GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
MEMORIAL DAY
The weekend is chock full of events to remember and honor our fallen heroes. Leading the way is the event slated in Boalsburg on Monday. See more Memorial Day coverage inside./Pages 19-26
May 25-31, 2017
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Volume 9, Issue 21
Official: Cantorna takes majority of GOP write-ins
PERFECTING PETUNIAS
Gazette staff reports
BELLEFONTE — It appears Bernie Cantorna has also secured the Republican write-in vote in the race for Centre County district attorney, which would leave him as the sole DA candidate on the ballot in November’s general election. Joyce McKinley, director of the elections office, confirmed May 24 that Cantorna appears to have taken the majority of Republican write-in votes, cutting off the only avenue current District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller had to securing a spot on the ballot to challenge Cantorna in the fall. McKinley said initial counts of 2,700 write-in votes for Cantorna and 600 for Parks Miller were “probably fairly close.” McKinley said the results of the municipal elections probably will not be certified until next BERNIE week, with write-in counts to finish up late this CANTORNA week. “I’m very optimistic the write-ins are going to go our way,” Cantorna told the Gazette on May 24. “I’m still not counting my chickens before they hatch, and the count isn’t official, yet, but we are cautiously optimistic.” PATRICK MANSELL/For the Gazette
Cantorna, Page 7
LIHAU WU, a graduate student in Penn State’s Department of Plant Pathology, prunes petunias in a greenhouse adjacent to Buckhout Laboratory. The petunias are part of a self-incompatibility study that examines how to nurture and strengthen plants that cannot self-pollinate.
Lyme disease cases could be worse Architectural firm hired for restoration work at monument than ever in 2017 By SEAN YODER
By SEAN YODER
syoder@centrecountygazette.com
syoder@centrecountygazette.com
BELLEFONTE — The Soldiers and Sailors War Memorial and Andrew Gregg Curtin monument in front of the courthouse in Bellefonte are likely getting some much-needed attention this summer. On May 23, the Centre County Commissioners moved forward a professional services contract with APArchitects LLC for $104,191 for restoration and preservation work on the monuments. The cost to the county is $54,716, with $49,475 to come from the state. The contract was approved for the May 30 consent agenda, when it will likely be voted on. Alan Popovich, of APArchitects, said it was really a continuation of a project started in 2004, with initial preservation efforts started in 2007, but lack of funds prevented further work. He said there has been some accelerated deterioration on the monuments, though there didn’t Police Blotter .................... 2 Death Notices .................. 6
SEAN YODER/The Gazette
A VOTE is expected next week to approve more than $100,000 in repair and preservation of the monuments outside the courthouse in Bellefonte. appear to be any severe damage. Work will begin on June 19, with the first step being to clean the monuments. Following that will be a close assessment of the plaques, metal and stone to take a tally of deterioration.
Opinion ............................ 9 Health and Wellness ...... 10
Popovich said it was important to take as little of the stone and metal off as possible during the process in order to preserve the works of art. Monument, Page 4
Community .................... 12 Women’s Corner ............ 14
STATE COLLEGE — The spiral-shaped bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, in one of its dozens of strains prevalent in the U.S., is responsible for causing the dreaded Lyme disease in hundreds of thousands of people each year. This year could be worse than ever, experts say, especially in Pennsylvania, the leading state for reported cases of Lyme, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Pennsylvania logged 7,351 cases of Lyme in 2015, followed by New Jersey at 3,932 and New York with 3,252. The CDC receives about 30,000 reported cases per year, but the true number may be much higher. CDC experts estimate as many as 300,000 people get Lyme each year, the majority of them in 14 states in the Northeast and Midwest. A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health said the 2016 statistics for reported cases will likely be released at the end of June.
Memorial Day ................ 17 Sports .............................. 25
Photo by iStock
THE DEER TICK (also known as black-legged tick), Ixodes scapularis, shown here on a human arm, is the most dangerous for transmitting Lyme disease to people. In March, two experts who have studied Lyme for the last 20 years told the NPR blog Goats and Soda that 2017 would likely be a particularly risky year for Lyme in the northeastern U.S. Their method of prediction relies on counting mice from the year before, which researchers Rick Ostlfeld and Felicia Keesing Lyme disease, Page 5
Around & In Town ......... 32 Puzzles ............................ 36
Business .......................... 37 Classifieds ....................... 39