THE CENTRE COUNTY
GAZETTE www.StateCollege.com
Out of this world The beauty of Martian polar dunes and other celestial spectacles will be featured in a photo exhibit at the Bellefonte Art Museum./Page 24
May 31-June 6, 2012
Volume 4, Issue 22
FREE COPY
Coaches vs. Cancer set to tee off again
Airport simulates disaster
By CHRIS MORELLI
For The Gazette
By SAMI HULINGS
editor@centrecountygazette.com
UNIVERSITY PARK — The biggest charity golf tournament in Centre County is ready to tee off once again. The 16th annual Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Tournament will be held on Friday at the Penn State Blue and White Golf Courses. Last year, CVC events raised more than $200,000 for the American Cancer Society. Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers recently had knee surgery, so he will not be golfing this time around. However, he will be a big part of the tourney’s corresponding events. “We are really excited and delighted with the tremendous support of our sponsors, celebrities and the community which has allowed Penn State’s Coaches Vs. Cancer organization to grow and continue to assist so many people affected by cancer,” Chambers said. “We have a very dedicated committee that has worked extremely hard to put on a first-class event which continues to get better every year.” This year, Chambers and Company aim to raise $2 million. In addition to the CVC Golf Tournament, there are events year-round, including Spikes Fest, the CVC 5K Fun Run/Walk, the Brewer’s Expo, the CVC Reverse Car Drawing, the Bestwich Foundation Bike For Life and CVC “Band Together” Day. CVC-Penn State ranked as the sixth highest fundraiser among Coaches vs. Cancer organizations nationally in 2011, raising more than $200,000 for the second consecutive year. It has ranked among the top 10 for more than a decade. The two-day event gets under way on Thursday night with the annual Coaches Vs. Cancer Celebrity/Sponsor Reception, which will be held at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The reception will feature celebrities and sponsors. During the event, there will be testimonials about how funds raised by CVC affect the lives of individuals and families in the Centre Region. On Friday, golf begins at 7:30 a.m. The afternoon session is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. The tourney is a five-man, 18-hole scramble. Over 300 golfers are expected to take part in the tournament. There are many notable current and former Penn Staters taking part in the tournament, but none bigger than first-year head football coach Bill O’Brien. The local CVC committee makes a strong effort to keep a portion of the money raised local and provide direct assistance to those affected by cancer in the Centre Region through the Bob Perks Fund. For the fourth consecutive year, in 2011, CVC-Penn State presented an annual grant in excess of $35,000 to the local charity established in honor of one of the original founders of CVC-Penn State.
Coaches, Page 6 Opinion ............................ 7 Health & Wellness ............ 8 Send Story Ideas To editor@ centrecountygazette.com
Submitted photo
TREASURE TROVE: Workers hold a Courtney Brown banner that was taken from inside Beaver Stadium. The banner is one of several items from the stadium being sold at the annual "Trash to Treasure" sale on June 2.
Penn State prepares for Trash to Treasure By MARJORIE S. MILLER mmiller@centrecountygazette.com
UNIVERSITY PARK — An event that benefits and brings together the community through volunteerism and philanthropy, Trash to Treasure, will set “sale” at Penn State for an 11th year. Penn State football coach Bill O’Brien will kick off this year’s event, which is scheduled to begin with early-bird admission at 7:30 a.m. on June 2 at Beaver Stadium. Early birds pay $5 to get in, but admission will be free starting at 9 a.m., and the event will continue until 2 p.m. Trash to Treasure is a sale of items donated by Penn State students who live in residence halls. Proceeds benefit the Centre County United Way. “At the end of the spring semes-
ter they have the option to donate their unwanted, gently used items to the United Way,” said Tammy Gentzel, executive director of the Centre County United Way. “(The Office of the Physical Plant) delivers the donated items to Beaver Stadium. The items are then sorted and organized by hundreds of community volunteers in preparation for sale day.” Last year, 63.5 tons of items were donated, and $56,037 was raised for the United Way, Gentzel said. Proceeds from this year’s sale will go to the 2012 Centre County United Way Annual Campaign, which funds more than 100 programs through 37 health and human service partner agencies, she said. Items for sale during Trash to
UNIVERSITY PARK — Emergency response personnel from Penn State and Centre County communities participated in a full-scale airport disaster exercise at the University Park Airport on May 23, where a replica airplane cabin from West Virginia University was used to simulate an a plane crash. Curtis Parker, a public information officer at Penn State University, said the exercise was a simulation of what would take place if a real airplane accident were to occur. “We really just wanted to test how EMS, police, TSA officials or airline officials would converge to solve a problem, to manage the in- “YOU NEVER know formation and just to manage the overall cri- how many hands sis,” he said. on deck you’re The Federal Aviation Administration re- going to need.” quires commercial airCurtis Parker ports to conduct an Public information on-site emergency exofficer at Penn State ercise every three University years. The last University Park Airport exercise was organized in the spring of 2009. “Essentially they’re trying to keep everybody at rest and up-to-date on the latest techniques, and really just to make sure, because you have a whole bunch of players coming together in one moment and you have to make sure they’re doing it in an (orchestrated) fashion,” Parker said of the FAA. “This is just really to make sure everybody has their peas in a pod.” Emergency personnel including Port Matilda fire; Bellefonte EMS; Alpha fire; Centre Link EMS; Pleasant Gap fire and EMS; Penn State Police, EMS and HazMat; Centre County Emergency Management; the Centre County coroner and Transportation and Safety Administration representatives from the University Park Airport participated in the simulated airplane crash.
Treasure, Page 5 Disaster, Page 6
‘Spirit of the Game’ guides Frisbee pro By AIMEE MORGAN For The Gazette
STATE COLLEGE — Bruises, blood and scars are all over his elbows, hips and knees, but he loves the sport. He loves his team. He loves the “Spirit of the Game.” Ian McClellan, 32, of Houserville, is a professional Ultimate Frisbee player for the Philadelphia Spinners. McClellan discovered the sport 18 years ago, while playing trumpet for State College Area High School’s marching band. “I think it was during the second week of practice that an Ultimate Frisbee game was organized as a post-practice event. Up until that point I knew nothing about Ultimate, but it was quickly explained
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that there was a traditional rivalry between two pre-made teams. It was probably the ugliest game of 50-vs-50 ever played, but it was also probably the most fun I have ever IAN McCLELLAN had. I was absolutely hooked,” McClellan said. He was so hooked, he shamefully admits he skipped two or three classes his junior and senior year – and every study hall – to go play out in the schoolyard. Between the
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CRASH COURSE: Emergency workers treat a “victim” during an emergency response exercise held at University Park Airport last week. The exercise taught emergency personnel how to react in the event of an actual disaster.
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