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Passport services at the Juniata County Library

In December 2022, we started offering passport services at the Juniata County Library. You can complete the entire application process in one place, including us taking the photo and mailing it in. We had no idea how the service would be received. What unfolded in the next 10 months has been nothing short of spectacular. Some background: there are three passport agents here at the library (I am one of them.) We accept walk-ins but highly recommend appointments. We can renew current passports as well as help you apply for a new passport. Once the application is complete, it is mailed ...

Your ‘goose is cooked’

By Bev Kauffman Hello again from the kitchen! I believe my goose is cooked! Literally! In preparation for Goose Day, I decided to roast a goose and all the fixings. This was a first for me but I was up for the challenge. After researching goose recipes, I came to the conclusion I will make it like I do other meats, using my imagination. I laid the goose out on a clean counter and after generous amounts of salt and pepper, I poked a skewer through the skin (not through the meat) at several places on the goose. This allows the large amounts of fat to run out as it’s roasting. ...

Stuckenrath provided guidance for library

Back in the early days, there were about 25 people on the library board. A lot of people were involved in making the Lewistown Library, the Mifflin County Library, a free library for all residents in the county. One of these board members was Mrs. Robert Stuckenrath. As I mentioned last week, “Stuckenrath” isn’t a common name and I walk by that name every day that I work. Mrs. Stuckenrath was voted onto the board in December 1944, after a year of acting librarians (or directors) and temporary librarians. The board at the time just could not find a fully trained librarian to ...

Local author presentation by Joyce Kieffer, Oct. 23 at JCL

Editor’s Note: The Sept. 2 column by Mr. Giordano entitled, “A ‘million word gap’ for children who aren’t read to at home,” included erroneous references and quotes attributed to David J. Purpura, Ph.D., of Purdue University. The following statement was received from Mr. Purpura: “The discovery of the 30-million word gap was erroneously credited to my work, but was actually originally published by Hart and Risley in the mid 1990s. My recent work published in Child Development actually highlighted that a 30-million word gap is mathematically impossible. Moreover, we need ...

Who’s your master?

In John 8:34 Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin”. That is true of every person who comes into this world. Every person is born under the tyranny of sin. Sin dominates and controls our thoughts, our words, our motives, and our actions. In Romans 6, Paul said there is none righteous, no not one. Romans 6:17 says we were slaves to sin. V.20 says we were slaves to sin, V.14 says sin was our master, v.21 says the outcome of that is death and V.23 says the wages of sin is death. That is the definition of every human being before salvation. We were slaves to sin with the ...

Big bandages and bright lights

Often people say, “I’m not a morning person.” That light peeking through the window, “ouch!” I, however, love the morning for it is a sure sign of new life and a new day! In our part of the country, the long summer days begin with the coolness of the morning as the sun rises over the mountains and ends late in the evening as the sun sets over other mountains. The darkness of night is sandwiched by the beauty of daylight. Light is a symbol of healing. Years ago, a doctor suggested treatments for a skin condition with ultraviolet light. These folks sure were suffering, ...