GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
FIRST NIGHT PREVIEW
The annual First Night State College festivities are ready to help Centre County residents say goodbye to 2016 and welcome 2017 with some family fun. We offer a preview of what’s in store, as well as a look back in pictures./Page 24
December 29, 2016-January 4, 2017
Volume 8, Issue 52
FREE COPY
Uber impacting taxi business Cab firms say competition unfair, but they are adapting By G. KERRY WEBSTER kerry.ccgazette@gmail.com
STATE COLLEGE — For decades, taxi cab companies have been meeting the needs of commuters across the Centre Region. Now, there is a new player in the game. Uber is an online application that allows consumers with smartphones and other mobile devices to submit a trip request, which the software program then automatically sends to an Uber driver nearest the consumer, alerting the driver to the location of the customer. Uber drivers use their own personal vehicles for this service, and no cash is exchanged in the course of the transaction. The application processes all payment information through the customer’s credit card. “Uber has definitely impacted our business, mostly because they aren’t regulated by the state,” said Jeff Byers, marketing director with Handy Delivery Taxi in State College. The business has been transporting people, as well as furniture and courier items, throughout the community since 1976.
“It’s causing us to battle to keep up on an unfair playing field. We have so many regulations and things we have to deal with as a taxi cab company that companies like Uber just don’t have to deal with. It truly does make things difficult.” According to Byers, taxi cab drivers at his company need to be licensed as such. Uber drivers need no such licensing. He also said when using Uber, there is no real way of knowing who is going to pick you up or what kind of condition the vehicle is in when it gets there. “To me, the way they operate is a dangerous way to do business,” said Byers. “I think we have a lot more safeguards in place than companies like Uber.” According to Craig Ewer, who works in the communications department of the New York City Uber office, customers and drivers can rate each other online so other consumers of the service can read the reviews. “As far as vehicle quality goes, all Uber drivers must have a vehicle that is properly inspected in the state of Pennsylvania,” said Ewer. “Our rating system for drivers and customers is a great way for people to go online and
G. KERRY WEBSTER/The Gazette
HANDY DELIVERY TAXI, like several other local taxi cab companies, will have a busy night come New Year’s Eve. But there’s a new player in the commuter transportation game, Uber, impacting the taxi business. Pictured with a Handy Delivery taxi is driver Mike Shawley.
see just how well we’ve been received. It’s working.” Byers also said Uber uses a practice known as “surge pricing,” which allows the company to charge more for transport at high-volume times. Byers said taxi companies can’t make changes in prices at a drop of a hat like their online competitor. Uber, Page 5
Looking back at county’s 2016 triumphs, trials
LIFESAVING SIMULATION EMILY BJLAME performs CPR while Dwain Pegues provides oxygen for “T.J.,” the adult simulator patient in Mount Nittany Medical Center’s simulation lab. T.J. provides safe, realistic training for emergency situations staff might encounter.
By G. KERRY WEBSTER kerry.ccgazette@gmail.com
VINCENT CORSO/For the Gazette
First of two parts. Centre County rang in the New Year in 2016 with First Night activities in downtown State College. The celebration of art and music paved the way to a year full of ups and downs in the county. Flooding ravaged the Bald Eagle Valley in October and events surrounding the Jerry Sandusky scandal continued to capture headlines throughout
the year. But there were also joyous moments as well, such as the many fundraising efforts of the community and the ever-growing development in the Centre Region. Here is a look at some highlights of the first half of 2016. The Gazette’s Thursday, Jan. 5, issue will take a look back at the second half of 2016. 2016, Page 3
INSIDE: A look back at the year in high school sports, Page 19.
‘T.J.’ helps staff train for real thing By VINCENT CORSO correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — The scene suddenly becomes hectic in the simulation lab at Mount Nittany Medical Center, as nurses notice their patient is in need of emergency medical attention, suffering from a cardiac arrest. Machines beep and the nurses race to the patient, applying CPR and even using the defibrillator. They work together in order to help the patient recover from the traumatic event and stay alive. But, this patient was not alive to begin with. He was an adult simulator patient — or “SimPolice Blotter .................... 2 Opinion ............................ 7
Man” — known as “T.J.,” which is at the hospital to help medical personnel practice emergency medical situations to be ready when the real thing happens. “The SimMan helps prepare us to save lives in the hospital or medical centers in emergency situations, when things don’t go the way that you would anticipate them to go,” said Dwain Pegues, coordinator of the simulation education program. Even in a medical center, certain emergencies do not happen very often because it is a controlled, safe environment, said Pegues. Being prepared for when those emergencies do occur al-
Health & Wellness ............ 8 Community .................... 10
lows the staff at the hospital to respond in the best manner. In 2012, the medical center’s insurance company provided $100,000 for the purchase of SimMan. “But, for that $100,000 investment, we can be prepared better to help people in emergencies,” said Pegues. It would be hard to argue that the more than 1,200 employees who practiced on SimMan over the past year are not prepared. Nurses, medical students and residents all use SimMan to better their clinical skills and polish Lifesaving, Page 6
Gazette GameDay .......... 15 Sports .............................. 19
TIM WEIGHT/For the Gazette
THE BRYCE JORDAN CENTER was a sea of neon during THON 2016 in February. The 46-hour dance marathon raised nearly $10 million for the fight against pediatric cancer.
First Night ....................... 24 Around & In Town ......... 26
What’s Happening ......... 27 Puzzles ............................ 28
Business .......................... 29 Classifieds ....................... 31
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