THE CENTRE COUNTY
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Cruising for a cause The 27th annual Last Cruise will be held on Saturday in Boalsburg and State College. The event benefits the Centre County Youth Service Bureau./Page 16
July 26-August 1, 2012
Volume 4, Issue 30
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Fallout Sanctions deal blow to PSU By SAMI HULINGS and CHRIS MORELLI Centre County Gazette
“We saw the construction trucks come up the street and saw the flood of police come of out the stadium and everyone around knew this was it,” he said. “So I decided to go try to get my first and last photo with the statue.” Sywy said he felt sick while having his photo taken because he believes the complete story has not been told. “I feel like the truth will come out in this next trial,” he said. Work began around 6:10 a.m. as more than 30 Penn State and State College police officers formed a line in front of the statue, while workers set up barricades to shut down Porter Road. A fence was soon put up around the statue. Tarps were
UNIVERSITY PARK — There were sighs, moans and some tears in Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Center on Monday morning as NCAA president Mark Emmert announced sanctions against the university. The sanctions will impact the past, present and future of the Penn State football program. Student emotions ran the gamut following the announce- “WE WILL not crumble. ment. We will stand next to “I am angry at the NCAA. I feel this was out- the victims and recogside of their jurisdiction nize what will never to impose sanctions in this case,” said Kate happen again and Sheely, a senior advertis- move on.” ing major. “I am sad for the players that will be Becky Murdy affected when they were 2010 Penn State grad not involved.” The Nittany Lions face a four-year bowl ban and the loss of 40 scholarships over four years as punishment for the school’s mishandling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The punishment includes a fouryear bowl ban and the loss of 40 scholarships over four years for the Nittany Lion football program. Penn State was also fined $60 million, which the university will pay over five years. The school will vacate all of its 112 wins from 1998 to 2011. The sanctions opened the door for current Penn State players to transfer. They can do so immediately. Penn State is also on five years of NCAA probation. Most students were enraged by the fact that Penn State and late coach Joe Paterno had to vacate 111 wins. “It’s sad to know that the games played during my time here will no longer exist. They may be able to formally strip us of our wins, but they cannot take our memories,” Sheely said. “One of my favorite memories
Statue, Page 4
Sanctions, Page 4
SAMI HULINGS/For The Gazette
OUT OF VIEW: Penn State employees put a covering on the fence in front of the Joe Paterno statue before it was taken down on Sunday morning.
University removes Paterno statue By SAMI HULINGS For The Gazette
UNIVERSITY PARK — Jackhammers broke the early morning silence on Sunday in State College as Penn State Office of Physical Plant workers removed the Joe Paterno statue from its location outside Beaver Stadium. For those who had gathered at the statue, the rumored removal became a reality with the arrival of a flatbed truck carrying construction fencing and blue tarps at dawn. As the truck stopped, people rushed to take their final pictures. Stephen Sywy, a senior electrical engineering major at Penn State, was the last person to have his picture taken with the Paterno statue.
Leaders meet to discuss rural natural gas delivery By HARRY ZIMBLER For The Gazette
HARRY ZIMBLER/For The Gazette
FOR THE FUTURE: Bob McDaniel, of Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc., spoke Wednesday morning. Opinion ............................ 7 Health & Wellness ............ 8 Send Story Ideas To editor@ centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Finding ways for Centre County and the region to benefit from the natural gas that flows beneath its ground was the focus of a “Breakfast Before Hours” event Wednesday sponsored by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County. The need to deliver natural gas to rural areas was the major item on the agenda. The term “rural gasification” was coined by Centre County Commissioner Chris Exarchos, based on the concept of the Rural
Education ......................... 9 Community ............... 10-15
Electrification Act of 1936. That movement delivered electric power to remote regions of the United States that had never been served by another electric utility. It helped fuel an important economic boom that contributed to the nation’s ability to overcome an economic depression, officials at the breakfast said. The viability of this concept for natural gas delivery to residences and businesses in Centre County was explored during the meeting. The event was moderated by Bob McDaniel, vice president of business development for Glenn
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O. Hawbaker Inc. The panel included Exarchos; Matt Blymire, new business development manager for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania; Russ Bedell, communications and community relations manager for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania; and Erin Gannon, assistant consumer advocate for Pennsylvania, Office of Consumer Advocacy. “Borrowing from President Bill Clinton, ‘It’s about energy, stupid,’” Exarchos began. “Without energy we cannot prosper. We have a major source of natural gas here as well as major transmission lines. But people can’t use it in Centre County. In-
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stead, many are using oil that’s shipped across the ocean. We need to ask, ‘What’s the benefit for us?’ We need to utilize this energy source that we have in our own county.” Both McDaniel and Exarchos noted that lowering the costs of energy would mean a rise in disposable income and be a major boost to the local economy. “We are not reinventing the wheel here,” Exarchos said. “We think a program similar to the rural electrification efforts of the 1930s will work for natural gas today. We need to be able to use
Natural gas, Page 6
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