Home → Columnists ( August 8, 2018 )
Friendsville – Cornelius McMahon, otherwise known as "Connie Mack," died at his home August 6, 1918. For fully forty years he drove the stage and delivered mail between Montrose and Friendsville and was known to hundreds of people along the route. He was faithful as a clock, and though somewhat eccentric, possessed a kindly and genial nature.
Montrose – The concrete paving has been laid on Church street to the intersection with Ridge street. At this point the paving will be reduced in width from 21 ft. to 17. The property owners along Church street had agreed to the former width, but owing to the demand for material and labor the government is holding the width of the road to the original contract. ALSO John J. Slatter has purchased the brick building on Public avenue owned by the Hettie B. Miller estate.
This building is occupied at present by Pepper & Birchard's coal and express office on the ground floor, the Merchants telephone exchange on the second floor and the Subway Lunch in the basement. Mr. Slatter has no plans to use it as a location for his grocery business, but as an investment. Cost was $4,000.
Brooklyn – Mrs. Ira Pratt passed away on Tuesday afternoon. She is survived by a husband, seven children, a father and sister, all of whom have the sympathy of the community. The youngest child is but two weeks old. ALSO Direct from one of the battle sectors, somewhere in France, comes the glad tidings that six members of an army ambulance corps, composed mainly of Scranton young men, have been decorated with the French Croix de Guerre for bravery under fire. In addition each member has been presented with a gold stripe to be worn on the left coat sleeve, signifying six months of active war service. Among the six is Hugh Weston, of Brooklyn.
Hopbottom – The Red Cross work room at Valley View Inn opens every Tuesday afternoon at 1:30pm. There is an abundance of material to work on and a great need for workers. Every woman who can sew should offer her service for a few hours each week. Will you help?
West Auburn – A ride over the country on Friday and Saturday showed many fine meadows still uncut. As high as $4 per day and board has been offered for day help in some instances.
Rush – Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Edwards and niece, Mrs. Inez Hopkins, have returned from a visit to Binghamton and Deposit. On the way from Deposit they collided with a big team of horses and a heavy coal wagon, smashing Mr. Edwards' car on one side. The owner of the team, Mr. Stevens, paid the damages.
Crystal Lake – I remember when I was working for O. P. Phinney, at the old Crystal Lake Hotel, in 1876, the year that the grasshoppers were so thick you could not see the rails on the rail fence. Phinney had three acres of buckwheat, 8 inches high. The hoppers ate it up in one day. But yesterday beat that day for heat. I was at Lewis Lake, fishing, and took a few eggs along. I put them in a can in the boat and boiled them in 15 minutes. That was some cooking in a boat. I can prove it by my friend W. U. Lott. We had a big catch of bullheads. Yours truly, O. F. Coyle.
Susquehanna – Final action was taken at a meeting of the Susquehanna Borough Council, on the ordinance to pave West Main Street.
Birchardville - Roy Melhuish met with a very serious accident. When he stepped out from the house to shoot a woodchuck, the gun bursted as he shot, blowing his left hand off. He was rushed to Dr. Frye at Rush, and from there to the Sayre hospital, where they found it necessary to amputate his arm half way to the elbow. ALSO N. A. Enslin has purchased a Dort car.
Hallstead – A band of over 20 pieces has been organized here and is now having rehearsals. ALSO Floyd Sackett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harvett Sackett, has enlisted in the Machine Gun Corps and is now at Fort Slocum.
Lenox Twp. – The Nicholson Examiner reported that they had come across a copy of Blackman's, History of Susquehanna County and in it learned that Lenox township furnished 173 soldiers during the Civil War, the largest of any district in the county. In one of the election districts of the county a partisan of Jackson offered to buy the dinner for every voter in the district, if no vote was cast for Jackson. He bought the dinners. Whigs were few in those days.
