Laurel: We’d like to believe a lot of readers were emotionally and spiritually charged by what they saw in a photograph last Saturday on our front page. With heads bowed, Forest Hills football players and their coach, Don Bailey, prayed before the Rangers playoff game at Sidman against Central Cambria High School. It has been a longtime pre-game ritual for Bailey and his gridders. To us, it conveyed the message that there are still things more important than a football game.

Barb: Good grief. An Armstrong County man has been stinking up his neighborhood. The North Buffalo Township resident has a contract with PennDOT to remove deer carcasses from roads in five counties. He’s doing the work OK, picking up 50 to 100 carcasses a day. Problem is, he has been dumping a few hundred at a time in his yard. He says weekend landfill closures and a broken truck have caused a backlog in getting rid of the carcasses. Neighbors a half-mile away say they have resorted to burning candles in their homes to mask the stench. The good news is that the man says he has gotten a trash container that will help, but that it will take a week or two to remove all the dead animals.

Laurel: Sixty years is a long time to have allegiance to any organization. And when that organization is a volunteer fire company, it adds up to a lot of dangerous work, sleepless nights, plenty of smoke intake, a lot of time away from the family – and never-ending fundraisers. Jay Shearman of Lower Yoder Township is just such a community-spirited guy. According to Shearman’s count, he has responded to more than 7,500 alarms over his long volunteer career. He received well-deserved plaudits during a banquet in his honor last Sunday. The great thing about our area is that there are a lot of other volunteer firefighters with decades of service to their companies and their communities. We salute each one of these special men and women.

Barb: Wow. The National Football League this week fined Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for making obscene hand gestures at Buffalo Bills fans while celebrating his team’s win last Sunday. Adams was seen making the gestures both from his luxury suite and again on the field at the end of the game. The 86-year-old said he got caught up in the excitement of the win. He issued an apology to the Bills, their fans and his own team. We certainly would expect more from a millionaire owner of an NFL team. Is it any wonder so many players’ on- and off-field conduct is so out of control?

Laurel: Instead of focusing their efforts solely on beating the neighboring competition, ski resorts in southern Somerset County and northern Maryland are instead teaming up to promote the overall appeal of the sport. It makes a lot of sense. Wisp Resort at McHenry, Md., announced last week that season-ticket buyers will get a free one-day lift ticket at either Seven Springs Mountain Resort or Hidden Valley Resort. A similar deal is offered at all three resorts, which are within an hour’s drive of each other. The free passes cannot be used on Saturdays or during holiday periods. The resorts are also a part of an overall effort to market the Alleghenies as a ski vacation destination for enthusiasts across the eastern United States. It’s business 101: Sharing the wealth by attracting large numbers of consumers to one area.

Laurel: The Salvation Army, like so many of our other wonderful agencies whose missions are to meet human needs, works hard for its dollars. Its familiar red kettles are already in place in several commercial areas, and Army volunteer bell ringers throughout the holidays will be soliciting shoppers for a few dollars or even spare change. The Cambria County citadel has set a fundraising goal of $112,000, and the Somerset headquarters hopes to raise $32,500. We hope everyone will help out as much as possible. Both facilities are also recruiting ringers. Those interested can call 539-3110 (Johnstown) or 445-9232 (Somerset).