Thevalley january2017online

F

R

E

E

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 8, No. 1

Complimentary

The Valley, January 2017

Hanky Panky In Gregg Township?

One year ago, Gregg Township (located in Penns Valley) held its annual reorganization meeting, with not one person in attendance who wasn’t a Board Member or a Township employee.

This year will be different.

Last October, the Board of Supervisors passed a 50% increase to the Gregg Township General Fund property tax, raising the rate from 2 to 3 mills. This increased the Gregg Township portion of our property taxes by a total of 40%, including the Equipment Fund tax of .5 mills.

This came as a surprise to many residents who learned of the tax increase from signs my husband and I posted, and from word-of-mouth. The Township did not advertise the tax increase, but a Township employee and the two Supervisors who passed the tax increase removed our posted signs on more than once occasion, once in a quorum (more on that later).

When the tax increase was passed, the Chairman assured us that it was not a done deal. He said they were only passing the resolution so they could put the budget out for public inspection.

My husband submitted a Rightto-Know request for the audio recordings of all meetings held in 2016. Against their own policy

to retain the recordings until minutes are officially approved, they quickly drafted the minutes for the October meeting, deleted the audio recording, and denied his request. According to the Secretary, this was done at the request of the Solicitor. This recording would have cleared up any confusion about what was said about the tax increase, but now it is gone.

On the bottom of their official denial to turn over public records, they inform the requester that appeals are to be made to their office.

That is incorrect and misleads people into a dead end. My husband, Casey Grove, correctly appealed the ruling to the Office of Open Records (OOR) within the 15 day window

for appeal. The OOR granted his request for public records and directed the Township to turn the public records over to him. The Township has since appealed that ruling, and a court will decide.

My husband,Casey informed

the Township that the resolution they passed was done incorrectly.

The Second Class Township Code requires that the rate of taxation be expressed in dollars and cents.

Because of this, the tax resolution had to be re-written and passed a second time at the December meeting.

The Solicitor, who handles legal matters for the Township, drafted the original resolution.

During these last two months, some very interesting and disturbing things have come to our attention.

Here is just a taste of what we have learned: 1) The Board of Supervisors were advised several times in a Sunshine Act training session in early November that they are absolutely not allowed to form a majority (a quorum) and deliberate or take official actions unless they are in an advertised

Veritas vos Liberabit

public meeting. We were there. I recorded this training session.

We have three Supervisors in Gregg Township, so a quorum is two of them. Despite being instructed not to do so, and warned that doing such a thing could create a scandal or worse, the two Supervisors who increased taxes formed a quorum and took down our sign together on video. They did this only three days later.

On December 29th, the very same Supervisors formed a quorum once again and held a secret meeting for over an hour in the Township Office, behind locked doors. They talked about an upcoming PennDot deal, one of our Right-to-Know requests, and deleting an audio recording from a recent meeting. I know this because I could hear their conversation echoing in the hallway.

2) We have two Secretaries in Gregg Township. One of them is full-time. The other is one of those two Supervisors. Township Supervisors are allowed to hold Secretary positions. However, the Assistant Secretary/Township Supervisor told me a few weeks ago that he is not doing secretarial work while he is on the clock. Instead, he is performing the duties

Continued on page 26

The Valley, January 2017

2

Editor’s Corner Wayne Stottlar

Happy New Year! Another trip around our star completed!

I, like everyone else, am happy that 2016 is in the rear view mirror, but probably not for the same reasons. The celebrity deaths don’t concern me AT ALL. In fact ,2016 was a year of enlightenment for me. I know in my heart that ALL of the TV news is corrupt, our government is corrupt, our election process is corrupt. While some may think that is harsh, and a horrible thing to think, I have been on this Earth long enough with my eyes wide open to know it is so.

As bad as that may seem, once you realize these things and believe them in your heart, it makes it a lot easier to ignore the “click bait”online and recognize the agenda driven production that is the US News Media. None are innocent, you Fox News junkies

need to get a clue, they are just as bad as the others, and if you were actually doing some critical thinking, you would see that they have no interest in what you think or what you have to say. Their job as they see it, is to “program” YOU!

Much of our life is spent reacting to stimuli from the radio, the television, the government, your job, the newspapers, your friends, your family and on and on. Very few people really live their life, but rather follow a path walked by others before them.

Society is the guardrail, and if you get too close, the “herd” will strike. So many people live their lives to please others, or at least keep on others’ good side so as not to be attacked. Once you get over the fear of the herd, and they become powerless to affect you, you will find it a lot more enjoyable when they do attack, because

"WALK" in to Walker & Waker Equipment for ALL your lawn, garden and landscape equipment needs!

We have trailer, used equipment and rentals too!

right away you have assumed the status of nonaggressor. This makes it hard for your enemy to make a valid point regardless of how many groupies they bring along for support.

There is just nothing better than fact and truth in a debate. You will never change the opinion of a die-hard, but these debates are more for the people watching, but too timid to enter the fray. Make no mistake; however, when you can debate effectively you become a teacher or leader for others.

The willingness of the US Media to outright lie to the American people without consequence is a sign that we are circling the drain. The people still continue to go about their lives as if nothing is wrong and the truth gets lost to politics and corruption.

The secret to making this all irrelevant? Do not accept the rules of others. As long as you are not directly interfering with another’s ability to practice Freedom their way, no one should II have any power over you. Make your own rules. Realize that everything you personally do not know to be true, regardless of who tells you, is more than likely an input to get some kind of reaction from you, don’t play the game. I am looking to 2017 for more enlightenment and a higher degree of Freedom regardless of who approves, life is good once you dump the rulers. a

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.

Less Government means more Liberty

3

The Valley, January 2017

Rickert Named 2017 State Chair of the Pennsylvania Council of Residential Specialists Kim Yoder Rickert, CRS, has been selected as the 2017 Chair of the Pennsylvania Council of Residential Specialists, a not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of Realtors®. As State Chair, Rickert manages the state’s activities and acts as a liaison between her regional vice president, the Council’s leadership team and staff.

Expect More from Your Fuel Supplier!

Rickert has been involved in real estate since 2016.

Currently, she is the broker/owner of Stone Arch Real Estate] and serves Mifflin and Juniata counties.

• Reliable Propane & Heating Oil Delivery • Budget Payment Plan

The Pennsylvania CRS is one of 45 state groups that provide educational opportunities for REALTORS®, promote the Council and the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Designation, assist the Council in achieving its purposes and objectives, plan community service projects and provide a forum for the exchange of information.

• 24/7 Emergency Service • Heating Equipment Service Plans • Safety Trained Professionals

Call today to learn about our NEw CustOmER sPECiAls!

• Over 80 Years Experience

“I am looking forward to working with Realtors in Pennsylvania and locally to help improve the professionalism of our industry,” stated Rickert.

The Council of Residential Specialists is a not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of Realtors® comprised of more than 32,000 members. It awards the CRS Designation to experienced Realtors® who have completed advanced professional training and demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in residential real estate.

Our Business is Customer Satisfaction

717-248-5476 • 1-800-PROPANE (776-7263)

The Truth Has No Agenda

The Valley, January 2017

4

While whittling away precious time I can’t get back browsing through Pinterest one day, I found a snazzy chart that piqued my interest. It wasn’t just the title of the chart, it was more the content, although the title did jump off the page and grab my attention immediately. While I don’t even dream I’d ever become a millionaire, I did find the information on the chart to be a good guide to daily life and work. I’ve recapped the chart below.

The 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires by James Altucher 1. Say “No” When you say “NO” you have more time to read, learn, sleep, ask questions, contact friends, love life. Say “no” more.

2. Love This is the only religion, this is the only thing worth surrendering to. This is the fuel for your idea muscle.

3. Make Mistakes Mistakes are the spell books of success. Study them hard.

Learn their incantations. When muscles tear, they rebuild stronger.

4. Plant Seeds Basic Garden Math: 1% of the seeds, turn into 50% of the flowers. Plant lots of seeds.

5. Be Around People Who are Kind to You and Love You Other people will make you unhappy, unkind, unsuccessful.

6. Stand Next to the Smartest Person in the Room Harold Romis did it (Bill Murray). Steve Jobs did it (Steve Wozniak). Craig Silverstein did it (Who? Larry Page). Kanye

West did it (Jay-Z). I make money ONLY when I do this.

7. No Excuses Blaming is draining. Complaining is draining. Explaining is draining. We don’t have enough plumbing for all that draining.

8. Don’t Be in a Rush.

Every overnight success I’ve spoken to, took 10-20 years to get there. BUT ONLY if they celebrated small successes along the way.

9. Solve Difficult Gratitude Problems If you can find a diamond in the mud, your going to end up with a lot of diamonds in life.

10. Warren Buffet’s 5/25 Rule Make a list of the 25 things you want to do in life. Now do the top 5 AND NEVER THINK ABOUT THE OTHER 20 AGAIN. Else, they will take away from the 5 that are most important to you.

11. Write Down 10 Ideas a Day This actually turns into a super power. Do this for six months straight and see what happens.

12. Follow Up I’m shy and bad about this.

And lazy. Send an email the next day with an idea on the next step. I have to do this.

13. Ask Questions There are more questions than answers. Opportunities are buried in the questions. Facts can be outsourced.

14. 1% a Day Whatever you want to get better at, do 1% more each day.

1% a day, compounded, is

3800% a year. You win.

15. Right Now Regret will waste time worrying about yesterday. And anxiety will steal energy from the future. Focus on right now.

16. Sleep Sleep rejuvenates brain cells, heals the body, reduces anxiety. And brain is only active 2-5 hours a day.

Sweet dreams.

17. Every Day, Avoid Death You can’t get rich from a hospital bed. Or a grave.

Move every day, sleep well, eat well.

18. Do One Thing Every Day You Loved as a Kid This is usually the fuel that can power your life.

January 7-14, 2017 Less Government means more Liberty

WAIT! I thought there were 20?

Secret to success = Give yourself permission to sometimes be wrong! a

5

The Valley, January 2017

Bone Broth

Dr. John Mainiero

When I hear the term Bone Broth I reminisce of my greyhaired grandmother slow cooking chicken bones to a savory broth.

I remember her using carrots and celery as well as a few pieces of fat and skin.

The smell was wonderful and the taste was just soup to a 10-year-old on a cold day.

The addition of some pastina or ditalini and some chicken made the concoction one that I remember well.

Move ahead 30 years and now Bone Broth is all the rage— soup or broth? Well you still call it broth unless there are pieces of meat, vegetables and some egg added for texture.

What is Bone Broth? It’s chicken, pork, turkey or beef bones slow cooked until they dissolve and all the bone marrow, tissue, nutrients and minerals

form a clear liquid. Some folks call this stock or bullion, but in essence, it is still soup.

What is in Bone Broth? Well consider where it came from—any animal bone will contain collagen proteins, skin and fats, the rest of the mix is vegetables and spices for flavor.

The broth can be done in a crock pot, just add water, pig, cow, chicken or turkey bones with some meat and skin still on the bones.

Vegetables such as onion, celery, carrots and kale can be added.

Add a dash of apple cider

The Truth Has No Agenda

vinegar

Cook for 8-12 hours then strain the remaining contents into a container and chill until ready to drink.

What are the health benefits of Bone Broth?

• Arthritic join repair (This is the original Glucosamine supplement your ancestors used).

• Cartlidge and bone repair • Compromised immune system (Natural Penicillin • Digestive disorders • Organ repair for the heart • Improves the body’s ability to repair torn muscle, ligaments

and cartridge in the athlete and the elderly.

If all you get from this how to make a good soup base, then you learned something. If you’re looking to improve your overall health, then make this a part of your regular routine.

There is no magic bullet for health and wellness, it is a journey not a destination. Open your mind to the practices of our ancestors and it will unlock a treasure trove of good practices that will sustain you and your family for years to come.

Yours in Health and Wellness, Dr. John J. Mainiero a

The Valley, January 2017

6

About Faith

by Rev. Robert Zorn, Visitation Minister, Lewistown Presbyterian Church

WINTER ON THE FARM

Our nearest neighbors out here in Treaster Valley are an Amish couple with seven small children. Their house and barn are located approximately 250 yards from our back door. There is a grove of trees in the area between our homes, so in the summer we see very little of each other and our respective activities. But now in winter, there is a clear view between us and we can observe each other if we choose to do so.

From what we can see and hear, the Amish farm life in winter is not so much different than was the experience of my early years on our home farm back in Western Pennsylvania many years ago.

For example, before daybreak a lantern can be seen moving back and forth between their house and barn. Their roosters crow, the cattle low, the horses neigh and snort as they are turned out to drink at the water trough. On Monday mornings we hear the purr of the little gasoline motor running the washing machine. Freshly washed clothes are hung up to dry.

Our Amish neighbors seem to survive happily without all the modern conveniences which we “English” consider so necessary.

It does not seem so long ago when our family lived much the same as our neighbors do still.

Our family of nine consisted of our parents, three girls and four

boys. Our home could boast of only two modern conveniences: electricity and the party line telephone.

Winter for us presented the greatest challenges, which called for dedication and cooperation. On Sunday night we would put the 25 gallon copper wash boiler on the kitchen range and fill it with water from the well, or sometimes from the rain barrels, so there would be hot water for the first washer load on Monday morning. The alarm clock for us kids was usually the thump, thump of the washer’s agitator.

Washed clothes were hung on the clothes line to dry, outside if weather permitted; if not, in the upstairs bedrooms. Getting ready for school sometimes required fighting through a forest of wet sheets and underwear.

Outside chores were just as arduous, if not more so. First, if there had been snow, a path had to be broken to the barn, chicken houses and pig pen, and feed and water distributed. Milking was not an unpleasant task, because at least the stable was warm. The ice had to be broken in the water trough so that the horses and cattle could drink. Back at the house, ashes had to be lifted from the stoves and fireplaces, and coal buckets filled and carried back in.

Breakfast usually offered bacon

and eggs, rolled oats, and sometimes, fried mush.

About once every winter there would be a blizzard that would fill the lanes with drifted snow, which even the old Dodge with chains on could not break through. But, we could always walk through the fields to school or to the highway where we could catch a ride with neighbors who were not snow bound. Rarely, the milk for the dairy had to be hauled by horse and wagon out to the highway for the milkman to pick up and deliver to the milk plant.

Over a hundred winters have come and gone in the experiences of the nine persons mentioned above. Our remaining family members are three. The story of our survival has been dependent upon everyone fulfilling his or her responsibilities. And our lives have been, and are still maintained by the faith that after every winter there is a spring. So it is with our Christian Faith and Family. Through all the seasons of our lives, God is with us.

“For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land”

the soil where some of it is taken up by plant roots. The chemical then runs systemically through the plant, protecting young seedlings from insect pests.

“Applying insecticides to seeds rather than broadcasting them across a field was thought to reduce unwanted effects on natural enemies,” said Douglas. “But we found that seeds treated with neonicotinoid insecticides reduced populations of natural enemies by 10 to 20 percent in North American and European farming systems. Surprisingly, this effect was about the same as that associated with broadcast applications of pyrethroids.”

The team’s research appeared today in the online journal PeerJ.

The team used a statistical method, called meta-analysis, to combine the results of more than 1,000 observations from 20 field studies across North America and Europe that tested the effects of seed-applied neonicotinoids on predatory insects.

