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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 7, No. 12
By Tamela Hetrick LMT Certified Aromatherapist We at Shade Mountain LOVE Christmas and I would like to extend my wishes for a very merry Christmas to all. As we celebrate Christmas, let’s take time to be calm and remember the true reason for the season. Let us focus on Christ’s love for us and others! I personally love to give gifts at Christmas. I also love to give in other spontaneous and unexpected times (like a “your special” and I want you to know it kind of thing). I feel I have carried my love of gift giving over to my business. We have a gift area where you can come in and we will help you make a gift, or, we often have pre-made gifts. We also like to hand out small gifts to our customers at open houses and during special events. One of my favorite things is when someone orders a gift online and I get to pack it up and mail it to their loved one. I always feel very honored that Shade Mountain was chosen and I take extra care making it a delightful gift to open. This is one reason I am very excited about a new business I am starting and I am excited to share! I feel like this is definitely a God thing. I say this because I was given this idea a few months ago when I was unsure if I should even venture into a new busi-
Complimentary
The Valley, December 2016
ness. My thought process is this: I will follow His lead and walk through the doors that are open to me, praying all the way that doors will close if I make a wrong turn. Sometimes I feel as though I am following a crumb path. I take a step, pick up a crumb, take another step, pick up another crumb, take another step, and you know where I am going with this. So far, all doors have been wide open and I am ready to launch this new business in the middle of December. Just in time for Christmas! WHAT IS IT? In short, purp-ess is a monthly mail subscription service of bathing essentials delivered to your door (or your recipient’s door) created by Shade Mountain. The subscription will have three “purposes” and two “essentials.” Purpose 1: Each month we will create the products using a unique
ingredient that has a unique beneficial purpose for the body. Not only will the recipient learn the benefits of this ingredient, but will learn where and how it is derived and a fun fact or two. Products may include: soap, moisturizing crème, hand crème, lip balm, sugar scrub, body butter, bath bomb, bubble bomb, or bubble scoop.
Purpose 2: Each month, the purposeful ingredient will be tied into a “message card” that will emphasize a Biblical principal relating to the monthly ingredient. For example, if the purposeful ingredient is carrot seed oil,
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the message could be something like: just like a carrot needs to stay grounded in the soil, so must we stay grounded in His word for growth, stability and nourishment. Our youth (and many adults for that matter) are struggling to find their true purpose in this crazy world we live in. John 10:10 tells us that “the thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance.” If one person comes to know this, truly KNOW this, then purp-ess is successful! Purpose 3: The third “purpose” will be the charity that benefits from the revenue. We have not decided to give to a different charity every month or to the same charity. We will decide on the charity as we feel led. One charity I am looking at is Love Life Ministries. This ministry strives to bring education
and awareness of teenage mental health issues, particularly depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention. Essential 1: Products that are considered essential to healthy, beautiful skin will be included. Essential 2: Products that are scented with essential oils will be given. My husband and I were throwing around a few names. The first name we came up with was Purposeful Essentials. Every time I talked about the business, I almost had to stop and think about the name…too long I thought. He was the one who actually came up with the final name: purp-ess box. Purp-ess now needed a logo. We decide to incorporate an arrow into the design. The most important part to me is that the recipients of the box receive a message that they are special, loved, cared for, unique, CREATED, and not a mistake or a mix of random chromosomes—that they are loved not only by the giver of the box, but by the Heavenly Father. That they are not imperfect as they may see themselves, but rather made perfect and seen as perfect by God. That they have a unique purpose in this life. An arrow, to me, shows one way, just like there is one way to our Heavenly Father. One way to true, real happiness.
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The Valley, December 2016
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Editor’s Corner Wayne Stottlar I have been waiting patiently for someone from the Libertarian National Party to trigger the riots and protests since we didn’t win the election in November. The call never came. I guess that type of behavior is only for the participation trophy segment of the “progressive” wing of the Democrat party. What you are really witnessing is a whole generation of kids whose parents have failed them. Creating a “safe space” or wearing safety pins because of the outcome of the election isn’t providing and real security. In the words of the soon-to-be outgoing president, “elections have consequences” — you LOST, get over it! Having said that, I am not overly thrilled with the winner either. The last thing we need to heal as a nation is an authoritarian, heavy-handed, deal maker.
I think more of our liberties are about to fly out the window as these modern politicians continue to shred our Constitution. They hate anything that limits their power. Trump has an ego a mile high, and is a deal maker. Want to bet that military equipment begins flowing back to local police departments to be used on our citizens? The blind allegiance to authority, law enforcement and party bear striking similarities to 1939 Germany. Luckily, I am advanced in years and probably won’t see where this train ends up. One thing is very clear to me. Regardless of what media outlets tell you, or what some other “office holder” might say, this country is divided more than I have ever seen it, and I pay attention and have for the last 50 years. Political ideology has now become many
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people’s actual religion. Facts do not matter, only that their side wins. The electorate has been dumbed down to throngs of sports spectators rooting for their side. And as often happens after games, win or lose, the mindless spectators end up rioting. Great job government indoctrination centers, you have produced several generations of people who can not deal with frustration and have been taught just enough to think that they know something. The lambskin on their wall, their “participation trophy” says so. Our government is full of these types, good luck with your future. This past election for me was fairly light-hearted and easy, since becoming a Libertarian 11 years ago, I hadn’t been very active, principally because there weren’t many of us around. This year changed that. As more people wake up and realize that certain people II have assumed more power than was ever granted, it is time for a change. County Libertarian parties sprang up all over Pennsylvania recently. We became active locally, and although we didn’t “win,” we made some significant strides. We have now as a party gained support in all 50 states. Gary Johnson garnered
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Contact Info
Editor/Publisher Wayne Stottlar Graphic Artist/ Co-Publisher Lynn Persing 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.
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The Valley, December 2016
Back Talk by Dr. Joseph Kauffman
Ketchup’s Best Friend
As we enter into the month of giving thanks while gorging our guts with turkey and all of the fixings, it’s important to remember, “everything in Moderation.” That’s Moderation and not Excess. It’s very easy to over-eat during the holidays, as all of our holidays in our country cater to food. When you shovel garbage into your body, you get garbage out of your body. It is one of my beliefs that our lifestyle in today’s society and our diet are the main reasons we have many health problems, from obesity to cancer. I often wonder if there is something that I can do now as a preventative measure to reduce the chance of getting cancer. I know that having a proper functioning nervous system is vital to ensuring a healthy body, but there are other aspects, too, such as proper exercise, rest/relaxation, positive mental attitude, and one of the most important aspects is mutrition. One minute they say if you eat x amount of this, you’ll help prevent disease. Then, the next time you hear, “well, we thought that was good, but this is better.” I highly recommend that you go see a qualified nutrition professional such as a Nutritionist or Dietitian, rather than a medical doctor or a chiropractor if you’re seeking advice/recommendations on nutrition. They are the professionals in the field. But, I do remember that you cannot go wrong by adding dark, green, leafy vegetables to your diet. One such choice is mustard greens. From the seeds, we get the mustard we eat with ketchup, but it is a whole plant that is very good for the body. Check out this article found at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ articles/archive/2016/10/17/mustard-greens-seeds-health-benefits. aspx : “Mustard Greens and Seeds \ Offer Potent Health Benefits By Dr. Mercola Eating plenty of vegetables can help reduce your risk for many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. For example, one 2010 study found that eating just one extra serving of leafy greens a day reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 14 percent. Fresh
vegetables are a nutritional cornerstone, as most are very low in calories and net carbs while being high in beneficial fiber, vitamins and minerals. Vegetables also contain a wide variety of antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds. Phytochemicals found in plants have potent anti-inflammatory capacity and some even help in the elimination of carcinogens. Other plant chemicals regulate the rate at which your cells reproduce, remove old cells and maintain DNA. Leafy greens, thanks to their high fiber content, also activate a gene called T-bet, which is essential for producing vital immune cells in the lining of your digestive tract. These immune cells, called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), help maintain balance between immunity and inflammation in your body and produce interleukin-22 (IL-22), a hormone that helps protect your body from pathogenic bacteria. ILCs even help resolve cancerous lesions and prevent the development of bowel cancers and other inflammatory diseases. For Better Health, Eat More Veggies Studies have repeatedly shown that people with higher vegetable intake have: • Lower risks of high blood pressure and stroke • Lower risks of certain types of cancer • Reduced risk of kidney stones and bone loss • Higher scores on cognitive tests • Higher antioxidant levels • Lower biomarkers for oxidative stress • Lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease4 • Lower risk for eye diseases • Fewer digestive problems That said, some veggies are more beneficial than others. Kale, for example, has gained vegetable VIP status, in large part thanks to its 3-to-1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio. This is an exceptionally high amount of protein for any vegetable, resulting in kale being viewed as “vegetarian beef.” Like meat, kale contains all nine essential amino acids needed to form the proteins within the human body, plus nine other non-essential ones
for a total of 18. Unlike meat, it does not have these amino acids in a high concentration. This makes it far more difficult to consume excess protein, which we know can activate mTOR and accelerate aging and chronic degenerative diseases. It also contains more omega-3 than omega-6, which is almost unheard of in nature. Mustard — The New ‘King of Greens’? More recently, mustard greens (of which there are several popular varieties) have been gaining in favor. Mustard is a relative of cabbage, broccoli and radishes. Like kale and collard greens, steamed mustard greens have potent cholesterol-lowering ability, courtesy of its ability to bind bile acids. Bile acids are composed of cholesterol, so this binding activity helps reduce your cholesterol level by boosting excretion. Mustard Greens’ Claim to Fame: Cancer Protection Mustard greens are also high in glucosinolate, a plant chemical that your body converts into isothiocyanates (ITCs), which have anti-cancer properties. In fact, studies suggest cancer protection is a primary benefit of mustard greens. According to The World’s Healthiest Foods: “All cruciferous vegetables have long been known to contain glucosinolates, but it’s recent research that’s made us realize how valuable mustard greens are in this regard. The cancer protection we get from mustard greens may be largely related to two special glucosinolates found in this cruciferous vegetable: sinigrin and gluconasturtiian. Sinigrin can be converted into allyl-isothiocyanate (AITC) and gluconasturtiian can be converted into phenethyl-isothiocyanate (PEITC). Both AITC and PEITC have well-documented cancerpreventive and anti-inflammatory properties.” In addition to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, mustard greens also help protect against cancer by supporting your body’s detoxification systems.8 Some of the nutrients in mustard help boost phase 1 detoxification while sulfur-containing compounds aid phase 2 detoxification. Nutritional Information Steamed mustard greens also have an impressive nutritional profile, providing a whopping 922 percent of your RDI for vitamin K, 96 percent of your vitamin A, and 47 percent of your vitamin C
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per cup (140 grams). Mustard also contains a number of valuable antioxidant compounds, such as: •Hydroxycinnamic acid, shown to inhibit human lung adenocarcinoma cells and effectively combating multiple-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It also has antimalarial activity9 and much more •Quercetin, an important free radical fighter10 •Isorhamnetin, shown to induce apoptosis (cell death) in certain cancer cells. It may also have particular benefits for inflammatory skin conditions11 •Kaempferol, which has hypoglycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects, and more.12 Ideally, you’ll want to incorporate 1.5 cups of mustard greens into your meals at least two to three times per week. An even better goal would be 2 cups, four to five times a week, although you could mix it up by including other cruciferous veggies as well. Mustard Seeds Have Medicinal Qualities Too Every part of the mustard plant can be used, including the roots, seeds and leaves. The seeds in particular have a long history of use in Chinese medicine. Abscesses, bronchitis, asthma, colds, rheumatism, toothaches, aches and pains, bladder inflammation, ulcers and various gastrointestinal ailments are among the many historical uses of mustard seed, often in the form of a mustard plaster or poultice, which is applied topically. Historically, mustard was also used in baths to alleviate inflammation, as it helps increase blood flow. Mustard seeds — which are commonly used to make the condiment you recognize as “mustard” — are a good source of phosphorous, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and manganese. Gwen Stewart, author of “The Healing Garden,” provides a couple of recipes for making your own mustard condiment in this referenced article. I’ve also provided a recipe below. The seeds can also be sprouted. For instructions, check out SproutPeople.org’s growing instructions for mustard seeds. Tips for growing mustard plants are provided by Mother Earth Living. A note of caution: Some states view mustard as an invasive weed and have imposed restrictions on where and how you’re allowed to grow it, so be sure to check with your County Extension agent to find out if any restrictions apply
before you plant them in your garden. How to Make Your Own Mustard From Scratch Here’s a basic mustard recipe by Paleo Leap, which can be tweaked based on your own taste preferences by adding other seasonings and herbs to it. Basic Mustard Recipe • 1/2 cup mustard powder • 1/2 cup water • Sea salt to taste • Optional: fresh parsley, chopped • Optional: fresh basil, chopped • Optional: lemon or lime zest • Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons of your choice of vinegar In a bowl, combine mustard powder and water and mix until smooth. Add parsley, basil, lemon or lime zest and/or vinegar, if using. Let the mustard rest for 15 minutes before using. You can also find a wholegrain mustard recipe on the Paleo Leap website, which uses yellow and brown whole mustard seeds instead of mustard powder. It’s a bit more involved, as the whole seeds need to be soaked overnight before you can use them. You also need a food processor to turn it into a paste. Boost Nutritional Value Through Fermentation Inflammation from bacterial endotoxins may be a factor helping to drive the obesity epidemic. Sugar and processed foods can quickly make the “friendly” microbe community in your gut unfriendly — even downright hostile. When dysbiosis occurs, bacteria release noxious byproducts called endotoxins. Endotoxins increase the permeability of your gut wall (leaky gut syndrome) and make their way into your bloodstream, triggering system wide inflammation. To counter or prevent this chain of events you need to avoid sugary foods and regularly reseed your gut with healthy bacteria, and one of the best ways to do that is to eat fermented vegetables. In addition to helping break down and eliminate heavy metals and other toxins from your body, beneficial gut bacteria perform a number of other important functions as well, including: •Mineral absorption, and producing nutrients such as B vitamins and vitamin K2 (vitamin K2 and vitamin D are necessary for integrating calcium into your bones and keeping it out of your arteries, thereby reducing your risk for coronary artery disease and stroke) •Preventing obesity and diabetes,
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The Valley, December 2016
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Brannon & Royer Septic Services, LLC would like to thank its customers for their business. Thank you for your continued patronage of the area’s
original
portable restroom & septic services company
Brannon & Royer
If you remember back a few months ago, I wrote about building a mountain with a tunnel for a friend’s layout. Well that layout is Mario’s and here are just a few pictures of the layout, which he has so much fun with himself, Rose, children, grandchildren and friends. This layout features several lines that run through different towns made up of his old Plasticville buildings that date back to the 1950’s, just like some of his trains that he received when he was just a youngster back in
Ed’s Railroading News by Ed Forsythe
That most wonderful time of year is finally here. Yes, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. As we look forward to Christmas, let us remember to relax during all the hustle and bustle by visiting the “Shining Light Through the Darkness” event at Kish Park, open each night from 5 to 10 pm beginning Dec. 3rd to Jan 6th. The park is lit up with decorations to enjoy along with entertainment, food, carriage rides, a great winter village scene and a train layout. Everything is
FREE so come on out and enjoy. Recently I got reconnected with a former golf pro from the Lewistown County Club, Scott Frey. Scott and I both worked at the club in the 1980’s. Me as House Manager and he was the Golf Pro. Scott is now the pro at Nittany Country Club, which is over the mountains in Mingoville. We were reconnected through mutual acquaintances. Our friends get to play golf with Scott weekly during the golfing season. As it turns out, Scott is also a bit of a train lover and he and I have conspired to have our friend’s layout expanded in several different ways, up around the
ceiling, down and under with a subway, etc. Rose is such a fantastically nice lady who is also such a great cook. Over the past two years, Cathy and I have enjoyed several great meals at her dinner table. Thick and juicy baked pork chops, Italian chicken, grilled steaks, vegetables, potatoes, pastas, hot breads, desserts, etc. Several times we have also accompanied her to dinner at several different great restaurants. Everything every time is fantastic. The End. Happy Railroading.......hahahaha If I ended the story here I’d never hear ‘’THE END’’ of it from Mario. Rose is Mario’s wife. Mario is a really neat man who can play the baby grand piano, that’s in his house, like he was performing on Broadway. However, in Mario’s case he has performed there many times in his career. You see, he
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has not just one, but two music degrees from The Julliard School in New York City. I could go on and on, but he wants me to write about that other love of his, shooting sports—no, history—no, golf with Scott Fry—no...Oh yes, his love of Lionel trains.