South Montrose – W. H. Allen, who has been manufacturing a splendid article known as "O.K. Varnish Polish," for the past few months, and selling it in a small way to acquaintances, is getting a somewhat surprising demand for it now through the words of praise from the users to their friends. It seems to be in special favor with autoists, having qualities making it both safe and effective, preserving the finest varnish and giving splendid appearance. We believe "Ward" has something "under his hat" for greatly increasing its sale. He is wide-a-wake.
Choconut – Bernard McCahill was hit and thrown down by an automobile, which his son was running out of the barn, breaking his collar bone and sustaining other injuries.
Thompson – From a Jan. 1885 article: "Wat" Messenger has traded his revolver for a fiddle. You know burglars seldom fear a revolver in the hands of an inexperienced person, but as an instrument of torture, the fiddle in the hands of an amateur cannot be equaled. In case of an attempted burglary, Messenger proposes to sit down and play one of his slow, agonizing tunes and we don't suppose there is a burglar on earth who can face the music and retain sense enough to affect his escape.
Forest City – We need a musical organization. It is now practically impossible to have music when wanted in parade and on other occasions. In order to fill this want a number of our musicians have announced a meeting of all those interested in the formation of a drum corps to be held in the borough building tomorrow evening. There is first class talent here and several who have been connected with drum corps in the past, get together and start things going.
News Brief: Acting on the urgency of the need the Surgeon General of the United States Army, the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, the American Red Cross, and other agencies, unite in an earnest appeal for 25,000 young women, between the ages of 19 and 35, to enroll in what shall be called the United States Student Nurse Reserves. Every woman who completes her training of two to three years is eligible for service as an army nurse at the front and stands a chance of being assigned to duty.
No News: Newspapers from 200 Years Ago are missing issues until September of 2018.
The Historical Society's genealogy reference room is now open Monday thru Thursday, 12-5pm or by appointment.
In 2015, the Earth Guardians, an organization of 21 children, filed a federal law suit against President Obama as well as members of his cabinet and executive level officials contending that the policies pursued by those government officials were contributing to climate change. The Earth Guardians alleged that their constitutional rights have been violated by the Obama Administration – and now Trump Administration – environmental policies. The Earth Guardians have generally failed to identify any specific policies or regulations that allegedly contribute to climate change. Instead, the Earth Guardians contend that the federal government's "aggregate actions" over the past 50 years have led to "climate instability" that is interfering with their right to a healthy life.
In response, the federal government under both the Obama Administration and the Trump Administration have been trying to get the case dismissed on a wide variety of legal grounds. In particular, the federal government has argued that the Earth Guardians lack legal standing to mount a full-scale attack upon the federal government's environmental regulatory scheme – and that even if such standing existed, the Earth Guardians have not followed the appropriate administrative process in challenging whatever applicable regulations that the Earth Guardians contend are contributing to climate change. The district court has refused all of the federal government efforts to dismiss the case – and has actually scheduled the matter for a 50-day trial in the Fall of 2018. In particular, the district court found that the Earth Guardians had asserted a fundamental right to "a climate system capable of sustaining human life."
The Earth Guardians are requesting the district court – a single judicial officer – to direct the government to "move swiftly to phase out [carbon dioxide] omissions" in addition to developing "a national plan to restore Earth's energy balance and implement [a] national plan so as to stabilize the climate system." For years, the government has been desperately attempting to stop this litigation through various pre-trial motions – which the district court has summarily denied.
The government has sought intervention from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the form of mandamus relief to direct the district court to dismiss the litigation. The reason that the government sought mandamus relief is that the government cannot appeal the case until there is a final order, i.e., when the case is finally resolved but the district court refuses to dismiss the case and has scheduled a 50-day trial on the amorphous claims asserted by the Earth Guardians based upon an alleged fundamental constitutional right that has never been recognized by any court. Mandamus relief is available to compel a government official to perform some official act that the official has refused to do despite being required by the law to perform the act.
The Ninth Circuit refused the relief requested by the government but agreed that the issues needed to be "vastly narrowed" prior to any trial. After the district court failed to do so – and the Earth Guardians made no effort to further clarify the litigation, the government again sought mandamus relief from the Ninth Circuit to put a stop to the Earth Guardian's judicial quest. The Ninth Circuit again refused the government's request.