“Unfortunately, the available literature is difficult to interpret,” said Tooker. “Some studies show little influence of neonicotinoids presented as seed treatments on arthropod predators that are common in crop fields, whereas others show a strong influence of these seed treatments. By using a metaanalysis approach, we were able to combine the results of many studies to quantitatively reveal the overall influence of neonicotinoids on predator populations.”

Not only did the researchers find that neonicotinoid seed coatings significantly reduced natural enemy populations, they also found that the insecticide acted more strongly on insect predators than on spiders. In other words, spiders appeared to be less susceptible to neonicotinoids than insects, which is consistent with

previous research.

“This result suggests that neonicotinoids are reducing populations of natural enemies at least partly through their toxic effects rather than simply by reducing the availability of their crop pest foods,” said Douglas. “After all, insects are more susceptible to these toxins than spiders, whereas the two groups should be similarly affected by a lack of food.”

The researchers note that their results may help farmers and pest management professionals better weigh the costs and benefits of neonicotinoid seed treatments versus alternatives.

“Several governments have restricted the use of neonicotinoids out of concern for their possible effects on pollinators,” said Douglas. “But this raises the questions, ‘What will farmers do without these products? If they switch to broadcast applications of pyrethroids, will those products be better or worse for predatory insects?’ While our results do not speak to the pollinator issue, they do suggest that predatory insects are affected similarly by seed-applied neonicotinoids and broadcast pyrethroids.”

The answer to the problem, noted Tooker, lies in the application of integrated pest management (IPM), a strategy that uses a combination of techniques -which may or may not include the targeted use of insecticides -- to control pests, rather than universally deploying prophylactic tactics like insecticidal seed coatings.

“Substantial research exists supporting the value of IPM for pest control,” he said. “It is the best chance we have of conserving beneficial insect species while maintaining productivity in our agricultural systems.” a

Song of Solomon 2: 11,12 a

Common Insecticides are Riskier than Thought to Predatory Insects

by Sara LaJeunesse

Neonicotinoids -- the most widely used class of insecticides -- significantly reduce populations of predatory insects when used as seed coatings, according to researchers at Penn State. The team’s research challenges the previously held belief that neonicotinoid seed coatings have little to no effect on predatory insect populations. In fact, the work suggests that neonicotinoids reduce

populations of insect predators as much as broadcast applications of commonly used pyrethroid insecticides.

“Predatory insects contribute billions of dollars a year to agriculture through the elimination of crop pest insects,” said Margaret Douglas, postdoctoral researcher in entomology, Penn State. “We have found that neonicotinoid seed coatings reduce populations

of these natural enemies 10 to 20 percent.”

According to John Tooker, associate professor of entomology, Penn State, the use of neonicotinoids has risen dramatically in recent years, especially for large-acreage crop species like corn, soybeans and cotton. The insecticide is most often applied to seeds as a prophylactic coating. When the seeds are planted, the insecticide enters

Less Government means more Liberty

Neonicotinoid coatings on corn and soybean seeds reduce populations of predatory insects, like this tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata), as much as broadcast applications of commonly used pyrethroid insecticides.

Image: Ian Grettenberger / University of California, Davis

7

The Valley, January 2017

Dave Wilson

Coins, Precious Metal and a Little of this and That

Batten Down The Hatches

For those of you who are somewhat unfamiliar with nautical terminology, to “Batten Down the Hatches” means, literally, to seal a ship’s hatches in anticipation of the arrival of an expected nasty storm. For this article, it is symbolic of what WE THE PEOPLE should be doing, to prepare for the arrival of a massive “Economic” storm that is approaching with gale wind force.

If you are in the category of those who firmly believe in our government’s fairy-tale statistics, and simply refuse to accept anything else, you might want to skip the rest of this article. Otherwise, make sure you have the TUMS bottle handy, as you are sure to need it.

For years, the “powers-thatare” have manipulated, goosed, tweaked and blatantly FIBBED about almost EVERY economic statistic they provide. The US Inflation Index, monthly jobs creation, unemployment percentages, US trade imbalances, National Deficit figures, precious metal prices and the Dow Jones Industrial average are MANY (but

certainly not all) of the valuations that are manipulated at will to make it APPEAR that the US economy is healthy, strong and recovering.

It isn’t .. it isn’t, and it isn’t.

People on the inside are totally aware of how these numbers are fictitiously formulated, but the “average Joe” who simply glances at these headlines on the way to other stories, has almost no knowledge of what has been going on for nearly three decades.

Why would these numbers be grossly manipulated? Pretty simple. The “appearance” of a vibrant economy keeps the average person content and mentally secure. Happy people tend to VOTE for the party in power... and that is what EVERYTHING is about.

SPOILER ALERT.... Donald Trump STUNS THE WORLD and wins the White House, tossing the Globalists out on their ears, and infuriating them in the process.

They have spent (as we said earlier) DECADES setting the US up for whatever must happen to us to pave the way for “One World

Government.” Trump (and the American working class) knocked them down, then dumped a truckload of fresh manure on their heads. They, most assuredly, are NOT HAPPY.

There are MANY who believe that very shortly after President-Elect Trump is inaugurated (barring any unfortunate “accident” before that time) that the Globalists, still in many positions of extreme power, will simply PULL THE PLUG, sending our economy (and that of the entire world) into chaos. They can then point the finger directly at the new president, and blame his anticipated new policies for the massive difficulties we will all be suffering from at that point.

It will, in fact, be laughably UNTRUE. However, the great portion of “headline surfers” will probably be easily swayed into believing exactly what the propagandists want them to, thereby, unfairly, giving Donald Trump two black eyes...even before he can move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The US Treasury Bond

The Truth Has No Agenda

market is already teetering on collapse, so the stage is being readied for a massive economic downturn that will, once and for all, destroy the American middle class, and throw the entire country into a DEEP Recession/Depression that

will last far longer than any of us want to contemplate.

There is always a chance that this scenario will not happen.

However, my guess is that “Vegas” isn’t giving THAT possibility very good odds. a

Every Juror’s Right jury nullification, (1982) A Jury’s knowing and deliberate rejection of the evidence or refusal to apply the law either because the jury wants to send a message about some social issue that is larger than the case itself or because the result dictated by law is contrary to the jury’s sense of justice, morality, or fairness,

The Valley, January 2017

8

Each year there are many organizations who try to give back to their communities during the holiday season. I have seen things like food drives, Toys for Tots, making fleece blankets for nursing homes, churches participating in the shoe box gifts, and many more. If you are struggling to find a way to give back this year, I have just the thing! The Great American Milk Drive is a great movement to donate toward.

This movement is partnered with Feeding America’s Food Banks.

The Great American Milk Drive is the largest hunger relief organization in the United States. Together, The Great American Milk Drive and Feeding America’s Food Banks have donated over one million gallons of milk over their time together. This is a huge contribution considering more than 46 million Americans rely on

Feeding America’s Food Banks for their food supply, with 12 million of these Americans being children.

Milk is the most requested, yet least-donated item in food banks everywhere. It is important for food banks to supply healthy foods such as milk and dairy products so that these families in need can have adequate nutrition.

Your small donation could help a family in need receive a gallon of milk! If you would like to donate, visit https://milklife. com/give/donate . I hope that your family or organization will consider giving the gift of milk this Christmas and all year!

You know those country songs that talk about hard working farmers who get up before the rooster crows and sweat all day long and plow the fields? Well, I’ve never heard a country song

talk about a farmer in the winter, but it sure does happen. Sometimes the winter months can be more challenging to dairy farmers than those hot miserable months in the summer. Most people think that a farmer would has down time in the winter, which may be true in some cases. In Pennsylvania, things happen a little differently. Dairy producers wake up in the morning just like any other farmer around the world, but they look outside and there is a foot of snow on their truck. Before their “work for the day” even begins, they have to dig out a path to either their snow covered truck, or to the barn a hundred yards up the hill. Keep in mind that the whole time they are digging out their vehicles, it is probably only 10-20 degrees outside. It is cold!! They slip and fall and may have broken their tail bone, but they continue anyway, because those cows can’t milk themselves. Finally after an hour of preparation just to get to the barn, they arrive and realize that the pipes are frozen, which means the milk can’t reach the bulk tank (the tank it is stored in until the milk truck comes to retrieve the milk). What now? So they work and work some more on unfreezing their pipes before they get the cows up. These

Less Government means more Liberty

1,000+ pound animals aren’t going to move if they don’t want to. So they make some noise and push their cow’s rumps a little to jostle them. No movement. Just a cold stare from miss Bessie in her favorite free stall. Eventually all of the cows are rounded up and put into the holding area to wait to be milked. The farmer flips on the milk switch and EERRCCHHH goes a major component of the milking system. There goes another few hundred dollars out of the savings account. After he fixes the final few quirks, he finally completes milking with only a few frost bitten limbs.

Next on the list is to feed the cows. Oops.. he forgot to turn on the tractor to warm up for a few minutes before running it. And so that process is slowed down by about 15 minutes. He has to get the tractor going, which is a hard task in itself on a good day, let alone a freezing cold day.

While the farmer is bundling up to weather the storm that he is about to face on the open cab tractor, he realizes he forgot his gloves.

What’s a little extra frost bite for the day?

Water buckets are frozen, the calves need blanketed and the feed still needs mixed, so the show must go on! And the best

part is, the dairy producer gets to repeat the whole process 1-2 more times that day! I am not personally a dairy farmer, but I have worked side-by-side with a few and have lost count of the times that I wanted to hop in my car, crank the heat and head home for a hot shower. But you simply can’t. As a dairy producer, you must persevere!

While some of this may have seemed humorous to you, it really does happen. In the winter, things go wrong, producers get cold, but at the end of the day they still maintain healthy cows and produce wholesome milk! The ultimate goal is still reached whether the producer is in three feet of snow, or working a mile away from a sandy beach. We love what we do in the dairy industry, even though we may complain about it more often than not. Next time you see a dairy operation in the winter time, remember how hard they must work to keep their farm moving during the winter months!

The Farm Show Tradition

Each year since I was 10 years old my family and I travelled to the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex to show our sheep.

Continued on page 19

9

The Valley, January 2017

Why Your Business is Better Off Without a Website!

I thought it would be wonderful to give our readers a small surprise. An article from a web design company that talks about why it is not a good idea to have a website.

Actually, jokes aside, I am being serious here. This article was inspired by a potential client who is trying to move his website to my server. Frustrations that he is going through are echoed throughout the industry where many small business owners are being ripped off by web design and SEO firms. If you ever considered having website designed for your business or were thinking to start up a project that would require a website; this article is for you. It will save you from losing a lot of money and inform you as to how you can make an educated decision regarding the company to go with for your web development needs.

Consider a simple five page website. You can get a quote for such a site anywhere from a hundred dollars up to five thousand.

Isn’t that odd? The problem with such a wide range of pricing and big rip-offs originated when programmers created the first Content Management Systems (CMS for short). CMS allows someone who has no experience in building websites to build a website visually by simply dragging and dropping website sections in place, like prebuilt Lego blocks. These CMS systems were designed with good intention - to allow anyone to build their own website for free, and thus the best CMS systems were and still are an open source (completely free for business or personal use).

Building websites became fairly simple, and suddenly many people realized that they can become web designers within a month. So how much really does a typical five page website cost?

Around $750. Now someone who never scripted a line code in his life has the possibility to build a website within a few hours and earn good money on it. Of course, it is a very tempting business!

Recently web developers created a new CMS system that allows anyone with no knowledge of programming language to create websites that are mobile friendly. Such websites usually cost around $5000. Suddenly, the whole web is flooded with websites built on content management systems and hardly any websites are built ground up. So what is the problem?

Clients may or may not be told that their websites are built using CMS. Usually clients do not have enough expertise to know the pros and cons to a CMS website. Let us take a look at that now.

CMS websites are fairly large. In fact, a CMS website can be a thousand times larger than if it was custom scripted. Because of large popularity and vast amount of code, there are security holes.

CMS systems require constant updates to be secure. They generate log and error files that will need to be deleted down the road to prevent space from being hogged from the server. CMS websites are very difficult to migrate to a different hosting account. CMS based websites are fast and easy to make so a simple five page website is not worth anything more than a thousand dollars. As a client, at first you may see only the positives. However, within a year your site might generate errors. These errors happen when the CMS is outdated or the scripts start to break down due to server or platform updates. These errors are very difficult to get rid of and often will require expertise of a hard core developer that charges $100/hour. At this time clients are chasing their original “developer,” who to begin with, might have never known how to write a code and is quite frankly looking at your website with eyes wide open and does everything possible to hide from your phone calls. Personally, I have seen this situation way too many times.

Another hole that many clients end up in is when they are offered an awesome website maintenance package. For only

$100/month, a company claims that your website will be updated and maintained and up-time and proper operation of your site is guaranteed. Well, this certainly sounds awesome! But let us look closely into this “maintenance.”

The most difficult thing to maintain is the CMS. Ironically, they were designed to be easy to use. Companies that look after the CMS must login into your website once about half a year and delete some log files, remove error files, and if an update is needed, they hit the update button. That’s it. This is maximum 30 minutes of work every half a year and does not require coding experience. For that they charge $100/month… Give me a break!

I charge my clients $15/month, and if they need to have hours of operation changed, or they want an article put up on their site I do that as part of the $15/month maintenance plan, plus ensure that everything is up to date. This is not cheap, this is normal.

Finally, the juicy one: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

When companies wanted to expand clientele over the internet, things like SEO started to gain traction. At first it was easy to become the first guy on Google’s list, just link up a bunch of website to yours and plug in keywords. Now the situation is very different. Front spot on Google is worth a lot of money, and large companies spend millions of dollars every year trying to out-compete each other for the top rated keyword. Let’s ponder for a

The Truth Has No Agenda

second, how does a small business owner fits into this picture? How can he/she possibly compete with large corporate resources and web development departments who do SEO all their life? The truth is that it is very difficult to gain high ranking spots on search engines internationally. Locally, you might be able to make it, but even that requires a great deal of work. Precisely that makes SEO a rip off.

Similar to CMS systems, most of SEO does not require knowledge of code. Reputable companies will charge over $10,000 for good optimization that will actually work.

Again the temptation is high for a small startup to offer SEO to everyone, take money and then run away, or hide behind carefully crafted legal disclaimers. Truth is there are very few companies who do quality SEO and before they start, they inform you that SEO is only the first, but very critical step in online marketing. After SEO comes social media and network marketing, which is a beast of its own. Unfortunately, many small companies never reach proper

contacts and end up paying large sums of money to services that promise mountains of gold but deliver debt.

That is why I would caution everyone. Before you set out to build a website, or think about SEO, make sure you know what you are getting into. Ensure that the platform is right and you are doing it for the right reasons.

A client that I am designing a website for right now does Pay-Per Click (PPC) Google advertisement campaigns for a living. He knows the value of a properly optimized site, the value of a custom-scripted website and customized content management system. He knows that because he is very familiar with the web industry and knows the perfect combination of tools and business partners he needs in order to succeed. I would invite every entrepreneur to follow the example of this prosperous client of mine and do your research before investing your money. Then, your website will take you on a path to success! a

The Valley, January 2017

10

may actually cause damage. Natural products actually work with your skin.

