Despite Hurricane Katrina, this weekend marks a nationalholiday. Monday is Labor Day, a day we set aside to honor theworkers of this country – the people who make up the backbone ofthe economic engine that fuels the success of this nation.

In this area, most of us will spend the weekend working to cleanup the remains of Katrina and just try to make the best of a badsituation.

One group of individuals, however, is continuing to work veryhard this weekend. Throughout the area, emergency personnel,electrical and communications employees, as well as law enforcementpersonnel and volunteers, are spending their holiday weekendserving the rest of us.

While their homes are very likely damaged, their focus is onhelping those in need. They are working long hours under extremelydifficult conditions trying to restore normalcy for the rest ofus.

We salute these individuals and thank them for theirefforts.