Numbers in the news

89

ATA buses have been rolling through Cameron, Potter and other area counties for more than three decades. The ATA fleet now includes 89 vehicles carrying fare-paying passengers. These range in size from small minivans, about 10 feet long, to newer 35-foot Gillig Phantom transit coaches.

Each vehicle is equipped with either a ramp or lift. Of the fleet s 89 vehicles, 16 are powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), 47 are powered by diesel fuel and the remaining 26 vehicles operate on gasoline.

5

A driver who is talking on a cellphone, including the handsfree models, is five times more likely to be in an accident.

Researchers have found that it's not the use of a hand holding the phone that distracts a driver, but rather the fact that his attention is diverted from the road to the conversation.

31

Hats off to Elizabeth Woomer! The Cameron County resident was recently honored by the National Weather Service for 31 years of service as a volunteer weather observer.

She is one of five official observers in the county, recording conditions in the village of Sinnemahoning. Even a broken hip suffered in 2003 did not keep Elizabeth from reporting her daily observations. Her son, Emerson, retrieved her equipment daily and brought it into the house so she could record and report the measurements.

She was one of just three weather observers across the nation to receive the Holm Award from the National Weather Service.

1.55B

Criminal defendants who are ordered to pay fines, court costs and restitution don't always do so.

An Associated Press study found that unpaid obligations totaled $1.55 billion.

Figures in this area were: Potter County, $2.3 million; McKean, $2.1 million; Cameron, $172,000; Elk, $2 million.

Some states are stepping up their efforts to collect and, in some cases, hiring outside companies for help.

700

No definitive numbers are available, but Pennsylvania's elk herd is believed to number about 700. The majority are found in Elk and Cameron counties. Smaller numbers roam in Clearfield, Clinton and Potter counties. That range is about 850 square miles.

A male elk, or "bull," can weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds. A female, or "cow," could weigh 600 pounds.

90

Americans like to eat just about any time of the day and night.

Some 90 percent of the McDonald's restaurants are now operating extended hours beyond the standard 6 am to 10 pm, and 35 percent are open 'round the clock. The latter figure was less than 10 percent as of 2002.

Breakfast now accounts for 25 percent of McDonald's business. On any given day, 27 million Americans will stop at McDonald's.