Gazette The Centre County
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
A celebration of food!
The third annual Happy Valley Culinary week begins on Monday, June 22, and runs through Sunday, June 28. Find out all you need to know as the week kicks off./Page 12
June 18-24, 2015
Volume 7, Issue 24
Centre County United Way Pacesetter Campaign takes more personal approach
Front and Centre
CLASS ACTS: The senior institute class at Bellefonte Area High School recently raised nearly $11,000 for 11-year-old Brandon Conaway of Pleasant Gap. Conaway suffers from many health issues. Page 10
By ALEXA LEWIS correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Centre County United Way’s Pacesetter Campaign is under way once again this summer, but this year the organization is taking a different approach. “We’ve noticed things have been stagnant,” said Megan Evans, a spokesperson for the CCUW. “The companies are so used to running their campaigns that we needed some kind of change — something to make it more exciting.” The nonprofit organization raises funds each year for local agencies that provide health and human services throughout the county, according to the CCUW website. Before the general campaign, which starts on Monday, Aug. 17, the CCUW runs the Pacesetter Campaign where designated companies that support the United Way hold internal employee campaigns.
SPIRITUAL SINGING: The Covalt Family recently held their 20th annual Gospel Sing at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall. More than a dozen acts entertained the crowd. Page 11 CELEBRATING DAD: Before they left for summer break, students in Paula Hendershot’s third-grade class penned essays and drew pictures to celebrate Father’s Day. Be sure to check out their handiwork. Page 14 CHAMPS CROWNED: The Yankees put on an impressive offensive display as they were crowned champions of the Nittany Valley Little League with a lopsided 13-3 win over the Red Sox. Page 25
The organization has decided against hosting the annual Pacesetter Kick-Off Campaign this year, an event which Evans described as having a pep rally atmosphere where the 35 partner agencies and pacesetter companies meet to announce any new participating companies and to give the companies their campaign materials. The process this year is much more personal. CCUW asked partner agency representatives to serve as campaign stewards who will guide the pacesetter companies through their internal campaigns. Mostly throughout July, the agencies will meet with company representatives and employees to personally deliver the campaign materials, and share the stories of the agency’s clients who have benefited from the funded programs. “The companies will hear from the horse’s mouth how the money is affecting the community,” Evans said.
Submitted photo
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD: Mount Nittany Medical Center accepted a plaque in May 2014 for its participation in the United Way campaign. Pictured, left to right, are Steve Brown, Mount Nittany CEO; Scott Lamb, United Way board chair; Tammy Gentzel, United Way executive director; and Jerry Dittmann, vice president of human resources at Mount Nittany. By giving agencies the opportunity to explain how their programs benefit the community, Evans said it might change negative views that some employees may have developed when their bosses have asked for contribu-
For Tice, life has come full circle CENTRE COUNTY SPOTLIGHT By CHRIS MORELLI editor@centrecountygazette.com
BELLEFONTE — For Bellefonte’s Kristina Tice, life has come full circle. She was once a student at St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Bellefonte. Now, she sits in the big office as principal of St. John for the past five years. On a recent Monday morning, Tice unlocked the doors and turned on the lights. It’s not often that a former student becomes principal of the school they attended. For Tice, it was an easy decision to return to St. John. “It just felt right to come back to St. John,” Tice said. “Going to St. John was what made me want to be a teacher. Coming back, my kids were there and I was very vested in the success of the school.” St. John the Evangelist Catholic School serves Centre County and has children ranging in grade level from a pre-K for 3-year-olds to fifth grade. The school has been in Bellefonte for nearly 125 years. “There are generations of families who have gone to St. John,” Tice said. “I think it’s a great community school. We’re landlocked, so we can’t grow beyond the size that we are. We have one classroom per grade, so it’s never going to be a really big school and I like small schools. It’s a community, it’s family.” When Tice says family, she means it. This year, the school celebrated a pair of teachers who have been at the school for decades. According to Tice, Carol Fisher has been at the school for 25 years. Michelle Davis has been there for 30 years. “Mrs. Fisher’s grandkids go here. My kids went here. I Police Report ..................... 2 Opinion ............................. 7
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Health & Wellness .......... 8, 9 Education ........................ 10
United Way, Page 6
County commissioner demands court system ‘clean up its act’ By MICHAEL MARTIN GARRETT StateCollege.com
think that says a lot,” Tice said. Tice has been an educator for many different ages. She said she prefers the elementary level because of the growth and changes seen in children during that time. “I like to be able to watch kids from when they’re little up through fifth grade. There’s a lot of growth that happens with a child from kindergarten through fifth grade,” Tice said.
BELLEFONTE — One of Centre County’s commissioners thinks the county’s judicial system needs to “clean up its act.” At a commissioners meeting on June 16, Commissioner Chris Exarchos had some heated words about the current state of the criminal justice system and the ongoing lawsuit between District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller and the county government. “Its imperative that we restore confidence in the judicial system of our county; we can’t continue to operate in this environment,” Exarchos said. “We’ve become the laughing stock of the entire CHRIS EXARCHOS state.” Parks Miller is currently suing the county for releasing some of her cellphone records to defense attorneys who filed Right-to-Know requests with the county. She claims the county violated state law and county policy by filling those requests. Parks Miller’s attorney recently asked the judge presiding over that lawsuit to hold Centre County in contempt of court for responding to a Right-to-Know request for more cell phone records from an employee in the public defender’s
Tice, Page 4
Commissioner, Page 3
CHRIS MORELLI/The Gazette
IN CHARGE: Kristina Tice stands in front of St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Bellefonte. Tice attended the school as a child and is now the principal.
Community ................ 11-16 Bellefonte Cruise ....... 17-24
Sports .......................... 25-31 Arts & Entertainment .32, 33
What’s Happening ..... 34, 35 Puzzles ............................. 36
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