Discouraged

with PennDOT

To the editor:

We all knew Cameron County roads were the best roads in the area up until a couple of years ago. I'm not sure who is in charge anymore; but they aren't doing a good job of keeping the driving patrons of Cameron County happy anymore.

During the first couple snowstorms we have had, I've seen unplowed and uncindered roads, which has resulted in many reported accidents. We also have had many unreported accidents.

For instance, I came down Rt. 46 last Friday night at about 8:00, spun around in the road and hit the guardrails. You could tell the roads had not been plowed in quite some time. You couldn't see the road. The only way you could tell where you were driving was by watching the guardrail and the ditch on each side of the road. When I called PennDOT, the response I received was that the supervisor would be notified.

The next day, I found out from my daughter, who rode the bus up Rich Valley after school, that the bus slid off the road. She was scared to death that night and is now afraid to ride the bus again. That tells me that the roads were not safe at that time of the day either. That doesn't count all the accidents around the county that same day and night

If we don't have safe roads, then why do we need PennDOT? We could go back to the days when we didn't rely on people to keep the roads somewhat safe for travelers.

I'm sure I am not the only one with a complaint about the road conditions in Cameron County, but nothing is going to change unless we get together and demand the service we are paying for and are not getting.

Ginny Barnhart

Emporium

Funding Critical

To the editor:

Congress should work toward eradicating cancer by restoring deep cuts to federal cancer research and prevention programs.

The President's $2.7 trillion budget reduced prevention programs by $40 million this year, $70 million last year and $250 million over the past five years. These cuts have slowed existing research and delayed the start of promising new research.

Less than 10 percent of cancer deaths today are caused by the primary tumor. It is when cancer metastasizes that it becomes deadly. Early detection saves lives and money, an estimated $300 billion last year alone in health care costs and lost productivity.

Cancer researchers are making impressive progress toward unraveling cancer's dark mysteries and using this knowledge to prevent cancer from becoming life threatening.

Thirty years ago, fewer than 50 percent of those with cancer lived five years beyond their diagnosis date. The survival rate today is 65 percent for adults and 80 percent for children.

In America more people are living with cancer than dying from it. Today we have 10 million cancer survivors; tomorrow we could have more.

Despite this progress, big challenges remain. Men today have a 1 in 2 likelihood of developing invasive cancer; women have a 1 in 3 chance.

The American Cancer Society set an ambitious goal of eliminating all human suffering and death from cancer by the year 2015. This should be a fully funded national imperative; it should be America's goal.

Rep. Brian Higgins

U.S. Congress