GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
Off to the Big Apple
The Penn State wrestling squad will be gunning for another national championship when it travels to New York City for the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Nittany Lions have three top seeds at NCAAs. Page 27
March 17-23, 2016
Volume 8, Issue 11
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Board approves changes to cut project costs By ALEXA LEWIS news@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — The cost of the State High project dropped by about $840,000 after the school district board approved several engineering change orders during a March 14 meeting. The project’s design team, which made the recommendation to the board, said the changes would not sacrifice functionality, aesthetic appearances or warranties to achieve savings, according to a press release. A bulk of the change orders included product substitutions and either material manufacturer or supplier changes. Of the more than $1 million in recommended cost reductions, about $240,000 called for concrete masonry units to replace either stone veneer or brick on exterior sections of the North and South buildings and ceramic wall tile inside the student success hub in the South Building. The board rejected two changes, which would have substituted the ceiling tile in the media center with an alternate product and some of the stone veneer in the South
Building with concrete. A 4-4 tie postponed a decision on changing the stone veneer on the Westerly Parkway side of the South Building to concrete. Many board members said they were concerned about reducing the aesthetic character and style of the South Building to save money. “I think it’ll make a fair degree of difference as far as the appearance of the exterior of the building, at a small percentage of the cost of the total project,” said board president Amber Concepcion. Board members Dan Duffy, Amy Bader and Gretchen Brandt also agreed that striving for a refined appearance has always been an important scope of the State High Project. “This is a physical representation of how our community values education, and it’s pretty clear that our community values education a lot and that’s why it overwhelmingly voted for the high school,” Brandt said, adding later, “It’ll be seen by so many people — it’ll be either enjoyed or endured.” Project, Page 5
ALEXA LEWIS/The Gazette
CHANGES COMING: State College Area School District offices currently housed in 131 W. Nittany Ave. will relocate to the Panorama Village building, once renovations are complete.
Great American Cleanup of PA springs into action By JANE MIENTKIEWICZ correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
ERIE — Now through Tuesday, May 31, communities in Pennsylvania will once again work together to keep the state trash-free — and beautiful. During the 2016 Great American Cleanup of PA, participants will pick up litter, clean illegal dump sites and work to beautify the community, whether it be through
G. KERRY WEBSTER/For the Gazette
WORK BEGINS: The breast and spillway at Cold Stream Dam in Philipsburg will undergo some repair work next month. Last week, borough crew workers spent a few hours draining the runoff from the 7-acre dam. Pictured, below, is Dave McDonald. Supervising from above, from left, are Franklin Knepp and Philipsburg Borough manager Joel Watson.
Philipsburg dam project to begin in April By G. KERRY WEBSTER correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
PHILIPSBURG — A Philipsburg project nearly seven years in the making is finally getting under way. Beginning in April, work will commence on replacing the breast and spillway of Cold Stream Dam. The $2.3 million project was mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2009, and after several years Opinon .............................. 9 Health & Wellness ..... 10, 11
of acquiring the proper paperwork and permits, the work is set to begin. “This project has been on the books for several years and its nice to finally see things start taking shape,” said Philipsburg Borough manager Joel Watson. “The state said there were issues with our dam, and we can’t argue with them. They wanted this project done, so it has to be done.” Dam, Page 8
Education ....................... 12 Community ............... 13-18
Designs for Living .......... 19 Centre Spread ........... 20, 21
planting new trees, painting or other jobs. “Connecting to the environment begins at home, so what better way to make a difference than to take part in or organize a local cleanup in your own neighborhood, park or school,” said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley in a press release from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Cleanup, Page 6
McCann does it all at Youth Service Bureau By CHRIS MORELLI
editor@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — There is no “S” on her chest and she doesn’t wear a cape, but make no mistake about it: Denise McCann is as close as they come to a modern-day Superwoman. The Pennsylvania Furnace resident is the mother of three boys and division director for the Centre County Youth Service Bureau. In her job, she oversees all of YSB’s communitybased programs — Big Brothers Big Sisters, youth centers, DENISE McCANN Community Profile ... 22, 23 Sports ......................... 24-29
CENTRE COUNTY SPOTLIGHT drug and alcohol prevention, gambling prevention, AmeriCorps and the ropes course. If it sounds like she wears a lot of hats, that’s because she does. “I supervise the staff that run those programs. I also do a lot of grant writing, statistics and reporting. It’s a lot of behindthe-scenes support things. I like it a lot,” McCann said as she sat in her office at YSB headquarters on West Aaron Drive in State College. McCann has been with YSB for more McCann, Page 8
Easter Listings ........... 30, 31 Around & In Town .... 32-34
What’s Happening ......... 35 Business ..................... 37, 38