The government decided to throw up a Hail Mary pass and petitioned the United States Supreme Court seeking a stay of the litigation. In response, the United States Supreme Court likewise rejected the government's request because it was "premature." The Supreme Court, however, did not foreclose the government from seeking relief at a later date, i.e., if the district court or the Ninth Circuit did not come to their collective senses and dismiss the litigation. In this regard, the Supreme Court noted that the "breadth" of Earth Guardian's claims was "striking." The Supreme Court also questioned whether the Earth Guardian's claims even belonged in a court of law.
At this point, however, the Supreme Court opted to give the district court the chance to correct itself before the scheduled 50-day (10 week) trial date – and this chance came with some strong language that implied that the district court needed to change its judicial climate.
Mrs. Thomas came into the pharmacy and asked where the anti-fungal creams were. "My Freddy has a terrible rash between his legs." The pharmacist directed her to the correct aisle. When she came back to the counter to pay for the cream, the pharmacist asked her what caused the rash. Was she using a new detergent? Was it an allergic reaction to something else? "Oh no," she exclaimed. "He thinks it's cool to go commando – you know, not wear any underwear, and just put on the same jeans day after day."
The pharmacist knew what Mrs. Thomas meant. The latest fad is for young males not to have on underwear. And it is a trend that can cause some medical problems. There is a reason why God invented Fruit-of-the-Looms – to keep the areas south of the belt clean and dry. Letting your "boys" hang loose may feel unyoked and liberated, but there are some valid reasons to wear underwear anyway.
Every time you leave the house sans undies, you have a greater risk of painful crotch chafing. The fabric of your pants could be abrasive to your groin. Such clothes are not designed to be particularly kind to this sensitive body part, unlike softer underwear. Crotch rot, also called tinea cruris, is a fungal infection caused by wearing tight clothes. Clean underwear reduces the risk of crotch rot. Your BVDs absorb sweat efficiently, unlike pants, jeans, and shorts, keeping your package dry.
Many things are going on down there and sweat is only one of them. You have heard the phrase – oft scribbled on restroom walls – "No matter how much you shake your peg, the last few drops go down your leg." Nothing is more embarrassing than returning from the men's room into a business meeting (where everyone is eye-level to your trousers) with a giant pee stain front and center. And your willy is not the only thing that leaks. So can your butt. It is called accidental bowel leakage (ABL). Incontinence, old age, and 5-alarm chili can cause ABL. The discharge will show if you go commando, so to save yourself from either of these humiliating accidents, always wear underwear. And guys, do not overlook your zipper. Forgetting to zip up post-potty while freeballing may give the public an accidental eyeful. One that could be potentially felonious. And, heaven forbid, you catch any part of your naked junk on the metal teeth of your fly. 10 out of 10 agony!
Advantages of going commando do exist. Normal sperm production depends on a testicular temperature below body temperature. Tight underwear creates a greenhouse effect in your pants that hampers the production of sperm. If you are in a baby-making mood, then no underwear might aid in that respect. Avoid choking tighty-whiteys and opt for roomy cotton boxers. They will give you the protection you need without the nut-cracking restriction and will keep the entire area kissing-sweet.
Going commando can be very hip, but like everything else, there is a time and a place. Commando is great if you are going for a sexy evening with a predictable outcome. However, twisting the night away first is going to have a sweaty conclusion, which is not ideal. In addition, light linen trousers or shorts are going to unmask a little too much of your genital profile. If you go commando, wear something that makes your underwear status your little secret revealed by choice, not visual impact.
Mrs. Thomas had other ideas for her 16-year old. "He will wear underpants if I have to staple them to his skin!" And with that, she paid the pharmacist for her purchase and headed to the men's clothing store.Ron Gasbarro, PharmD, is a registered pharmacist, medical writer, and principal at Rx-Press.com. Read more at www.rx-press.com