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Serving Mifflin County and the surrounding area.
The Valley A free newspaper dedicated to agriculture, self-reliance, frugal living, and modern homesteading. Tomorrow’s Media - A Day Early Volume 4, No. 6
During the growing season, the National Weather Service will routinely issue frost advisories when “widespread frost formation is expected over an extensive area. Surface temperatures are usually in the mid 30s Fahrenheit. “ For starters, the reference to temperatures in the mid-30s might give you pause. Keep in mind that official air temperatures are measured at roughly five feet above the ground. On clear nights with light winds, the lowest air temperature occurs in a thin layer in contact with the ground. In this thin layer, the air is cooled dramatically by conduction with the chilly ground. So it’s quite plausible for the official air temperature to be in the mid 30s, while the air temperature next to the ground is much lower. Meteorologists refer to this vertical temperature profile as a temperature inversion. On clear nights with light winds, nocturnal temperature inversions have the coldest air in contact with the ground and increasingly “warmer” air (more accurately, air that’s not as cold) above the ground. When it comes to the formation of frost, the temperature of the ground is most important. If the ground becomes sufficiently cold, frost will form as invisible water vapor in the air next to the ground deposits onto grass, plants, etc. I’m sure you noticed that I didn’t mention 32 degrees Fahrenheit (I feel a digression from the
The Valley, June 2013
topic of frost coming your way). degrees Celsius, which roughly drops can resist freezing down to That’s because, contrary to what equals 12 degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures as low as minus 40 you hear on television, 32 degrees and waited ten minutes. When I degrees Fahrenheit (they obviremoved my experiment from the ously lack freezing nuclei). As it is not the freezing point of water. Repeating: 32 degrees Fahrenheit freezer (my wife was happy), not turns out, these supercooled water is not the freezing point of water! all the water drops had frozen. I drops play an important role in If the scientific truth be told, placed it back in the freezer for the precipitation that reaches the 32 degrees Fahrenheit is the another ten minutes, and, when I earth’s surface (perhaps a topic melting point of ice (all ice starts removed the can, there were still for another article). to melt at 32 degrees). In other At any rate, please don’t tell two drops left unfrozen. Meteowords, unless water is perfectly rologists describe water drops that me that 32 degrees Fahrenheit is pure (even distilled water isn’t the freezing point of water (or just refuse to freeze at low temperaperfectly plain pure), “freezthe ing) freezing when point of tiny water water will be drops lower susthan 32 pended degrees. high in That’s precipbecause itationimpuriproties in ducing water clouds interfere can with the My experiment after ten minutes in the freezer shows not all of the water droplets had frozen yet. resist formafreeztion of the lattice structure of ice. ing down to temperatures as low tures as supercooled. At any rate, all the references I concluded that the two unas minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. to “freezing” that you regularly frozen drops lacked freezing nuTelevision weather forecasters hear or read in the context of 32 clei, which are particles that have should know better. When I was degrees are essentially incorrect. a crystalline structure similar to young (a long, long time ago), For proof, I took an empty ice, and, thus, serve as a nucleus I used to throw a bad-call brick for the formation of ice crystals. at the television when I heard tuna can out of the recycling bin, forecasters refer to 32 degrees as greased its bottom with a thin lay My freezer experiment is a “freezing.” For the record, a bader of oil, and then placed drops of microcosm of what occurs in the tap water on the can’s bottom with atmosphere. At cold, rarefied call brick is made of Styrofoam an eyedropper. I then placed the altitudes in precipitation-proand typically used to throw at my can in my freezer (about minus 11 ducing clouds, small tiny water TV while I’m watching football
Lighting Brush Fires in People’s Minds
Complimentary
games. I eventually grew out of this habit because it was a waste of energy (I’ll never win this war). I confess that I still throw my bad-call brick at my television when I hear forecasters cast frost in a bad light. “Frost kills plants,” they’ll say. As a result of this kind of propaganda, the mere mention of a frost advisory during the growing season has farmers and gardeners scrambling. If you read the following advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, on April 26, 2013, wouldn’t you think that frost was the arch enemy of farmers and gardeners? (See actual advisory on page 14) Contrary to popular perception, frost is Nature’s last line of defense of tender plants. Yes, you read the last sentence correctly. Allow me to elaborate. It takes energy to cause ice to transition directly to water vapor (an invisible gas). For example, on sunny winter days, snow on the ground can decrease as ice sublimates (the formal meteorological term) directly to water vapor. When the reverse process occurs (water vapor directly deposits on cold objects as frost), energy must be released in order to maintain a balanced energy budget. This release is formally called latent heat of deposition (“latent” means “hidden” in this context).
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Editor’s Corner Wayne Stottlar Now we’re talking! This weather is finally starting to look more normal. The shoes have been shed in favor of bare feet, and the long pants of winter have been packed away for fall. Even though I am a lover of real winter, I am also just as enthusiastic about summer. Food grown in my own yard by me! Picking fresh berries and sharing them with Murphy while on his morning walk (Lynn thinks I spoil him, doesn’t every dog get handfuls of strawberries and raspberries when they are in season?), open windows and fresh breezes, this really is living! It is a good thing there are so many natural pluses or one might get upset at the way Pennsylvania rigs it’s Primaries. As many of you know, I am a Libertarian, and proudly so. Many of you may not be aware that I am “persona non grata” during Primaries, in fact not just me, but all Independents and Libertarians are barred from taking part in the Primary process. You see, the Republicans and the Democrats hate competition, especially from a sector of the population that they don’t have direct control over. As long as they make you believe that they are your only two choices, and if you are one of them, you have to support their pet agendas and you will never be exercising your right
to vote in a free and fair process. What is so great about a process that won’t let you vote unless you are willing to be a slave to a particular party? Why should just those sheep that are beholden to the two parties be the ones that decide our future? A Republican friend I happened to see at the polls mentioned that they were glad us Libertarians couldn’t participate in the Primary because they, “ Didn’t want outsiders determining who THEIR candidate would be,” like happens where I come from. Like I said, this is a friend, so I chose to bite my tongue. The more I thought about this, the more absurd their statement seemed to me. Is this potential future leader just “THEIR” candidate? And besides that, what is the worry if you have a good candidate? I think perhaps it is more about supporting a narrow ideology and not permitting voices that differ from their own. The thought that ANY segment of the population should be kept from deciding our future leaders seems almost Marxist. In fact, I think this type of thinking from both the Democrats and the Republicans is what has brought us to the place we now find ourselves. The only ideas being put forth are theirs, from their own party’s platform, the trial should
have been over decades ago, neither works, and neither represents the will of the people. Corporations that fund BOTH political party’s candidates are allowed to poison our land and our food supply without consequence, and they fund those making the rules; isn’t that nice and tidy? While I am deep into rant mode already, we might as well cover our corrupt government and current administration while we are here. Benghazi, government spying on the media, and the IRS targeting those who disagreed with government are more than enough to cause anyone to lose faith in their government. In fact, the downright criminal behavior of those who hold power is what has the country so divided. Politicians are allowed to lie directly to reporters, and that is broadcast as news, not once do the reporters put politicians on the spot and demand answers from their servants. If they do, they are no longer allowed or invited to press conferences. The government sees itself as ruler, not servant—they have pushed so far from anything that makes common sense, that people from all political view points are becoming more outraged. The
outrage is also accompanied by a healthy dose of contempt. When a population loses faith in their government there is usually only one direction taken, the thought of it should frighten you and keep you up at night. We have arrived at a place that one of our founders Thomas Jefferson warned about when he said in the Declaration of Independence, “...when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government...” When a loss in faith in government accompanies this kind of activity, the conditions are right for such an exercise to begin, or perhaps it already has. Also from The Declaration of Independence, “... Governments are instituted among men, deriving their JUST power from the CONSENT of the governed...”, is it time to tell them, Consent Revoked! One way I have been able to keep some what sane is by spending time with my friends Moses and Dorothy at their farm. I had offered to help them get their planting going and expected to just be another pair of hands. During this time Moses taught me how to drive their team of horses and run the harrow. Now, I am not totally ignorant when it comes to farming, my ancestors and some relatives have farms, and I spent time on them as a teenager. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect that I would ever be able to harrow a field using a team of horses. I know this is just another mundane task to Moses and his
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Contact Info Editor/Publisher Wayne Stottlar Graphic Artist/Co-Publisher Lynn Persing Associate Editor Colleen Swetland The Valley PO Box 41 Yeagertown, PA 17099 (717) 363-1550 E-mail: thevalleynewspaper@gmail.com Web: www.thevalleynewspaper.com ©The Valley. All Rights Reserved.
family, just one facet of the work they need to do to keep the farm running, but it was an enlightening experience to me, something I will never forget. Another thing I won’t forget is their generous hospitality while I am there, the lunches are FANTASTIC. Katie and Dorothy are superb cooks. Another thing I like about dining with my friends is that I know all of the food is free of synthetic chemicals and Moses does not plant any GMO crops. Everything is the best quality you can find anywhere. They are going to have their farm open for produce sales on Fridays and Saturdays starting in June. Moses grows fabulous non-GMO sweet corn, something that is becoming close to impossible to find. Get to know who grows your food, stop by their farm at 260 Stage Road, Milroy for some of the best produce available! a
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The Valley, June 2013
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food It is YOUR Responsibility by Wayne Stottlar
With the recent revelations concerning the death of the truth in what is reported to the masses, as evidenced by our own elected officials lying to us and the main stream press providing the conduit for those lies and then swearing to them—do you really think that you can trust any guidelines provided to you by any agency of our government? Does it appear for one second that the truth prevails over money or control? If so, we need to talk about some oceanfront property that I have for sale in Arizona. As we become more and more aware that Monsanto is poisoning our land and our food, and consequently ourselves through their use of GMO crops and chemicals like glyphosate, otherwise known as Round-Up, at the same time, our government is moving to protect this murderous company. That’s right, our President signed into law late one night when no one was looking, The Monsanto Protection Act, thereby sparing them from any future lawsuits. You think maybe something is coming down the pike that we haven’t heard about yet? I mean, the past VP of Monsanto is now the head of the FDA and regulators in many government agencies and Monsanto are former employees of each other. Yeah, they have a revolving door between the US government and Monsanto—nice huh? Think you will ever find a shred of truth with that going on? Think they care about your health? HA!
There have been more and more studies pointing to our food supply as one of the major factors in our deteriorating health. Here is the real news flash. NO ONE CARES! If you do not look after yourself and your family and what you put in your mouth, you will just end up like the rest of the sheep, poisoning yourself with your own teeth. Monsanto doesn’t even use a weapon, you do it to yourself! Everyone’s life is so busy (this is by design), that they barely have time to live up to their expectations, let alone spend more time than it takes to throw a foodlike substance into the microwave. On those special nights, you might even add some water, or milk to something that comes out of a box and vaguely resembles something you remember as food. Most of us now in the 35-65 age group do remember real food. Most of our mothers cooked that way every day. They had come through the depression and it left it’s mark on them. The were frugal to a fault. Over a long period of time, most of their days and nights were spent procuring, preparing, or cooking the next meal. People went to the store most every day to get the needed items for dinner, refrigeration being scarce. Most everything was fresh, grown locally, and in many cases, you knew if it came from this farm or that. Perhaps if you were lucky enough to live in the country, you actually would become a friend with the person who was
responsible for much of what you ate every day. You also ate what was available, depending on the season, and the seasons followed each other predictably, barring a major environmental event, in which case you did without until the next harvest. Most families were prepared for that as shelves in the pantry were jammed with jars of home-canned food that came from all those familiar places you trusted when buying fresh. You brought the fresh food home and prepared it for preserving, no other hands in the cycle, just your friend the farmer, and you! Pretty easy to keep track of the journey from field to plate that way. Slowly, as refrigeration improved and transportation made it possible to bring something similar to fresh to the market almost year round. No longer did people know where their food was grown, who grew it, and how it was handled before they purchased it from all of the other co-mingled items from many farms and possibly even different countries! Life was great right? You could eat strawberries in January, cucumbers in December, tomatoes in March—basically everything was available all the time. If there is one thing I have learned as my hair turned white, it is that every single convenience comes at a cost, none of it good for our well being. So while we were busy buying food-like substances from boxes at the grocery store so that we could save a little more time on the hamster wheel that we are told is life, we were also loading up the human population with a myriad of new illnesses and diseases—all ready subjects for the medical and pharmaceutical industry to step in and “fix” what ailed us. All the while, what ails us is OUR FOOD! It does NOT have to be this way, especially here in Central PA. There are Farmers Markets popping up in almost every town, some towns have several, different locations on different days. There are also many farms with shingles out selling this or that in season—jus look around. Many things will become obvious to you right away if you choose to start taking responsibil-
ity for what you consume. First off, you might notice that your food actually has taste and you are enjoying it more. Secondly, since you are eating in season, you will find that food ends up costing far less. (Don’t forget to buy enough to put some up for the pantry) But by far the biggest advantage you will gain, is being able to question your farmer as to his practices. Ask about chemical usage, varieties available, farming practices etc. Any farmer that is proud of
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his work will give you the skinny on his practices. .Eventually, you may even form a relationship to where you go directly to the farm to pick up your food. There is no surer way to take control of what you are eating. I was one of those who didn’t pay much attention in the past. I am actually feeling noticeably better after taking control of my food. It becomes a way of life if you try it, but one day you will all of a sudden notice how good you feel—thank a farmer for that! a
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Survival Snares I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who happens to be an Air Force veteran and a SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) trainee and the topic of survival snares and their use in a SHTF survival situation came up. Now, while I do come from a long line of hunters and trappers, I never took up the art of furbearer trapping myself. I am thinking the ability to trap and snare small game for food would be a great skill to have in a survival do-or-die situation, but I am finding though, that it is one that does take a little patience! This month I want to give you some thoughts on making a wire snare and a few ways of putting it to use. I did some research and found that are many different
ways to make snares suitable for trapping small game such as birds, squirrels, rabbits, and if absolutely need be…rats! (Gulp!) I also found that there are many different snare designs, which include the two most popular: Spring snares, also called a Trigger snare, and a Figure-4 Deadfall snare trap. The design I chose was a Trigger snare and most of those were constructed using 3/32 wire rope, but many others used anything from picture wire to old guitar strings. There are pre-made snares available online and possibly at your local outdoor shop, though most of those are for larger game. From what I understand, the use of snares is illegal in some areas, check your local laws, and con-
sider this your token disclaimer, blah, blah, blah. But again in a survival situation most of these ridiculous laws will irrelevant. Anyway, I set out to learn something new and I aimed to do just that. Construction of a snare is fairly simple with the right tools and a little ingenuity. Using supplies bought at my local hardware store, and a few minutes time, I was able to construct several small snares. Remember that I am intending to use these snares to trap small game, so the design I used was fairly simple and I wanted something that would be compact and easily added to my survival kit. I found that using a heavy gauge picture wire would be perfect. Not wanting to catch my neighbor’s cat, I thought it wise to set my snares in an undisclosed location far away from the Bunker. I was able to find a good spot and a suitable sapling to use as a spring pole. (See included pics.) The basic snare that I employed consists of a wire loop or noose, a trigger mechanism, a spring pole, and some kind of strong cordage (I used 550 para-cord). The trigger was fashioned out of wood and a headless nail. Unlike the “hold” type traps commonly used in furbearer trapping; this set-up-more often than not--is a kill trap, so it is recommended that you check your snares every few hours so as to not let any meat spoil or become dinner for another animal. Bait of some kind can also be used when deploying
this type of trap. The creation of a gauntlet or a funnel, using sticks, A simple sketch showing the spring snare, generally logs, or rocks, a killing type trap could be used to tion on the web--from how-to direct your prey into the direction sites to Youtube videos--that will of your snare. give you an incredible learning Several books that I found experience. Do your research, this useful and happened to be in my project is fairly simple, practice, Bunker library were: and consider this newly learned How To Stay Alive In The Woods skill a plus! by Bradford Angier Now about that neighbor’s The Trapper’s Bible by Dale cat… a Martin FM 21-76 U.S. Army Survival Field Manual There is a wealth of informa-
A nearby fallen log and a rock create the perfect funnel to guide the prey into the snare.
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The Valley, June 2013
Getting Down And Dirty! Soil, Where It All Begins We walk on it, run on it, work and play on it and at the end of the day we (hopefully) wash it off. We tunnel through it, dig it up and shove it from place to place. We build and live on (and sometimes under) it, pave over it and at the end of our lives, many of us are buried in it. We grow and harvest most of our food from it. Every living thing on the planet – from microscopic microbes to your next door neighbor – is intimately connected to it in some way and dependant on it for most aspects of their existence. Visible in its many forms on land or hidden by vast oceans, it is the thin skin of our planet. It is the soil. It is Mother Earth.
And on the whole, boy oh boy, do we take it for granted. Think about it. How often during the day do most people stop what ever they are doing and give serious thought to dirt? Can you imagine a random poll of ten people on the street of any town or city in the world?
“Excuse me,” our clip board toting pollster would say, “but would you tell our readers how often you think about the soil?” If we’re lucky, we’d pick folks polite enough to give a civil response, rather than some variation of, “Wow, what a stupid question!” Okay, maybe asking urbanites if they think about the ground is expecting too much. But even many of the people who actually work with the soil, while they may not actually take it for granted, don’t always get it right either. Our track record hasn’t always been all that good when it comes to taking care of our environment and the past century or two has been particularly hard on our Mother Earth. Don’t get me wrong. Heaven knows, our species has always had its moments of poor judgment and downright stupidity when it comes to using the planet’s natural resources. But since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing and agriculture have developed some pretty nasty habits and many of them, too many, seem to have trickled down into the general population and into general use. And since most everything comes from the earth, most everything ends up back
there. That trickle down of bad habits has caused worse and more widespread problems than ever before. Luckily, there’s always a silver lining to any cloud of doom IF we are willing to see it and do something about it. And, luckily again, there have always been folks, and there seems to be more and more of them in recent decades, who want to see and do right by Mother Earth - and by extension, pull our collective backsides out of the frying pan and away from the fire.. Seeing as how it is necessary to understand how things work in order to even begin to do anything right, let’s begin at the beginning – with the soil, specifically the soil that covers the land on which we live, what it is and how it works and to start, let’s take a brief look at what soil is. The textbook definition of soil (it really does come from a textbook on Physical Ge-
ography) is as follows: “Soil is a dynamic natural body capable of supporting a vegetative cover. Composed primarily of weathered minerals and varying amounts of water, oxygen and organic materials, soil covers most land surface with a fragile mantle that, along with water and air, ranks as an indispensable resource. “Soil contains chemical solutions, gases, organic refuse and an active fauna. The complex physical, chemical and biological processes that take place among the various components of soil are an integral part of its dynamic character. As an active body, soil responds to changes in climate (especially to temperature and moisture), to land surface configuration, to vegetative cover and composition, and to animal activity. The result is that soils evolve and mature toward a state of equilibrium with the environment that is subject to change in response to any alterations in that environment. Thus soil serves as an outstanding example of the integration of the earth’s subsystems.” Now don’t panic. You’re not going to be tested on any of that and we aren’t talking about doctorate level information that
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delves into the mind boggling complexity of soils. Still, although these two paragraphs may be giving some of you traumatic schoolroom flashbacks, there are two points that you may want to keep in mind as you read the next few articles that will explore soil a bit more deeply. First is the concept that soil is “dynamic”. In other words it is active. It changes. It is alive. Much of the activity and change that occurs in soil comes from the interaction between the inorganic and the organic. It’s not just dirt lying around. The second is that soil is part of an integrated whole. Nothing on this planet exists in a vacuum. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts and what effects one part ripples on to everything else – including us. Again, it’s not just dirt lying around. So, if you haven’t done it yet – or you haven’t done it recently go out into your garden or field (if you don’t have a garden or field, ask to borrow some from someone who does), gather up a handful of soil, sit down and start studying that silver lining. There’s a whole lot more going on down below than you may know and we’re going to take a look at it! a
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Thots on...Genesis
A Bible Study for the Lay Christian by Lydia In 2 Timothy 3.16, Paul tells us, “Every inspired scripture has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, or for reformation of manners and discipline in right living…” [NEB*] *Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are quoted from the New International Version. Genesis 22.1-2 [NEB] The time came when God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham,’ he called. ‘Here I am.’ God said, ‘Take your son Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a sacrifice on one of the hills which I will show you.’ God loved Abraham with an everlasting love. Though Abraham blundered about from time to time, as we all do, God’s love remained constant. Now Abraham has matured in his faith and God has decided to test that faith. The first thing that strikes me about this passage is Abraham’s response to God: “Here I am.”
When God called Moses, Moses answered, “Here I am.” [Exodus 3.4] When God called Samuel, Samuel answered, “Here I am.” [1 Samuel 3.4] When God called Isaiah, Isaiah answered, “Here I am.” [Isaiah 6.8] When the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth, calls your name, the only acceptable response is, “Hineni! Here I am!” The next thing that we notice is that God refers to Isaac, the child of promise, as “your only son.” Abraham had another son, Ishmael, but Ishmael was not part of God’s plan to provide a Savior to a lost world. Therefore, in God’s eyes, Isaac was Abraham’s only son. God did not recognize Abraham’s poor attempt to help Him fulfill His promise, and neither will He recognize ours. Our attempts to “help” God may meet with some small success, but they will always fall far short of that which God desires for us; they will always fall short of the
God didn’t demand that Abraham build an altar right then and there; He gave him time to think about it. Moriah was a 3-day journey, so Abraham had plenty of time to back out, to try to come up with a plan to satisfy God’s demand without having to sacrifice his son—but he didn’t. This time, he obeyed without question. As He did when He first called Abraham out of Ur, God did not give Abraham a specific location; He merely pointed him in the right direction. When God tells us to do something, He seldom tells us why or lets us see the end of that particular path. He expects us to obey Him in faith and trust Him to lead us. Abraham’s faith was so great that when Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” [Genesis 22.7-8] Abraham had confidence that God knew what he was doing. He had complete faith in God. God waited until Abraham had built an altar, bound Isaac, placed him on the altar, and raised the knife to kill him, before He allowed the angel to intervene.