New York City. On one section, there is the town of Bellefonte with the local Talleyran Park, the old world downtown and a really neat Victorian Christmas train running through it. Behind this section is the mountain tunnel that I had fun building. Mario has regaled us with many stories of running his trains with family and friends, as long as the friends were not American Flyer lovers. You see, back then, Lionel lovers and American Flyer lovers were like mortal enemies. But then in 1967, Lionel bought out American Flyer and now they’re just one
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The Valley, December 2016
Sacrificing To Odin on December 25th It’s early morning November 24th, Thanksgiving and in the village where I live, things are very quiet. My wife and I are awaiting the arrival of out of town guests and as we do, we are undertaking all the preparations for a proper feast. Up since 4 AM, we have accomplished a good bit and now out of necessity, I have slipped downstairs into the office to complete work on this article which I promised Wayne, our editor, for this, the December issue of The Valley. As I sit in this quiet environment, a horse and buggy travels past. The clopping of hooves ever more present in the air due to the stillness of the morning. I take note of my fellow Lion Club Members hanging decorative snowflakes from telephone poles through the center of town and I am grateful. So much, indeed, to be thankful for. I am blessed with an incredible wife. We have a great relationship and are undeniably
best friends, confidants, lovers, and engaging companions. I am grateful for a God who has personal interest in me and my life. Because of Him I know my life matters, as well as the lives of those He has placed in my circles. I am grateful to be able to work with such a great team of individuals at The Stewardship Group. I am blessed to be part of a solid fellowship of committed believers. I am grateful for you, my readers, (many whom I may stretch with this month’s article). Sincerely though, thank you for reading on. Yes, I, we, have much, so much to be grateful for. I want to go on record by publicly thanking the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel for His continued divine love and work in my life. Thank you Father for your kind, guiding hand. Hallelujah! As I have travelled the thoroughfare of faith, I have come to many crossroads of decisions as to which way to go. Raised full
throttle as a Catholic, I have in my journey, sat with the Baptists, the Christian Missionary Alliance, Mennonites, and currently sojourn with a Messianic Congregation where we are earnestly attempting to take hold of the Hebrew Roots of our faith. Why is this important? I believe what we do and how we do it is important and matters to God. He explicitly tells us that we are not to worship Him the way the pagans worship their gods. Additionally, in Jeremiah, we read that we have all “inherited nothing but falsehood, futility, and things of no profit.” Yet I see that every denomination, every stream of faith has error, includ-
ing the one I currently find myself in. The greatest concern I have is that I may be operating under a gross conceptual error as it applies to my faith walk and relationship to my Heavenly Father. Thus I continue to search both scripture and the history of His called out people to help me steady my course and set my direction. Recently, I viewed a very engaging video that encapsulates some of my own thoughts as I have travelled on this road. The full title of the documentary is, “The Way, The Truth & The Life, Leaving Churchianity to Live Like The Savior.” It is the story of countless believers around the
world who’ve traded Easter ham for Passover lamb and Sunday church for Saturday Sabbath. Holding every church tradition up against scripture and cutting away anything that doesn’t conform, these followers, for the first time in two millennia, learn what it’s like to be a “peculiar people.” Four key questions are looked at in great detail in “The Way” and each is predicated with the understanding that if Jesus lived the perfect life, why do we keep a different day as the Sabbath? Why don’t we eat the same foods as He did? Why don’t we
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The Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra presents
Handel’s “Messiah”
in two very special all-professional holiday performances with the Orpheus Singers and soloists. Lisa Rogali, soprano Ted Christopher, bass-baritone Amanda Silliker, mezzo-soprano Christoper Kiver, Conductor Jeffrey Fahnestock, tenor
Sunday, December 11, 7:30 pm Schwab Auditorium
E. Pollock Road, Penn State’s University Park Campus
Wednesday, December 14, 7:30 pm Faith United Methodist Church, Bellefonte 512 Hughes St, Bellefonte, PA 16823
Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra The
Tickets are available at www.CentreOrchestra.org or by calling our office at 814-234-8313
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Christopher Kiver Conductor
Tickets
25
$
$5 for children 16 and under Sponsored by:
The Valley, December 2016
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About Faith
by Rev. Robert Zorn, Visitation Minister, Lewistown Presbyterian Church A truckload of Christmas trees passing through Big Valley last week reminded us that we must soon go out and choose the perfect tree to adorn our log house out here in Treaster Valley. In contemplating this joyous search, I am reminded of our home farm back in Western Pennsylvania. About one fourth of the acreage of our property was located about one half of a mile from the house where we lived. It was bordered on one side by State Highway # 819. This distant land was underlain with a rich nine foot thick vein of soft coal. The Henry Clay Frick Coal Company bought the underground treasure; and by the end of the 19th century, removed all of the coal that could be quickly and safely mined. When the mining operation ended, the fields above began to suffer subsidence as the rocks and soil collapsed into the emptiness be-
low. This rendered a large portion of the land unsuitable for tilling because of the pit boles. However, trees would grow there and were still providing firewood and saw logs when I grew up and left the farm. About the time of the end of World War I, a U.S Department of Agriculture program came into being. This project would provide tree seedlings which could be planted in areas not suitable for growing crops. Daddy took advantage of this and planted probably hundreds of white and Scotch pine trees on his land. The stipulation was that the trees should not be cut until they had grown to maturity. Now, to understand the rest of this story, we should remember
The Mifflin County Model Railroad Club will present their 2016 open House on the following dates: Thurs. & Fri. Dec. 1st & 2nd from 5:00 to 9:00 PM. Sat. Dec.3rd from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Sun. Dec. 4th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Sat. & Sun. Dec. 10th & 11th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Sat. & Sun. Jan. 14th & 15th 2017 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. The club is located in the former Montgomery Ward building on the Square in Lewistown. For further information call Ed Forsythe at Ed’s Trains in Vira. Phone 248-4862. There will be numerous trains running during the open house. There is no admission and all are welcome.
that Frank Zorn never posted a “No Trespassing” sign anywhere on his farm. He said that it would be rather selfish to keep the beautiful land exclusively for himself and his family. This philosophy and practice made him one of the most respected men of Fayette County. Neighbors and strangers alike appreciated this and incidents of vandalism were few. However he may have had some second thoughts when something began to happen at his
pine planting area. As the pines began to reach the height of four feet or more, people driving along the road would stop and cut one or more of the young trees, presumably for Christmas Trees. There was no great harm in this, as there were still many trees remaining. But as the trees grew higher, the thieves began to cut just the tops of the trees, leaving a mangled stump which could never grow into a beautiful useful tree. If any of the trees survived, they should be nearly 100 feet tall. I have not seen them for over fifty years. I think there is a parable for us in this story. As we approach and prepare for Christmas this year, we need to understand the true meaning of the message that God has given to the world in the birth of Jesus. If we see only the glitz and glitter, the gifts and parties, the sights and sounds, the self gratification and indulgence, we fail to honor Christmas. If we ignore the needs of others, and neglect those who are sick and lonely, and stop praying for peace on earth, and do not listen to Him who is The Prince of Peace, then we are the thieves who only take the top of the tree and leave a shattered and wounded stump that cannot grow into a meaningful and purposeful life. “And whoso rests beneath a tree, hath cause to thank Him gratefully.” Theodosia Garrison 1874-1944 a
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The dairy industry is making huge strides to decrease their environmental footprint. Did you know that one of the ways they are doing this is by recycling their cow’s manure?! Not only do dairy producers reuse the animal waste by spreading it on their fields for a natural and safe fertilizer, they also use something called a methane digester. These digesters can turn the methane from the manure into energy to operate the farm. Many operations who use this method also have another machine that separates the solids from liquids. This creates a dry matter that farmers reuse as bedding. How does it work, though? Raw manure is processed on the farm through this machine. The methane is captured in a lagoon with a cover over top of it. This methane is converted into green energy (Gas or electricity) to help run the farm. This creates many positive outcomes for our society. The producers are no longer releasing methane into our atmosphere, they create a green tag because they are using a renewable resource, Federal Government pays tax credits, it creates more energy to sell to utility companies, and chances of odor and runoff are decreased tremendously. This has been a great invention, and many producers are working toward having a methane
digester of their own so that they can do their part in saving the environment. Head, shoulders, knees and toes! This is a famous nursery rhyme that many parents teach their children to help them become familiar with the names of parts of their bodies. Little do these children know that the parts of their bodies that they rely on each day to help them move and survive, also depend on good nutrition. Receiving proper nutrition is a huge aspect of a healthy child’s growth and development. Without the intake of adequate nutrients, growth and development would cease and the quality of living would diminish. It is essential to start children off right by teaching them to eat healthy and make healthy choices for their bodies. By implementing these good eating habits early in life, they can carry them throughout their life to their families in the future. Fruits, veggies and three servings of dairy products each day are just a few things you can encourage your child to eat that will be sure to keep them happy and healthy. As you are spending time with your children during the holidays, be sure to help them make healthy choices and incorporate their favorite dairy products into your every day lives! a
Ed’s Model Railroading News from page 4
and much more. Golf pro Scott Frey, formerly of Lewistown Country Club, is also a train lover and Rose and Mario get to spend many days at his pro shop and play golf with him regularly. The reason I mention the golf course the second time is that Scott and I have discussed several times the designing of an additional add-on of an over head line for Mario’s layout. So far we just haven’t been able to convince Mario to allow us to do the job even though Rose is all for it. I think, oh well, we’ll just have to keep trying. In the mean time, we wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Railroading, hope you enjoy the pictures. Ed and Cathy a
happy family. Over the past year or so, Mario expanded the layout to include an up and down section that Rose wanted, added the mountain and lowered the transformer control table to fit under the new passing siding section that was added. They can now run six different trains and trolleys at one time, so there is indeed lots of action to enjoy all the while looking at all the scenery that includes old and new buildings, lakes and streams, farms and towns, trees made locally by Bill and Judy Stroup of Bill’s Bargain Trees, a neat little golf course with Scott as the pro,
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The Valley, December 2016
Dave Wilson
Coins, Precious Metal and a Little of this and That
Poof!
They’re Gone!
