(MIFFLINTOWN) - Mifflintown Mayor Ralph Lauver was surprised upon learning this past week that his community is actually located in Juniata County and not Mifflin County.
"Whoever named this town needs to get his head checked," said Lauver. "I feel my blunder was an honest mistake."
The situation came to light at Monday night's borough council meeting, at which time Lauver made a reference to Mifflintown being the "biggest one-horse town in Mifflin County."
"Things got a little tense for a second, but eventually, I just had to say something," said Borough Council Vice President Teresa Nearhood.
"Actually, Mayor Lauver, we live in Juniata County," she said, according to the minutes.
There was then silence for a while, after which time Lauver replied, "Um, yeah. I knew that."
The mayor later admitted, however, that he had been operating on a mistaken assumption.
G. Terry Madonna, a political analyst at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, says it's too early to tell whether the misstep will affect Lauver's chances of being reelected.
"Given the number of people that vote in Mifflin County," Madonna said, "Lauver should be able to secure another term if he gets all of his family members to turn out at the polls."
An informal Central PA Gazelle poll indicates Lauver indeed enjoys 100% name recognition among his relatives, and that 75% of them plan to vote for the mayor during the next municipal election.
