More than five years after Sept. 11, 2001, only six U.S. areas have responded fully to the urgent plea of a New York fire battalion chief on that fateful day who lamented the "state of confusion" of his men because of an insufficient number of working radios.

According to a Department of Homeland Security report, the six places that have since adopted advanced emergency communications systems are Washington, D.C.; San Diego, Calif.; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Columbus, Ohio; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Laramie County, Wyo.

Notice the absence of New York City.

Getting the lowest scores in the Homeland Security report were Chicago; Cleveland; Baton Rouge, La.; Mandan, N.D.; and American Samoa.

The report includes large and small cities and their suburbs.

"Formalized governance (leadership and planning) across regions has lagged," the report says.

Democrats who took control of Congress during the past week have pledged to try to rectify the problem. It won't be an easy task.

However, cooperation from city leaders will have to be an abundant ingredient in the objective — something, unfortunately, that fell by the wayside during the years that were covered in the report.

It would be remiss not to devote a cheer to S. Lee Strayer of Cranberry Township, who has retired as president of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of Junior Achievement.Strayer, who spent 31 years in the high school business organization, headed the Western Pennsylvania chapter since 1991.But it's not just that Strayer served so long with the organization; more important is what he was able to accomplish.When Strayer was hired to take over the reins of Western Pennsylvania JA, the chapter served 19,000 students and was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.But when he retired on Dec. 1, the chapter was serving 84,000 student members and had financial reserves of more than $2 million.The chapter also had the distinction of being the largest JA operation in the state.Bruce Georgi, chairman of the Western Pennsylvania JA board of directors, spoke highly of Strayer when his comments were sought for a story that appeared in Wednesday's Butler Eagle."During Lee's tenure, we've expanded our outreach from the nine-county Greater Pittsburgh area to more than 30 counties throughout Western Pennsylvania," Georgi said. "Many new programs were started and piloted right here in our own backyard, thanks to Lee's reputation throughout the JA world. Lee's leadership has made a huge difference in the Western Pennsylvania landscape. . . ."Strayer stresses that JA in the classroom is essential because it connects business leaders with the young people who will be their employees someday."The objective is to prepare young people for the world of work," he said.His has been a success story of which he — and, indeed, all of Butler County — can be proud.The leadership skills he demonstrated over the years will benefit the Western Pennsylvania chapter for a long time.

NASA merits an A for its performance and successes during 2006. The U.S. space agency ended last year with three successful shuttle missions under its belt and resumed its role in construction of the international space station.Prior to last January, NASA had flown only one space shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster three years earlier. The Columbia tragedy had eroded some Americans' confidence in the space agency, despite its many successes over the years.The past 12 months have restored some of that lost confidence."Yes, this was a big year,"said Michael Griffin, NASA administrator, referring to 2006. "Each and every time we do this, it is a minor miracle. It is the hardest thing that human beings have yet learned how to do."During the latest mission, which involved the space shuttle Discovery, astronauts rewired the space station, which set the stage for two new major additions to the station from Europe and Japan that will be installed over the next two years.It is to be hoped that 2007 also will be a year of success for NASA and the talented people who are the basis for the agency's accomplishments.