THE CENTRE COUNTY
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Falling down The State College Area High School football team comes up short in its regular-season finale with Cumberland Valley. Page 19
November 8-14, 2012
Volume 4, Issue 45
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Women’s coach talks to students about respect
Car aids cancer patients By MARJORIE S. MILLER
By CHRIS MORELLI
mmiller@centrecountygazette.com
editor@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Sixty-six. That’s the number of rides cancer patients in Centre County took through the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program between 2011 and 2012. Through the program, volunteers provide patients with rides to and from their treatments and appointments both throughout the county and beyond. Now, the purchase of a new vehicle is going to make that a little easier. Last month the ACS acquired a 2012 Nissan Altima through funds made available as part of its Race Day Soiree in Centre County, said Jennifer Schweighauser, health initiatives representative of the East Central Division of the ACS. “With this new vehicle, volunteers will be able to utilize (both) our ACS vehicle and our ACS gas to drive patients to those … appointments,” she said. “This will help the ACS provide patients with the rides they need to get to their lifesaving treatments.”
PLEASANT GAP — It may have been cold and dreary outside, but on Nov. 2 inside the cafeteria at Pleasant Gap Elementary School, things were heating up. Every student in the school filed into the cafeteria to hear Penn State women’s basketball coach Coquese Washington speak. For about an hour, the coach entertained the children. She had them dancing, dribbling basketballs, taking part in a relay race and even read them a storybook. Throughout the fun, however, there was a message. “We try to get them fired up about being kind, being courteous, being respectful and being good citizens,” Washington said. “It’s important we do that with our young people.” Washington came to Pleasant Gap Elementary as part of the School Wide Positive Behavior and Intervention System — SWPBIS for short. The program is nationally recognized and is being used in all six schools in the Bellefonte Area School District. The theme for the program at Pleasant Gap is based on newspapers and pleasant news. During the first few weeks of school, the teachers shared school rules with the students and the students had an opportunity to practice appropriate behaviors. The school rules at Pleasant Gap are simple — Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Here and Be Ready. “It’s all about positive choices, making good choices and being good role models, those sorts of things,” said Pleasant Gap principal Tammie Burnaford. “Coach Washington’s staff contacted me about her coming to speak and it seemed like a really good fit.” Indeed it was. The coach engaged the students with tales from the hardwood and read the children’s book “Please,” by Alicia Aspinwall. “We need to be kind to each other,” Washington told the students. “And we’ve got to be respectful of one another.”
CHRIS MORELLI/The Gazette
POLL POSITION: Barbara Brane, of Pleasant Gap, puts her ballot in the box while Jeff Steiner, of Pleasant Gap, watches during Election Day at The Oaks.
Pleasant Gap voters exercise civic duty By CHRIS MORELLI editor@centrecountygazette.com
PLEASANT GAP — At The Oaks, a small retirement community in Pleasant Gap, lines were long in the early morning hours on Election Day. Lines snaked down the hallway, into the lobby and out the doors of the building. The importance of the 2012 election was obvious. “We had 140 within the first hour and 20 minutes. Normally, we can go until noon before we have 85 voters,” said Joan Andrews, the judge of elections for Spring Township’s 87th precinct. “This is a big election.” Submitted photo
GETTING A LIFT: The “Road to Recovery” car is now being used at the Mount Nittany Medical Center. From 2011 to 2012, eight Centre County residents used the Road to Recovery services, Schweighauser said. Most of the patients in Centre County travel to Mount Nittany Medical Center, Geisinger in State College, or Hershey in State College, she said. “However, we do get ride requests from patients who need to travel to Hershey, Danville, and even sometimes Pittsburgh,” Schweighauser said. “If we have a volunteer to fill the request, we are more than happy and able to provide rides to those long-distance treatments.” Before the purchase of the new vehicle, Schweighauser said volunteers had to use their own cars. Oftentimes when treatments were farther away, it was hard to find people who were willing and able to do this, she said. “Volunteers in Centre County will no longer have to put high
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According to Andrews, there were lines when the polls officially opened at 7 a.m. Her preparation for the big day began several months ago. Things really began taking shape, however, on Monday night — election eve. “I came in (Monday) night around 6 and we set everything up, the tables, the booths. I was in here before 6 this morning and put everything out and set up the ballot box. Everything has run smoothly. It usually does,” Andrews said. Brent Frank, of Pleasant Gap, arrived
Coach, Page 3
Voters, Page 5
Spanier accused of ‘conspiracy of silence’ By LAURA NICHOLS StateCollege.com
JASON MINICK/AP Photo
FACES CHARGES: Former Penn State president Graham Spanier enters Harrisburg District Judge Wenner’s office on Wednesday in Harrisburg.
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HARRISBURG — Former Penn State President Graham Spanier was arraigned on $125,000 unsecured bail, was ordered to forfeit his passport and lost travel privileges outside of Pennsylvania in less than 10 minutes on Wednesday morning. Spanier was arraigned on five charges in connection with his role in the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal. He now joins former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and former Penn State vice president Gary Schultz in being charged with perjury, endangering the welfare of children, failure to report, criminal conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Curley and Schultz were each arraigned on $50,000 unsecured bail on Friday in Harrisburg. Spanier pleaded not guilty to the charges, his attorney, Elizabeth Ainslie
Spanier, Page 5
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HOLDING COURT: Penn State women’s basketball coach Coquese Washington visited students at Pleasant Gap Elementary School last week.
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