News

Cell tower outage disrupts service in parts of Mifflin County

Local News October 15, 2026

LEWISTOWN – A cell tower outage in the Lewistown area disrupted wireless service Thursday in parts of Mifflin County, including Granville and Derry Township. An independent outage tracker at attoutage.app reported one active AT&T wireless outage in Pennsylvania, affecting Granville and Derry Township. The site says it draws its information from AT&T’s published outage feeds, although it is not operated by or affiliated with the company. When checked shortly after noon Thursday, the Pennsylvania page showed no other active AT&T wireless outages in the state. It did not identify ...

Recruiting efforts spark enrollment at Academy

Local News October 15, 2026

LEWISTOWN — While enrollment at the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology in Lewistown has recently reached an all-time high, Principal Mark Crosson knows recruitment is key to maintaining those numbers. “Tours are a very, very important part of our recruitment,” Crosson explained during the Operating Committee’s regular monthly meeting on Thursday. Fifth-grade tours are open to all fifth-graders in Mifflin and Juniata counties; these visits introduce students to Career and Technical Education through short, hands-on activities in each classroom. Students might see ...

MCSD directors grant superintendent authority to retroactively approve basketball coaches

Local News October 15, 2026

LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County School District Board of Directors granted Superintendent of Schools Vance Varner the authority to retroactively approve seven basketball coaches and assistant coaches Thursday after a staffing-transition error. During the board’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Director E. Terry Styers told the board that two open gyms had to be canceled because of staffing issues. “I'd like to suggest that the school board grant Mr. Varner the authority to retroactively approve our basketball coaches due to the fact that they were not approved in a timely ...

Juniata County board approves new student representatives

Local News October 15, 2026

MIFFLINTOWN — Student voices will have a seat at the table in the Juniata County School District this year. On Thursday night, the school district’s board of directors welcomed and approved three new student representatives: Noah Kauffman, of Juniata High School; and Lewis "Kole" Boop and Cohen Apple, of East Juniata High School. While Kauffman was in attendance, Boop and Apple were not present due to other extracurricular activities. This was the trio’s first meeting at the administration building in Mifflintown. While the students do not have voting privileges, they can ...

More than 100 suspicious letters sent to election officials nationwide

PA News October 15, 2026

The FBI said Thursday that it is investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to election officials across the nation, an unusually widespread example of election workers being physically threatened during a highly charged midterm campaign. Federal officials have been speaking with targeted leaders across the country as they work to get a handle on the scope of the apparent attack. Three election officials briefed on the evolving investigation said they were told more than 100 letters were sent to people and groups across the country. The list includes at least one U.S. senator ...

Calendar

Local News October 15, 2026

The Sentinel offers nonprofit and other community organizations an opportunity to promote upcoming events for free in the community calendar for three days before the event. Events requiring reservations may be promoted for up to two weeks before the reservation deadline. Events that require a purchase from a for-profit business, even if a donation is made to the organization, are not eligible for the calendar. Please be brief and include only basic details. If possible, provide a phone number or email address to be published with contact information. Submit items at least one week ...