First I must apologize for not being available over the summer as I should have been. This was a bad summer for me and my family and I was not available as I should have been. I keep hearing that people called but I didn't get any calls and we do answer our phone - the number is the same as it has been for over 15 years. The summer kicked off with debit card fraud and the ensuing battle with my bank, progressed to my mother-in-law being hospitalized for heart problems in June while my father-in-law was in the final stages of his 8 year battle with cancer, and finally losing that battle in July. Throw into this mess with the need for remodeling on the house to bring our utility bills under control, accepting a permanent position outside of the home and adjusting to a 40+ hour work week out of the home, the kids home on summer vacation, etc. Sometime during all of this, my computer was down again for about 2 weeks. Toss in the normal daily family life events and surely you can agree that my time has been rather limited this summer. By giving several of the coordinators access to everything needed to manage the site and mail lists in my absence, it never occurred to me that there would be such an episode over my not being available as long as I kept paying the bills, which I did. There were so many other more urgent family matters that deserved my attention that I didn't even think to notify anyone. How many of you would think to notify me when you are going to be gone for a few weeks or months? As the site owner, it should have occurred to me to email someone, but it didn't. Therefore, my fault, yes, but after all, how often does anyone really need me for something related to the site? I am about as frustrated, dissappointed, and upset as anyone can be over what has happened to the site. I took the day off of work today and am working on fixing the site, though it will take me more than one day to repair the site damage caused by a small few who decided to tear it down. Regardless of who stays or goes, the site and old-news lists will continue and will grow. I began this site in 1999 and I along with hundreds of volunteers, have worked too hard for it to go away. Those that wish to stay are more than welcome and those that wish to go may do so. If you know how to build web pages and wish to coordinate a county or state, email me privately and we can get you all set up. Finally, some of the things that have been said about me on some of the old-news lists the past few weeks are completely inappropriate and uncalled for and I just ask that those making those comments about my abandoning the site, that I don't pay the bills related to the site, urging list members to not submit news items, and other negative comments I have run across, cease with the gossip and quietly go their own way. Have a wonderful day, Barbara (Saxbury) Freeman http://NewspaperAbstracts.com Finding our ancestors in the news! http://www.PikeCoILGenWeb.org Pike Co ILGenWeb http://Saxbury.net Saxbury Family History