Near the end of every calendar year, the United States Mint stops production of that year’s Silver Eagle ($1.00) coin. This shutdown normally occurs in midto-late December, which allows the Mint a few weeks to concentrate on producing and stockpiling newly dated coins needed for shipment in early January the following year. This year, something unexpected happened. On November 18th, Mint officials announced the unusually early stoppage of production for 2016 One Dollar, Walking Liberty (1 ounce) Silver coins. Why would they discontinue production nearly five to six weeks earlier than normal? A very good question, and one we believe we have the answer to. For nearly two decades, it has been proven that the Gold and Silver markets have been illegally manipulated by a “cartel” of big banks. Recently, Deutsche Bank (Germany’s largest) openly admitted to their participation in this manipulation scheme, and named several other banks as also partici-
pating. They then said that there were several other banks involved too, and that they would shortly be named. Those other banks were not subsequently identified, as Deutsche Bank officials probably received uncomfortable news from their life insurance carrier. In order for manipulated lower prices to retain credibility, physical (real) Silver must be available for sale AT those lower prices. When spot prices dropped below $24 an ounce (the industry average for how much it “costs” to mine and refine silver bullion) everyone wondered who was selling silver at those “under cost of production” prices. That question has never been answered. Now, with spot price at nearly $10 below production levels, that question has surfaced again. “Short sellers” of paper Gold and Silver must have excessively lower prices, before they can successfully exit their positions. They know that with our new, President-Elect, their time to act has been cut dramatically short, and they must buy back their
short contracts, or, likely go bankrupt. Prices had to be smashed lower for their plans to succeed, so their excessive, price crushing manipulations got underway in mid-October. Whoever has been “sacrificing” their valuable (real, physical) silver bullion for way less than they should, has finally thrown in the towel. Now that the Mint has ceased Silver Eagle sales (way earlier than usual), they can crash prices and not have to provide any more of their silver to an extremely hungry throng of Silver investors. Premiums per coin will explode, and available silver will dry up. The US Bond market is imploding, and derivatives tied to these markets are (as they say) “Blowing Up.” Those investors who believe they have waited for “just the right time” to buy in to this market, are going to discover that they have waited too long. The world wide financial meltdown has started ... and when the US Dollar begins its decent (from currently very high levels),
The Truth Has No Agenda
the mad rush to get out of paper (Dollars) and into tangibles (Gold and Silver) will intensify. Prices will simply explode to the upside. No matter what investors paid for their physical (in their hands) Silver and Gold over the past 10 years, expected price movements
will make any price they may have paid look cheap! $100 per ounce Silver does sound a bit excessive. Likely, however, it could very easily end up being a low range estimate. a
The Valley, December 2016
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Liberty Seekers “Long live the pioneers, rebels, and mutineers. Go fourth and have no fear, come close the end is near.” -Renegades, Xambassadors In the spirit of the holiday season, I deem it fitting to utilize this month’s column as a thank you and shout out to my fellow liberty-seekers. This goes out to all the veterans to the cause I admire and those of you just coming out of the woodwork, those of you I’ve become close with and those I’m just getting to know, those of
you that are near and those that are far. I am infinitely grateful to all those spreading a message that needs to be heard, at a critical crux in American history. This is not the time to re-nig on the foundations that were laid down in this great experimental melting pot, it is not the time for complacency or leniency, it is not the time to stand down. There are many ways in which that message is spread. All of which have their place and importance. Whether it’s via online interactions, debates around the
extended-family table, participation in rallies, sign waves, protests, petitions, running for local office, or throwing your support behind liberty-minded candidates. Alternately, maybe none of those things quite hit the stride for you, maybe you’re the lead by example, vote with your life-style, army of one type. There’s room here for any and all of the above. Liberty wears a wide cape. Every time you make a counterpoint to an accepted argument, you open eyes that you didn’t even know were fixed on you (or, ok, maybe just that particular thread). Every dinner-time debate you can maintain with a level and consistent demeanor and steadfast
Less Government means more Liberty
logical consistency, while seamlessly passing the gravy to your nana, makes you look like the sane one (for once). Every time you put yourself out in the public sphere and consequently invite either the approval or rejection of your ideals, even those who don’t agree, often admire. Each time you have backed a candidate that you knew had a snow ball’s chance in hell at winning, but you chose principle over party or popularity, and conscious over convention, you already won. Every person that supports their local economy of farmers, small-businesses, tradesmen and craftsmen, rather than sacrificing quality, tax-dollars, and bail-out money on big-business, makes a statement that spreads. Every instance in which you do for yourself, your family, and others by growing your own food, raising your own animals, mending and building your own structures and fences, you are denying Monsanto revenue, standing against factory farming and chemical cocktails, and lessening your reliance on outside means. Every time you take the time to teach your children how to do their own research, draw their own conclusions, and form their own independent opinions, you are
spreading seeds for the reaping. Every time you take an unpopular stance, at an inopportune time, and come down mercilessly on the side of our civil liberties (whether that be religious freedom, freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, security against unreasonable search and seizure, etc.), you are upholding the integrity of the bill of rights. I know that you are rarely commended for going against the grain. I know you’ve often been met with resistance and hesitation and occasionally with wrath and scorn. I know you always feel your the “monkey in the middle” trying to catch the ball from the far left and the far right. You keep your eye on the ball, jump as high as you can, and still the ball whirls past you. Even so, hang in there. As there are too few willing and there’s far too much to do. Keep jumping, keep waiting for that fumble. “Hey you, don’t help them to bury the light, don’t give up without a fight” -Hey you, Pink Floyd. (Column will pick back up in February’s issue and turn tide back to homeschooling in topic) a
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The Valley, December 2016 Sacrificing to Odin on December 25th from page 5
Slow Computer or Allegory of Life
Greetings friendly reader! I welcome you to read through this small article. Not only will I show you how to speed up your computer, this article is also about life, science, and maybe even politics… Have you ever wondered why your computer slows down over time? Maybe it freezes up on you and you have to reboot it in order to get it back to work. Finally, the machine completely stalls, and that’s when you know that it’s time to take it to an IT specialist, commonly known as “local computer magician.” In this short article, I invite you to join me on a small tutorial/quest where we will dive into the world of computers and with my help, we will identify some reasons behind your slow PC (personal computer). Then, likely you will be empowered to
fix your own computer! By far the most common cause of computer slowdown is anti-virus programs. Yes, you haven’t misread. Anti-virus utilities can be compared to pharmaceuticals. A small amount is ok and can save your life in extreme situations. However, when doctors are prescribing drugs just because they are getting a commission from corporations, we have patients that feed on drugs and unfortunately succumb to chemicals rather than the virus that they were initially fighting with. Yet, a person who drinks herbal teas, exercises and maintains a healthy diet will have robust system that will be difficult to penetrate. This is common sense and applies to the computer world in just the
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keep the same laws as He did? And finally the question I’d like to delve into more deeply here: If Jesus lived the perfect life, why don’t we celebrate the same holidays? Instead we have taken pagan days and proclaimed them holy days. They are not holy in the eyes of the God of Jacob. In Deuteronomy (12:4), we are told not to worship the Lord our God the way the pagans worship their gods. Yet we persist in proclaiming pagan days as holy unto Him. We say it’s what’s in our heart that counts. Allow me to be graphic— if my wife cheats on me, yet tells me that in her heart she loves me, I will not comprehend nor accept this kind of love. Scripture tells us that above all, the heart is deceitful, thus we need to be very careful how we approach the Almighty. Christmas is a pagan holiday. In the video you will see Pat Robertson on the Christian Broadcasting Network admitting as such. He says: “mistletoe - pagan, trees - pagan, giving of gifts - pagan. Every single bit of it is pagan. Christianized pagan.” He points out that the winter solstice was a time of lawlessness when all the laws were suspended and revelry and orgies ensued as people
The Truth Has No Agenda
marked the solstice. The Catholic Church Christianized this celebration because the Romans in Italy did not want to give up their holiday, so the church proclaimed the birth of Christ to be December 25th. Continuing in the video, the Heathen Priestess Galina Krasskova, who is polytheistic because she venerates many gods, proclaims that the winter solstice is the time to sacrifice to the Norse god Odin. The Summer solstice she notes, is the time to sacrifice to the Norse goddess Freyja. She encourages people to decorate their trees to make an offering to honor the spirits, pointing out that Christmas trees are a pagan custom. She notes that the twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days of the ritual sacrifices and further states that none of the trappings we associate with Christmas have anything to do with the Christmas story. In Jeremiah, we are admonished to not follow these customs as we read in chapter 10, “Learn not the way of the heathen… For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold…” The Customs of the People are Vain
All we have done is added Bible to a pagan ritual. The time is upon us where we must hold every church tradition up against scripture to see if stands the test and then cut away anything that doesn’t. Thus, as we consecrate ourselves to build our Father’s house in obedience with His word, Christmas needs to be eliminated from our observance because of its paganism. Steve Maltz, author of “How The Church Lost Its Way” was interviewed in the video. He points out that the church in Acts was a Jewish Church underpinned by a Hebraic mindset. When these church fathers died out toward the latter part of the first century, the reigns of the church transferred to gentile leadership, which was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy. This is where a lot of strange ideas infiltrated the faith, creating a mixture of pagan and Biblical, which remains unto today. If matters of faith are important to you, may I encourage you to study these things and then align yourself as The Almighty leads you, not as man directs, for we are admonished to shun the praise of man, preferring instead the accolades of The Almighty. This may mean leaving the trappings of Christmas far behind. I
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The Valley, December 2016
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Storyteller by Pennsylvania Dairy Princess
Halee Wasson I have been fortunate to be surrounded by many strong women. Over the years, it’s not just family who has taught me strength, but women I’ve met through friends, involvement in organizations, and my adventures as dairy princess. This past year I had the chance to reconnect with a woman that impacted me during my youth years in 4-H, but will now continue to impact me throughout my time as a young adult. On November 19th, I visited Juanita Wolfe at her home in Centre Hall. The home that her husband Harry and her raised their six children – 5 boys and 1 girl. For years, Juanita and her husband worked to raise their family through good and bad times, as they continued to commit to provide a high quality product to their local community by taking good care of their 50 head of dairy cows. They were raising their family with the same values they were raised with. For three hours, I sat across from her at her kitchen table, and listened intensely to every story she had to share. I knew her stories would be inspiring, but I had no idea the lasting effect it would have on me until writing this article. In 2011, Juanita lost her husband to difficulties following the removal of a brain tumor. She explained her husband’s mind of determination to finish the field of hay in front of their house following the procedure. It was heart aching hearing how Harry had the strength to cut, rake, and merge the field, but eventually never finished the field out, due to complications. It was a painful reminder how even the strongest people we know can become weak towards the end of their life. However, Juanita shed a positive light by stating how when one becomes weak, the family becomes stronger. Once her husband was unable to tend to the field and animals, her oldest children began to take over. Today, her son Kaleb and daughter Emily are the 4th generation to care for the family farm. It would have been easy for her and the children to give up the farm, but it was worth more value to continue the family’s legacy
built upon by Harry, than to sell everything he put hard work and strength into sustaining. Juanita credits her family for building strength through hard times, but she also said “it would not be possible to be strong without the support from her friends and local community members.” Juanita shared how her and Harry were both active members within community organizations, and how grateful she was to have the support from them during difficult times. We took a break and refreshed our glasses with sweet tea. Juanita began sharing about her upcoming retirement from the Pennsylvania State University after 28 years of helping guide students to success as an undergraduate advisor in the College of Agricultural Sciences. We talked about her years serving as a 4-H advisor for the Centre Hall 4-H Pig Club. Lastly we talked more about her amazing family, from her children to her grandchildren, and their love for dairy cows. In the conversation about her family, I was reminded how Juanita’s son, Ethan, passed away in 2013 at the age of 22. This made my heart ache as I felt more pain for her. As she shared stories of Ethan, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone who has experienced so much loss and so much pain could keep a positive attitude about life? But then, I got my answer -FAITH. Faith that the Lord provides strength to persevere and endure in spite of the overwhelming obstacles that she faces. She says, “You cannot be discouraged, that only creates weakness. The Lord provides us so many strengths to overcome hard times.” Juanita’s story is one that is not only about farming, but it is also about having faith in the Lord no matter what the obstacle, and allowing Him to lead the way. As we go throughout our celebrations this holiday season, I believe we should all be thankful for the strength and guidance the Lord has provided throughout the year to bring us love, joy and happiness. I know that I will always be thankful for the Lord’s blessings.
I am also thankful that Juanita and I were able to reconnect for her to share her amazing story. The dairy industry is facing some rough times economically, but Juanita reminds me that we, as dairy farmers, cannot get discouraged. Instead, we can put faith in the Lord to provide us strength to continue doing what we love with support in the family and community. a
Juanita is blessed with a large and supporting family. At right is a photo taken in 2013 with all her children and grandchildren.
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The Valley, December 2016
R. O. F. F.
Rescue Our Furry Friends by Patricia Lawson
This month we would like to introduce to you Mason and Maris.
“I’m Mason and I’m just a young lad and I have tons of love to give. Playtime is my favorite time of day, but I need someone to play with. I’m litter-trained and I have all my shots, so I’m ready to find a human or family. Do you remember the story about the rescue of the South Korean meat dogs? Well here is an update on one of the darlings, Maris.
“I can’t thank ROFF enough for coming to my rescue! I am now very happy in my foster home, because I’m getting lots of attention from this wonderful family including other dogs, cats and little humans. However, I still need a fur-ever home, I’m a 2 year-old female Mastiff mix named Maris, and when I was younger, adult men scared me. I’m slowly getting to know that not all of them are bad, so I might be a bit shy at first, but once I warm up I’m all yours. Let’s have a meet and greet soon. OK? For more information and additional photos of all of animals up for adoption, just go to our web site www.roffrescue.com or call 1-877-933-ROFF (7633). Thank you and Merry Christmas to all!
Until they all have homes… www.roffrescue.com; rescueourfurryfriends@yahoo.com; 1-877933-ROFF (7633) a
Caption this photo and win some MindFX (Fuel for the mind). Send captions to axe227@comcast.net.
