I'm putting out a little call for help this morning. Yesterday here I wrote about the Sister Cities Commission's Italian Festival that will be held Saturday, Aug. 13, at Constant's Wharf.

After writing the piece I got to thinking about how nice it would be if we could create some type of keepsake edition of the newspaper for our Italian guests n 90 of them n to take home.

I know it's short notice, but I'm asking the sales and news staffs to see what we can come up with. If you're a business owner, I hope you'll help support this through advertising. Someone will be calling soon.

It was a bit of a sad day Tuesday after I learned of the death of Alma Howell.

She was a long, long-time subscriber to the News-Herald and a good friend of the paper. She was also among the nicest ladies I've met.

Until recently, she lived on Bracey Drive, off Wilroy Road, a route that at times has been somewhat troubling for us as far as delivery is concerned. Ms. Howell would call when her paper was late or missed, but instead of jumping down our throats, she was always polite. That kind of class and manners are in short supply and we always appreciated it.

I also served her on a Meals on Wheels route I run a couple times a month. She always had a kind word. I hope she died peacefully.

Speaking of death, I was shocked to see in the Pilot this morning about the death of 25-year-old business reporter Benita Newton. She apparently just dropped dead at work.

It was just about two weeks ago that I was talking to Pilot editorial page writer Don Luzzatto, a Suffolk resident and former News-Herald editor, who commented about what a tough time they had been through at the Pilot with the deaths of several colleagues. I'm sure they're reeling this morning. I didn't know Newton, but from what I read I wish I had. She must have really been something special.