Montrose – The library is to be closed on Mondays and Fridays until further notice in order to conserve fuel. ALSO J. J. Ryan and Co. is installing steam heat at the Titman House. This will insure comfortable quarters for the guests of the house.
Forest City – One of the oldest landmarks of this place was totally consumed by fire. Fire was seen issuing from the Traction Hotel and hall at 3:15 a. m. and soon the building was a mass of flames. The origin of the fire is unknown but it is supposed was caused by an overheated stove in the kitchen. On reaching the fire the firemen were handicapped by frozen hydrants, thus allowing the fire a good start and spread to adjoining buildings owned by Jacob and Henry Weiss and J. Kozlowski. The Weiss building was almost totally destroyed and roof and south side of the Kozlowski structure was badly burned. There was a fruit and confectionery stand in the Weiss building and the Kozlowskis conducted a grocery, dry goods and butcher shop.
Great Bend – Mr. and Mrs. Leon Tuttle drove Wm. Hunt’s horse to Binghamton, Wednesday. As Mr. Tuttle was hitching up in a livery barn on Water street, the horse broke from him, with the back pad and bells on, and came home alone in about two hours time, not any the worse for the trip.
Uniondale – The storm on Monday proved to be the worst of the season. L. M. Owens’ milk team came from Elkdale, but was prevented from returning. Tuesday the farmers turned out and made the roads fairly passable. John J. Simpson brought a large force of men from his vicinity with shovels and they dug the trenches.
New Milford – The citizens of this place, who are working for a temperance town, have shown their steadfastness in the cause of making their town dry and keeping it dry by purchasing the Jay House. Representatives of the temperance people of New Milford were here on Wednesday and filed the deed of record for the property. The promoters have responsible parties in view to conduct the hotel, are planning extensive improvements and promise one of the best conducted hotels in this part of the state, The Jay House, for a number of years, has been considered New Milford’s leading hotel.
Little Meadows – John A. Williams, who lately established equipment for crushing limestone in a quarry here, is being swamped with the demand for the soil sweetener in that part of the county. The rock has a high test and the quantity is apparently unlimited. Owing to the distance from a railroad in which the farmers of the western part of the county are situated, the enterprise is of vast benefit to them in producing larger crops.
County News – Mrs. Clementine VanAuken, who has been State nurse for this county for nine years, has resigned her position and Miss Farris, of Tunkhannock, has been appointed to succeed her. Mrs. VanAuken has been very painstaking with her people and has improved the living conditions in many cases here and around Susquehanna, where the two dispensaries have been located.
Springville Twp. – The death of Sterling Beebe, aged resident living near Pleasant Grove, occurred on Jan. 21. Mr. Beebe had been to town in the morning and in the afternoon went to the barn to husk corn. Not returning at the usual time, Mrs. Beebe went out and found him unconscious. He was cared for by neighbors and a physician summoned, but death came about midnight. After the funeral, held from his home, he was interred in the Newton Cemetery. Mr. Beebe was Civil War veteran and a member of Lieut. H. C. Titman Post of Auburn,
Hopbottom – Earl Tiffany has given the children of the Universalist Sunday School a free sleighride during many years in succession. Last Saturday he did it again. He hitched up his four-in-hand to his big bob-sled, covered a bed of hay with a lot of heavy blankets, took in a whole host of children, provided them with heavy blankets to keep them warm, and drove off with them for a long ride. They went down the creek on the highway toward Nicholson, and up the stream on the macadam toward Brooklyn until they were all cold enough to come in. It was a famous ride, long to be remembered and greatly enjoyed by all. Upon their return to the church the ladies of the society served hot refreshments to them all. It was a great occasion.
Rush – Mrs. Catherine Haire has sold the Haire hotel, at Lawton, to Nicholas Snyder.
Auburn Twp. – The snow is about twenty-eight inches deep here.
Tunkhannock - The first piece of baggage checked over this section of the Lehigh Valley road belonged to Mrs. Elmer L. Bolles, of Vineland, N. J. who was enroute to Auburn Township to visit friends in September 1869. The tracks were rough, the locomotives small and used wood for fuel, and the cars were crude in comparison with those of the present day. Mrs. Bolles declared that the train stopped at every cross-roads and hitching post along the way.
Ainey – Olin W. Taylor came home from Chester sick, he says, with the Hog Island grippe. He says they all have it down there. He is better and thinks he will return to his work the 1st of February.
200 Years Ago from the Montrose Centinel, January 31, 1818.
* Melancholy. On Friday evening, the 23d inst. the body of Charles M’Carty, of Silver Lake township, was found under a tree top mangled in a shocking manner. It appeared that he had, in attempting to fall a tree, lodged it upon another tree; and in attempting to fall the one on which it had lodged the limbs that sustained the lodged one, gave way and fell directly upon him. His scull [skull] was broken in, and one of his arms was broken in several places. The Coroner’s Inquest sat upon the body and brought in a verdict of “accidental death.” He has left a wife and two children in indigent circumstances, without a relative in America.
In January 2012, Thor Perry was sentenced to a period of incarceration at the Erie County Correctional Facility for a physical assault that he committed upon his ex-girlfriend. At that time, Perry did not know that his ex-girlfriend’s uncle, Jason Worcester, worked at the jail as a corrections officer. Shortly after he was admitted, Perry was physically beaten by a number of fellow inmates.
