POETRY: To our delight, here in the newsroom, we received mail from Kane resident and poet Frances Haight. While sadly we no longer receive poetry written by Frances herself, she passed along another booklet of work written by her daughter, Judy Peterson.

Judy is a talented poet herself. We are sharing one of her poems with our readers below.

Technology

I wish we could go back

To the ways things used to be.

Technology has gotten out of hand

And people refuse to see.

It was great when computers

Were first invented.

They made things easier then

Now they make us demented.

We pay our bills online,

Check our email and tweet

I would rather get a letter

Through “snail mail” — so sweet.

I guess that people

Can’t live without it.

I know I can.

No doubt about it.

———

HOLIDAY SAFETY: The U.S. Fire Administration reports that nearly 2,400 house fires occur nationwide on Thanksgiving alone. These incidents result in numerous fatalities, injuries, and $19 million worth of property losses. Many of these home fires are due to deep-frying accidents.

“More cooking fires occur during the Thanksgiving holiday than any other day of the year; in fact, cooking is often the number one source of house fires in the commonwealth,” said State Fire Commissioner Bruce Trego.

“Furthermore, as the seasons change and more and more Pennsylvanians begin heading indoors, many are choosing to turn on their home-heating for the first time. Annual tune-ups and inspections are excellent ways to prevent issues with carbon monoxide and fires, particularly if using a system that utilizes an open flame.” said Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman.