Declarations

Fatality Numbers

“PennDOT continuously strives to drive down crash and fatality numbers, and we ultimately want to reach zero deaths on our roads.”

—Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Leslie S. Richards on the state’s effort to lower traffic deaths. Car crashes killed 1,195 people in Pennsylvania in 2014, according to statistics released in April. That’s the lowest number since recordkeeping began 87 years ago. PennDOT invests $20 million annually for safety education and enforcement efforts.

The Right Thing

“We’re committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe.”

—Paul Kruse, CEO of Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries, which has issued a voluntary recall for all of its products after two samples of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream tested positive for listeria. The company had previously issued a partial recall after some of its products were linked to a listeria outbreak that led to three deaths at a Kansas hospital. Five others in Kansas and Texas have been sickened with listeriosis linked to Blue Bell products. The recall is the first in the family-owned creamery’s 108-year history.

Call of the Wild (Turkey)

“There are several people that are suspects that are involved in it, and we would anticipate moving forward with this case.”

—Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton says those who stole five heavy barrels of Wild Turkey bourbon from a Kentucky warehouse may have taken a lot more liquor than previously thought and the case could result in multiple indictments. So far, one person has been arrested, but several law enforcement agencies are looking for possible accomplices.

Tsunami Information

“It really gives the individual a lot of information about how to survive.”

—Althea Rizzo of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management said a study out in April, which shows roughly 5,500 more people could survive a major tsunami hitting the Pacific Northwest if they just walk a little faster to higher ground, offered the best look yet at how many people might be in the highest-risk tsunami zones.