Susquehanna – On Tuesday of this week the Susquehanna Transcript starts in under a new management, having been placed under the control of Mr. U. Grant Baker, who for a number of years has edited the Towanda Daily Review, with brilliant success, as well as conducting newspaper work elsewhere. A local paper, especially a daily, should be an up-to-the minute chronicle of the happenings of the town and vicinity and its varied interests. There seems to be scope for a decided change in this regard, and doubtless, prove beneficial to both the paper and gratifying to its many readers. ALSO Joseph Kelly, who is home from Camp Meade, says the people here do not realize the seriousness of the situation, and he thinks all the boys at Camp Meade will be in France by spring.
Little Meadows – Patrick H. Kiley was killed Thursday, Nov. 8, 1917, while at work in the woods. He was the son of Cornelius and Ann (Hickey) Kiley, and was born in Ireland. He is survived by two brothers, Michael and Cornelius Kiley, both of Little Meadows. He was unmarried. The funeral was conducted at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, at the Little Meadows church.
Hallstead – George T. Hatfield, one of the oldest engineers on the Lackawanna, was killed in the railroad yards, at Scranton, Tuesday morning, Nov. 6, 1917. He was 57 years of age and is survived by his widow and two children, George Hatfield, of Binghamton, and Mrs. Louis Kenyon, of Demster, NY, and by three stepchildren, Mrs. Mack and Mrs. Oliver, of Binghamton and Harry Kapp, of Hallstead.
Montrose – Miss Frances Atkinson, of Lemoir, North Carolina, is now at the public library, coming here with the view of being the assistant librarian, the position becoming vacant by the recent resignation of Mrs. Lloyd Calby. Miss Atkinson has received training in the University Library, of North Carolina, and proposes to take further training in some large Pennsylvania library, to better equip herself for her chosen work. ALSO Andre & Sweet have installed their feed-grinding machinery in their new mill and are now ready for business. The firm is contemplating installing a flour mill next spring and believe that they can produce good wheat flour at around $11 per barrel. With local farmers taking greater interest in raising wheat, it would seem a profitable undertaking for every farmer to sow an acre or two of wheat next spring. Whole wheat bread is far more wholesome than bread made from bleached, finely bolted flour.
Gibson – All persons interested in the public library, please hand their subscriptions to C. H. VanGorder, James Strockbine or Mrs. H. G. Estabrook. New books will be purchased as soon as subscriptions are handed in. Subscribers please hand in lists of books they would like.
Brooklyn – A little past midnight the alarm of fire awakened some of our citizens and a half dozen or more autos from town, with as many neighboring men, hurried to answer the call for help from Wade H. Barnes, whose residence on the State road, about one mile below town, was found to be burning. The fire having started in the attic, near the chimney, nearly all the household goods on the first floor were saved, besides some fruit, vegetables, and eggs in the cellar by faithful work on the part of the men present, whose efforts also saved the barns, silos and other buildings from taking fire. There was no insurance. Mr. Barnes and family are already cozily settled in the Alva Quick house, and are thankful for many kindnesses shown.
Fair Hill – R. H. Raub was down to Easton, last week. Took up the body of N. H. Cool and took it down there to be buried by the side of his wife. D. D. Roe, of Fairdale, took him down with his auto truck. ALSO Our school is progressing finely under the supervision of Miss Elizabeth Austin, of Montrose.
Harford – The famous wood chopper, Dr. Havens Lewis, is now working for Will Warren. He is a poet as well as a wood cutter. He says:--“He can cut five (5) cords of wood in a day, and then kick up his heels and play.” AND In West Harford, Fred Matthews, of Scranton, visited at H. H. Estabrook’s last week. Mr. Matthews was at one time superintendent of the Soldiers’ Orphan School in this place, and has many friends who were glad to see him again.
Lynn – R. B. Williams, wife and son, and Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Fish, motored to Owego and returned on Sunday, making a trip of over 106 miles in a day.
Rush – The Red Cross has received its supply of wool and everyone is asked to do some knitting, as they are in need of warm clothes. The wool is at Mrs. Seth Stark’s. Call on her and get some of the work and help in a good cause.
Forest City – The high school basket ball team was defeated by the Blakely boys Saturday afternoon. The game was a close one resulting in a score of 15 to 14. The return game will be played in the high school gymnasium tomorrow evening. ALSO – Miss Nellie Burdick, who has for some time been employed in Attorney Maxey’s office, has gone to Washington, D. C. to accept a government clerkship.
Uniondale – The local Suffragettes are rejoicing over the victory in New York. They are disappointed, however, when they think that it will be 1921 before the suffrage amendment can be submitted to the voters of Pennsylvania. They think by that time public sentiment will have changed and Pennsylvania will grant equal suffrage.
News Brief: Shoes no longer peep from neath ladies’ skirts—the skirt may be short, but not the look—so the appearance of the shoe becomes highly important. Read & Warner’s (Montrose) advertisement, today, speaks entirely of this article of wear.
200 Years Ago from the Montrose Centinel, November 15, 1817.
*ORDAINED. In Harford, (Penn.) on Wednesday the 12th inst. the Rev. William Chamberlain to the work of the gospel ministry; and under the direction of the Board of Commissioners for foreign missions is to go as a missionary to the Cherokee, and other tribes of the native inhabitants of our country.
*SHERIFF’S SALE. By virtue of a writ of vend. expo. issued out of the court of common pleas of Susquehanna county, to me directed, will be exposed to sale at public vendue at the house of Benaiah Chatfield on Wednesday the 26th inst. the following property. Viz: 2 mows of hay, one mow of wheat, 6 fatting hogs, 3 cows, 3 yearlings, 5 calves, one bull and one bay horse. Seized and taken in execution as the property of said Benaiah Chatfield. Sale to commence at 1 o’clock P.M. AUSTIN HOWELL, Sheriff. Sheriff’s Office, Montrose. Nov. 15, 1817.
