Well, this is my favorite holiday. From days of lighting off fireworks in the backyard (don't worry, the statute of limitations is up, so I think I can confess it now) to the past seven years of wedded bliss, the Fourth of July has always been a special day for me.

First of all, it's real significance is somethign that beats strong in my heart. To hear history call, and to think of the farmers, landowners, politicians, lawyers, and honest hardworking men that decided to buck the oppression on their backs, to declare themselves independent from tyranny, moves me to tears.

Millions of men and women, including some of my friends have served in peacetime and war time to protect and build our nation. While I know I'm leaving many out, a handful of currently serving soldiers come to mind....(Ryan Wilson, Wayne Beck, Dave Taylor, Josh Chastain)


This weekend is about them. and it's about this country. As screwed up and divided as it is... we're living in the freedom bought and paid for by the blood of American boys and girls, and the sweat and tears of countless others on the homefront. Remember that when the president makes you mad, or the supreme court overturns your favorite law, or you see a criminal walk free, or a senator trash the boys and girls overseas.... this is a great country..

What happened to the days when it was okay to disagree? What happened to the days when it was okay to say, "I'm a Christian" without being ridiculed, or on the flipside, when it was okay to question and explore new ideas without being branded as a "hippie" or a liberal.

For just a minute. Throw away the militant hatred for the "other half" of the country, no matter what side your on. Because we have the FREEDOM to disagree. That freedom was paid for with that same blood and sweat and tears.

To quote the idiot Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

But back to the holiday at hand.

I fell in love with a woman, and married her on July 4th. This year makes seven since we walked out of that hot sweaty church and into a new life.

And it marks six years to the day that our twins were born. I was married on the 4th of July, and my oldest kids were born on the 4th of July.

My family, that' s America to me. That's Freedom. I want my kids to see a nation bound together in freedom. I want them to know that we have Muslims, and Jews, and Hindus, and Atheists, and so much more in this country. I want them to see us all live together in harmony. As one nation, INDIVISIBLE. With Liberty and Justice for all.

I also hope my kids continue to chose to follow what I believe is the truth in Jesus Christ, whose blood bought an even deeper freedom for me.

Not to preach, because I know not everyone agrees. And if it offends you, then you are too easily offended, and you should go back and read this whole piece again from the beginning.

Freedom is something we were all given by God. I believe that my God gave it to us. If you don't, well, I wish you did, but He gave you that freedom too.

And by living as a citizen in this country, you've been granted similar freedoms, just because you're an American.

So "don't tread on me" for my beliefs. I won't tread on you for yours.


Here's part of that earth shattering document that shattered the chains that held freedom back. I downloaded from the National Archives.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security

You can read the full text here: National Archive



Happy Fourth Everyone! Feel free to respond by clicking on "comments".

The McKean County District Attorney’s office has released information on the murder/suicide in Port Allegany. According to reports, 33-year old Heather Bross and 23-year old Shadd Roberts were found dead of apparent gun shot wounds to the head at 10:27 Thursday night in a vehicle parked on Maple Street near the intersection of Maple, Willow and Church Streets. The two had been involved in a relationship, and according to the DA’s office, indicators suggest the murder/suicide was initiated by Roberts.


More information, from expert reporter George Petrisek is available on the Port Allegany Website at http://www.portallegany.net

The Emporium fireworks will be this Saturday at the Cameron County High School Sports Complex. Kneppy's Fireworks of Winburne (Pa.) will launch the display, which will last about 25 minutes.

A 17-year-old Juvenile was not injured in a Keating Township Crash Wednesday. Police say the teen fell asleep at the wheel while traveling in his Ford Truck along Route 59. The teen then struck a ditch off the south berm.

A Kane woman called state police to report a theft sometime in the past few days. April Chittester says someone removed a motorcycle helmet worth about 200 dollars from a shed in Wetmore Township.Police are investigating.

A Fruit stand in Potter County is in trouble after an undercover sting operation Thursday afternoon. State Police say an undercover state trooper approached Fat Albert’s fruit stand along Route 6 and purchased illegal fireworks. Mortar rounds and quarter sticks were included in the illegal display. Police say Albert Lingeris of Galeton was arrested, and over 8 thousand dollars in currency and about 100 thousand dollars in fireworks was seized. Lingeris was released on his own recognizance.

A Port Allegany woman was injured Thursday afternoon in a crash on Route
446. Police say a car drive by 78 year old Paul Burns Jr. ran off the
roadway and into a yard before striking an embankment. Burns was uninjured,
but his passenger, 76-year-old Gloria Burns was injured. The car received
moderate damage.

A Bradford woman was arrested in Mt. Jewett last night for DUI. Police say 37-year-old Virginia Ferranto admitted to driving from Bradford to Mt. Jewett while intoxicated. She was also charged with Public drunkenness.

Ferranto was also charged with harassment after a separate incident. Mildred Reinhard of Mt. Jewett called police because Ferranto repeatedly appeared in front of her house in an attempt to contact her boyfriend. Charges have been filed.

McKean County Commissioners voted a tax break for Clean and Green Forested
properties. The state value on forested land increased this year to 401.19
per acre. The McKean County Commissioners resolution will keep the vale
under 300 dollars an acre, though that amount is still higher than most
other communities in Pennsylvania.

Commissioners also decided to adopt a resolution that will pursue taxes on
the thirty cell phone towers across the county. The towers are worth about 3
million dollars combined. The move top tax should pull in 20 thousand
dollars a year.

No one from the community showed up to a special meeting before the
commissioners meeting last night regarding theMcKean County Hospital
Authority request to acquire funding. Linda Skinner has more.

