BEARS GALORE: Sooner or later, we’re told, the bears return to
the woods to feast on nuts and berries and stop bothering us city
folks. And yet, we continue to get complaints from neighborhoods
adjacent to wooded areas.

The latest “close encounter” was on Interstate Parkway on Sunday
night. Harry Schreiber was awakened to some banging around in his
back yard, and when the motion detector light came on his wife
Connie peered out the back window to spy a bear near the garbage
cans.

The bear had knocked over the one plastic can and had some bags
out on the porch looking for food. Connie scared the bear away, and
it ambled through the back yard, and disappeared behind a
neighbor’s garage.

The Schreibers, who live in close quarters with other residents,
haven’t had a bear encounter in several years.

Mayor Tom Riel is of the opinion that many bears are making the
trek from Allegany State Park which, as the crow flies, is pretty
close to the Bradford area. That makes sense to us. And without
bear season in State Park, an over-abundance of bruins spill over
into adjacent territory.

We received a letter last week in which the writer agreed with a
previous comment in RTS: “Someone wrote a while ago to see if
sportsmen (or whoever) feed the deer/turkey – how about doing so
for the bear?”

Our writer went on, “State Park used to have the dumps – didn’t
seem to be so overrun by bear. They don’t have bear season in the
Park, perhaps should. Pennsylvania could extend its bear
season.”

He also noted that another writer had said bear will linger near
a doe as she is giving birth. “In due time, much less deer, if
any.”

“When we are being bothered by many bear – even in daytime,
etc., something has to be done – soon!”

We agree. Pennsylvania Game Commission has its limitations, to
be sure, but the bear-human contact appears to us to be a powder
keg set to explode.

THIS, TOO: On another city subject, we hear from Yvonne Cattoni
of Bradford: “I came upon an accident at the corners of Davis and
Boylston again yesterday, Aug. 13. Apparently someone was hurt
because there was an ambulance there. When is the city going to do
something there – a traffic light or something?”