TOMORROW: With the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina so fresh in our
mind, it’s hard to turn our attention to tomorrow’s anniversary –
the terror attack of Sept. 11, 2001, of course. It’s been
disappointing, to say the least, that we evidently are still
unprepared, as a country, to handle such massive emergencies. Maybe
Katrina will be the wake-up call we need.

YOU PICK: After watching CNN’s coverage of Katrina and the
aftermath, one reader observed he would rather be cared for by the
SPCA than by FEMA.

We know some of you have been concerned about the animals
abandoned in the emergency, and it was great to see the SPCA and
other organizations rescuing everything from cats to iguanas. Not
only were they bathing and feeding them, they were housing them and
providing an arena for owners to reclaim their lost pets.

Like our reader observed, too bad the people were not treated as
well. As of this writing on Friday, it’s still almost inconceivable
how bad things continue to be on the Gulf Coast.

GAS PRICES: As of 10:30 a.m. Friday, it appears gas prices in
Bradford have settled “down” to roughly $3.30 a gallon. We have
been bombarded by people who continue to be upset, not just by the
sheer amount but by the disparity between Bradford’s going price
and the price paid by virtually all our neighbors in Pennsylvania.
It appears that prices elsewhere – Smethport, Port Allegany,
Ridgway, and towns farther away in Pennsylvania – have settled in
at about $2.99 a gallon.

“What do they have against Bradford?” one of our readers asked.
More on this subject soon.

SMALL WORLD: We had a nice note this week from Kathy Serafini of
Providence, Utah: “I was back in PA for a family reunion and on the
Pittsburgh to Las Vegas segment of my returning trip to Utah I was
sitting with some young men from Slippery Rock College. “

“When I asked where they were from, one said Erie. When he tried
to tell me where it was, I said I used to live in Bradford, PA.
Another boy said that there was a girl on the track team that was
from Bradford. It was Stephanie Kresge.

“I only got a chance to say hi but what a small world and what a
great job the coach does giving these athletes a chance to see
other parts of our country.”