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MCHS Marching Band honored by county

Sentinel photo by JOE CANNON The Mifflin County Commissioners on Thursday adopted a proclamation commending the Mifflin County High School Marching Band for its recent first place finish in the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championships. Participating in the proclamation ceremony were, standing, from left, band member Chloe Everly, Band Director Arthur Belfiore, and band member Emily Colpetzer. Seated, from left, Commissioners Rob Postal, Kevin Kodish and Stephen Dunkle.

LEWISTOWN — Accolades continue to roll in following the Mifflin County High School Marching Band’s extraordinary first place finish at the recent Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championships.

On Thursday, the group was honored with a proclamation adopted by the Mifflin County Commissioners.

“The County of Mifflin recognizes extraordinary young adults whose dedication and achievements serve as inspiration for others in the community,” Commissioner Kevin Kodish read from the proclamation. “The tremendous season can be credited to not only the commitment of Band Director Arthur Belfiore, the gifted staff and the parents, but also to the determination and spirit of the marching band.”

In addition to the big championship, the proclamation also noted numerous first place finishes the band accumulated during the season, including at competitions in Shamokin Dam, Bishop McDevitt, Mechanicsburg, Donegal and West Shore.

“This championship was well earned and richly deserved,” Kodish continued. “I’ve seen the work of Mr. B. for a long time. He has driven them to excellence. It’s an extraordinary accomplishment and I’m very proud of you.”

Belfiore, as well as two members of the marching band, Emily Colpetzer and Chloe Everly, were on hand at Thursday’s meeting to accept the proclamation.

“I would like to thank the county commissioners for this recognition,” Belfiore said. “This is an extraordinary accomplishment. I’ve been here for 22 years and I’ve seen the students working toward something like this forever. When it was announced that we had won first place, I’ll always remember that. This recognizes the honor and dedication of the students and everyone else putting in a lot of hours.”

Following Belfiore’s remarks, Commissioner Stephen Dunkle added, “I’d like to thank the band for being a phenomenal ambassador for Mifflin County.”

In other business Thursday, Dunkle reported that the commissioners, acting as the board of elections, completed their official vote count last week. Of the county’s 24,785 registered voters, Dunkle said 14,479 voted, representing 57.3 percent turnout countywide. “The national average was 49.7 percent,” Dunkle said. “So we outperformed the rest of America.”

In other business Thursday, the commissioners:

¯ Approved a recommendation by County Planning Director Bill Gomes to retain the services of Michael Baker International of Harrisburg, to begin the process of completing the Mifflin County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan update at a cost of $37,500. Gomes said the plan needs to be updated every five years in order for the county to be eligible for emergency funding in the case of a haz-mat situation.

¯ Approved an application for 2018 Liquid Fuels allocation to Bratton Township in the amount of $2,248.55.

¯ Approved a purchase of service agreement with Michelle Baker to provide cleaning services at the office of Magisterial District Judge Kent Smith in Reedsville at a rate of $200 a month.

¯ Approved the hiring of Scott Hargenrader as a part-time deputy sheriff effective Nov. 15.

¯ Accepted the resignation of James Alexander as a part-time corrections officer effective Nov. 22.

¯ Approved the transfer of Denise Coldren as first deputy in the Register and Recorder’s office to case coordinator II in the district judge office effective Nov. 13.

¯ Accepted the resignation of Chris Shade, director of domestic relations, effective Nov. 25.

¯ Approved the promotion of Jennifer Cherry to director of domestic relations effective Nov. 26.

¯ Accepted the retirement of Theresa Bottorf from food service at the correctional facility effective Nov. 18.

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