Indiana Gazette
The
www.indianagazette.com Vol. 111 — No. 161
20 pages — 2 sections
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Who’s in the news There is good news today in The Indiana Gazette about these area people: Angela Adams, Laura Burns, Cori Kellar, Christina Price, Danny Wolvertin.
Inside
VIEWING HARRISBURG: A historic election year for Pennsylvania’s highest court is placing a premium on political endorsements by the state’s Republican and Democratic parties./Page 3
75 cents
The groundhog speaks: It’s six more weeks PUNXSUTAWNEY (AP) — The handlers of Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said today the furry rodent has forecast six more weeks of winter. Members of the top hat-wearing Inner Circle announced the “prediction” this morning. A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early. The forecast was also announced on Twitter, as was referenced in the official proclamation read by Jeff Lundy, the Fair Weatherman of the Inner Circle. “Forecasts abound on the Internet, but, I, Punxsutawney Phil am still your best bet. Yes, a shadow I see, you can start to Twitter, hash tag: Six more weeks of winter!” The forecast was delivered after a steady pre-dawn rain turned to snow as temperatures dropped from the
high 30s to around freezing. They were forecast to keep dropping over much of the state, prompting the state Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit to 45 mph for many interstate highways which were already wet and expected to freeze or be covered with snow as the day wore on. The rain kept some revelers away, with state police estimating the crowd at around 11,000, slightly smaller than in recent years when upward of 15,000 attended. No mention was made of Sunday night’s Super Bowl, unlike Groundhog Day 2009 — the last time the celebration occurred the morning after the big game — which was won by the nearby Pittsburgh Steelers that year. Despite the German legend, Phil’s handlers don’t wait to see if he sees his shadow — as he likely would not have on such an overcast day. Continued on Page 10
GENE J. PUSKAR/Associated Press
GROUNDHOG CLUB handler Ron Ploucha, right, held Punxsutawney Phil as Jeff Lundy read Phil’s weather proclamation for six more weeks of winter today at Gobbler’s Knob near Punxsutawney.
Obama pitches $4T budget
FINE FIGHT: A small-firm lawyer is fighting a nearly $1 million fine after a witness caused a mistrial by telling jurors in a lung cancer-death lawsuit the patient was a smoker — a fact the judge had banned./Page 3 HONOR ROLL: Penns Manor Area High School./Page 4 ARMING TEACHERS: Government authorities in Pakistan’s northwest frontier have given permission for teachers to carry concealed firearms in response to the Dec. 16 attack on a school that left 150 children and educators dead./Page 7 FINDING HER NICHE: Marion Center High School graduate Amy Fairman has helped the IUP women’s basketball team win games by doing the little things right./Page 11
Weather Tonight
6°
Tomorrow
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By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
DAVID J. PHILLIP/Associated Press
NEW ENGLAND Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrated after his team won 28-24 against the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz. See complete coverage starting on Page 11.
Super Bowl commercials run gamut from silly to somber By CANDICE CHOI and MAE ANDERSON Associated Press
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Coming up TUESDAY: Doctors in Pittsburgh tried a startling shortcut to remove a tumor from a woman’s brain: They operated through her eyelid./Health
For young readers THE MINI PAGE: Tired of dealing with prejudice and racism, Rosa Parks fought back in 1955 with dignity and without violence./Pages 15, 16
Deaths Obituaries on Page 4 NORMAN, Dorothy L. (Stair), 80, Clymer SHAFFER, Theodore R., 71, Glen Campbell SHERWOOD, Jean Louise, 82, Indiana STUCHELL, Ruth Naomi (Jacoby), 86, Indiana, formerly of Dixonville and Creekside TROUP, Jack Lee, 82, Sagamore Late deaths BELLA, Robert J., 69, Coal Run FLYNN, Kathleen, 71, Indiana
Index Classifieds ...............19, 20 Comics/TV....................17 Dear Abby .......................9 Entertainment ..............18 Family .............................8 Lottery.............................2 Sports.......................11-14 The Mini Page.........15, 16 Today in History.............9 Viewpoint .......................6
NEW YORK — Super Bowl advertisers on Sunday night sought to win over viewers in a variety of ways. McDonald’s called for loving, Coke demanded more positivity, and Nationwide told the story of a dead boy. Here’s a look at the big game’s ad highlights.
