Forest Lake – Beloved clergyman, Elder W. C. Tilden, aged 88, the oldest and undoubtedly the best known clergyman in Susquehanna County, died yesterday afternoon at his home in this township. Elder Tilden came with his parents from Connecticut when four years of age, and his life had been spent in this township. For 46 years he had lived in the house in which he died. His father was Augustus Tilden, an elder for many years in the Baptist church at Birchardville, in which his son was destined to preach for over half a century. He preached the funeral sermons of thousands in his long ministry, and wedded hundreds of happy couples. Besides his aged wife, a faithful helpmeet through all the years of their happy union, two daughters survive, Mrs. Clark D. Dayton and Mrs. Charles P. Ball, both of Birchardville.
South Ararat – Mr. Bronson, of Uniondale, was at Fiddle Lake this week buying cattle. Pretty icy for a man of his age to lead a cow, or try at least to, but he is one of the plucky kind, so he tied the cow to a tree and sent for his hired hand to come to his rescue, which he did, and Mr. Bronson took the team and left the hired man to slide along home with the cow as best he could.
ALSO A birthday party was given Mrs. Wm. Westgate, of Burnwood, Tuesday evening. A sleigh load went from this place. A very pleasant time is the report. They left her a purse of money, showing their high esteem of her and wishing her many happy returns of the day.
Gibson – A Lincoln Day program will be given at the M. E. church, next Sunday morning, in the interest of the Freedman’s Aid and Southern Educational Society.
North Bridgewater – The old bear saw his shadow all right last Friday. ALSO B. R. Lyons, our mail carrier, said the blizzard yesterday was terrible, although he always tries to get through. ALSO R. L. Clink, while loading hay at the Noble farm, on Saturday last, frosted his face quite badly during the severe cold.
New Milford – O. C. Whitney has gone to Southern Texas, where he will be engaged in buying vegetables for a large wholesale house. ALSO We learn that Frederick M. Davenport, Jr., has recently received the Ayres prize, which is awarded annually at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., to that member of the freshman class passing the best entrance examinations. It is a coincidence that his father, our former townsman, took the same prize when he entered Wesleyan in 1885.
Uniondale – Theron Dimmock is one of the few to whom the care of Jefferson Davis was entrusted at Fortress Monroe, during the time Davis was a prisoner. Mr. Dimmock was a member of Battery L, Third Pennsylvania Artillery in 1865-6, and states that Davis was peevish and cross, nothing was good enough for the ex-rebel chieftain, and he delighted in taunting his captors. Cassius M. Clay, a son of the famous orator and statesman, Henry Clay, was confined in the fortress with Davis. Mr. Dimmock states that Clay was a gentleman in every way and respected the authorities. When he left he treated his guards to delicacies and choice liquors.
Apolacon – Wm. T. Burgin has sold his farm to John Purtell, of Middletown.
Thompson – Mildred Dix, while on her way to school, Thursday morning, slipped on the ice and fell, breaking her arm; the Doctor was called and put it in a cast which he says it must be kept in for 28 days.
Elk Lake – A number of teams have been busy drawing ice for the Auburn creamery.
Meshoppen – The Meshoppen borough council has granted a franchise to L. L. Sterling and John J. Sherwood, of Meshoppen; C. S. Miles and Arthur L. Hommedieu, of Wilkes-Barre, for lighting the village with electricity. The franchise is exclusive for 25 years under certain conditions, but the borough reserves the right to purchase the plant at any time at a price fixed by appraisers.
Montrose – Mrs. Samuel Katz is entertaining her sister, Mrs. L. Glock, her husband and six children, who have just arrived from Russia. They had very little trouble getting out of the country as the children were too young to be of service in the war.
Franklin Forks – Mrs. Ed Conklin celebrated her 77th birthday the 26th. She received 46 cards.
Brooklyn – W. A. Stephens went to Cadillac, Michigan, last week, to attend the marriage of his son, Tracy, who is city manager at that place.
