Winter Storm Olena is making its mark on the northeast with snowfall.  Snow is expected to continue through the day and into Tuesday morning.  Motorists are advised to limit travel and be alert for changing conditions.  Schools in Mifflin, Juniata, and Huntingdon Counties are closed for the day due to the weather forecast. 

Strodes Mills Elementary School will be closed through Wednesday (February 3rd) after a second individual tested positive for COVID-19. School district officials hope to reopen for in-person instruction on Thursday (February 4th).

Due to COVID-19, both East Juniata High School and East Juniata Elementary and will be closed through Wednesday, February 3rd) as well.   The schools plan to reopen Thursday (February 4th). 

The FDA has placed all alcohol-based hand sanitizers from Mexico on an import alert to help stop products in violation from entering the U.S. until the agency is able to review the products’ safety. The agency has seen a significant number of hand sanitizer products from Mexico that were labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol), but tested positive for methanol contamination.  Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin, and life-threatening when ingested. Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient in hand sanitizer or other drugs.

Pennsylvanians could soon have a say in the duration of disaster emergencies declared by the governor under legislation approved in the House of Representatives.  House Bill 55 proposes to amend the state Constitution by limiting emergency declarations by a governor to a maximum of 21 days. Extending a declaration beyond that time would require legislative approval. The proposal comes at a time when the state is under two long-term disaster emergency declarations: one regarding the opioid crisis, which has been in place for more than three years, and the other regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been going on for more than 10 months. With final approval by the House and Senate, the amendment proposal could go before the voters in a referendum on the May 18th primary election ballot.