The Whys and Hows of Going Natural in 2017

We all know that skin care products that are created with natural ingredients are better for us…really? Why? And if we do choose to go all natural…then how?

As it turns out, beauty is more than skin deep: The average person slathers, lathers, rubs and sprays ten different skin care products on his or her body every day--and since our skin acts like a sponge, think about those chemicals we regularly expose ourselves to directly affecting our bodies.

Cosmetics companies and the FDA maintain that these chemicals are safe, and many of them are—in small doses at least. But consider these products are being used once or several times each day and you begin to understand how a little dab here and a quick spray there begins to add up. The fact is, no one really knows how certain chemicals affect us over time, or how they react in our bodies in combination.

We do know that allergies, sensitivities, hormone imbalances and infertility issues have increased tremendously in the last few decades. I would think erring on the side of caution makes complete sense.

Many of these chemicals are known to cause endocrine dysfunction. Your endocrine system is responsible for producing, storing, and secreting hormones that carry out essential body functions.

Direct disruption of this system can lead to diabetes, growth disorders, osteoporosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, thyroid disorders, among a myriad of other problems.

Here are some strong points that are convincing of going natural Avoid irritation: Chemicals, artificial colors, and fillers in skin care products and makeup can cause redness, irritation, and breakouts. Fragrances are known

to be among the top five allergens and in almost all commercial products. I have had so many customers come in and say they can not use anything scented and even some unscented products cause irritation. Go with a company that uses essential oils for scent or one that chooses fragrance oils that are phthalate free (a chemical solvent found in many fragrances and is a known hormone disruptor). Unscented products contain chemicals to mask chemical smells and these can cause irritation.

Save your nose: Heavily scented products can cause headaches and trigger inflammation and redness.

So one would think; go unscented.

Unscented products that are not natural can have chemicals to cover up the smell of other chemicals. Hmmm....so not really made with unscented ingredients; just the finished product has no scent. Many of Shade Mountain’s products are made with essential oils, which are kinder to skin and add a bonus: aromatherapy!

Earth-friendly: The manufacturing of chemical-heavy health and beauty products puts chemicals into the air and water. Even more go down your drain in your own home. When ingredients for natural health and beauty products are farmed and manufactured organically, fewer chemicals are put into the air and water. Also, the packaging for many of these products are not earth friendly.

Look in your bathroom. How many plastic containers are there that are throw away? Using a bar soap is helpful. At Shade Mountain, we even create a shampoo and conditioner bar.

the long-term, the harmful chemicals that made your skin feel cleaner or your hair feel smoother

No strange side effects: Parabens are used in conventionally produced health and beauty products as a preservative to extend the shelf life of products. Parabens, however, are synthetic and mimic your body’s natural hormones.

This can alter the functions of your body’s endocrine system.

Artificial ingredients like parabens may help a product do one

thing well, but there could be possible side effects that are still being uncovered. Natural health and beauty products use natural preservatives, such as grapefruit seed extract, that won’t affect your body. At Shade Mountain, we use a combination of botanical extracts to preserve our products.

And while some people have allergies to a few natural ingredients, the effects are much more

Continued on page 11

I recall a time when we couldn’t get high-speed Internet in these parts.

High speed Internet where you live.

CALL YOUR AUTHORIZED DEALER NOW!

ONE-STOP COMMUNICATIONS (717) 248-4996 www.onestop.biz

Service not available in all areas. Minimum 24 month commitment term. $9.99/month equipment lease fee plus monthly service fees and taxes apply. Non-standard installation may result in additional charges. Equipment must be returned upon cancellation of service to avoid unreturned equipment fees. Actual speeds will vary. Use of the Exede service is subject to data transmission limits measured on a monthly basis. For complete details and the Data Allowance Policy, visit www.exede.com. Exede is a registered service mark of ViaSat, Inc. Check exede.com for promotional offers in your area.

Gentler over time: Many natural products work better than their conventional counterparts because they don’t contain unnecessary fillers or irritants. And while some unnatural products may seem to work better with the first try, over

Less Government means more Liberty

11

The Valley, January 2017

R. O. F. F.

Rescue Our Furry Friends

by Patricia Lawson

Happy New Year from all of us at ROFF!

We thank you for all your support throughout last year and we are excited to offer more fun events and fund-raisers this year.

First let’s take a look at the featured cat and dog of the month.

First we have Isach and don’t let his color frighten you.

“I’m Isach, a young lad, and I certainly did have some bad luck when I was very young. I had a broken back leg, but thanks to ROFF, I’m all better now. I have all my shots, I’m spayed and I’m litter trained, so I’m ready for my ‘fur’ever home! The humans at the Catery say I’m very loving, playful, full of energy and I just love playing with my roommates.

Stop by for a visit and some playtime, and I know we’ll get along just fine”

There are no fund-raisers planned for January at this time, but you never know when some fun and interesting event will pop up. So be sure to take a peek at our web-site and Facebook Page often. And, as always, your donations are crucial to our mission.

The vet bills plus daily care for all our rescues are astronomical,

Going Natural in 2017 from page 10 understood than the ones from synthetic ingredients.

Support small business: Many of the companies that produce all natural small batch products are small businesses. I would encourage you to support your local small businesses. Not only are you helping out your community, but you will get to know the commitment and motto behind the company. We at Shade Mountain are extremely open about our ingredients and our process. In fact, when you visit, you can see us making your products FRESH!

“Misty here! I’m a Pug and Beagle Mix and to see the rest of me, well you’ll have to visit me.

I was a bit camera shy the day this picture was taken. Anyway, I’m an adult lady on the small side and my colors are a blend of black, white and tan. So I go with anything really. I sure would like a home to call my own, so please set up a meet and greet soon. I will love you forever.” so your contributions would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be made via PayPal or checks made payable to ROFF may be mailed to: 133 North Walnut Street, Burnham, PA 17009.

Thank you!

For more information and additional photos of all of animals up for adoption, just go to our website, www.roffrescue.com, or call 1-877-933-ROFF (7633).

Until they all have homes…

www.roffrescue.com; rescueourfurryfriends@yahoo.com; 1-877-933-ROFF (7633) a How to “green” your skin care routine

Think of skin and body care products as edible treats for your skin and take the same approach you would apply to your diet.

Healthy food is made from fresh, minimally-processed, natural ingredients. If you’re finding that you can’t decipher the ingredients in your moisturizer without having to call a friend with a PhD in chemical science, chances are that your body might have trouble knowing what to do with it also!

Almost 90 percent of the 10,500 cosmetics and skin care ingredients known to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have NOT been evaluated for safety by the

Home at the Grange

by Patricia L. Bird

For the month of January, I choose to showcase another small Grange in Centre County. Please enjoy learning a little about Union Grange #325.

On August 11, 1974, a group of farmers held a meeting to organize Union Grange #325.

Located in Union Township, Centre County in the small town of Unionville, Union Grange meets the 4th Monday of every month.

These farmers and additional community members saw the need for an organization such as the Grange where the hand of friendship is given to all people regardless of race, religion or nationality. It also needed to guard the ideals of faith, hope, charity and fidelity which would also help with the welfare and the education of children.

The first meetings of Union Grange #325 were held at the Plum Grove Schoolhouse on August 11, 1874. The location of Plum Grove School was along old Route 220 between Unionville and Milesburg.

The first team of officers was installed by Leonard Rhone of Progress Grange in Centre Hall.

Mr. Rhone was a State Deputy at the time. The first officers consisted of Jacob Taylor as Master, E. M. Fisher as Overseer, R.T. Comly as Lecturer, Joe Davidson as Steward, J.B. Taylor as Asst.

Steward, Sara Iddings as Lady

Asst. Steward, W. T. Irvin as Chaplain, Jacob Hoover as Treasurer, W. M. Scholl as Secretary, Enoch Hugg as Gatekeeper, Mary Taylor as Ceres, Elizabeth Iddings as Pomona, E. A. Irvin as Flora with Trustees being Jacob Taylor, Wilson Irvin and Enoch Hugg.

On August 18, 1874, an application was presented to the National Grange for the ritual of the Order to be placed in their hands with the full power to confer the Degrees and conduct business as a Grange. This was granted by National Grange Master Dudley W. Adams and National Secretary O. V. Kelly on August 26, 1874.

Other meeting locations included the Maple Grove School and the Cherry Grove School throughout the years. In 1903, the member of Union Grange #325 purchased the present Grange Hall at the corner of Centre and Chestnut Streets in the borough of Unionville from the IOOF Organization for the sum of three hundred dollars ($300.00). The meetings to this day are still held at the same location. Updates to the building such as an addition of a kitchen have been made throughout the years.

The Grange members participate in many community activities. They hold a community-wide Halloween and a Christmas Party.

To pay expenses and be able to make donations, they put aside

Cosmetic Ingredient Review, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution. To be fair, no one’s dropping dead after a using mascara or a body wash. But complex chemicals with potential unknown side effects should lead us to err on the side of safety until we know. More than 1,110 personal-product ingredients have been banned for use in cosmetics in the European Union because of concerns that they may cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive ills. By contrast only 10 are banned here in the U.S.!

if not all of them list words that you can’t recognize or pronounce.

The number of ingredients alone in some products is troubling.

Does one cream really need 15, 20 or even 40 different chemicals? Many times one chemical is to cover up a smell or effect of another. Simple is always best – an excessively long ingredient list usually means that the product only contains a very minimal amounts of each ingredient: they might have great properties, but if only tiny quantities are present they are not going to work as well. It’s best to stick with those products that can define their main uses and benefits with only a few ingredients.

Here are a few things to bear in mind: Simplify the ingredient list: Go into your bathroom and pick a few products (shampoo, creams, deodorant, toothpaste, cosmetics), and take a look at the ingredient list. I bet you’ll find that most,

The Truth Has No Agenda

Simplify the number of products you use: Choosing multifunctional products can also go a long way towards ensuring that you are getting the best value out

twenty percent of all funds raised.

They rent out their hall. They sponsor a Senior Achievement Award each spring at the Bald Eagle School District awards program. This award is given to special students who have gone beyond their established goals for an education because of disabilities.

Members also belong to the Centre County Pomona Grange #13, PA State Grange and the National Grange. Members serve in various positions in these organizations. Members also serve on the Centre County Grange Fair Committee along with other various community organizations.

In 1988, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted the Seal of Incorporation to Union Grange #325. The Grange at this time has approximately 36 members.

Master is Merle Chambers and Secretary is Lois Chambers.

If you would like to learn more about Union Grange #325, you can contact either Merle or Lois at 355- 2081 or send a letter of inquiry to them at PO Box 384, Milesburg, PA 16853. I’m sure they would gladly speak to you about Union Grange and welcome you to attend a meeting at anytime. a of your products and minimizing waste. Think about how many products you use just in your hair or on your face and can that be cut down?

My recommendation is to keep it simple: Really, for your face all you need is a basic cleanser and moisturizer. Everything else is just like dressing.

Stay away from sprays: Not only are they bad for the environment, but you certainly do not want to be inhaling those chemicals.

Make Sure “Natural” Is Really Natural: Believe it or not, the FDA doesn’t need to approve the ingredients that are added to personal care products or cosmetics and can only request, not order, that a company pull a skin care product, regardless of what’s in

Continued on page 16

The Valley, January 2017

12

Selling Your Home With A Senior Real Estate Specialist

by Kim Rickert Part 3

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.

Once the home is on the market and showings or open houses have begun, you can expect an average “days on market” in our area of about 120 days until you receive an offer; but of course, that can vary greatly. It is not uncommon for a house in excellent condition to get an offer within the first two weeks! Our market in Mifflin County is currently experiencing low inventory, and as new homes come on the market, buyers are checking to see if the home meets their needs. If the home looks promising, buyers will be anxious to get in to see it and make an offer immediately.

NEGOTIATING THE SALE

An offer is made on your home. Sometimes the buyers will be looking at the price and thinking about what they want to do to make the home their own, such as new flooring or updates in the bathrooms or kitchens, and they will make an offer that is lower based on their plans. This is very common, and while you may feel your home is perfectly fine the way it is, a buyer will be using a different kind of reasoning for the price offered. Hear them out, and remember that the market today is filled with very saavy buyers.

How do you know if the offer is reasonable and serious? The offer will be delivered to you by your SRES, who has dealt with similar situations in the past.

Your agent understands how the local market is behaving and can look at factors that will indicate whether the offer should be considered seriously. Remember, the negotiation process almost always requires give and take.

When a family home is being sold, many factors need to be considered. This is a good time for the family to get together, either in person or on the phone, and discuss the offer. Leaving a sibling out of the discussion can cause more pain and hurt feelings down the road. Your SRES will provide you and your family with unbiased advice, and will help decide if the offer is from a strong buyer who has provided a pre-approval letter, as well as good terms in the sales contract. Should a counteroffer be made, you agent will guide you through the negotiations. In the case of a home being part of a family trust, an attorney should be consulted before signing anything.

After an offer is accepted in writing, the buyers typically will hire a home inspector to examine the condition and structure of the home. This is often a contingency on the sales contract, and will include a specific time period in which the buyers may want to negotiate further if a major problem is discovered with the property.

Your agent will make sure that you are aware of any reports, help you negotiate repairs if necessary, and keep an eye on all deadlines and requirements in the contract.

PLANNING THE MOVE

Moving from your family home can be overwhelming, especially if you are faced with a lifetime of possessions and must make choices about what to take with you and what to let go.

These decisions can be paralyzing because each possession often triggers a walk down memory lane. Family members can help parents sort through possessions and move, but sometimes hiring a third party is the best way to handle this task.

Senior moving specialists are a new type of service provider, helping take care of all the details associated with downsizing for a move. These professionals can: • Evaluate the contents of your old home and assess space available in the new one.

• Help sort and make decisions about what to take and what to leave • Manage the process of packing and moving, then unpacking and arranging possessions • Organize pick up for dona-

tions, or removal of unwanted items

Your SRES has contacts which include senior moving specialists, moving companies, organizations that accept donations, and consignment shops.

If your family is thinking about packing and moving on your own, start the process well in advance.

Some guidelines for making this task easier include: • Set small, achievable daily goals • Decide which items will be moving with the senior and mark these items • Establish a plan for tackling different rooms • Contact movers to ask what services they offer in advance • Ask family members to choose any items that they want to keep, and remove from the house

There are many more tasks associated with a move, including notifying utility companies, lawn services, and changing your mailing address; all of these items are listed in the Moving Checklist available from your SRES, Kim Rickert. Please contact Kim and ask for your FREE “Moving On” guide.

Moving from your family

Less Government means more Liberty

home can be a big undertaking, but with the help of a Senior Real Estate Specialist, the process will be easier and you will have a guide to help you through each step. If you or a family member is facing the decision of downsizing,

take the time to sit down with a SRES and find out how she can help you. Your peace of mind is important, and enlisting the help of a professional will ease your concerns. You are NOW ready to Move On! a

The Valley, January 2017

The Truth Has No Agenda

13

The Valley, January 2017

14

Our Yesteryears – January 2017 Almost Everything but the Squeal - A Central Pennsylvania Country Butchering

By Forest K. Fisher, Mifflin County Historical Society

When chilly late autumn days shorten and heavy frosts have already whitened the pasture, I’ve heard it said, “It feels like butchering weather.” Once a widespread activity across agricultural communities, a hog butchering helped fill the larder and the smokehouse with ample winter stores. Thanksgiving for some was the kickoff of the butchering season. I know families today that traditionally butcher a couple hogs on Thanksgiving Day. January has also been known as a time for hog butchering, with the potential for prolonged cold weather.