When the angel of the Lord called his name, what was Abraham’s response? “Here I am.” And the God Who provides for all our needs provided a ram for the sacrifice. Remember the spiritual law: Blessing follows obedience. Abraham was willing to sacrifice that which he held most dear. Only then did God tell him, “Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you…. and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” [Genesis 22.16-18] Blessing follows obedience. If we want to be blessed as Abraham was blessed, we must be willing to obey God as Abraham obeyed God. We must be willing to sacrifice the best we have, to give up that which is most precious to us, as Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, his only son. Only then, when we reach that place of obedience and surrender, will we be blessed as richly as Abraham was blessed.a
OBSERVATIONS . . of an OLD MAN
East Kish Presbyterian Church Summer Camp Dates
Living In Fear and Despair:
by Pastor Pat Roller The East Kishacoquillas Presbyterian Church at the corner of Walnut and Church Streets, Reedsville has set their summer day camps for children for the summer of 2013. This will be the third summer of children’s day camps for this church. A new and exciting addition to this year’s offerings is the Computer Programming Camp. This camp will be held June 1721. Children entering 5th grade through those entering 8th grade are invited to participate. This camp will be held from 1:00-6:00 PM each afternoon. Attendance is limited to 12 campers as computers will be provided. Transportation can be arranged by calling 717-667-6233. The other, traditional camps will be held in July. We will begin with our Folk Craft camp from July 8-12. This camp will be held from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Lunch will be provided. Children will explore different folk crafts such as birdhouse building, tin punch, dyeing fabric, quilting, and spinning wool. Children entering
blessing He promised. Also note that God calls Isaac the son “whom you love.” God does not want our crumbs; he wants our best. When He asks for a sacrifice, He asks for that which seems most important to us. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’ [Matthew 10.37-39] Is Jesus telling us we should not love our family? No. He’s merely setting priorities, demanding our best. And so it was when God spoke to Abraham. Notice that this time, Abraham did not question God or argue with Him or try to find a human solution; he simply split some wood, called his son, Isaac, and started out for Moriah. No questions. No protests. He didn’t even ask how God would fulfill His promise to make of him a great nation through Isaac, if Isaac were to be sacrificed. He simply answered, “Here I am,” and obeyed God.
1st grade and older are welcome. One of the best loved camps-Art Camp—will be held July 15th through July 19th. Mr. Bill Peightel will lead the older children in learning art techniques and experiences of a variety of artists. The younger children will be grouped together and will learn about colors, perspective, and shading through fun activities. Children entering 1st grade and older are welcome. Our last camp is Cooking Camp held from July 29th until Aug 2nd. The children of this camp will earn about nutrition and putting together simple meals. Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, Mrs. Gail Wagner will lead this camp. Children entering 1st grade and older are welcome. Children entering first grade and older are invited to be a part of these camps. There is no charge for any of these camps, but, as in previous years, spaces are limited. Please call the East Kishacoquillas Presbyterian Church at 717-667-6233 to reserve a spot for your child. a
What can we do? Where can we go?
Observe, Listen and Think?
Love your neighbor as yourself? Matthew 22:37 Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 Think Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise; think about these things Philippians 4:8 -
Peter J. Moses
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The Valley, June 2013
Adventures on Our Nourishing Journey by Sue Burns
The Canola Con Job The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed in order to reveal the guilty. Just the Facts If you have reached a certain age, you may recall a TV police drama that aired in the 1950’s, (and was revived again in the late 60’s), called Dragnet. If you remember Dragnet, you likewise remember one of the main characters, Sgt. Joe Friday. Friday, played by stern-faced Jack Web, was a no-nonsense kind of guy. In fact, legend has it that once when he was interrogating a woman he reminded her that he wanted, “Just the facts ma’am.” He did not want lies, frills, extras, or cover ups. He demanded “Just
answers but because it means you are beginning to search, explore and interrogate the ingredients in your food. You want “just the facts” about what you are putting into your body. Hooray!! While I don’t profess to possess Sgt. Friday’s investigative demeanor, I share his desire and demand for facts. Here is what I have uncovered thus far in what I fear is a great Canola Con Job. A Revealing Name First of all we need to look at the origin of Canola oil. We all agree that olive oil is derived from olives, corn oil from corn, peanut oil from peanuts and soybean oil from soybeans. You get the idea. Oils and their names, come from the plant from which they are ex-
http://www.draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/
Some Rapeseed fields go as far as the eye can see. The new “Genetically Modified” plant is resistant to Round-up.
the facts.” Wouldn’t it be great to have Sgt. Friday investigate our current food industry? No doubt, one of his stellar moments would be that of shining the spotlight on their precious Canola Oil. With his cut-to-the-chase style, Sgt. Friday would quickly begin to sort out the conflicting claims as to whether Canola oil acts as a beauty or beast when lurking in our salad dressing. Accusations abound. What are we, as consumers, to believe? Frequently I am asked whether I recommend the use of Canola oil. I am thrilled when questions such as this come my way. Not because I know all the
tracted. So using that logic, what exactly is a Canola plant? Does it have anything to do with those great little Italian pastries called “cannolis”? Guess not, but where does it originate? Believe it our not, Canola oil is a made-up marketing name that stands for “Canadian Oil Low Acid.” Huh? Here is the scoop. Canola oil was born in Canada. It was conceived in the mid-1970’s during a time when the food industry was having some major concerns. It seems their beloved “heart healthy” polyunsaturated oils were being rejected because of numerous reports and studies linking them to health problems, especially cancer. What was the
food industry to do? Surely they could not turn back and begin to recommend healthy saturated fats such as butter and coconut oil. Their reputation was on the line. Plus, these nature made fats were just too expensive to pour into all the faux foods lining the grocery store shelves. Their hope rested on finding a monounsaturated oil, (similar to our beloved olive oil), that would be easier and cheaper to produce. Rapeseed Oil to the Rescue. The rapeseed plant is a member of the mustard family. It is a cousin to broccoli and turnips. So far, so good. Yet the rapeseed plant seems to be the black sheep of this family for it has some undesirable qualities. For thousands of years the oil from this plant has been used in China, Japan and India. Rapeseed oil was known as the poor man’s oil. It contained almost 60 percent of a monounsaturated fatty acid called erucic acid that was known to be irritating to mucus membranes. Consumption of this oil was associated with incidences of fibrotic heart lesions, disorders of the central nervous system, lung and prostate cancer and anemia. This high erucic acid oil needed a face lift if it was to be embraced. Thank goodness for the modern day Canadian plant geneticists who worked around the clock to figure out a way to morph the dangerous old rapeseed oil into the modern day Canola oil that is much lower in erucic acid. An added “bonus”
is that the new genetically modified rapeseed plants are tolerant to the herbicide RoundUp. This reduces the amount of other chemicals needed for weed control, making it a very inexpensive (yet highly polluted) crop to produce. Monsanto is grinning all the way to the bank. Today, more than 80 percent of the new rapeseed crop comes from genetically modified seed. This new oil was originally known as LEAR oil, in other words, it was Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed oil. Somehow that name LEAR did not catch on, and for obvious reasons, “rape” oil was not going to make it, so it was decided that Canola oil would say it all in a friendly “can do” kind of way. Just as Good as Olive Oil, only Cheaper and Tasteless Now, with the new name in place, only one more little hurdle was in the way. We needed to be convinced here in the USA that the new oil was a “safe” product to consume. Unfortunately, Rapeseed oil was not given GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status by the US Food and Drug Administration, but I guess, as they say, money can buy anything.
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Word on the street is that it cost the Canadian government 50 million to purchase this much needed classification to avoid long term safety testing. I wish I could show you my shocked face! As soon as the GRAS decree took effect, health gurus began promoting Canola oil as equal to olive oil. It was, and still is, marketed as being very low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat, thus having a similar fatty acid profile as olive oil, complete with beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids. Olive oil does not have any Omega 3 fats. Studies tell us that a traditional Mediterranean diet, which is naturally high in monounsaturated fats, support lower rates of cancer and heart disease. Couple all this goodness with the fact that for the most part, Canola oil is tasteless, and that makes it a great choice for baked goods. Another feather in its cap came when it was decided that it would be marketed in such a way as to appeal to educated consumers. According to Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions, “The Canola industry’s approach -- scientific conferences, promotion to upscale consumers through books like The Omega Diet, and articles in the health section of
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The Valley, June 2013
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Happenings Well I thought I’d pop in this month and give you a quick update to all that is happening around here. It seems as if we have finally had our last frost at Three Suns Farm. The temperatures at night are still getting down into the low forties, but we are out of the woods, so-to-speak, for the season. The soil has warmed to 60 degrees so it’s almost time to put
the last of the vegetables into the garden for the year. I am quickly running out of room in the main garden so I am scrambling to find other ways to tuck vegetables into our space. The more I grow, it seems the more I want to expand. Compliments of a neighbor, I am currently building a raised bed out of cinder blocks. I am planning on planting tomatoes in this
new bed. I seem to have plenty of compost this year from my main pile so they will have happy feet growing in that. In other parts of the yard I have started lasagna gardening to accommodate melons or various types and pumpkins. This is my youngest son’s responsibility this year. He is really excited to try to grow his favorite fruits. Lasagna gardening is a notill method of growing vegetables or fruits. You basically build your soil on top of the ground in layers, like a lasagna. It is raised bed gardening without the structure of a raised bed. Over time, the more you add to these beds, the better the soil structure gets. I have already done two of these for more potatoes. With all of the seed potatoes I have this year from last year’s crop, I could easily plant an acre or more with just spuds. I think I might end up giving some away because there is no way I will have room for them all! I have taken the large black pots that our fruit trees came in two years ago and I am growing some in those as well. Instead of flowers on my back deck, this year I am filling my planters with vegetables—tomatoes and peppers mostly. They will be happy with the deep rich soil and blazing sun that that area of the yard gets in the summer. Along with the vegetables, as promised earlier in the spring, I am tending my perennial beds as well. I have taken a part-time job with a landscaping company. We tend to the planting and maitenence of some beautiful waterfront estates here on the Cape. My head has been so crammed full of planting ideas after seeing those fabulous gardens that I am rushing home to inspect my own beds. Of course, my own cottage style of gardening conflicts with the mostly formal styles that our customers prefer, but the ideas can be somewhat transferred across those lines. I can tell you that I am definitely more fussy about the weeds than I have been in the past. After coming home from a
Potted tomatoes can be VERY productive and provide enough tomatoes for many dishes.
landscape where there isn’t a leaf out of place, seeing clumps of stray grass coming up between my tulips is driving me crazy. I know that I can’t tend to it all, but it pleases me to see a nice clean bed full of flowers. I hope that you all are as busy as I am with your springtime planting. With as bad a winter as we all had. it sure is nice to feel the dirt between your toes! a
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Lettuce can be grown in just about any kind of container
9
The Valley, June 2013 Seasonal Produce
No GMOs Naturally Nutritious No Synthetic Chemicals Open Polinated and Heirloom Varieties Available Tuesday’s Rec Park Farmers Market, Lewistown 3:00pm - 7:00pm Thurs. & Sat. Tri Valley Farmers Market, Lewistown 9:00am - Noon
Wednesday’s Big Valley Farmers Market, Reedsville 8:00am - 1:00pm Fridays 8:ooam - 7:00pm Saturdays 8:00am - 4:00pm At Our Farm 260 Stage Road Milroy FMNP & SFMNP Checks Accepted
Meet The Folks Who Grow Your Food!
Our Ad Rates are the Best Value anywhere. Call us and see what we can do for you! 717-363-1550
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The Valley, June 2013
10
Weigh Better Often a customer walks in to East Gate Feed & Grain and asks the question, “Why is my horse not maintaining ideal weight?” In determining why a horse is not gaining or maintaining enough body weight, we have to ask a few questions. Has the horse had proper dental care? Sharp edges, oral ulcers, caps on teeth or even lack of teeth in older horses can cause many problems with horses eating or performing properly. Is the horse on a parasite control program? Not only does the horse need to be on a regular deworming schedule, but also small pastures should be maintained to help eliminate parasite re-infestation. Manure disposal, rotation and harrowing of pastures will help to eliminate the problem with horses showing frequent signs of parasites. What is the horse’s medical history? Has the horse had problems with chronic pain from
joint disease, Navicular, or laminitis? Not only can pain decrease a horse’s appetite, but the use of drugs to treat these conditions can cause oral or gastric ulcers. Long term use of drugs such as Bute can cause kidney or liver damage. Chronic respiratory diseases such as heaves not only increase a horse’s calorie needs, but can also suppress their appetite. Many horses with heaves or other respiratory conditions may have hay, feed and/or exercise restrictions and may also be kept outdoors year round. These circumstances can also lead to poor body condition. Horses that have some form of Colitis (inflammation of the large intestine) may experience frequent diarrhea and protein loss, leading to weight loss. Horses with vices such as cribbing or weaving will also show signs of weight loss during times of stress. How old is the horse? As horses age they will need more calories to maintain weight and
body condition. The transition to “hard keeper” can come at any time and will often catch the owner realizing one day that their horse suddenly looks older. No horse owner wants to admit that their active, plump, healthy looking horse is now a senior horse with a maintenance issue. As we see older horses showing a decreasing topline, protruding hip bones, prominent ribs, and a dull coat; we need to realize that horse now needs more calories to keep a healthier body condition. We also need to consider, how much exercise is the horse getting? Whether your horse has just starting showing signs of being older or as spring begins you realize he does not look as good as he did last year, you need to understand the role that muscle tone may also play in the horse’s appearance. Although topline is one of the areas we look at in evaluating a horse’s body condition, we need to realize this area is made up of mostly muscle. The muscles along the withers, back, loin and croup make up the
horse’s topline. Bending and stretching exercises can help improve the horses muscling over this area. Exercise will condition and build these muscles; however the body must still be able to supply proper nutrients from an adequate diet to build muscle. Probably the most important question I ask customers is “What are you feeding your horse?”, and not only what feed product, but how many pounds of feed. Often what we find is that a horse is not being fed enough to meet their nutrient requirements. Horses require different amounts of nutrients depending on their age and lifestyle. A common myth in the horse world is that every horse eats a “scoop” of feed twice a day, or a coffee can. So we need to consider, how big is our scoop or does our 3lb coffee can really hold 3lbs of horse feed? A 3lb coffee can of oats is not the same amount of feed as a 3lb coffee can of corn. Some horses may do well on a “coffee can” of feed twice a day, but a hard keeper will require more feed. Even if our feed in that can does actually weigh 3lbs, that may only be enough feed for a horse that is an easy keeper. Depending on the amount of calories per pound that your feed provides, the average performance
horse may need closer to 5lbs of feed twice a day. We need to consider the quality of feed, especially if we are feeding a horse that has trouble maintaining a proper body condition. If you are feeding an economy maintenance feed, you will need to feed more pounds of feed than you if you were feeding a premium product like Purina Strategy or Equine Senior. Each bag of Purina Mills horse feed will give guidelines as to how much of that particular feed a horse should be fed. The Purina website contains a feeding calculator to determine how many pounds of feed and hay to feed each horse. Along with feed, we need to question the amount and quality of hay or forage that horse is eating. Adequate hay/forage is considered 1-1.5% of the horse’s body weight. Forage is required to help prevent digestive upset. As horses age and cannot eat enough forage, they may need to go on a Complete feed to help fulfill that fiber requirement. When feeding a Complete feed such as Purina Equine Senior or Omolene 400, you must feed enough to take the place of both feed and forage. Do not dilute a balanced premium quality feed with oats or a lesser quality feed to stretch your
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Selecting the correct horse feed and feeding an adequate amount will help to insure your equine companion is happy and healthy for many years.
Violet & Maple photo by Horsetography.
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The Valley, June 2013
LIbrary Lines Your Mifflin County Library
Farewell Belleville
Seven Ways To Encourage Reluctant Readers Reading is a tremendously appealing, satisfying activity, and children will become hooked once the adults in their lives consistently build it into their daily schedules. The key is getting children started. The following seven strategies will help even the most reluctant reader become more enthusiastic about the endeavor. By employing the strategies described below, reading will become something that students do willingly, even eagerly, and the adults in their lives will not have to resort to trickery, bribery, manipulation, or any other tactic that will, at best, lead to temporary compliance. After all, we’re striving to make reading a joyous lifelong habit. 1. Start with the child’s passions. Children will be more excited about reading when they can choose books or magazines related to their interests. This suggestion is far and away the most powerful one when it comes to encouraging those who are reluctant to read. When kids own the choice of what they will read, motivation increases significantly. 2. Make reading a social experience. Children who don’t enjoy reading alone often enjoy reading with someone else. Children can read with their parents, siblings, other relatives, and friends. Some children even start mini-book clubs and discuss books related to their common interests. Asking children to read to their younger siblings and cousins can powerfully impact their own motivation to read. 3. Read aloud to children. Many parents regularly read aloud to their children when they are very young, yet stop this activity as the kids get older. Parents should read aloud to children throughout the elementary grades. Doing so makes reading more enjoyable, improves listening skills, builds comprehension, lengthens attention spans, and grows the imagination.
4. Take advantage of new technology. Children who may not find books interesting may enjoy reading the same texts on smart phones, computers, and electronic readers, such as the iPad or Kindle. Technology makes everything seem cooler and more engaging to children, and we should capitalize on this fact when it comes to reading. The Mifflin County Library has downloadable books available on our webpage as well as a new kids eBook site called TumbleBooks. Please visit www.mifcolib.org to learn more! 5. Be a role model to children. When children see their parents reading frequently, discussing what they have read, and carrying books around, they will value reading to a greater extent. The power of modeling cannot be underestimated. 6. Camouflage reading. Parents can increase the amount of time their children spend reading by subtly building the activity into other, seemingly unrelated activities. Examples include reading menus at restaurants, reading the directions to board games, and looking at various websites together. Children who may not yet enjoy reading for its own sake may enjoy it tremendously when it’s incorporated into other engaging pastimes. 7. Be sure that children read books that are appropriately challenging. Many times kids don’t want to read simply because the books they encounter are too difficult. This seemingly obvious point is frequently forgotten. None of us want to encounter frustration, and we will go to great lengths to avoid experiences that make us feel this way. Appropriately challenging books are those in which students can fluently read approximately 95% of the words. Encountering a small
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Twelve years ago Klein Dist Inc purchased the Belleville Agway store from Agway Inc. I came to work at Belleville Agway at that time. I had been a housewife and mother of four and was content as such. At the time Klein Dist was looking for employees. I told my sister in law I would come in and answer the phone at least till they could hire enough help. I didn’t think I would remain, let alone be here till the present. I went from a shy, reserved, timid housewife and mom to a confident and hopefully proficient sales clerk Every and office person. I had no computer, sales, or office training or skills. Everything I have learned I owe to my employers and my customers. After 12 years Klein Dist Inc made the difficult decision to sell Belleville Agway. We had a public auction May 15th to liquidate some inventory and items that were not needed at the other Klein locations. All services and products are now available at Mifflin Agway located at 534 Juniata St. Mifflin, Pa. 17058. Bill Thomas, Wilson Goss and myself have all been moved to Mifflin as well. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. On a personal note, I would just like to thank the Belleville Customers and community for all your patronage these 12 years. You have been customers, but I consider most of you my friends as well. I have brought my daughters to work with me many times and you always were great with them. Most of you know them well and always ask about them. I have so many good memories of working here they far outweigh the few bad experiences. I will miss you all. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve shed a few tears the last month but, everything changes so we adjust. So on that note, I will say “Farwell” to Belleville Agway. Ben Hartzler will be moving his business, Mid State Roofing into the Belleville Agway location. I wish Ben all the best and hope he will enjoy the community as much as I have. Sonieta Harrop Sales Clerk/ Office Personel Former Belleville Agway
New Funding Round for Community Arts Projects Announced Attention: artists, musicians, performers, festival organizers, etc. The Community Partnerships RC&D Council has announced the opening of the 201314 Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream grant funding. As a member of the statewide Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) program, Community Partnerships RC&D is your local partner for Juniata, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder and Union Counties. This funding opportunity provides grants to eligible organizations or individuals to conduct community arts projects through funds made available by the PA Council on the Arts, a state agency. 2013-14 PPA Project Stream applications are due June 28, 2013 and must be completed online at ppa.egrant.net Register for PPA (PA Partners in the Arts) online webinars to explain the application process at http://www.pacouncilonthearts.org by selecting Webinars and Presentations from the “find it fast” drop-down menu. If you have any questions about the application process, please call (717) 248-4901, ext. 301 or email Community Partnerships RC&D at cpartnerships@cpartnerships.com.
