Montrose – When Judge Denney called the hotelmen of this place before him and asked them if, in the event of his granting their licenses, they would observe the rule not to sell in bottles, to which they all agreed, it looked very much as though all of their licenses would be granted.  It was therefore somewhat of a surprise when Judge Denney announced that the licenses of the Tarbell House, conducted by D. J. Donovan, and the Montrose House, conducted by T. L. Dolan, were refused on the grounds of violations. The judge said that in his estimation the hotels had been reasonably well conducted and that there was no disposition on the part of the landlords to break the laws, but the violations were due to inattention on the part of the bartenders. It is even rumored that Landlord Donlin is considering the advisability of not taking up his license—running a temperance house, as he will have the only licensed house in this part of the county, the southern and western parts being practically “dry.”  Mr. Donlin is one of the most careful of hotel men in the observance of the law, but naturally feels any intemperance will be attributed to the one licensed house in this section. ALSO The Christmas exercises which were to have been held by the Presbyterian Sunday School on Tuesday evening next, have been postponed as so many of the children who were to have participated are having the measles.

Clifford – Relatives and friends of Dr. Robert A. Brundage received word that he had been killed at Pittsburg by being run down by an automobile on Friday, November 30.  The remains arrived in Peckville and a brief funeral took place from his parents’ home on Sunday morning. The remains were then taken to Clifford, where additional services were held in the Clifford Baptist church and burial made. Dr. Brundage was born Dec. 28, 1880 and after attending a country school he entered Keystone Academy and graduated.  He attended the University of Michigan and Jefferson Medical College and after extensive travels to study he settled in Pittsburg as an ear, nose and throat specialist.

Gibson – W. J. Lamb and H. C. Estabrook are papering the Baptist church at Jackson.

Williams’ Pond, Bridgewater Twp. – On account of the illness of our teacher, Miss Horton, there was no school last week.

Lynn, Springville Twp. – Miss Hazel Conrad, who is teaching at Lynn, delightfully entertained her pupils at her home on Friday evening, Dec. 15.  The evening was spent in music, songs, recitations, etc.  Dainty refreshments were served.  Those who were in attendance were: Emma Hooven, Leon Williams, Oscar Canfield, Claude Button, Willard Hooven, Herbert Jennings, Guy Davis and Albert Jennings.  Miss Conrad has recently organized an Audubon Society in her school.  The purpose of the society is for the study and protection of wild birds, in which great interest is being taken.  A class is being conducted every month.

Rush - Seventy one creameries in Pennsylvania competed in the creamery butter contest at State College this year and the three highest average scores of those who took part in all seven contests during the year were received by the following men in order: W. J. Smith, Millerton, Pa., first prize; Oscar Hardic, Rush, Pa., second prize; H. E. Hobbs, Meshoppen, Pa., third prize.

Springville – All the stores are open evenings during the holiday season, but trade is not up to the usual standard owing to the increased cost of everything. ALSO The young people gave a shower to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smales who were married last week.

South Auburn – The men who are interested in providing wood for the church worked several days last week, instead of one as was announced as the day for the bee, and still there is much to be done and an opportunity for any who may care to help.

Dimock – Byron Benninger has bought the farm of Raymond Gregory, the late H. D. Johnson place, and will move there on March 1st.

Uniondale – Miss Lottie Norton, for a number of years [our] telephone operator, has resigned and will remove to Binghamton.

Brooklyn – A pleasant surprise was given Albert Gere on Saturday evening when six or seven young married couples enjoyed the evening at his home. ALSO Brooklyn H. S. seniors will hold a box social at the home of M. Aldrich, near Alford, Dec. 29.  Sleigh loads from Brooklyn will leave the post office at 6:45.  All girls taking boxes are also requested to take two clothes pins, dressed as twin dolls.  One of each pair will be sold at auction and supper partners found by matching dolls.

