your back makes the base of your tongue and soft palate collapse to the back wall of your throat, causing a vibrating sound during sleep. Sleeping on your side may help prevent this. A body pillow works too. Alcohol and sedatives reduce the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, making it more likely you will snore. Drinking alcohol 4 or 5 hours before sleeping makes snoring worse. People who do not normally snore will snore after drinking alcohol. If snoring starts in your nose, as opposed to your soft palate, then keeping nasal passages open may help. A hot shower before you go to bed can open nasal passages. Also, keep a bottle of saltwater (saline) spray in the shower. Rinse your nose out with it while you are showering. Nasal strips you wear to bed may also work to lift nasal passages and open them up; they work if the problem exists in your nose and not within the soft palate. Mrs. Smith decided not to call a divorce lawyer, but to make a doctor’s appointment for her husband to assess his snoring issues.

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.