Montrose – On Monday last, the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania, sitting at Philadelphia, admitted Sue M. Strous as a member of that court, on the motion of J. M. Kelly. The oath was administered by former Gov. William A. Stone. Miss Strous was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna county on Aug. 11, 1902, and has been practicing since that time. She is the first woman attorney to be admitted to the State Supreme Court from Susquehanna county. ALSO Mr. and Mrs. B. W. Rifenbury went to Binghamton last week. Mr. Rifenbury remained for treatments at Dr. Dibble’s Bath-O-torium for rheumatism. He is improving nicely.
Flynn, Middletown Twp. – A book agent was in this vicinity the past week selling a book entitled “How to Be Happy Altho Married,” and met with good sales in this vicinity.
Little Meadows – W. D. Minkler, who runs an auto passenger car from this place to Binghamton during the warm season, made his first trip on Wednesday.
East Bridgewater – N. O. Roach has just installed, in his home, one of the Delco-Light electric plants, giving beautiful electric lights all through his house and barn, as well as lighting his son’s house, next door.
Great Bend – Lieut. Frederic Brush, formerly of this place, has been made brigade surgeon and is assisting in the planning and organization of the new naval training camp at Pelham Bay, N. Y., where 16,000 men are to be accommodated soon
Susquehanna – F. D. Lyons, merchant and director of the First National Bank, celebrated his 99th birthday on Thursday of last week. Mr. Lyons is the oldest resident and businessman in the county.
Harford – The supper held by the men of the M. E. church was a great success, the men covering themselves with glory by the manner and expedition in serving the menu. The net proceeds were $21.75. ALSO At West Harford, J. A. Williams and H. S. Esterbrook are busily engaged in the sugar camp, the syrup made by them being of excellent quality and pronounced a No. 1 by all of their customers.
New Milford – Willis R. Cobb is not only a perfect gentleman, but always extremely accommodating. The latter quality was given a test the other evening, when an autoist called him up in the middle of the night for a pail to get some water for his over-heated motor. But for his pains Mr. Cobb is minus a new tin pail worth $1.50, which the appreciative (?) motorist carried away with him. Mr. Cobb wishes the motorist to return the pail, or $1.50, and at this event he will desist from revealing the motorist’s name.
Tirzah – Charles Walker, of Uniondale, was greeting old friends here from Saturday until Monday. Although past 80 years he is very active and talks of coming back to his farm here this spring. His neighbors will be glad to welcome him.
Brooklyn – We learn with regret that Dr. F. B. Miller, our veterinarian, expects to move to Stroudsburg this spring.
Thompson – Orr Lawrenson, who is employed as brakeman in the Erie yard at Susquehanna, was thrown from a boxcar Monday morning of last week, sustaining a fractured ankle and severe bruises about the body. He was removed to the Simon Barnes hospital. E. A. Mead and his daughter, Mrs. George Pickering, visited him and reported that he is doing as well as could be expected
Oakland – The Blue Ridge Metal Manufacturing company recently filled an order for the United States Government for 11,000 trench mirrors. A telegram received recently calls for 300,000 additional mirrors.
Forest City – Olin Davies and Herbert Horton returned from Flint, Mich., Monday. They returned with two handsome Buick automobiles which had been sold to W. D. Owens and G F. Horton. From Monroe, O. to Toledo they trailed behind sixty Packard army trucks. They returned via Cleveland, Jamestown and Salamanca and found extremely muddy roads.
ESTATE MATER SETTLED: One of the most peculiar cases ever before the courts of this county and state was that of James Fuller, in relation to the Robert J. Ellis estate, of which he was executor. Mr. Fuller was surcharged with something over $5,000, which Mr. Fuller refused to pay, stoutly contending that he did not owe the estate. Going from the county to state courts it had the same result—ordering Mr. Fuller to pay. For contempt of court, in not obeying the court’s order, he was committed to jail and has been there for the past 2 years. All lawyers involved felt that undoubtedly Fuller was honest in his belief that he did not owe the estate. The case was settled last week by the payment of $3,000. The heir, John Bennett, had lately instituted an action, contending that the Sheriff, or his bondsmen, were liable for the amount of the claim alleging that Mr. Fuller had a great deal too much freedom for one who was supposed to be in jail as a penance. Mr. Fuller is a mighty interesting old gentleman, as alert and clear-minded as many men half his years. He is 80. His personality is very attractive, and he has made many friends here. He does not possess a super abundance of confidence in either lawyers or courts, and has taken many a shot at different members, through the press, while in jail.