Whatever the season, the occasion brings families together for a common purpose, much as it did historically when what was grown or raised was the major source of a family’s food.

Here is a collection of thoughts and memories about two hog butcherings that took place along the banks of Honey Creek, some three miles from Reedsville and just east of the village of Shrader. My grandparents, Luther and Iva Kepler, had sixty acres there, where we now reside, all tilled by farmer Willie Byler and family. The last butchering held at the farm occurred in the late 1940s.

A memorable butchering took place at the Letterman farm, less than a mile down the road from our home. Paul and Gladys Lauver operated the farm along with son Dan. Later sons Jerry and Toby came into the family. Their long-time farm hand, Ira “Babe” Kline, lived in an apartment in the farm house, along with Babe’s mother.

The Lauver’s and my grandparents were good friends and Paul farmed Grandpa’s acreage after Willie Byler left. During this particular butchering, my grandfather photographed the event with his 16mm movie camera. The old butchering movie and the recollections of my family and those involved placed me in the middle of the action, even though I was months from being born. This is the oral history of the events as told to me, and retold here.

My grandparents’ farm in the late 1940s was still horsepowered, no tractors, much as an Amish farm would be today or then, for that matter. Two dappled gelding work horses were always hitched in tandem, since one was blind, following the lead of his harness partner. Cows, pigs, chickens, ducks – a regular Ol’ MacDonald’s menagerie – inhabited the barn, out buildings and pens. The chief boar of the swine pen was dubbed “Satan” by my Grandpa, due to the boar’s rather devilish head-on appearance of curved tusks, v-shaped brow and shear bulk. The old boar is on home movie film, too, and Grandpa was right! The butchering was not planned for old Satan, much to my Grandmother’s disappointment. She disliked that swine so much because he reminded her of another hog that chased her as a child. She would have much preferred him as sausage!

BUTCHERING CUSTOMS

Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in her first autobiographical book, Little House in the Big Woods, about her pioneer family butchering a pig for the winter food supply. The family smoked, “put up” or canned, salted, and dried almost everything but the squeal from the pig they butchered! The two things not preserved for the winter: the pig’s bladder and its tail. Laura and sister Mary played

Next Issue of The Valley: February 1st

with the inflated pig’s bladder that her father tied off like a balloon, while the tail was roasted until crisp, a treat the girls relished.

This family waited for cold weather, as Nature’s refrigeration aided the process.

Some farmers traditionally set the first butchering of the year according to the phases of the moon, choosing a really cold day often in late November. The thinking went thusly: Hogs killed on the full moon or just about the full moon rendered more lard.

Hogs killed on or around the new moon rendered far less fat. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the method, but that’s what “they” say. I’m not aware that any such calculations went into the butcherings that I remember, but rather a desire to provide a supply of fresh pork products to family and friends, all done in the old fashioned way. And the phrase, “Feels like butchering weather” would be repeated.

In the 1872 Pennsylvania Dutch and Other Essays by Phebe Earle Gibbons, the author notes: “Butchering is one of the many occasions for the display of friendly feelings, when brother or father steps in to help hang the hogs, or a sister to assist in rendering lard, or in preparing the meal.

An active farmer will have two or three porkers killed, scalded, and hung up by sunrise, and by night the whole operation of sausage and scrapple making, and lard rendering, will be finished, and the house set in order.”

A COUNTRY BUTCHERING

In the predawn hours one cold fall day, a hog from the pig pen was shot with a .22 rifle, and stuck with a sharp knife in the juggler vein. When the bleeding mostly ceased, the farmer took the team and dragged the carcasses to a place for scalding and scraping.

Before the hogs were shot, large iron kettles were set up, each on its own three-foot, and fires started underneath to heat water. A couple dozen people had assembled for the many chores to be done that day. Once heated, the scalding water was poured over the carcass to aid in the process of loosening the hair and bristles, as helpers scraped with knife blades or “hog scrappers;” a tool made for the task. A portion of the carcass would be cleaned, then

Less Government means more Liberty

rolled over. More water would be applied, more scraping, followed by more rolling, more hot water, etc. until the carcass was mostly clean of hairs. Many hands make easy work. A larger farm operations would use a scalding tank over an outdoor furnace, aided by a hoist, to complete the scalding and hair removing process.

At this point, the hamstring of each hind leg was exposed to enable the carcass to be hung, usually from a tripod. Hooks were placed in the opened hamstrings while the tripod was on the ground and the men hoisted it into the upright position, with the carcass now hanging head down.

More hot water was applied and any additional hairs were scraped in this final cleaning. At this point, the hog’s head was removed with a cut that ringed the backbone and was taken for preparation for another use. Any additional blood was drained from the carcass at this time. This process would be completed for each hog butchered.

A careful cut from crotch to neck began the next part of the process. The entrails were removed, stomach and small intestines were collected and placed to soak for later use. Lungs, heart and liver were removed and placed in a wooden tub. The gall bladder was carefully removed.

The interior of the carcass was cleaned and split down both sides of the backbone using an axe.

The halves were taken to cut up, as was the backbone.

Long narrow tables made with tall legs and thick planks were set up to hold the meat for cutting. The tables were tall to make the job easier of the backs of the helpers. This was the main use for these tables, and each might be lent out to others at various times. The tables were also “well oiled” with the fat of umpteen processed carcasses.

Tubs were brought out, one for sausage meat and one for lard scraps, as the cutting and trimming process continued through the morning. The sharpening steel was in constant use as knives needed a little “freshening up” from time to time.

The tenderloins were removed from each side of the backbone, much as our Amish neighbors still do now. Today’s slaughterhouse would use a saw to cut down the middle of the backbone to make pork chops instead of having the loin kept whole. Shoulders and hams were removed at the joints and ribs were cut in sections with an axe.

Bacon was taken from the side.

Hams were destined for smoking

and a salt and sugar cure, as might be the shoulders. Bacon could be smoked and cured or used fresh.

The liver was cooked and eaten during the day. A large saltshaker was on hand nearby.

The cooled liver was placed on one end of a trimming table and the workers salted and sampled pieces of the cut up liver until it was gone. I remember the salty taste of that cooked liver at Paul Lauver’s butchering. Sometimes I heard it said that liver and heart went into the pudding meat, that rich blend of pork parts that, when cooked, could be spread on bread or toast. My dad liked it added to the scrapple.

Speaking of scrapple or ponhaus, that most Pennsylvanian of all pork byproducts, a kettle was started for that butchering treat. I read once that one of the earliest pork foods originating in America may have been scrapple. Shoulder trimmings and other meat trimmings went into this kettle of boiling water. Some put the liver and other organ meat into this pot. The broth was checked for seasoning, salt and pepper sprinkled in as needed and corn meal eventually added, stirring constantly so as not to burn, until it was thick and bubbly. Lots of “cooks” came to look into the swirling scrapple kettle and might comment on the amount of cornmeal or the amount of seasoning needed to make it “really good.” The cooked mixture was poured into tin pans while still hot, and would firm up overnight.

The sausage was prepared while the scrapple cooked. There were those who like their sausage stuffed and those who liked it loose, not stuffed in casings. The cleaned intestines were ready to use as casings for the stuffed sausage. The seasoned sausage meat was run through the grinder. The intestines were fed over the spout of the stuffer. As the handle was cranked, the press lowered, forcing the meat out through the spout and into the casings, neatly falling into a tub set under the stuffer.

Sausage could be canned, that is, processed in jars, while some was fried up and eaten right away to keep the helpers happy.

The head, feet, heart and tongue were used to make souse.

The head was cleaned and was added to a pot to flavor the broth, after, that is, the eyes, ears and any stray bristles were removed.

When well stewed, the bones were fished out with a long handled sieve and the meat was chopped in very small pieces. As the liquid cooled, the gelatin extracted from

Continued on page 19

The Valley, January 2017

Tussey Mountain Trail

Back in 2006 there was a forest fire in Rothrock State Forest. The fire burned up the south face of Tussey Mountain and then spread to the north face. Running across the top of the mountain was the Tussey Mountain Trail, which was obliterated by the fire.

The trail was reopened in the fall of 2006.

The Tussey Mountain Trail runs from Bear Meadows across the top of the ridge to a bit past the gas pipeline clearing. From here, you can turn left and follow the Camp Trail or you have the option of turning right and following the Tussey Mountain Extension Trail down to Treaster Kettle Road. This circuit hike will introduce you to the latter option.

Parking for his hike was along Treaster Kettle Road, where the Shingle Path crosses.

You can reach this spot either by heading east or west on Treaster Kettle Road. Coming from State

College, you need to follow route US322 east and turn onto Bear Meadows Road at the entrance to the Tussey Mountain Ski Resort.

Follow Bear Meadows road for a little under three miles and turn left onto Treaster Kettle Road, just prior to Bear Meadows Road entering Bear Meadows proper.

Follow Treaster Kettle Road for approximately 2.3 miles from the turn off Bear Meadows Road.

Keep your eyes towards the left of the road and look for the sign for the Shingle Path. There is parking on the right side of the road just prior to, or a bit past, the intersection of Shingle Path.

This hike starts with a steep climb up the southern face of Tussey Mountain. Even though the Shingle Path is easy to follow as it pretty much climbs straight up the ridge, it may be encroached upon by various brush and brier bushes.

Depending on the time of the year, this climb can be easy or it can be

a challenge. I would strongly recommend hiking the Shingle Path after the leaves fall from the trees and prior to the greening of spring.

After 0.4 miles of hiking, the arduous, short climb up the Shingle Path is complete as you reach the ridge top and the Tussey Mountain Trail.

There is a sign post here marking the Shingle Path. Turn right on the Tussey Mountain Trail and begin

Continued on page 30

The Truth Has No Agenda

15

The Valley, January 2017

16

Storyteller

by Pennsylvania Dairy Princess

Halee Wasson

January 1st marks the beginning of a new year. A New Year brings many promises, but also brings uncertainty.

2016 will be remembered as one of the worst economic downfalls for dairy producers across the nation. As this downfall continues into 2017, many farm families face tough decisions about their farm’s future. These decisions will raise questions about the uncertainty of the industry, along with the uncertainty about the interest and ability the next generation has for continuing the business under strenuous circumstances.

At the ending of 2016, our local sale barns saw herd dispersals rise among family farms of all sizes. These dispersals marked more than the ending of an era for these farms. When a family dairy farm goes out of business, it marks an ending of generations of cattle that provided nourishment to the local community — economically and nutritionally. Also, it marks the ending of generations of youth that were raised with passion, hard work ethic, and skills that allow them to reach any on-and-off farm goal they had in mind.

ficulties of low milk prices during the summer of 2016. As a former dairy producer, he describes this experience in one word — FAILURE.

“I was defeated, heartbroken and overwhelmed as I lost the dream of a 10 year old boy that prayed every night to one day have his own dairy farm.” However, this dream was not the only one that ended, it was a bigger dream like, “Providing an opportunity of passing down a herd of cattle to a son or daughter that shared the same love and passion for cows as their father. In hopes that they would gain the same morals of hard work, integrity, and honesty, while being raised with the most rewarding lifestyle anyone could ask for… I let myself down, my family down and a whole industry down.” Despite these disappointments, my friend never failed to take EXCELLENT care of his cows for 6 years. When the day came and the cows were finally gone, the worst sound on his farm was silence. Silence that echoed the ending of an era.

Many would say that the dairy industry is the only place you can do everything right, but still fail. Unfortunately, for my

Sadly this scene is repeating itself in many places throughout the state. Nothing is sadder than a farm that has fallen silent.

Although I could probably devote a whole article about the importance of dairy farmers to our local community, I would like to share a story that was shared by a friend of mine on Facebook who would like to remain anonymous.

This friend of mine lost his herd of cows due to financial dif-

friend he saw this failure. As we begin the New Year, please remember that it takes more than hard work to provide wholesome and delicious dairy products. It takes a farmer with a dream that can only be achieved through dedication and passion to continue during these difficult times. a

Going Natural in 2017 from page 11 it. The words “natural” and “allnatural” are not regulated labeling terms. READ the labels and buy from a company that you can trust is putting EVERYTHING on the labels! It really is that simple.

Choose Nontoxic, Recyclable Packaging: You can never go wrong with glass because it’s recyclable and has no danger of leaching toxins into the product contained within. As far as plastics go, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Or better yet, choose bar or solid products that require very little packaging.

Sidestep the Petrochemicals: Petroleum byproducts can be contaminated by cancer-containing impurities. Nonrenewable and environmentally unfriendly resources: petrolatum, mineral oil, and paraffin do not belong on your skin. I am always very surprised by the amount of products that contain mineral oil. I once wrote a whole article on these products

and would be glad to share.

Beware of products with a very long shelf life: Vegetable oils are at their best when they are fresh, and while vitamins and natural preservatives can be added to enhance the stability of the product, it’s best to buy only products that you know you are going to use within a few months. All of our products at Shade Mountain are made fresh on site, using no bases. Most of our products are made within a few weeks of purchase. Think about our products on big store shelves and the time it would take to get from manufacturing to purchase.

In closing, be conscious of your choices. Read labels and encourage companies that are making safe and environmentfriendly products. Don’t try to replace your entire bathroom cabinet all at once, you will soon feel overwhelmed. Instead, make a slow transition into switching to natural products by replacing a toxic product with a safe one, one at a time. Next time you run out of moisturizer, make the ef-

fort to buy a natural one. Slowly, you’ll clean your entire cabinet and you’ll set your home and your body free of chemicals! To help get you started, we are offering a coupon in our ad this month. Look for it in these pages, cut it out and bring it in!

As always, I would like to thank you for reading my articles and personally invite you into Shade Mountain Naturals. We are a small, family-owned business who LOVES visitors! We create all our products on site, FRESH! We make soaps, crèmes, lip balms, bath bombs and hair and facial products, to name a few.

Smells are unlimited and encouraged! We will even give you a free sample. At last count, we had over 70 Essential Oils for sale and we love to share information. Our hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9-4, Thursdays and Fridays 9-6 and Saturdays 10-2. We are located at 45 Serenity Lane (off Jack’s Creek Road) in Lewistown, PA. You can also check us out online at www.shade-mountain. com. Hope to see you soon!

- Tamela a

Organic Certification Just Got Easier NSAC praises efforts to Improve Access to Organic Certification Funding

Thanks to a newly repositioned farmer cost share program, announced recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), organic producers and handlers will have improved access to organic certification cost share assistance starting in spring of 2017. By moving the program from the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to the Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA has expanded the means by which interested producers can apply – FSA has over 2,100 offices nationwide where applicants can apply, ask questions, or get more information. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds USDA’s improvement and expansion of this important program.

Once housed within the FSA, access to the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP) and the Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost Share Program (AMA) will be available in nearly every rural county nationwide.