Hopbottom – The Christmas celebration of the Methodist church will this year be known as the White Gifts Services, following the ancient legend of White Gifts to The King. ALSO Christmas will be celebrated in the Universalist church on Saturday evening with a Christmas tree and by music and speaking by the children of the Sunday School.  Christmas will also be celebrated on Sunday morning.  Christmas is the greatest festival of the church.

West Bridgewater – While Mrs. Emma Bush and son, Marvin, were driving to church Sunday, their horse became frightened at a passing automobile, and tipped them over and demolished the cutter.

News Brief: Measles have made their appearance in the schools and no doubt will keep some children from having a very merry Christmas.  In order to avert a general epidemic parents should co-operate with the teachers, and wherever there is a case in a family the rest of the children should be kept at home.  When proper precautions are taken measles are not very dangerous.  If children, however, are allowed to go out and get cold and wet, further complications—such as pneumonia, may result.

200 Years Ago from the Centinel, Montrose, Pa. Dec. 24, 1816. 

*The last Sunday’s mail has not yet arrived, on account of the impracticability of crossing the [Susquehanna] river.  So long as the mail carrier can excuse himself on account of ice in the river, so long he will neglect to bring the mail; and we may expect the last winter’s farce over again.  The mail might pass on this side of the river on horseback if the carrier was disposed to bring it.

*The Centinel will hereafter be published on Saturday—to commence next week.  This arrangement has become necessary in order to accommodate the people in the north part of the county, by mail, with papers.  Persons living in Choconut township can have papers sent to Silver Lake Post Office, if requested; and those persons living in Silver Lake, at any place, on the post road, that they may choose.

*Silver Lake Bank. Notice is hereby given to the Stockholders of the Silver Lake Bank that an election for the purpose of electing thirteen Directors will be held at the house of Edward Fuller in Montrose, on Saturday the fourth day of January next at 1 o’clock P.M.  David Post, Charles Fraser, Jonah Brewster, Isaac P. Foster, Putnam Catlin, Isaac Post, Austin Howell, Stockholders.

On May 16, 2014, two police officers went to a residence in Philadelphia seeking to serve a material witness warrant upon Darian Smith.  The officers knocked on the front door and Smith’s mother answered.  As they were speaking to Smith’s mother, the officers observed Smith coming down an interior stairwell.  Upon seeing the police officers, Smith ran toward the rear of the residence.  The officers then entered and, upon finding the rear exit locked, proceeded to the basement area to search for Smith, who was found hiding underneath the staircase.  As they were apprehending Smith, the officers observed a pistol on the top of dresser.  The pistol itself was partially dismantled and was not operable.

Upon closer inspection, the officers discovered that the gun had an obliterated serial number.  The officers also found some of Smith’s personal identification cards in the same area on the dresser where the firearm was located.  Smith was charged with possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer’s number.  After a trial, he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months to 3 years imprisonment.  Smith filed an appeal of his conviction.

First, Smith argued that the Commonwealth had failed to demonstrate that he possessed a “firearm.”  Because the pistol was not operable and was missing parts, Smith argued it was not a “firearm.”  The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected Smith’s argument and noted that the Pennsylvania Legislature had defined a firearm to include not only a wholly functioning firearm, but also included “the frame or received of any such weapon.”  Therefore, it did not matter that the firearm was not operable when it was seized because there were enough component parts for this “firearm” to fall under the broad definition in the statute.

Second, Smith argued that he had not possessed it, i.e., it was not on his person when he was arrested rather it was located on a dresser in his mother’s residence.  The Superior Court found that there was sufficient evidence to prove Smith’s “constructive possession” of the firearm.  Under the law, constructive possession is “an inference arising from a set of facts that possession of the contraband was more likely than not.”  In this case, the firearm was located on a dresser top that likewise had identification cards belonging to Smith in close proximity to the firearm.  Smith’s driver’s license listed his mother’s address as his residence.  Based upon this evidence, the Superior Court concluded that there was support in the record that Smith constructively possessed this firearm.

