o ... To everyone who took part in National HIV Testing Day last month.

The event, which offered free rapid HIV tests and counseling, is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the National Association of People with AIDS.

According to Debra Marcus, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of South Central New York, more than 70 people were tested at clinics in Oneonta and Walton on June 27.

There are as many as 250,000 people in the United States who have HIV and don’t know it, according to Patti Timoney, executive director of Catskill Rural AIDS Services in Oneonta.

HIV/AIDS is not curable, but medication can slow the progress of the disease.

"If you don’t know it, you may infect other people," Timoney said. "The sooner you know about it, the sooner you can get treatment."

Those who missed the chance to be tested don’t have to wait for the next National HIV Testing Day. Planned Parenthood clinics in Sidney, Oneonta and Walton have been designated as free, anonymous testing sites for HIV/AIDS by the Otsego and Delaware county Public Health Departments.

While HIV/AIDS treatments have improved over the years, millions are still dying. Knowledge is the first step in stopping the spread of a deadly disease.

o ... To the organizers of the 30th annual Stamford Car Show.

This year’s show was dedicated to the memory of Donald A. Craig, who died Jan. 23.

To honor Craig, the Rotary Club collected $225 in donations for the Wheelchair Foundation at the event.

Craig used a wheelchair and considered it important that others have access to them, organizers said.

Every $75 donated to the foundation is matched with foundation funds, which enables a wheelchair to be delivered to a child or adult who is without mobility.

"It was a great tribute to Don," said Craig’s wife, Barbara.

We agree.

Jeers

... To the vandal or vandals of two school buildings of the Sidney Central School District.

The third incident in a month caused "extensive vandalism," in what appears to be in the tens of thousands of dollars, according to school Superintendent Sandra Cooper.

At the high school, windows were broken to gain entrance, and extensive damage was done in the building, she said. A list of items that were stolen was being compiled.

It was the second incident at the high school. The other was at the middle school.

Anyone with information that might help with the case is asked to call Sidney police at 561-2301.

We hope the perpetrators of the theft and vandalism are caught and punished.