People concerned about illegal drugs in Butler no doubt were happy to read about authorities' willingness to go out on a roof to keep a suspected drug dealer from eluding capture.

City police and Butler County probation officers earned a cheer for not being duped by a man who apparently tried to sidetrack authorities' attempt to apprehend the suspect, Sandra Butterfield, 29, of East Wayne Street.

Despite allegedly being told by Joel Tebay, 33, of Butler, who was found in Butterfield's apartment, that he had not seen her all day, the police and probation officers weren't convinced and decided to expand their search to the roof that adjoins her apartment.

It was at that point that Butterfield faced the unhappy realization that she was having a very bad day, a day that ended with her behind bars in the Butler County Prison.

In an attempt to avoid capture, Butterfield had cut off the electronic monitoring bracelet that she had been ordered to wear.

The authorities received cooperation from Butterfield's landlord, who provided a key to access her apartment. Meanwhile, Tebay was facing a charge of hindering apprehension for allegedly trying to deceive authorities about Butterfield's whereabouts.

Butterfield's attempt at avoiding capture wasn't particularly original or clever. But it could have been successful if those searching for Butterfield had assumed that she wouldn't use the roof as a temporary escape route.

To their credit, they weren't fooled.

There is no limit to the amount of praise Alicia Kozakiewicz deserves for her determination to keep young people from becoming victimized by online predators. She brought her message to Mars School District ninth-graders on Feb. 8.Kozakiewicz, of Crafton Heights and now a forensic psychology major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, was imprisoned for four days in January 2002 in a 38-year-old Herndon, Va., man's "chamber of horrors" under his home. She had met the man, who she initially thought was a girl named Christine, in an Internet chat room.That "friendship" ended up with Kozakiewicz chained to the floor by way of a collar around her neck. She was rescued only because her abductor, Scott Tyree, a computer programmer, made the mistake of posting a video of his "teen slave" — Kozakiewicz — on the Internet.The person who called the FBI about Tyree had recognized Kozakiewicz's photograph from a missing persons report. To say that Kozakiewicz is lucky to be alive is an understatement.In her Feb. 8 meeting with Mars students, Kozakiewicz told how she was tricked by Tyree into believing that he was a much younger person during their long Internet friendship. In fact, Tyree also took on the role of a young male friend of "Christine" as a further means of gaining his victim's trust.Kozakiewicz provided tips to the Mars teens on how to avoid becoming a victim to other predators. She recounted the strategies Tyree had used in deceiving her, and the horror into which she was thrust when Tyree, whom she described as a "fat pervert," pulled her into his car at the end of her family's driveway and told her she would be thrown into the trunk if she made a sound.Tyree is serving 19 years in prison for Kozakiewicz's abduction and torture.Young people who spend time on the Internet need to hear about the dangers of online chats and relationships, and they need to hear it from people who have been victimized by it.Kozakiewicz displays a lot of courage in delivering her message. Other school districts ought to make arrangements for their students to hear her message.

Owners of unoccupied buildings in downtown Butler should not be exempt from laws requiring that sidewalks be free of ice in the winter.But days after the latest snow- storm, the sidewalks on the southeast corner of Jefferson and Main streets, where the former drug store and Hot Dog Shoppe buildings are located, were covered with compacted ice.On Friday, this corner was the only spot still ice-covered throughout the entire length of Main Street.City officials should contact the buildings' owners and remind them of the requirement to keep their sidewalks clear and safe.If they cannot do the work themselves, they should hire others to do the clearing. And, if that does not happen, city crews should remove the ice and snow — and send a bill to the buildings' owners.

Brenda Orr of Doylestown, Bucks County, died as a result of her own careless smoking when her house caught fire on Jan. 29.But firefighters might have been able to save her if a 911 operator had answered her call more quickly — it took seven rings, or about 27 seconds — and if the operator who picked up her call had not put her on hold for another 27 seconds.The tragedy surrounding Orr makes a statement to 911 personnel everywhere. The delay in dispatching help was a tragic breakdown in the Doylestown area 911 center's level of service.Officials should not rest until they are confident that what occurred has been fully investigated, and appropriate remedial actions taken.Every second counts in an emergency. What occurred Jan. 29 was an unconscionable breakdown.