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The Valley, June 2013
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The Kombucha Experiment A few weeks ago I decided that I’d give the Kombucha a try that Sue Burns wrote about in her article last month. I drink a lot of Diet Coke and I thought it was about time I try to eliminate that nasty habit. I know the Aspertame is not good for my health, but it’s one of those addictions that’s hard to shake. What I like most about soda is the “bite” you get when you have a nice cold glass of it over ice. I’m realistic, so I don’t expect to go off of diet soda “cold turkey,” but I figured I could try the Kombucha and if it at least cut down my consumption of soda a little bit, it was a step in the right direction. The first thing I did in my quest to brew the perfect Kombucha was a visit to Wegman’s supermarket to get a bottle of it to taste before I brewed a whole
gallon of something I might hate. The bottle I tried was labeled Gingerade, so I’m taking a guess it also had some ginger added to it. It was over $4 for one 16 oz bottle. Yikes, what’s in this stuff—gold? I was surprised by its taste. It was a bit tart, but had a really good “zing” like soda. It took me several sips before I decided that I did indeed like it. So, now that the taste test was out of the way, it was time to set about getting a SCOBY, the brewing vessel, and ingredients. First stop was to secure a brewing vessel. I thought one of the Dollar Stores would surely have a big glass jar of some sort. No luck after stopping at two of them. Giving up temporarily, I headed to the grocery store for the ingredients. Organic cane sugar, check; purified water, check; and
black tea, half check (couldn’t find organic, so I bought regular black tea). Now back to the brewing vessel quest, I headed to Kmart and found a huge, gallon-sized canning jar. Perfect! (Or so I thought.) The opening is a bit narrow for pouring the tea into, but I made it work (sorta). Sue Burns graciously offered me my first SCOBY, so I stopped by her house and was greeted by a really nice CD playing acoustic music. Wait....maybe that wasn’t a CD....the music stopped and Bernie Rich came waltzing into the room (I think he heard that someone might be trying to steal some of his Kombucha hooch— Sue says he loves it). Yup, it was Bernie Rich practicing for his next gig. Nice stuff! So, home I scurried with my little SCOBY (I didn’t want to hurt Sue’s feelings, but gosh those SCOBY’s are ugly) and an anxious desire to brew the best Kombucha the world has ever known. I proceed to do everything as Sue’s directions instructed. Oops, well not everything, I brewed all the water with the tea rather than just some of it. Oh well, this can’t
possibly make a difference, right? I poured the hot sweet tea into the gallon jar, only spilling a cup or two down the side of my island and onto the floor. Don’t do this at home—what a sticky mess! I covered my jar with a dish cloth and a rubberband and left it sit for a few hours. When I came back to check on it, it was still very hot to the touch. I suspect this is why you only brew the tea in some of the water and then add the rest of the room temp water to the glass vessel. If you boil all the water, it takes forever to cool down and come back to room temperature. In fact, it took until sometime after midnight. I dumped in my SCOBY and the one cup of liquid that came with it and watched it float around the top. Yuck, did I mention that the SCOBY thing is ugly? I watched for a while as my SCOBY slowly sank to the bottom. WHAT? OH NO! This can’t be good. I texted Sue in alarm and she sent me some web links that identified common Kombucha brewing questions and concerns. Turns out SCOBY sinking to the bottom is ok. After several days, the SCOBY came back to the top. Phew, crisis averted. So then the long seven-to-ten day wait began. I checked my SCOBY after a couple of days, but no change.
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My first Kombucha brew.
Hmmm.....what did I do wrong? I let it sit a couple more days and checked it again. Bingo! SCOBY was growing and forming to the shape of the top of my container. Now I was DYING to taste it (I have no patience.) Finally, after day 10, I took a taste. Yummy. While I was waiting, I did some Internet reading. I read about a double brewing method where you pour the Kombucha into separate vessels that contain fruit juice and let them sit a few more days covered before refrigerating—it’s supposed to give it more zing. So I did this with some of it using a blueberry pomegranate juice. It was tasty, but I liked the plain Kombucha just as much. I didn’t notice any additional “zing” from the juice or the extra days of fermentation. Now that it’s all gone, I can definitely tell you that it was a successful experiment. I drank
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The Valley, June 2013
Understanding the Constitution by David Molek
Property Rights ? What is the legitimate role of government in a free society? To understand how America’s Founders answered this question, we have only to look at the rule book they gave us – our Constitution. Most of what they understood as legitimate powers of the federal government are enumerated in Article I, Section 8. Congress is authorized to do 21 things. To me, it seems that 75% or more of what Congress taxes us and spends and the powers they have grabbed today is nowhere to be found on this list of 21. It is big government that the little guy needs protection against, not big business. As a matter of original understanding, our Founders viewed the natural right to acquire or possess property as embedded in the common law. Madison believed that the federal
government should be explicitly restricted to follow the common law form. The Founders understood that the 5th Amendment would be needed to place a restriction on the ability and manner of taking property by the federal government. That Amendment says, “ nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation”. We start with the proposition that the right to private property is fundamental to freedom and individual liberty. Our Founders, even with their strong commitment to private property rights, recognized it was necessary for the federal government to have some eminent domain power. That government eminent domain power is recognized in the takings clause or just compensation clause of our 5th Amendment.
That clause is not a positive grant of power to the federal government. It does not increase their limited powers from 21 to 22. It is meant to place a limitation on governmental power. We need to remember that our Constitution protects the rights of individuals and limits the power of government. So the 5th Amendment expresses the extremely limited power of the federal government to condemn private property. However since the New Deal and with the Obama administration, the government designed by our Founders and outlined in our Constitution has all but disappeared. The two pertinent phrases of the takings clause are just compensation and public use. The just compensation requirement ensures that the federal government compensates the victim fairly. Here, there are discussions of fair market value, “made whole” and being no worse off economically as a result of the government
taking. This begs the whole question of whether or not the victim wanted to sell his property in the first place. The public use requirement is supposed to insure that the taking was legitimate. Unfortunately, government is today is given a very wide leeway to seize property from one person and give it to someone else who is expected to pay more in taxes, create more jobs or build more attractive buildings. Originally, public use was intended to be taking private property for such purposes as roads, bridges, public buildings and military bases. Check out the SCOTUS case entitled, Kelo v. New London. There is not only the actual taking of a person’s property, but there are also cases where governmental regulations reduce significantly the economic prospects for property. In those cases, an owner may not be able to do what he wants to do or is prohibited from
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an appropriate use of his property. These are true economic injuries caused by the government that are not compensated to the owner. The character and extent of the government’s action is an important consideration. Many, if not most, of these regulations exceed a reasonable scope and invade that which may be normally and fairly thought to be one of the natural rights of ownership. Left unchecked, the government can simply condemn your property and give it to a favored political rival to develop. Or, to cite a local example, your hobby or retirement earnings supplement is denied because of illogical unnecessary government regulation. Let us say you are retired and decided to obtain a federal firearms license and have an internet business selling guns, ammunition and emergency supplies. You then purchase a pre-manufactured building and place it on your property. There is no bathroom in the building because you can walk back up to your house to go if necessary. Then, the government pays you a visit. Based upon a federal law handed down to the states and requiring local level enforcement by the municipalities, you are told that you need to have a handicapped-accessible
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The Valley, June 2013
14 Frost Gets A Bad Rap from front page Orchard growers apply a similar principle when they spray their tender crops with water, anticipating that latent heat of fusion (freezing) will keep their plants warm enough to survive the
turn off the spray. The computer continued to monitor the plants throughout the night and would repeat spraying if needed. In this way, the weight of the accumulating ice was kept to a minimum, thereby reducing the potential damage to plants by the sheer weight of the accumulating ice.
Frost Advisory posted on April 26 2013 by the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio identifies “frost” as the enemy
night (it takes energy to melt ice, so, in order to maintain a balanced energy budget, energy must be released when water freezes). Of course, one must continue to spray in order to take advantage of latent heat of freezing, increasing the risk that ice will eventually become too heavy and damage the crop. When I was a member of the Weather World team (Weather World is a 15-minute daily weather magazine show produced at Penn State), I did a feature on the research of a graduate student in the Department of Agriculture (back in the late 1980s, if my memory serves me well). His research dealt with the protection of tender strawberry plants during cold, spring nights. Essentially, the temperature of the plants was monitored by a computer, which turned on a fine spray when the temperature of the plants approached the danger zone, which is the temperature at which ice crystals start to form inside plants (ice crystals forming inside plants cannot be good for their well being). When plant temperatures were out of the danger zone (via the release of latent heat of freezing), the computer would
Are orchard owners crazy? Facing the loss of their crop, would they intentionally make matters worse? I don’t think so. All orchard growers need to know is that spraying water on plants at dangerously low temperatures gives them some protection. Not surprisingly, I believe that frost gets a bad rap. That’s because frost delays the formation of ice crystals inside the plant via the release of latent heat of deposition. Of course, frost has its limitations. If plants are exposed to dangerously low temperatures for too long, not even frost can stave off the inevitable. Indeed, once ice crystals form inside plants, the damage is done. In such cases, all we see is frost on the outside of the plants. And so we jump to the conclusion that frost is a killer. It is not. Lesson learned: Frost is Nature’s last line of defense (via the release of latent heat when frost forms). Yes, frost gets a bad rap. And 32 degrees is not freezing.
Lee Grenci Retired Senior Lecturer and Forecaster, Department of Meteorology at Penn State a
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing -Edmund
Burke
Poor Will’s Valley Almanack from page 18 ANSWERS TO THE MAY SCKRAMBLER AWS SAW NERPRU PRUNER ARPSHRENE SHARPENER SREASH SHEARS POLPRE LOPPER AINCHWAS CHAINSAW MWROE MOWER TRMMRIE TRIMMER WEROLB BLOWER LITREL TILLER OHE HOE HOVELS SHOVEL LOVESG GLOVES YREPRAS SPRAYER NIKEF KNIFE ELBBID DIBBLE WORELT TROWEL ROPPEB BOPPER EEEWDR WEEDER ROKF FORK
TIME TOMH EBE ROBER DITYKAD HPIDA CUSKRE MINEBARKR Listen to Bill Felker’s weekly “Poor Will’s Almanack” on
podcast any time at www.wyso. org. And Bill’s website, www. poorwillsalmanack.com, contains weekly updates and a sizable bank of information about nature. His organization of weather patterns and phenology (what happens when in nature) offers a unique structure for understanding the repeating rhythms of the year. Bill lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He has two daughters, Jeni, who is a psychologist in Portland, Oregon, and Neysa, a photographer in Spoleto, Italy. a
Help Wanted Farm Hand - Contract Labor (Luttes TN Farm (AL/TN State Line)) Experienced Farm Hand needed for general farm duties. Experience in running Farm Tractor with various attachments. This is a part time / full time job depending on the current need at the farm. Mostly farming to benefit the local wildlife - planting, bush hog, clean up, fence mending, etc. Three parcels of land. Must be dependable and offer flexibility when it comes to hours and job duties. **** Apply in person at Central Extrusion Die**** - 336 E Washington Avenue Muscle Shoals, AL 35661. Ask to speak to Steve. • Location: Luttes TN Farm (AL/ TN State Line) • Compensation: $9.00 / hour or more based on experience • This is a part-time job. • This is a contract job.
THE VALLEY “SCKRAMBLER” FOR JUNE If you are the 1st or the 5th person to respond with the correct answers, you’ll receive a $5.00 prize. There should by no typos in this puzzle, but if you do find one, you June skip the word without penalty. There should be no typos in this puzzle, and no typo prize will be awarded. If you happen to find a typo, however, you June simply skip that word without penalty. Send your entries by postcard only to Poor Will’s Valley Almanack at P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387. The unscrambled words and the names of the winners will appear an upcoming issue of The Valley Newspaper. UBG NICTSE REPOOL ACHLCID • Reliable Propane & Heating Oil Delivery • Budget Payment Plan EEEBTL Call today to learn about our • 24/7 Emergency Service LYF NEw CustOmER • Heating Equipment Service Plans sPECiAls! MIEGD • Safety Trained Professionals • Over 80 Years Experience PILLERCATER EAIERNMFL WWBMROE Our Business is Customer Satisfaction TISPELGUBT 717-248-5476 • 1-800-PROPANE (776-7263) PERHOPASRSG
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The Valley, June 2013
Our Environment Our Culture Managing Stormwater Runoff with Grassed Waterways By: Jon Longenecker, Chesapeake Bay Engineer Grassed waterways can be an effective tool in handling stormwater runoff and reducing erosion from agricultural fields. Establishing a dense sod in natural drainage ways will trap sediment and reduce the velocity of water as it passes over the land. Many waterways have been planted through to maximize yields and to eliminate the inconvenience of dealing with them. We are seeing the rills and gullies and muddy streams that are a result of this short-sightedness. It is important to realize that handling runoff is a critical part of agricultural success. Rainfall frequency and intensity cannot be predicted with certainty. Hydrologic processes like rainfall and runoff are very complex. What we do know about hydrology is based on limited observations and measurements collected over the past hundred years or so. Factors that affect runoff include the amount and intensity of rainfall, the type of soil, how the land is used, the area of the watershed, and the
slope of the watershed. The only real variable is the land use and management. It’s intuitive that more rainwater will run off a bare field than a grassy meadow, but practices like leaving crop residue or contouring fields also reduce the amount of runoff. The more rainwater that can be absorbed by or retained on the ground it falls on, the less potential for erosion, the greater the possibility for utilization by crops, and the smaller a constructed grassed waterway will need to be. The expected rainfall for Lewistown is 4.11 inches for the 24-hr, 10-year storm event, based on data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Atlas 14, Volume 2. That means there is a 10% chance of receiving that much rain in a 24 hour period in any year. Waterways are usually designed for this probability for economic reasons. It isn’t feasible to construct a waterway for the worst case; it would be too big. Waterways should be con-
structed with a parabolic crosssection, a shape that is naturally stable and able to handle low flow as well as peak flow. To form this shape, the depth of the channel at half the distance from the centerline to the edge should be three quarters of the maximum depth. It is important that the channel is graded smooth, because any ridges or creases running down the channel have the potential to channelize water, increasing its velocity and leading to erosion. For the same reason, waterways should not be used as field access roads. Where equipment will be frequently crossing a waterway, a stabilized crossing should be constructed. Next to its shape and dimensions, the quality of the sod is the most important factor for an effective waterway. The Penn State Agronomy Guide provides information for selecting a suitable seeding mix for different soils. Tall fescue and perennial ryegrass are often recommended. Waterways can be mowed or burned to control weeds, but this
An example of a grassed waterway
should be done after the nesting season. Taller vegetation will have a greater effect at slowing runoff. Waterways require some management to continue working properly. Most importantly, the depth and width must be maintained in order to retain the capacity of the channel. Over time, soil depositions from the fields may begin to fill up the channel. In many fields, the crops begin to encroach on the waterway as the farmer tries to achieve maximum productivity from his or her land. Each year the plow or the sprayer cuts a little further into the channel. Many of the waterways that were constructed forty years ago are now only a fraction of their original width. Another common problem that develops with time is the creation of small berms along the edges of the waterway which
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will prevent surface runoff from entering the channel. Instead, the water will erode a new channel down the crop field parallel to the waterway. One cause of this is plowing or planting end rows along the waterway. This should be avoided; tillage and row directions should always be perpendicular to the channel. The berms can be graded off, but it is often necessary to reshape and the entire waterway. Waterways have a finite life span and will eventually need to be reconstructed. Just observing the waterway on a year-to-year basis will not reveal the gradual degradation of the channel. Measurements should be taken and checked against the original design. For assistance in designing or constructing grassed waterways, contact the NRCS field office in Burnham at (717) 248-9541. a
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Home Nursing Agency Raises Funds for Community Health Needs; Mercedes Moment Winner Named John Isenberg of Tyrone held the winning number -396- for the Home Nursing Agency 2013 Mercedes Moment fundraiser held May 16. Now in its eleventh consecutive year, Mercedes Moment is Home Nursing Agency Foundation’s annual signature fundraising event. Funds raised support the Agency’s charitable mission of providing care and support to individuals and families in need throughout the 19-county service area, including Mifflin and Juniata counties. Funds raised also support programs benefitting entire communities, such as the Healing Patch, a free program that offers grief support to children and their families. Based on the 7 p.m. threedigit Pennsylvania lottery for May 16, only 1,000 tickets were sold to win either a new Mercedes C250 Coupe or $30,000 cash prize. “Thank you to everyone who supported us this year including ticket buyers and corporate sponsors,” said Becky Willnecker, president, Home Nursing Agency Foundation. “This year’s event
raised Shield; Relimore than ance Bank; $130,000 Delta Health to help Technoloindividuals gies, LLC; and famiFOREVER lies in our Broadcasting; care who Home Health have needs Resource; beyond KOPP Drug; normal cirLakemont cumstances Park; M & and who T Bank; may need Mercedes additional Benz of State services not College; New covered by Look Uniform insurance.” Shop & Blair “Mercedes Digitizing & From left, Home Nursing Agency Foundation Board Chair Barry Halbritter congratuMoment Embroidery; lates Donna and John Isenberg of Tyrone, winners of the 2013 Mercedes Moment. is truly a ProCare They are joined by Home Nursing Agency Director of Development Pam Seasoltz; community Foundation President Becky Willnecker and Agency President/CEO Robert Packer Hospice fundraiser Care, Inc.; all programs and individuals who that embraces Home Nursing VISA; Catered Affairs; Gazette receive care within the agency’s Agency’s mission since its incepPrinters; Barry and Marlene 19-county service area,” added tion in 1968 as a not-for-profit, Halbritter; The Hancock Group; Willnecker. community benefit organization McQuaide Blasko, Inc.; Mount In addition to ticket buyers, helping to lighten the burden and Nittany Health; Sheetz, Inc.; lend a helping hand to our patients the Home Nursing Agency FounStuckey Ford/Subaru; University dation is grateful for the support and their families in times of Orthopedics Center; US Foods; of the following community partgreatest need. The Home NursBurgmeier’s Hauling; Cornerstone ners: Highmark Blue Cross Blue ing Agency Foundation supports Advisors Asset Management,
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Inc.; Drenning Leasing Company; Dutch Hill Chocolates; F.N.B. Wealth Management; Home Instead Senior Care; J.C. Blair Health System, Inc.; McCloskey Builders; Principal Financial Group; Quality Services; Dr. & Mrs. James W. Ramsay; Reilly, Creppage and Co., Inc.; Roaring Spring Water; Seltzer Financial Strategies; Wagner & Finn Attorneys at Law and W.R. Straw/ All-Chem Distributors, Inc. Since 2005, the Home Nursing Agency Foundation has awarded more than $1,000,000 back to Agency programs and services—dollars staying close to home within the cities, towns and boroughs served by agency staff and caregivers. The Foundation welcomes all private and public donations, which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. For more information on ways to support Home Nursing Agency’s Foundation or to learn how gifts make an impact in the lives of others, please contact the agency’s Director of Development, Pam Seasoltz at 814.946.5411, ext. 2565 or visit www.homenursingagency.com for more information on all of Home Nursing Agency’s services. a
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The Valley, June 2013
STOPPING TYRANNY AS A JUROR “THE JURY HAS A RIGHT TO JUDGE BOTH THE LAW AS WELL AS THE FACT IN CONTROVERSY” -JOHN JAY, 1ST CHIEF JUSTICE, US SUPREME COURT, 1789 High school senior David “Cole” Withrow was expelled from his North Carolina School for bringing a gun onto school property. An Eagle Scout and Honors student, Cole forgot to take the gun out of his truck after skeet shooting the day before. Realizing the gun was still in his possession when he got to school; he locked his vehicle and went into the school where he called his
mom and made arrangements for her to pick it up. Administrators overheard his call, and had him arrested on felony charges and expelled him from the school. “To have him arrested and expelled from school is excessive,” family friend Kim Boykin said. “He locks his vehicle, goes inside and tries to do the right thing.” School officials are hiding behind a state law enacted by North Carolina where “the Legislature has mandated what actions law enforcement, school principals and school superintendents must do upon finding a violation of this law,” a spokeswoman for the school district noted. Consider what you might do
if selected to sit on a jury hearing this case. Our founders were brilliant in how they set up our government with its checks and balances. As noted in the Citizens Rule Book, published by Whitten Printers; they established a three vote system by which an informed citizenry can control those acting in the name of the government. Our first vote is at the polls on election-day when we pick those who are to represent us in governmental offices. But what can be done if those elected don’t perform as promised or expected? Well, the second two votes are the most effective means by which we, the common people, have in controlling those appointed to serve us in government. The second vote comes when you serve on a Grand Jury. Before anyone can be brought to trial for a capital crime by those acting in the name of government, permission must be obtained from people
serving on a Grand Jury. The Minneapolis Star and Tribune in the March 27, 1987, edition noted a purpose of the grand Jury in this way: “A Grand Jury’s purpose is to protect the public from an overzealous prosecutor.” The third is the most powerful vote: this is when you are acting as a jury member during a courtroom trial. At this point, “the buck stops” with you! It is in this setting that each JUROR has MORE POWER than the President, all of Congress, and all of the judges combined! Congress can make law, the President or some other bureaucrat can make an order or issue regulations, and judges may instruct or make a decision, but no JUROR can ever be punished for voting “Not Guilty!” Any juror can, with impunity, choose to disregard the instructions of any judge or attorney in rendering his vote. If only one JUROR should vote “Not Guilty” for any reason, there is no conviction and no punishment at the end of the trial. Thus, those acting in the name of government must come before the common man to get permission to enforce law. AS A JUROR; YOU ARE ABOVE THE LAW! Consider the quote from Justice Jay at the beginning of this article. Consid-
er as well the following; “The law itself is on trial quite as much as the cause which is to be decided.” - Harlan F. Stone, 12th Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court, 1941 or; “The pages of history shine on instances of the jury’s exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge...” U.S. vs. Dougherty, (1972). This important information is imperative to know. It addresses the core issues of our sovereignty as a free people. I know jury duty is an interruption to our daily lives and thus can be a pain, but we need good folks who desire to secure our freedoms to populate these juries. So please educate yourself and be ready for when you are called. In the case of Cole Withrow, the only sound vote is, not guilty! Our office has a supply of the Citizens Rule Book which we are making available to anyone who would like a copy. Just stop by our office on Main Street in Belleville to receive yours. I’d love to run out of our current supply and have to order more! Not only does it include additional information on the above topic, but it also has the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of
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The Valley, June 2013
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POOR WILL’S VALLEY ALMANACK for June of 2013 by Bill Felker
The exuberance of June…It began at daybreak with the chirping and chattering of birds close at hand and in widening circles around us. And then, what greater wonder than the rising of the sun? Even the nights, as yet without insect choirs, were alive. Fireflies against the mass of trees were flashing galaxies which repeatedly made and unmade abstract patterns of light, voiceless as the stars overhead…. Harlan Hubbard The Sun Between June 19 and 23, the sun remains at its solstice declination of 23 degrees 26 minutes, and the day’s length remains virtually unchanged. Summer solstice for 2013 occurs on June 21 at 12:04 a.m. (EST). The sun enters the middle summer sign of Cancer at the same time. The Planets Venus, the evening star in Gemini, reaches conjunction with Mercury on June 20. Saturn continues to move across the night sky in Virgo. Jupiter disappears from the evening sky in the first week of June. It will reappear as the morning star at the end of July’s first week. Mars comes to the morning sky in Taurus after mid month. The Stars The Corona Borealis directly overhead these June evenings tells you that crown vetch is blooming along the freeways, that tall meadow rue is open in the meadows, that hostas are flowering in town, and poison ivy blossoms along the fences. In the far west, Leo and its bright Regulus take the last of the privets and angelica and sweet rockets. Rising in the east, the great Milky Way forecasts harvest
of the corn and soybeans.
the upper 50s.