Third, Smith argued that the manufacturer’s number was not altered because the Commonwealth expert testified that he could still read the number under a microscope.  In other words, even if someone had attempted to obliterate the firearm’s manufacturer’s number, they had failed because it could still be viewed with microscopic aid.    Smith argued that because the number was still readable then it was not “altered” as contemplated by the criminal statute.

The Superior Court likewise rejected this argument noting that the evidence demonstrated that a grinder or some kind of circular tool had been used on the firearm to remove the manufacturer’s number.  The lab expert testified that it was common to see many different attempts to obliterate a firearm’s serial number and that the lab had numerous techniques designed to recover the serial number despite the damage done to the firearm.  Magnification was one such method, but the expert also stated that there is a chemical test that can be done to attempt to recover the serial number.  Thus, the Superior Court determined that the evidence was sufficient to find that someone had used a tool in an attempt to remove the firearm’s manufacturer’s number to the extent that it was not visible without magnification.  The Superior Court concluded that “this degree of degradation of the number – rendering it illegible by ordinary observation – satisfied the statutory requirement that an alteration or change to the number be apparent on the firearm.”  Smith’s conviction and sentence were affirmed.

The skinny on snot

This is wintertime and everyone you know is fighting runny noses, clogged sinuses, post-nasal drip, and everything in between. Mucus is something everyone has, and some people wish they had a lot less of the gristly, sticky stuff. Sure, it can be gross to blow globs of snot into tissue after tissue when you have a cold or sinus infection. But mucus actually serves a very important purpose.

In humans, mucus is produced by mucous cells found in glands, which generates a substance rich in proteins and water. Mucus protects the epithelial cells which are part of the membranes lining the respiratory organs: nasal and sinus cavities, lungs, bronchi, etc. An important function of mucus is to protect against infection – bacteria, viruses, and foreign particles – and to provide moisture, trap foreign particles and lubricate membranes. It also forms in the esophagus to make food go down easier, in the stomach to protect the tissue from its strong acids, and in the intestines to aid the food assimilation process. It also contains antibodies that help the body recognize invaders like germs, as well as enzymes that kill the invaders it traps, and protein to make the mucus gooey and stringy and very unpalatable. 

The average person produces up to a quart of watery, clear mucus every day, even when one is healthy. Most snot slides down your esophagus (hope you weren‘t eating lunch just now!). Whenever the production of mucus increases dramatically in the upper respiratory tract, it is typically a symptom of a common ailment, for example: a cold, a virus infection, or bacterial infection. Ultra-spicy foods like wasabi and nuclear hot Buffalo wings will do the same thing. While a normal person needs to produce mucus to keep healthy, it is when mucus becomes thick and changes color that one needs to recognize the cause and do something about it, before a serious health condition develops, such as pneumonia. 

So should a person just drown in one’s own nasty secretions? Decongestants (e.g., Sudafed®) are OK for the times when you cannot breathe due to a cold. However, they are not as good for thick mucus. Why? Decongestants dry the tissues and make the mucus even thicker. So you take more decongestants and get into a vicious mucus-producing cycle. Decongestants also have side effects, which include dizziness, nervousness, and hypertension.

Antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (e.g., Benadryl®) block or limit the action of histamines, those substances triggered by allergic reactions that cause the tissues in the nose to swell and release thinner mucus (a runny nose). The main side effect of older antihistamines is drowsiness. They also can cause dry mouth, dizziness, and headache. You can also thin out the mucus with the expectorant guaifenesin. Thinner mucus is easier to get out of the body. Possible adverse reactions of guaifenesin include dizziness, headache, nausea, and vomiting.

An alternative for removing mucus is with nasal irrigation. The neti pot, a little teapot-shaped device, is one form of nasal irrigation. Or you can buy saline nasal spray at most pharmacies. If you are irrigating, you must use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. Otherwise, you will be introducing contaminants into your already sick nose. Avoid nose sprays that contain various drugs, which tend to dry out the nostrils. Recommendation: Irrigate your nose with saline every few hours. And relax in front of the TV with a bowl of hot chicken soup and a box of Puffs.

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