Donna Peltier is the mother of Samuel Monarch and the grandmother of Monarch’s eight year-old daughter. On a Saturday morning, Monarch and his daughter stopped to see Peltier and Peltier discovered that her son was intoxicated. When Monarch left her residence with her granddaughter in the car, Peltier took action to protect her granddaughter – she immediately called 911 to report that her son was intoxicated and was driving with her granddaughter in the car.
Police were dispatched but they did not catch up to Monarch until he was actually in his home. The officers observed that Monarch’s motor vehicle had recently been driven because the hood was still warm and the engine was still making clicking sounds as it was cooling. When Monarch answered the door, the officers observed that there was a strong odor of alcohol about his person, he was slurring his speech, and he was unstable on his feet. The police requested that Monarch perform any field sobriety tests, which he refused and he also refused to provide either a breath or blood test to determine his blood alcohol content. Monarch was charged with DUI and Endangering the Welfare of a Child based upon having driven intoxicated with his 8-year old daughter in the car. After a jury trial, Monarch was convicted of both counts.
At the trial, Peltier was called as a witness and her testimony was much different than the substance of an interview that she provided to the police. She contended that Monarch had left her home much earlier than she initially reported, that he did not exhibit any signs of intoxication and that she did not believe that he was intoxicated.
When the police had interviewed Peltier, they utilized a video recording device to make a video of Peltier’s statement. To rebut Peltier’s trial testimony, the trial court allowed the Commonwealth to play Peltier’s videotaped interview. In this particular recorded interview, Peltier offered her opinion that her son was intoxicated when he left her residence in his motor vehicle.
On appeal, Monarch argued that the trial court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to play the videotape recording where his mother offered her opinion that Monarch was intoxicated when he drove away from her home. The Superior Court noted that a witness can offer an opinion provided that the witness perceived the events and had a sufficient basis upon which to render that opinion. As to intoxication, the Superior Court noted it is not necessary to have any specialized training or knowledge in order to recognize an intoxicated individual. In the recorded interview, Peltier admitted that on previous occasions she had observed her son in an intoxicated state. In other words, Peltier knew how her son acted when he was sober and how he acted when he was drunk. Peltier also stated that her son smelled like alcohol and stumbled as he walked. As such, the Superior Court determined that the trial court properly admitted Peltier’s videotaped statement wherein she opined that her son was intoxicated prior to getting into his motor vehicle and driving away from her residence with her granddaughter.
The Superior Court affirmed Monarch’s conviction. This case presents several good lessons. First, there was outstanding police work conducted in connection with the investigation, i.e., the decision to record the interview with Peltier so as to preserve her testimony as it is not uncommon for relatives and friends of a defendant to have less than perfect memories when a criminal case is finally tried. Second, when a parent provides adverse testimony in a criminal proceeding against a child, it is extremely difficult to overcome.
Only 7 days of painkillers? What if I need more?
Barb came from the hospital where she had surgery and handed the pharmacist a prescription for an opioid painkiller. The pharmacist informed her that even though the doctor wrote for a 30-day supply, he would only be able to fill it for a 7-day supply. Barb asked him if the remaining pills could be dispensed as refills. This pharmacist said no and informed her that Barb would have to get a new prescription for the drug if she needed to continue her pain therapy. “That’s so unfair,” Barb exclaimed.
Yes, thought the pharmacist. It is not fair. It is inconvenient for the patient and more burdensome for the pharmacist who has to log out the narcotics 4 times a month per patient, instead of just once. But, there is a good reason for these extra efforts. The US is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. Opioids – including prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl – killed more than 64,000 people in 2016, more than any year on record. Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. That is why, starting in February 2018, CVS Caremark, which insures 90 million people, will adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines for prescribing opioids that limit doses and duration of the drugs prescribed by doctors. The CDC recommends prescribing narcotics in as low a dose as possible for as short a time as needed. Not only will CVS only reimburse for 7 days of prescriptions, but for first-time opioid prescription-fillers, it will also dispense short-acting, rather than extended-release, versions of the drugs for these patients.
In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids, which is more than enough to give every American over the age of 12 their own bottle of pills, according to the CDC. Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers. Ninety-four percent of respondents in a 2014 survey of people in treatment for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “far more expensive and harder to obtain.”
Not always. The pharmacist knows that a person will find a doctor who liberally and needlessly writes prescriptions for a narcotic because the patient has “back pain” or “severe headaches” or some other unverifiable ailment. Maybe they have insurance or even Medicaid which will charge a nominal co-pay or nothing at all. If a person gets a bottle of 100 oxycodone tablets for a $1 and sells each one for $10, then the profit is $999. Meanwhile, the original “patient” graduates to heroin. A Washington Post report stated that a single dose of heroin now costs less than a pack of cigarettes. Theoretically, the pharmacist can charge the patient’s insurance for the 7-day supply of an opioid and allow the patient to pay for the rest in cash if the doctor wrote for a 30-day supply. Not very ethical. Possibly illegal.
When will the opioid epidemic end? Follow the money and the politics. If healthcare is cut back, as it will be if Trumpcare is implemented, then the situation will get a lot worse before it gets better. Speculation exists that there may be 150,000 deaths due to opioids in 2019. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry is making billions off the epidemic. Heroin is being combined with elephant tranquilizers making it deadlier. Some sources say it may take a full generation to get the epidemic under control. Expect deaths to soar into the millions. Until then, Barb is only getting a 7-day supply of her narcotic. Life is not fair but life is all we have to work with.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD, is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Read more at www.rx-press.com