Home at the Grange by Patricia L. Bird Christmas is the time for family, giving and usually lots of love. As we all know, not every family has a holiday filled with love, giving and happiness. One of the goals of the Grange is to provide funding, donations of time and goods, and much more to anyone in need at the holidays and throughout the year to help ensure a better holiday season. As I sat down to write this article, I reflected back on my childhood. I grew up on a dairy farm outside of Centre Hall, PA. My family unit consisted of not only my mom, dad and sister, but also my grandfather and one of my uncles. I lived a typical life filled with lots of love, but also filled with hard work and basically living with just the necessities. Since we lived with my grandfather, Christmas time was always magical. Many years when I was younger, our Christmas tree would basically be the top of a huge pine tree that was growing somewhere on the farm. Many years it truly was a Charlie Brown tree, but to a small child, I didn’t know the difference until we visited relatives and saw their magnificent trees and wondered why ours looked a little puny. But it didn’t really matter, because Santa still found us with usually a stocking filled with penny candy, a small toy and an apple or orange, or if you were lucky, both. When I got a little older and “Santa” didn’t come anymore, we usually got a new outfit for school and maybe a book, record album or something like that. My grandfather usually made Christmas special because he saved his pennies all year and put them in a glass jar. My sister and I would be given the opportunity to choose between the jar of money or a bull calf that would go to sale right before Christmas. Well, my sister is older so she always, and I repeat always, got to pick first, and she always took the money. However, I learned very quickly that patience is a virtue because I usually ended up getting more money from the sale of the calf than what she got in the penny jar. Well, enough about my Christmas. What I want to relay to you is that I didn’t grow up rich, and it wasn’t until I was a married adult, that when I reflected back, I realized that we were really kind of poor. We ate
The Truth Has No Agenda
off the land and raised our own beef, chickens, pork, vegetables and had lots of milk. Getting extra toys wasn’t part of my life. Fast forward to why I’m writing about Christmas and the Grange. Granges in Centre County work really hard to make sure that children and families have more than just the basics at Christmas. The Centre County Pomona Grange #13 provides funds for organizations like the Centre Crest Auxiliary, the Veterans home in Hollidaysburg, Operation Shoebox and many more. Logan Grange #109 in Pleasant Gap donates to the food bank, donates to Toys for Tots and provides local animal shelters with items like food and cat litter. They also sponsor and decorate a tree at the Festival of the Trees, which is held at CPI vocational school in conjunction with Victorian Bellefonte. Penns Valley Grange #158 in Spring Mills fills shoeboxes and provides a Community Christmas Party. Bald Eagle Grange #151 fills shoeboxes, donates to the local food bank and more. Baileyville Grange #1991 donates to Toys for Tots, the Women’s Resource Center, sends cards to shut-in members, donates to the local food banks and at Halloween, helps to sponsor a Halloween party for the community. Halfmoon Grange #290 donates to the local food banks, uses their Charity Fund to provide for a local family in need and several more. Howard Grange #297, which is a very small Grange, donates to the Centre Crest Nursing Home and shares a community Christmas party with Walker Grange #2007. Port Matilda Grange #1284 provides prizes for the local nursing homes’ bingo and makes favors for their Christmas trays. They provide hats and scarfs, mittens and underwear for the Port Matilda Elementary school; they also find a needy family and provide them with food, toys and coats for Christmas. They sing Christmas carols in the community and hold a community Christmas Party. Progress Grange #96 in Centre Hall goes Christmas caroling, makes little pillowcase dresses for girls in other countries and donates to the local food bank. Victor Grange #159 in Boalsburg donates canned goods and funds to the local Food Bank, gives money to the Froggy
Radio Station’s Christmas Carol, answers appeals, and donated to a County Grange Member suffering from cancer to help pay expenses. Union Grange #325 located in the town of Unionville has a community Christmas Party and gives to organizations like the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home. Marion Grange #223 is very busy at the holiday season. They have a family dinner, collect for a needy family in the community, fill shoeboxes, hold a holiday workshop and craft show, support and participate in the Beech Creek Community Breakfast with Santa, and participate in Froggy’s Christmas Carol campaign. And last but not least, Walker Grange #2007 starts their season early. They collect for Operation Christmas Child and also help pack and send the boxes and pay for postage. They also donate items to the Pee Dee Indians in South Carolina. They will gather with Howard Grange for a Christmas banquet where they will gather items for the local food banks and will also help with the local Toys for Tots program. So you can see that Granges in Centre County try to make a difference in the community. If you look at the even bigger picture, you will find that Granges in all the counties in Pennsylvania and also at the national level are noted for all their good giving and the work provided for local communities also. So if you see a Grange and its members doing fundraisers or community service, stop and tell them that they are doing a good job or consider buying that dollar chance, ham sandwich or banquet dinner ticket. I can guarantee you that the funds will go to help make someone’s life better not only at Christmas, but throughout the entire year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Grange family and my family to your family. a
The Valley, December 2016
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Deciding how each room can look its best; removing clutter and maybe excess furniture can make a room look larger and cleaner Outdoor staging focuses on the appearance of a home’s exterior
The staging process can be stressful for a senior because it may call for moving and storing of treasured objects. Sometimes this can be made easier by family involvement; is it time for some family heirlooms to be passed on? Or perhaps the owner has saved years worth of items that are no longer needed. Your SRES can suggest places that would welcome contributions of items, as well as small companies that will clean out basements and attics for a fee. With her list of local contacts, any services that are required can be easily handled.
and yard. This might involve: • Hiring a lawn service to mow, trim and clean up the yard • Using a handyman for basic repairs such as sagging gutter, painting trim or shutters
Showing Your Home: Showing a home to a prospective buyer while the homeowner is present can put a seller in the awkward position of feeling forced to answer a buyer’s sensitive questions. For that
Selling Your Home With A Senior Real Estate Specialist by Kim Rickert Part 2 Preparing to sell a home is rarely simple, and selling a senior’s home can add additional considerations and complexity. Your Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) is equipped to meet the needs of senior homeowners. In Mifflin and Juniata Counties, the only currently designated SRES is Kim Yoder Rickert of Stone Arch Real Estate. Through special training and years of experience, Kim will help to make the selling process proceed smoothly and will work with family members who may be involved in the process. Housing Options: Making the decision to move can be difficult. Talking about the reasons for a move can help a senior and their families make the best decisions based on the circumstances. Choosing housing that meets your family’s current needs and anticipates future needs can be challenging. Types of housing could include anything from moving in with adult children, moving to a retirement community, assisted living or nursing home options, or continuing care retirement communities. Your SRES has contacts in many different housing options and can put you in contact with a professional who can guide you in this decision. Selling the Family Home: Once the decision is made to sell the home, there are several steps that will need to be followed. With the help of your SRES, taking one step at a time is easier. Here are the essential steps you can expect during the process of selling your home: • Pricing Considerations • Staging Your Home • Showing Your Home • Negotiating the sale and closing • Packing and Moving We will cover the first three steps in this article. Pricing Your Home : Setting a price can be emotionally difficult. Much of the value your family places on the home is based on their experiences there. The things you value in your home might not necessarily be in line with buyers’ values. An SRES can offer a non-biased view of the home and will offer guidance on finding an
appropriate market price for your home. The process involves several steps: analyzing your home, comparing it to the local market and taking into account any special considerations of the owner. Some of the appeal of your home to potential buyers will include the size of the home, layout of the house and the lot size. As they say—Location, Location, Location is usually very important to buyers. Identifying special features that will appeal to buyers is also important; does it have an updated kitchen or bath? Does it have a fireplace? What is the “curb appeal” of the home? Making the outside inviting and neat will help bring a buyer into the house. Is the home in good repair on the outside, as well as the inside? Your SRES will advise you on repairs or touch ups that will help make it more marketable. A comparable market analysis (CMA) is a tool that your SRES will use to document your home’s features and compare it to homes that have recently sold in your area, as well as those currently listed for sale. By comparing the homes sold with your home, as well as other aspects of the comparables, your SRES will give you input to help decide on the right listing price for your home. Your SRES has expertise in the local market and will suggest a listing price that will yield the best results within your desired timeframe. Staging Your Home: Preparing your home for showing to the public is called staging. The goal is to put the home’s best foot forward to prospective buyers. Staging usually takes place before the For Sale sign goes up. Staging involves getting the outside and inside of the home in top shape. Indoors this might involve: • Hiring a service to do a thorough attic-to-basement cleaning • Calling a handyman to do necessary or cosmetic repairs
•
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reason, agents often prefer to have sellers out of the house during showings. There are two types of showings: Open Houses and Individual Showings. During an open house, the home is open to the public for a few hours and the agent is present to show the house to anyone who wishes to view it. An individual showing is requested by a buyer or their agent, and your agent will show them around the home and answer questions. In either case, the senior will be aware of the showing well ahead of time. The home should be clean, neat and easy to navigate (no piles!) It is best to remove or store away prescription medications and any valuables. In many cases, a buyer may want to look at the home during a weekend or evening hours in order to work around their schedules. If the senior prefers to have showings during specific hours, the agent can usually make that work. If the senior cannot leave the house due to physical limitations, your SRES can make note of this so that buyers are aware that the seller will be present. Your SRES wil work with your best interests in mind, and will adapt to meet your special needs. NEXT MONTH: NEGOTIATING AND CLOSING THE SALE, PACKING AND MOVING *This article includes excerpts from “Moving On”, a guide published by the SRES Council. Copies of the guide can be requested by calling Kim Yoder Rickert at 717-248-600 a
The Valley, December 2016
The Truth Has No Agenda
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The Valley, December 2016
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DECEMBER 2016 Remembering Pearl Harbor – 75 Years Ago A Day that Changed the World- Part 2 Life went on across the county during the week that led up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. People bustled about their lives, at school, work and church, many preparing for the coming holidays. The National Market Co. at 143 Market Street had fresh oysters. Large pig’s feet cutlets were 25 cents for a large cutlet. Gold Brand Oleo, 2 pounds for 27 cents. Four pounds of 1941 packed sauerkraut sold for a quarter, while 1941 packed mince meat was two pounds for a quarter. Weis Markets at 33-35 Chestnut Street and at 118 West Market Street advertised canned peaches at 15 cents for a one pound can and two cans of apricots for 29 cents. Quaker Oaties cereal was two boxes for a quarter. Atlantic and Pacific Stores had holiday baking items on sale. A & P pumpkin, 3 cans for 25 cents, mince meat, 2 - 29 oz. packages for 15 cents and Sunnyfield cake flour, 2 - 2 pound boxes for 27 cents.. Saturday night, December 6, according the advertising in The Sentinel, the town was jumping with entertainment possibilities! The Rialto Theatre advertised live entertainment on stage, a “Star-Spangled Revuesical” featuring Jack Sidney’s Follies of 1942, with the Royal Jesters Orchestra. Thirty five people on stage, “mostly girls, in the “Sweater Girl Revue.” On the screen, the Rialto featured the film, “Buy Me That Town” with Lloyd Nolan, Constance Moore and Albert Dekker. The midnight show was advertised for 28 cents but on Monday, 11 cents admitted one for the
matinee and 17 cents for the evening show. The Log Cabin Inn, along Route 522 – the Sunbury Road – five miles northeast of Lewistown, enjoyed the “Singing Trio – Sherm, Johnny and Ed” who entertained Saturday night. No cover charge for the “Best Liquor, Wines and Beer.” One mile west of Lewistown on Route 22, The Benmar, formerly The Crystal Inn, featured a “new, different, circular bar.” Patrons could dance to Kahley and his electric Hammond Organ. The Coleman Hotel opened “The Yacht Club” and invited customers to “Climb On Board” at Lewistown’s “Newest and Smartest Night Club.” Dance to the strains of Andy Delmar and his Four Jacks with music “you can’t resist.” Minors will not be admitted, according to the ad. Members and guests of the Junction Fire House could enjoy Punch Harmon’s Swing Modernaires. The Brooklyn presented the Chesterfield Hi Hatters from 9 P. M. until ? for the enjoyment of their members and guests. Corkins’ Grill had an orchestra every night with two floor shows HUNTING THAT YEAR In 1939, 1940 and 1941, President Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday of November in an attempt to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. In 1941, Congress passed legislation establishing the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving, which it remains today. The Sentinel’s evening edition for December 1, 1941, had an item under the line SHOOT HIS TURKEY. Harry D. Henry, proprietor of Henry’s Service Station at 20 South Walnut Street, Lewistown, shot his wild turkey on Thanksgiving Day. The sixteen pound bird was the featured item on the Henry’s menu for a special
Next Issue of The Valley: January 4th
get-together with family and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Henry entertained Mr. and Mrs. David Connor and son Harold and wife and baby of Ferguson Valley, Henry’s mother Mrs. A. A. Henry, William Keaster and R. D. Henry. Deer season opened on Monday, December 1 that year. Two Juniata County men got their bucks early that morning, according to The Sentinel, both six-points, but no Mifflin County hunters reported successful hunts by noon, when the evening newspaper went to press. On the night of December 3, 1941, a dense pea soup fog descended upon Central Pennsylvania, including all of Mifflin County, bringing traffic to a standstill. The Sentinel called it a “London fog” and “One of the densest blackouts of the Fall.” The newspaper reported that, “The heavy blanket of fog common this time of the year hung over the hills and mountain tops most of the day and settled into all the terrain about dusk.” Lights in stores, in homes and on vehicles were turned on in late afternoon. Reports of traffic at a snail’s pace abounded, with visibility at “about zero.” Despite all the potential for serious accidents, only a minor fender-bender was reported. December 3, 1941…Japanese consulates in the United States begin to burn documents. The sports page carried college football scores and game reports for eager followers. Texas appeared to be running unfettered to the national championship, having trounced its first six opponents by an average score of 38–5. However, Baylor surprised the Longhorns with a 7–7 tie, then TCU shocked them with a 14–7 beating. The week of the TCU game, the Longhorns were on the cover of Life magazine. Milroy High School seniors were practicing for the school’s first stage production. The comedy, titled, “Everybody’s Crazy Now,” would be presented at the Milroy Theatre December 3 and 4. Miss Evelyn M. Fahs, head of the language department at M. H. S. directed the three act play, about the fictional small town of Sunnydale. A widowed mother has to open the family home to a collection of unique boarders to keep from going to the poor house.