Applicants will also have the

Less Government means more Liberty

option to apply via mail. State Departments of Agriculture will retain the option of offering the program, and in states where they do so, organic certification cost share will be available through the state agency as well as all county FSA offices.

According to USDA, currently only half of the nation’s organic operations participate in the certification cost share program.

By expanding their access and outreach in this manner, USDA will be able to reach many growers and producers who may have never connected with the Agency in the past.

“USDA’s organic certification cost share program makes it more affordable for organic producers and handlers across the country to get certified, allowing them to tap into new and expanding markets to meet growing consumer demand” said Alyssa Charney, NSAC Policy Specialist. “By expanding the options for application, USDA is providing farmers, ranchers, and handlers with a convenient new option, increasing

access to these funds through the 2,100 FSA county offices across the country. In order to ensure that producers and handlers have as many options to participate in the cost share as possible as possible, we also strongly urge state departments agriculture to continue to offer the program.”

Funding for the cost share program comes primarily from NOCCSP, with additional funding also available through AMA. Support from the cost share program covers 75 percent of an individual applicant’s certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 annually.

NOCCSP is available in all states, while AMA funding is available for organic crop and livestock operates in the 12 northeastern states plus four western states. Administration of both NOCCSP and AMA will move to FSA, and the Agency will continue to partner with states that want to continue directly administer the programs, through grants to disburse reimbursements to

continued on page 17

17

The Valley, January 2017

Survey Finds Pennsylvania Farmers Have Done Much to Protect Chesapeake Bay Water Quality

Many Pennsylvania farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have voluntarily implemented, at their own expense, practices aimed at improving water quality, according to newly released survey research conducted by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

The study — built around a survey that nearly 7,000 farmers responded to — presents the first comprehensive inventory of farmers’ voluntary use of water-quality best management practices. The study stemmed from agricultural leaders’ desire to document measures Pennsylvania farmers have taken on their own, without federal or state funding, to reduce nitrogen and sediment levels in local streams, rivers and lakes.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which funded the research along with Penn State, expressed interest in having the study done.

The study began with the Penn State Survey Research Center administering a survey in early

the following water-quality best management practices: • 475,800 acres of nutrient/manure management • 97,562 acres of enhanced nutrient management • 2,164 animal-waste storage units • 2,106 barnyard runoff-control systems • 55,073 acres of agricultural erosion and sedimentation control plans • 228,264 acres of conservation plans • More than 1.3 million linear feet of streambank fencing • 1,757 acres of grass riparian buffers • 5,808 acres of forested riparian buffers

The verification component of the survey confirmed that farmers were accurate in their reporting, according to Matthew Royer, director of the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center, who oversaw the survey project.

“This survey is extremely valuable in reporting voluntary

One best management practice is streambank fencing. In the survey, farmers reported installing more than 1.3 million linear feet of streambank fencing at their own expense.

Image: Penn State

2016. A total of 6,782 farmers in 41 counties in the Chesapeake Bay watershed completed the survey, and researchers analyzed the responses. To verify response accuracy, researchers then randomly selected more than 700 of the respondents for farm visits in August by dozens of trained and experienced Penn State Extension staff.

Respondents reported implementing and covering the cost of

practices that, to date, have not been adequately captured and reported for credit,” he said. “The cumulative numbers of conservation practices on the ground are significant and reveal a large amount of conservation being implemented by farmers outside of government cost-share programs.

They have put a lot of their dollars and resources into conservation, so they should get credit for that.”

Each year, DEP tracks ag-

ricultural conservation practices that are implemented to reduce pollution — many of which are government-funded and reported by state and federal agencies to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership to document the Commonwealth’s progress toward improving local water quality and restoring the Chesapeake Bay. However, many Pennsylvania farmers want to ensure that the measures they install voluntarily, without state or federal cost-share, also are credited by the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership.

Nevertheless, Royer said, “it doesn’t mean that agriculture as a whole, or all farmers, have implemented what they need to meet water-quality goals — clearly more needs to be done.”

The survey results were provided to DEP and presented today (Dec. 15) to the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Agriculture Workgroup, which approved the survey process and was expected to recommend that EPA incorporate the results as part of this documentation and verification effort.

“Penn State is pleased to have taken the lead in documenting best management practices implemented by farmers,” said Rick Roush, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. “We place a high priority on research and extension programs aimed at improving the Chesapeake Bay and working with our partners to develop new strategies for accelerating agriculture’s efforts to meet water-quality goals while continuing to support a vibrant and viable ag economy.”

The survey approach reflects the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Strategy announced by Gov. Tom Wolf in January, which calls for public and private collaboration to maintain the quality of local waters in Pennsylvania through technical and financial assistance, technology, expanded data gathering, improved program coordination and capacity, and stronger enforcement and compliance measures when necessary.

The survey was developed collaboratively by Penn State, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, PennAg Industries Association, Pennsylvania Farmers Union,

The Truth Has No Agenda

Riparian buffers are another best management practice to protect water quality. In the survey, farmers reported installing 1,757 acres of grass riparian buffers like this at their own expense.

Image: Penn State

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, and DEP.

Organic Certification from page 16 producers and handlers qualifying for cost share assistance.

FSA will accept applications from states for funds for costshare assistance between January 3 and February 17, 2017. Beginning on March 20, producers and handlers can apply for reimbursement for their certification costs at all FSA county offices, and through all state agencies that choose to continue to participate.

In addition to moving the cost share programs to FSA, the Notice of Funds Available (NOFA)

CONTACTS: Jeff Muhollem jjm29@psu.edu Work Phone: 814-863-2719 Story courtesy Penn State Public Information a also highlights that transitional certification fees (through certifiers that offer a transitional certification option) are also eligible for the reimbursement through the program. This is important new addition to the program will provide modest but meaningful assistance to farmers transitioning to organic production systems.

NSAC looks forward to partnering with FSA as they work to increase the number of eligible organic operations that participate in the certification cost share and other valuable USDA assistance programs. a

The Valley, January 2017

18

2017 PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS Times and Locations Subject to Change

Thursday, Jan. 5 11 a.m.

Butter Sculpture Unveiling – M

Friday, Jan. 6 11:30 a.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

Fill A Glass With Hope Campaign – Food Court Blue Ribbon Reception – BH Supreme Champion Draft Horse – EA

9 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

Noon Noon 1:30 p.m.

3 p.m.

4 p.m.

6 p.m.

January 7-14 Daily Attractions from 9a.m.-5 p.m.

AgExplorer Stations (throughout the Farm Show Complex) Family Living Demonstrations – M Farm-to-Shelf – EH Know Your Farmer Exhibit – M Saturday, Jan. 7 8:15 a.m.

9 a.m.

10 a.m.

10 a.m.

12:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

2 p.m.

3 p.m.

3 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

9 p.m.

Supreme Champion Swine – SA PA High School Rodeo Championship – LA Opening Ceremonies – EH Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest – M (Good Foods Stage) PA Preferred™ Cookie/Brownie/Bar Contest – M (Stage II) Former White House Chef John Moeller – M Wine Competition Awards – M (Good Foods Stage) PA Preferred™ Chocolate Cake Contest – M (Stage II) Blue Ribbon Blended Burger Competition – M Farm Show Fashions with a Flair – BH PA High School Rodeo Championship – LA Grand Champion Junior Market Goat – SA

Sunday, Jan. 8 8 a.m.

Noon Noon 1 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

4 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

State Police Mounted Drill Team – LA Draft Horse Hitched Competition – LA Angel Food Cake Contest – M (Good Foods Stage) Food Network’s Melissa d’Arabian Cooking Demo – M Farm Show’s Got Talent – BH Grand Champion Junior Market Lamb – SA Thumbprint Cookie Contest – M (Stage I) Grand Champion Junior Market Steer – EA Rabbit Hopping Contest – SA Rabbit Meat Pen Auction – SA Cumberland County 4-H Drill Team – EA

Monday, Jan. 9: Career and Ag Education Day 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Ag Education Demonstrations – EH 2 p.m.

Pennsylvania State FFA Assoc. Convention – LA 3:30 p.m.

Grand Champion Junior Market Swine – SA 4:30 p.m.

Supreme Champion Breeding Beef – EA 5:30 p.m.

Historic Leadline – SA 6 p.m.

Mini-Horse Pull – EA 6:45 p.m.

Square Dance Parade – LA 7-9 p.m.

Square Dance Contest and Exhibition – LA Tuesday, Jan. 10: Thank-A-Farmer Day 8 a.m.

Alpaca Show – EA 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Agricultural Education Demonstrations – EH 9 a.m.

PA Farm Show Scholarship Foundation Awards – SA EH EA E

Exposition Hall Equine Arena East Hall

BH M ML

Championship Pony Pulling Contest – LA Sale of Champions – SA AgriMagic – M (Stage II) Make It & Take It Fiber Art – M Mini- vs. Draft-Horse Challenge – LA Championship Horse Pulling Contest – LA Pennsylvania’s Greatest Whoopie Pie Contest – M (Stage II) Celebrity Draft Horse Team Driving – EA

Wednesday, Jan. 11: Fairs and Public Officials Day 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Antique Tractor Display & Farm Activity Area – EA 8-11 a.m.

Speed Horse Demonstration – LA 10 a.m.

Youth Fleece-to-Shawl Contest – SA 11 a.m.

Farm Safety Quiz Bowl - EH Noon Hitch and Drive – LA 12:30 p.m.

Youth Pedal Tractor Pull – EA 3 p.m.

36th Annual Sheep-to-Shawl Contest – SA 4 p.m.

Antique Tractor Pull – EA 4:30 p.m.

Legislative Dairy Showmanship Contest – LA 5:30 p.m.

Bid Calling Contest – BH 6:30 p.m.

Sheep-to-Shawl Auction – SA Thursday, Jan. 12: Veterans and Active Military Service Members Day 8:30 a.m.

Draft Horse Pleasure Show – EA Noon Supreme Champion Junior Breeding Sheep – SA 1 p.m.

Army vs. Navy Cook-Off – M 1 p.m.

Exceptional Rodeo – LA 2 p.m.

Homegrown By Heroes Presentation – M 3 p.m.

Writer & Food Network Host Chris Cognac Cooking Demo – M 6 p.m.

Angora Palooza – SA 6-9 p.m.

PA Equine Showcase – EA 7 p.m.

Circuit Finals Rodeo – LA 8 p.m.

Supreme Champion Junior Meat Breeding Goat – NW Friday, Jan. 13: Farmland Preservation Day 10 a.m.

Tractor Square Dance – LA 10 a.m.

Century and Bicentennial Farm Awards Presentations – EH 11 a.m.

Mini vs. Draft Horse Challenge – LA 11:30 a.m.

Supreme Champion Wool Sheep – SA 12:30 p.m.

Tractor Square Dance – LA Supreme Champion of Dairy Breeds – EA 2 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

Celebrity Cow Milking Contest – EA 5 p.m.

Sticky Bun Contest – M (Good Foods Stage) 5:30 p.m.

Best Doe of Show – NW 6 p.m.

Honey Extraction Demonstration – M 6 p.m.

PA Equine Showcase – EA 7 p.m.

Circuit Finals Rodeo – LA Saturday, Jan. 14 9:30 a.m.

Farm Class Horse Pulling – EA 1 p.m.

Celebrity Ice Cream Scoop-Off – M 1 p.m.

Supreme Champion Meat Sheep – SA 1:30 p.m.

Ag Career Connections FFA Awards – EH 2 p.m.

Lumberjack Demo and Competition – EA 5 p.m.

Circuit Finals Rodeo – LA

KEY: PA Preferred™ Banquet Hall Main Floor Maclay Lobby

Less Government means more Liberty

LA SA NW

Large Arena Sale Arena Northwest Hall

12/14/16

19

The Valley, January 2017

Savvy Cents & Sensibility

Ed’s Railroading News

by JoAnn Wills-Kline MBA

New Year - New Journey

The New Year is upon us.

Perhaps you’ve announced your resolutions publicly, or maybe you have whispered resolutions quietly that only your heart can hear. Either way, the majority of us, hold a little New Year’s resolution in our heart each year.

As we end one year, and look with anticipation to the New Year, and a new journey that life will unfold for 2017, we can’t help but hold a few goals in the back of our mind, and deep within our heart. This first month of 2017, Savvy Cents provides a number of links, and suggestions, for you to peruse with enthusiasm in hopes you may find a nugget of inspiration that will motivate you to reach high towards the goals you have quietly set for yourself in 2017.

1. Learn Something – whether it be learning a new craft, a new recipe, a new language, or learning by returning to school. Make it a priority to LEARN in 2017.

2. Unclutter – your space, yourself, and your life as a whole a. http://www.unclutter.com

i. Donna Smallin Kuper offers it all. Her website is chock full of resources and books to “Unclutter” every area of life.

Our Yesteryears from page 14 the bones solidified. Then some of the jellied liquid was added to the chopped meat, and warmed with some vinegar to taste. Poured into containers to set, the mixture was sliced when chilled.

The lard was rendered thoroughly, cooked in a large iron kettle and stirred, as the fire was watched so it wouldn’t get too hot. The sausage stuffer doubled as a lard press to squeeze every last drop from the rendered fat.

What were the results in the bottom of the press? Cracklin’s! A favored snack by many, with a savory, rich smoky taste, something akin to the crunchy, crisp edges of fried fresh bacon. The lard was poured into crocks or cans, to be used later in baking and cooking.

All of the various cuts of meat were laid out on the tables.

Hams, shoulders, sausage, ribs

b. http://www.theminimalists.com

i. The Minimalists offers much inspiration for ridding yourself of clutter 3. Practice Self-Care – learn to offer yourself the same great care you offer others a. http://www.cherylrichardson.com

i. Cheryl Richardson offers good tools for practicing selfcare. My favorite book of hers is “The Art of Extreme Self-Care.”

b. Schedule, and stick to it, regular appointments for massage, acupuncture, hair, nails, facials, whatever makes your heart sing and makes you feel like a million bucks. Vow to make time and space for it in 2017.

4. Spirituality - honor the Divine a. http://annvoskamp.com

i. Ann Voskamp writer, New York Times bestselling author, and speaker, is like a breath of fresh air bringing hope, light and truth to a darkened world.

1. My favorite book of hers is ‘One Thousand Gifts” b. http://emilypfreeman. com

i. Emily P. Freeman, and tenderloins were part of the bountiful array. Pretty much everything of the animals were used.

Talking with different families over the years, each seems to have had their own unique traditions on butchering day. Some included the pigs’ ears in the souse, if they make souse at all, or added different spices in the various mixtures of scrapple and sausage or included all the shoulders in the sausage. Personal preference guided the process.

Our Amish neighbors told us that they once butchered an enormous hog, around four hundred pounds, for a non-Amish friend.

The whole porker was turned into sausage, except for the tenderloins. They never made so much

by Ed Forsythe

writer, New York Times bestselling author, and speaker provides a safe and sacred place for your soul to breathe through her blog “Chatting at the Sky.”

1. My favorite book of hers is “A Million Little Ways” 5. Nourish & Nurture – learn to cook and eat nutritious food to nourish the total self a. http://healinggourmet. com

i. Healing Gourmet website is chock full of recipes for many different health needs.

