Save the 82nd District -Keep MIfflin & Juniata who
Subject Matter: Save the 82nd District – Keep Mifflin and Juniata Counties Whole during 2021 Redistricting of voters Quoting the Rules of Redistricting (from NAACP training manual); “A community of interest is a neighborhood, community, or group of people who have common policy concerns and would & do benefit from being maintained in a single district. Keeping communities of interest together is an important principle in redistricting. It can be especially helpful to communities that have been left out of the political process. Community members can and define & create their communities by “telling their own stories “And communicating their concerns to their policy makers. Without this, those who may not have their best interest in mind will define the communities for them.” (#1) Juniata and Mifflin Counties are one of those “communities of interest” that belong in a single representation district. This new Redistricting map will remove the 82nd district and disperse the voters into 3 unfamiliar & unknown voting districts. Basically; the new map would split Mifflin & Juniata County away from each other and place voters with other counties into their voting districts. This type of map redistricting is exactly the opposite of the purpose of redistricting. This type of redistricting would allow for folks who might not know/Care or have their best interest in mind for the residents of Juniata & Mifflin County. See above quote #1. This redistricting plan is not beneficial for the two counties who have historically worked together and share many public services and activities. These areas will lose representation support for shared services, relationships, physical spaces, staff, access, & leadership. See Below for specifics. Juniata & Mifflin County are Communities of Interest for the following reasons: 1. Demographics – General -Farmers, Self Employed, Religious & Caucasian 2. History – IN 1791 – Mifflin County was settled by Scottish- Irish and Germanic Farmers and in 1831 Juniata County was erected from Mifflin County. Past Industry was lumber and currently is Agricultural production such as chickens, meat, and produce. 3. Amish & Mennonite Community – In Mifflin County – the county has the 17th largest Amish Community per the “2017 Amish America Magazine”. During the 1950s the Amish immigrated and settled from Mifflin County to the Juniata Valley. The current large Amish community in Mifflin County are related and Family of the Juniata Valley Amish. Also, due to the fact that the Amish believe in two kingdoms, which holds that there exists both a material and a spiritual kingdom. While respecting worldly governments, Amish believe that Christians should adhere to the laws of the spiritual kingdom. Per “Amish America” the Amish generally do not vote, less than 10%. At that, this group of people are “left out of the political process”. It is up to these two counties to protect the Amish’s way of life, culture, and religious principles. 4. Being very rural, economically similar, religiously similar, and historically related, the two counties developed mutual and shared services to better the lives of their citizens. The following are some the shared services: 1. Human Services • Emergency Rental • Assistance Program • Grant Programs • Tax Resources • Food Resources • Utilities Assistance • Heating Assistance 2. Juniata Valley YMCA 3. Social Security Office 4. PENDOT district 2 5. Juniata Valley Behavioral and Developmental Services • Tri-County mental health • Intellectual Disability Services 6. Department of Motor Vehicle 7. Chamber of Commerce 8. EMS services 9. Volunteer fire companies 10. Food Pantry 11. Chamber of Commerce the Visitors Bureau 12. Unemployment office 13. Prison 14. Hospital—Geisinger-Lewistown 15. Drug & Alcohol commission 16. United Way 17. CareerLink 18. Vo-tech—The Academia 19. Counseling Services 20. Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 21. The Sentinel/Radio—Communications 22. State Police 23. Farm Service agency 24. Mifflin Juniata regional services/ Area Agency on Aging Incorporated: https://mymjrsc.com • C.A.R.S. – Call a ride for those with disabilities, medical assistance transportation, senior transport • Mifflin/Juniata Food Service Corporations- home delivered meals, congregate meals • Mifflin/Juniata Regional Service Corporation- Apprise Counseling, ombudsman program, senior tax preparation and LINK