Numbers in the news

Sheetz Inc. opened a long anticipated location in St. Marys last Thursday. The 4,700-square-foot business at 117 S. Michael Street is store number 337 for the chain.

Established in 1952 in Altoona, Sheetz reported more than $3.8 billion in revenue for 2006 and more than 11,000 employees. The company operates stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

12

Friday is the anniversary of man's first step onto the moon. Twelve astronauts have now walked on the moon.

The first was Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969. His oftenmisquoted words from the lunar surface were: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

The word "a" was hard to discern in the 1969 audio technology stretching from the moon to earth, so most people never heard it. As Armstrong pointed out in subsequent interviews, without the word "a," the quote doesn't make any sense, since "man" and "mankind" are synonyms for the human race.

He long ago resigned himself to people getting his quote wrong (just as Smokey Bear has given up on disabusing people of the notion that his middle name is "the").

250

There are approximately 250 historic buildings in Coudersport, according to an assessment of the town by the Potter County Route 6 Heritage Community Stakeholders Group.

Rick Truscello from EADS, a consulting firm that is helping with the Heritage 6 Project, believes tourist promoters could better capitalize on these attractions.

8

An eight-hour vandalism spree in Ulysses has community members upset and state police on the investigation trail.

Starting last Sunday night at about 11:00, vandals first broke Ulysses Little League baseball field and stole six boxes of candy. Then they caused about $1,000 in damage to a commercial vehicle parked on Main Street by breaking off mirrors and turn signals.

Next, they boarded a borough backhoe from near the water tower and set off the onboard fire extinguisher. Finally, they smashed a large wooden sign in front of the Silver Maple Apartments.

75B

Decline of the bee population could result in $75 billion in economic losses, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.

He said Colony Collapse Disorder has already cost $14.6 billion in pollinated crops. Starting late last year, commercial beekeepers reported hive losses of as high as 90 percent. With bees as their primary source of pollination, crops of apples, oranges and almonds and other products are failing.

67

Even though the Quaker State oil refinery was sold and converted to wax production in 1990, the groundwater pollution created by the petroleum operation over 67 years continues to be treated.

Shell Lubricants, which now owns Quaker State and Pennzoil, is responsible for the clean-up. Since 1995, groundwater has been pumped to a filtering and treatment system, under Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection supervision. Shell plans to expand the operation, but there's no forecast of how much longer the treatment will be necessary.

International Group Inc. of Canada now owns the site, operating the wax refinery as International Wax Inc.

2M

Gradually, barns are disappearing from the American landscape. There were about 6.4 million at farming's peak around 1920. Now, there are approximately 2 million.