GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
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BACK TO SCHOOL
In just a few short weeks, students will once again be filing into the classrooms. Inside this week’s edition, see how construction is going at P-O’s new stadium site, as well as the work St. Joseph Academy students are doing in Swaziland./Pages 15-19
July 27-August 2, 2017
Volume 9, Issue 30
Geologist uses Mother Nature to heat and cool home, office
Sanderson signs long-term deal By BEN JONES StateCollege.com
By SEAN YODER syoder@centrecountygazette.com
FERGUSON TOWNSHIP — A local groundwater geologist is using the very substance he studies to heat and cool his building, with the help of newly installed solar panels. Todd Giddings, of Giddings & Associates in Ferguson Township, has been using geothermal technology to heat and cool his home for the last 40 years and his office for the last 30. In December, Giddings added solar panels on the southern-facing roof of the office building along Enterprise Drive. His June electric bill for the 10,000-square-foot office building was $120, after West Penn Power applied credits for electricity he sold back to the grid. Though alternative sources of energy grow ever more popular and governments pledge to reduce emissions — like Ferguson Township itself — Giddings has much experience in the field. In March, he presented at the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association meeting in Denver, where he said his photovoltaic solar and geothermal hybrid system was well-received.
SEAN YODER/The Gazette
GROUNDWATER GEOLOGIST Todd Giddings has been using geothermal technology to heat and cool his home and office for decades. He said most people are familiar with the popular forms of alternative energy: solar and wind. Both require the right conditions. Solar panels need to face relatively south and not be in the shade, and they require a decent bit of space. Giddings said windmills aren’t a good in-
Additional vehicle registration fee to take effect Oct. 1
vestment on the floor of Happy Valley. “There’s a third form of alternative energy that is not well-known, and that is geothermal energy, the heat that’s in the earth,” he said. Nature, Page 6
By JAMES TURCHICK
By SEAN YODER syoder@centrecountygazette.com
BELLEFONTE — A $5 vehicle registration fee for Centre County residents will begin Oct. 1 to raise funding to repair 13 structurally deficient bridges. Approved at the May 9 Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting, the fee is projected to raise $2.5 million between now and 2022. Passed by a 2-1 margin, with commissioner Steve Dershem voting against, it’s a piece of a statewide repair project hoping to get in front of mounting transportation costs. “I want to be clear … we’re keeping our commitment to citizens and using this money for transportation (purposes),” Centre County Chairman Commissioner Michael Pipe said. The State Transportation Advisory Committee reported in 2010 that Pennsylvania’s transportation authority was underfunded by $3.5 billion. They also projected it could be underfunded by as much as $6.7 billion come 2020. Needing money to get ahead of the issue, Act 89 of 2013 was passed by Pennsylvania’s state legislature. In the bill, local governments were given the option of implementing this $5 fee to repair transportation infrastructure.
STATE COLLEGE — The owner of State College Framing Company said he and his assistant recently got to work on a rare, priceless gem: an original Michelangelo drawing. “It’s not an everyday thing, and certainly a very rare piece,” said John McQueary, SCFC’s owner. He said that while they didn’t see the artist’s signature or get a look at the provenance, the man who brought it in said a major auction house believes it to be authentic, and at the very least the paper on which it’s drawn is from the era. The owner’s name and location were withheld out of concerns for privacy and security. Among the best-known artists from the Renaissance, Michelangelo lived from 1475 to 1564. Some of his most famous works include his 17-foot-tall sculpture of David and his frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the altar wall. Three weeks ago a man brought the drawing into the shop, with the intake handled by Jeff Muthersbaugh. Both he
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UNIVERSITY PARK — Cael Sanderson isn’t going anywhere any time soon, as Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour announced a “long-term” contract extension for the 38-year-old head coach July 25 while in Chicago for Big Ten Media days. Penn State is not required to announce contract adjustments for head coaches for programs outside of football and both basketball programs, but Barbour took the time to alleviate any stresses CAEL SANDERSON the fan base might be feeling. Sanderson’s previous deal was signed in 2012 and expired in June. The exact terms of his new contract are unknown and very likely will stay that way publicly. “What Cael and our wrestling program have done is absolutely spectacular,” Barbour said. “There was never an issue. There was never a concern. It was a matter of getting to a right place.” Sanderson’s Nittany Lions have won six of the last seven NCAA national championships. On top of Penn State’s sheer team dominance on the mat, the program also counts 16 individual national champions since Sanderson arrived just ahead of the 2010 season.
Framing history: Local business preserves rare work of art
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and McQueary worked on the framing. McQueary said he couldn’t be certain about the drawing’s authenticity, but the owner told him the paper was from the 15th or 16th century, which in itself was an experience. “That’s just neat,” McQueary said. “You’re touching something that’s existed for 400 or 500 years.” Some Michelangelo drawings have fetched millions of dollars, such as “The Risen Christ,” which sold at Christie’s for $12.3 million, a record for an old master drawing sold at auction, according to the New York Times. The Los Angeles Times reported a Michelangelo drawing of the holy family sold for $6.27 million to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, also a record in 1993. McQueary said that while he took great care with the piece, he treated it like he would anything else brought into the shop, since the customer is already committing $150 to $400 to preserve the piece. “Whether it’s your Van Gogh poster or your kid’s portrait, we try to treat everything with the utmost respect,” he said. Framing, Page 6
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Submitted photo
THIS PIECE of art work, believed to be an original by Renaissance artist Michaelangelo, was recently framed by State College Framing Company.
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