A resolution was passed approving the acquisition of the “Livlite Center” in
connection with the Kane Community Hospital System allowing them to have the
support of McKean County to have the project financed through the authority
at no expense to the county.

McKean County Commissioner Bruce Burdick is leading an effort to prepare a
county comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan hasn’t been updated since 1977. In other matters,
The McKean County Assessment Office is directed to identify and assess all
cellular towers and related equipment within McKean County to place tower
property on the tax rolls for the 2006 tax year.

A Shinglehouse man was injured after crashing in to a roller rink in the
Bolivar area yesterday. The crash sparked a blaze that destroyed the rink.

Bolivar First Assistant Fire Chief Terry Bentley says the canned fruit truck
slammed into a wall at the Coliseum about 1 am Tuesday.

Truck Driver Richard Larkin of Shinglehouse was spared as he leapt from the
truck just before the impact.
The trucks gas tanks blew up, causing fire to spread through the
105-year-old roller rink, causing about 750 thousand dollars in damage.

The coliseum has been a popular venue for local musicians and roller skaters
for years.

A red Magnum 606 Express 2 seater go-Kart with black seats and engine is
currently in the possession of Kane-based State Police. According to a
report, the go-kart was abandoned along the highway in Eldred Township in
Mid-April and was displayed in a resident’s front yard for one month for the
owner to reclaim. The resident then turned it over to state police. Anyone
with information or wishing to claim the item should contact the Kane
Barracks.

State Police report a 16 year old girl has been charged with harassment
after she punched a 13 year old male after a verbal argument at the Adelphoi
Village in Harrison Township. Wednesday.

A monument that was once in front of the Cameron County High School as well as on beside the Emporium Post Office moved to the Cameron County Veteran Park (the big flag) last week. A variety of people helped to move the large stone sculptures to its new home. If you have not visited the park out yet, check it out.

A Potter County teen was injured while riding her bike on Route 49, and a
Ulysses woman faces charges in the incident.
41-year old Quenna Stilson was traveling west in her 1986 Oldsmobile when
she struck 17-year old cyclist Amanda Lehman..
Police say Stilson fled the scene. She was arrested at her residence and and
placed in jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Lehman was life-flighted to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre and later
transferred to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

A U.S. Air Force Sergeant from Hazel Hurst was injured in Iraq (E-rock) over
the weekend. 28-year old Sgt Jamie Himes Dana sustained serious head and
internal injuries Saturday when the vehicle she was traveling in hit a
landmine in the Baghdad area. Sgt Dana is expected to be transferred to the
Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. She is currently at a hospital in
Germany.

A Sheffield man was charged with public drunkenness after an incident Friday
at the Kane Uni-mart. Police were called to the scene and found 53-year old
Richard Kelly passed out in the store. Kelly was also charged with
disorderly conduct and notice of change of address.

Diamond Auto Glass in Coudersport was the victim of a hit and run Saturday
morning. A white Ford F-250 struck the front of the building, damaging the
siding. The vehicle then fled the scene.

Kane Boro Police worked with State Police to lay a hand down on the Boro’s
drug problem. 11 officers stopped several vehicles and searched for drugs
with the help of a drug dog.

22-year-old Sheffield woman Brandy Nelson was arrested with three bags of
heroin in her car.

After midnight, officers also knocked on doors where suspected drug activity
occurred to inform the possible drug users that the law was declaring war on
drugs.
As a result of the door knocking campaign, 19-year-old Emily Ackley of Kane
was arrested in possession of suspected drug paraphernalia and drugs.

State Police in Potter County apprehended a fugitive Thursday. 28-year-old
William Kelley was wanted for a probation violation in Chautauqua County New
York. Police found the man in Ulysses Township, driving a Truck along Route
449. He was arraigned and jailed on 10 thousand dollars bail.

State Police report that a Port Allegany man was injured in an early morning
crash Sunday on Route 155 in Keating Township. Holly Kisner was driving a 94
Buick Sedan when she struck a deer. Her passenger, 31 year old Travis
Trowbridge was taken to Charles Cole Memorial Hospitla for treatment of
minor injuries.

An Emporium man charged for several burglaries at Emporium residences waived
his preliminary hearing Thursday. 18-year old Casey Strahl is charged with
burglary and other charges, six of which were added Thursday. Included in
the six additional charges were corruption of minors, hindering prosecution
and obstructing the administration of law. The state and borough police
discussed the case with Strahl’s lawyers and District Attorney Tom Tompkins
for almost an hour before waiving the hearing. Strahl, who was not
previously cooperating with police, has now changed his mind.

Art Fest will be in Emporium once again this year. It begins on Friday, July 1, at 4:30 p.m. An ice cream social will be held at the Presbyterian Church. Music wil performed by local musicians and will be seen at that church as well as at the Episcopal and First United Methodist churches in Emporium.

The major event will take place Saturday, July 2 at 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., in the center of town. South Broad Street will feature artists and crafters that will set up tables promoting their self-earned work. They will show off paintings, photography, needlework, wood sculptures, etc.

Come check out the fest, its a real good time!

Cameron County may soon be run under a one body form of government. A hope is to bring the township supervisors, borough councils, and county commissioners under one direct group to run the entire county. This is done through the Municipal Consolidation Act or Merger Act.

For this to take effect, people have to vote for it. Spring is the earliest shot in the dark for the votes to pour in and if it does happen, a financial boulder will be lifted from area residents. However, a downfall would be that those people that currently hold those positions will no longer have jobs.

The Little League Carnival in Emporium was the big thing in town last week. A week full of riding the attractions and eating the food ended Saturday. Here, some kids are cruising on rides during a Saturday matinee.