An investigation into Perry’s beating revealed that Worcester and another corrections officer (Palmer) had arranged to have several other inmates beat Perry in retaliation to what Perry had done to Worcester’s niece. On the evening of Perry’s assault, Worcester and Palmer gained access to Perry’s housing pod so that they could facilitate and witness the beating. Both Worcester and Palmer were fired, arrested, and ultimately convicted of criminal charges in connection with their role in planning the physical assault upon Perry.
Perry sued Erie County contending that it was responsible for his injuries, i.e., the county operated and the jail and should have made certain that he was safe and secure. The trial court dismissed Perry’s complaint. The trial court noted that the Warden of the jail had attempted to terminate Worcester prior to Perry’s assault based upon laziness and unreliability, but this attempt was overturned as a result of Worcester filing a grievance under his union contract and getting a labor arbitrator to reinstate him. There was no evidence, however, that the Warden was ever aware that Worcester posed a threat of violence to any inmate.
Perry also argued that Erie County failed to have adequate employee supervision in place on the evening of the incident. Because Worcester was supervised by a fellow union member who was not permitted to discipline or evaluate Worcester, Perry contended that there was inadequate supervision of the correction officers at the jail. The trial court noted that there was no evidence, prior to this incident, that Worcester ever engaged in any conduct that would have placed the jail on notice that he presented a danger to the safety of the inmates. For this reason, there was nothing to suggest that even if there had been inadequate supervision of Worcester that more adequate supervision would have identified any problem prior to Perry’s assault.
Perry argued that Worcester was not assigned to his housing pod and that the jail did not have sufficient policies in place to prevent Worcester from entering his housing pod. The trial court found that the jail actually had a policy in place that prohibited Worcester – or any corrections officer – from entering an area that they were not assigned. For this reason, Perry’s contention that the jail had not taken appropriate steps to keep Worcester out of his housing pod was likewise dismissed.
On appeal, the Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of Perry’s claim against the Erie County. As to the standard applicable to the care provided by a correctional facility, the Superior Court provided the following constitutional standard: “A prison official cannot be found liable under the Eighth Amendment for denying an inmate humane conditions of confinement unless the official knows of and disregards an excessive risk to inmate health or safety; the official must both be aware of the facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw that inference.”
The Superior Court agreed that there “was no indication that the Warden or the County actually knew” of any dangers posed to Perry or that there were insufficient policies in place to protect Perry. Likewise, the Superior Court found that there was no evidence on the record that the “Warden or the County made deliberate decisions to deprive Perry of his rights.” In other words, there was no evidence that could link any county decision with the physical assault upon Perry – and Perry’s civil claim failed.
If you’re going to sneeze, sneeze BIG!
The pharmacist heard some odd noises in the greeting card aisle. The sounds were little high-pitched chirpings. Yet, all the pharmacist could see was Rick, the big strapping captain of the high school football team. Then, she saw him do it: he would squeeze his nostrils tightly whenever he had to sneeze. After he had selected a birthday card for his girlfriend, he approached the cash register and sneezed again in the very same way. “Why do you sneeze that way?” she asked him. “Mom always said it was more polite,” Rick replied.
Sneezing is nothing for which one needs to apologize. A sneeze is an involuntary expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. Hence, it is a natural function like coughing or clearing one’s throat. One survey showed that the majority of people (59%) sneeze on average less than once daily, while 31% sneezed once or more times but fewer than 4 times a day. Only 10% sneezed more frequently, likely a result of allergies.
A robust sneeze can be satisfying. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to sneeze. The method Rick uses to sneeze can cause serious harm. A recent report, published in the British Medical Journal, illustrated the damage a stifled sneeze can do. A 34-year old male managed to rupture the back of his throat during this maneuver leaving him barely able to speak or swallow, and in considerable pain. The young man explained that he had developed a popping sensation in his neck which immediately swelled up after he tried to contain a forceful sneeze by pinching his nose and keeping his mouth clamped shut at the same time. When the ER doctors examined him they heard popping and crackling sounds, which extended from his neck down to his ribcage – a sure indication that air bubbles had been forced into the deep tissue and muscles of the chest. Because of the risk of serious complications, the man was admitted to the hospital, where he received nourishment via a feeding tube and was given intravenous antibiotics until the swelling and pain had subsided. After 1 week, he was well enough to be discharged with the advice not to block both nostrils when sneezing in future.
So if you have to sneeze, let it roar. Not necessarily into the stratosphere which will launch germs, but certainly into a tissue or the crook of the elbow. At the very least, you will get a God bless or gesundheit (German for “good health”). Speaking of German, some sneezing exclamations have accents. Americans say “ah-choo!” but Germans say “hat-schi!,” the French cry out “at-choum!,” the Russians bark “ap-chkhee!” while the Chinese shout “a-ti!”
Sneezing is not just a human activity. Dogs, cats, chickens, and iguanas warrant a “bless you” from time to time. African wild dogs use sneezing as a form of communication, especially when considering hunting as a pack. Overall, all birds and land mammals sneeze. Other animals, including fish, insects, and amphibians do not sneeze.
The unfortunate bloke who ended up in the hospital was relatively lucky. Besides chest and throat injuries, internal sneezing can also result in a perforated eardrum or even a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. Rick told the pharmacist that he would make every effort to sneeze in a more healthy fashion, whether it is polite or not.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Read more at www.rx-press.com
