Heart Lake – Dance at Heart Lake tonight. Music by Olaver & Coan, the pianist and drummer who furnished the music for the dance July 4th. Dance tickets, 75 cents.
Birchardville – A large motor truck driven by F. E. Fessenden, of Birchardville, brought six fine registered Jersey heifers to the farm of A. M. Shoemaker across the river on Saturday. The cattle were bought of D. F. & S. C. Birchard, dealers in registered stock. Mr. Fessenden made the trip of 30 miles in four hours, and the cattle appeared to rather enjoy the ride. [Tunkhannock newspaper]
Hop Bottom – Fair skies, no accidents, plenty of eats, a fine parade, good band music, a splendid patriotic speech, a lively ball game and a splendid home talent entertainment in the evening, with a large enthusiastic audience of the day, made the 4th of July celebration at Foster one long to be remembered.
Brooklyn – What might have proved a very serious accident occurred here last Thursday evening. Luther Ely, Jr. and Ira Barnes, Jr., of Philadelphia, were playing in front of the Ely home, when Luther started to pour some powder from a powder horn on to a piece of paper. Unknown to the boys the paper had been used to light fire works with, and still held a little fire. The powder caught fire and in the horn exploded, burning both boys about the face and hands. The Barnes boy was able to be about the next day, but the Ely boy was confined to the house several days and is still under the doctor’s care. In justice to their parents, it must be said that no one knew that the boys had powder, and the Ely boy had obtained it some time ago, when someone had spilled it in loading a musket and he had gathered it up.
Dimock – Wallace Fish, who is nearly 82 years old, seems to be more than ordinary smart for a man of his years. He attends his many chores, hoeing in his large garden and making daily trips to the store and postoffice for his trade and mail, and also chopping his fire wood.
Ararat – The children and grandchildren of John Keenan, Sr., met at his home on June 27 to celebrate their father’s 60th birthday. Photographer Rounds, of Forest City, was present in the afternoon and took a group picture of the entire family. A party was held in the evening with 60 guests in attendance. Refreshments were served consisting of ham sandwiches, olives, bananas, ice cream and cake. Visiting and dancing were enjoyed.
Clifford – Mrs. Zilpha Lott, 80 years of age and a life-long resident of this place, died Wednesday afternoon of last week at the home of her son, William Lott, in Greenfield township. The funeral was held from the son’s home with interment in the Clifford cemetery. She is survived by her husband, William Lott, and two sons, William and Bert Lott. ALSO Miss Martha Pratt, assistant “hello” girl in our central [telephone] office, spent the Fourth at her home in Hopbottom.
Forest City – A colt driven by Mr. Tripp, of Herrick, became frightened on North Main street Friday afternoon. Mr. Tripp was thrown out of the carriage when the king bolt broke but escaped injury. The colt sped down the street at a lively clip until it was intercepted by Timothy Kilhullen, who grabbed it by the bits and succeeded in stopping the steed. It was a heroic act on the part of the genial Tim and he ought to be rewarded by the presentation of a Carnegie medal. ALSO – Michael Skubic, who recently visited relatives here, on returning to his regiment was informed of his promotion to a sergeant. Located at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minn., he is without doubt one of the youngest sergeants in the regular army. He is bright, studious and well versed in tactics.
Lewis Lake – The railroad company won out in the injunction proceedings by which it was attempted to stop the company from work on the dam at this place. The company was acting in compliance with orders from the state and had no intention of raising the water level. Work on the dam will be resumed at an early date.
Herrick Twp. – Mr. and Mrs. John Jones, of Tresco, celebrated the 40th anniversary of their marriage, on Sunday, in company with their children and grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were married in Wales and shortly afterward emigrated to America and for the past quarter of a century have been residents of this township and are highly respected. Their children, George, of New York city; Harry, Valens and Frank, of Scranton, and Mrs. Howard Wells, of Clifford, and six grandchildren, attended the anniversary.
Elkdale – Rev. Stanton’s Sunday School class will serve ice cream on J. A. McAlla’s lawn Friday evening, July 20th.
News Brief: For the past week or ten days fine home-grown strawberries have been received in the local markets. They retail at two quarts for a quarter. ALSO A flint knife has recently been found in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, which had been used in performing surgical operations in the Stone Age. It is almost identical with the operating knife adopted by surgeons within the past few years. ALSO Governor Brumbaugh has signed the bill to erect a state bridge over the Susquehanna, at Falls, Wyoming county, at a cost of $195,000.
200 Years Ago from the Montrose Centinel, July 12, 1817.
*Will be disposed of a PUBLIC VENDUE. On Friday the 8th of August next, all the personal property of Truman Clinton, late of Clifford Township, deceased. HOSEA TIFFANY, JR.,
FREEMAN PECK, Administrators of said estate.
*8 Dollars Reward. Escaped from the custody of the subscriber on the 2nd of July inst. Samuel Dailey, of Clifford township, Susquehanna co. Pa. a prisoner on an execution in favor of James Clark, Innkeeper. Said Daily is of a sandy complexion, somewhat freckled and about 21 years of age. The above reward will be paid to any person who shall secure him in the goal of this county. RELAS H. FOOT, Const. of New Milford township. July 8, 1817.
*Caution to the Public. ALL persons are hereby cautioned against purchasing 4 notes of hand given by the subscriber to Derrick Cobb, and one to William C. Turrel, dated the 4th of March last, as no value has been received, and I shall not pay them unless compelled by law. BENAJAH STONE. Bridgewater, June 12, 1817.
*MARRIAGE. The father of the great Sir Thomas Moore, and who was one of the Judges of the King’s Bench, broached a curious opinion respecting matrimony. Whilst engaged in a discourse upon the subject, he compared a man seeking a wife, to a person putting his hand into a bag full of snakes, amongst which there was one eel; ‘where he may,’ observed this learned Judge, ‘chance to light upon the eel, but it is a hundred to one that he is stung by a snake.’
