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Ciccolini shines light on Lewistown, Mifflin County

Last weekend former Mifflin County student and current Missouri javelin thrower Skylar Ciccolini placed 10th at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Let that sink in for a moment — a local athlete that we had the privilege of following since she was in high school — was in the finals at the Olympic trials! How amazing! In fact, she is the second local athlete this year to compete at the Olympic trials, with fellow former Husky Trent Hidaly placing 3rd in Freestyle Wrestling. Locals can be very proud of these top level athletes. Ciccolini is from Lewistown and is a graduate ...

Come together this Fourth of July

We write this ahead of the Fourth of July holiday — our Independence Day, to quote both our founding fathers and also Bill Pullman. Wry humor aside, Independence Day is many things to many people. It can be a party with family and friends, a somber moment of reflection, or just an opportunity to see borderline military-grade pyrotechnics. We would suggest that it can be all three. This year, more than most, Americans are divided and scared. We still haven’t recovered, emotionally if nothing else, from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the fabric of our ...

Practice safety on Independence Day

July 4 is synonymous with summer barbecues, kayaking and fireworks. It’s a time for families to get together, be care free and enjoy the outdoors. But, there’s a difference between being carefree and careless. While much of the Juniata River Valley will come out with family and friends to see fireworks in Lewistown or Milroy, we know some of you like to build your own displays. We remind everyone to exercise caution when handling fireworks. June is Fireworks Safety Month — a time for agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission to reiterate measures that should be ...

Juniata Terrace has good week, preserves history

The borough on Wednesday had the honor of celebrating the distinction of being named to the National Register of Historical Places with a ceremony. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation’s historic places that it deems worthy of preservation. According to the National Historical and Museum Commission, this designation makes Juniata Terrace eligible for certain federal tax incentives for income-producing buildings, as well as state and federal grants for planning and rehabilitation of buildings owned by not-for-profit organizations and local ...

New York about to make high school diplomas worse than useless

The State Education Department just announced that it plans to make the value of a New York high school diploma worthless. New York parents should be up in arms. Gone will be the need for students to pass five state Regents exams to earn a diploma. Instead, all students will have to show nebulous “knowledge and skills” in seven areas, including “critical thinking,” “cultural competence” and “global citizenship.” High achievers who pass enough Regents tests won’t get distinctive diplomas — vs. the old, tested system of Regents Diplomas, Advanced Regents ...

Don’t dismiss hurricane warnings

Blair County residents can be excused for not becoming very concerned about the worst-ever Atlantic hurricane season predicted last month by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Seldom is this county affected seriously by those weather events, witnessed most often in southern states such as Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana. However, Blair has not always escaped impacts from such storms, as looking back, especially to 1972, can attest. That was the year when Hurricane Agnes, “downgraded” to tropical storm status, wreaked havoc in Pennsylvania, causing $2.3 ...