Week of December 5, 2024
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Williamsburg. Christmas Parade The annual Williamsburg Christmas Parade will take place this Saturday, Dec. 7, at 4:30 p.m. The parade route follows: Sage Hill Drive to Taylor Street, to First Street, to High Street, to East Second Street, and ends at East Second/Spring Street. Following the parade, gift bags will be provided to children who visit Santa. Light Up Night Santa will light the tree at 5:30 p.m. and will be available for photo...
The Grace Pointe Community Church of God hosted their first Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving Day. Donations were accepted for the Essentials Pantry which helps to provide essential grocery and health items for the...
Trinity United Methodist Church in Roaring Spring held their annual Thanksgiving Meal on Thanksgiving Day last Thursday. Rev. Ryan Gephart said about 260 people in total attended during the two hours the meal was held. He said about 130 people dined in person and another 130 take-out or delivery meals. Gephart said their Thanksgiving meal has been held since the early 2000s. He said they started preparing for the meal the Monday before. "We always enjoy it, and I like being able to talk and...
The members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 115 East Penn Street, Martinsburg, Pa, are once again presenting “Journey to Bethlehem” after a five-year break. The walk-through event will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 15., from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.The presentations take about 30 minutes. This year a special presentation has been added to accommodate persons who are unable to travel steps or need to use assisting devices to move around. This modified presentation of Journey to Bethlehem will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, on Sunday,...
It's Beginning to Look Like...
The Martinsburg Borough Council approved the 2025 budget totaling $1,055,810 during its meeting Monday night. Alongside the budget, council members adopted the 2025 tax resolution, maintaining the same real estate tax millage as in 2024, permitted under Act 51 of 2019. The tax rate for general purposes remains at 1.967 mills, or $0.1967 per dollar of assessed valuation, effective January 1, 2025. Additionally, the council approved ordinances setting the per capita tax for 2025 at $5, the earned income tax for 2024 at 0.5%, and the local...
The Taylor Township supervisors approved the 2025 budget for $1,439,681 with no change to the Local Service Tax (LST) or Earned Income Tax (EIT). The 2025 0.600 mil increase for fire and real estate tax was approved. For a $180,000 home, this would mean an annual increase of $50/yr. or for a $400,000 home, it will be an increase of $100 per year. The Friendship Fire Co. asked for a .141mill increase, bringing the current fire tax to .2 mills. A home valued at $150,000 would increase by $30/yr. in fire tax. Friendship Fire Co. Chief James...
A caravan of hay, cattle feed, fencing supplies, food, hygiene kits, and other essentials left the Cove on Monday morning, November 25, at 5 a.m. It was all a part of an effort organized by Lila Sollenberger of Curryville to help victims of Hurricane Helene in parts of North Carolina. "Our family was on vacation at Myrtle Beach when the hurricane happened," Sollenberger said. "When we got home on September 25, we listened to the news and I had this feeling that I needed to do something to...
Williamsburg's Levada Gorsuch, left, attempts to strip the ball away from Indiana's Laken Kugler during the opening night of the Forest Hills Tournament Friday, Nov. 29 at Forest Hills High...
Former president of the United States John Sherman Cutler, known to his friends as Jack, has been accused of murdering his mistress, Amanda Harper. There is only one man he can think of to defend him in the trial of the century, his best friend from childhood Rob Jacobson. Rob, now one of DC's most powerful litigators, wants to help his friend, but he needs to know for sure that Jack did not do it. He tells Jack the only way he will take on the case is if he tells him the whole trust. After a...
In this holiday season, I wanted to write to thank all those who read, subscribe to, advertise in and otherwise support the Morrisons Cove Herald. Earlier this year, we asked the community to support the Herald with subscriptions, the purchase of advertisements or even outright gifts. To those who responded, Thank You. Running a community newspaper has never been an easy job nor a 9-to-5 job. A community newspaper is, at its foundation, a small business, and like most small businesses, it requires an owner who cares about the business and...