Meteorology Cool fronts are due to reach the Valley on or about June 2, 6, 10, 15, 23 and 29. Major storms are most likely to occur on the days between June 5 - 8, June 13 - 16, and June 24 - 28. Full moon on June 23 could contribute to unstable meteorological conditions in conjunction with the June 23 cool front. JUNE - WEEK 1 THE FIRST WEEK OF EARLY SUMMER Lunar Phase and Lore The Mock Orange Moon wanes through its final quarter this week, becoming the new Wild Raspberry Moon at 10:56 a.m. on June 8. Rising before dawn and setting in the evening, this dark moon is overhead (its most powerful position for angling) in the middle of the day. As cool fronts move into the area around June 6 and 10, the barometer will fall, increasing lunar power, and encouraging fish and dieters to bite. Lunar position in Taurus on the 4th through the 6th and in Cancer on the 9th through the 12th will be the last very best time of early summer for putting all your flowers and vegetables into the ground. Weather Trends Normal temperatures rise at the rate of one degree every four days this month. Average highs move from the upper 70s on the first of June to the middle 80s by the beginning of July. Lows climb from the mid 50s into the lower 60s. The average temperature for the entire month is usually about 71 degrees, up ten degrees from May. A typical June temperature distribution looks like the following in much of the state: four days in the 90s, twelve days in the 80s, twelve days in the 70s, two days in the 60s, with a slight chance for one of those cooler days to be in
JUNE - WEEK 2 THE SECOND WEEK OF EARLY SUMMER Lunar Phase and Lore The thin crescent of the Wild Raspberry Moon, new on June 8, waxes throughout the period, entering its second quarter at 12:24 p.m. on June 16. Rising in the morning and setting in the evening, this moon is overhead in the early afternoon. That lunar position will favour midday angling and afflict dieters with pie-mania, especially when the cool front expected near June 15 crosses the region. Planting is favoured throughout the week, especially in Cancer, June 9 – 12. Lunar stress on animals and humans declines, bringing the likelihood of less crime this weekend than last, offering some relief to those suffering from arthritis, and making family vacations a little happier. Weather Trends The likelihood of rain diminishes this week of the year, and the period brings at least four days which historically are favorable for field work. Chances for completely overcast conditions decline to less than 20 percent. The 16th, 17th, and 18th have a very low incidence of rainfall (just 20 percent chance for showers. Temperatures are usually warm, with only 35 percent of the afternoon highs remaining below 80 degrees. Hot 90s occur at least 20 percent of the time. Lows are in the 60s the majority of nights, but 50s and 40s occur up to 40 percent of the time. JUNE - WEEK 3 THE THIRD WEEK OF EARLY SUMMER Lunar Phase and Lore The Wild Raspberry Moon waxes throughout the period, becoming completely full at 6:32 a.m. on June 23. Rising in the
evening and setting in the morning, this moon is overhead in the middle of the night, making nights the most favorable lunar time for fishing, especially as the cool front of June 23 lowers the barometer before its arrival. Planting by the moon is recommend in Scorpio, June 19 – 21 and in Capricorn, June 23 – 26. The weekend is likely to produce higher-thanaverage numbers of accidents and conflicts as the moon becomes full. Weather Trends Average temperatures climb their final degrees, reaching the summer peak near solstice. The period between the 16th and the 26th is historically one of the best times of the month for fieldwork. The high-pressure system of June 23 is typically cool and dry, and it is often followed by some of the sunniest and driest days of all the year. Cooler conditions in the 70s or even the 60s are most likely to occur on the 23rd and 24th, as the front arrives, but then the afternoons usually warm to the 80s or 90s. As the next June front approaches, the benign effects of the June 23rd system can be expected to give way to storms. JUNE - WEEK 4 THE TRANSITION TIME TO MIDDLE SUMMER Lunar Phase and Lore The Wild Raspberry Moon, full on the morning of June 23, wanes throughout the week, entering its final quarter at 11:54 p.m. on June 29. Rising late in the evening and setting after sunrise, this moon is overhead in the middle of the night. Lunar position favors fishing after midnight (or at the second-best moon time, after 12:00 p.m.), but midnight snacks could be especially tempting to dieters. The moon’s power is enhanced by the approach of a cool front in the last days of the month. The best lunar sign for the planting of root crops, shrubs and
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trees is Pisces on the 27th through the 29th. Weather Trends Sunny skies are the rule for the transition time to middle summer: clouds dominate only about 20 percent of all the days, and that makes this period one of the brighter ones in the whole year. Daily chances for rain throughout this period of the month are usually less than 30 percent. High temperatures rise into the 80s at least 60 percent of all the afternoons and climb above 90 on 20 percent of the days. Cooler conditions in the 70s or even the 60s are most likely to occur on the 23rd and 24th. A DAYBOOK FOR JUNE June 1: Watch for screwworm and blow fly eggs in sores or dung locks on your sheep. Timely shearing and dipping can help keep your animals from these pests as well as from ticks, lice and scab mites. Be alert for lameness in your flock, checking for foot rot, especially if the weather has been rainy and the pastures and runs are muddy (most likely to occur in the first and last week of June). June 2: The rains of early June will increase the danger of bloat in sheep and goats that feed on wet legume pastures. Two tablespoons of baking soda in a glass of lukewarm water is a standard treatment; but familiarize yourself with other options too. Easy access to salt and hay can contribute to preventing the summer bloat. June 3: Animals weakened by parasites or disease can be more likely to catch pneumonia after being chilled by summer storms. June 4: One way to make a more efficient use of your pasture is to mix sheep and cows. A formula for that mix recently given to me is five sheep per acre and one
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The Valley, June 2013 cow for every four acres. And not only do cows, calves and sheep make good grazing neighbors, the spring calves, fed on milk and grass, provide an excellent source of succulent meat in fall or winter. If you add a donkey, you have protection from coyotes too. For those of you who want to have chickens in the pasture too, they will eat the worm eggs of the sheep parasites. June 5: When possible, rotate pastures every two to three weeks to maximize land and animal health. Keep a rotation schedule on your wall. Include crop sections once harvest is complete. And don’t forget the to include the woodlot in your rotation plans; sheep can help keep down the brush and seedling trees. June 6: Plan for next year’s lambs and kids. Start your search for breeder animals now. Review the performance of your ewes and does and the progress of the lambs and kids. Consider culling those that did not meet your expectations. June 7: Let as much sunlight as possible into the barn and outbuildings when the weather is clear this summer and the animals are outside. Not only do sunlight and ventilation help keep bedding and other materials dry, the ultraviolet rays discourage mold and disease. June 8: The second week of June often brings a heat wave. And that means extra attention to cleanliness in the barn and yard will pay off in fewer flies. Exhaust fans are inexpensive and easy to install. If the ventilation system in your outbuildings is inadequate, put in a fan this summer. It will give you improved air quality control throughout the year. June 9: June is haying month throughout the Valley. Legumes will give you excellent nutrition and weight if you cut them right after they bloom. And some people say to cut hay when there are three days of clear skies ahead. When might that be? Weather history suggests that the driest days of the month typically occur between the 10th and 27th. These are also the most favorable days for laying cement in the yard, for grooming your animals, and for making fence and outbuilding repairs. June 10: Adolescent coyotes are studying your farm. So June is a good time to check fences, have
the guard animals in place, and as much bright night lighting as possible. June 11: Plan ahead to have your ewes and does slowly gaining weight as breeding season approaches, and mark your pasture schedule to give them the best pasture a few weeks before mating is to begin. But don’t let your rams and bucks put on too much weight - a situation which could reduce his service potential later on in the season. June 12: When you shear or worm or clip hooves, keep your flock or herd together and let them watch what’s going on. One animal isolated in a pen can be hard to catch, may panic and hurt itself. June 13: As the month progresses, keep an eye on the condition of your kids which are getting more and more of their feed from browsing. Weeds may not provide the energy and vitamins needed for the kind of development you want from your stock. June 14: June can be decision time about keeping your favorite buckling. If you have worked with him a lot, and it he’s gentle, if his mother and sisters are excellent milkers, and if he has the conformation you would like to see replicated, he may well be the one to hang on to. June 15: Complete early summer placement of bedding plants and new perennials. Prune trees and shrubs in June, waiting, of course, until all flowering is over. But don’t wait until the nodding and Canadian thistles have ended their blossoming: remove them before they go to seed. June 16: Placing blackberries and raspberries along your hedgerows offers a simple way to offer healthful browsing material for your goats. Since these shrubs propagate themselves, you may not ever need to think about them again. June 17: Medicinal herbs you may already be growing include dill (the seed is said to increase milk yields), fennel (for fevers, and constipation and all eye ailments), anise (seeds are excellent for digestive ailments in kids). June 18: --And Ohio goat owner, Pliny Fulkner, suggests mixing medicinal herb seeds when you are seeding the pasture. His favorites (and his goats’) are: balm, borage, chicory, horehound,
hyssop, marjoram, rosemary, rue, sage, tansy and yarrow. Not all will survive the summer, but those that do can return again and again to make the pasture a healthier and more nutritious place for your animals. June 19: The commercial broccoli and squash harvests are underway right when damsel flies appear by streams and ponds,when the day’s length is the longest of the year (between the 19th and 26th of June) and black-eyed Susans blossom in the waysides. June 20: It’s never too late to start your farm and garden journal. Even though you may keep pretty good records for your goats, there is always more to think about when it comes to plants and animals. Daily or weekly notes can be organized during the cold and less hectic winter months, can be a way of reliving the beauties and challenges of summer, as well as fruit for endless planning. June 21: Planting and harvest estimates or projections, combined with daily weather and progress notations of what actually occurs, can be one of the best planning devices for your farm and garden. The more you notice about the changing conditions and about what influence they could be having on your operation, the more information you will have for improving herd and crop management. June 22: June is the month during which insect infestations reach the economic threshold throughout Pennsylvania. Look out for rose chafers and two-spotted spider mites on your rose bushes. Cucumber beetles appear in the cucumbers and melons. Protect yourself against chiggers: they’re biting now. Begin fighting the first Japanese beetles and corn borers. Spray for potato leaf hoppers in the alfalfa. June 23: Not all the easy medicines grow in the pasture. Honey, says Mary Fulkner, is probably one of the best: “The goats like it, and it’s good for them.” Honey is associated with increased fertility, and it is also considered an excellent general tonic. Barley and honey, mixed with water, and simmered for an hour, can soothe inflammations of the throat and stomach, and may reduce coughing in humans as well as in goats. Of course, another basic medicine is salt. Be sure your goats have enough of it a the Dog Days ap-
proach. June 24: Gather cherries, mulberries, and black raspberries in the mild June days. Fertilize asparagus and rhubarb as their seasons end. Sidedress the corn. Harvest canola, commercial broccoli and squash. Pick summer blueberries as the first cicadas sing. Begin the winter wheat harvest. Plant double-crop soyeans after wheat harvest. June 25: Timothy ripens and cucumber vines for pickles are at the three-leaf stage at the same time as nodding thistles blossom, when peonies fade and catalpa flowers are falling, when August’sboneset has grown knee high, and Canadian geese are molting. That’s when sweet rockets go to seed, when fireflies mate, and pokeweed is budding. June 26: Wild garlic is blooming, and euonymus atropurpureus, the burning bush. Cattails are almost fully developed. May apples should be ready to harvest in the woods. Black walnuts are at least half their full size. June 27: Coneflowers, white vervain, oxeye, horseweed, germander, teasel and wild lettuce blossom in the fields; tall bell flowers open in the woods. Thimble plants set thimbles. June 28: Middle summer typically begins near this date and lasts through August 10. In those 45 days, approximately an hour is lost from the day’s length along the 40th Parallel, and the year turns toward autumn. Even though night lengthens in this middle season, the amount of possible sunshine reaches its zenith, and the percentage of totally sunny days is the highest of the year. And between now and the end of the first week of August, average temperatures vary just one degree. June 29: Blackberries set fruit as earliest corn fields start to tassel, just when the very first cicadas sing and the first katydids come to your window at night. June 30: Watch for mold in the hay stall in the feed storage area when humidity levels rise dramatically toward the end of the month (after the June 28th cool front). Be sure grain is kept in clean containers, and secure from summer rodents. When time permits, work to improve drainage in your muddy yard. The addition of clean
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fill or topsoil can raise a low lying area. Or pave one portion of your yard as an automatic hoof filer - as well as a relatively cleaner and dryer area after stormy weather. Almanack Literature The Pastor’s Cat A True Story By Fannie Raber, Greenwich, OH There was once a pastor who had a kitten. One day it climbed up a tree and was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to the tree and fastened it to his car and drove a ways, the tree would bend and he could then get the kitty. So that is what he did. He put the rope on the tree, drove forward a little and figured that if he went just a little farther, the tree would bend sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved a little farther forward, the rope broke. The tree went “BOOM” and the kitty instantly sailed out of sight! The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighbourhood asking people if they had seen a kitten. No, nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, “Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,” A few days later he was at the grocery store and met one of his church members. He was surprised to see cat food in her shopping cart. Now, this woman was a cat hater, and everyone knew it. He asked, “Why are you buying cat food if you hate cats so much>” She replied, “Pastor you won’t believe this,” and she told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat. So Mom finally told her, “’Little girl, well, if God gives you one, you may keep it.’ I watched my little girl go out in the yard and get to her knees…. “And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but a kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky and landed right in front of her!” WINNER OF THE APRIL SCKRAMBLER A prize of $5.00 was promised to the 1st and 5th person to correctly unscramble all the words in the March and April Valley Sckramblers. Faith Hassinger of Milroy, PA and Jon Sheetz of Mount Joy, PA were the winners!
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The Valley, June 2013
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Fifty Years Ago From the pages of The Sentinel (Lewistown, PA), founded in 1903: June 1963 A major heat wave embroils the county extending to the end of the month with six straight days of 90+ degrees, the hottest topped at 96 degrees. Midway Drive-in Theatre - $1.50 a carload – Last Time Tonight – “Gypsy” starring Rosalind Russell. Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, PLUS: Cartoons; Tues. & Wed. - $1.50 a carload – TRIPLE HORROR – IT WILL SCARE THE LIVING YELL OUT OF YOU! – “Teenage Cavemen”; Chiller No. 2 – “Blood of Dracula”; and “I was a Teenage Frankenstein” At the Embassy Theatre – The Weirdest! The Wildest! HALF WOMAN! HALF STONE!
– It’s all new TECHNICOLOR and TECHNIRAMA “Hercules and the Captive Women” starring Steve Reeves. At the Miller Theatre – From Metro-GoldwynMayer presents “Come Fly With Me” starring Dolores Hart, Hugh O’Brian, Karl Boehm, Pamela Tiffin and Karl Malden. One Hundred Years Ago From the pages of the Democrat & Sentinel (Lewistown, PA), founded in 1832: June 1913 TROLLEYMAN’S NARROW ESCAPE – Car Plunges Over Small Embankment After Leaving Rails – MOTORMAN HAS HIP INJURY – Thrown Under Forward Platform, With One Foot Beneath Fender - Lester Bailey, motorman for the Lewistown & Reedsville Railway trolley jumped the tracks upon
leaving the railroad station at the Junction, Lewistown. Mr. Bailey had ten years continuous service with the trolley company without an accident of any kind. He made one trip after the accident and then went home because of his injuries Civil War Echoes – One Hundred Fifty Years Ago From the pages of the Lewistown Gazette (Lewistown, PA), founded in 1811 June 1863 Letters exchanged between two sisters, one living in Milroy and the other in Reedsville, discussed the rumor that Rebel “spies” were seen traveling through Mann’s Narrows at Reedsville. Another report proclaimed that mounted Rebel spies dashed through the Kishacoquillas Valley. When stopped, they proclaimed to be refugees fleeing
from Virginia. President Lincoln called for 100,000 emergency volunteers from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio to meet a threatened invasion of the North by General Robert E. Lee. The newspaper headlined, “War Excitement” calling on men to a meeting. The courthouse bell rang at 1 a.m. summoning all within earshot of the alarm. A company of volunteers under Col. John A. Wright formed to garrison a blockhouse at Mount Union to protect the Pennsylvania Railroad. “The Invasion of Pennsylvania” headlined a late June issue of the Gazette. Spies were caught in Dauphin County measuring the depth of the Susquehanna River; bridges spanning the river were burned, as reports of Rebel forces moving into Adams County near Gettysburg and Hanover reached readers here. a
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The Logan Guards - The Civil War’s First Defenders from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania by author Forest K. Fisher tells the story of this Mifflin County militia company. $17.75 plus PA Sales Tax and $3 S&H - Available at these locations: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1 W. Market Street, Lewistown, PA 17044 or - Purchase with PayPal, visit our web site at www.mccoyhouse. com, click on STORE - Also the JVACC Gift Shop, Historic Courthouse, Lewistown, PA. For more information: Call MCHS Office at 717-242-1022 or info@mifflincountyhistoricalsociety.org a
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The Valley, June 2013
Modern Energy and Alternative Heating with Curt Bierly
Is Natural Gas In Your Future? If you are planning to upgrade your heating or Domestic Hot Water Heating (DHW) system this summer, you need to consider Natural Gas (NG). If you have NG available in your neighborhood and you are currently using heating oil, electric baseboard or electric ceiling cable heat you should consider the benefits of changing to natural gas. The availability of NG in the future is a strong reason to switch. There are two drilling methods used to harvest NG. Until recently, the majority of our supply of NG has come from conventionally drilled wells in and around the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, NG production from conventional wells was surpassed by Deep Shale Wells located in the Northeast, South and Midwest (see chart). These locations are not as susceptible to storms and hurricanes
which cause the pricing to fluctuate. When a hurricane is predicted, drilling platforms are secured and shut down. According to the U. S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in 2005, over 800 offshore platforms were evacuated in the Gulf of Mexico in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina and over 4000 offshore platforms were shut down in anticipation of Hurricane Rita that same year. During Katrina and
Rita, 111 Gulf platforms were destroyed. Not only was the supply of NG interrupted from the drilling platforms, but damage was sustained to the processing and gathering infrastructure (gas processors, storage facilities, pipelines). For example, as a result of
these two Hurricanes, NG prices jumped 50% in October 2005 from $8.00 to $12.00 per million btu’s, and then dropped back down a year later to $6.00 per million btu’s. Despite environmental opposition to horizontal fracking technologies used to drill wells in deep shale, the process has lowered prices for NG and stabilized the market. With a stable market you can better predict the money you will be saving by switching to NG. What could drive the price of NG up? NG currently is available to utility companies for less money than coal - so - some electric utilities are switching, but not at a record pace. Some companies are beginning to switch their fleets from gasoline to NG. Finally, there are companies that are planning to export NG to markets overseas that are paying much higher prices. Currently, this effort is mired in government red tape—so, it could be a while. It appears none of these future users will immediately diminish the supply of natural gas as reserves in the United States are vast and all signs point to sustained affordability for the foreseeable future. So what about renewable energy? U.S. Power Plants used renewable energy sources to generate about 12% of our electricity in 2012
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(hydroelectric 56%, wind 28%, wood 8%, organic waste 4%, geothermal 3%, solar 1%). We’re all looking forward to a future date when a large part of our power is produced from renewable energy. If we’re at 12% now and considering that nearly all of the Hydroelectric Power capacity was built before the mid 1970’s, it looks like we’re going to need an interim power source if we want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We’re hopeful our governments will not be deterred by cheap NG and will continue to provide incentives to encourage businesses and the public to install renewable energy sources so we can arrive at using only renewable energy sooner rather than later. In the meantime, it appears that installing high efficiency Natural Gas heating equipment in your home or business is a wise investment. . Curt Bierly is president of the bierly group incorporated of which Stanley C. Bierly is a division. He graduated from Penn State with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is a member of the Penn College HVAC Advisory Board. You can contact him at cbierly@bierlygroup.com. a
The Valley, June 2013
22 The Horse Scoop from page 10 dollar. With increases in feed pricing, we will often see customers purchase a product for their older horses like Equine Senior, which is a balanced ration to meet the needs of older horses. They will then cut the quantity of this product down and add a product like oats, thereby changing the nutrient balance and decreasing the feed’s nutritional value for the horse. Another issue to consider is whether the horse is fed alone or in a group. Group feeding is a big concern for the horse at the bottom of the pecking order. If the horse is bullied or stressed in a group during feeding time your best option is to separate that
Seven Ways To Encourage Reluctant Readers from page 11 number of difficult words can help children grow in their reading skills, but encountering too many of these words can interfere with fluency and lead to discouragement. To find a “just right” book for your child’s reading level, use the Five Finger Rule: Have your child pick a book and open it to any page, start reading the page, and then hold up one finger for EVERY word he/she doesn’t know. If your child doesn’t know 0-1 words, the book is too easy. If your child doesn’t know 4-5 words, the book is too hard. If your child doesn’t know 2-3 words, the book is JUST RIGHT! Commit to trying one or more of these ideas to help your child become a more enthusiastic reader. Teaching the whole child means that we focus on developing children’s academic skills, but just as important, we focus on
Property Rights? from page 13 bathroom in order to operate. That would cost over $10,000 to construct a sand mound and make the requisite renovations and connections. The government just put you out of business. If you read our Constitution as it was intended, the government should be responsible for the just compensation for your losses by putting you out of business with its regulations. These are the type of things that are happening right under our noses in Mifflin County. We need to stand up and call for our elected representatives to protect our property against unjust
horse, or even to tie all the horses during feeding. The answer to the questions “What or how are you feeding your horse?” often will answer why the horse is thinner in body condition. Many times horse owners just do not feed enough feed for their horse’s nutrient requirements to be met. Proper amount of feed along with basic horse maintenance such as dental care and parasite control can make all the difference in obtaining optimum body condition for your horse. If you ever find your horse looking a bit too lean, consider the above questions and see if a slight change in any of these areas can be a quick and easy fix to getting your horse looking and feeling its best. a children’s attitudes about these skills. We want to raise children who read well and read because they want to do it, not because they have to. And remember, the Mifflin County Library will once again offer The Summer Reading Program, a program in which children of all ages (birth through high school) earn small prizes for reading books in the summer after the school year ends. The library has offered a reading program in the summer since I was about six-years-old and thanks to the generosity of our community, we will continue this tradition. Email the library or visit our web, facebook or twitter pages for more information. For more information on these seven ways to encourage reluctant readers, visit www.stevereifman.com/featured-articles/forparents/172-7-ways-to-encouragereluctant-readers Susan Miriello Children’s Librarian Mifflin County Library a infringements by government itself. Laws and regulations are routinely read as though they authorize regulation of anything that is remotely economic or for some sort of social justice-like common good. Big government is audacious and conceited. We need to roll back big government policies. We need to restore constitutional government. Pretty soon, it will touch you directly – hopefully before it is too late. a
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The Valley, June 2013
Mail Pouch Books
This book is a must for design principles, from the pitch of your roof to the house proportions . It explains in clear language what to look for when planning your house! It provides sample floor plans and illustrations for working with stock plans or with an architect and is useful for designing an entire house or adding additions.
by Carleen B. Grossman The month of June has celebrations for many different events; one of these events is the Father’s Day celebration! Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June and this year it takes place on June 16th. President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation making it the 3rd Sunday of June. But it was not until 1972 that President Richard Nixon signed the law, which finally made it a permanent celebration. For all the fathers in our lives, I have put together some special books. WHEN CHORES WERE DONE By Jerry Apps Copyright 2006
is an adult living away from the farm. What a tribute this book is to fathers around the world! It reads like a novel, yet all the stories are true taking place during the 1930’s through the 1950’s. In each story you will find the close knit family sharing fun times along with the difficult ones; this is a strong family unit held together by lots of love! You will read stories about enjoying down-home music, growing up with the family dog who touched the lives of the entire family, plowing the soil with horses, milking the cows by hand, cutting off heads of chickens and putting in long days of heavy duty work, yet still having time to be a loving family! I guarantee you will laugh, cry and be deeply touched by this non-fiction book about a united family guided by a
wonderful father! This is family life at its very best and these stories also show precisely how they deal with illness, disability and death. This book is a father/son endeavor as Jerry Apps master storyteller from Wisconsin tells the tales and his son, Steve, embellishes this keepsake book with amazing black and white photographs [the son is a staff photographer for the Wisconsin State Journal].
