By Alex Nuti-de Biasi, Journal-Opinion editor

Friday evening’s passing thunderstorms posed problems in some parts and less trouble in others. There was plenty of thunder and lightning strikes in the area.

More than 3,600 Green Mountain Power customers were without power in Vermont at around 8 p.m. on June 2, while nearly 820 Washington Electric Cooperative customers were without power — virtually all had power restored by early Saturday morning.

The below photo comes to us courtesy of Pat Crowley who snapped this gnarly mess of fallen limbs and downed power lines on Taplin Hill Road in Corinth.

Still, the storm’s impacts were pretty scattered. Some communities were barely affected.

Bug-brained – “Beetlejuice” may be on the minds of some (we’re working on our own story!), but this rosy maple moth (pictured at right) caught our attention while it and two others spent Saturday attached to the frame around the editor’s garage door.

New Hampshire and Vermont each have two (!) state insects, though none are the rosy maple moth. That’s OK. Both states have pretty good ones.

Not all states have official insects. Iowa and Michigan are slacking.

The District of Columbia also lacks an official insect, which just doesn’t seem right.

USPS: Keep those dogs secure – More than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail last year. Aggressive dog behavior is a common safety concern employees face, the USPS says as part of its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week public service campaign.

The campaign runs June 4 – June 10. This year’s theme is “Even good dogs have bad days.”

Mail carriers know all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive. Dogs are generally protective of their turf and dog owners have an important responsibility to control them to ensure safe mail delivery.

Most people know the approximate time their letter carrier arrives every day. Securing your dog before the carrier approaches your property will minimize any potentially dangerous interactions.

When a letter carrier comes to your home, keep dogs:

• Inside the house or behind a fence;
• Away from the door or in another room; or
• On a leash.

Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child.

“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” said USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo. Many attacks reported by letter carriers came from dogs whose owners regularly stated, “My dog won’t bite.”

Republished daily newsletter of the Journal-Opinion, the weekly newspaper for Bradford and surrounding towns on both sides of the Connecticut River.