JARRING ADS Nationwide insurance company’s ad showed a boy riding a school bus and lamenting he’ll never learn to fly, or travel the world with his best friend, or even
Study: Tot food has too much salt, sugar
grow up, because he died in an accident. The ad for Nationwide was aimed at stopping preventable childhood accidents. But the ad was so jarring it became the butt of jokes on social media. Nissan, meanwhile, returned to the Super Bowl after 18 years with an ad featuring the storyline of an up-and-coming racecar driver and his wife struggling to balance work and raising their son. Some fans noted the ad was set to “Cats in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, who was killed in a car crash.
IMPROVING BRAND IMAGE Some companies had a lot to prove — and it showed in their
ads. McDonald’s returned to the Super Bowl with an ad for its latest promotion, which will let randomly selected customers pay for their orders with acts of love, like a high-five, fist bump or a call to a relative. The promotion starts today and runs through Feb. 14 The McDonald’s ad was an extension of the company’s recently launched campaign seeking to associate its brand with the positive emotion of loving as it fights to hold on to customers amid intensifying competition. According to the contest rules posted online, McDonald’s says each participating restaurant will select 100 winners over the course of the contest. Continued on Page 10
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $4 trillion budget today that seeks to raise taxes on wealthier Americans and corporations and use the extra income to lift the fortunes of families who have felt squeezed during tough economic times. He would also ease tight budget constraints imposed on the military and domestic programs back in 2011, and unveils new initiatives including an ambitious $478 billion public works program for highway, bridge and transit upgrades. The administration said the budget represented a strategy to strengthen the middle class and help “hard-working families get ahead in a time of relentless economic and technological change.” “This country’s better off than it was four years ago, but what we also know is that wages and incomes for middle class families are just now ticking up,” Obama said in an interview broadcast on today’s “Today Show” on NBC. “They haven’t been keeping pace over the last 30 years compared to, you know, corporate profits and what’s happening to folks in the very top.” Even before the massive budget books landed on lawmakers’ desks, Republicans were on the attack, accusing the president of seeking to revert to tax-and-spend policies that will harm the economy while failing to do anything about the budget’s biggest problem — soaring spending on government benefit programs. Obama’s fiscal blueprint, for the budget Continued on Page 10
West takes new look at arming Ukraine
RAMPING UP
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT
By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer
New York Times News Service
CHICAGO — Many packaged meals and snacks for toddlers contain worrisome amounts of salt and sugar, potentially creating an early taste for foods that may contribute to obesity and other health risks, according to a new government study. About seven in 10 toddler dinners studied contained too much salt, and most cereal bars, breakfast pastries and snacks for infants and toddlers contained extra sugars, according to the study by researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They advise parents to read food labels carefully and select healthier choices. The researchers analyzed package information and laContinued on Page 10
WASHINGTON — With Russian-backed separatists pressing their attacks in Ukraine, NATO’s military commander, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, now supports providing defensive weapons and equipment to Kiev’s beleaguered forces, and an array of administration and military officials appear to be edging toward that position, U.S. officials said Sunday. President Barack Obama has made no decisions on providing such lethal assistance. But after a series of striking reversals that Ukraine’s forces have suffered in recent weeks, the Obama administration is taking a fresh look at the question of military assistance. Continued on Page 4
JAMES J. NESTOR/Gazette
JAYSON BANNER took to the air while skiing Sunday in a small backyard snow park featuring a ramp, rail and some jumps that he and friends constructed in the 300 block of Burns Avenue. As the weekend’s storm system leaves the area, temperatures are expected to fall today to 13 degrees by evening, with snow showers expected. A special weather statement issued by the National Weather Service warns of the possibility of a flash freeze on wet roads today.