It looks as though fall may finally be arriving in our area. We’re starting to get some crisp cool evenings and some comfortable days, but after all, it is October. October is National Fire Prevention Month. It’s a good time to have your heating system checked before the weather gets too cold. Don’t forget your chimney or flue, this is where flammable gases, etc., can really build up causing a fire hazard when you go to use your heating system. If you have a gas or oil heating system, make sure to have your heat exchanger checked for cracks and be sure that any pipes and lines are tight and leak free. It’s also a good time to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors, and to make sure that you have enough smoke detectors to make your house reasonably safe. You should have one in every bedroom; the upstairs hallway, if you have one; one in the kitchen, the laundry and in the basement area or wherever your heating system is. If you don’t already have them, it might be a good idea to invest in a carbon monoxide detector and a couple of ABC fire extinguishers for your home. It’s a good idea to have a fire extinguisher on every level of the house and make sure that every one over the age of 8 or 10 knows how to use it. It’s as simple as the word PASS: pull the pin, aim at the bottom of the fire, squeeze the trigger, sweep the nozzle back and forth at the base of the fire. Please remember, this is for small fires only! If it’s anything bigger than a clothes basket, leave the house, using your families escape plan (You do have one don’t you?), and using your cell phone or your neighbor’s phone, and call 911. Do not go back into a burning building until fire personnel tell you it’s safe to do so, and remember, if you happen to have your clothes catch fire during your escape from a burning building, car, etc., and there is no one there to render immediate aide, stop, drop and roll, over and over again if needed to extinguish the fire. More on fire safety and prevention next week. Last week I made a mistake last week when I stated that the Dawson Volunteer Fire Co.’s meeting was last Monday evening. Sorry for the error. That meeting will be held at 7 tonight. I’m sure this time. I would like to send condolences to the family of Zelma Herbert, who recently passed away. She was one of Dawson’s finest citizens. She was small in stature, but she had a heart as big as a mountain. She raised her children to be fine, upstanding citizens. She was a friend to all. She was everybody’s friend and everybody’s mother and generous to a fault. If she thought someone needed something, she wasn’t afraid to call and offer assistance. You know that people say that there are angels among us, well, Zelma Herbert was one such angel. Now she has taken wing and gone to her heavenly home to join her husband, Ted, but rest assured that she will continue to watch over her flock here on earth. Birthday celebrants for the first week in October are: Oct. 1 celebrants were Roy Giovannelli, District Justice Michael Rubish and Laddie Griglak; Oct. 2 celebrants were Martha McArdle, Shane Rosul, Emma Lynn and Janet Lowden; Tuesday celebrants are Pat Guariglia; Paul Bilohlavek and William Bell share Wednesday; celebrating on Thursday is Mary Tisot; and Ruth Shields celebrates on Friday. My family would like to wish a very happy birthday to our grandson and nephew, Colt Hunter Harley Hall, who celebrates his second birthday today. He is the son of my daughter, Annette Chaney and her fiance, Tom Hall, of Brownsville. He has a sister, Michaela Jo, 7. He is also the grandson of Judy Hall and her fiance, Brian Umble, of Belle Vernon. “Buddy,” we wish you the best birthday ever and all the happiness that one 2-year-old can handle. Love, Grandma and Pappy Lynn, Aunt Emma, Uncles Jesse, Earl and Jimmy, Aunt Belinda, Amanda, Alexis, Colby, Jason and Trista. The Dawson Volunteer Fire Co. holds bingo at 7 p.m. every Tuesday and on the first and third Saturday of every month at 11 p.m. Admission is $11 for the first package and $5 for each additional package. The Brownfield Community Center, located at 291 Banning Road in Lower Tyrone Township, holds weekly bingo games at 6:45 p.m. every Monday. DL&V Fire Department of Vanderbilt holds its weekly games each Friday evening at 6:45 p.m. and late night games on the second and fourth Saturday of each month at 10:45 p.m. Admission is $11 for the first package and $5 for each additional package. All proceeds benefit the individual fire companies. We had no answer to last week’s trivia question: Why is the circle in Perryopolis laid out like a wagon wheel, so we’ll let it go for one more week. If you know the answer, call me at 724-529-2391 or drop me a line at bethannlynn@hotmail.com. You can also send me a card or letter to 276 Banning Road, Dawson, PA 15428-1175. My thought for the week comes from “Our Daily Bread,” a publication of RBC Ministries: “If you want to be rich, count all the things that you have that money can’t buy.” That’s it for this week, folks. Keep smiling and have a great week.

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