To motorists who travel Route 8 north of Butler, the news that the state Department of Transportation is "fast-tracking" reconstruction of the Route 8 bridge over Route 422 was like receiving an extra birthday present.

The current lane-shifts, although only a minor change, pose some danger, particularly regarding drivers unfamiliar with the area who stray out of the revised travel-lane configurations.

Hopefully this year's weather will cooperate with PennDOT's goal of rebuilding the deteriorating span as quickly as possible. The lack of huge amounts of snow this month already has provided a window for an earlier start of the work than might have been possible in many other years.

The milder-than-usual weather isn't the only reason PennDOT wants to minimize project delays. The deterioration of the bridge is the main consideration.

PennDOT decided in January that it was necessary to shift the travel lanes away from the center of the span to lessen the weight on the bridge's center.

As previously reported, one-lane traffic north and south will be maintained during the work. No doubt that will result in some backups during peak traffic times, but the situation would have been much less travel-friendly if Penn-DOT had deemed it necessary to shut down the bridge completely and impose detours during the construction.

PennDOT's commitment to minimizing inconvenience should not go unnoticed by the traveling public.

Sixty people attending a municipal government or school-related meeting usually is indicative that people are angry about something.Therefore, it was a refreshing change when 60 people showed up at an informational session to support a proposal for all-day kindergarten in the Slippery Rock School District.The meeting was held Wednesday at the district's middle school.When surveyed as to who was in favor of starting the proposed all-day program, nearly all of the people in attendance raised a hand. Before the meeting was over, some parents asked how they could convince the school board to give a thumbs-up to the expanded program.The fact is, now is a good time for the board to approve the proposal. State grant money is available.Still, Wednesday's attendance defied the usual scenario of people attracted to a meeting as a result of something opposed, rather than something supported.The school board should take note of that positive interest when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Moraine Elementary School.

The effort to thwart digital-age counterfeiters has taken another step forward with the newly unveiled $10 bills.But it's puzzling why the federal government has no plans to redesign the $5, $2 and $1 bills to make them more difficult to counterfeit. With the higher-denomination bills more difficult to counterfeit, it is logical to assume that many people intent on counterfeiting will redirect their efforts to the lower denominations.The announcement that there are no plans for the redesign of the lower-denomination bills was a virtual invitation for such a shifting of counterfeiting priorities to take place.Federal Reserve officials have estimated that one of every 10,000 $10 bills in circulation is counterfeit. Meanwhile, between 1995 and 2004, digitally produced counterfeits of all denominations skyrocketed from fewer than 1 percent to 52 percent of all counterfeit bills.That's because counterfeiting is no longer confined to highly skilled criminals. Today, a computer-savvy teenager with cheap equipment can produce bogus "money" that only the skilled eye can quickly detect.Brian Nagel, an assistant director of investigations for the U.S. Secret Service, which handles counterfeiting cases, said that by learning to tell the difference between real and fake money, the public "can ensure their currency is genuine and effectively safeguard their hard-earned money."It would be easier if a redesign of the $5, $2 and $1 bills were on the way.