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved brother, Jan Burke after becoming ill while on a cruise ship in Orlando, Fla. Nov. 25, 2024. He was born Nov. 6, 1952, in Roaring Spring, son of the late Max and Kay (Wright) Burke. He is survived by two loving sisters: Ann Noel (Dane) and Amy Dillon (Bob); two nephews: Dane Noel (Lisa) and Ricky Feltenberger (Nina); three nieces: Kayla Reed (Josh), Emily Yerty (Kyle) and Lauren Kohan (Nathan); a step-son, Bradley...
Patricia J. Beach, 93, of Roaring Spring, passed away Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. She was born Aug. 12, 1931, in Altoona, the daughter of the late David B. and Rose E. (Crist) Dodson. She married Conway Torrence Beach April 8, 1950 and he died June 20, 2009. She is survived by two children: Stephen C. Beach and wife Vickie R., and Pamela R. Rose and husband James R., all of Roaring Spring; four grandchildren, Patricia L. Feathers (Mark), Brian R. Rose (April), Rhelda J. Guerra (Paul), and Stephen...
Karen M. (Swope) Walter, 69, of Altoona, passed away Nov. 25, 2024 at Hilltop Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Altoona. She was born Dec. 20, 1954, in Roaring Spring; daughter of the late Earl Donald Sr. and Peggy (Albright) Swope. She is survived by a son, James Walter (Whitney) of Texas; brother, Arthur Swope (Linda) of Martinsburg; brother, Raymond Swope (Pamela) of Texas; sister, Beverly Swope of Martinsburg; grandchildren, Rhiley, Ryder, Logan, Lukas, and Trinity; ex-husband, James...
David (Chuck) Johnstone passed away peacefully at UPMC Bedford Hospital Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, with his loving wife of 63 years, Betty, and his beloved daughter, Jill and her husband Chris by his side. Chuck and Betty (Ebersole) were married at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in East Freedom, Sept. 22, 1961. Chuck was born in Portage, Jan. 14, 1939, the eighth child of John William and Effie (Ritchey) Johnstone. In addition to Betty, he is survived by his brother, Franci (Butch) and his wife...
David Calvin Burget, 65, of Reddick, Fla. formerly of Roaring Spring, passed away Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, at his home. He was born June 8, 1959, in Roaring Spring, son of Raymond C. Burget of Altoona and the late Ramona K. (Smith) Burget. He is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Lynne A. Burget; a daughter, Angela L. Burget of Reddick, Fla.; two brothers: Danny C. Burget (Sylvia) of Martinsburg and Duane C. Burget (Missy) of Altoona; a sister, Linda K. Allison (Mark) of Williamsburg; six...
Olivia Day portrays Mary in the Journey to Bethlehem at St. Matthew Lutheran Church...
It was a challenging time for the Prophet Isaiah. He was required of God to preach judgment upon his people. That is always painful. Of course God is right in bringing judgment to the Divided Israel. They had not obeyed God and not fulfilled God’s requirements for them. On a personal level, Isaiah had served God faithfully under the good kings Uzziah and Jotham. But, King Ahaz has come to power and he was not a good king in spite of having the godly examples of his father and grandfather and the godly advice and warnings from Isaiah. Isaiah...
When I was a kid my mom spent time researching our family history. The Kletzings immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1833. Hannah arrived with five children. Her husband died either just before boarding the ship or at sea. The youngest was a baby, and he’s the one from whom I am descended. We made interesting discoveries. At one time there was a Kletzing College in Iowa. But does a study of our family genealogy change the way I live today? Not that I’m aware. There are, however, some genealogies that matter, such as the one that...
“Listen to me, all of you, and understand—there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” (Mark 7:14-15 NRSV) Not everyone who met Jesus was impressed with him. We know that was especially true of the scribes and Pharisees. These men were well educated; they had read and studied the scriptures. They knew the laws. They had strict convictions between correct and incorrect behavior for people who wanted to follow God’s teachings. In fact, they saw it as their privilege and...