Summer must be here as the weather has been very warm lately, we really need some rain here as it goes around us always. The yards are turning brown and the crops need lots of rain.


Condolences to the family and friends of Mr. William “Bill” Kapichok Jr. who passed away unexpectedly on July 21.


They are in the process of oiling and chipping our road, hope they get it finished tomorrow.


Went to Tractor Supply on Wednesday, nice day for a drive, everyone is wearing masks over there. They will meet you at the door and give you a mask if you aren’t wearing one.


Cindy Putnam visited Phyllis and Roxy Johnston in Troy, they had a good visit catching up on things.


Saturday in Troy was really heavy traffic, it was such a nice day and people aren’t going out much. I think everyone was out or traveling.
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Do you realize July is almost gone, such a bad year, it’s like you can’t do much of anything. The year will be remembered as the “Year of the Virus.” Not such a good year to remember. Hope it goes away soon.

The Blockhouse Committee is planning a Community Day in The Liberty Ball Park on Aug. 8, (Rain date Aug. 9) with games, food, and fellowship.


Three-on-three basketball is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Corn Hole game is at 1 p.m., and volleyball is at 4 p.m. Pre-registration is required for each game to Kyle 570-220-4585 or 1/2 hr. before the event.  No registration fee. Prizes will be awarded. See you in the ballpark.


The Fred Kreger Reunion was held Sunday, July 26, with about 15 members attending. Some folks stayed away because of Covid-19. It was a beautiful day with a little breeze whispering through the pavilion, good food, and plenty of fellowship. The oldest member was  Dorothy Kreger of Wellsboro, and the youngest was Alaina Kreger, daughter of Zach and Heidi Kreger, Morris. The person traveling the farthest was Nancy Wunderlich from Wilkes-Barre. The group decided to hold the reunion at the ballpark pavilion next year also.


During the month of August, the Friday Quilt Group will be working on Ugly Quilts for the homeless. Please join us from 9-3 or as long as you can on Fridays to help with this project. We have everything available, we just need some helping hands. We meet at Liberty Lutheran Church and would like to have these quilts ready before winter.
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A thank you to the 24 volunteers that came to help with litter pick up on July 26 on the Arnot Road. With so many wonderful helpers, it only took an hour to get the task done. Fourteen bags of trash were collected. And also a thank you to the Arnot Sportsmen’s Club for the number of generous donations to the Liberty Community and its organizations.

photo provided
Armenia Mountain Wind on the United Way Day of Caring event  took place last Wednesday at the Endless Mountain Mission Center in Burlington. The pictures are of Ty Rockwell and Andrew Grace. Others who participated include Jeff Perry and Todd Warner. The volunteers from ALLETE Armenia Mountain Wind did a late spring cleaning on the grounds of the Endless Mountains Mission Center in Burlington on Wednesday for the first United Way of Bradford County Day of Caring event in 2020. United Way anticipates coordinating several more “Day of Caring” projects this year and encourages any group interested in volunteering to reach out to United Way to find an agency who has a project. “United Way Day of Caring is an excellent opportunity for our community to come together,” stated United Way of Bradford County Executive Director Kerri Strauss. “The Mission Center is one of our partner agencies who greatly benefit from a Day of Caring, and in this case ALLETE Clean Energy — Armenia Mountain Wind are stepping up to help out in a big way. United Way is thrilled to be a liaison to help our community unite.” The Endless Mountains Mission Center can be reached at 570-297-4489 or on Facebook. The United Way of Bradford County can be reached at 570-485-5485 or kerri.strauss@unitedwaybradfordcounty.org.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that expiration dates for driver licenses, identification cards, and learner’s permits, will be extended for Pennsylvania residents in response to statewide COVID-19 mitigation efforts.


Effective July 23, expiration dates for driver licenses, photo ID cards and learner’s permits scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020 through August 31, 2020, have been extended until August 31, 2020. These extensions are in addition to those announced on June 25.


A camera card is considered a driver’s license, so it is covered by the same terms and conditions extending other driver’s license products. Camera cards with expiration dates within this timeframe are also extended through August 31, 2020.


Additionally, limited services are available at some Driver License and Photo License Centers. For a list of open driver license and photo license centers and the services provided, as well as their hours of operation, please visit www.dmv.pa.gov.   