MR. PEABODY’S APPLES By Madonna Copyright 2003 In this picture book for the entire family to enjoy together, you will learn a lesson that all father’s want to convey to their children about the power of words and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others. You will follow a young boy and his teacher as the youngster peddles an untrue tale about the teacher.
HOME PLAN DOCTOR By Larry Garnett Copyright 2007
This is a wonderful collection of true stories about growing up on a Wisconsin farm. It is told from the son’s perspective from the time he is a young boy up until he
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COFFEE TIME: PERK UP PUZZLES & BRAIN TEASERS By Patrick Merrill Copyright 2007 Dad, to honor your special day, you deserve to have a cup of coffee and to sit down with this fun book! You will enjoy more than 40 crossword puzzles, word searches, graphic mazes, and Sudoku to solve. What better way to relax and celebrate? Puzzles, trivia, and coffee quips are all in this great book. a
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The Valley, June 2013
The Pen and Thread Custom Calligraphy and Weaving
Mary Anna Chenoweth Proprietor
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
717-248-6079 131 West Market Street Lewistown, Pennsylvania
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The Valley, June 2013
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Cave Echoes
to bring him into the Himalayan salt cave for a 45 minute session and help him get rid of any sinus, arthritis, skin problems, cystic fibrosis, allergies and so much more. Remember Himalayan salt is anti-inflammatory, anitfungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. If cutting grass and being outside is not a pleasure for Dad, bring him into the cave for some relief! a
by Marge Delozier-Noss and Nikki Santangelo
Amazing Benefits of Edible Himalayan Salt Should you use salt, or not? Are you confused about what the media tells you about salt? First you must pay attention to the type of salt you are using and the type of salt “they” are talking about. Salt historically was described as a ‘gift from the Gods.” The Celtic word for salt means holy or sacred. So what has happened to our salt today? Processing and additives! A little known fact is that the Japanese have the highest intake of salt per day, but
one of the highest life expectancies. Why do you need salt? Well, we need it to sustain life. HOWEVER, there is a HUGE difference from our “normal refined table salt” that most people are using today and Himalayan edible salt. Salt is needed to regulate and maintain our blood pressure, it is vital for our nervous system, chloride is essential for the growth of our brain and the development of neurological function. It is also used for our metabolism and digestion. The main source of chloride in our bodies is salt. It is also critical for our adrenal glands, which is responsible for over 50 of our body’s hormones. When you crave salt, perhaps it is poor adrenal function, not the need for chips! Our “purified crystallized table salt” in the grocery stores is “purified,” and chemically cleaned! It is about 97% sodium chloride and the rest is chemicals such as moisture absorbants. This assures that the salt will pour easily. Sea salt is another choice and is available, but because our oceans Amazing benefits can be realized by using Pink have become polluted by Himalayan rock salt instead of processed table salt. Course rock salt and grinders are available oil spills and now polluted by all the dumping as well as fine Pink Himalayan salt to replace your current white salt. Stop in to the Salt Cave that goes on, it is no lonand get some soon. ger pure and beneficial.
delicious ideas for cooking on a Also, if sea salt is “refined” that Himalayan Salt block! Not the then takes away the benefits. Himalayan salt is superior same old gift for Dad this year! to all other salts available. It is Another great idea would be taken from deep deposits in the Himalayas, over 250 million years old and the purest on earth. It is not polluted with toxins and other modern day pollutants. It is made up of 84 different trace elements that we need. If you still have questions, check out our web site: www. simplyhealthcalm.com and click on the You Himalayan Pink Salt cooking blocks can be used on your stove or on your gas grill. A special tube video from and unique gift for Dad will benefit anyone who eats food cooked on these blocks. They come in many different sizes, stop in and find one to fit your needs. a medical doctor, Dr. Mercola. WARNING, it will make your food taste so much better and you will want to ONLY use this type of salt. You will need very little as it really kicks up your flavors. At Simply Heath we have edible salt available in a fine ground, as well as in a salt grinder. For FATHER’S DAY (reminder) we are offering a block of cooking salt for dear old Dad on sale with the purchase of a lamp. We love to use our cooking salt block when cooking on our gas grill. Google cooking on a salt block and view the wonderful/
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The Valley, June 2013
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Savvy Cents & Sensibility
• •
by JoAnn Wills-Kline MBA
• •
Higher Education and the Underemployed By now, many new college grads have turned their tassels, threw their mortarboards in the air, and set out on a journey that started with a first step four years ago (or 6 or 8 or more if graduate or doctoral students). These same students have hopes, dreams, and goals to achieve a decent living and put their new found skills – years in the making – to work for themselves and a lucky organization. The definition of a college grad can be summed up as three words “a specialized professional.” A specialized professional, one who has gone beyond the “ordinary” to grow and refine one’s skill into a specialization, one who has something “special” to offer. The definition of “specialized” according to the MerriamWebster dictionary is “Requiring
or involving detailed and specific knowledge or training.” College grads have spent an enormous amount of time and money in detailed training. So why then, I must ask, do so many people disregard the enormity of what it takes to earn a degree? Why then, do so many employers hide behind the excuses of “budget cuts and the recession” as the one-size-fits-all answer for hiring college grads at severely underemployed wages? Why then, are these same sharp, tech savvy grads that were groomed, grown, and educated during one of the worst recessions in history expected to utilize their critical thinking skills for mere pennies on the dollar? Why then, are grads often started at “entry level”
jobs in order to “earn” experience? The experience was bought and paid for through dedication of coursework and tuition! Communities and organizations across this nation want to thrive again, yet so many refuse to invest in the critical thinkers and thought leaders of tomorrow. Why? I’ll tell you why because everybody loves a bargain, and as I’ve said before, few enjoy large scale change. So what’s the purpose of my long-winded rant this month in favor of recent grads? To offer food for thought as they make employment decisions that could affect the rest of their lives. Grads often enter the workforce with heavy student loan debt. According to a Forbes article by Halah Touryalai on January 29, 2013, the average grad carries student loan debt that exceeds $27,000 which is an increase of 58 percent from 2005. Many grads carry such debt in addition to what their parents may have borrowed to cover tuition and housing costs. Some grads carry debt in excess of $50,000 - $100,000 depending on degree program length; cost to attend the educational institution; required internships; and whether they were returning adults juggling childcare and “life” costs. Sadly, many college grads find that many employers offer embarrassingly low wages that barely meet the student loan payment. Unfortunately, there are significantly increasing numbers of highly educated people living in poverty simply because they are severely underemployed. Is there an easy
solution for grads and employers alike? No, but a few suggestions to keep in mind are as follows: Employers 1. You get what you pay for • Please do not expect grads to utilize their hard earned skills for sub-par wages • If you expect them to produce, pay them fairly – from the beginning • Seek other areas across the board to “cut back” • Stop cheaping out on “human capital” • Overall productivity and morale will be affected 2. Truly can’t pay them beyond mere pennies? • Do not ask or expect grads to go above and beyond the minimum basics • It boils down to mutual respect, transparency, and dignity Grads • Widen the perimeters of your job search within your area of study
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• • • • • • • • • •
Consider relocation Miles and miles away may produce more money Critically examine all options If you must take employment outside of your area of expertise, do not give your skills away for free or pennies on the dollar Perform the requirement of the job, but do not offer solutions and “aha’s” for peanuts Ultimately, you will not be respected for offering all for nothing in return If absolutely necessary, consider deferment or forbearance on student loans Make deeply conscientious efforts to maintain a good credit rating Make every effort to avoid starting your independent life with bad credit Make every effort to pay all debts on time Move back home if necessary to offset debt crisis It should be temporary and perhaps give you financial breathing room Remember that an investment in one’s self is always worthwhile! Do not give up, just keep moving forward one inch, or one employer at a time. a
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The Valley, June 2013
Grosze Thal Nachbaren
(Big Valley Neighbors) by Jeptha I. Yoder Ein Grusz in dem Namen unsers Groszen Gottes und Heilandes Jesu Christi. Der Vierzeht Mai hatten wir ziemlich harten Reifen. Nun aber haben wir warm sommer-wetter. Am ein und zwanzigst Aprill waren wir in der Gemein ans Johannes Y. Hostetlers. Von andere Theilen waren Sam I’s und Jüngstes, Christ T. (Sam N.), und Eli T. (Fräney N.), alle Yodern, Frieda und Lydia Hostetler (Jacob Z.). Nieder Milroy Gemein war ans Noah S. Hostetlers. Lang Leen West war ans Mose S. Yoders. Ich war an Jesse J. Hostetlers abends. Andere dort waren: Isaak R’s und Familie und Unkel Ruben D’s, alle Hostetlern; Emanuel J’s und Johannes I’s und Familie alle Yodern. Der Acht-und-zwanzigst war Kirchengasse Gemen ans Michael E. Yoders fürs erste mol. Unkel Christ M. Yoders gingen in West Lang Leen Gemein ans Emanuel I. Hostetlers. Ans Jesse J. Hostetlers fürs Mittag waren die (Jeff) Lydia R., Uria J’s und Familie. Jacob und Fräney (Emanuel J.) alle Yodern, Isaak R. Hostetlers und Familie.
Dort nachmittages waren Jonathan N. Hostetlers und Sam I. Yoders. Auch David H. Yoders Jr. und Familie von McClur welche waren auf besuch in dieser gegend. Der Fünft Mai war unser Gemein ans More R. Hostetlers. Von andere theilen waren (Jeff) Lydia R. Yoder, (Salomon) Mareily R. und Uria S’s und Familie, alle Hostetlern. Ost Lang Leen war ans Jacob Z. Hostetlers. Der Zwelft war Kirchengasse Gemein bei die (Emanuel B) Fräney N. Yoder. West Lang Leen war ans Johannes J. Hostetlers. Jonathan N. Hostetlers waren ein wenig hier nachmittages, Meine Eltern waren ans Rudy N. Hostelters fürs Mittag-essen und ans Eli Johannes Yoders fürs abendessen. Eli S. Hostelters und Familie waren ans Unkel Christs abends. Der Neunt (Himmelfahret) waren Unkel Christ M. Yoders hier abends. Der Neun zeht (Pfingst) waren wir in der Gemein ans Ruben D. Hostetlers. Von McClur waren Ben R. Hostetlers. Von ander Theil waren Sam N’s und
Joel M’s und zwei Kindern, alle Yodern. Ost Lang Leen war ans Emanuel J. Yoders. West Lang Leen ans Eli Y. Hostetlers. Am Pfingst-Montag, der Zwanzigst gingen wir in den Wald. Ich sahe eine Schildkröte. Wir gingen ans Mose C. Yoders abends. Ihr besuch fürs Mittag waren Yost I. Hostetlers von McClur. Ans Unkel Christs und Mose C’s nachmittages waren Johannes Y. Hostetlers und zwei Jüngste und Eli S. Zugen und Familie. Christian greetings on a hot (is it summer?) day! Will try and get a few lines together. Although work seems to beckon from all four sides! The only person I heard of getting his spring gobbler was Moses I. Hostetler. Wonder if he has a count of how many he got over the years? May 18, was the funeral of Christ, 17 day old son of Noah R. J. and Elizabeth B. Hostetler of 1379 Siglerville Pike, Milroy PA 17063. This little one was hospitalized with an enlarged heart. Funeral by Urie N. Yoder. Pallbearers (and those who helped) were; Seth C. (Lydia E.), Korie N. (Nancy L.) and Jacob S. (Noah M.), all Hostetlers and Ephraim S. Yoder (Hosea J.). Hauled by Christ N. Hostetler (Noah R.). Noahs have six living children ages 1 to 10. They buried a stillborn in 2010. The Grands are Christ M. Sr. and Barbara A. (Yoder) Zook; Rufus J. and Mary N. Hostelter. The family has our sympathy. New arrivals are a second son (third child) to (cousin) Moses C. and Emma L. Yoder, is named after his Grandfather Yost (and Elizabeth) Hostetler of McClure. Born May 13, he joins one sister and one brother. Other grands are Christ and Adelina Yoder, local. Great-grands are Moses I. and Elizabeth L. Hostetler, local. (DanY.) Lydia A. Hostetler and her mother (Noah A.) Elizabeth S. Yoder, both widows and of McClure. A son joining four sisters and one brother to Christ M. Jr. and Leah B. Zook. Grands are Christ M. Sr. and Barbara A. Zook; Rufus J. and Mary N. Hostetler. Seems there have been a lot of sales lately; including several private or “Freundschaft” auctions, one on May 4th at Samuel M. Hostelters: Also, one in McClure on May 10th where Michael J. Hostelters sold off her belongings. Lord Willing cousin Jeptha T. Yoder is having a public Auction in McClure on May 29. Also on
this date the Barbara Y. (and late Eli J.) Yoder is planning a family sale. Saturday July 13th marks the date for an auction at Eli Y. Hostetlers (Green Lane Store) 98 Dusty Lane Reedsville, PA 17084. They are accepting donations and consignments to benefit the hospital expenses of Jesse J. Hostetler (open heart surgery to replace bicuspid aortic valve) and toddler Ruthie Speicher (cancer survivor). Jesse continues to recover and was in church for the first time (since illness and surgery), this last Sunday. Their address (new) is 125 Old Stage Road, Milroy. Schoolhouse doors closed without needing to attend a full week in May this year. Emma Z. Hostetler, wife of Moses E., of 8447 East Back Mountain Road, Reedsville, had an overnight hospital stay around the last day of April. Barbara Z. (Speicher) Yoder, wife of John D. had surgery on her appendix, coming home on Ascension Day. Address is 20 Bear Bottom Lane, Reedsville. On Tuesday May 7th, Mother among other (circle) cousins spent the day in McClure at Christ R. Zooks. On Whit Sunday David S. Hostetlers of McClure visited at her mother, the (Solomon) Mary R. Hostletler. Since Mary was
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not home right away, they went to Christian C. “C. C.” Zook, with help of Christ, got out onto a chair. Lately the family has been taking turns staying with him at night. His address is 487 Siglerville Pike, Milroy. I have Pearl guinea eggs ($4.00 a doz.) and cochin banty eggs ($1.00 a doz.) for sale. They are unwashed and suitable for hatching. If interested stop by, or drop me a line at: 150 Red Lane, Milroy. Jesse J. Hostetlers are having a quilting on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the first week in June, Lord Willing, with Tuesday being reserved for Rachel’s side of the family. Of the Uncle Jesse S. Hostetler family were to McClure yesterday (May 22) with a driver, at their son and brother Iddos who are having church on Sunday, Lord Willing. God’s Blessings Wished to All! Jeptha I. Yoder a
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The Valley, June 2013
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The Valley, June 2013 out of the flames! It was my goal to use some of the rarest and hottest peppers on the planet to make products for all to enjoy. From the everyday person who enjoys a little “zing” on their morning eggs up to the seasoned hardcore chilehead, our products range from mild, everyday table sauce up to our paletteigniting, superhot sauces! We are currently growing some of the world’s most exotic peppers including the Moruga Dan Lowenstein, founder of Red Hawk Premium Peppers with some of the ingredients for Scorpion (current his incredible sauces. world record holder gifts. After a lot of encouragement turn my addiction into a business. for the world’s hottest pepper) and So in the autumn of 2011, Red by friends, family and a very supwill always have new and exciting Hawk Premium Peppers was born portive wife, I finally decided to creations for all to enjoy.