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From a highway engineer to a maid who is “isn’t quite right,” The Sentinel termed the play a “hilarious comedy.” Featured players included seniors Audrey Rager, Madaline Reed, Richard Rager, David Patterson, Louise Nale, George Gahagan, Louise Esh, Mary Conti, Donald Wagner, and Charles McNitt. Students practiced their lines for another high school production that December, too. On the stage at the Burnham High School Auditorium, seniors there preparing for “Why Worry?” This comical farce detailed the eccentric lives of the Dalrymple family. Widow Darlymple’s late husband was a renowned Shakespearian actor, and as she lives life through his past glory with children named for famous characters of the Bard. (Ophelia, Desdemona, Hamlet, etc.) Miss Frances Read, the play’s director, promised that this would be one of the finest B. H. S. productions ever seen. The cast would feature B.H.S. seniors Mary Stoicheff, Arhur Miller, Betty Leeper, Phyllis Snook, Robert Deamer, Geraldine Lewis, Richard Harpster, William Allison, John Harper and Janet Rhodes. The proceeds from the performance will help finance the senior class trip to Washington, D.C. at the end of the school year. Seventh Ward School’s Parent Teacher Association would host a “Fun Night” at the school on Friday, December 5, 1941. With the doors opening at 7, attendees would find an array of entertainment, all with a festivallike atmosphere. The sponsors remind mothers, “Don’t let the fact that you must get up and do the Saturday baking keep you away. There will be a special bake sale in Room 2 where you may purchase pies, cakes and cookies for the week-end and thus get an extra hour’s sleep Saturday a.m.” Derry School P. T. A. planned a Yuletide Program for December 10, titled “The Deacon and His Prairie Pioneers.” Funds raised will help purchase equipment for the lunch room, notes an item in the Thursday evening, December 4, 1941 edition of the Sentinel. The program, presented by the elementary school students, was scheduled to be performed at Derry High School. December 6, 1941…President Roosevelt appeals directly to Japanese Emperor Hirohito to exercise his influence to avoid war. COUNTY GOES TO BED WITH NEWS OF A WAR AVERTED On Saturday, December 6, kids caught the cartoons and seri-
als at the local theatres - the Embassy, Pastime and Rialto. With nineteen days until Christmas, shopping was the goal of many that day in downtown Lewistown. Borough police, however, were beginning to enforce a new “No Left Turn” ordinance at Fountain Square (Five Points), with the new state approved traffic signs installed. Travelers had to be mindful of the change. On Saturday night, December 6, the county went to bed content that hostilities had been averted with Japan. Radio reports and newspapers carried news out of Washington that soothed a jittery public. Headlines, like this one from the evening edition of The Sentinel that December 6th read: FIRM STAND TAKEN BY UNITED STATES AVERTS JAP WAR — Washington’s Unrelenting Attitude Convinces Tokyo That Further Aggression Would Hurl Nations Against Nippon — TEMPORARY PEACE SEEMS ASSURED. There would be no local newspaper on Sunday, December 7. The news of the attack was relayed to the mainland by telephone, telegraph and teletype all Sunday morning. News of the attack was heavily censored. No accurate casualty figures or number of ships sunk were released to the press. On December 8, 1941, the nation, including radio listeners in Mifflin County, heard the words of President Roosevelt as he began, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Mifflin Countians would soon be off to fight, thousands over the course of the war, and many would never return. A new term word become part of the vocabulary, Gold Star Mothers, as small blue flags bearing a gold star appeared in windows of homes that lost a son or daughter in the war. Scrap drives and food, gas and tire rationing became the norm, while war bond rallies were held on Monument Square with Hollywood stars appealing to the public’s generosity. A USO chapter was established at the Lewistown YMCA to give aid and comfort to traveling servicemen. Yes, the home front would do its part, too, but for better or worse, life would never be the same. a
The Valley, December 2016
Trails in Coopers Gap This circuit hike explores trails typically used by mountain bikers more-so than hikers. The trailhead for this hike is located just a bit past Coopers Gap. There are several “back” ways to get to Coopers Gap, but the most direct is via the Reedsville/Belleville exit of route US322. Heading east or west on US322, exit at route PA655 and head north towards Reedsville. At the traffic light, and the end of route PA655, turn left onto Tea Creek Road. Drive 0.7 miles and take the first left onto Woodland Road. Once on Woodland Road, follow it for 1.9 miles as it parallels Tea Creek back to the entrance into Rothrock State Forest and Coopers Gap. Once on Coopers Gap Road, go for about 2 miles and you will see a large parking area on your left. This is the Coopers Gap Trailhead parking area, and the start for this circuit hike. From the trailhead, you want to head east on the Sand Hole Ridge Trail. This trail is located directly across Coopers Gap Road. Unlike other trails in Rothrock State Forest, this trail is not blazed. However, the path is well worn and maintained and you will have no trouble following it. The trail has a slight, gradual ascent as it makes its way in amongst the pine trees. At about 0.5 miles, after the trail levels off a bit, there is another trail coming in from the left. This trail will take you directly to the Beautiful Trail, which runs across the top of the ridge. For a shorter hike you can take this trail, but for this circuit hike continue straight on the Sand Hole Ridge Trail. At 0.6 miles you will begin a descent into Crabapple Gap and at 0.9 miles cross a gated mountain road, just near the intersection with Coopers Gap Road. Cross the gated road and scramble up a small hill and back into the pine forest. You are now hiking on the Long Cut Trail. At 1.6 miles you’ll cross a dirt road, but will continue straight on the trail. The trail is now named Deer Tick
Trail. If you look at the undergrowth and grass that the trail passes through it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out how they came up with the name for this trail. Follow Deer Tick Trail for a mile, switchbacking five times as it climbs the south face of Sand Hole Ridge. After 2.6 miles, you will reach the top of the ridge and the eastern most part of Beautiful Trail. Before heading west on the trail, turn east here and follow what looks to be the remnants of a trail. Hike east across the top of Sand Hole Ridge for less than two tenths of a mile where you’ll come upon a beautiful vista. There is a large rock outcropping here on the northern slope. Once you crest the rock outcropping you will have a clear and unobstructed view towards the north, looking down on Lingle Valley with Brush Ridge and Spruce Mountain just beyond. From the vista, retrace your steps back to the trail where you’ll be heading west on top of Sand Hole Ridge. The hiking is rather easy and quite enjoyable. There are a few rock gardens that you’ll hike through. The trail straightens and appears to be an old mountain road that has long since grown over. The trail is wide and clear of obstacles. At 4.1 miles, Beautiful Trail emerges onto Conklin Road. Turn left here and follow the road down to Coopers Gap Road. At this point, turn right and hike Coopers Gap Road for a little more than a tenth of a mile. Turn left onto an unmarked, unblazed trail. This trail is a short cut to the Shitakka Trail. Shitakka Trail starts on Kettle Road and parallels Coopers Gap Road down to the trailhead parking area. At 4.5 miles, you will turn left onto Shitakka Trail. Follow Shitakka Trail for about a half a mile where it intersects and merges with Indian Trail. Follow Indian Trail for a hundred feet or so before you turn left and continue to follow Shitakka Trail. The trail is relatively
straight here as it makes a gradual descent through the woods. At 5.4 miles, you will come upon a small stream with a nice wooden Coopers Gap bridge. After crossing the stream, hike circuit hike is about 5.5 miles in another tenth of a mile and you’ll length and you should be able to be back at the trailhead. This
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complete it in about three and a half hours. a
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The Valley, December 2016
Less Government means more Liberty
The Valley, December 2016
The Truth Has No Agenda
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The Valley, December 2016
Less Government means more Liberty
The Valley, December 2016
Joanne Wills-Kline “Contentment Quest”
December Grace A short while ago, as I was walking, and deep in thought, I happened across a beautiful bright red leaf on the road in front of me. The leaf’s beauty stopped me in my tracks and pulled me out of my deep thoughts. Just seconds before spotting the leaf, I was ruminating on happenings of weeks before that left me feeling wedged and dejected. When my eyes fell upon that amazing leaf, it was like a flash of grace that pulled me into the present, and out of my dejected thoughts. The simple ordinary leaf symbolized the beauty of grace in my life – appearing just when I needed it most and masquerading in most ordinary form. As the holiday season moves into full swing, I ask how will you see grace in your everyday life – among the demanding days and stressful times? Below are a few ideas to help you remain calm and collected so you can easily be aware of the gift of ordinary grace in your life: 1. Snip the “To-Do” list –
Knock down the list of chores to rock-bottom necessity. 2. Trim the gift list – over time, gift exchanges should be re-evaluated. If a gift exchange no longer works on certain levels – stop. 3. Wrap a little at a time – Don’t wait until Christmas Eve to wrap gifts. Wrap as you go. 4. Buy don’t bake – there are tons of options to purchase baked goods rather than add stress to your life by baking tons of cookies a. If you can’t stand the thought of “bought” holiday cookies, then scale back your cookie making to one or two types of cookies – with simple recipes. 5. Simplify décor – if an all-day decorating session is too stressful for you don’t do it. You can still have a festive fabulous holiday home. Follow the rule of the “Big Three” which is door, tree, and focal point. An elegant wreath on the door, a quaint tabletop tree, and a simply-stated focal point such as a table arrangement
Stream Monitoring and Observation from page 24
likely find these in your stream. They include Aquatic worms, Blood Midge larva, Left-handed snails, and Rat-tailed maggots. Take a look at your findings and you will be able to figure out if there is an issue that needs to be addressed. If you find that there is not much biodiversity in your stream, it may be that the turbidity is not conducive to healthy aquatic life, that there is no habitat for these organisms, or that there is a pollution source such as animal waste, fertilizers, or pesticides. No matter the cause, without these species, we know that larger organisms will also begin to decline. Use this test as a way of determining if there is a problem and then look for ways to correct the problem. I’d like to leave you with a resource that may be helpful in identifying these little bugs. A Guide to the Freshwater Invertebrates of North America by J. Reese Voshell, Jr. is a field guide that should give you the answers you need. Good luck! a
isms. The Group 1 organisms are not at all tolerant of pollutants. You want these guys. They mean that your stream is healthy. These are Caddisly larva, Dobsonfly larva, Mayfly nymphs, Riffle Beetles (adults and larva), Right-handed snails (Make sure there is actually a snail in that shell!), Stonefly Nymphs, and Water Penny Larva. Any of these are a great sign for your stream! Next up, we have Group 2 Indicator Species. These include Clams and Mussels, Craneflies, Crayfish, Damselfly Nymphs, Dragonfly Nymphs, Sowbugs, and Scuds. If you find none of Group 1, but find many in this group, it may mean your stream has minor pollution or issues. Group 3 species include Black fly larva, leeches, Midge larva, and Planaria. (Planaria are tiny! You will have to look very closely for these.) Presence of only these species might indicate that your stream is in trouble. Lastly, Group 4 is very tolerant of pollution and you will
or decorated archway are quick and easy – both to put up and take down. 6. Downsize the dishwashing - It’s not much fun to be stuck at the sink or loading the dishwasher rather than in the midst of the holiday cheer. Forgo the nice china and opt for paper plates. With all the choices on the market, it’s possible to find nice and eco friendly choices. 7. Choose to celebrate at home – Holiday stay-cations offer opportunities for families to slow down and simply cuddle close to the hearth. Enjoy an evening going for a drive together to look at Christmas lights. Family campouts by the Christmas tree are great memory makers. If you must go visiting out and about, trim the outings on the calendar to absolute minimal. Set holiday simplicity strategies early so you can usher in calmness for your holiday season. Remember the true reason for the season, and celebrate by keeping love and grace at the forefront. May calm and simple beauty be yours this blessed season! a
Sacrificing to Odin on December 25th from page 9
can testify to how freeing this can be! If you are interested in viewing “The Way” documentary, I have a limited number of videos available for distribution as a free gift for my readers. Simply contact me per the information below to obtain your copy. May you be blessed with the true freedom that comes only from walking in the Almighty’s decrees this season and always! Founder and President of The Stewardship Group in Belleville, Mr. Ostrowski earned his Master of Science Degree in Financial Services from The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa in 2007. His articles ponder various contemporary topics evaluating them from a political, economic and scriptural point of view. He can be reached by visiting www.thesojourningsteward.com or calling his office at 717-935-5858. References include: www.thewaydoc.com and “Money & Wealth in the New Millennium” www. ascensionministries.net a
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Waiting For the Cable Guy Who May Never Come
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Satellite may be your best answer for high-speed Internet By Michael A. Buffington
Residents of rural areas know it can be frustrating to contact the phone or cable company to ask when better Internet service might be available. In many cases, there’s no timeline for when the infrastructure to provide highspeed Internet via cable, fiber or DSL will be built out — if ever. The reason for this is relatively simple: It costs a lot of money to extend cable/fiber or advanced DSL to an area, so from a business standpoint, it makes sense for these wireline Internet service providers to focus on more populated areas. More customers mean more revenue to pay for all that infrastructure work. Think of it this way: The guy with the ice cream truck is going to spend all his time and fuel driving around neighborhoods with schools and families; you won’t see him in the retirement community — even if grandma and grandpa like a scoop of rocky road as much as any kid! And yes, rural residents want high-speed Internet as much as people in the city or suburbs. Does that mean they have to wait forever? Well, no. If wired services are not available in your neighborhood and you’re fed up waiting for them to arrive, it may make sense to explore wireless options for high-speed Internet. Here’s a look at some of the options that are out there today, all of which are typically available just about anywhere: WISPs: This stands for ‘Wireless Internet Service Provider” and it refers to local towers that provide a wireless signal to subscribers within a limited range. An antenna on the home receives the signal from the tower and connects to a modem in the home. Service from a WISP can be pretty good if you’re not too far from the tower, the line-of-sight remains clear (no trees or other things in the way) and there aren’t too many people on the service. Once the tower loads up with subscribers, speed and reliability can drop.
