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Sentry photo of BRADLEY KREITZER Clifford Walters, second from right, receives a proclamation in honor of his preservation of the Hoopes School in the Township of Derry. Pictured with Walters, left to right, Mifflin County Commissioners Kevin Kodish, Rob Postal and Mark Sunderland.

LEWISTOWN – During their regular business meeting on Thursday, Mifflin County commissioners ended the year with the final approval of the 2022 county budget. With a decrease of approximately $ 4,200,000 from last year’s budget, the 2022 budget totals $ 32,050,000 and does not include a tax increase.

One of the reasons for the budget cut, according to the commissioners, is the completion of renovations to the Mifflin County annex. The $ 3.3 million project was included in the 2021 budget, and the county will receive a $ 1.5 million RACP grant from the state for this project.

Another reason for the reduction is an overall decrease in planning projects related to state grants of approximately $ 350,000.

This decrease is attributed to the completion and near completion of the Reedsville streetscape project.

The Mifflin County Planning Department is continuing the expansion of the Juniata River Trail which has received support from two state-level grants.

Also during the meeting, the commissioners issued a proclamation in honor of Clifford G. Walters for his lifelong preservation of the Hoopes School in the Township of Derry.

According to the proclamation, the one-room school was built in 1873 and was in use as such until 1958.

Walters bought the building in 1974 and “Through decades of dedication and personal expense, we have created a living museum reflecting rural education in Mifflin County in the 19th and 20th centuries.â€

The school has operated as a living museum every year since Walters opened to the public on July 4, 1976.

The proclamation also states that Walters donated the property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, to the Mifflin County Historical Society in an effort to see the Hoopes School preserved for future generations.

“I am very grateful to the board of directors for this honor and to the historical society for the protection of the property,†said Walters.