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Dutch Pantry Gift’s Got Talent Red Hawk Premium Peppers: Our fiery story by Dan Lowenstein
I have been a chile head for as long as I can remember. I have been growing my own hot peppers for over a decade. It has always been my passion to grow some of the rarest and hottest peppers from around the world. After opening Red Hawk Premium Peppers in September 2011, I am now able to share my love of fiery foods with everyone! My passion for fiery foods began with my Grandmother. She was known to carry her own shaker of red pepper flakes with her in her purse and we often shared our love of spicy goodies together. Several years ago, I was given jar of Jalapeño jam by my Aunt Polly who always made it a point to make my batch extra hot. It wasn’t until I started creating my own jams and hot sauces that my passion for heat became more of an addiction. Back then, I was making hot sauces, jams, relish and other spicy creations for personal use and for giving away as Christmas
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Since our founding, we have already won awards including at the Zestfest Fiery Foods Show in Dallas, Texas. We have been vendors at such events as the Centre County Grange Fair, Bower’s Chile Festival, the Lewistown Ice Festival and the Tuesday Farmer’s Market in downtown State College. From passion to addiction, and finally to business, Red Hawk Premium Peppers continues to share the love of fiery food with the world! For more information, Check out our selection at Dutch Pantry Gifts, 15 Commerce Drive in Milroy next to Subway, or visit us at www.redhawkpeppers.com or find us on Facebook. a
The Valley, June 2013
30 The Canola Con Job from page 7 newspapers and magazines -- was successful. By the late 1990s, Canola use had soared, and not just in the US.” Okay, so Canola oil is cheap, easy to produce, and it mirrors olive oil in design. What’s not to like? Mustard Gas, Arsenic and Mad Cow, Oh My! While I don’t think Canola oil is the healthiest oil for human consumption, I believe some of the accusations against it are ludicrous and need to be put to rest. Since we are searching for “just the facts,’ it seems only fair to bring up what appears to be crazy urban legends that have been written against Canola oil. Most of the false information against Canola oil came from an article called “Blindness, Mad Cow Disease and Canola Oil,” by John Thomas, which appeared in Perceptions magazine, March/ April 1996. We know that the food industry actually profits from such wild claims, because such accusations are not backed by scientific research and thus easily dismissed. More than likely, you have heard some of these wild claims such as: • Rapeseed oil produces mustard gas - Although rape is a member of the brassica or mustard family, it is not the source of mustard gas used in chemical warfare. • Rapeseed oil produces arsenic - The rapeseed plant contains sulfur (not arsenic); which is what gives mustard and cruciferous vegetables their pungent flavor. • Animals eating Rapeseed oil can get Mad Cow Disease Canola oil was not the cause of the Mad Cow epidemic in Britain, although feeding of Canola oil may make cattle more susceptible to certain diseases. • Rapeseed oil is only good for industrial uses - Rapeseed oil has industrial uses just like other oils and fats. That, in and of itself, does not make it a poison. • Rapeseed oil causes a host of unexplained health symptoms - Internet articles describe a variety of symptoms -- tremors, shaking, palsy, lack of coordination, slurred speech, memory problems, blurred vision, problems with urination, numbness and tingling in the extremities, and heart arrhythmias — that cleared up on discontinuance of
Canola. None of this has been documented in the medical journals. For more details about these unfounded claims, please go to http://health.dir.groups.yahoo. com/group/cancercure/message/20380. Still Guilty Okay, so Canola oil has been cleared of some fairly damaging charges, yet I believe we do have reason to be cautious about ingesting the food industry’s favorite oil. Here is why: • First and foremost, a large percentage of Canola oil is genetically modified. That means it is super polluted with pesticides. • Thus far, most research studies conducted on Canola oil have been done on animals. No long-term studies on humans have been conducted. These animal studies all indicate that Canola oil is definitely not healthy for the cardiovascular system. Like its predecessor rapeseed oil, Canola oil is also associated with fibrotic lesions of the heart. It has also been shown to causes vitamin E deficiency, undesirable changes in the blood platelets and shortened life-span in stroke-prone rats when it was the only oil in the animals’ diet. • Studies have shown that Canola oil retards growth, which is why until Jan. 2013 Canola oil was not allowed in infant formula, but NOW all of a sudden it is deemed safe. This just makes me shudder! Read more here: http://claimingliberty.com/2013/01/29/ infant-formula-makers-getgreen-light-for-canola-oil/ • Canola oil suffers from modern day processing woes. As I previously mentioned, Rapeseed oil has been used worldwide since ancient times because it is easily extracted from the seed. Interestingly, in days gone by, seeds were first cooked before the oil was extracted. In China and India, rapeseed oil was provided by thousands of peddlers operating small stone presses that press out the oil at low temperatures. What the merchant then sells was fresh. Not so today. Currently, the oil is removed by a combination of high temperature mechanical pressing and solvent extraction. Traces of the solvent (usually hexane) remain in the oil, even after considerable refining. Like
all modern vegetable oils, Canola oil goes through the process of caustic refining, bleaching and degumming -- all of which involve high temperatures or chemicals of questionable safety. And because Canola oil is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which easily become rancid and foul-smelling when subjected to oxygen and high temperatures, it must be deodorized. The standard deodorization process removes a large portion of the Omega-3 fatty acids by turning them into trans-fatty acids. Although the Canadian government lists the trans content of Canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of Florida at Gainesville, found trans levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial liquid oil. The consumer has no clue about the presence of trans fatty acids in Canola oil because they are not listed on the label. If that was not bad enough, a large portion of Canola oil used in processed food has been hardened through the hydrogenation process, which introduces levels of trans fatty acids into the final product as high as 40 percent. In fact, Canola oil hydrogenates beautifully, better than corn oil or soybean oil, because modern hydrogenation methods hydrogenate Omega-3 fatty acids preferentially and Canola oil is very high in Omega-3s. Higher levels of trans mean longer shelf life for processed foods, a crisper texture in cookies and crackers -- and more dangers of chronic disease for the consumer. Get Smart - Get the Facts Don’t be Conned into Using Canola Oil For the most part, we have already learned to just say no to margarine and polyunsaturated oils like corn oil. Canola oil’s rejection time has come too. Our use of Canola oil represents one more victory for the food industry whose goal is to replace all traditional foods with faux foods made from just a few cheap, highly processed ingredients. Realistically, we can not eliminate its use entirely because Canola oil is used almost exclusively in processed foods and it is the oil of choice for most restaurants . A good place to start is by becoming more aware. Walk up and down any grocery store, or health food store for that matter, and it is difficult to find
products that do not contain Canola oil. Sometimes you have to read the fine print, but it is there. The Food and Drug Administration is allowing Canola manufactures to make medical claims. That is about as nuts as the TV commercials from the late 1940’s that stated the now famous tagline, “more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” Have we not learned anything in the past 65 years! I continue to encourage you to avoid many of the offspring of the food industry. Canola oil is NOT a traditional fat. Our great grandmother’s would not recognize it. Stick with olive oil, butter, and coconut oil to bring you fat soluble vitamins and naturally occurring antioxidants. These lovely traditional fats and oils offer us nourishment beyond calories. Make Sgt. Friday proud, arm yourselves with the facts; guard your health by rejecting Canola oil and all GMO foods. For more information: Look for foods with the NonGMO label. More info here: nongmoproject.org Check out the Non-GMO Shopping Guide here: nongmoshoppingguide.com Read ‘Genetic Control of Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Rapeseed’ - The Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society (1964). This report is based upon verifiable scientific facts that are long standing, and not mere rumors. Jeffry Smith - Mr. Smith is a world authority on the dangers of genetically modified organisms. He is the founder of the institute for responsible technology and author of the book. “Seed of Deception.” Resources: http://healthwyze.org/index.php/ component/content/article/123the-bomb-shell-truth-about-canola-oil-revealed-at-last.html MG Enig, Trans Fatty Acids in the Food Supply: A Comprehensive Report Covering 60 Years of Research, 2nd Edition, Enig Associates, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, 1995. S O’Keefe and others. Levels of Trans Geometrical Isomers of Essential Fatty Acids in Some Unhydrogenated US Vegetable Oils. Journal of Food Lipids 1994;1:165-176. Sue is a holistic nutrition consultant and holistic health educator. Her office is located at 54 Chestnut Street in Lewistown. To learn more about her services go to www.mynourishingjourney.com. She can be reached by email at sue@mynourishingjourney.com or give her a call at 242-3132. a
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Stopping Tyranny as a Juror from page 17
Rights along with other informative writings and quotations from our Founding Fathers, all in one convenient location! Consider the following from the booklet section entitled; LAW OF THE LAND: The general misconception is that any statute passed by legislators bearing the appearance of law constitutes the law of the land. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and any statute, to be valid, must be in agreement. It is impossible for a law, which violates the Constitution to be valid. This is succinctly stated as follows: “All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.” Marbury vs. Madison, “An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is… as inoperative as though it had never been passed.” Norton vs. Shelby County. This as a great little booklet to use for homeschooling, so again, let me encourage you to get a copy for your own reference and study. In other matters, we’d like to welcome: Taste of the Valley Coffee Shop & Café, to Big Valley! Proprietress Denise Yoder serves up breakfast and lunch along with a special blend of coffee that is most delightful. Right next door to our office, be sure to make time to visit and enjoy some of the wonderful creations that come forth from Taste of the Valley when you visit us here at The Stewardship Group! Denise will be supplying dessert for our client appreciation event on Friday June 14th. If you’re a client or considering becoming one, stop out to meet us the afternoon of the 14th from 2 until 6 PM. Enjoy a little something to eat and get an idea of the services we can provide on your behalf. I appreciate the time you took to read this article and hope you have a wonderful summer! Mark Ostrowski is Founder and President of The Stewardship Group at 4417 East Main Street in Belleville. He earned his Master of Science in Financial Services degree from the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA in 2007. His e-mail address is: MOSTROWSKI@THESTEWARDSHIPGROUP.ORG Resources cited in this article include: TheGlobalDispatch.com, TheBlaze.com, WRAL.com, Citizens Rule Book, Whitten Printers, Phoenix, AZ with Editorial Work by Webster Adams, Paperhouse Publications a
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Actions vs Words by Sarah Hurlburt “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle.” (taken from DC Talk’s song “what if I stumble”) If you are turned off by religion you may find it shocking that Jesus agrees with you. There is something that people need to understand—religion is manmade salvation is God made. Religion teaches people that in their humanity they can work their way to God; the Bible teaches that God in His great mercy and love draws us to himself and that our humanity is the very thing that gets in the way of us coming to God! Jesus was very annoyed by pompous religious leaders who thought they had it all figured out. He spoke very openly with them about it too. Jesus called the Scribes and Pharisees (the
religious leaders of that time) “fools, hypocrites, blind guides, whited sepulchers, murderers, a generation of snakes.” OUCH! Not exactly what they wanted to hear and exactly why they wanted him dead. When Jesus said these words he was not talking to pagans, or atheists, he was talking to “religious” leaders who were very self righteous and made sure everyone around them knew how “holy” they were and they also thought that they had something to offer to God. I wonder how many of us think that we have something worthy to offer to God, because if we do think we possess something that will make us worthy of God, we are just like the Pharisees and should be called by the same names. If we are arrogant enough to think that we have the right to make up “religion” based on what people “think” the Bible means,
we are in great danger. We are not only saying that God is wrong, we are saying that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was totally unnecessary because we would be saying humans possessed the power to save themselves! Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” There is no question then that Jesus is the savior and became our savior because we needed one. We don’t need religion, we need Jesus. If you are a believer and a Christ follower, you must be careful how you present yourselves to others. Our job is to be the Love of God to a hurting and broken world not to hit people over the head with Bibles “evangelizing them.” The verse from Philippians 2:9 makes it clear that at some point EVERY knee will bow—not some, but every knee, and it will not be humans that make that happen. Humans have no ability to change other humans on a spiritual level. Let’s allow God to be the judge, Jesus
to be the savior, and ourselves to just be vessels of that love. Is it wrong then for a believer to
share what scripture teaches when someone has a genuine interest in God? Absolutely not! Is it wrong to stand against issues of immorality when society is going directly against what the Bible says is right? Absolutely not! Sharing truth from the Bible is something that we should never be afraid to do as long as we are being guided by God’s spirit in doing it. The Bible is the ultimate authority for our lives and is sharper then a two-edged sword in discerning and teaching truth. Living a life that has been transformed by the spirit of God is all the evangelizing one really needs to do. I can talk till I am blue in the face about God and His love, and salvation through Jesus, but unless someone sees something drastic in my life
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The Valley, June 2013
Back Talk by Dr. Joseph Kauffman
Apocalypse Soon I couldn’t make the name of this article Apocalypse “Now”, because of the movie and because it is impending. I remember reading a certain magazine column in my younger days that was titled, “Signs That The Apocalypse Is Upon Us” and thought of naming this piece something similar. Many of my columns here pertain to giving you the other side of the vaccination debate since we are bombarded with propaganda and pushed toward vaccinations. My goal is not to get you to not vaccinate your child/children. It is to get you to think about it and educate yourself and do your own research, so that you can make the best decision concerning someone who you love the most. Blind trust can lead to big problems. If you do the research yourself and come to the conclusion that vaccinating your child is the best choice, so be it. But, at least you researched it and decided for yourself. That’s my goal. Sometimes, I have a
hard time finding articles that are published by reputable news agencies, rather than blogs or opinionbased sites. This could definitely be a sign of the apocalypse. When did news become political? Why don’t all news agencies publish the news whether it pushes their agenda or not? For many of the topics that I try to show the other side to, the sources are not from big, mainstream sites. I believe it comes down to money. No agency has more money than Big Pharma., and, they do not like to see news about why their best products are garbage and objectives they know are simply not right and should not be legal. This brings me to this month’s article. Whether you agree with my views or not is irrelevant, but we should all be in agreement that it is up to the parents to decide what is best for their child. And, sadly, times are coming when parental rights are not holding up in court or are being completely ignored by
agencies and doctors who should butt out. I believe I mentioned in an earlier column about the parents in Oregon who lost the battle with the state concerning their children receiving vaccinations. Here is a short excerpt: “Marion County parents who lost custody of their eight young children last year also lost their fight Wednesday to prevent the state from immunizing the children. The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the parents -identified only as S.M. and R.M. in the opinion -- didn’t have the right to stop child welfare workers from having the children, ages 1 to 8, vaccinated against an array of infectious diseases. The parents said vaccinations are against their religious beliefs, which is an exemption to school vaccination requirements under Oregon law. But the children’s attorney and the Oregon Department of Human Services had sought and received a court order in April 2012 requiring that the children
get their shots. They argued that because the state had custody of the children, it also had the power to make medical decisions for them. The appeals court affirmed a Marion County circuit judge’s ruling.” http://www.oregonlive.com/ health/index.ssf/2013/04/marion_ county_parents_lose_lat.html So, I am not sure why the children were taken from the parents, but apparently in Oregon if that happens, the state can decide what it wants to do with the children whether the parents like it or not. And, in some occasions, you may encounter a tough time even if you simply disagree with what a doctor or hospital is doing with your child, even if they appear to be making mistakes. Check out what happened in April to this Sacramento couple: “Alex and Anna Nikolayev, parents of five-month old Sammy, entered Sutter Memorial Hospital for assessment of their son’s flu-like symptoms. Sutter doctors recommended heart surgery for the heart murmur Sammy has had since he was born. The Nikolayevs left the hospital without a formal discharge, and went to a different hospital, Kaiser, for a second opinion. Both a doctor and a police officer cleared that Sammy was not in any danger by
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remaining in his parents’ care, and the family went home. But the following day, armed police arrived at the family’s private home and demanded, at gun point, that the baby be handed over, without a warrant. The officers specifically informed the Nikolayevs that they would not be told what location the baby would be relocated to. The home video clearly shows that police, who arrived at the home in numbers, showing their overwhelming force, used the stern phrase, ‘I’m going to grab your baby, don’t resist.’ After a week without custody of their child, Alex and Anna Nikolayev were finally reunited and ‘given’ back their custody and natural rights to make Sammy’s medical decisions. In order to receive this ‘gift’ from the state, the Nikolayev’s say they were required to submit to continued Child Protective Services (CPS) monitoring, which they did in order to get their son back. ‘They’ve committed no crime, why are [the parents] not just free to determine what is in the best interest of their child?’ Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, RTwin Peaks, asked in an interview. Sutter Memorial Hospital, the hospital from which the
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•
Joanne Wills-Kline Contentment Quest
Kintsukuroi
Kintsukuroi is the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. Last month I wrote about my brush with cancer in my column “Savvy Cents & Sensibility.” The article focused on ways to navigate health hardships. This article will stimulate rationale regarding the level of “permission” we give ourselves to promote our own well-being. It is meant to pose thought-provoking moments for us to look deep inside ourselves to see that we are all works of Kintsukuroi art. Over the next few months or so, I am focusing on my own well-being. I want to know everything – the ins and outs – of what’s going on with me so that I can thrive at my highest level. I am learning that it is hard for me to unapologetically concentrate on my well-being. Sure, I’ve taken many conscientious steps to take
good care of myself, but learning the art of extreme self-care is difficult. I believe whole-heartedly in being of service to others but sometimes my good nature gets perceived as weakness resulting in boundary pushing. At times, my willingness to be of service has resulted in me feeling bound and drained. Such feelings lead to stress or dis-ease and eventually disease if left unchecked. Interestingly, I have a keen eye for recognizing when others are being taken advantage of or having boundary issues, and I have a strong conviction to motivate or empower people. It’s easy for me to encourage others, yet it is hard for me to do this for myself. I find it fascinating that I can struggle with giving myself permission to exercise extreme self-care. I know many people struggle with giving themselves permission to invest in themselves. Why is it so hard to WANT to invest in ourselves? I believe
there are a number of answers to the question: • We have been conditioned to believe that self-care is selfish • It can be culturally and socially unacceptable • We often wear “busyness” as a badge • We have willfully accepted or tolerated high-stress situations as routine
Kintsukuroi art
by Patricia Lawson In the May article we also discussed the elaborate interior of the theatre. It’s so unbelievable to see what has transpired since the theatre closed. However, the basic structure is sound, so we are confident that our goal to rebuild will be attained.
so, then join me on the self-care journey. The reason I am doing this now is because I have come to believe that the prevention of dis-ease is far more important than treating dis-ease once you get there. I wish to step into and step up prevention rather than stumble upon curing disease once it arrives. Many diseases in the world are preventable, and I believe that disease often happens in the body over time – a slow progression. I am being proactive with my health, and giving myself permission to take good care of “me.” I am also trying to LOVE myself enough to be ok with taking the time and resources to do this important work. I know there will be stumbles. I know it may cause unrest with others, and it may even challenge some relationships. I am willing to take that chance, because if I don’t – the chances and time might run out. I know there will be revelation. I know there will be truth. I know that right now there is time, and I am excited for this journey. I leave you with a few quotes for contemplation, a few ideas to get your own self-care journey started, and a few books on self-care to pave your own path.
Continued on page 42
Progress At The Embassy Hope you had a great time at The Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival! I know we did, and it was so invigorating to see downtown Lewistown bustling with so much energy. Mark your calendars! July brings us the annual “Let Freedom Ring” concert in front of The Embassy Theatre on South Main Street in downtown Lewistown. The event is Friday, July 5 and the rain date is Saturday, July 6. Come out and enjoy the Lewistown Community Band and the Let Freedom Ring Chorus! While you were downtown, did you take notice to the activity at The Embassy Theatre? Yes, the weather has finally cooperated, and Phase One has begun! To refresh your memory, this will include installing a new roof, repairing masonry walls around the exterior, and installing exit doors. How exciting!
The more poisonous the situation, the more applause we crave • We have been conditioned to accept disrespect as a trade off to “keep the peace” • Professionally – high levels of low morale and low productivity have become commonplace • Other people’s prolonged irresponsibility has become our responsibility • Overlooking or enabling people’s irresponsibility will affect our own lives Do you recognize any of the listed reasons in your life? If so are you ready to give yourself permission to unabashedly practice the art of extreme self-care? If
ticket. When sound movies came in, Harold, the owner, equipped his theatre with the finest New York sound systems. As silent movies gave way to “talkies,” there too was the Embassy, showing the finest fare available. The thirties saw the introduction and maturing of true sound pictures, color films (particularly Technicolor) and big budget epics. On August 15, 1936, “Becky Sharp,” the first all-color movie, was shown in Lewistown at The Current view of interior, much work is yet to be done. Embassy. “Becky Sharp” was the first feature film to use the three-strip Technicolor OK, it’s time for your history process, which created a separate lesson. Last month I mentioned film register for each of the three that “talkies” were now the hot
primary colors. This proved to be crucial in the development of color motion pictures and was a landmark in film history. It was also the first showing of an all color feature in the county! For you movie buffs, the filming actually began in 1934 with Lowell Sherman in the director’s chair. Then, “Becky Sharp” was forced to shut down production when Sherman died. He was replaced by Rouben Mamoulien, whose unerring eye for cinematic splendor exploited the new color process to the utmost, especially during the opening Brussels Ball sequence. And, as a final note, Miriam Hopkins was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Remember, this was a movie theatre with a small stage, which was only about 10 feet deep, 20 feet high, and 28 feet wide at the proscenium arch (the part of the theatre that frames the stage and is in front of the curtain). To the front of the stage was the orchestra pit, railed with walnut. The ceiling of the auditorium was so designed as to allow even a whisper from the stage to be heard in every seat! Total seating capacity was 682,
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including 446 on the main level, and 236 on the balcony, including 70 loge seats. The mezzanine was located under the balcony. Here, tapestries adorned the walls and two large niches (wall recesses) housed plush sofas. Bridge parties were held here during the weekdays, complete with a catered lunch. Can you imagine? We’re not talking about popcorn and slushies for these patrons! Next month, we’ll talk about the state of the art Kimball Organ, and more, so take care until then. Happy Father’s Day From The Friends Of The Embassy Theatre! www.embassytheatre.org www.facebook.com/embassyltwn A Memory with a Future, a Future Full of Memories! a
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Life in the East End by Rebecca Harrop It’s a busy, busy time in the East End right now. All the corn is planted except for some that will go in after the wet spots dry out a little more. We are chopping first cutting alfalfa to go in the silo. We are planting soybeans and Dad’s keeping the sprayer going, plus all the other regular jobs that need done every day. I have had extra work to do because Dad and Ben are doing field work. I was so busy I almost forgot my article. I am a member of Farm Bureau and had the opportunity to go to Penn State and vote for the Trustee positions. That was an awesome experience! I really want to Thank the Farm Bureau Board for giving me that opportunity. I would also like to take a minute to encourage the agriculture community who are not already members to consider joining this year during our membership drive. Farm Bureau has a lot of benefits that come with membership. Farm Bureau also works to promote the agriculture industry and does a lot of community service. The 3rd grade Ag Tour is just one of the more visible programs we provide every year. There is a LOT of planning and preparation that goes into the Tour. Our farm hosted the Tour a couple years ago and I can tell you that Farm Bureau is top-notch for making every effort to make the least amount of inconvenience to the hosting farms. I have helped with the Ag Tour since I was much younger as a member of the Dairy Princess program, but
I think kids are healthier and more active all around when they spend lots of time outside.