200 Years Ago Today from the Montrose Centinel, March 21, 1818.
*MARRIED – On Thursday the 12th inst. By David Post, Esq., Mr. Jesse Coon to Miss Temperance Killum, all of this township [Bridgewater].
*MARRIED – In this village [Montrose] yesterday morning, by J. W. Raynsford, Esq., Mr. William Rowley to Miss Hannah Ladd, all of this [Bridgewater] township.
*TO LYDIA WAKEFIELD. TAKE NOTICE. That Chancy Wakefield, your husband, has filed his petition and libel against you for a divorce from the bonds of Matrimony, and that an alias subpoena has been issued, to me directed. You are therefore required to be and appear before the court of Common Pleas in and for the county of Susquehanna, to be held in and for the said county at Montrose on the first Monday of May next, and then and there shew cause (if any you have) why the said petition & libel of the said Chancy Wakefield should not be granted, and his bonds of Matrimony with you should not be dissolved. AUSTIN HOWELL, Sh’ff. Sheriff’s Office, Montrose, March 18, 1818.
*FLYING MACHINE. A country clergyman in lower Saxony has been so happy as to succeed in accomplishing the invention of an airship. The machine is built of light wood [and] it is made to float in the air chiefly by means of the constant action of a large pair of bellows, of a peculiar construction, which occupies in the front the position of the lungs and the neck of a bird on the wing. Thin cords direct the wings on both sides. The height to which the farmer’s boy (10 or 12 years of age) whom the inventor had instructed in the management of it, has hitherto ascended with it, is not considerable because his attention has been more directed to give a progressive than an ascending motion to his machine.
In April 2015, two high school students, one male and one female, were traveling home together from an out-of-school meeting. The male told the female to pull over to the side of the road, which she did, and the parties then engaged in sexual relations both inside and outside of the car. Thereafter, the female reported the incident to the State Police and contended that she had been forced to perform the sexual acts. The male was charged as a juvenile offender but the juvenile court determined that there was insufficient evidence to find him delinquent, i.e., the rough equivalent of guilty in a juvenile proceeding. The juvenile court specifically found that the female had not consented to the sexual acts but also concluded that the female had not been properly conveyed her lack of consent to the male in a manner that would satisfy the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
The male left the high school but he continued to come to school activities where he would stare at the female and try to talk to her. The female reported the male’s behavior to school officials, but they refused to take action because the male’s mother was a teacher at the school. The female then applied for a protective order pursuant to the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act (PVSVIA) – a statute that is similar to a Protection from Abuse (PFA) statute, but differs in that a victim of sexual abuse can seek a protective order even where there was no prior relationship between the parties. The trial court granted the female a three year protective order that prevented the male from having any contact with her for a period of three year. The male filed an appeal.
In this regard the PVSVIA defines a victim entitled to protection as a “person who is the victim of sexual of sexual violence or intimidation.” As to sexual violence, the PVSVIA provides that the conduct must constitute a crime under various criminal statutes, including those related to sexual assault. The male argued that the female was not entitled to relief because she was not a victim of sexual violence, i.e., the juvenile court determined there was insufficient evidence to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the male had committed a sexual assault.
The Superior Court noted that the PVSVIA was intended to provide victims with protection “separate from criminal prosecution.” In this regard, the standard of proof in a criminal matter (or a juvenile delinquency matter) is proof beyond a reasonable doubt while the general standard of proof applicable to a civil matter is the much lower preponderance of the evidence standard. When it enacted the PVSVIA, the legislature recognized that there was a need for judicial protection of victims of sexual abuse even in the absence of a criminal prosecution as sexual assaults are commonly unreported to law enforcement. Given that the “legislature did not envision the criminal prosecution of all alleged perpetrators of sexual violence, it would be foolish to fashion an impediment to civil relief under PVSVIA that requires victims to prove the elements of the underlying behavior beyond a reasonable doubt.” As such, the trial court applied the proper civil standard of proof (preponderance of the evidence, to the proceeding, i.e., whether it was simply more likely than not that the male had sexually assaulted the female.
