Home → Columnists ( August 1, 2018 )
Three Civil War Veterans Answer Final Summons – Charles Uptegrove, of Brooklyn, died at the National Soldiers' Home, Hampton, VA, on Sunday July 28, 1918. He was a corporal in Co. D, 35th Pennsylvania Militia. William H. Stark, of Bridgewater Twp., died August 1, 1918. He was a corporal in Co. C, 151st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. Walter Simpson, of Great Bend, died at the National Soldiers' Home on July 24, 1918. He was a member of Co. A, 57th Regiment. He was captured at Fredericksburg; exchanged; was wounded at Kelly's Ford and later re-enlisted.
Susquehanna – The repairing of the Susquehanna-Oakland bridge, to be done at once, fills a much needed want. A constant stream of traffic between the two boroughs is passing across the bridge and for some time its condition has been dangerous. ALSO Thirty-six sailors were in town between trains on Monday last. They were enroute to a camp in New Jersey and were from Nebraska. ALSO Our local daily paper, the Evening Transcript, has been selected as one of the papers to publish the proposed Amendment of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, to be voted upon at the election in November.
Alford – Archie Carpenter is working the second trick in the Alford tower and Charles Decker is working the third trick at Kingsley, while Mr. Betts is experimenting with a new job at Ithaca, NY. ALSO Swimming in the Alford pond is the sport of the day.
Brooklyn – Clarence Tiffany, of Scranton, spent a few days at the home of his mother, in this place. He has been called "to the colors." Thus Brooklyn adds her twentieth star to the service flag in honor of our boys who are serving their country. ALSO When Mrs. Emma Lathrop returned from Binghamton she found her house had been broken in to and about $50 worth of property stolen, consisting of hand saws, tools of every description; also had broken in the barn and sole harness, pitchforks, scythe, snath [scythe handle] and other things and a plush lap robe.
Forest City – Norman English's father received a telegram from the U. S Army headquarters that read "Corporal Norman English captures Hun trench single-handed." Nothing more was elaborated in the telegram and it may be some time before full particulars are learned. He landed in France several months ago and has seen active service at the front continually. His bravery was highly complimented on the first offensive on March 21, his company and regiment receiving plaudits of General Pershing and the French Commander. Corp. English is a veteran of the Spanish-American war and served in the Philippines. He returned to Forest City and remained here until reenlistment. He comes of good fighting stock. His father is a veteran of the Civil War. Monday night the whistles of the town were blown in his honor.
Uniondale – Uniondale has one representative at the front in France in the person of Willard Gibson. He is a member of the 28th Division and has seen severe fighting. By the way, he comes of good fighting stock. His grandfather, W. E. Gibson, is a veteran of the Civil War. He had several brothers in the conflict and he is the only survivor.
Thompson – Miss Helen Clark has accepted the position as teacher of the school at Maple Ridge. Commencing September 3rd she will board at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Blaisdell.
Montrose – The Montrose Bible Conference, in its 11th session, has been and is still, in progress and is growing in influence and power with each passing day. The attendance has been phenomenal and the interest has deepened from the first. ALSO Albert Slaughter leaves for Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Mich., tonight, over the Lehigh Valley railroad, to join a colored company, to go in training for military service. ALSO Thomas Owen, a 7 year-old boy, of Plymouth, who had been boarding at the Tarbell House, in hopes that his health would be improved here, died of consumption on Tuesday afternoon, at 5:30 o'clock. The remains were taken to Plymouth. The boy's father died at the Donovan farm, near town, about a year ago, he also being here on account of poor health. The Owen and Donovan families were old friends, becoming acquainted years ago, when both lived in the Valley.
Auburn – The son of Mr. and Mrs. S. W. Loomis is now serving in France, and with the shortage in farm labor, Mr. Loomis finds labor-saving machinery particularly helpful now. He has a hay-loader which eliminates the hard work of "pitching on" in the hay field, and this saving of hand labor is a big item when a hay crop of 100 acres has to be harvested. Mr. Loomis is one of the best farmers in the county.
