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Proposed legislative district map changes harmful to Juniata Valley

Mifflin County, Juniata County and the Path Valley in northwest Franklin County share common infrastructure, social services agencies and major industries. The way of life emphasizes honesty, family values, farming and Biblical principles. It is a region united … for now. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission has devastatingly pinched, cleaved, divided and hacked up the region’s commonalities in the new state House and Senate district maps preliminarily approved by that commission on Dec. 16. Under the new maps, the district I’ve been blessed to represent — the 82nd ...

Playing with fire on Russia’s borders

Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko has cleared out the encampment at his border crossing into Poland, where thousands of Middle Eastern migrants had been living in squalor. Two weeks ago, that border crossing was the site of clashes between asylum-seekers trying to push through the razor wire and Polish troops resisting with water cannons. While the crisis between Warsaw and Minsk has not ended, it appears to have been temporarily eased. Behind the clash was the recent election in Belarus that the European Union saw as fraudulent and Lukashenko’s interception of a ...

It’s not what’s under the tree that matters…

The first recorded decorated Christmas tree was created by a group of local merchants in Latvia (let’s hear it for the entrepreneurs!) in 1510. They decorated the tree with artificial roses, danced around it in the marketplace and then set fire to it (not a practice I recommend). The tradition evolved from there, making its way to the United States in the 1800s, introduced here by German settlers. Nothing symbolizes the holiday season quite like a beautiful tree aglow with lights, laden with shiny ornaments, tinsel, with a splattering of treasures crafted by little hands created from ...

Biden’s crises give Pennsylvanians little to be grateful for this season

As families across Pennsylvania feel the pinch of rising prices, a supply chain crisis, and a war on energy, celebrating the holiday season has become more difficult than ever. Under Joe Biden’s presidency, Americans are paying the price for Democrats’ inflationary spending and failed policies, making grocery budgets and holiday wish lists even more burdensome for families struggling to make ends meet. This Thanksgiving turned out to be the most expensive ever, thanks to Biden’s “Thanksgiving tax.” Prices for just about every component of the holiday feast skyrocketed, from ...

Traditional Festival of Ice makes its triumphant return

The holidays are a time for embracing tradition. No matter what that means for your family and friends, a visit to the annual Festival of Ice is hopefully part of that holiday tradition in the Juniata River Valley. The Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau is excited for this year’s lineup of returning and new activities, plus the ice sculpture gallery will be lining the sidewalks around Monument Square on Dec. 2-3. Thanks to great community support, there will be 45 one-block ice sculptures and five large ice sculptures. The large ice sculptures will be carved live by DiMartino Ice ...

Kyle Rittenhouse, both right and righteous

In judging the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, set aside for the moment Wisconsin law under which he was tried, and consider the natural law, the moral law, the higher law written on the human heart. In terms of values demonstrated and the deeds done that night that Rittenhouse shot the three men who attacked him, who was on the righteous side? Consider what Rittenhouse did that night of Aug. 25, 2020, and why. Watching on television the nightly riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a town 20 miles from his home in Antioch, Illinois, that he knew well, Rittenhouse decided to go to Kenosha to ...