There is a wealth of nutritional knowledge on the site too! b. http://www.laurenfowler. co

i. Lauren Fowler’s website offers women the opportunity to nourish themselves fully – mind, body, and heart. Lauren is a registered dietician nutritionist with an extensive background in nutritional science, health at every size, and compassionate self-care.

It is my hope, that the links listed above prove valuable to you, as we enter the New Year and journey through 2017 to the year end. Perhaps, one or more of the links will offer you a hand up towards a happier healthier you in 2017! Enjoy! a

sausage at one clip. In fact, the friend’s little Toyota pickup was filled to the top of the sides of the truck bed with sausage, then covered with a blue tarp.!

Mifflin County’s agricultural heritage reaches back to those self-sufficient farmers who settled the valleys 250 years ago, but times change. For good or ill, in this modern age we are far removed from gathering eggs, milking cows, killing a chicken for Sunday dinner and butchering a beef or hog. Yet, when chilly, late autumn days begin to quickly shorten and heavy frosts whiten the pasture, there remains among us a dwindling few who reflect, “It feels like butchering weather.”

NEXT MONTH: In honor of Presidents Day in February, from candidates for the office to former presidents, let’s explore U.S. Presidential Visits to Mifflin County. a

The Truth Has No Agenda

Well, Christmas day has passed, but we can always continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ each day of the year.

After all, he is the reason for the season in the first place. This past December I had an answer to a prayer that I’ve been waiting for and praying for for several years. A few years back I made a mistake that I wished I could have corrected as soon as I did it. At the Reedsville Youth Park ‘’Christmas in the Park’’ show, I was with the model railroad club when a young boy talked with me about trains.

When he was finished talking he walked away and I began to talk with a lady. Well, the little boy, in his enthusiasm about trains, came back and began talking to me again, and instead of listening to him, I made what I consider the biggest mistake of my railroading life. I yelled at the young lad about interrupting adults. I can still see the enthusiasm in his eyes leave him, and was replaced with tears of sadness. As I have looked back on that day many times, I still wish his mother would have slapped me silly. That day my actions made four people very sad—the little boy, his mother, the

lady I was talking to and myself.

There hasn’t been a Reedsville show since then that I haven’t wondered if that little boy and his family was there. Well, this past December at one of the railroad clubs open houses, a young man of near teenage years came to me and introduced himself as that boy. After all these years and through tears of sorrow and joy, I got to apologize to him and his mother. At this time I’d like to also apologize to the lady I was talking to, whoever she was. I hope to see these folks more often in the future and I wish them all happiness throughout their lives.

Thank you God for bringing this opportunity to me.

I would like to take this time to say THANK YOU to all those who supported the second annual ‘’Build a Mountain Food Drive’’ especially those at the collecting points of the Chamber of Commerce, South Hill Business School and the downtown Subway store. We were able to help many of the less fortunate feed their families throughout the coming days. May everyone have a very happy and prosperous 2017.

Happy railroading, Ed a

Out in the Barn from page 8

looking for a new tradition to begin together, the Pennsylvania Farm Show is a great place to start! From January 7th to the 14th this year the farm show will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex located on 2300 Cameron Street Harrisburg, PA. Be sure to stop by the dairy barn to learn more about Pennsylvania’s #1 industry. You’ll be sure to spot Pennsylvania’s many dairy royalty members from Ambassadors to Dairy Maids, County Princesses and maybe even a State Dairy Royalty team member! We will teach you all about how a cow is milked in just 5 to 7 minutes, their positive economic impact and how their wholesome and healthy product keeps our bones and muscles on track. But make sure you come bright and early so that you are sure to see everything that the farm show has to offer! If you’re lucky, maybe you will be the first one in line to the milkshake stand! a

We would arrive to the hustle and bustle of the complex growing with each hour. At 6-7 a.m., you could walk straight through the whole Farm Show complex in 10 minutes to be the first customer of the day at the milkshake stand.

By 9 a.m., the same route would take an hour! It is a tradition for my family to visit the Farm Show, but this year the reasons are a little different. My brother is in his senior year of high school and he is showing a market lamb at the Farm Show for the first time (we usually only show our breeding stock). And I am proud to be able to serve as a Pennsylvania Alternate Dairy Princess. So, between our two busy schedules, we won’t be taking many strolls through the Farm Show complex to retrieve milkshakes together. We will both be hard at work representing the agriculture industry of PA.

If you and your family are

The Valley, January 2017

20

can experience the following improvements: • Faster walking and bigger steps • Better balance Increased trunk rotation Improved confidence Restored hope

Parkinson’s Disease:

Options for Improved Quality of Life

by Suzanne Irwin

According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a chronic and progressive movement disorder with symptoms that worsen over time. The cause is unknown, and although there is currently no cure, there are treatment options available to manage its symptoms.

Although symptoms vary from person to person, the primary motor signs of Parkinson’s disease include the following: • Tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face • Slowness of movement • Rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk • Postural instability or impaired balance and coordination

At HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, individuals with PD and other movement disorder conditions can benefit from specialized rehabilitation programs. Tracy Everhart, OTR/L, director of therapy operations, oversees the therapy department. “Our team of multidisciplinary rehabilitation specialists design comprehensive treatment plans for various stages of the disease,” says Everhart.

“We offer inpatient and outpatient programs for people based on the severity of their disease and symptoms.”

Parkinson Wellness Recovery

Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR), a physical and occupational therapy program, is based on the principles of “exercise as medicine.” Therapists teach patients exercise for brain change, and the exercises address multiple symptoms of PD.

“The program allows the therapist and the patient to create personalized goals for all level of fitness and disease severity,” explains Everhart. “Individuals come to our outpatient therapy clinic two to three times a week, based on their goals and needs.”

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) BIG and LSVT LOUD

The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) BIG, and

LSVT LOUD was developed by LSVT Global, Inc. Designed to improve many aspects of movement and speech, the programs are composed of intensive physical, occupational and speech therapies.

LSVT BIG helps those with PD learn how to avoid inactivity and keep movements alive from day to day. It uses the principles of practice in exercise, promoting strength and motor learning.

Through consistent training with a LSVT BIG certified physical or occupational therapist, patients

• • •

Treatment is provided in 16 sessions over a single month (four individual 60-minute sessions per week). This protocol was developed specifically to address the unique movement impairments for people with PD.

LSVT LOUD is designed to improve speech problems, including but not limited to: a hoarse voice, monotone speech,

Specialized physical, occupational and speech therapy programs can help individuals with Parkinson’s disease to remain at home, stronger and safer, and improve their quality of life.

mumbled speech and a soft voice. LSVT LOUD improves vocal loudness by stimulating the muscles of the voice box (larynx) and speech mechanism through exercises. Focused on a single goal, to “speak LOUD,” the

treatment improves respiratory, laryngeal and articulatory function to maximize speech intelligibility.

Similar to LSVT BIG, treatment is administered in 16 sessions over a

Continued on page 27

You Can LIVE LIFE Again Movement and Speech Therapy For Parkinson’s Disease

HealthSouth Nittany Valley is proud to offer inpatient and outpatient programs for patients with Parkinson’s disease. These comprehensive programs allow the therapist and patient to create personalized goals for all levels of fitness and disease severity. For more information, call 814 359-5630.

A Higher Level of Care®

550 West College Avenue • Pleasant Gap, PA 16823 • 814 359-5630 NittanyValleyRehab.com ©2016 HealthSouth Corporation: 1183051-06

Less Government means more Liberty

The Valley, January 2017

Modern Energy and Alternative Heating with Curt Bierly The Warmth and Economy of Owning a Coal Stove

It’s been very cold!! The oil, gas and/or electric bills are pouring in and they are much higher then you expected. You promise yourself to do something about it. Your goal is to reduce the cost to heat your home and you want a quick return on your investment.

What fuel will you choose? The answer is: Coal.

Oh no you say, coal is too dirty. This is the number one concern I hear from perspective customers when I mention coal and it simply is not true. Coal is only as dirty as you make it. You choose the appliance to burn it, you choose where to store the coal, you load the coal in the stove, you remove the ashes and

you decide where to dispose of the ashes. If you make the proper choices – coal is not dirty.

Coal goes back many years in people’s memory when they possibly grew up or had a friend or relative in a home that had a handfired coal burning furnace. When you fired the “beast” you opened the feed door and shoveled in the coal. Usually there was an ash pit where you shoveled out the ashes.

Coal was usually dumped into a corner of the basement. Ash was shoveled into galvanized bushel baskets for removal to the “ash pile.” Everything created dust.

Many times soft coal (bituminous) was used in lieu of hard (anthracite) coal. Soft coal by nature

created more dust then hard coal.

Certainly one can understand why dust is the number one customer concern.

Technology has changed.

When you buy a coal stove look for those “antidust” features like hopper feed, internal ash pan, internal shaker and to make burning coal a clean experience, practice an anti dust procedure when you tend your stove. Let common sense prevail. If you choose a non-electric coal stove, it will provide a good emergency backup.

And don’t forget to purchase a carbon monoxide detector as you would with any fossil fuel appliance.

Coal requires a shaker system to move ashes to an ash pan. It burns at an even temperature for 12 to 16 hours between shaking, so there is not a lot of tending involved. Three tons of coal requires a well constructed 8’ long x 4’ wide x 4’ high bin (32 cubic feet per ton), so storing coal doesn’t require much space. It is a stove so it doesn’t have a distribution system like your central heating system – so – you need to carefully select a central location to install it so the heat will flow evenly to all areas of your home.

OK, fine, but will coal save me any money on my heating costs? In one ton of anthracite coal there is 25,000,000 btu’s of

The Truth Has No Agenda

21 heat. Let’s assume the cost of a ton is $235.00 delivered and that your house requires 60,000,000 btu’s of heat per year. For the coal stove efficiency, we’ll assume a conservative 75%.

Using these numbers the yearly cost to heat your house would be $752.00. Dependable, long burning coal is the lowest cost heating available, on par with newly found Natural Gas. There is “Saey Hanover I Hopper Fed Coal Stove” no other fuel except Natural Gas that can compete with Curt Bierly is president of this!! the bierly group incorporated

OK, fine, but what coal stove of which Stanley C. Bierly is a should I buy? Please visit our division. He is chair of the Penn shop in Millheim and allow us to College HVAC Advisory Board. show you a Saey Coal Stove. We You can contact him at his busibelieve you will agree it is The ness in Millheim (814-349-3000, Best coal stove. cbierly@bierlygroup.com). a

The Valley, January 2017

22

Celebrations, Challenges and Cookbooks Dr. Molly Kinney, Library Director

In 2017 the Mifflin County Library (MCL) will commemorate 175 years of service to the community. Yes, it’s our Quartoseptcentennial or Dodrabicentennial or Septaquintaquinquecentennial or Terquasquicentennial or Demisemiseptcentennial! No one can quite decide what to call a 175th anniversary. Since I can’t pronounce any of them, let’s just keep is short and simple – Happy 175th!

Two thousand seventeen will be a year of remembering, honoring, and rejoicing in the Library’s longevity and lasting impact throughout the community. MCL began as the Apprentice Literary Society in what is now the United Way building. In 1955, the Library moved to its second home on the corner of South Brown and Water Streets. Since 1975, the library has been at its present location on Wayne Street. Lots of ‘stuff’ happened along the way.

How we’ve grown and changed!

We’re ready to party. Consider this your personal yearlong invitation to participate in events, challenges, and programs.

Are you ready? We want reader recipes for our yet-to-betitled cookbook with a history of the library stirred in among the recipes. We are only accepting 175 epicurean delights so don’t procrastinate. Recipes may be dropped off at either location or, better yet, they may be sent to cookbook@mifcolib.org. Be sure to include your name and all-time favorite book. Don’t delay—we need these recipes by January 31, 2017. Be like Nike© and Just Do It NOW.

Get ready! We challenge all adults (18 and older) to “read” 75 books in 2017. Yes, books on CD,

Playaways, and e-audio formats count. No, you can’t read 32-page picture books from the Children’s Department, but juvenile and young adult titles will count.

That’s only 6.25 books a month or 1.44 books a week. Those readers who meet the challenge will be placed in a drawing and the winner will receive a $175 Amazon gift card. You can do this. I know you can. Staff are always willing to help you find good books to enjoy. Visit the library (either virtually or in person), check out some books, and get started.

Get ready! Mifflin County Library Trivial Pursuit will test your knowledge of our history. Weekly, there will be a question about the library for readers to answer. One winner every week will receive a coupon for $1.75 to be used toward a DVD rental, photocopies, faxes, fines for overdue materials, or any other service we charge a fee for.

Get ready! In January (date TBD) we will invite children to create a ‘giving jar’ and fill it with 175 coins which will be used to purchase books for the Children’s Department.

Are you beginning to “get” the theme going on here? Do you think we can dream up 175 ideas/ ways to celebrate? We were open 2,600 hours in 2015. If we divide the open hours by 175 we’d have to implement an idea every 14.85 hours. Ah, maybe I better rethink this ambitious idea, but it sure looks good on paper doesn’t it?

Come and celebrate with us all year long. Check our website and Facebook page often as we have new activities throughout the year. Happy Anniversary Mifflin County Library! a

PACleanWays of Mifflin County’s Volunteer of the Year for 2016 is Timothy Zimmerman of Lewistown. Tim has helped on the last several river cleanups as well as many of our road and illegal dump cleanups. He has offered his vehicle several times to haul a trailer load of tires and trash into the local Mifflin County Transfer Station to help save us money on the cost of a dumpster. We could not do what we do to cleanup the county without the help of willing volunteers like Tim. We would like to name all our volunteers, but we can only name one for the year and sometimes it’s hard to name just one.

Tires. Everyone uses them, most of us daily. They help get us to and from work, school, and the grocery store. They pound the pavement for us, traveling tens of thousands of miles, over potholes and snow, uphill and down. But who really thinks about tires daily? And how often do we really consider what happens after they’ve lived their useful life?

Beyond replacing them, and perhaps grimacing at the bill to fit our cars and trucks with a new set, we typically forget about our old tires as soon as we’re done with them.

That is, unless we see old tires cluttering our landscapes.

Discarded tires are often found collecting stagnant water and breeding mosquitoes, becoming eyesores on roadsides and in rivers, and interrupting our enjoyment of the great outdoors. Once tires have lived out their lives on the wheels of our cars, they become a nuisance. Hard to dispose of, the bulky hunks of rubber can be a major contributor to blight.

To help citizens fight the blight, four Pennsylvania counties have teamed up and declared a war on tires. Each year Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, and Perry counties join forces to collect old tires by the thousands from local residents for a low cost in order to keep them off of the landscape and to ensure the tires are properly recycled.

The “Tire War” program began in 2006. Mifflin and Huntingdon counties each had an annual

Less Government means more Liberty

tire collection, hosted through their local Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliates, and decided to turn the otherwise unglamorous events into a friendly competition to see who could collect the most tires from their county’s residents.

At the end of each event, after volunteers loaded all of the tires into trailers, counting each and every one, the totals were tallied from both counties. Whichever county had collected the most tires that year, proudly took home the “Gold Rim Award,” an actual gold painted tire rim to proudly display, and the bragging rights that went along with the trophy for the year. As time passed, Huntingdon County usually prevailed as the Gold Rim Award winner, so the “Flat Tire Award” was introduced as a trophy for the “losing” county, as a way to recognize the importance of their efforts as well, even if they collected a few hundred less tires on that particular occasion.