East Bridgewater – J. M. Baldwin is a good steady farmer and can build crooked rail fence as straight as anyone, but for many years he followed the trade of carpenter and has many monuments of skill scattered over the country. He still has many urgent requests that he resume his trade, but to all entreaties says, "never again." The farmer is, certainly, a bulwark of the nation in feeding the boys in khaki, and our allies in war.
Harford – We all were surprised to hear of the very sad news of the death of Clayton Sweetser in France, one of our brave Harford boys, who has given his life for his country. He was very popular here and much respected by all who knew him and will be missed by all. "Gone at their country's call, And yet we cannot forget, That many brave boys must fall." ALSO W. S. Sophia, who has for many years been one of the leading gardeners of this place, is still on the job. He and his helpers, who are also farmerettes, are busy each day, gathering peas and beans for the market. Those employed by him are Misses Gertrude Tingley, Margaret Glassglow and Mildred Pickering; also Kenneth Darrow and Paul Stevens. All the farmers are busy raising bumper crops this year to help win the war.
South Harford – This vicinity is quite notorious again. We have a rattle snake traveling about and a pair of deer.
Jackson – The steeple of the Lake View Baptist church was recently struck by lightning.
Lanesboro – Louis F. Price was killed by a train last Sunday. He was found near the iron bridge at Lanesboro and brought to the local hospital, but died at 4:30, without regaining consciousness. He worked in the new terminal and had been at work during the day and around town all the evening. At 2am Sunday morning he rode on a switch engine up to the iron bridge and it is thought he was struck by an east bound train, very soon after dropping off the switch engine. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Price and 26 years of age. The body was taken to Bloomsburg for burial.
More Men Leave to Serve Country: Four surveyors from Susquehanna, Maurice O'Connell, Robert J. Lynch, Henry James Lannon and Michael J. D. Kane left on the Lehigh Valley for Camp Forrest, Lytle, Ga. They were supplied with lunch boxes and escorted to the train by the band. Six men entrained for Syracuse, NY. These men were called for limited service for guard and fire companies at ports of embarkation. They were: Henry Conklin, Great Bend; Joseph Mulqueen, Susquehanna; Lewis H. Marks, Forest City; Nelson J. McConnell, New Milford; Harry Phalen, Little Meadows; Joseph Roman, Forest City. One of these men received notice Sunday, and was unable to receive his pay from his employer, and lacking funds to ride on the train, walked, reaching here in time to report at the specified time.
News Brief – Pennsylvania automobile license tags for 1919 will be of black enamel with red figures. The general style will be similar to those now in use. They will also have a space for the manufacturer's car number. In late years they have been furnished by the state prison labor commission, which has manufactured them at the shops of the Huntingdon Reformatory.
George K. Young, Jr. is a resident of the State of Hawaii and he applied on two occasions for a license under Hawaii law to carry his handgun outside of his home – either concealed or open-carry – and he was denied on both occasions. Under Hawaii law, a resident must keep firearms in his or her home or business property, i.e., not carry it around on his or her person either concealed or openly carrying it unless the resident obtains a permit. In order to get a carry license, an applicant must demonstrate that exceptional circumstances exist such that the applicant has reason to fear for his or her safety. In the absence of a carry license, a resident may only remove a firearm from a residence or business secured in a carrying case. Because Young could not demonstrate an existing threat to his safety, his application was denied.
Young then filed a federal civil rights action contending that the statute was unconstitutional as it violated his Second Amendment right to openly carry a firearm in public for purposes of self-protection. The district court dismissed Young's case concluding that the Second Amendment "establishes only a narrow individual right to keep an operable handgun at home for self-defense" not a broader right to carry a handgun on your person outside of your residence. The district court concluded that even if the Second Amendment provided a right to carry the firearm in public, Hawaii's law was constitutional as the state had a "substantial interest in safeguarding the public from the inherent dangers of firearms." Young filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In his appeal, Young argued simply that Second Amendment conferred upon him the right to carry his firearm openly and that Hawaii's "exceptional" circumstances test was too restrictive to pass constitutional muster. In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court.
