TODAY’S QUOTE: “Without a newspaper to be the heart and soul of
a community, the community loses its way,” said William Dean
Singleton, chief executive officer, MediaNews Group, 2000.
This was such a good quote we had to put it at the beginning of
our column rather than the end.
FLOWER PICKIN’: We had said earlier this week that it’s illegal
to pick mountain laurel, the Pennsylvania state flower. However, a
reader tells us it’s illegal to pick mountain laurel on state
property or land only – but you can pick it on your own
property.
Or course that begs a question: What about mountain laurel
growing on federal land such as the Allegheny National Forest?
NOT KENTUCKY: We thought we lived in “the hills,” but get this:
A reader returning from a vacation in Kentucky tells us a bank
there refused to cash his AAA travelers checks – even though the
person had solid identification and the bank itself sold travelers
checks!
It kind of goes against the whole notion of having this kind of
cash substitute whose primary purpose is being a source of money
when traveling.
GAS PAINS: The complaints about Bradford’s high gas prices just
keep rolling in.
The same traveler we mentioned in the item above can vouch for
far lower gas prices in Kentucky and throughout the south, but one
traveler called to tell us that prices are lower even in our own
neck of the woods – as usual.
On Tuesday, Johnsonburg had posted prices of ,3.69 per gallon;
and Penfield, ,3.57.
However, we also heard from Jody Zimmerman of Bradford who
quoted some prices from the day before – that’s just this past
Monday – which vividly demonstrate the lack of apparent logic and
rapid fluctuations when it comes to these prices.
“A mere 75 miles away from home gas 34 cents cheaper … what’s up
with that,” she wonders.
Monday’s prices were Pittsburgh, ,3.69 per gallon; Brookville,
,3.48; Ridgway, ,3.69; Johnsonburg, ,3.89; and Bradford, ,3.82.
Jody continues, “Also note the big difference between Ridgway
and Johnsonburg. Those two towns are only eight miles away from
each other and have a 20 cent different in cost per gallon.”
Of course, that was just Monday. By Tuesday, it appears,
Johnsonburg’s prices has dropped by that 20 cents.
Amazing what a little bit of competition can do.
