Veterans organization extends deep gratitude to community

To the Editor:

The Mifflin County Veterans Organization extends its sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Derby Days fundraiser at Betsy’s Main Street a tremendous success. We offer special appreciation to the Pennsylvania Sports Network and Betsy’s Main Street for hosting and championing this meaningful effort in support of our local veterans.

Because of the incredible generosity of our community, we are proud to share that $6,135 was raised as of May 7, 2026. These funds will directly support Mifflin County veterans when assistance is not available through traditional government channels, helping to meet urgent needs and provide critical aid during tough times.

We are deeply grateful to the following businesses and individuals whose donations and support made this event possible:

Businesses and organizations:

Overhead Door of Nittany Valley – Craig Bitner; Lewistown Florist; AES Hearth & Patio; DelGrosso’s; Crayola Experience; Philadelphia Eagles; AutoZone; Bargain Beer & Soda; Lewistown Dairy Queen; Houser’s Hometown Metal; Lewistown Country Club; Weis Markets; Burger King; Klinger’s Produce; Rita’s; Vince’s Pizza; Foss Jewelers; Honey Comb Salon; Joe’s OIP; D&R Sporting Goods; Sharp Shopper; Seven Mountains Gunworks; Nedo Inc. – Dunkin Donuts; Advance Auto; FoxPro; Chef K – Solid Gold Concessions; Middleswarth Chips; Daphne Snook, EqDT-TD Equine; Go Outdoor Power Equipment – Braden Kibe; Brannon & Royer Septic Services; Diehl’s Flowers; Milroy American Legion – Ladies Auxiliary; and the Mifflin County Veterans Organization.

Individual Donors and Supporters:

Jim & Kris Peters; Kim Rhoades; Candi Sunderland; Clint Fink; Bryan Boreman; Stephanie Durst; Tim & Jeanne Wray; Andie Harshbarger; Diane & John Murphy; Nikki Kahley; Jodi Kibe; Ruth Allison; Jerry Schnell; Aaron Bitner; Mandi Frank; Maisie Love; Chris Krepps; Erik & Sue Hetrick; Donnie Bowman; Shawn Harbaugh; Kevin Yetter; Shayna Peck; Cierra Wilson; Buck Rhoades; and Cindy Walker.

Each contribution, whether large or small, reflects a shared commitment to honoring and supporting those who have served our country. The generosity shown by this community ensures that local veterans will never stand alone when facing hardship.

On behalf of the Mifflin County Veterans Organization and the veterans we proudly serve, thank you for your compassion, your support, and your unwavering dedication.

With deepest gratitude,

Mifflin County Veterans Organization

Edward Mann

Lewistown

Independent voters should not vote in primary

To the Editor:

I am a registered voter who supports most of the issues represented by my primary candidates. I do not usually share the interests of the other primary candidates.

For someone to demand that he/she be allowed to vote in a party’s primary to which he/she is not a member is to invalidate my choice. It is as if he/she is allowed to vote for the officers of a stock or business to which I have a financial interest or even family choices to which he has no overall connection with.

I belong to a specific party because I agree with most of its tenets. I am adamantly opposed to someone who is not a registered member of my party being permitted to vote in our primary. It would be no different than allowing a non-citizen a vote in our national election. That is an analogy that is very much akin to a Democrat voting in a Republican party’s primary or vice versa.

If you choose to register as an independent that is your right. But that does not mean you have the right to void the vote of a registered member of a party. You chose to register as an independent; I did not make that choice for you. You did that on your own. You divorced yourself from my party’s affiliation, but you still want to vote in my party’s primary. That is best described as theft, for it steals the vote I might cast with the choice of your own.

A vote in a primary is not a vote to elect a candidate for office but simply a vote to choose the selection of a primary candidate to a final election ballot. It is that simple. It is comparatively no different than a citizen of our country being permitted to vote for a national candidate and not allowing a non-citizen the same right.

Diane Logan

Mifflintown