Posted on 05/10/2020 7:04:30 PM PDT by lightman
Friday’s announcement of a new list of counties soon going to the “yellow” phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s gradual reopening plan for Pennsylvania’s economy came and went and yet again, Mifflin and Juniata counties found themselves left off it.
This latest group of counties is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the state — the closest to us going yellow in this group is Blair — and even includes Allegheny County, which is home to Pittsburgh, the state’s second-largest city.
How exactly is a major metropolitan area and population center like Pittsburgh more ready to go yellow than rural Mifflin and Juniata counties?
We’re still waiting for the governor to give us a satisfying answer to that. We’re not holding our breath for one either.
Truth be told, we think Mifflin County should have been included with the original 24 counties that went yellow Friday (which included three counties that border Mifflin County). And in the name of honesty, we could at least understand why Juniata County was held out the first time despite its recent positive trend as it had a very high number of total cases based on its population density.
But there’s no justifiable reason why Juniata or Mifflin shouldn’t have been in this second group.
In fact, while we’re at it, there’s no justifiable reason why the sole power to pick which counties can do what should rest with the governor. We feel the counties themselves are in a much better position to make that call than a governor who probably can’t remember the last time he was in Mifflin, Juniata or a number of other similar counties still stuck on red.
But don’t take our word for it. Just ask the people we elected to represent us in Harrisburg.
“Every reasonable measure indicates that our region absolutely should be progressing toward reopening,” said state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, whose 34th District encompasses Mifflin and Juniata counties. “The Department of Health Secretary admitted (Thursday) that there was a ‘data dump’ that has skewed the numbers. Keeping our area closed just shows that Gov. Wolf is ignoring the data and science and instead is allowing politics to guide his decisions. People in this area want to get back to work and are capable of getting back to their lives safely. They need to be on the path toward yellow and ultimately green for a full reopening.”
“This is absurd,” state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff said. “Since the beginning, this governor has said ‘data’ and ‘science’ would direct his decision making. What happened? There is no data-driven justification for keeping Mifflin County closed. None. Mifflin County can safely open, and should safely open. Hardworking people are smart enough and responsible enough to safely care for themselves, their clients and their neighbors, without the government trying to control their every move. Isn’t it hard work that made America? The people of Mifflin County have done what was asked of them for months, and they should not have to wait another day. Government should never be able to take away your right and ability to put food on the table for your family.”
“First, I questioned why Mifflin and Juniata counties could not open, while some neighboring counties were given permission to do so,” said state Rep. John Hershey. “The governor’s reopening of certain counties while refusing to include the Juniata Valley defies all reason other than the pure politics of taking care of his Democrat friends. The average resident of my district feels safe, and they want to return to work. I’m saddened that the governor’s decision making process is not allowing them to do so, and disappointed that he continues to neglect sharing the ‘science and data’ he apparently follows with the legislature.”
“Our small business owners have reached their breaking point,” state Rep. Rich Irvin said. “Many are choosing to reopen in defiance of Gov. Wolf. After being closed for such a long-extended period of time, I have the confidence in our citizens and business owners to make the correct choices while doing their part to ease the spread of COVID-19.”
We’re generally not ones to believe in conspiracy theories, but the seemingly-arbitrary selection process does make us wonder what makes Mifflin and Juniata counties different than so many others allowed to go yellow.
And until the governor gives us that explanation we brought up earlier, that’s really, frustratingly, all we can do.
‘She passed about an hour after I got the word from the hospital that her 2nd test resulted in a positive.’
I’m sorry for your loss..
To his credit, District Atty. John Adams is going along with the opening here in Berks Co. and he is a Democrat.
I remember what they said about Pa. in 2016. It’s Pittsburgh in the west, Philly in the east and Alabama in between...
All it will take is announcement by their county prosecutors to do what those in Butler and Westmoreland County have done: announce that there will be no resources used to prosecute businesses which choose to open early with proper precautions in place.
To his credit, District Atty. John Adams is going along with the opening here in Berks Co. and he is a Democrat.
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There’s noticeably more traffic on 78 than there was a month ago. I’d not be surprised that this bit of info opens the floodgates.
My heart goes out to you. Lost my Mom in 2014 and I remember well how much those daily visits meant to her as her mind was sharp until about the last week before she passed. What Wolf and his minions did was tyrannical, evil and criminal.
It was one of Wolf's first appointments. Willing cutting off your penis is a mental illness and an abomination against God. Appointing a tranny to head the DOH is evil.
My county, Carbon, also went for Trump. I wish my county would wake up.
So sorry for your loss.
My Mother is in assisted living lock down. No cases in her facility as yet. When I spoke to her yesterday she said she is ready for God to take her home but even he doesn’t want her. Nothing wrong with her sense of humor ... but the boredom is killing her.
Tommie trying desperately to keep things closed so he can pull off the Mail-In Vote fraud scheme.
LOL!
The Red zone is all because of NY and NJ.
I am so, so, sorry for your loss, the pain deepened by this being Mothers’ Day.
Prayers for peace for you and all of your family.
Aye.
And since this Governor is so fond of issuing orders why didn't he order the Delaware River Port Authority to the bridges to non-commercial vehicle westbound traffic?
This thing could have been contained by late March.
I am so sorry for you loss.
My Mother-in-Law passed on April 23rd, also in assisted living, in Bucks County. There were/are reported cases in her senior community, but not her specific area. They were all on “room arrest”. We had not been able to see her for almost 6 weeks, and were paying for hospice and visiting care 20 hours a day so that she was not alone. She was not a COVID statistic, as she had been going downhill rapidly from other causes, we made sure that it was reflected on her death certificate!
Becky’s Drivein Movie Theater, Walnutport, PA, asked their FB friends to write to Governor Wolfe on their behalf. They want to be allowed to open & show movies. I shared their post on FB. It’s now gone from my FB page & from Becky’s Drivein page. 300 people made favorable comments. Walnutport is near Allentown.
http://www.beckysdi.com/
FB is evil.
FB will not permit anything against the UniParty line.
The UniParty controls the narrative that the economy must be throttled until November 4.
Your mother’s situation lines up almost perfectly with my Mom’s. Truthfully, I doubt the positive COVID test result. Like many elderly she was more likely dealing with a slight case of pneumonia and it got out of hand. The first COVID test was negative but the doctors treated her as if she had it. If these were “normal times” she’d have had a better chance of recovery. Not being able to be there meant that I couldn’t fully participate in her medical decisions.
Thanks to you all!
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