Opinion

Thank you for Summer Backpack Program success

Letters to the Editor September 1, 2026

Thank you for providing this forum to express appreciation to the Juniata County Community. The Juniata County Food Pantry’s 14th annual Summer Backpack Program concluded on August 22, with 202 registered students, a number not recorded since 2017. We shared more than 8,200 lunches during 402 visits to the food pantry. 144 backpacks, filled with school supplies, were distributed. 92 participants came to our facility all three summer months. MORE is the word that comes to mind when pondering this year’s program. We served MORE students, with MORE financial support, and MORE school ...

Questions remain over data center water use

Letters to the Editor August 29, 2026

Ask anyone who’s lived through a dry August in Mifflin County what water is worth around here. Large data centers consume enormous quantities of it for cooling. That isn’t a rumor or a scare tactic. It’s how the technology works. So here is a fair question: has anyone in the Shapiro administration told the people of this county what these facilities would draw, and where it would come from? They haven’t. Josh Shapiro announced a $20 billion Amazon deal, waived the state sales tax on the company’s equipment and cooling systems, and collected more than $5 million from ...

A Birthday Adventure: Walking in the Footsteps of George Washington

Local Columns August 29, 2026

When my husband asked how I would like to celebrate my birthday this year, I replied with the only logical activity I could think of, adventuring! Nothing gets my heart pumping quite like a good adventure, especially one that comes together on the spur of the moment. So, with reservations ...

Do your homework before voting

Letters to the Editor August 28, 2026

Yes, how we vote matters The midterms will be crucial to our nation and its greatness. We must inform ourselves of candidates’ positions on critical matters, not just vote on the party ticket. If we don’t, we will lose our freedoms and our democracy. Let’s see how the Democrats love America. Democrats are the party of open borders and defunding law enforcement. Every Democrat in Congress refused to fund the law enforcement and border security components of DHS. They refuse to fund the deportation of criminal illegal aliens, drug interdiction and border security as well as the ...

School is back in session — slow down and pay attention

Editorials August 26, 2026

School buses are back on the roads across part of the Juniata River Valley, and come Monday, there will be even more of them. Students in the Juniata County School District returned to class Wednesday. Mifflin County students head back Monday, Aug. 31. That means summer driving habits need to change. School buses will once again be stopping along rural roads, borough streets and busy highways. Parents will be dropping off children. Students will be waiting along roadsides. Teenage drivers will be heading to school. For the rest of us, it means leaving a few minutes earlier and ...

Track should honor Coach Scot Sechler

Letters to the Editor August 26, 2026

I believe something is missing at the Marcal Paper Field (Mifflin County HS Sports Complex). I don't know how we missed the opportunity to honor and pay our respect to an outstanding track coach, Scot Sechler who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 49. Scot attend Susquehanna University and Penn State, and ran track as a sprinter. He coached HS track at Lewistown HS, Indian Valley HS, and Mifflin County HS. He was the Head Coach of Mifflin County HS. for 9 years. He also helped organize the Juniata Valley Striders Track Program for younger track athletes. The life lessons he ...