GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
BIRTHDAY PARTY
Helen Borger of Snow Shoe celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at a party at Centre Crest Nursing Home in Bellefonte on April 23. The centenarian celebrated with her favorite dessert — homemade blueberry pie and cake. Read more in Mature Lifestyles./Pages 18-24
May 4-10, 2017
Volume 9, Issue 18
FREE COPY
PRIMARY
Election
2017
Four candidates seek State College mayor seat By G. KERRY WEBSTER editor@centrecountygazette.com
SEAN YODER/The Gazette
MIKE SIMCO spent the morning of May 2 working to remove debris from a South Pugh Street property in State College following the May 1 storm, which brought high winds and torrential downpours.
Twisters touch down in county By SEAN YODER syoder@centrecountygazette.com
A strong storm front bringing powerful, sustained winds and possibly multiple tornados knocked out power to tens of thousands of county residents on May 1. National Weather Service investigators determined a tornado touched down in Rebersburg and were on the scene surveying damage on May 2. Henry Margusity, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, said the storms may have produced multiple tornados. “It was very unusual for the area, in terms of it was a line of storms that came through and seems to have embedded small tornados on the front end of the storm,” he said. The NWS confirmed a tornado in Rebersburg, and it appeared to Margusity that a tornado may have caused a path of damage near Branch Road near Boalsburg. In Rothrock State Forest there also
appeared to be a small tornado path from Pine Swamp Road to Laurel Run Road. “The other unusual part is the winds lasted longer than what you see in a thunderstorm,” Margusity said. “These strong winds lasted for almost 10 minutes or 15 minutes. That’s why we saw so many trees down — they were just constantly being hit by thunderstorms.” The initial line of storms produced very little lightning, he said, though the second one that formed in northern Huntingdon County and eastern Centre County had more electricity with it. Margusity said a tornado warning had been issued in Huntingdon County the day before, another unusual occurrence. He said in his opinion there has been an increased frequency of severe weather in the area over the last several years. The largest tornado Margusity could recall was in 1985 in the northern part of the county. Twisters, Page 5
STATE COLLEGE — Residents of State College Borough will look to vote a new mayor into office in November. Four candidates, all Democrats, will appear on the primary election ballot — Janet Engeman, Don Hahn, Michael Black and Catherine Dauler. The Gazette reached out to the four candidates seeking to
replace Elizabeth Goreham as the community’s mayor to ask their thoughts on issues they feel are affecting the community and what measures they plan to employ moving forward should they be elected to public office. Goreham is not seeking reelection to the seat, which she held for the past eight years. The responses below are in the order they were received. Mayor, Page 4
Three spots open on State College borough council By G. KERRY WEBSTER editor@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Primary Election Day is right around the corner and State College Borough is looking to fill three seats on the council. Incumbents Theresa Lafer and Evan Myers, both Democrats, will seek re-election to their current seats, and six others have tossed in their hats for public service. All are looking for placement on the November General Elec-
tion ballot. Lafer served on council in the early 2000s and was re-elected again in 2014. Myers was elected to his first stint on borough council in 2014. The Centre County Gazette reached out to borough council candidates to ask their thoughts on issues they believe are affecting the community and what measures they plan to employ moving forward, should they be elected to public office. Borough council, Page 7
Centre County recycles More than 70 tons of trash collected during the events By G. KERRY WEBSTER editor@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — More than 70 tons of trash, refuse and other unwanted items were collected for recycling or proper disposal in Centre County over the past two weeks. On Earth Day, April 22, ClearWater Conservancy partnered with Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority to rid 76,200 pounds of trash from roadsides, parks, streams and sinkholes. On April 28 and 29, CCRRA opened its gates for a household hazardous waste collection, which saw more than Police Blotter .................... 2 Opinion ............................ 9
1,000 vehicles carrying 64,000 pounds of materials prepared for disposal. “I think both events went very, very well,” said Amy Schirf of CCRRA. “The numbers are always high at these events. We’re glad Centre County is a bit cleaner after such a great effort.” The ClearWater Conservancy event had a volunteer contingent of 552 members working at combating littering and illegal dumping in local watersheds. In its 21st year, the 2017 Cleanup Day brought out the highest number of volunteers to Recycle, Page 5
Health and Wellness ...... 10 Community .................... 13
Mature Lifestyles ........... 18 Sports .............................. 25
Submitted photo
VOLUNTEERS USED any means necessary to clean local waterways during ClearWater Conservancy’s Cleanup Day, held on Earth Day, April 22.
Mother’s Day .................. 31 Around & In Town ......... 32
What’s Happening ......... 35 Puzzles ............................ 36
Business .......................... 37 Classifieds ....................... 39