As to the male’s argument that his subsequent conduct was insufficient to support a protective order, the Superior Court disagreed: “However, this argument ignores the fact that his presence at the school, and the administration’s decision to endorse it, are the two causes of the apprehension, fear and emotional distress which shape the harm [the female] seeks to quell with the final [protective] order.”
The Superior Court then used strong language to condemn the male’s “extraordinarily cavalier perspective” of the sexual assault in this case. To the extent that the male continued to argue that a protective order was not necessary, the Superior Court concluded that the female was a victim of a sexual assault (even if there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of delinquency) and that her “fear of harm and her desire to avoid future contact with [the male] were paramount.”
The trial court’s protective order was upheld.
How Rx drugs get their crazy names
Joe came into the pharmacy and handed a prescription to the pharmacist. “Can you read this, doc? I never saw a word like that!” The pharmacist agreed that drug names are getting crazier. Some of them look like they were picked from a pile of Scrabble® tiles. First off, all drugs have at least 2 names: the brand name, such as Tylenol® and its generic name, which is acetaminophen. There is also a chemical name, which only chemistry scholars would embrace. In Tylenol’s case, the chemical name is N-acetyl-p-aminophenol – notice the -tyl and -ol in there to create the word “Tylenol.” In any event, most people ask for Tylenol even if they want generic acetaminophen because Tylenol is easier to say.
From a medical standpoint, there is a method to the madness of selecting generic drug names. Example: the popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called “statins.” Every generic drug in that class ends with the suffix “-vastatin,” as in simvastatin (Zocor®), atorvastatin (Lipitor®), and lovastatin (Mevacor®). The same goes for beta-blockers, which lower your heart rate to control blood pressure. Beta-blockers end in “-lol,” such as metoprolol (Lopressor®), carvedilol (Coreg®), and bisoprolol (Zebeta®).
However, brand names of drugs are indeed getting weirder. Drugs ending in the letter “Q” are now becoming more common, such as Belviq® (weight-reduction drug), Myrbetriq® (bladder control drug), and Siliq® (used for psoriasis). Then there are drugs that start with the letter “Q” – but guess what? The second letter is not a “u” as in quiet, quite, and quack. These drug names are Qsymia® (weight-reduction drug), Qtern® (for diabetes), and Qroxim® (for muscle and joint pain). The letter “X” is famously used as both the first letter and the last letter of the drug Xanax®. But now there is Xeljanz® (for rheumatoid arthritis), Xgeva® (used in bone cancer), and Xepi® (used for impetigo). Run out of Q and X ideas for names? Just repeat a letter for no reason whatsoever: Viibryd® (for depression), Xiidra® (for dry eye), and Krystexxa® (for gout). Has the pharmaceutical world gone insane?
There is a reason so many drug names look so, um, unusual. Certainly, it is every manufacturer’s dream to hit the nail on the head with a memorable, society-quaking brand name like Viagra®. Besides the challenge of creating a household name, there are legal and regulatory barriers for pharma companies. Lawyers for the drug companies watch carefully to make sure no one is infringing on any of their thousands of brand trademarks. This is to make sure nobody can ride the coattails of a consumer hit like Viagra and call their new product a bastardized version of that drug, such as Ziagra or Viagro.
Once a name can be shown to be truly unique from a marketing perspective, the road to the pharmacy shelf remains long and winding. Companies can easily spend a year or two getting through the creative process, the trademark process, and then the FDA approval process. The FDA is getting particularly tough, rejecting about 4 out of every 10 name proposals, because it wants to avoid medication mix-ups that can lead to dangerous—and sometimes deadly—adverse reactions. Even then, some drug names need to be changed after the drug has been introduced to the market. In 1990, soundalikes Losec® (heartburn drug) and Lasix® (diuretic) blasted into the marketplace. Soon after, a series of prescribing mistakes had occurred. Ultimately, Losec was changed to Prilosec® and the problem was solved.
Meanwhile, the pharmacist told Joe, expect to see more wild names for drugs, whether the public can pronounce them or not. At least, you can say they are imaginative.
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Read more at www.rx-press.com