4G/LTE: If you can get cellphone service at your home, you should also be able to get Internet from the provider. This can mean creating a Wi-Fi “hotspot” with your phone or using a separate device that creates a Wi-Fi “hotspot”. Like a WISP, cell service can vary depending on distance to the towers and line-of-sight. Typical speeds and data plans can be limited, but with Cricket Wireless more users are taking advantage of their new truly unlimited plan. Satellite: This is a technology that has advanced tremendously in the past few years. In the last few years, one American company, ViaSat, upgraded its original WildBlue service to a new one called Exede, which delivers up to 25 Mbps download speeds from the highest-capacity communications satellite ever launched and a newer faster satellite is scheduled to launch in 2017. For comparison, 25 Mbps is about five times the average speed for DSL service, 16 times faster than original WildBlue and 240 times faster than dial-up. Satellite service can have data caps, since even a high-capacity satellite has limits. But unless you’re watching a lot of video or moving around very large files, a satellite service such as Exede could be a great option. Plans start at about $50 a month, and the service requires installation of a small dish on your home, similar to a satellite TV dish. Bottom line: There’s no reason to suffer with painfully slow Internet while waiting for the phone or cable companies to upgrade service in your area. Alternative solutions such as satellite exist now that will enable you to use today’s Internet for all the things you really need it for. Michael Buffington is the President of One-Stop Communications in Lewistown, provider of Exede Internet. Visit their store on Electric Avenue or www. onestop.biz for more information. a
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Let’s look outside the (gift) box for some health answers! Wellness is a choice. It’s a conscious decision to move toward optimal health and life. Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit. We need to recognize that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an affect on our state of health. Wellness is not a “medical fix,” but a way of living. Medicine deals with one dimension, the body. Traditional medicine finds a problem, a symptom, and treats it. True wellness, however, strives for a higher standard. It requires continual improvement and self renewal in all areas of life. It’s more than just the absence of disease. At Simply Health, we have set high standards for health and wellness. We believe it’s all our own responsibility to do as much as we can to keep our bodies and our spirits well. We can’t wait until disease has taken over our bodies. The gift is to take the time and energy to do as much as we can to stay well before disease has set into our bodies. And if disease has claimed a part of our bodies, what’s the best whole method to return the body to its desired natural health and whole state? At Simply Health, we have created an arena to use many services that help to keep one well or turn things around when one is not. Our signature service, the Salt Spa is a room filled with tons of Himalayan Salt. This salt is unique as its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. So it doesn’t matter what you have: asthma, allergies, skin issues, sleep issues, cystic fibrosis, arthritis, or any other health challenge.....they all start with inflammation. When you sit in the room for a 45 minute session, you sit quietly and just breathe. No phones, no books, IPads, or anything......just soothing music and low lights. It’s a very relaxing and regenerating 45 minutes. We have three rooms filled with 11 tons of salt. This will start to help to restore the body to its desired state.....one of wellness. It does not happen in one session—the benefits are cumulative. We are also very big on detoxing. Practically every service that we offer has some amount
of detoxing. We are subjected to literally thousands of chemicals and toxins every single day. Do they accumulate in our bodies and make us sick? We offer the Ion-Cleanse Detox Footbath. The Detox Footbath is a natural way of approaching disease through saturation of the blood, tissues, cells and organs with ions. These naturally stimulating and relaxing sessions are based on ionization of water and osmosis to draw toxins from the body. You will start by sitting in a chair with your feet in a container of warm water for 30 minutes. As the process begins, the water will
turn colors as the body works to remove waste and by-products. In some cases you may feel light sensations such as itching, drawing, and or tingling. At the end
of your session, your feet will be washed and your water examined. We also offer the Far Infrared detoxing sauna. Far Infrared is a section of the natural band
of light that is not visible to the human eye, but can be felt as heat. Unlike the high heat produced
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The Joint Commission Disease-Specific Care Certification in Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Heart Failure Rehabilitation, Parkinson’s Disease Rehabilitation and Stroke Rehabilitation
Regain Strength and Be Home for the Holidays
A Higher Level of Care
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If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with activities of daily living, call HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital for a no-cost in-home rehabilitation assessment. Our rehabilitation nurse liaison comes to you in your home, physician’s office or the hospital to determine if rehabilitation
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may be right for you. Let us help you get home for the holidays with greater independence. Call 800 842-6026 and ask for a rehabilitation nurse liaison to assess your rehabilitation needs, while coordinating with your physician and caregiving team.
©2016:HealthSouth Corporation:1166849
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The Valley, December 2016
Modern Energy and Alternative Heating with Curt Bierly
Humidity and Indoor Air Quality Maintaining a correct level of humidity in your home or business is essential to improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and to the overall health and comfort for you, your family and your home or business. The EPA suggests maintaining proper indoor Relative Humidity levels to reduce the effects of unwanted conditions associated with poor indoor air quality. What is a comfortable humidity level and why is proper humidity control essential? Keeping in mind that 0% is no moisture in the air and 100% is lots of moisture in the air, people tend to feel most comfortable in the area of 45% Relative Humidity. Humidifiers (winter) and dehumidifiers (summer) are designed to keep indoor humidity at a comfortable level. Too much humidity can cause an increase in biological pollutants, like mold, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and dust mites that can trigger respiratory health ailments. Not enough humidity can lead to
nosebleeds, itchy skin, difficulty breathing and damaging static electricity. In your home — wood furniture and flooring can dry out and warp with too little humidity. And with too much persistent humidity, mold and mildew can permanently damage your home leading to costly repairs. To add humidity to your home or business (winter) a Central or Room Humidifier is needed. There are a large variety of humidifiers both central and room and how they add humidity to the air varies greatly. Some require and include a humidistat, others don’t. If you have a central Warm Air Heating System (Heat Pump, Gas/Oil/Coal Furnace) a central system is very common. Most of the central systems use steam (Heat Pump) or evaporative technology (Gas/Oil/Coal Furnace). A steam unit uses more electricity because it boils water and introduces humidity in the distribution system as steam. An evaporative unit passes warm air
over a wet pad. Depending on the quality of your water, at least yearly maintenance is required. Room Humidifiers use evaporative, steam or ultrasonic technology to introduce water into the air. A picture of a sculptured ultrasonic room humidifier that we sell at our store in Millheim is attached to this ad. This very quiet unit introduces a “cool mist” of water vapor into the air and is inexpensive to operate. Great for homes or businesses that don’t have a warm air ducted distribution system. To remove humidity from your home or business (summer) a Central or Room Dehumidifier with included humidistat is needed. Both are readily available with a room humidifier being the most popular primarily due to cost and no installation required. Most all use the same electrical/ mechanical principle and are relatively economical to operate. Very little maintenance is required. Be sure to size the unit to the square footage of the area you want to dehumidify. If you have an air conditioning system in your jome it will dehumidify as it cools; however, in the basement or ground floor, which is traditionally cool, you will still need a dehumidifier. Standard units remove moisture from an area efficiently when that area is at a temperature of 65ºF degrees or higher. If the area you want to dehumidify is colder then 65ºF, a low temperature unit should be considered.
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Often mistaken for a piece of art, our humidifier is home on the fireplace mantle during the heating season.
Humidity control is an essential part of good indoor air quality. If you don’t currently have it in your home or business, consider including summer and winter humidity control in your budget for 2017.
Curt Bierly is president of the bierly group incorporated of which Stanley C. Bierly is a division. He is chair of the Penn College HVAC Advisory Board. You can contact him at his business in Millheim (814-349-3000, cbierly@bierlygroup.com). a
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Books: The Perfect Gift Can’t figure out what to get the special kids in your life? I have some suggestions! Books and reading are the perfect gift, not just at holiday times, but for any occasion throughout the year. If you need any other suggestions, just come see me. Consider the following when selecting gift reading materials for children and teens: Toddlers haven’t developed the fine motor skills to turn the thin paper of large books, so consider sturdy, small cardboard books. Vibrant colors with little text on a page are just right for small hands and laps. My all-time favorite baby/ toddler book is Leslie Patricelli’s Fa La La. The little baby, who wears only a diaper, prepares for Christmas and visits Santa. Three-to-five-year-olds like text repetition and colorful illustration. They are able to understand a simple plot-line in a story. A wonderful Christmas book for this age group is How the Easter Bunny Saved Christmas by Derek Anderson. When Santa has an accident, the Easter Bunny comes to the rescue. Six-to-eight-year-olds are delighted to be able to read longer books. Controlled vocabulary, lengthier and more complex story lines, dinosaurs, and jokes and riddles are good choices. Who doesn’t love the antics of the Mo Willems’ Pigeon in the original Don’t let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! When the bus driver needs a break, Pigeon is ready to roll. Nine-to-twelve-year-olds like fantasy, scary stories, biography, and historical fiction. They want to “see” themselves in the stories they read, or experience life in another time or era. A holiday favorite for older children is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. The Herdman children are the worst children in the world and when the family, who
has never even heard about the Nativity, takes over the church’s Christmas pageant, it is the best one ever. Young Adults, thirteen-toseventeen, are faced with changing bodies and growing selfawareness. They enjoy reading about teens their age and older, who are solving problems and making contributions to school, society or the world at large. Their interests are varied and range from peer pressure to fantasy. With the release of the movie, consider purchasing the boxed set of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children books. Each of the children in the home for orphaned/ abandoned children and teens has a little quirk. One floats, the other controls fire, and another is invisible. As the story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. There are a variety of book apps available for your consideration this Christmas. One of my favorite apps is Sandra Boynton’s Blue Hat, Green Hat. With music and movement, Turkey dresses himself with his pants on his head and his mittens on his hands. When a child touches the screen, socks rain down. During this busy time, when we seem to be over extended and super busy, keep reading to your children, each and every day. This 15-20 minutes provides a calm, connected time to enjoy and relax in each other’s company. Wishing you a joyous holiday and Season’s Readings! Susan Miriello Assistant Director Mifflin County Library a
We have finished our fall cleanups and winter will soon be here. We had 42 volunteers cleaning nearly 6 miles of road and 2 illegal dump sites this fall. In all, they picked up 193 bags of trash that equaled 2660 lbs. of trash or 1.3 tons of trash. They also properly recycled 69 tires. Some of this was part of phase II of the Juniata River cleanup, which we were not able to finish pulling up in August when we ran out of time. We cannot say enough about our many volunteers throughout the year. Each year we pick a volunteer to be our Volunteer of the Year for his or her volunteer service throughout the year. Tim Zimmerman was picked for this year’s volunteer recognition. It is often hard to pick just one person from so many people who have volunteered throughout the year. We ask for names dur-
ing our monthly meeting and that person is named before the next month’s newsletter. Our cleanups this fall have been in Granville, Armagh and Wayne townships. We would like to thank all the townships for their help and support during these cleanups. We try to go to areas where we know there is active dumping or by cleaning up some of the 20 dump sites that were surveyed and are in our 2010 Illegal dump survey. Often people or Township officials tell us of roads or areas where dumping has occurred. We always try to schedule those areas to be cleaned first, because trash often attracts those areas for people to dump more. Once cleaned, it often stays that way and no future dumping happens there. We have a lot of roads that are adopted by caring individuals who want to take pride in their
community. If you are interested in keeping your neighborhood clean and attractive, you can contact us and adopt them. The only requirement is for them to clean it twice a year. Most illegal dump sites are there through no fault of the land owner. Many are in rural areas where there is no one around to see them. If you see someone who is dumping trash or tires, get a license plate number and vehicle description and contact your local police or the state police and report it. If you would like to become involved with what we do to cleanup Mifflin County and keep it beautiful, contact me at pammiff@verizon.net or call 717899-6701 to find out how. Have a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
Purp-ess from front page
feel like they are receiving a special, custom-made gift every time they open one of our products. We know your loved one will be thrilled to see their purp-ess box in their mailbox. The verses I cling to that give me passion in creating our products for everyone’s benefit are Ephesians 3:1621: “I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, 17 and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, 18 so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. 19 Yes, may you come to know his love— although it can never be fully known—and so be completely filled with the very nature of God. 20 To him, who by means of his power working in us, is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of: 21 to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen.” In closing, I am asking for your prayers for direction and guidance through this venture.
Honestly, I am feeling challenged about one very important part – the message card. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how to bring the box together; however, I am challenged on the messages. In order for God to be glorified, the recipient of the box needs to get something way more than bath products. I am praying for either the words to put on the cards every month or for someone to step in and help! I am always open to hearing about an experience or moment you may have had; perhaps when taking a much needed relaxing bath and reflecting on the goodness of God, or that feeling of comfort from a warm, moisturizing bath that lets you feel glad you’re alive, or anything you are feeling led to share! Please feel free to contact me at tamela@purp-ess.com or call me at 717-286-5049. I am confident that God will continue the work that has been started and we are excited to be along for the ride. I am not a bible scholar, but I do know the extent of Christ’s love and the ‘pur-pess’ to get that across! a
One way out of the messes we often find ourselves in. HOW DOES IT WORK? In the middle of each month we will joyfully prepare you or your loved one’s box. We will ship it to the home where the receiver will be thrilled to open their mailbox and find their gift, the purp-ess box! They will open with anticipation of their bath time that evening; all-the-while thinking about how awesome you are for giving this gift! For now, we are starting with two subscription choices: #1) Lathered – This will be a box containing one bar of soap, the informational message card, and a surprise item (or two)! The surprise item could be a bath bomb, lip balm, bubble scoop, crème, etc. #2) Splish Splash – This box will contain everything in the Lathered subscription with the addition of a sugar scrub! We are passionate about creating excellent products with nature’s finest ingredients here at Shade Mountain Naturals. We also love to make our customers
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Affiliate Coordinator Pam Sechrist a
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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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The Valley, December 2016
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Stream Monitoring and Observation
When evaluating the health of a stream, there are many tests that could be run and factors to consider. The National Sanitation Foundation considers eight tests to be the most beneficial in determining the quality of stream water. These include Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Phosphate, E. coli and Coliform Presence, Water Temperature Change, Nitrate and Nitrite Levels, and Turbidity and Transparency. While this information would certainly be useful if you have a stream on your site, it is a bit involved, requires a test kit and, for most of us, some training. Though I can’t give advice on how to perform these tests, I would encourage anyone who is interested to look into volunteer river monitoring organizations. In
many areas, you can take a free course and receive a test kit if you agree to become a volunteer monitor by testing your stream several times each year. I have no experience at all with the organization, but Alliance for the Bay provides a free PDF on the guidelines for natural stream channels in PA, in addition to numerous other free resources on designing landscapes near streams. Though I can’t give any information on the chemical monitoring, I can help you to understand biological monitoring. Remember the canary in the coal mine? That is biological monitoring. It’s simple and easy to do, too. Instead of canaries, we’ll use the presence of little critters called benthic macroinvertebrates.
