5 1 14 centre county gazette

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Gazette The Centre County

www.CentreCountyGazette.com

Summer fun!

It’s that time of year. Soon, area schools will close their doors and the kids will be home once again. What to do? The Gazette’s guide to Kids and Summer covers all the bases — from summer camps to amusement parks./Pages 20-23

May 1-7, 2014

FREE COPY

Volume 6, Issue 18

Franklin named in court papers By BEN JONES

TIM WEIGHT/For the Gazette

StateCollege.com

UNIVERSITY PARK — Court papers filed Tuesday in Tennessee allege that James Franklin contacted a rape victim just days after police said she was sexually assaulted by several Vanderbilt football players. Lawyers for one of the players, Brandon Vandenburg , that say the victim was contacted by Franklin and Dwight Galt during a medical examination four days after the rape to explain “that they cared about her because she assisted them with recruiting,” according to The Associated Press. Galt was the director of performance enhancement at Vanderbilt. Franklin is now head football coach at Penn State. Galt works in a similar capacity at Penn State. JAMES FRANKLIN The report also says that at some point Franklin called the woman in for a private meeting and “told her he wanted her to get 15 pretty girls together and form a team to assist with the recruiting even though he knew it was against the rules.” Penn State released a statement from Franklin that said: “The allegations that I did something wrong are simply not true. I have cooperated fully with the authorities in this matter but, out of respect for the legal process, I am not able to comment any further.” Four former Vanderbilt players were all charged with aggravated rape last June. Police said a 21-year-old female student was assaulted in a dorm room. Those allegations were widely known before Franklin was hired as Penn State’s new head football coach. “There’s been allegations about Coach Franklin,” Nashville Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman said this past November. ”We just wanted to state clearly that there’s no evidence whatsoever where Coach Franklin was involved in any way in the cover-up or has done anything Franklin, Page 4 Opinion ............................. 7 Health & Wellness .......... 8, 9

PLAY BALL: Participants in the newly formed Nittany Valley Little League gathered to mark the start of the season April 26. Tee ball and softball were played, and Little League players and coaches were introduced as part of the festivities.

Nittany Valley Little League holds Opening Day ceremonies By CHRIS MORELLI editor@centrecountygazette.com

BELLEFONTE — On a chilly spring morning, players and coaches trotted out to the baseball field. As their names were broadcast over the loudspeakers, they took their places on the outfield grass. A new season was dawning right before their eyes. It was the Opening Day for Nittany Valley Little League. Make no mistake about it, this was different than any other season. It’s the first year for the newly formed Nittany Valley Little League, formerly Marion Walker Little League. Teams from Pleasant Gap and

Marion Walker have joined forces. All those teams are under one umbrella now. According to Nittany Valley Little League president Skip Reichert, the consolidation of the leagues made perfect sense.

INSIDE For more photos from Opening Day, see Page 29. “Consolidating the two leagues created a few more opportunities for some kids,” Reichert said. “But what it really did is it enhanced the softball program tremendously.” Nittany Valley Little League offers something for every age group, every gender.

There’s tee ball, softball and, of course, Little League. The day went off without a hitch. The teams were introduced, photos were taken and players recited the Little League pledge. After the teams took the field, there was a pair of special guests. Jason Dambach, general manager of the State College Spikes, spoke to the players first. Dambach talked about playing Little League and the dreams of making it to the big leagues. “Remember that all of our players — they’re between the ages of 20 and 24 — Little League, Page 5

HIGH ROLLER

Pleasant Gap D.A.R.E. program last one in county By CHRIS MORELLI editor@centrecountygazette.com

SAM STITZER/For the Gazette

BIG BUCKS: A rare 1969 Shelby Mustang was auctioned off in Centre Hall last week. The late Larry Brown owned the vehicle, which fetched a whopping $280,000. See story, Page 13.

Education ................... 10, 11 Community ................ 13-18

Kids and Summer ...... 20-23 Sports .......................... 24-29

Arts & Entertainment .30, 31 What’s Happening ..... 32, 33

PLEASANT GAP — As hard as it is to believe, the once-popular antidrug program D.A.R.E. is all but extinct in Centre County. Funding across the state has been cut for programs like D.AR.E., which is short for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. However, the program is alive and well at Pleasant Gap Elementary School and on April 25, the school celebrated this year’s graduating class. The fifth graders at Pleasant Gap enjoyed a ceremony complete with certificates, pins and D.A.R.E. Tshirts. The Spring Township Police Department helps fund the program, which takes place during the fall. D.A.R.E., Page 6

Group Meetings .............. 34 Puzzles ............................. 35

Business ...................... 36, 37 Classified .................... 38, 39

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