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Tragedy seems to hit these pages far too often. There are benefit dinners, raffles, and rides scheduled almost every weekend to help those in need.
The Juniata Valley community and its churches and civic organizations always seem to open their hearts -- and their wallets -- when a neighbor experiences dire straits.
The circumstances have been horrific on occasion as a construction worker was electrocuted and is recovering, another father of five succumbed to cancer as the community steps up to support his family and even children have experienced traumatic health issues.
And there are plenty of other heart-wrenching stories like these.
Each with their own telling tale and inspiring response from the community members.
The path to recovery for each of these individuals will not be easy.
But it will certainly be costly. Yet, we all know we are a resilient community as evidenced by the rapid and thorough response.
Families are supporting one another. Neighbors are helping neighbors.
What's even more impressive is that total strangers are reaching out to lend a helping hand to people they may have never met.
We have always been a community of volunteers but the level of volunteerism in this time of need goes above and beyond what might be expected.
In the face of tragedy, we cannot be anything but heartened by the unselfish hearts of servants helping those who need the most help.
We would be remiss if we did not fully recognize the first responders, many putting themselves in harm's way even as the tragedy was unfolding.
From the firefighters, police officers, borough and county departments, hospital and emergency medical services personnel, dispatch services, utility company workers, and everyone else who springs into action, their responses are always immediate and thorough.
The level of professionalism and selflessness says so much about who we are as a community.
The community again demonstrated how it comes together to support a good cause for agencies like the United Way and Relay for Life, which have raised thousands of dollars to assist others.
Dozens of area businesses and people contributed their time and dollars to these worthy causes.
We encourage everyone to be watchful, look out for their neighbors, and continue the good work the Juniata Valley is known for.