(Ambridge, Pa.) Dr. Joseph W. Pasquerilla sent a letter to parents of students attending Highland Elementary School notifying that a staff member has tested positive for COVID- 19. The school is closed beginning today.  He said that the RAPID RESPONSE TEAM has been contacted . ,and the school will remain closed until they get  directions from PA DOH.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) Kelin J. Coleman, 26, Beaver Falls was arrested  without incident on Friday in connection  with the shooting outside Whiskey Rythm Bar on Penn Ave. in Monaca on July 11. He was arrested without incident by Monaca Police, the U.S. Marshall’s Service, PSP, and  Beaver Falls Police.

PA Voters Who Did Not Receive Their Mail Ballot Should Vote at the Polls

Harrisburg, Pa.  – Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar today alerted Pennsylvania voters who applied for but have not received their mail ballot that they can vote by provisional ballot at their polling place on Election Day.

“Do not worry – if you haven’t received your mail or absentee ballot you will not lose your right to vote,” Secretary Boockvar said. “Anyone who hasn’t received their mail ballot should go to their polling place on Election Day and vote by provisional ballot. Your ballot will be counted if you are a qualified voter who has not already cast a ballot.”

Polls are open tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling place on the Department of State’s voting website, votesPA.com.

Any voter who has received but not yet returned their mail ballot should do so immediately by hand-delivering it to their county election office, satellite election office or other designated drop-off location. Voted mail ballots will not be accepted at polling places.

Voters must make sure that they enclose their mail ballot first in the white inner secrecy envelope and seal it, then insert the inner envelope into the outer pre-printed return envelope, and sign and complete the voter’s declaration on the outer  envelope. Voters must complete all these steps for their ballot to be counted.

Under Pennsylvania law, voters may only return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot, or for voters who need an emergency absentee ballot.

Voters who applied for and receive a mail ballot and then decide they want to vote at the polls on Election Day can change their mind, but they should bring their mail or absentee ballot and the outer ballot envelopes to be voided by the poll worker. They may then vote on their county’s voting system.

If a voter applies for a mail ballot but does not return it and does not bring the mail ballot and envelopes with them, they may still vote by provisional ballot at the polls on election day. Their county board of elections will then verify that they did not vote by mail before counting their provisional ballot.

For more information on voting and elections in Pennsylvania, call the Department of State’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772) or visit votesPA.com.

Trump promises court fight over Pennsylvania absentee votes
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his reelection campaign are signaling they will pursue an aggressive legal strategy to try to prevent Pennsylvania from counting mailed ballots that are received in the three days after the election. The matter could find its way to the Supreme Court, especially if those ballots could tip the outcome in the battleground state. The three-day extension was ordered by Pennsylvania’s top court. The Supreme Court refused to block it, but several conservative justices have indicated they could revisit the issue after the election. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, already has told local elections officials to keep the late-arriving ballots separate, but also to count them.

Another restaurant chain, Friendly’s, hits wall in pandemic
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
WILBRAHAM, Mass. (AP) — Friendly’s Restaurants, an East Coast dining chain known for its Fribble milkshake and ice cream sundaes, is filing for bankruptcy protection. All 130 of its locations will remain open while in restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Substantially all of its assets are being sold to the restaurant company, Amici Partners Group. The pandemic has hit the restaurant sector hard, particularly those that rely on people in their dining rooms. At least 10 chains have filed for bankruptcy protection since the pandemic began this year. But Friendly’s Restaurant, like most other chains that have stumbled this year, had been struggling. The Wilbraham, Massachusetts, company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011 as well.

(Photo Courtesy of Sean Parnell)

(Ohio Twp., Pa.) Republican Candidate for United States Representative in the 17^th District Sean Parnell woke up Sunday morning to his home be vandalized. Sometime late Saturday or early Sunday morning someone spray painted the words of elections no revolution yes in red on his garage door. Vandals also painted a red image of a hammer and sickle on his concrete driveway. That symbol is typically associated with communism. In a statement sent via e-mail Sunday Parnell stated that:

“This morning I woke up to find my garage door and driveway spray painted with communist messages and symbols. This is not the way.

“Regardless of political party, those that choose to run for office do so because they believe they can help the country. It is perfectly reasonable to disagree with each other and with political candidates, but the way to do that is at the voting booth.

“I believe that we are at an important point in our great nation’s history and I most assuredly stand against socialism, violence, and destruction. Hopefully, we all can respect our system of choosing our representatives in a peaceful and dignified way and no matter who we support and oppose, we do it with our vote, and not through destruction of property and violence to our fellow Americans.”

Keystone State News Connection

Faith Leaders Launch Initiatives to Vote for Justice, Reconcile Families

Andrea Sears

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A national organization of religious leaders is encouraging people of faith to reject the politics of fear, heal family divisions and participate in voting as a sacred act.

The New Moral Majority, representing more than 750 faith leaders, has launched an initiative to encourage broad participation in the presidential election.

Last week, the group released three new ads to run in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, calling on people to embrace love and compassion as a step toward healing the nation.

Rev. Ryan Eller, founder of the New Moral Majority, said he is concerned many Americans are discouraged by the multiple stresses facing their communities, even though voter turnout appears to be strong.

“We’ve been battling not only with a pandemic,” Eller described. “We’re exhausted from generations of racial injustice and the lack of political will, it seems, to really deal with some of the systemic issues.”

He believes this year’s vote can be an important step toward a longer process of healing the political tensions that have divided communities and families.

Part of that process is a campaign to help young people rebuild family relationships shattered by political polarization.

Liza Ryan Gill, co-founder of Operation Family Meeting, said evangelical support for Donald Trump has driven many millennials away from the church.

“For many people, that means that their relationship with their parents and friends and family that they grew up with is broken or completely severed,” Gill lamented.

The campaign provides tools and encouragement to help young evangelicals engage family members in difficult conversations about religious values and political choices.

Sarah Ryan, Liza’s sister and co-founder of Operation Family Meeting, explained they encourage beginning conversations from a position of mutual caring.

“‘We love you, we miss you and we’d love to talk about faith again,'” Ryan suggested as a message. “‘We actually feel like we have faith. We’ve defined it in a different way than you but we’d love if you’d be willing to talk about it with us.'”

She noted the goal of the New Moral Majority is not only to ensure that every vote counts this year, but to begin the long-term healing that the nation needs going forward.