by: Jim Laero

from the Editor

Gratitude I am endlessly amazed at the callous lack of gratitude we Americans can muster. I believe my amazement comes from my own realization of what a fool I am and yet still how much I have - just by being blessed to be born in this country. I mean - I can screw up any good thing that God decides to send my way. Really I can.

Pack-Ratters Take Hope! One of my best friends once told me that he'd never met a man who could completely fill a four-car garage with junk until he met me. I'm not too sure it was a compliment. He's told me three times now. Once for every time he visited me in my garage. I've tried explaining to him that my garage is infested with very large packrats and that matter how many traps I set the junk just keeps piling up...

Pitt Looking To Regroup After Loss It wasn’t the opening they were expecting. The Pitt Panthers were taken by surprise Saturday, August 30, by Bowling Green State University at Heinz Field. The Bowling Green Falcons, a favorite in the MAC conference, smacked Pittsburgh with a 27-17 loss that jolted the Pitt players and coaches.

Witness Something Special So these two guys go to high school together and don't see each other for several years. Then one day they meet, and there's something really different about one of them. What's behind the change is the story of "The Witness," and it's being told at Evangel Heights in March.

ARMSTRONG SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION RELEASES REPORT A report by Armstrong School District Superintendent William Kerr sets the stage for decision-making by the Board of School Directors for future school facilities planning—including, but not limited to, the future of Elderton Jr-Sr High School.

2008 Avonmore Harvest Jubilee "Back to the Beach" is the theme of this year's Avonmore Harvest Jubilee to be held on September 19, 20, and 21. It will feature free entertainment, car cruise, boardwalk foods, games, kids activities, and more!

Discovery Channel News Reports on Vandergrift Using a grid of electricity-generating smart materials on the bottom of the Kiskiminetas River, combined with a host of energy conservation efforts, Vandergrift hopes to generate between 20 and 40 percent of the city center's electricity. Read the full Discovery Channel News story.

Mystery Dinner Theater If you are looking for good food, live entertainment, and a chance to solve a mystery and possibly win a great prize, without having to drive out of the area, you are in luck.