Forest City – Dominick and Angelo Francisko, Wm. Sredenschek, Joseph Prudish and Frank Rupnick were in Scranton yesterday in attendance on the naturalization court. ALSO All preparations have been made for the annual dance which is to be given by the senior class of the high school in the borough building tomorrow evening. The entertainment committee has made elaborate preparations for this affair and a grand time is expected.
Harford – It may be of interest to know that Laban Capron named Harford, Pa. The name was derived from Dr. Capron’s college in Hartford, Conn., and the letter “t” was dropped in order to make, as Miss Blackman’s history records: “The orthography of the word corresponding with its customary pronunciation.” Major Labon Capron was the first postmaster of Harford. He was a surveyor; also a commissioner for two terms, (1812-1813) when the commissioners were appointed by the governor. Dr. Comfort Capron came to Harford to practice in 1794, where he was successful until death claimed him. He died at the age of 56 years, and was the first adult buried in Harford Cemetery. His grave is, doubtless, the only one marked as a surgeon of the Revolutionary war, in Susquehanna county.
200 Years Ago from the Centinel, Montrose, Pa, February 1, 1817
*MARRIED, at Plymouth (Luzerne County) on Monday the 20th ult. by Noah Wadhams, Esq., Mr. Daniel Roberts of Montrose to Miss Esther Atherton of the former place.
*MARRIED, in Montrose on the 30th ult. by David Post, Esq., Mr. Reuben Parmeter to Miss Lois Nichols, daughter of Deacon Amos Nichols, all of this town.
*MARRIED, the same day, in Waterford [Brooklyn] by J. W. Raynsford, Esq., Mr. Thomas Williams, of Otego (Otsego County, N. Y.) to Miss Betsey Lord, daughter of Josiah Lord, of Waterford.
*WHEREAS my wife Russel has squandered away my property to a large amount and behaved herself in an unbecoming manner; This is to forbid all persons harboring or trusting her on my account as I will pay no debts of her contracting after this date. ELKENAH TINGLEY, Harford Township, Jan. 31, 1817.
Rafie L. Ali was a co-owner of a convenience store in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. On May 21, 2012, his partner, Muhammed Himed, was working at the counter and sold K2, a synthetic marijuana, to a group of young men. Thereafter, the young men smoked the synthetic marijuana and were later involved in a serious automobile accident in which 2 out of the 3 young men died.
During the police investigation into the crash, it was discovered that the young men had used synthetic marijuana and that it had been purchased from Ali’s convenience store. Thereafter, the police conducted an undercover investigation and purchased synthetic marijuana from Ali’s store, including purchases where Ali was the person who sold the synthetic marijuana. Ali was charged with various drug offenses, including felony counts relating to the delivery of a synthetic controlled substance. One of those counts involved the sale of the synthetic marijuana to the young men who were involved in the fatal accident because it occurred at Ali’s store. After a jury trial, Ali was convicted of various counts, including a count relating to the sale of synthetic marijuana to the young men involved in the traffic accident.
At the time of his sentencing, the Commonwealth presented evidence from the families of the deceased young men. The defense objected to this testimony as Ali had not been convicted of any homicide offense relating to these deceased individuals. The defense noted that the young men had consumed alcohol and smoked real marijuana in addition to the use of the K2 synthetic marijuana. There was no real evidence as to what, if any impact, the synthetic marijuana had in connection with the automobile accident. Despite this objection, the sentencing court allowed the Commonwealth to present this victim impact testimony prior to sentencing. Ali received a total sentence of 7 to 14 years in a state correctional facility.
On appeal, Ali again contended that it was improper for the sentencing court to consider the victim impact statements made by the family members of the deceased young men. The case made its way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which noted that it was a matter of first impression. The Court determined that such evidence was properly admitted at the sentencing proceeding. The Court conceded that it was not truly “victim impact” testimony as Ali’s convictions were not related to any homicide offense. But the Court concluded that the evidence was not “victim impact” evidence but more properly considered as evidence of the “community impact” of Ali’s criminal acts.
