GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
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July 30-August 5, 2015
Volume 7, Issue 30
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Corman talks budget at Rotary meeting By ALEXA LEWIS news@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Pennsylvania State Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, addressed the State College Downtown Rotary Club for its weekly luncheon on July 23. After a brief introduction from Rotary Club president Chris Potalivo, Corman, the Senate’s majority leader, spoke to about 30 people about the recent developments in the Pennsylvania legislature and, more specifically, the delayed state budget. “We are here late July and we don’t have a state budget and it’s a problem,” said Corman, who represents the 34th Senatorial District, which includes all of Centre, Mifflin and Juniata counties and part of Huntingdon County. The Republican senator began by discussing the $33.8 billion budget and accompanying tax increases that Gov. Tom Wolf, who is a Democrat, proposed. According to Corman, Wolf’s budget introduced a revenue package that would increase income tax and would increase sales taxes by about 6.6 percent, resulting in a $4.6 billion total increase in state taxes. “In one state alone, in Pennsylvania, we have a proposal on the table which would double the rest of the nation in one year,” said Corman. With a Republican-led legislature, Wolf’s proposal has run up against some difficulty, Corman said. Corman also mentioned that Wolf vetoed the $30.2 billion budget that
the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed. The senator said he is now working closely with Wolf, meeting with him on a regular basis, to come to some agreement before the school year starts. Corman fears that without a budget, school districts that rely on state and federal money might suffer come the school year. “If we’re going to get along, you’re going to sign bills you don’t like and I’m going to vote for bills I don’t like,” Corman said, referring to Wolf. “That’s how you get along in a divided government.” But, Corman said that so far it has been challenging to come to an agreement. The senator then redirected his conversation to the state’s underfunded pension system. “This year it exceeds over $2 billion, and before it finally levels off it will exceed over $5 billion,” said Corman, in regard to the money state government spends on the pension system. “That’s money that’s not going into the classrooms.” Corman said that pensions are important and the community should feel like they can secure their economic future, but that government should modernize the system. “The demographics are today that you retire in your mid 50s and live into your mid 80s or longer on a public pension system. The math doesn’t work,” Corman said. “It’s Corman, Page 4
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Business Name: ______________ ALEXA LEWIS/The Gazette
BUDGET UPDATE: Pennsylvania State Sen. Jake Corman was the guest speaker at the July 23 State Contact: _____________________ College Downtown Rotary meeting. See related budget coverage on Page 5.
Address: ____________________
Blind, visually impaired students prepare for college life
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By ALEXA LEWIS
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ALEXA LEWIS/The Gazette
MOVING FORWARD: Board members met on July 27 and approved the State High Project 90 percent floor plan.
School board approves updated State High Project floor plans By ALEXA LEWIS news@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — The State College Area School District board met on June 27 to discuss and vote on the State High Project’s 90 percent floor plans. The motion to approve the updated floor plans passed, with one board member voting against it. The motion comes after the faculty and the board had the opportunity to extensively review the floor plans and provide their feedback in the weeks prior to the board meeting. The floor plan now includes some minor updates, including last minutes changes to the layouts in the training room and locker room. Accepting the latest 90 percent floor plan docuOpinion .................................. 7 Health & Wellness .............. 8, 9
DIGITAL SUBMISSION: UNIVERSITY PARK — Elizabeth McKay wasADborn legallyAccepted blind,Formats: but PDF, EPS, J embedded. Use “presscollege quality” settings. Do not export her visual impairment isn’t stopping herbefrom attending in the be CMYK not RGB. Do not mix for black. Use 100% K (b fall. color type, rules and boxes on color and reverse. Black & McKay, along with 23 other high school students who are or first-serve Placement in the newspaper is onblind a first-come, of the at ad. To guarantee placement a specific visually impaired, are spending three weeks Penn State as partonof the page, an ad section or move it to another date at our discretion witho Summer Academy program. invoiced at the end of the month. Net 20 days. Publishers The program, which began on July 13 and continues through Thursday, July 31, is an intensive program designed to help blind and visually impaired high school students who are interested in attending college or a technical or trade school improve their independence and selfadvocacy skills. “When they go to college, all the responsibility goes to them. They have to identify that they have a disability and talk with their teachers,” said Stan Swaintek, the director of field operations at the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. McKay, who graduated high school this year, is among the older students in the program and is enrolled in Duquesne University for the fall. But, most of the program’s students are still high school students. It’s the first time many of them have had to do their own laundry, clean their own rooms and live independently.
Blind, Page 4
Schwab Auditorium balcony collapses
ments establishes the final building configuration and will also allow for the completion of the work on the mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans. In the second half of the meeting, the director of the school district’s Office of Physical Plant, Ed Poprik, told the board that the estimate from the contractor, which the board originally anticipated having by the Monday, Aug. 24, meeting, may come later than scheduled. If the estimate is late, Poprik said it could push bidding on the project further down the timeline. “We are a little behind where we thought we were. It may be late fall, but it could even slip into November,” Poprik said. Board members will continue the conversation
UNIVERSITY PARK — Schwab Auditorium was evacuated July 27 and one person was hospitalized after a part of the balcony collapsed. The Penn State auditorium was hosting Spend A Summer Day, an event geared toward prospective students interested in attending the university.
School, Page 5
Schwab, Page 5
Education ............................. 10 Penns Valley Spotlight ......... 11
Community .................... 12-16 Back to School ................ 17-23
By ZACH BERGER StateCollege.com
Sports .............................. 25-29 Economic Development 30-33
Arts & Entertainment .......... 34 What’s Happening ............... 35
Business ................................ 37 Classified .............................. 39