Pam Sechrist, of PA Cleanways of Mifflin County, was one of the founders of the Tire War. “It was a way to put some fun into an otherwise tiring, dirty job,” Pam says of the origins of the event.

Volunteers get incredibly dirty loading the tires every year, ending up covered in whatever dirt and muck has gathered on the old tires over time. But it’s all worth it in the end; “we have had less tire dumping throughout Mifflin County since we started,” Sechrist noted. Also in this competition, there are no losers when you consider the amount of tires we keep out of the landscape.

The competition grew over the years, first adding Perry County in 2011, and in 2012, Juniata County was invited into the competition after Keep Juniata County Beautiful was formed.

Through the past 11 years of the Tire War between these four midstate counties, over 35,000 tires have been gathered and recycled. “Each year we get participants who ask about the Gold Rim Award as they’re dropping off their tires. This year, we even had two groups go out and get rogue tires from the river and a

roadside to bring to our event with the hopes of helping Huntingdon County win trophy,” says Celina Seftas of Huntingdon County.

“We’ve had people explain that they come every year with tires that wash in on their river side property, or many people have mentioned that they’ve just purchased a property and are cleaning up the old dumps that they’ve found. The Tire War is a good act of prevention for our organization to help keep them from being dumped over our hillsides or into our streams,” continued Seftas.

Every county runs their event a little differently, but all of the Tire War events are typically held on the same day in September, usually on the third Saturday of the month. Some of the events move throughout their county from year to year, while others are held in the same place annually.

County Conservation District, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliates, County Planning Departments, and County Recycling Coordinators are all involved with the collection events, along with volunteers. Tires are shipped off in large trailers to Mahantango Enterprises, Inc. in Liverpool, PA where they are turned into useful products like rubber mulch, play and athletic turf, and even crumb rubber for road surfaces.

Costs to residents who bring out tires to be recycled are kept low through Household Hazardous Waste Grants, provided to each county by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful helps each county apply for these grants each year. “By utilizing these grant funds yearly, we’re able to keep the events affordable to local residents,” says Teddi Stark with Juniata County.

“Costs for participants range from just a dollar for your typical car tires, up to ten or fifteen dollars at the most for the largest tractor tires we get. said Stark, who noted they’ve collected everything from bicycle and airplane tires to tires from large equipment and tractors that take multiple volunteers to lift

Continued on page 30

23

The Valley, January 2017

I gained 50 pounds ...and love it! www.families4kids.org 800-568-6449

foster parent or adopt...you’ll love it too!

The Truth Has No Agenda

The Valley, January 2017

24

What Does it mean to ‘Catch and store energy’?

We’ve spent a lot of time on the observations of your site to kick off your design. Keep those in mind as we move through the rest of the principles. The second permaculture principle for design is ‘Catch and Store Energy.’ It’s easy to assume this means ‘energy’ in the sense that we usually use the terms electricity, gas, or oil for heat and appliance use. It can encompass those things, but that’s not exactly what we are talking about. This principle is actually much simpler than we make it; it just means take advantage of ways to lighten your workload and expenditures. “Work smarter, not harder,” in other words.

Central PA is great at this

type of thing and honestly, I feel a bit silly writing on it to an audience of some of the most selfsufficient people I’ve ever met!

Instead of explaining the obvious reasons why less work and more money is a great thing, I’ll just list a few of the more obvious concepts in permaculture that fulfill this principle.

1. If building structures which need warmed, orient them to the south to catch the sun’s heat. Our house is not oriented to the south, but we do have a large south facing window. There have been many days I have had to turn heat on in the rest of our house, but could keep it off in our living room by merely leaving our blinds

open.

2. Catch runoff water for dry times. Most homes will need more than one rain barrel to harvest all of the roof runoff.

Even small homes will get enough in our climate to fill a small tank.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to do it all at once, though.

If a rain barrel is all you have the time and money to set up now, it’s better than nothing and will still save you a little in water each summer.

3. Adding Biomass and Compost to soils. You are throwing scraps out anyway, you may as well get a return on them by the addition of nutrients to your soil!

4. Preserve your harvest.

Less Government means more Liberty

This one makes me feel really silly to write about. I haven’t met a family in Belleville yet that doesn’t have some experience with canning. It might not be so obvious to someone who lives in a more urban area, though. The more you preserve during harvest, the less you have to buy when the winter rolls around.

5. Catch solar and wind energy. Ok, I’ll be honest. I will likely not have the funds to buy a wind turbine or solar panels any time soon, but it’s often the first thing people think of when they consider a self-sufficient lifestyle.

That’s great! For us, though, catching solar and wind energy looks a little more like placing a thermal mass in our poorly insulated greenhouse and hanging our clothes out on the line.

6. Use gardening methods that maintain a healthy ecosystem of beneficial insects. This idea, like others on the list, is also important for a few other permaculture principles. The idea is this: You’ll be fighting a never ending battle against bugs if you try to eradicate them. Garden smarter by using the good guys to your advantage. This is really simple and easy to do when you are gardening at a small scale. Insect buffer strips, plant guilds, beetle banks, and aromatic herbs are all

methods that will help you to do this.

7. Spend locally when you can. “Slow money” is probably my most favorite of these permaculture concepts. None of us are completely self-sufficient, so we all have to spend our money somewhere. We could buy all of our things at the nearest national department store chain, but then the majority of the money we spend leaves our local, regional, and sometimes national economy.

Strong communities hang on to their money by buying from local farmers and stores that employ local people. Not to mention, when I shop at Paul B’s or get a coffee from Taste of the Valley, I can put a face to my investment, and that’s pretty cool, too!

These are simply some of the introductory ways in which to apply this principle. Gardeners have invented tons of creative ideas that can be found online and throughout books of ways to catch energy. From composting within greenhouses to large-scale farming with the keyline plow concept, there are many ideas for this principle. Just use your imagination!

Any time there is an excess of something undesirable, look to see if you can “catch” that excess and find a way to use it as a desirable input into your landscape. a

Fungus-Infecting Virus Could Help Track Spread of White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

25

The Valley, January 2017

A newly discovered virus infecting the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats could help scientists and wildlife agencies track the spread of the disease that is decimating bat populations in the United States, a new study suggests.

Regional variations in this virus could provide clues that would help researchers better understand the epidemiology of white-nose syndrome, according to Marilyn Roossinck, professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology, College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State.

White-nose syndrome is a particularly lethal wildlife disease, killing an estimated 6 million bats in North America since it was identified in 2006. The disease, caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, first was found in New York and now has spread to 29 states and four Canadian provinces.

Although several species of bats have been affected, some of the most prevalent species in the Northeast — such as little brown

By Chuck Gill

bats — have suffered estimated mortality as high as 99 percent.

These losses have serious ecological implications. For instance, bats have a voracious appetite for insects and are credited with helping to control populations of mosquitoes and some agricultural pests.

The researchers examined 62 isolates of the fungus, including 35 from the United States, 10 from Canada and 17 from Europe, with the virus infection found only in North American samples.

P. destructans is clonal, meaning it is essentially identical everywhere it has been found in North America, making it difficult to determine how it is moving, said Roossinck, who also is affiliated with Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics.

“But the virus it harbors has quite a bit of variation,” she said.

“For example, in all the fungal isolates from Pennsylvania we analyzed, the viruses are similar.

But those viruses differ from the ones we found in isolates from Canada, New York and so forth.”

Roossinck explained that fungal viruses are not readily transmitted among fungi, so the variation in the viral genome probably is occurring as the virus evolves within each fungal isolate, providing a marker.

“So we believe the differences in the viruses reflect the movement of the fungus, and this viral variability should enable us to get a better handle on how the disease is spreading,” she said.

The virus is not thought to cause disease, but researchers don’t yet know whether it influences the virulence of the fungus, Roossinck noted.

“It’s very difficult to study virulence in terms of infection in the bats in part because there are almost no bats left to study, and we don’t have an experimental system that works.”

The researchers, who reported their results today (Dec 23) online in PLOS Pathogens, were able to eliminate the virus from one fungal isolate, which provided a virus-free isolate that they could compare to wild isolates that har-

The Truth Has No Agenda

bor the virus to look for biochemi- We now have a tool that can be cal changes. used in broader studies to examine

“Although we didn’t look the epidemiology of the disease.” directly at the role of the virus

Other Penn State researchers in white-nose syndrome, there is on this project were Vaskar Thapa, evidence of a close biological repostdoctoral fellow in plant lationship between the fungus and pathology and environmental mithe virus,” Roossinck said. “We crobiology, and Susan Hafenstein, found that the virus-free isolate assistant professor of medicine. makes many fewer spores than an Other researchers were Gregory isolate with the virus, suggesting G. Turner, Pennsylvania Game that the virus may be beneficial to Commission; Barrie E. Overton, the fungus in reproduction. biology professor, Lock Haven

“We don’t know whether the University of Pennsylvania, and fungus spreads through spores or Karen J. Vanderwolf, formerly at through direct contact between New Brunswick Museum, Saint bats,” she said. “But if it spreads John, Canada, and now at Univervia spores, the virus actually could sity of Wisconsin, Madison. be enhancing the spread of white The Pennsylvania Game nose syndrome as a result of this Commission, the Huck Institutes increased spore production.” of the Life Sciences and the Col Roossinck said the study lege of Agricultural Sciences, has important implications in the Penn State supported this research for ways to save the bats search. of North America. “There’s a lot Story courtesy of Penn State we don’t know about white-nose Public Information. a syndrome, and before we can develop control strategies, we have to better understand the biology Bats exhibiting characteristic traits of White-Nose Syndrome. of the system. Image: Nancy Heaslip/New York Department of Environmental Conservation

The Valley, January 2017

26 Hanky Panky in Gregg Township from front page of the Old Gregg School Building Manager. Never mind that he is one of the Supervisors making the Secretary appointments every year and he is being paid out of the General Fund (not the Old Gregg School Fund) to perform secretarial duties. On January 3rd at

6:30 pm, the Board of Supervisors will be appointing a Secretary and Assistant Secretary again. It is in the budget.

3) Speaking of budgets, I have been examining their budgets and financial statements. Our township can’t stick to a budget. That is why the increased taxes and they will continue to do so unless

GreggTownshipUnofficial.org has hundreds of public records available for you to download, including profit & loss reports, payroll reports, and official job descriptions.

something changes. I have these documents available for you to download.

“Gregg Township pays for two secretaries, but business hours are not guaranteed.” Stupid? Note the clock on the wall after reading the note

There are so many unsettling things going on in our Township, that I have created a Facebook Group for The Gregg Township Roadmaster was the first to remove one of our signs advertising the tax discussion. increase, but he wouldn’t be the last. The Chairman removed several on his own and one with the The name Vice-Chairman. of the group records that were obtained by ing. I hope to see you there. is Gregg requests: Gregg Township UnofTownship Unofficial. All breaking ficial: http://www.greggtownshiMichelle Grove, Resident news is shared to the Group, as punofficial.org well as information I have been

If you want to attend the next STAY INFORMED: join the given anonymously. If you are on meeting, it will be in Room 106 at “Gregg Township Unofficial” Facebook and want to know what the Old Gregg School at 6:30 pm facebook group today! is going on, you must join this on January 3rd. The draft agenda BE HEARD: Attend the January Group. is posted on their website, but will 3rd meeting at 6:30! a

I have also created a website likely change the day of the meetwhere you can download public

Gregg Township’s official retention policy (passed by resolution) for audio recordings was recently removed and replaced with a different sign. Now the minutes are drafted and the recording destroyed removing a critical part of transparency.

Less Government means more Liberty

27

The Valley, January 2017

Mail Pouch Books

by Carleen B. Grossman

January 11 marks the birth date for Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s most influential and controversial founding fathers.

From his humble origins as an illegitimate child in the British West Indies to his famously untimely death, here are a few facts about the legendary politician that might surprise you.

1. Like many of today’s celebrities, Alexander Hamilton probably lied about his age.

The illegitimate son of a Scottish immigrant father and a British West Indian mother (who happened to be married to someone else), Alexander Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis on January 11. Hamilton himself claimed that he had been born in 1757, but official documents from Nevis list the year as 1755.

2. Alexander Hamilton accomplished a lot—probably more than most people realize.

He was a member of the Continental Congress, an author of the Federalist Papers, a champion of the Constitution and the first secretary of the Treasury.

Hamilton helped found the first national bank, the U.S. Mint and the Revenue Cutter Service, and a tax collection bureau that would later become the U.S. Coast Guard.

3. Alexander Hamilton was the

subject of one of America’s first highly publicized political sex scandals.

In 1791 the married Hamilton met a young Philadelphia woman named Maria Reynolds, who claimed she needed cash because her husband had left her with a small daughter to support. This soon morphed into a trickier entanglement as the pair embarked on an affair that would last more than three years. Maria Reynolds was no desperate housewife, however. She and her husband, James, had carefully planned the affair in an attempt to extort even larger amounts from then Secretary Hamilton, who readily coughed up the sums. He published his own lengthy pamphlet in which he acknowledged the extramarital relationship. Hamilton was publicly applauded for his honesty, but his political career was effectively destroyed.

4. Alexander Hamilton and his eldest son were killed under similar circumstances and in the same location.

On July 11, 1804 – Alexander Hamilton was shot and mortally wounded by Vice President Aaron Burr in one of the most famous duels in American history.

His eldest son Philip, met a similar fate. In 1801, after witnessing a speech denouncing his father, 19-year-old Philip confronted

Parkinsion’s Disease from page 20

least three hours a day, five days a week,” says Everhart. “At least half of therapy is one-to-one with a therapist, and group therapy helps patients achieve their goals with those who are at similar stages in the disease.”

Patients receive daily physi-

single month.

Documented improvements with LSVT LOUD therapy include: • Improved vocal loudness • Improved speech intelligibility • Improved swallowing ability • Increased facial expression • Increased confidence • Positive impact on neural functioning (PET) Inpatient Rehabilitation

HealthSouth Nittany Valley’s inpatient Parkinson’s disease rehabilitation program has earned a Disease-Specific Care Certification from the Joint Commission, the gold seal of approval in health care.

“At HealthSouth, patients receive a higher dose of therapy - at

New York lawyer George Eacker and demanded a retraction or a duel. Philip died an agonizing death following the duel.

For this month, I have chosen an excellent novel for you to read that covers the life of Hamilton: THE HAMILTON AFFAIR: A Novel

By Elizabeth Cobbs Copyright August 2016 403 Pages Hardback Edition

This novel fits in with our modern political times because it shows just how toxic politics were, even during Hamilton’s life; telling about difficult times between Hamilton, Jefferson, Monroe, Madison and Burr!

The book is well-researched and well-written. With the Hamilton craze happening right now because of the hit musical, this book is very timely! The viewpoints alter between Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler, whom he marries in 1780. The Hamilton Affair follows the time line of Hamilton’s life fairly accurately from his early childhood in the Caribbean to his death during a duel with Aaron Burr. The author

shows what Alexander and his wife were like! She helps us visualize what their marriage might have resembled; touching upon the affair that Hamilton had that brought tragic consequences.