On June 30, 1995, Duane Buck, carrying a rifle and a shotgun, went to the home of his former girlfriend. He entered the residence and shot three people, killing two of them, including his former girlfriend whom he shot as she begged for her life in front of her two young children. Buck remained at the scene until the police arrived and arrested him. At his trial, the police officers testified that when they apprehended Buck, he was “happy” and “smiling and laughing.” Buck was charged and tried for capital murder.
Because the murders happened in Texas, the death penalty could not be imposed unless the State demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that there was “a probability that [Buck] would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society.” During the sentencing phase of the trial, Buck’s defense attorney called Dr. Walter Quijano who had performed a psychological evaluation on Buck. Dr. Quijano noted that Buck’s prior periods of incarceration had demonstrated that he did well in such a structured environment and that he was unlikely that he would be threat in the future, and that his prior acts of violence had been directed only at females with whom he had a romantic relationship.
Both the defense attorney and the prosecution asked Dr. Quijano about the “statistical factors” that he had considered in making his determination as to the probability of Buck’s future violent acts. Dr. Quijano opined that there were statistical factors that were “know[n] to predict future dangerousness.” As to these various factors indicative of violent behavior, Dr. Quijano testified that Buck fell into two different categories, namely Buck’s gender and his race. He testified that statistically males are more violent than females and that it was “a sad commentary that minorities, Hispanics and black people are over represented in the Criminal Justice System.” In his written expert report, which was admitted into evidence, there was a statistical section that read: “Race. Black: Increased probability. There is an over-representation of Blacks among the violent offenders.”
The jury deliberated for two days and eventually determined that Buck should receive the death penalty. During the deliberations, the jury specifically requested a copy of Dr. Quijano’s report to review, which contained the section indicating that Buck’s race increased the probability that he would be a danger in the future.
Buck challenged his death sentence on the grounds that his defense counsel was ineffective based upon the decision to present Dr. Quijano as a witness knowing the manner in which he had utilized Buck’s race. While the prosecution conceded that Dr. Quijano’s use of race was impermissible, it argued that the death sentence should be upheld on various procedural grounds. The case made its way to the United States Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion and included strong language condemning the use of race as a statistical factor to predict the probability of future violence: “Given that the jury had to make a finding of future dangerousness before it could impose a death sentence, Dr. Quijano’s report said, in effect, that the color of Buck’s skin made him more deserving of execution. It would be patently unconstitutional for a state to argue that a defendant is liable to be a future danger because of his race.”
Buck’s prior violent acts had all occurred outside of prison and had been aimed at females with whom Buck had romantic relationships. Given that he would be spending the rest of his life incarcerated, Dr. Quijano had testified that there was little risk of future violence in that setting. While the prosecution argued that race played no role in the jury’s deliberation, Chief Justice Roberts disagreed: “But one thing would never change: the color of Buck’s skin. Buck would always be black. And according to Dr. Quijano, that immutable characteristic carried with it an ‘[i]ncreased probability’ of future violence. Here was hard statistical evidence – from an expert – to guide an otherwise speculative inquiry.” Based upon the toxic nature of Dr. Quijano’s testimony relating to race, the Court determined that Buck’s counsel had been ineffective in presenting Dr. Quijano as a defense witness.
Why do some people die soon after retirement?
Mrs. Brown, a neighbor, gave the pharmacist the bad news: One of his patients had died. "Paul was 58. He was looking for to Medicare and Social Security. He thought he would have a nice long retirement but then he was gone, just like that," she said. Paul did seem to have the prospect for a lengthy post-employment life. He had been an advertising executive and worked very hard for decades, often under stress. Beautiful home, devoted wife, 3 kids with a second grandchild on the way.
Early retirement is supposed to give you extra golden years to enjoy. But that may not happen, suggests a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). An analysis of US Shell Oil Corporation employees revealed that people who retire at age 55 and live to be at least 65 die sooner than people who retire at 65. After age 65, the early retirees have a 37% higher risk of death than counterparts who retired at 65. That's not all. People who retire at 55 are 89% more likely to die in the 10 years after retirement than those who retire at 65.
"This difference could not be attributed to the effects of sex, socioeconomic status, or calendar year of the study, although the poorer health status of some early retirees may play some part," noted Shan P. Tsai at Shell Health Services. The researchers looked at all past employees of Shell Oil who retired at ages 55, 60, or 65.
Looking at thousands of employees who retired from Shell between 1973 and 2003, researchers discovered that those who retired at 55 died younger, on average, than those who retired at 65. The effect held even for those who retired at 55 but were still alive at 65, making it somewhat less likely that they retired early because of failing health. Likewise, a study of more than 16,827 Greeks (The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study) found that retirees were 51% more likely to die earlier than employed people of the same age. It excluded those who had been previously diagnosed with serious illnesses.
Couldn't the stress of a working life be deadly in its own way? Yes, but research suggests that too little stress might also be a killer. While some retirees lead active, healthy lives, peppering their days with tennis matches and volunteer work, others languish in front of the television. The everyday routine of getting up, going to work, interacting with colleagues, and striving for professional goals can keep people more physically and mentally fit than a quiet yet dull retirement. And continuing to make money also doesn't hurt.
There is a perception that early retirement is associated with a better quality of life and perhaps even with increased survival. However, an increase in life expectancy for people who retire earlier compared with those who retire later has not been established. What's the answer? Get involved, stay active, and don't give up on your health. Enjoy your retirement in a way Paul never had a chance to.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD, is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Read more at www.rx-press.com