A sentencing court must consider many factors in determining an appropriate sentence, including such things as “the nature and circumstances of the crime, the effect on the community, and the defendant’s circumstances and needs.” Thus, the Supreme Court determined that the impact statements were relevant to Ali’s sentencing proceeding. While affirming the sentencing court’s decision, the Court did provide a cautionary statement about this kind of community impact evidence: “Of course, the sentencing court must take a measured approach to community and indirect victim effects depending upon the level of attenuation between the crime and the proffered impact.”
In his dissent, Justice Baer expressed concern about the use of such victim impact evidence under the theory of community impact evidence: “This holding renders the statutory limitations and substantial body of case law regarding the admissibility of victim impact evidence largely nugatory, as most victim impact evidence can now be subsumed by the newly created amorphous category of admissible ‘community impact evidence.’”
Patients who have no patience
True tales from the front line. The pharmacist was thinking that 99% of his patients were friendly, polite, and respected his advice on medications and health in general. However, there is the 1% that can be challenging (which is a nice way of saying “rude and impatient”). For example, one “gentleman” arrived at the pharmacy about 15 minutes before opening – a time when the pharmacist is listening to messages, booting up the computer and, otherwise, getting ready for the day. One of the messages on the machine was from that very same man who said that he needed to have his morphine filled that day. So, after he banged loudly on the still-locked pharmacy door, the pharmacist let him in at which point he said, “Is my morphine filled because I have to get going?” The pharmacist explained that a) nothing can be filled until the prescription is presented, and b) the drug order, which contained the morphine, was not due for several hours. “That is why I called and left a message. Maybe I should go elsewhere.” And so he did.
One evening, 5 minutes before closing, a young lady came into the pharmacy waving her prescription as she approached the pharmacist. “I need this filled right away!” she demanded. The pharmacist noticed 2 things immediately. First, she was not in the computer meaning she had never been at his pharmacy before. Secondly, the script was for Xanax, a controlled substance. The pharmacist thought it looked phony. But the doctor was likely gone for the day and the pharmacist would not be able to verify it. The woman started tapping her foot and looking at her watch. The pharmacist asked if she could come back tomorrow (so he could make sure the Rx was valid) and she angrily said “No!” “Maybe I should go elsewhere.” And she grabbed the prescription from him and left.
A call came through to the pharmacist. The woman on the phone started spewing a jumble of words. “My apartment was broken into and all my medications were ripped off!” The pharmacist expressed his condolences. The patient said she needed everything refilled. The pharmacist told her that he would have to charge her for the new scripts but she interrupted him. “You need to replace these drugs or I will die! That’s your job!” she yelled. The pharmacist balked at the idea of giving her $800 worth of drugs for free and explained to her that the pharmacy was a business, not a charity. The words that then came out of the woman’s mouth are unprintable here but the pharmacist did take a verbal shellacking.
A husband and wife came into the store with about a dozen prescriptions. They were waiting for their order to be completed when another man came in for a refill. Since the technician was working on the couple’s scripts, the pharmacist decided he would quickly fill the man’s prescription and send him on his way. The husband yelled, “Hey, we have been waiting for 20 minutes for our drugs!” The wife angrily agreed. “Oh no you don’t!” the wife yelled. “First come, first serve! I thought the customer was always right.” And with that, they asked for all their prescriptions back which took more time because the insurance claims had to be reversed. The enraged husband shouted, “We’re never coming back!”
Then Mrs. Baker came in for a few refills. The pharmacist always liked this sweet lady, who was patient and kind. “How has your day been so far?” she asked. The pharmacist replied that it got better as soon as she walked into the store. So, just as one person can ruin your day, another can make it all better.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD, is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Visit him at www.rx-press.com.