Benthic, meaning they live some portion of their lives on the bottom of the stream, macro meaning we can see them without a microscope, and invertebrates, well… I’m sure you know that one. Included in this category are things such as shelled species like snails and mussels, larva such as the cranefly, midege, caddisfly, and Dobsonfly larva, crayfish, and water pennies. You can note macroinvertebrates on the top or around the water such as fishing spiders, however they can be harder to use for evaluation as they don’t live directly in the water and won’t be as dependent on healthy water conditions. Benthic macroinvertebrates are also a great indicator species because they aren’t able to easily move upstream like other species when the going gets tough
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like fish or other larger organisms. Larger organisms do, however, depend on them for food, so they are essential to the aquatic ecosystem. Some of these little critters are more susceptible to pollutants than others. Knowing which ones gives you information on the quality of your water—no test kit required! There are several methods for collection, but all are essentially the same. You want to sample several locations and depths of the water. The easiest method is a “Dip Net” sampling, which simply means you take a net and dip out the bugs. The trick(ier) part comes in where to sample. Because these invertebrates need to cling to debris to keep from being swept downstream, they are found in areas of sediment, banks with overhanging vegetation, along submerged logs and tree roots, and in clumps of leaves. To sample, simply move or shake these areas with the net downstream to catch them as they fall off and are carried into your net by the current. Sample as many of these habitats as are available. A good sampling method if you have a deep stream or river is to use a “Leaf Pack” method, which means you fill a mesh bag with debris such as leaves, anchor it to the bottom of the stream, and
then remove it after a month or so. The drawbacks are that you need to wait to get results and without sampling a variety of habitats, you may find less diversity of invertebrates. Finally, there is also the “Kick Sein” method. I don’t recommend this method simply because it takes two to three people to complete. However, it gets you a cross section of your stream. In this method, a net is stretched across the entire stream by either one or two people. Then, a person stands outside and upstream and brushes off any debris within a few inches of the net, ideally sending the little critters into it. With all of these methods, the net or debris should be examined on a clean, white background as some of the organisms are tiny. Although you’ll be able to see them without a microscope, you may have to look very closely! One note on sampling—never disturb mussels that you might find. All across the U.S., native mussels are struggling. If you find mussels, try to identify them without touching them. If you think you have invasive, non-native mussels, contact DCNR to find out what you should do. Finally, identify the organ-
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The Valley, December 2016
Taking Flight: A Recap of the Fall 2016 Monarch Migration in Central Pennsylvania Every spring and fall an amazing occurrence in the animal kingdom takes place: migration. Bird enthusiasts from all around the world flock together to feast their eyes upon the thousands of bird species that travel south to warmer climates in the fall, and sojourn back north in the spring to breed. However, each year there is another organism, weighing only one gram, that makes a journey over 2,000 miles to the mountains of Central Mexico. This insect is often seen flaunting its bright orange and black wings as it flutters among a variety of blooming, nectar-filled flowers. From tiny caterpillar to winged beauty, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) brings delight to all ages and
ignites a passion in those that seek to conserve it. In mid-August, fourth generation monarchs start to conserve fat and energy for their long trip south. Any monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains will fly through several eastern states, funnel through Texas, then spread across Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains. How they know where to go is still a mystery to scientists. The monarchs utilize northwest winds and thermal updrafts, sometimes traveling up to 80 miles a day. They typically arrive in Mexico in early November and settle in the canopies of oyamel fir forests at altitudes of 10,000 feet. Colonies as large as 30-40 million individuals will remain in these forests through March. At the end of this time, the monarchs mate, and the first spring generation starts to head north. It takes three generations for the butterflies to reach their final northerly destination, at
which point the cycle completes itself. Over the past several decades monarchs have been in a state of decline, mainly due to habitat loss in both the United States along the migration path and in the forests of Mexico at wintering sites. Besides habitat loss, over development and pesticide use in the States is negatively impacting milkweed, a plant that is essential to the monarch’s survival. During the spring, as the monarchs travel back north, the females need to have access to milkweed in order to lay their eggs. Milkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars eat. In Mexico, large stands of oyamel fir are being cut down to support the livelihood of native people. As a consequence, monarchs are losing the safety of the canopy at these sites. This decline in population is of concern not only to scientists, but also to everyday citizens that simply enjoy
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the presence of monarchs both in the United States and Mexico. Several organizations are utilizing citizen science to monitor monarch populations more closely. These include Monarch Watch—a nonprofit education, conservation, and research organization based out of the University of Kansas, and the Monarch Monitoring Project—a long-term study on monarch migration through Cape May, NJ. This fall, Shaver’s Creek assistant Raptor Center
insight into monarch orientation and navigation, as well as population numbers at overwintering sites. Among the 100 tagged, 48 were male, 51 female, and one unknown. Ninety-six were wild and four were reared in captivity then released. Typically, the dates for tagging monarchs are September 1st to October 31st, but this year on November 2nd the Monarch Monitoring Project team tagged 155 butterflies. This late surge was also seen via monarch obser-
Photo by Sam Kruguer
director, Jon Kauffman, and I tagged 100 monarch butterflies at sites surrounding Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, using tags from Monarch Watch. These tags allow for tracking, which gives
vations at three hawkwatch sites in Central Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, five monarchs were spotted between Stone and Jacks Mountain and Waggoner’s Gap.
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The Valley, December 2016
26 Cave Echoes from page 20 in traditional saunas, far infrared heat is able to penetrate the body to a depth of 1.5 to 2 inches. This stimulates the body’s cellular detoxification process more effectively than a traditional sauna. The body, incapable of metabolizing and excreting all toxins it is exposed to, often times stores toxins in fat to protect the body (called lipophillic toxins). Our body’s tissues normally produce infrared energy, which is used by the body for a number of healing processes. By delivering penetrating warmth to the body, the far infrared sauna increases the body’s own infrared energy levels, encouraging a light rise in body temperature that boosts natural detoxification systems. A recent addition is our Amethyst Bio-Mat. We have a full size mat for the complete body or a chair size that can be incorporated into a detoxing footbath or a salt room experience. The BioMat has Infrared Rays that penetrate 6-8 inches into the innermost recesses of the body, stimulating healing and regeneration of nerves and muscle tissue layers. The BioMat also produces negative ions, nature’s energizer, which deliver a molecular level massage. This accelerates and
deepens all healing and cleansing processes. It balances pH by decreasing acidity and is considered the “Master Power Switch” that activates the body’s entire cellular communication system, making every body function work better! Many people love to marry the benefits of massage therapy and a salt room. We have 3 massage therapists to fit your requests. For those who prefer a different
approach, we have a jade massage bed. One remains clothed and no one is touching you, but you get a deep tissue massage on your back...while surrounded by Authentic Himalayan salt lamps. A salt lamp in your home is the perfect (gift) solution to many health challenges. We guarantee our lamps are authentic. Unfor-
tunately there are many on the market that are not, but an authentic lamp will last you forever. We have all different shapes and sizes. Like a salt room, a salt lamp adds the benefits of Himalayan Salt to your home or office. If you sit in front of a computer all day, that’s a perfect place to add a lamp. Himalayan salt gives off negative ions while your computer, cell phone, TVs are giving off too many positive ions. It’s a great way to help balance your environment. In the bedroom, it helps people to sleep better and it also helps people to reduce or eliminate snoring! This holiday season why not gift yourself and those you love a wellness gift. Trying to improve our health on a more natural path is a bit new for some, but so rewarding! Check out our website at : www.simplyhealth-calm.com for all of our monthly specials and services. Your body will be grateful that you did. Call us today for an appointment at 814954-7731. Have guests for the holiday? Bring the group for a salt spa experience. Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and the healthiest for next year! Hope to see you soon! a
Slow Computer or Allegory of Life from page 9 same manner. Computers aren’t much different. In fact, most computers have Windows installed and come preloaded with their own awesome antivirus program called Microsoft Security Essentials. It is like an immune system that is native to the computer environment. As the name suggests, it has all the essentials to scan for viruses and keep your computer safe. If however, you have multiple antivirus programs installed, they will compete with each other. Because they are using, pretty much, the same computer resources (memory and similar program flow), they might infect or attack one another and start deleting each other’s files. You can imagine how slow a computer will run when it is trying to fight itself. So if you have multiple antivirus programs, feel free to delete all of them except one. My recommendation is to leave Microsoft Security Essentials. After you have removed competing antivirus programs, your computer might just fly as new. How do you delete programs? Click the Start menu, navigate to the Control Panel, select Add/ Remove Programs, in the list find
anti-virus programs that are running, and hit Uninstall. Sometimes, however, the problem with a slow running computer is its memory. I am so happy that I can’t make an analogy of the human mind with computer memory. Computer memory is horribly limited in its capacity to remember things when compared to the human mind. In fact, consider this… Newest hard drives have a capacity of around 2 Terabytes. That is 2000Gb. That is a lot of memory. But is it? Now consider that a human eye is the equivalent of a 570Mpx camera. If we take one picture with the human eye, the file size will be around 2 GB per picture. Humans perceive the world with rate of 27 images per second. Thus within one second our mind has already stored roughly 54 GB of information. So, if our brain was to be replaced with a hard drive, we would deplete its capacity in only about 37 seconds by just looking at the world with one eye! Over time, computer hard drives often pile up with information (photos, videos, music). Eventually hard disks will reach a critical level when no more information can be recorded.