you don’t begin to realize what all is involved until you work from Farm Bureau’s end. All I can say is WOW! Another program Farm Bureau sponsors is a book donation program. Every year Farm Bureau selects a book to donate to local schools and libraries. The books have an agriculture theme and are designed to educate about some form of agriculture. Last year I had the opportunity to go into the elementary schools and read the book to the grades that the book was geared to. This year’s book is called “The Guardian Team.” It was written by Cat Urbigkit. It talks about a sheep ranch and the relationship between the sheep, sheep dog, and a burro. The sheepdog and the burro work as a team to protect the sheep. Shepherds have used dogs to protect livestock for thousands of years. But burros also have a natural instinct to protect, which makes them perfect guardian animals as well. Rena and Roo, a super dog-and-burro guardian team work on this sheep ranch in Wyoming. The animals have a close connection with the sheep they protect, but it takes time and effort for Rena and Roo to grow to trust one another. I am in the process of visiting the second grade classes to read this book. I really enjoy this chance to get back in the schools. I always like visiting the schools and talking to the kids about agriculture. Promoting the Ag Industry is something I feel very strongly about. I admit, I don’t know as much about this branch of agriculture but, I’m learning. I hope this will give the second graders a new look at Ag and realize that just because most of what we see in this area is the dairy branch of Ag, that there are many other areas as well. Maybe it will inspire some young person
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to pursue that field. Agriculture is a wide and varied field and has many opportunities for all different interests. Since I have been occupied with all of this, I haven’t been fishing as much as I had hoped but I will be back as soon as I can. I hope I will see some of you all out there as well. If you have
a chance, take some young kids out with you. Some of my best times were going fishing with my brothers when Rachel and I were little. It is a good chance to get kids outside and gives them the opportunity to enjoy being outside instead of tapping on a cell phone or some game thing. Being outside and seeing
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nature and just observing what is out there is great. It sure isn’t the same as watching it on the TV. I think kids are healthier and more active all around when they spend lots of time outside. Well I guess that’s it from the East End for this month. a
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Hey folks. Hope all is well with you down in PA. Up here in Maine, we are just now getting plants in the ground, and seeding like crazy. We had a frost early last week, hopefully the last, but you never know up here. I keep a huge supply of blankets on hand that I get cheap or for free. Have you seen the pipe benders they sell yet? We bought ours at Johnny’s Select Seeds, up heah. They are for making hoops of various sizes. We have the 4’ size. You use EMT pipe, (conduit) and its very easy to use. I can bend two a minute, but can only afford two a week. With the 4’ hoops, you need 10’ wide poly, which I save and use for years. I just hose it off, dry, and roll it up carefully and put it back in its box. Its only
needed for 3-4 weeks at both ends of our very short season, gaining us precious time. Holes can be cut or burnt every so often to let out heat, and let in the bees. I just take ours down when things start to blossum. I figure, if it’s THAT cold out, the only bees out and about will be the ones wearing sweaters. We also have smaller hoops made from very stout wire. Ours is 1/4” diameter and came on a roll. The poly for these hoops is really neat. It has perforated holes already, for the same reasons mentioned above. I always put out a few things WAY too early. It’s a gamble, but with hoops and blankets every night, I usually get a jump on tomatoes, or whatever you’d like. Every early plant gets its own
milk jug, painted black and filled with water. These let out heat all night long that the sun has been kind enough to heat up for us during the day. We have 28 gardens, scattered over maybe 4 acres, put in wherever they fit or are wanted. Our biggest are 4’ wide by over 90’ long. We have 7 of those. This year, we are planting all 7 of them to sell to a meat market that offers tender, very fresh veggies daily, all summer and into the fall. I will have spinach for them tomorrow, and hopefully chard by this weekend. With companion planting, crop rotation, and mulches, we keep the insect damage to a minimum. A few bug bites in my lettuce doesn’t bother me one bit. The alternatives most folks use
I call Chemical Warfare. If it kills something, do you REALLY think its safe to ingest? Not this ol’ boy. Until next time, keep your eyes open and your ammo dry. Home Made hoops pre-positioned in our beds with early plantings. Using hoops and plastic gives us 4 full weeks on either side of the growing season. a
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Caving Mifflin County with Todd Karschner Hello again Valley readers! Sorry there wasn’t an article last month. Things have been kinda hectic around here. In early May, a caver friend Wes Stahlman and I had an opportunity to attend the Spring MAR Field meet at Woodward Cave hosted by Commander Cody Caving Club and the Philadelphia Grotto. MAR is the abbreviation for Mid Appalachian Region. It’s a weekend-long camping and caving trip for all the grottos in the region. We are members of Nittany Grotto Inc. and decided to go. This was our first field meet, so we didn’t quite know what to expect. Wes drove, so we packed everything we could stuff into his Jeep Wrangler and we were off. An hour or so later we pulled in, registered, and set up camp. Thats when we realized we forgot the food! Well good thing there was an OIP just a few miles away. The first evening was spent talking with friends and making new ones, while music and the smell of campfires were in the air. After dark, the movie Decent was shown under the pavilion. At 10 pm, cave sign-ups began. Our choices were Alexander Caverns, Big Ridge Cave, Chime and Miller (2 caves), Hennigh and Coonscat (2 caves), Kooken Cave, McAlisterville Cave, Penns Cave, Seawra Cave, Stitzer Cave, Tytoona Cave and Woodward Cave. We chose Hennigh and Coonscat then went back to our site to look over the maps before calling it a night. By the way, it was in the 30’s! Brrrr! The next morning, coffee and doughnuts were at the pavilion be-
fore the groups headed out to get their subterranean fix. Ours started a bit later than the other ones so there are two passages. One right, we hiked around the hills beside one left. The one on the right goes the campground that contained about 20 feet, turns left and gets Woodward Cave looking for a few tight. That’s as far as I went, but small openings that were said to Wes went through for the last 80’ be there and for a birds-eye view of low passage. of the whole campground. Before While he was doing that secwe knew it, our group was ready tion, I went back to the ballroom to go. and took the left passage. This one Not very far down the road, we zig-zags for 30 feet, turns right arrived at the Amish farm that sat and parallels the entrance passage atop Hennigh Cave. It was about for 410 feet before the leads get a half mile walk from the destoo narrow to pass. The first part ignated parking area to the cave of this passage is walking/climbentrances. ing through and the deeper section One entrance is in the field at is mostly crawling. The one thing the base of a tree that is surroundI noticed was the passage was ed by many strands of barbed square or rectangle looking with a wire. And for good reason too. few formations. Personally, I liked This entrance is a small, steepthe rimstone pools in this section. sided sinkhole with a two foot One was in a crevice and was a hole in the bottom and an almost twenty foot drop to a mound of clay on the cave floor. The entrance we used was a hole in the field about forty feet away that looked like a groundhog Wes Stahlman and yours truly in the square corridor in hole. Getting Hennigh Cave in was easy, lay on your back and slide in foot deep. feet first through a small openAfter a few hours, our group ing down a 30’ slope to the first had finished exploring. We all room. Here in the ceiling, you posed for a group picture in the can see the other entrance. Kinda ballroom on our way out. Once looks like a skylight. Past this everyone was out and changed, room through a roughly 70’ long we hiked back down to the parkpassage of ing area to go to Coonscat Cave walking and just down the road. Wes and I crawling were hungry so decided to skip over boulders Coonscat and hit OIP. to the ball After we returned to camp, room which we cleaned up our caving gear is triangular and talked with others about their shaped with a trips. Later that evening we were 20’ high ceiltreated to pulled pork barbeque ing and about dinner catered by Clem’s BBQ. 30’ or so Delicious! After supper, there was across, with a a drawing for door prizes, a preslarge boulder entation by Paul Winters, (MAR sitting in one chairman) on his cave exploring corner. in the Burnsville Virginia area From the and a campfire to finish off the The cave entrance was located in the middle of a field ballroom, night. We returned to our site and
kicked back with other cavers to exchange info on more caves to explore in the future, then called it a night. In the morning, sausage and pancakes were served. After that, we broke camp and packed everything back into the Jeep. When we tried to start it, nothing happened. To make a long story short, the starter went, and we had to enlist the help of some fellow cavers to give us a push to bump start it. THANKS GUYS! As of writing this, I have not heard of any Alexander Cave tours yet. It’s still early, so stay tuned. We will be attending a Nittany Grotto Inc. meeting at the Rupert Cave Preserve in June. It will be another weekend camping and caving, so be
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sure to check out next month’s article for some good pix! I want to thank everyone from Spring MAR for a great time. We will be coming back next time. And to Wes........GOBBLE! GOBBLE! Until next time, CAVE SAFE! Todd K a
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It's the Ragtime Festival's 5th Anniversary!
Ed’s Railroading News by Ed Forsythe
Hi all, Checkout the Ragtime Festival coming up on June 21st, 22nd and 23rd, in the twin towns of Orbisonia/Rockhill Furnace. This is just 45 minutes from Lewistown on Rt. 522 South. Many great concerts and gatherings happening all weekend plus evening trolley rides at the historic Rockhill Trolley Museum just across the street from the East
Broad Top Railroad. Also available are trolley rides leaving from 11:15 to 4:15 for a 3 mile trip back into history about antique trolleys dating back to the year 1895. Remember, each ticket is good for riding all day. Hope to see you all there sometime. Check out the information in the following advertisement and Happy Railroading, Ed a
Adam Swanson
Frederick Hodges
Ann Gibson
Bryan Wright
Central Pennsylvania Ragtime Festival June 21-23, 2013 :: Orbisonia/Rockhill Furnace, Pa.
THREE CONCERTS! PIANO! VOCALS! AND MORE! Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 PLUS A GALA ANNIVERSARY DINNER! with Ragtime, Dancing, and Evening Trolley Rides with Music Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Ragtime After Hours Meet our performers Friday evening Mel Kauffman Workshop Saturday morning, with Andrew Green Tickets: $25 each for concerts | $50 for the gala | $115 for a festival pass For reservations: David Brightbill | Box 272, Orbisonia, Pa. 17243 | (814) 447-3984
PACleanWays Of Mifflin County
Check rockhillragtime.com for info and new hotel discounts!
Announces Summer River Clean-up New performer! Russell Wilson of the U.S. Marine Band Ride the streetcars of the Rockhill Trolley Museum!
The spring cleanup season is over for this year. The weather was not good for us this year. It was either raining or snowing, and for safety reasons we had to keep canceling until we had a sunny day. We did manage to get three road cleanups with two smaller illegal dumps cleaned of 88 bags of trash equaling 2200 pounds. We also took the litter board to Kid Connection to teach kids how long litter lasts. Our next cleanup will be July 20 with a severe rain date of July 27 on the Juniata River. This will be an economic engine for the county for the tourist industry. By cleaning up the river, more tourists will come to boat or kayak on the river. We had one meeting with Elizabeth McCoy from Clin-
ton County as speaker. Elizabeth is a specialist on river cleanups. Not only will Mifflin affiliate be doing one this year, but Juniata and Perry counties will be doing one as well. We are looking for volunteers to help with this year’s cleanup for each county. We will need team leaders for several functions during the cleanup. The team captains will be in charge of safety captains, who will help match everyone up with a buddy while they are in the water. All safety captains will wear yellow vests so they can be visible. Anyone in the water will have bright orange duct tape on so that they can be seen. Land captains will be in charge of volunteers loading trash in a dumpster or in waiting trucks.
We will also need trucks to haul away trash or tires. We need Food Captains to make sure all volunteers get lunch. We are currently planning a river survey for access points along the river. We are looking for anyone who would like to help with this. Orange tape will be put in the areas where the most trash is located. We are working to have a diving team there that day, and already have the Granville Rescue Boat offering to be in the water for safety. Operators of all kayaks that come out to help, must wear a safety vest this year. We also need photographers to take pictures throughout the event. We will have another
Actions vs. Words continued from page 31 that shows them it makes a difference they probably won’t be very interested in it. Jesus lived a very simple human life. He didn’t try to look big and impressive and if anyone had a right to do that, Jesus did. In Colossians 1:14-17 it says 14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
meeting at the Downtown OIP on June 11, 2013 at noon for anyone interested in helping. If you would like to volunteer to help, please call Pam Sechrist at 717-899-6701 or go on line to www.keeppabeautiful.org and click on the county that you would like to work with. Mifflin County will have the AmeriCorps group with RC&D. We also will be holding our annual Tire Recycle Challenge on September 21. I will have more details on this in next month’s edition as we are waiting to confirm all the details about where it will be held. We’ll also have the hours for both events. Pamela H. Sechrist 717-899-6701 a
or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” And yet Jesus never demanded anyone follow him, he never even tried to accumulate large crowds around himself and show off his power. The crowds sought him out and hung on every word he said. People followed him and couldn’t get enough of him, and it was because he was the image of the invisible God the love that he possessed was totally irresistible because the love of God is perfect love, it is the love that we are all seeking. And if we simply believe in the Lord Jesus
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Christ as our savior we too will possess that kind of love and will not need to “talk” about our faith and our relationship with God—people will want to talk to us and find out what it is that we have. May our actions speak louder than our words and may we never cause anyone to turn away from God but only point others toward Him. a
The Valley, June 2013
I gained 50 pounds ...and love it! www.families4kids.org 800-568-6449
foster parent or adopt...you’ll love it too!
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Kombucha Experiment from page 12
Stroke and I.M. Stroke Rehabilitation: Technology Enhances Speech Therapy Every 40 seconds, someone has a stroke. And every 4 minutes, someone dies from a stroke. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. A stroke, or a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), occurs when the brain blood flow is blocked or interrupted. Symptoms after a stroke depend on the location of the damage in the brain. Speech is often impacted by a stroke, and therapy is an integral part of rehabilitation. “Speech therapy is about how the person talks and how they think, explains Caroline Romero, speech-language pathology manager at HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital. “We use many tools and technology in speech therapy, including the Interactive Metronome.”
Speech Therapy and the Interactive Metronome The Interactive Metronome (IM) is a brain-based therapeutic assessment and training program that improves attention, concentration, motor planning and sequencing. Improvements in those areas result in stronger motor control and coordination, enhanced balance and gait, and improved language and cognition. Romero adds, “Every patient I’ve worked with has some kind of improvement with this technology; it’s one of the best tools I’ve used.” The IM works by providing a structured, goal-oriented program that challenges the patient to synchronize a range of whole body exercises to a precise computergenerated beat. The patient attempts to match the rhythmic beat with repetitive motor movements. IM’s game-like features engage the patient with auditory and visual guidance and provide realtime feedback while encouraging the patient to improve scores.
Who May Benefit from Speech Therapy with IM Technology? Typical diagnoses that may benefit from IM Therapy are stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, limb amputation and incomplete spinal cord injury. Patients with functional decline, developmental disorders, low endurance, and stamina and balance disorders can also benefit from IM Therapy. What are the Benefits of Speech Therapy with IM Technology: More than a decade of clinical research and case studies on IM therapy demonstrates that gain in motor planning, rhythm, timing and sequencing lead to improvements in: • Attention and Concentration • Language Processing • Behavior (aggression and impulsivity) • Fine/Gross Motor Skills • Balance and Gait • Strength and Endurance • Coordination • Motor Skills for Independent Living • Independence with Prosthetic Limbs Interactive Metronome technology has received an abundance of media recognition including the CBS Early Show, CNN News, and US News and World Report. If you have questions about speech therapy or the Interactive Metronome, please contact Caroline Salva Romero, HealthSouth Nittany Valley’s speech-language pathology manager, at 814-3593421. HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital is in Pleasant Gap, PA. The acute care, inpatient hospital specializes in rehabilitation and holds a Disease-Specific Care Certification by the Joint Commission for its stroke rehabilitation program. Outpatient Clinics are located at Pleasant Gap, Lewistown and Mifflintown. *National Rehabilitation Caucus a
considerably less soda the week that I had the Kombucha. Mission accomplished. I am currently brewing my second batch and I think that I didn’t do something right with my leftover SCOBY from batch number one. I put it in a bowl with some liquid, but did not refrigerate it. So the SCOBY ate up all the juice and it is now huge.
I cut it in half with a plastic knife (not supposed to use metal) and used only half of it to brew my current batch. I saved some of my previous batch’s liquid and brought it back to room temperature to use to add to the current brew since my SCOBY devoured all of my original liquid. However, now that liquid is growing another SCOBY! I’ve got several SCOBY’s now, as one of my fruit juice double fermenters also grew a small SCOBY. They all look
healthy and good, though so I shouldn’t complain I guess. Time to start a SCOBY hotel. I think I was supposed to refrigerate the juice and SCOBY when I was done with the first brew to keep it from growing and soaking up all my saved liquid. Live and learn. I think I will add some fresh ginger to this next batch to see what kind of special flavor that gives it. All and all, Kombucha success—over and out! a
Three Decades of Getting Patients Back Home
Ask for Nittany Valley’s Stroke Rehabilitation Program.
550 wesT colleGe ave. PleasanT GaP, Pa 16823 814 359-3421 • NittanyValleyRehab.com ©2013:HealthSouth Corporation:575769 05
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Notes Mount Union High School Students Donate to Lewistown Hospital Pediatric Patients As part of a school project, students at Mount Union High School donated items for pediatric patients at Lewistown Hospital.
Students pictured with 3B nurses L to R: Samantha Worthy, RN, Kylie Gutshall, Bre Morrow, Mara Searer, RN, and Tricia Morgan.
Local Boy and Family Donate to Pediatric Patients at Lewistown Hospital Addison Yohn of Lewistown will be 4 on May 15. Each year around his birthday, he and his family collect items to be donated for children in local hospitals. This year he is giving his stuffed animal donations to pediatric patients at Lewistown Hospital. Addison’s mom, Karen, said they have been teaching their son how to “give back” ever since he was born premature and had to spend time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Harrisburg Hospital. Addison Yohn and his mother, Karen Yohn, of Lewistown show some of the stuffed animals they collected for pediatric patients at Lewistown Hospital.
Friends of Lewistown Hospital Makes Donation to Community Cancer Treatment Center Friends of Lewistown Hospital recently purchased a new scale for the Community Cancer Treatment Center. The Scale-Tronix scale provides better support and accessibility for the patient by providing a handrail for unsteady patients and a lower step on surface. It also measures body mass index (BMI) and height and weight.
Study suggests dairy herd water quality linked to milk production Story courtesy of Penn State Public Information A recently completed study of water supplies on Pennsylvania dairy farms found that about a quarter of those tested had at least one water-quality issue. And average milk production for these farms was about 10 percent lower than farms with good water quality. Dairy farms rely on good quality water to ensure maximum milk production and herd health, according to study author Bryan Swistock, extension water resources specialist in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “While most dairy farms routinely test their water supplies for bacteria, additional testing for salts, metals and other parameters that can affect herd performance is conducted less frequently,” he said. “In the fall of 2012, Penn State Extension offered free water testing for dairy farmers across Pennsylvania. The objective of the project was to increase awareness of various water-quality parameters that are not tested as often. These less-tested parameters may explain chronic herd performance issues.” More than 240 dairy farmers who expressed an interest in water quality received water test kits, and 174 water samples from 41 counties were returned to the Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory at Penn State. That equates to a 72 percent participation rate. The samples were analyzed for 13 common water-quality parameters that are part of the lab’s basic livestock water-testing package. Ninety-eight percent of the
Image: Penn State Dairy farms rely on good quality water to ensure maximum milk production and herd health. A study by Penn State Extension showed that cows on farms with better quality water supplies, on average, produced more milk.
water samples came from private water wells or springs on the dairy farms. The farms in the study encompassed 51,000 acres and 18,000 cows with an average milk production level ranging from 20 to 90 pounds of milk per cow per day. Only six -- 3 percent --of the farms in the study had water meters to document water consumption by their herd. “Overall, 45 of the water supplies, or 26 percent, had at least one water-quality issue,” Swistock said. “Average milk production for these 45 farms was 56 pounds per cow per day, compared to 62 pounds on the 129 farms with good water quality.” Swistock noted that none of the farms with high milk production (above 75 pounds of milk per cow per day) had existing water quality problems, while 32
percent of farms with low milk production -- below 50 pounds of milk per cow -- had at least one potential water-quality problem. “Penn State Extension encourages farmers with water-quality issues to install water meters to evaluate the herd’s water-consumption level,” Swistock said. “We also recommend providing alternative sources of water to a subset of the herd to collect more evidence of the potential effect of these water quality problems on performance.” A recorded webinar highlighting the study findings and a fact sheet on drinking water tests for dairy cows can be found online. CONTACTS: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu Work Phone: 814-863-2719 a
Find us on Bernard Rogers, MD, Radiation Oncologist and Medical Director for Community Cancer Treatment Center; Isabelle Felmlee, RN, Oncology Nurse; Matt Kwiterovich, Coordinator of Radiation Oncology; Okasana DeArment, President, Friends of Lewistown Hospital; and Jane Westover, RN, Oncology Nurse.
The Valley Newspaper
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Bingman, will take place at the Bremen Town Ballroom on Friday evening at 8 pm. Finally, in the spirit of the inclusionary Irish musicians I mentioned at the beginning of
A Culture of Art Abroad and at Home Every place and time has its art forms that are valued as a part of everyday life, but in some it’s more apparent. My business partner at the Green Drake Gallery, Gary Gyekis, recently spent a week and a half in Ireland with his wife, Loanne, and some friends. Gary and their friends are all musicians and they made a point of taking their instruments along in order to musically interact with the local populace. They mostly played “Old Time” music for this cultural tour, which is similar both to bluegrass and much of the traditional Irish folk music. They found a culture where live,
unamplified music is as common a thing as conversation in every little pub along the way. They were welcomed in joining in with the locals, and the music and partying often went into the wee hours of the morning. Ireland is having some tough times economically, but the musical spirit of the people is alive and well. Here on the home front, Millheim will be hosting an event in early June that will seek to bring the visual , musical and other arts to life in a similar informal, fun way. On Friday evening and Saturday, June 7th and 8th , downtown Millheim will sponsor its
first Millheim Mayfly Festival. We will have music events at several indoor venues along with buskers (street musicians) playing at various spots throughout town for whatever change anyone wants to throw in their open instrument cases. There could even be magicians and clowns! The Green Drake will be hosting a Plein Air Paint-out in conjunction with the Mayfly Festival. Plein air is a Frnech term for painting outdoors from life. Up to 25 artists will be painting in the east Penns Valley area and Millheim from Thursday through Saturday, with a show and sale of just-completed works at the Green Drake from 4-8 pm on Saturday. Awards will be given for those pieces judged to be the best. There will be a large map at the Green Drake Thursday through Saturday where you can find out just where each artist will be painting that day, making it easy to watch them in action and talk to them about their unique process. The Green Drake will also host live music Friday evening and during the day Saturday. The Festival will also feature children’s activities, craft and food vendors, and special activities at the Millheim Pool. Women and Words, a live performance by local poets Rebecca Gafron, Abby Minor, and Samantha Futhey, and songwriters Erin Condo and Hannah
the article, anyone with a musical instrument or a sketchbook is certainly welcome to informally join in the fun at the Millheim Mayfly Festival! a
Some of the people you might see playing on the street for the Millheim Mayfly Festival!