Alexander Hamilton was the nation’s first Treasury Secretary. A man who became more of a lesser known figure in history – other than his notorious death by Aaron Burr – until the Broadway musical became a smash hit and revived interest in this “soldier, thinker, statesman.” The book shows his unique place in history.

It was extremely interesting about both Hamilton and his wife Eliza, yet while the book portrays Hamilton in a positive light, it does not neglect telling about the damage he caused his wife and his family.

It is undeniable that both he

and his wife accomplished some good historical things in their lifetimes. Creating the Treasury Department from the ground up and ensuring that veterans were able to get back pay after the Revolutionary War and creating the first private orphanage in New York – these things and many more can be attributed to these two individuals. In a manner, Hamilton can be thought of as giving his life in the service of his country – because while serving the country, he made so many enemies, one of whom eventually killed him at the age of 47 while he was still a young man.

I highly recommend this new book that gives Hamilton the recognition he never before received! a

cian visits and registered nurse oversight 24 hours a day. Rehabilitation doctors, nurses, therapists and case managers create care plans and discharge goals to get patients home again, stronger and safer. Education, as well as psychology, dietary, and phar-

macy support are also provided.

“Some individuals with PD transition from inpatient rehabilitation at the Pleasant Gap hospital to the Outpatient Therapy Clinic, choosing an LSVT program, or PWR, in order to further improve their symptoms once they are home,”

Everhart explains. “We’re proud to help those with PD at many different stages to gain strength and stability, and to remain safely at home.

For more information, please contact us. A rehabilitation liaison is available to come to you, free of charge, to assess your therapy needs.

PWR, LSVT BIG and LSVT LOUD programs Outpatient Clinic: (814) 3595630 Inpatient Parkinson’s disease rehabilitation (814) 359-3421

HealthSouth therapists demonstrate Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR) exercises to staff. PWR is an outpatient therapy programs designed to teach exercise for brain change in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.

The Truth Has No Agenda

HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital 550 W. College Avenue Pleasant Gap, PA 16823 www.NittanyValleyRehab.com a

The Valley, January 2017

28

Life in the East End

by Rebecca Harrop

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I did, but as I’ve said before, I always do.

Celebrating with family and good food is the best. My nieces are three years old now and watching them open their presents was so much fun. Their little faces were so full of joy when you handed them a present. Nicole kept saying “this is the best present ever.”

I’m not sure where she heard that,

Pappy she cleaned her plate so she needed a “treat.” She got one too.

The girls sure do make Christmas fun. Rachel didn’t get home until New Year’s but we were glad to see her when she did get here.

This year for Christmas I made several of the gifts I gave.

I painted mason jars and other uniquely shaped jars, then decorated them with different ribbons and lace. From Thanksgiving until

Christmas crafts to give away as gifts, not sure which was more fun, the painting or the decorating

but it was so cute when she said it. She and Emily were giving us Christmas Hugs. Emily was tired and got a little fussy when we were eating, but Pappy told her to see who could clean their plates first. She stopped fussing and ate everything, then she told

after Christmas there were painted jars sitting on the kitchen table in different stages of completion almost all the time. Mom kept asking “if I was done painting yet?” I have several more jars I have collected I want to paint with some new ideas for decorating for next year. I got lots of ideas off of Pinterest on the Internet. If you have ever been on Pinterest, you know it’s like a black hole.

You start looking and two hours later you have no idea so much time had passed.

Mom made a bunch of burlap wreaths as gifts this year too.

Dad kept fussing about the odor of the burlap when she was working on one. I thought that was kind of funny coming from a farmer.

Pinterest inspired craft projects were a lot of fun.

2016 is about

to come to a close as I am writing this article from the East End. As we start 2017 there are a number of things to be grateful for. There are also a number of things I am very glad to say good bye to along with 2016. I am so glad the presidential election is over for 4 years. I don’t remember the carrying on that is going on now ever happening before. I wonder if we are a nation of reasonable adults or a bunch of spineless bawl babies. All these people pitching a fit about Mr. Trump “not being their president,” well a bunch of people didn’t care for Mr. Obama being our president, but we didn’t carry on like babies.

We sucked it up and watched him initiate new regulations and rules that we didn’t feel were right. We didn’t have to have a “safe place” or a “cry in.” What does it say about what is supposed to be one of the greatest, strongest nations on earth? How will any other country take us seriously when our people are so fragile they can’t handle their candidate loosing an election? I think it’s time to just stop and think. Try thinking of someone or something else besides your own little world for a change. You never know this may turn out to be a really good thing in the end.

2017 is bringing changes for our farm community. There are new rules and regulations concerning how we treat our animals and use medications for our animals. I’m not even sure I know what all the new regulations will mean to our operation, let alone the industry at large. I do know there is a lot of uncertainty while we all try to figure it all out. One thing I do know for sure is farmers try very hard to take the best possible care of their animals they can.

I am looking forward to going to the Farm Show this month. I will be helping with the Friends of Ag Foundation booth.

I hope to also have some time to see the rest of the Farm Show. I love to watch the horse events on Sunday. The big draft horse teams and carriages are really beautiful to watch. I like watching all the horse events, but the Percherons, Clydesdales, Belgians and the other draft breeds are so magnificent. I like watching the other animal shows too, but the horses are my favorites. The Farm Show has a lot of displays and animals for people to enjoy. Of course, if you get hungry, be sure to visit the Food Court. Many Pennsylvania favorites are offered there like mushrooms, milkshakes, cheese, apple dumplings, vegetables, and lots of other favorites. Every as-

Less Government means more Liberty

pect of PA farming is represented there. If you have the opportunity to attend the Farm Show this year, be sure to check it out.

2017 is definitely going to be a time of change both for our na-

tion as a whole and for individuals. I am hopeful that at the end of 2017, the changes will have been good ones.

Happy New Year from the East End a

The Valley, January 2017

The Truth Has No Agenda

29

The Valley, January 2017

30

7 Tips to Avoid Online Scammers The Bad Guys Are Busy Out There; Here’s How To Fend Them Off

by Michael A. Buffington

As technology becomes more sophisticated, so, too, do online scammers.

Using a combination of technological and psychological intelligence, the only fingerprints electronic thieves leave are on their keyboards. And those can be thousands of miles from the scene of the crime – your home computer.

Be safe when you’re using your home Internet. Arm yourself with a bit of knowledge about these scams, and then employ a few security techniques. It really doesn’t take long, but the payoff in security can be tremendous.

“Phishing” and “pharming” are two carefully thought-out email methods designed to access your personal information.

Phishing mimics a trusted source — often your financial institution — to convince you to grant access to critical personal facts. A typical phishing email asks you to verify security information, linking you to a site that resembles that of your financial

institution. The initial query may be disguised as a credit card offer, new service, possible account closing or update.

Pharming is an even more sophisticated cyber-attack that redirects users from a legitimate to a bogus site. Malware, or malicious software, must be installed on a computer or server for this to happen. As with phishing, you are also asked to enter critical personal or bank account information, believing you’re on a valid website.

Other scams offer promises they have no intention of keeping.

These may include a financial or job offer that sounds fantastic – often in exchange for or paying a fee to access the information.

Scammers even use the Internal Revenue Service’s name in an effort to get social security numbers or payments. Remember: The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through email.

Central PAHikes from page 15

Previously, this intersection was a tee. To the left is Camp Trail and to the right was the Tussey Mountain Extension Trail.

Now, signs show the Camp Trail is to the left, with the Tussey Mountain Trail continuing straight across the top of the ridge. A short distance past this intersection you will come upon an unsigned intersection. Turn right here and come upon the Tussey Mountain Extension Trail, less than a hundred feet down the trail.

Hiking along the Tussey Mountain Extension Trail, you will come across a switchback to your left about 2.3 miles into the hike. The Tussey Mountain Extension Trail is not blazed well, so keep your wits about you and pay attention for turns in the trail.

For the next 0.7 miles, the trail meanders back and forth, with a few switchbacks thrown in for good measure. Finally, at 3.0 miles, the trail straightens out as it slabs along the southern face of the mountain. The hiking on this section of the trail is sidehill hiking, but it is relatively flat. At 3.5 miles, emerge onto the gas pipeline clearing.

Walking straight across the

hiking along the ridgeline. This section of Rothrock State Forest was burned by a 400 acre forest fire back in 2006. There are no trees, except for bleached white remnants from the fire, and most of these have fallen over. Hiking along this section of the trail does not seem like you are in Pennsylvania at all. A benefit of the forest fire is the lack of trees, providing nice views both to your left and right.

At 1.2 miles, leave the devastation of the forest fire behind and re-enter the woods. The trail here is blazed red, well maintained, free of obstacles, and easy to follow. At close to 1.5 miles, you will come across the gas pipeline clearing. Views can be had both to the left and to the right of the trail.

A few hundred feet past the 2 mile mark of this circuit hike, you will come across your first trail intersection. Located here is a non-functional beer tap, attached to a stump. Like myself, I am sure you may experience a bit of disappointment about the inoperability of the beer tap.

How to protect yourself 1. Install anti-virus software

on your computer and keep it upto-date. Be sure to use a legitimate source for your software; believe it or not, some scammers actually pose as anti-virus software providers to get in the door! Some of the best-known providers of this type of software are F-Secure, Avast, Norton and McAfree.

2. Change the password on your router from the default one to something you can remember but that won’t be easy to guess.

If you’re not using a router, you should get one. In addition to being a great way to share your Internet signal inside your home, today’s routers provide additional levels of security to keep the bad guys out.

3. Use common sense and do research. Check the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb. org) for information on specific companies; MLM Watch (www. mlmwatch.org) for information on pyramid schemes and www. snopes.com to verify more general scams, frauds and information.

4. Don’t open email or atgas pipeline clearing, you re-enter the woods and continue hiking the Tussey Mountain Extension Trail.

Soon the trail comes out along what use to be a deer exclosure.

This part of the trail is very wide as it continues along the side of the ridge.

At 3.9 miles, the trail turns sharply to the left and begins a steeper descent towards Treaster Kettle Road. After a tenth of a mile, you enter a large clearing.

There is an interpretive sign here describing the varied habitat found in this area and how it benefits the wildlife. Directly ahead and a bit off to the right is an old access road. Follow this road down to its intersection with Treaster Kettle Road.

At the Treaster Kettle Road intersection, a bit over 4.1 miles into the hike, turn right and follow the road. Soon you are back at the Shingle Path where you started this hike. The entire hike is a bit over 4.7 miles in length, and depending upon how overgrown you find the climb up Shingle Path, should take about 2.5 hours to hike. a

Less Government means more Liberty

tachments or stream or download content from sources you don’t trust.

5. Look for the letters “https” at the beginning of a web page address to indicate an authentic, secure site.

6. When in doubt, call your bank, online retailer or company representative to verify an inquiry or to order by phone. Financial institutions won’t ask for personal

or account details via email.

7. Listen to your gut: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

PACleanways from page 22

that would otherwise stay on the landscape, “notes Sally Tengeses of Perry County. “Healthy land makes healthy water. By holding these events, we are looking after the health of the public and the surrounding wildlife, which gives everyone the opportunity to have a better quality of life,” adds Kristie Smith of Perry County.

The more the word gets out about programs like these, the less tires we’ll see collecting in our rivers and in illegal dump sites along otherwise scenic county roads.

Collecting old tires isn’t an easy job, but someone has to do it.

And while these counties are at it, they’re going to have some fun.

If you are interested in finding out whether your local Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliate hosts a tire collection or other cleanup event, please visit www. keeppabeautiful.org. You can also find more information on the Tire War on this website.

I would like to thank Teddi Stark, Affiliate Coordinator of Keep Juniata County Beautiful for taking the lead in putting the Tire War report together for us.

up and load into the trucks.

In 2015, the tenth annual Tire War received national recognition from Keep America Beautiful, winning first place in the America Recycles Day Program award category. Then, in 2016 alone, over 5,200 tires were collected between the four events on September 17th. Huntingdon County took home the Gold Rim Award for collecting a total of 2079 tires, the most of all the counties in the 2016 event. “These collections provide a convenient, low cost alternative to the community. The tires that are collected at these events won’t end up over the hill where they would be difficult and costly to remove, “ said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, “I really commend our affiliates for providing this service and for generating excitement and camaraderie within our network.

Hopefully, the Tire War will continue well into the future.

Each year we receive positive feedback from residents and Townships, and we will continue to compete in the Tire War as long as there are tires to be collected

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

Pam Sechrist Affiliate Coordinator a

The Valley, January 2017

Plain Talk

Solar Explained

by S. Yoder

Stop, Stop, Stop! May we have five minutes of your time? If your answer is yes, keep reading, if no, keep thinking about this article. This is not a sales pitch. Why is it important? It may greatly extend the life of your battery system.

Reasons your battery fails

The number one battery killer is stratification. The purpose of a battery is to store an electrical charge.

As with anything on the market, they do not last forever.

They do wear out over time, but there are steps you can take now, to keep them in working condition longer and with better service.

When you discharge your batteries, a byproduct of the chemical reaction is lead sulfate.

When you recharge your batteries, this is all supposed to reverse back into acid. Some however does not change back and becomes lead sulfate crystal. Over time this

builds up and keeps the acid from contacting the lead to recharge the battery. This is a very slow process, you hardly notice, but each and every time you discharge and recharge, you are making it harder to contact all the lead. A battery left discharged for long periods of time will accumulate more crystals.

The solution is simple, surprisingly simple! Add Battery Life

Saver to your system.

Under normal conditions, the sulphuric acid solution tends to work its way to the bottom, which results in a slightly weaker battery each day. I have heard some folks suggest that sticking one aspirin in each cell fixes the problem;

Battery Life Saver Battery Reconditioning Off-Grid Solar

Elk Creek Solar Steven Yoder Sales & Service 717-667-0330

however, that only makes matters worse. Stratification is not remedied, or in any way affected, by aspirin. You can equalize your batteries to help with this, but that has a side effect as well. Equalizing can raise the battery voltage to a point where you end up with positive plate shedding, which can cause the battery to “Bridge.”

With stronger acid, which is more dense going to the bottom of the battery, you may get a negative reading on your hydrometer, called “hickies” in the Amish community. In this condition, the stronger acid will cause most any battery charger to register as fully charged. When you take this battery and introduce a load, you will discover that it is actually dead. If you could stir up the acid inside off the bottom, you could end up with a 50% charge. The good news is that this battery can be reconditioned to almost new condition. The cost of Battery Life Saver is $119.00 plus $35 for me to perform the service.

Battery Life Saver is used in many different batteries such as Solar Systems, Golf Carts, Electric Lifts, Electric Forklifts, Freezer Systems, Diesel Engine Batteries, Starter Batteries, Light Use Batteries, Wind Systems, Alternator Systems, Service Trucks, AGM Batteries and Sealed Batteries.

The benefits are clear, and it only uses two wires. It will not reverse Sulfation and Stratification instantly. It took years to develop and it takes 2 - 6 weeks to see the difference. Even though it only has two wires, please call for proper wiring intructions prior to installation.

The system uses 250ma 12 hours a day. Available in 4 voltages 12/24, 24/36, 36/48. It is possible to install it yourself, ask for it on your next project. a

The Truth Has No Agenda

31

32

The Valley, January 2017

Less Government means more Liberty