The other day, I was talking on the phone with a friend of mine at another company. My friend’s name is Cindy, and we’ve known each other for years.

When we were finished discussing business, instead of saying goodbye, Cindy said, “May the miracle of the Christmas spirit fill your heart and home with peace, comfort and happiness.”

Cindy’s statement and wish was so unexpected and genuinely nice that I had to ask her to repeat it for me twice before I could even comprehend what she was saying. And then I asked her to repeat it a third time while I wrote it all down.

Sometimes it seems like every day we lose another little piece of our collective soul.

And Christmastime is when many people try to redeem or reclaim that little bit of their past innocence or idealism, usually by trying to recreate Christmas as they think they remember it from their childhood: Bright lights outside their houses and lots of shiny gifts under a great big tree.

But I think it’s a lot easier and less expensive than that. I think my friend Cindy got it right.

So this year, before it’s too late, remember that Christmas commemorates the birth of a man who preached a message of peace and love. Let’s celebrate with our hearts instead of with our wallets. Let the miracle of the Christmas spirit fill your heart and home with peace, comfort and happiness.

Merry Christmas and God bless.

Carl Schultz

Johnstown



Cambria’s network is not being marketed

I was asked to buy Internet from a cable company. It was tempting. Many have problems with cable service, though. I have phone DSL. Their ads look tempting, too. Their network is fast, when it’s works.

My phone and three megaband service costs $100 a month.

Cable Internet speeds sound great, but the network connections can be a lot slower. They’re misleading. Their ad claims they deliver eight megabytes. That’s like claiming a car will go 80 mpg. They confuse quantity and speed. But they won’t guarantee any speed at all, and their fine print says they’ll add in other fees.

I’ve dealt with national networks and I hate them. Their ads are slick and customer service is pitiful. Their help lines are overloaded, their people don’t understand your equipment and you get shuffled from person to person.

The Johnstown area has an alternative, though. Cambria County had it’s own network installed, and small companies can sell it to anyone. Its major connections are wireless, but it can be hooked up to any computer.

It piggybacks on emergency radio towers and is quite an advanced system. It’s not perfect, but that’s because we’re in Pennsylvania. Terrain can block certain areas but it’s more than that.

Cambria County taxpayers paid for it, but no one really markets it. The installers speak technically and won’t tell you how it’s better than other networks. I imagine in five years they’ll shut it down and say no one really wanted it.

Robert Spencer

Johnstown



Everything is going up except income

Who are they trying to kid? In The Tribune-Democrat on Dec. 14 it said that federal employees are going to be getting an increase of 2 percent in their paychecks.

Yet the handicapped and elderly on Social Security are not going to get any increase.

Is there an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for federal employees but not for the handicapped and elderly?

I just received a letter from Social Security telling me that there was no CPI increase in 2009 so I will not be getting an increase in my Social Security Disability benefits.

The cost of almost everything in stores has gone up but my income hasn’t. I guess Washington has a different CPI than the one we have here in Pennsylvania.

I’ll bet federal employees could do without that increase.

It also would stop the government from going into debt as far as we are going to be.

I have nothing against federal employees. I’m glad they have jobs. But why are they being treated better than everybody else?

Daniel M. Mintmier Sr.

Johnstown



A big thank you goes to Frear, Plunkard

Just wanted to let you all know that you better put your holiday decorations on lockdown. The grinches did some shopping on my front porch on Dec. 11 and 12.

I would like to thank the officer who took the report on Dec. 13. He was very professional.

On Dec. 15, as I was on my way to work, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but my 4-foot lit wreath hanging on a wall in a second-floor apartment just two houses and a lot up from my home.

A barb goes out to the person I talked to at the police department. He told me it was impossible for me to see my wreath through a window on the second floor from the street. He didn’t even send an officer to verify my story.

Hours later, I called back and eventually was put in contact with Capt. Andrew Frear. A laurel goes out to him because he gave permission for an officer to show up to investigate.

A great big laurel goes out to Officer Michael Plunkard, who showed up, investigated and returned my wreath and nativity star to me.

So thank you, Frear and Plunkard. They are the Johnstown Police Department at its best.

You see, in the scheme of things, the stolen items are only things, but they are my things.

A.A. Harris

Johnstown