Continued on page 30
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The Valley, December 2016
Mail Pouch Books by Carleen B. Grossman Dear Readers: This is a time of the year that touches our hearts and makes us grateful for all that we have. I am extremely thankful to have you “all” as my readers! Just the other day, I received an email from one of you expressing some appreciation for a book review that I sent... this is one of the things that makes my time and effort all worthwhile, and I want to share with you the email from this reader: Hi, Carleen: The weather is getting cooler and we are approaching Thanksgiving. Hope all is well with you... I want to thank you for your recommendation of the “ Three Sisters, the Three Queens.” I enjoyed reading that very much. It helped to put some things into perspective. I had read books about Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, but not about Henry when he was young and his sisters. I also read Mary Queen of Scots. I enjoy reading historical novels, because I am too lazy to read history books. Do pass on recommendations of more books like this. Wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. Cheers, [from a MPB Reader]
Shavers Creek Environmental Center from page 25
In November 2015, 13 monarchs were observed between Jacks Mountain and Waggoner’s Gap. The totals of monarchs seen on hawkwatches this fall from September 1st through October 31st were Stone Mountain: 381, Jacks Mountain: 738, and Waggoner’s Gap: 1,390. The totals from September 1st through October 31st of last year were Stone Mountain: 493, Jacks Mountain: 1,237, and Waggoner’s Gap: 1,595. By comparing the 2015 and 2016 counts, initial observations show that monarch numbers were low this year compared to last. For the 2015-2016 season, Monarch Watch recorded a preliminary recovery of 1,082 tagged monarchs at winter sites in Mexico. The overwintering population of 2015-2016 was large, taking up 4.01 hectares of forest. Four hectares is the threshold for determining whether population numbers are healthy. The seasons previous to 2015-2016 showed the lowest
THE FINAL MISSION: A Boy, a Pilot, and a World at War By Elizabeth Hoban and Lt. Col. Henry Supchak Copyright 2012 304 pages, paperback edition I started reading this book the week of Veteran’s Day 2016 knowing that it was a biography; but little did I know that it would be as riveting as any WWII novel. Wow, what an excellent read incorporating everything from a young pilot’s life during the war with Germany, a 6 year old Ger-
populations ever recorded due to a combination of habitat loss and intolerable weather. Although this year’s observed numbers were lower, we will need to wait until March 2017 for the recovery number of the 2016-2017 season in order to gain a better understanding of population dynamics. It will be interesting to see if the numbers that we observed along several migration routes will correspond to the recovery numbers in overwintering sites. I can, without a doubt, say that my love and appreciation for monarchs has grown this season. Wendell Berry, an American writer, poet, environmental activist, and farmer said in his essay The Long-Legged House, “Hurry is beside the point, useless, an obstruction. The thing is to be attentively present. To sit and wait is as important as to move.” I encourage anyone that is reading this to sit and wait next spring for black and orange wings on the horizon, welcoming them with gardens full of milkweed
man child who comes to the aid of the pilot and never forgets about it, and a truly beautiful ending for the 91 year old pilot getting to be reunited with the man who was the shepherd boy-child---a child who actually saw the pilot parachute from the plane at the last second before it exploded— and who later sneaked food and water to the pilot while he was being held captive by the Nazis. This story of war experiences transcending through the years, is a heartwarming blend that will touch you to the core as it delineates life in its stages—from youth to final years of life! Once you start reading it, you won’t be able to put it down. The book recounts the terrifying reality of the wounded pilot, alone in the burning cockpit of his aircraft, which has less than a few minutes before crashing, and exactly what he does to prevent his plane from destroying a small Alpine village. It is so well written that you will feel like you were there during his ordeal in the plane and while he is a prisoner in and nectar-bearing flowers. And perhaps you too will be mesmerized by the beating of fragile wings lifting light bodies into the vast blue sky. If you see a tagged monarch, please email or call the address or number on the tag, and make sure to include the date, time, location, tag code (3-letter, 3-number), and your own contact information. To learn more about monarchs and how you can be involved in citizen science projects visit www.MonarchWatch.org and www.MonarchMonitoringProject. com Sources • Hawkcount.org • Monarchs by Kathryn Lasky • Monarch Joint Venturehttp://monarchjointventure. org/news-events/news/2015population-update-andestimating-the-number-ofoverwintering-monarchs • Monarch Monitoring Project- https://capemaymonarchs.blogspot.com • Monarch Watch- www. MonarchWatch.org a
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the German POW Camp. It also covered the demons that follow after the war, yet this story is extremely uplifting! Love of country and the pilot’s love of crew were so endearing. This is a powerfully written account. It was written by the pilot himself with help from his daughter. It’s the stuff of great novels and movies. Yet it’s a true story -- one that will stay with you long after you have put the book down. This book would make an excellent holiday gift book! I have included a book jacket photo, a photo of the young pilot and “some” of his obituary from his passing in 2015 ----- the partial obituary is written below, but if you wish to read the entire obituary go to---http://www.legacy. com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/ obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&p id=173727240 PARTIAL OBITUARY Henry W. Supchak, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, retired, died Saturday, January 3, 2015. He was age 98. Born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, Lt. Colonel Supchak attended Bucknell College after graduating high school. His military career began with a four year tour of duty in the United States Navy. When the United States entered World War II, he was qualified for pilot training in the Army Air Force, earned his coveted pilot wings and commission as 2nd Lieutenant in 1942. He continued his training in heavy
duty combat, graduating as the first pilot in the famous B-17 “Flying Fortress” at the flight school in Chanute Field, Illinois. As plane commander, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. After taking charge of a brand new B-17 and an assigned crew consisting of co-pilot navigator, bombardier and six qualified machine gunners, at an airfield near Lincoln, Nebraska; intense preparations for combat duty ensued. With flight plans completed, a refueling stopover at an RCAF Air Base near Gander, Newfoundland, was brief. The transatlantic flight began at midnight. Nine hours later, they arrived at the 91st Bomber Group Air Base, 8th Air Force, near Bassingbourn, England. Lt. Colonel Supchak and crew lost no time in getting into combat mode by flying their first bombing mission — a Nazi-held airfield near Paris, France. On June 6, “D-Day,” he was involved in the bombing of Nazi-held coastal defense areas on the French coast. On his 33rd combat mission — target, Munich, Germany, his plane was badly damaged by flak and fighter attacks set the plane on fire. He ordered his crew to bail out. He did likewise after veering his burning plane away from an Austrian village and was captured immediately by German SS Troops. After brutal interrogation sessions, Lt. Colonel Supchak was sent to a Prisoner-of-War camp where he was confined for about a year. He was liberated by General Patton and his army in May 1945. Sixty-three years after he bailed out of his burning B-17 “Priority Gal”, Lt. Colonel Supchak was contacted by the Mayor of the Village of Neustift, Austria, to return to the site of the crash so the village could formally thank him and dedicate a monument in his name. He co-authored a book about his experiences, which is titled “The Final Mission: A Boy, A Pilot, and a World at War” (Westholme, 2012). a
The Valley, December 2016
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Life in the East End by Rebecca Harrop The harvest is complete in the East End for another year. We have some corn stalks we want to bale yet, but the grain is done. We’ve been cleaning calf pens and young cattle pens. It’s amazing the amount of manure cattle make. To farmers that’s a good thing because there is lots of good stuff in manure for our crops. Using manure helps cut down on the use of fertilizers, which cuts the cost to grow our crops. Right now farmers are struggling because of the low prices paid for the products we produce. Milk prices paid to farmers are the lowest they’ve been in a very long time. Grain prices were really good for a couple years, but they have gone way down. Production costs however have not decreased that significantly. This is just one difficulty farmers face. Increasing pressures from outside our industry are forcing some very good farmers to leave farming. The myth that farmers use antibiotics and medications indiscriminately is so widespread today. As a farmer, I can tell you we try very hard to keep our animals from needing those products because they are very costly. When you have the number of animals it takes to provide a living in today’s world, you make every
effort to keep them healthy. But everyone knows, no matter how hard you try, there will be some that will get sick. At that point you have to use medications or watch them die. As a business person, and face it, farmers are business people, you have a lot invested in these animals, you can’t afford to just let them die. Also, I don’t know any farmers who have worked with their animals every day from birth on, who can stand by and not do all they can to save an animal. You would probably be surprised how many baby pigs, calves, goats, and sheep have ended up in farmer’s homes trying to save them from dying. It always amuses me when I go to the vet’s office to pick up stuff for the farm, all the people there with their pets. It’s amazing the medications they buy for their pets, but a lot of these same people don’t think farmers should be using antibiotics. I don’t believe the average person understands the use of medications on farms. I’ve always been told if you want to know about something, you need to go directly to the source. In this case, to understand how farmers use medicines on the farm, go talk to a farmer, not Google. Most farmers are very passionate about what they do and will gladly take
time to explain their operations and how they do things. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau held its 66th Annual Meeting in Hershey, Pa. This is the 4th year I’ve gone to the Annual Meeting. It is always a great time and I enjoy meeting farmers from all over Pennsylvania. There are farmers from every field of agriculture. We all come together to work towards a common goal of promoting agriculture and establishing policy for the coming year. We also recognize outstanding achievements of County Farm Bureau activities and individual farmers. This year, Mifflin County Farm Bureau member Elrose Glick from Allensville was recognized for his “Distinguished Service to Agriculture.” Elrose was an active farmer for 63 years. He has been heavily involved in Farm Bureau activities including serving on PFB’s State Board of Directors, State Policy Development Committee, State Promotion and Education Committee, the Executive Committee representing PFB as a delegate during several sessions of American Farm Bureau Federation meetings. Elrose served on many other Ag related committees as well. Locally, perhaps one of Elrose’s greatest achievements has been the Third Grade Ag Tour that Mifflin County Farm Bureau provides each year. Elrose wanted our children to know where their food came from and felt Farm Bureau could provide that education best. Elrose and his wife Pauline coordinated the tour for several years. Mifflin County Farm Bureau is proud of Elrose and Pauline for
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their many years of service and congratulates them on Elrose receiving this award. They both set a great example of our farming community. Christmas is coming soon so I wish you all a very Merry
Christmas. Enjoy the holiday but remember the real meaning of Christmas. Till next month that’s all from the East End. a
The Valley, December 2016
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The Valley, December 2016
30 Ketchup’s Best Friend from page 3 and regulating dietary fat absorption •Lowering your risk for cancer •Improving your mood and mental health Like most other vegetables, you can easily ferment or pickle mustard greens at home. CảiChua is Vietnamese pickled mustard greens. Its sour and spicy flavor works well with a variety of dishes. The following recipe is from GardenBetty.com. For stepby-step instructions, please see the original article: Vietnamese Pickled Mustard Greens • 2 1/2 pounds of mustard greens • 4 stalks green onions • 1 1/2 tablespoons pickling salt • 4 Thai bird’s eye chiles (or 2 serrano peppers) (Optional brine) • 2 cups water • 1 tablespoon pickling salt Have You Tried Mustard Greens Yet? Mustard greens and sprouted mustard seeds can be eaten in a number of ways. Simply toss them into your salad, or add as a steamed or sautÊed side dish, for example. Most of the mustard
used for greens is the brown-seeded variety, which is spicier and zestier than some of the others. SautĂŠing, braising or steaming the leaves will cut some of the bitterness. The sprouts can also be mixed into smoothies. For a slow-cooked Indian-style Sarson ka Saag (pureed greens) dish, see MyHeartBeets.com. Many other recipes can be found online as well.â€? Adding this to your diet is something that you CAN do. This should benefit you and should help you as listed above. If there is a chance that by eating some of these every day or almost every day, your chance of getting cancer might be reduced, wouldn’t it be worth it? Benjamin Franklin once said that, “An ounce of Prevention is worth a pound of cure.â€? This just possibly could be your ounce. You can easily add it to your Christmas meal. Look around. You have a lot to be thankful for. Take time out of your day to slow down, appreciate the beauty that is winter in Pennsylvania and be thankful for all that you have. Merry Christmas to everyone reading. Dr. Joseph Kauffman Kauffman-Hummel Chiropractic Clinic a
Slow Computer or Allegory of Life from page 26 Suddenly, everything slows down. If your computer suddenly starts to work really slow, I would click on Start button, go to My Computer, there you will see disk C, right click on it and select “Properties.�.A graph will come up showing you how much empty space is left on your disk. It is good practice to retain a quarter of the disk empty. If you are reaching its limit, then start by deleting small bits of useless info on your computer to free up around 1GB of space. Then, massively back up your files on DVD’s or flash memory cards. Last of all, delete all of the backed up info from your computer. Health of computer is a fascinating topic to talk about. I hope you enjoyed reading and learning a bit about computers today. Maybe it helped you speed up your PC? Always remember, if a computer was working fast and became slow, it isn’t because it’s old. It’s because it needs maintenance. Also remember that it makes no sense to pay for maintenance more than what the computer is worth. I hope these small points of wisdom will help you save time and money in the future. Next month we’ll chat about something even more fun! a
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The Annual Beavertown Christmas Program will be held, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, December 11-13 at 7:30 PM. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is A Servant Above His Master?â&#x20AC;? is the program title. Included in the program is special music by soloist Aaron McCarty. The Beavertown Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Missionary Church is located between Middleburg and Beavertown just off Route 522 at Creek and Covered Bridge Roads (1653 Creek Road Middleburg) For more information: 570-658-2422. Pastors James Plank, Solomon Shaffer and Matthew Maloyed and congregation extend a warm welcome to all at this Christmas season. Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner from page 2 over 4 MILLION votes and according to â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Ledger,â&#x20AC;? the Libertarian political ideology is the fastest growing in the whole country. Career politicians and authoritarians, your days are numbered. Christmas is right around the corner, are you ready? If you still have gifts to buy, I would suggest shopping locally, at neighborhood businesses. We are blessed with numerous gift shops that carry high quality merchandise. Places like Olde Thyme Reflections, Burnham Hardware, DP Gifts, and Yoderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tees, can be a life-
Less Government means more Liberty
line for guys looking for something for the lady. The sales people will fix you right upâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;they have saved my bacon more than once. Many of our advertisers offer gift cards, and although some people say that gift cards are impersonal, I would prefer that to that tie, sweater or pair of slippers that I will never use. Buying local does more good for your community that anyone ever realizes. You are supporting your neighbors. This support isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a separate gift to add to your list, it is automatic, help your community and support your local business. Merry CHRISTmas! a
The Valley, December 2016
You waited until the last minute — again. So now you’ve missed every opportunity to “Get it there by the 25th!” You are faced with going to the store with hordes of other grumpy procrastinators. It’ll be a Scrooge Apoca-
lypse out there: traffic, Christmas music, picked over sale bins, and the smell of desperation. But it’s what you deserve. Right? Oh, stop beating yourself up. This is an opportunity. Even if you are — at this very moment — giftless, dressed in your finest Christmas sweater, and late for the festivities, you can still pull it out. And you don’t have to settle for lame gifts, either. In fact, I believe that, if you fully embrace your procrastination as a casual, laid-back choice, you can still be in the running for Giver of Best Gift each of your recipients gets. Procrastination is an art. Maybe it’s time to up your game. Think simple. By this stage, elaborate gifts are beyond your capability, and keeping it simple is the name of the game. Perhaps this is why you left things until the last minute anyway, but there’s no need to feel guilty––simple gifts in our recession-prone, environmentally
responsible and conscious consumption era make sound sense anyway. If your own ideas aren’t sparking, here are just a few ideas to get you started: At DP Gifts we are known for one-of-a-kind and unique gifts that you won’t find anywhere else. So if you are a last minute shopper, you can still pick out an item that is very unique and different. Our sales staff is always here to help you so do not take on all the stress yourself. Tell us about the person you are buying for and let us help guide you to the perfect gift. For the Decorator: General winter décor such as snowmen, wintery wreaths and candle scents. These are gifts that the receiver can enjoy all winter long. For the Jewelry Lover: Keep it simple. You can rarely go wrong with well-crafted piece of jewelry. At DP Gifts we have a great selection of Made in America jewelry that can be custom designed on the spot for just about
everyone. With over 1600 pieces, we can show you how to personalize a well thought out piece of jewelry for that someone special. For the Bath/Spa Lover: We also carry a wide selection of handmade bath and body products that are great for the skin. Give your special someone a unique bath and body kit. You can pick up a
gift set for under $20 For the Candy Lover: DP Gifts has a wide selection of some of the most unique chocolates, hand crafted and nicely packaged. For the Outdoor Lovers: DP Gifts has a huge selection of Alpaca socks, gloves, hats and scarves, which have been a huge hit for women dressing for the winter or men that like to spend time outdoors. The unique alpaca fibers have been one of our stores biggest hits with men and women alike. If you are really in a jam, DP Gifts is known to be constantly changing our inventory to keep up with the seasons. A gift card allows the receiver to come back after the holidays and see what the newest trends are for the next season. So it’s never a lazy idea to give a DP Gift card for any occasion. Worried about the crowds? One thing about shopping at small businesses like DP’s is that you don’t have to fight the crowds and lines to pick up a gift. Although we ran some of our biggest sales on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, we will still run sales right up to Christmas Eve so you won’t be stuck paying those panic prices on leftover items. Stop by DP Gifts and let us help you put together a great gift. Check out our ad (to the right) for our hours of operation. So don’t be ashamed of procrastinating because we will be here when you are ready. I would also like to take the time to thank all The Valley readers, the editor Wayne Stottlar and Lynn Persing for all your support by shopping DP Gifts in Milroy, Pa. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. a
The Truth Has No Agenda
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The Valley, December 2016
Less Government means more Liberty