The Mifflin County School District School Board approved a required health and safety plan last Thursday. As per a federal mandate, students and bus drivers are required to wear face coverings while on school busses and vans. Currently, this mandate is set to expire on September 13. While at school, students and staff have the option of wearing or not wearing masks. This decision is independent of vaccination status. Physical distancing of three feet will be kept between students in classrooms and lunches when possible. School districts are still required to contact trace, isolate and quarantine if an individual is diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19. If the CDC changes requirements, the Mifflin County School District will update everyone as soon as possible.

A Fulton County man has been arrested on child pornography charges.  The Justice Department says 51-year-old Kenneth Harr of McConnellsburg was indicted by a federal grand jury for production, receipt of, and possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that Harr possessed child pornography images using a computer or cell phone between March 2018 and June 2021. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to fight the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Biden-Harris Administration gave over $640,000 to support Pennsylvania’s rural health clinics with vaccination efforts as cases rise due to the spread of the Delta variant. Funds will go to 13 rural clinics in the Commonwealth to fight COVID-19 misinformation by developing and implementing vaccine confidence and outreach efforts. This decision was announced last Friday and funding was made available by the American Rescue Plan. Rural Health Clinics are used to spread information about how and where vaccinations are available locally and work with sites and public health partners to increase vaccine knowledge. Funding will also be used to improve health literacy, safety and the benefits the vaccine will bring to curbing COVID spread.

Buckle up; gas prices could remain high through the rest of the season. Despite the high prices, gas has fallen one cent per gallon in the past week in PA, averaging $3.21/g, sitting slightly higher than the national average of $3.14 per gallon. Head of petroleum research for GasBuddy Patrick De Haan said with oil prices struggling under the weight of a rise in new Covid cases thanks to the Delta variant and OPEC’s increase in oil production, average gas prices finally drifted lower. However, we aren’t in the clear yet. De Haan says last week’s surge in travel kept prices high as demand was hot for gasoline. He’s recommending motorists enjoy the perhaps brief price break at the pump and buckle up for what might be a bumpy finish to summer.