Kintsukuroi from page 34 Quotes “He who cures a disease may be the skill fullest, but he who prevents it is the safest physician.” ~Thomas Fuller “As my suffering mounted, I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation --- either react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” ~Rumi Ten Ideas to Practice Extreme Self-care that are Free or Cost Next to Nothing 1. Eat healthy, whole foods – eat simply 2. Smile and laugh for no reason 3. Lay in the grass and watch the clouds a. or under a tree and watch the leaves sway in a breeze 4. Say “YES!” to what you truly love
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5. Wear something that makes you feel beautiful, handsome, or confident 6. Swing on a swing a. Or color outside the lines 7. Turn off the computer, cell phone, and TV for 24 hours 8. Garden – flowers, herbs, veggies… or all three 9. Spend the day exploring your town 10. Go places you don’t normally go a. Attempt to view your town with fresh new eyes i. Buy yourself flowers or order dinner in Self-care Books The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman You Can Buy Happiness (and it’s cheap) by Tammy Strobel In Celebration of Simplicity: The Joy of Living Lightly by Penelope Wilcock a
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Breed Like Rabbits
The saying “Breed Like Rabbits” is a myth that has been repeated for many generations. While this IS true in some ways, there are a lot of ways in which it is just not the case! This month in Splitting Hares, we will take a closer look at how to breed quality rabbits, for meat, show, and pets! To start off, let’s just break the myth that rabbits “Breed Like Rabbits.” This is true in few ways, but false in many more. It is true in that rabbits have a gestation period of only one month, and they can have anywhere from 2-20 babies depending on the breed. Baby bunnies have a high mortality rate though, that’s why they have so many kits. Rabbits are also not always very easy to get pregnant. Sometimes it may take 3-4 tries before the rabbit actually gets pregnant. Before you breed your rabbits, you want to be sure that you know what your rabbit’s strong qualities are, as well as what his/her faults are. You want to pick a rabbit that will help the offspring of your rabbit to be better than the parents. Make sure the rabbits compliment each other’s qualities. For instance, Holland Lops are supposed to have short ears and a big head. If a doe has short ears, but she does not have a big wide head, it would be smart to choose a buck that has a big head. Don’t
use a buck that has a poor head like the doe. Choose instead a buck that has a nice big head, it doesn’t matter as much if he has short ears, because she does. Because the doe has nice short ears, and the buck has a big head, they will be more likely to have babies with a good head and short ears. What to look for depends on the breed. Find a trustworthy breeder that breeds the type of rabbit you have, who is willing to look at your rabbit and help you to chose a rabbit that will best help to improve your herd’s quality. Try to learn as much as you can about your breed’s type, conformation, etc. If you are breeding meat rabbits, breed for the best meat quality. If you are breeding show rabbits, breed for the best show quality. Or, if you are just breeding for pets, you can try to find a match that has a friendly personality, as personality IS genetic to an extent! When breeding pets, it is better to breed two rabbits of the same breed; otherwise, if a little 4 lb doe is bred to a big 7 lb buck, the doe may die in delivery due to the size of the kits. Once a rabbit has been picked that will help to improve the quality of your rabbits, it’s time to actually breed them! A few things to remember when breeding are: Always take the doe to the buck’s cage. Never take the buck to the doe’s cage, or she may become
territorial and try to hurt him. Once the buck falls off of the doe (sometimes they make it very dramatic, and lay there for a few seconds, grunting), you can remove the doe. Do this several times, at about 15 minute intervals, for 3-4 times. Also try 8 hours later. If at this point, she starts to growl at him, or will not let him breed her, there is a good chance that she is bred. ALWAYS write down the date that the doe was bred! It is not fun to wake up one morning to find babies born on the wire, or on the cage floor, because you did not know it was time to put the nesting box in. (You can keep track of breedings on many rabbit pedigree-making programs. Visit www.maplespringsrabbitry.com to see a program that my father and I have developed to do just this!) Give the doe a nesting box about 4 days before she is due (around day 27) and supply her with hay to build her nest with. As you can see, there is a lot more to the saying “Breed like Rabbits” than meets the eye. There is lots of planning, preparation, and waiting in breeding rabbits! It is frustrating at times, and can be challenging when your does do not have babies for months on end, but don’t give up! Keep on trying and
eventually your endurance and patience will be paid off with cute little bundles of fur! a
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R. O. F. F.
Dairy Connection by Halee Wasson
Rescue Our Furry Friends by Patricia Lawson
Centre Count y Dair y Princess Greetings from the new Centre County Dairy Princess! My name is Halee Wasson. On May 18th I was given one of the greatest opportunities when I was crowned the 2013-2014 Centre County Dairy Princess. I was crowned by outgoing princess Heather Wasson, who is my twin sister. I am looking forward to working with my two alternates Charlotte Auman and Lauren Ebel. We also have a court of 11 junior promoters: Kelly Beck, Emily Allegar, Beccah Harter, Carly Gilliland, Gretchen Little, Jordan Anderson, Halie Gummo, Kristen Houser, Abbey Wolfe, Madison Ripka, and Bailey Little. This year is going to be a fun and busy year as we represent the industry we all have a passion for. We start out our year with June; this is a great time to start because June is Dairy Month! As you are driving down the winding roads of Pennsylvania you’ll see 7,240 dairy farms, 98% of which are family owned and operated. Every morning Pennsylvania’s 540,000 cows line up for their chance to be milked. They provide us with a wholesome and nutritious product, milk. To do this, dairy farmers take on the responsibility to provide good care for their cows 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are hardworking and intelligent people who take on the role of veterinarian, nutritionists, mechanic, and many other fields. They make sure their cows are well taken
care of because the dairy farmers’ livelihood depends upon the dairy cow. So please join me and raise your glass in a salute to the dairy farmers of Pennsylvania for the endless hours and hard work they do. I have included some recipes to enjoy and celebrate June as dairy month. Blue Ribbon Layered Salad Prep time: 15 mins plus refrigerating Makes: 10 servings, 1 cup each Ingredients: 4 cups loosely packed torn romaine lettuce 1 cup sliced radishes 2 cups frozen peas, thawed 1 red pepper, chopped 5 hard-cooked eggs, quartered 4 green onions, chopped 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 4 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled 1/2 cup sour cream 1 Tbsp. sugar Directions: Place lettuce in large clear bowl; cover with layers of next 7 ingredients. Mix in separate bowl remaining ingredients until blended Refrigerate several hours. Toss just before serving. *Can be refrigerated up to 24 hours before tossing and serving. Philadelphia Mini Cheesecakes Prep time: 20 mins Total time: 3 hours 20 mins Makes: 18 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar, divided 3 Tbsp butter, melted 3 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened 1 tsp vanilla 3 eggs 1 cup whipping cream 2 cups blueberries 1 Tbsp lemon zest Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F Mix graham crumbs, 2 Tbsp sugar and butter until blended; press onto bottoms of 18 paper-lined muffin pan cups Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each until blended. Pour over crust. Bake 25-30 min or until centers are almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours. Beat whipping cream with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form; spread onto cheesecakes. Top with blueberries and zest. a
Apocalypse Soon from page 33 Nikolayev’s exited on their own volition, released a message that said ‘a pediatric patient’s health in danger’ requires nurses and physicians to call authorities. In the Nikoleyav’s case, seeking a second opinion was considered ‘danger.’ CPS has refused to comment directly, citing their legal code of confidentiality.” http://www.naturalnews. com/040261_CPS_child_kidnapping_medical_opinion.html Yeah, but that is out west. Surely, that type of thing wouldn’t happen on the east coast, right? Not only can it happen on the east coast, it can happen within our own state! “The Home School Legal Defense Association is taking on the case of a Pennsylvania couple whose baby daughter was briefly removed from their custody at
Check out this adorable dog that was rescued by ROFF! This is Athena! Just looking at that face, you know that Athena would love a forever home. She is a 5 year old female boxer, who is housebroken and crate trained. She has been dewormed and started on Vectra. She is good with other dogs; however, we’re not sure about cats. We think that she may have been mistreated by a man in her past, so she is still a bit nervous with men. She is a very sweet girl, and if you would like to meet her please go to our web site www.roff.cc and fill out an online application or call 877.933.7633 to obtain an application. Please note: there is a $25 adoption application fee. And remember, since these articles are written several weeks prior to publication, Athena may already have a forever home. However, be sure to check out the other dogs and cats on our web site that would be a loving companion. Are you on Facebook? If so, be sure to “like” ROFF Rescue. On this site you will find not only the adorable pets that need forever and/or foster homes, but also: Raffles of cool items that you don’t want to miss out on;
birth because the mother refused to approve a Hepatitis B shot right away. According to the site, Scott and Jodi Ferris had planned on a home birth, but went to Hershey Medical Center on advice of their midwife when Jodi went into labor prematurely. The baby was born in the ambulance in the hospital parking lot. Jodi Ferrs claimed that hospital staff was unresponsive when she asked them about the baby and vague when she asked what an injection they
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Announcements of upcoming fund-raising events; Notification of vaccine clinics; Pet friendly cleaning solutions; and so much more! Remember last month we mentioned the “Hippie Bead Cat Collars” that are available for sale at Big Valley Beverage in Reedsville? Well, this is what they look like: There are various multi-colored collars available, and all proceeds (only $2.50) go to ROFF. My cat, Dylan, has been sporting one for months, and since he’s an indoor/ outdoor cat, I made sure that all of them have safety clasps. I also want to post this helpful site: http://www.aspca.org/petcare/poison-control/17-commonpoisonous-plants.aspx. Especially at this time of year, it’s important to keep a watchful eye on our pets when they’re outside. In closing, we are continually looking for volunteers (call 877.933.7633) and donations. Please make checks payable to ROFF, and mail them to ROFF, 133 North Walnut Street, Burnham, PA 17009. Thank you in advance for your contribution. I’ll talk to you next month! a
had given her was for. Hospital officials insisted on holding the baby for 48 hours and eventually admitted they were doing so because they were afraid they might get sued if the baby was released. The HSLDA further reports that a social worker then visited Jodi Ferris and said she was investigating allegations that had been made against the couple, but said she wasn’t legally allowed to tell Jodi what the allegations
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Dave Wilson
Coins, Precious Metal and a Little of this and That
The Silver Lining Behind Today’s Economic Dark Clouds
While gold is discussed a bit more often among tangible asset enthusiasts, mostly because governments and individual investors have always touted its ownership as a protection against the decreasing purchasing power of fiat (unsecured) paper currency, silver, within the past decade, has enjoyed a resurgence within that growing group due primarily to its annual consumption rates in both industry and the medical profession. Gold is used for many purposes, but it is never “consumed.” Every ounce of gold that has been mined throughout history is STILL IN EXISTENCE somewhere. It is one of the more unusual elements in that it is environmentally uncompromisable. You can use it, play with it, but never destroy it. Silver, conversely, IS consumed to the tune of hundreds of millions of ounces each year. In fact, it is widely believed that presently, there is actually more “above ground” gold in existence than there is silver. It does sound strange, but I have read about that interesting possibility in way too
many professional articles for it to be an impossibility. So, basically, what we are suggesting is that while gold has numerous uses, especially as an investment in tangible assets, silver is, by far, the more versatile metal serving both the investment community and the medical and industrial fields. With just about every major country on earth cranking up their money-making presses in an effort to give themselves an export advantage, taking physical possession of tangible assets has become the popular (and very intelligent) method of protecting one’s earthly assets. There are many silver “products” to consider, most of which are in very short supply at current lower prices. In the past 5-6 weeks market “managers” have temporarily succeeded in driving the paper-price of silver to near five year lows. If you can find available silver at these depressed prices you should definitely consider “jumping in.” This may possibly be the last harrah for cheap silver as available supplies are quickly disappearing. Here is a listing of physical
silver products that make excellent investments IF you can locate any reasonable quantities. (1). US 90% Silver Coins include all Dimes, Quarters and
tion in 1986 and have continued since. Next to 90% Silver Dimes, Quarters and Half-Dollars, these Walking Liberty Dollars are a coin dealer’s biggest seller. They are the #1 most recognized silver coin in the world and enjoy terrific liquidity as a result. (4). 1-Oz. (Generic) .999/ Fine Silver Rounds and Bars. These medallions have been a fun way to invest in silver for nearly 40 years. They are cheaper than Walking Liberty Dollars and they contain the exact same amount of net silver. Still, because of the Walking Liberty Dollar’s “legal tender” status they are not as highly sought after, even though many buyers prefer to own silver in this form. (5). US 40% Silver Kennedy Half-Dollars dated 1965-to-1970. While much less attractive to silver buyers, these coins normally sell for one of the lesser premiums over “spot” silver price. (6). US 35% Silver Wartime nickels. These are coins dated from 1942-to-1945 and only
US Silver coins are one of the most popular investments with buyers
Half-Dollars dated 1964 and earlier. (Be careful to inspect what you buy as many dealers will “salt” their silver bags with badlyworn and/or damaged coins that are difficult to re-sell. ($1.00 face value in 90% silver coins contains 77.23% of a Troy ounce of silver.) At normal mark-ups, these coins are THE most popular silver investment. (2). US 90% Silver Dollars. The older Morgan and Peace dollars (1878-1935) are actively sought after by many silver buyers perhaps mainly for their historical significance and, well, many people just love them. Be careful with these coins though because there are presently large premiums tacked on. Most dealers end up wholesaling these coins to larger, mail-order firms. Old silver dollars contain .772% of a troy ounce of silver. (3). US “Walking Liberty” 1-Oz. (.999/Fine) Silver Dollars. These extremely popular dollars began produc-
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those 1942 dated coins that (like the 1943-through-1945’s) have the large mint mark (a “P”, “D” or “S”) above the dome of Montecello on the coin’s reverse. (These are the cheapest way to buy silver, as these coins do not enjoy immense popularity and are generally sold for 10-to-15% under melt value.) While this statement will sound terribly self-serving, it is nonetheless quite true. Be very careful buying silver products from anyone other than recognized, professional dealers. Counterfeits (mainly from China) of almost every type of silver product have begun to infiltrate the market and they are quite good. Their weights are usually incorrect, but how many people carry scales when visiting flea markets? Buying a few hundred dollars worth of silver rounds or Eagles only to discover that they are made of tin and copper-nickel, can make anyone’s day turn south! a
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Millheim hosts First Ever Mayfly Festival, June 7 & 8 Enjoy all that central Pennsylvania has to offer at the Millheim Mayfly Festival, June 7 & 8. Beginning Friday evening, June 7, main street Millheim will be lined with street musicians, live artists, craft and food vendors, demonstrations, and other surprises. Take part in the fun by bringing along your bicycle, your family, and your sense of adventure. With so many talented local artists and musicians all living in such a naturally beautiful area that has easy access to fishing, hiking, biking and other outdoor activities, it’s easy to see why Millheim is experiencing such a renaissance. The Millheim Mayfly Festival celebrates these cultural and outdoor opportunities and pays tribute to the Mayfly, an insect that signifies the beginning of the local fishing season when it hatches in the late spring. The area’s many local musicians will take turns busking along Main Street on Friday and Saturday. The line up includes
Cory Neidig, Chris Rattie, Chicken Tractor, Karl Leitzel, Erin Condo, Gene Gibson, Gary Gyekis, The Three Kitties, The UpTexas Chapel Choir, and more! The Green Drake Gallery & Arts Center will host a Plein Air Paint Out, which will feature up to 25 artists painting outdoors at their easels in and around Millheim. On Saturday afternoon, the gallery will host a show and art sale of the original artwork created over the weekend. “Women & Words” is a live performance of local poets Rebecca Gaffron, Abby Minor, and Samantha Futhey and local songwriters Erin Condo & Hannah Bingman. This unique show takes place at the Bremen Town Ballroom on Friday at 8pm. The diverse local businesses will have extra hours, offer special deals, and host other activities. For instance, the Penns Valley Outfitters will have a plant sale by Sammis Greenhouse and an information booth for Trail2Creek.
com. There are many activities for children throughout the festival, including a Mayfly costume and puppet making at the Green Drake Gallery. Kids can later enter their Mayfly costume in a contest at the IngleBean Coffee House. The Millheim Theater will host musical entertainment for children on Saturday. Penns Valley’s vibrant biking community will be adding to the mix. The Millheim Bicycle Coop, a brand new organization, will host children’s bike decorating and ride. Not to be left out, adults are invited to participate in ridiculous tricycle games. The MBC is excited to welcome professional BMX riders from nearby Woodward Camp. Kids of all ages can see the pros ride in an extreme sports demonstration right in the heart of downtown Millheim. The festivities will reach beyond main street with swimming for the whole family at the Millheim Pool. The pool will also
have a volleyball tournament on Saturday. The whimsical yard art of local artist, Elli Groninger will be on display at the Millheim Theater. Also, make sure to visit the Millheim Farmers Market from 10am to 1pm at the American Legion Pavillion. “One of the most exciting things about hosting a festival is knowing that anything can happen. especially in its first year,” says Martha Hoffman, owner of the Inglebean Coffee House. The Millheim Mayfly Festival is hosted by the Millheim Business Community (MBC), a non-profit organization that works to foster healthy economic and cultural development
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of Millheim and the valley region through community cooperation, entrepreneurial innovation, and local governance. To find out more visit Millheim Mayfly Festival on Facebook or visit our website, www. millheimpa.com. a
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Stinging Nettle Beer I always enjoy a good beer brewing adventure so I am pretty excited to be writing this month about my newest endeavor. I ran across a couple recipes for stinging nettle beer and became intrigued. The only problem is that I needed two pounds of stinging nettle tops. That is where my friend, Mary Anna, comes in. She just happened to have a large patch and offered up the tops in exchange for a bottle of the finished product. I was all over that deal. Before I get started, how about a little background information about this unique plant? Stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, is often referred to as common nettle. This plant is indigenous to Europe, North Africa, Asia, and North America. It grows to heights between 3 to 7 feet high and flowers in late June to July. It has a square stem and jagged leafs and spreads by rhizomes. The most important trait to remem-
ber about this plant is it has tiny needle-like hairs on the stem and leaves called trichomes, so when harvesting this plant wear thick work gloves. These trichomes give off histamine that causes a rash in the infected area. This plant likes roadside ditches, abandoned lots and the cleared out corridors along railroads tracks. It really likes nitrogen rich soil so look for it along the edges of agricultural fields. This is one useful plant. Not only can you use it to brew, but the leaves can be boiled and eaten. It has a flavor similar to spinach according to many sites. Don’t worry, the hair like needles dissolve in boiling water. The boiled water of the nettle plant was used by the farmers of Scotland as rennet in cheese making. The stem has a fiber in it that makes a very durable fabric similar to cotton. And since the plant uptakes a lot of nitrogen it is a great plant to compost. Finally, the leaves can
Apocalypse Soon from page 44
hospital, the social worker left the room and called the police. Hospital workers took custody of the baby without a court order, claiming she was suffering from an illness or injury. The social worker approved the Hepatitis B shot without permission from the parents. Police then allegedly made Jodi Ferris get up from her hospital bed and escorted her out of the building and off hospital grounds because she had refused to sign a ‘safety plan.’ She was told she could return every three hours to nurse the baby, so she spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The baby was returned to her parents’ custody at a custody hearing the next morning. The HSLDA said it’s taking the case because it believes the social worker and the hospital workers both abused their power here and because it is concerned about
were. When Jodi declined to answer questions, the social worker allegedly threatened to take the baby right away. The social worker implied that the problem involved the Ferrises’ refusal to approve a vitamin K shot for their baby daughter. Jodi replied that no one had asked her about the shot and she had heard hospital workers say they already had given the baby the shot. Hospital workers then allegedly wanted permission to give the baby a Hepatitis B shot, which Jodi Ferris said she would agree to only if they tested her and the baby to see if either of them was positive. The hospital said this wasn’t possible and they needed to give the baby the shot anyway. When Jodi Farris asked if the situation could wait until her husband returned to the
be dried and used to make a tea. This medicinal plant is believed to help alleviate rheumatic pain, gout and asthma. Just a word to the wise on this brew, I brewed this but have not tasted the finished product. In the past all the recipes that I just dished out I have enjoyed, so we are flying blind on this one. From what I have read, it tastes more like a wine than a beer, but that is all I can tell you. First you need to harvest the nettle so wear thick gloves. You are going to need two pounds of
The heated Stinging Nettle leaves releasing the sugars they contain.
nettle tops. A 5 gallon bucket of tops should do the trick. The
tops of the nettle are where all the sugars are, so snip off the first six to eight inches of the nettle plant. Combine the nettle tops with 10 pints of water and bring it to a boil. You are going to need a big kettle for this because the nettle tops take up a lot of space. As the nettles boil, stir them so all the nettle tops became saturated. At this point you will notice some interesting science taking place. The boiled greens will start releasing a light brown foamy concoction. These are your sugars. After about 20 minutes of boiling, strain off the nettle tops from your wort. At this point, if you want, you could have a snack, but I tossed them into my compost pile. Now pour the nettle wort over one pound cane sugar, two peeled and sliced lemons, and ½ ounce cream of tartar. Stir this mixture up really well and bring it back to a boil. At this point you could just boil it for another 10 minutes
an erosion of parental rights.” http://www.minotdailynews.com/ page/blogs.detail/display/783/ Pennsylvania-social-worker-andhospital-face-HSLDA-lawsuitafter-seizing-custody-of-newborn. html This last piece was taken from a site that was a blog, but I didn’t include the blog piece which stated the author’s opinions and speculations. I only used the news aspect of it. If you doubt the accuracy of any of these articles, look them up on your own via the references provided or search the topics on your own. If you think I am inaccurate, please let me know. In conclusion, we now know that parents don’t have the right to choose what vaccinations or even treatments are given to our children and rights can be stripped if your child is taken from you. So, if you think about the above
situations, you might put it all together and learn that certain agencies can try to take your child from you to vaccinate him or her whether you like it or not, and they can come to your house and remove your baby from you and once your child is in their possesThe Ferris family. sion, you have no Photo courtesy www.examiner.com rights in court to For more on this story go to http://www.examiner. make decisions for com/article/penn-homeschoolers-baby-taken-byyour child! That is hospital-staff-violation-of-parental-rights insane! This is not a conspiracy. These lypse is coming soon. things have happened and can happen within our own state! This Dr. Joseph Kauffman is further proof why the second Kauffman-Hummel Chiropractic amendment needs to stand. And, if Clinic nothing else, this is why apocadrjosephkauffman@comcast.net a
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and be done with it, but I added one tablespoon of shredded ginger root. A lot of the recipes said it was optional and I like ginger root, so I did. Once the boil is over, strain it again into your primary fermenter, reduce your temperature and pitch your yeast. You may need to add a little more water because some water may have been lost in the boil. One week in the primary and one week in the secondary, then you are ready to bottle it. If you want it carbonated add priming sugar at this point. Then let it condition for a month. Well there you have it— stinging nettle beer. It should be interesting to taste the finished product. So get out there and find yourself a nettle patch and turn a painful problem into an alcoholic beverage of yesteryears. Until next month, may your wind be at your back and your beer be ice cold. a
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