The majority noted that two other federal circuit courts had already determined that the Second Amendment protected the right to openly carry a firearm in public. Given that the Second Amendment secures the right to "keep and bear arms," the majority concluded that "keeping" arms plainly relates to having firearms in your residence or business and not moving about with them. As to "bearing" arms, the meaning of this term was likewise clear in that it secured the right to carry a firearm on your person for self-defense.
The majority then considered what the Founders believed that the Second Amendment protected. The majority considered how English common law took a "sacred view on the right to bear arms" as it was an extension of the individual natural right of self-protection. After reviewing the 19th century caselaw in America, the majority likewise concluded that the Founders understood that "the Second Amendment must encompass a right to open carry."
In considering Hawaii's statute, the majority noted that it was extremely restrictive to the point that the state conceded that only those individuals engaged in positions akin to law enforcement roles were ever granted open carry licenses. In other words, Hawaii's statute essentially eliminated the ability of the average citizen to openly carry a firearm for self-protection. As a result, the majority concluded as follows: "But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense. We would thus flout the Constitution if we were to hold that, in regulating the manner of bearing arms, the authority of the State has no other limit than its own discretion. While many respectable scholars and activists might find virtue in a firearms-carry regime that restricts the right to a privilege few, the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table."
Mr. Bodkin, 55, was in the pharmacy chatting with the pharmacist as he waited for his prescriptions to be filled. "Too bad about Mrs. Jenkins getting hit by the bus," said Mr. Bodkin. "I heard she never saw it coming. I bet she didn't think she would die by public transportation. Do you ever think about how you will die one day?" Now, there's a cheery thought, the pharmacist said to himself. Surely, the pharmacist hoped he would not get run over at the intersection of Oak and Third. But you never know. Most people would like to die in their sleep at the age of 95 "of natural causes." After never having a serious disease. After never having a crippling accident. You would simply float to heaven on your Posturepedic mattress. Can you guess from what you will really die? Let's spin the Wheel of Misfortune.
The wheel stopped at "death from an infectious disease." Unlike the beginning of the last century, the 21st century is replete with antibiotics. They are easy to get. Just ask your doctor. Got a sniffle? Got a boo-boo? Get a prescription. You can get an antibiotic for anything. In fact, some pharmacies give away them away for free! Maybe that's why the antibiotics we have are not working as well. Bacteria are becoming resistant to them. Antibiotic resistance is a natural part of evolution. The antibiotic resistance crisis, however, is a man-made global threat. Due to a number of human-influenced factors, such as climate change, bacteria are now evolving at a rate much faster than research can handle. The result is that more people are dying every year from diseases that were once curable. A 2014 British report contends that while 700,000 people die each year due to current antimicrobial resistance rates, by 2050, that figure will be 10 million-plus. Think such disasters cannot happen? It did during the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 when 5% of the world population died. It did in 1347 when a third of the world population died from bubonic plague. You never know.
Let's spin the wheel again. Cancer. No one wants to die from cancer. Yet, our environment is making it more likely. Example 1: Our water is more polluted than ever. True, tap water is mostly free of bacteria and parasites thanks to chlorination. But in the past decade, we have continued to contaminate our waters with chemicals and pesticides. Example 2: Today's UV rays can penetrate even the thickest sunscreen. Hence, skin cancer. Example 3: Obesity is an epidemic. Fat sets the stage for cancer. Cancer research is at full throttle. Yet, insurance companies balk at paying for the pricey drugs used to control it. Anyway, it is not in Big Pharma's interest to eradicate all cancer. After all, cancer is a moneymaker.
Let's spin once more. Death from addiction. Americans' lifespan is now lower than in most high-income countries due to death from opioids. Expect this gap to increase, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And if you think you may never get hooked on drugs, consider the secondary stress and depression caused by a family member who is an addict.
An increase in air pollution means an uptick in potentially fatal respiratory diseases like asthma and emphysema. Climate change is resulting in more extreme weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods, which bring famine and disease. With global warming, expect more violence, riots, and crime.
Yes, many things can kill you in most unexpected ways. So you live your life one day at a time and hope for the best. Because you never know. "Hey!" yelled Mr. Bodkin as he looked out the pharmacy window. "Is that an asteroid heading toward us?"
Ron Gasbarro, PharmD, is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Read more at www.rx-press.com