Customers may continue to complete various transactions and access multiple resources online at www.dmv.pa.gov. Driver and vehicle online services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include driver’s license, photo ID and vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle registration restoration letters; ability to pay driver license or vehicle insurance restoration fee; driver license and photo ID duplicates; and schedule a driver’s exam. There are no additional fees for using online services.
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PennDOT will continue to evaluate these processes and will communicate any changes with the public.

by John Shaffer
Back in the days where people were not afraid to show their patriotism, Francis Scott Key wrote a poem called “The Defense of Fort McHenry.” The occasion was the War of 1812, and the British were shelling the American fort.  Key was on one of the British ships working out arrangements for a prisoner exchange, and was inspired at “dawn’s early light” the next morning when he saw the American flag waving defiantly from its standard at the fort. He wrote the poem, which soon was published in Baltimore newspapers with  a note that it was to be sung to the tune of “To Anacreon In Heaven,” the theme song of an amateur music club in London.

Education:  The Warrior Academy

To the editor:
As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, our school district leaders have had to find many ways to be innovative when we provide educational services to our students. First and foremost, I would like to thank my administrative team (Mr. Mark Jannone, Mr. Mike Wells, and Mr. Donnie Jacopetti) and other frontline workers (Mr. Fred Richter and Mr. Jeff Karpinski) for the work they have completed so we are ready to launch a new way of education for our students in the district. This new online teaching method, taught by CASD teachers, is called the Warrior Academy.


COVID-19 has added many issues in our lives since the middle of March.  I believe we continue to ask more and more questions, yet often times, are confused by the guidance, protocols, and orders that are provided to us through the office of the Governor, Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Department of Health, or the Centers for Disease Controls. This has led parents to question what will the “brick and mortar” education look like for their child as they enter the CASD this fall. For some parents, they have an increased level of anxiety (and are often scared) that if they send their child to school, they may contract the COVID-19.  Other parents, as well as students, worry about the “mask mandates” imposed by the various agencies that I have identified above. These parents are considering not sending their child to school if they must wear a mask all day.  The students feel the same way.

Aunt Sally Couldn’t Stand Losing
To this day, I dislike playing table games.  Mostly, I think it’s because people take them too seriously.  As a boy, I stayed for about six weeks with my Great Aunt Sally, who lived in a big Eastern city.  Aunt Sally liked to play games, but she also liked to win!  My aversion to table games came when I beat her in Monopoly.  Aunt Sally said it was “disrespectful” to beat an adult and she sent me straight to bed early!  I’ve always been thankful that she wasn’t my mother.


While American culture is centered on the idea of winning, many mental health problems stem from not knowing how to lose.  I remember being impressed with the graciousness with which George and Barbara Bush transferred the White House to Bill and Hillary Clinton.  I still long for those days!  It almost seemed like Republicans and Democrats were friends  –and that’s because, they were!

“Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.” Ephesians 6:6, New International Version. As you continue to examine the relationship of slave and master with the relationship of today’s employee and employer, you begin to see as a Christian you are responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is interesting to see this verse in the King James Version, “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” So far, you have seen slaves are to be obedient with fear and trembling, with singleness of heart and commitment as to Christ in verse five. In this verse you will see obedience is not to be by the way of eyeservice but as slaves of Christ.


“Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you.” Many have worked only to be seen but when no one is watching they slack off. This will not win the favor of the master or employer. The best way is to put your whole heart into the job no matter how menial it is. There are those who will tell you to slow down in order to make the job last longer, but do not do this. If you do, you are actually exhibiting a form of hypocrisy and in the end, you will be held accountable. “Eyeservice” is doing your best only when someone is watching you. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his book, “Life in the Spirit in Marriage, Home and Work,” wrote, “The Apostle is condemning the attitude that is merely concerned to keep (with staying) out of trouble and to keep things going, the attitude that is not interested in the work at all, not concerned to do it, in fact concerned to do the very minimum possible, the attitude of the man who only works when he is watched.” This is giving eyeservice.

Have you ever been sledding when the snow and speed were such that the snow flew up into your face and made visibility impossible?  It sure can add to the sense of exhilaration!  Years ago we were going down a long and steep hill on our toboggan.  It was filled to capacity with about six of us and the snow was deep and fresh.  I was in the front.  It was a really fast ride and was one of those occasions where the snow came into our faces and blinded us on the way.  All that we knew was that we were flying and could not see a thing.  When we had stopped and opened our eyes, we discovered that we were about forty feet into the woods!  Looking back we could see that shortly after entering the woods, (while we were still going fast) we had gone between two trees that had just enough space between them for us to pass.  Even though we couldn’t see to navigate, we had made it safely. 
It occurred to me recently that there are many times in our fast paced lives where cannot see what’s ahead.  Sometimes the road is not clear.  Important decisions need to be made with limited information or a great deal of uncertainty in the future.  For example, many today are wondering what the best long term investment strategy is in light of our current economy and the uncertain future.  Young people often struggle in deciding a course of study or what vocation to pursue.  It is often a, “let’s try this and see what happens” type of thing.  We sometimes have to have faith that things will, “work themselves’ out.”