GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
MATURE LIFESTYLES
From gambling trips to vision tips, The Centre County Gazette has the older Pennsylvania population covered with this week’s special Mature Lifestyles section. Readers can learn about the PSU OLLI program, as well find the perfect apps for residents ages 50+./Pages 13-20
August 3-9, 2017
Volume 9, Issue 31
FREE COPY
Sewage billing system under fire By SEAN YODER syoder@centrecountygazette.com
Submitted photo
THE LATE Bonnie Heebner Wagner, left, poses with her daughter, Emilie Tarman.
Bon Bon Fund benefits students who lose a parent Scholarship honors memory of State College woman who died of cancer By SEAN YODER syoder@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Bonnie Heebner Wagner would have been 56 years old on Aug. 4. Last October, she lost her battle with cancer, leaving behind a daughter about to finish high school. Now, friends of Heebner Wagner are hoping to create a scholarship for State College High School seniors who lose a parent before graduating. Beth Delricco, a long-time and close friend, said she was looking for scholarships for Heebner Wagner’s daughter, Emilie Tarman, and realized there weren’t any to benefit those who lose a parent. So was born the Bon Bon Fund scholarship, which will make its first splash through a mailer Aug. 4 to State High alumni. Among the initial donors were Mimi Barash Coppersmith and her daughter Nan Barash, another of Heebner Wagner’s friends, who knows the struggles of losing a parent while young. Her father passed when she was just 13 years old. “My biggest memory of Bonnie was (when we were) 12 or 13 years old,” Barash said. “She was one friend that was there for me when my father was dying of cancer. She just walked with me, talked with me. She was just the truest friend a person could have.” Barash, who grew up in State College and now lives in Bryn Mawr, said Heebner WagPolice Blotter .................... 2 Death notices ................... 6
ner would stick with you through thick and thin. “She was a very loyal person,” she said. “She was loyal beyond what most friends are. If she was on your team, she was all in. There was no half in with Bonnie.” Delricco said Heebner Wagner was “horrified” at the thought of a GoFundMe campaign to raise money in her battle against cancer. But, since the Bon Bon Fund would benefit another person, she said it was fitting that her close friend’s story could be used for something good. The two initially met in seventh grade, and were close right from the start of their friendship, always staying in touch, even though Delricco moved away at 21, she said. “She was raised by parents who taught her to get up every day and be grateful for what you have,” Delricco said. “So even from the young age that we met, I can always remember her saying, ‘Oh, I’m so glad we’re friends. I’m so glad we found each other.’” She and Barash described Heebner Wagner as “absolutely selfless” and intensely loyal. Delricco and Barash said they hope the State College community will honor her memory to help people like her daughter Emilie, who Delricco said was very close with her mother. Bon Bon, Page 6
Opinion ............................ 8 Health & Wellness ............ 9
Community .................... 11 Mature Lifestyles ........... 13
A local developer is among those once again calling for a change in the sewage billing system in the municipalities under the University Area Joint Authority, which serves Patton, College, Harris and Ferguson townships. An online petition for “Fair UAJA Billing Practice” calls for bills to be based on water usage, as occurs in State College Borough, which is also served by the UAJA but pays for service volumetrically. Tom Songer II, president of Torron Group, and other residents and business owners hope the Centre Region Council of Governments mandates in an update to the Regional Act 537 sewage disposal program that the UAJA change its billing practices. Songer said in a report sent to the media that his research shows that while Penn State and State College Borough have grown over the last 30 years, the university has been able to reduce water consumption by 25 percent, and State College Borough by 15 percent over the last 15 years. Songer’s report points to plumbing fixtures that reduce the amount of water used, thereby reducing the amount of sewer discharge. A change in the billing to base rates on the volume of water
used would incentivize people in the townships to use those same practices, as well as make the system fairer, advocates say. Currently, the billing system calls for a flat rate of $104 per quarter to homeowners in Patton, College, Harris and Ferguson townships, no matter how many square feet the house is or how many people live there. The business billing system charges a minimum of one EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) per business, meaning a building with 10 businesses, with only one employee per business, could be billed at 10 EDUs, but a single business with 10 people could pay significantly less. Songer’s report cites the current Act 537 plan from COG, completed in 2006, that recommends the UAJA evaluate whether to move to a volumetric billing program. Now, local residents and business owners are looking to COG to address the issue at the next general forum meeting Monday, Aug. 28, and at an executive committee meeting Tuesday, Aug. 22. The current Act 537 from COG says, “Some believe that this EDU-based method does not encourage water conservation since the sewer billing is based on EDUs, not actual water use.” Sewage, Page 6
Judge Ruest seeks retention for second term Gazette staff reports
BELLEFONTE — Judge Pamela A. Ruest recently announced her campaign for retention to a second 10-year term as Centre County Court of Common Pleas judge. Ruest was first elected in 2007 as Centre County’s first female judge. Prior to serving as a judge, she practiced law for 21 years, with a primary focus on family law, and was a partner at the McQuaide Blasko law offices. She remains a member of the U.S. Patent Bar. Judge Ruest is poised to take over the role of current President Judge Thomas King Kistler, who has announced his retirement from the bench after 20 years presiding over Centre County court cases and proceedings. After her election, Ruest was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Subcommittee to simplify family court forms for divorce and custody. She is in her second term as a member of the Pennsylvania Trial Judges Judicial Ethics Committee. She chairs the Centre County Children’s Roundtable, which
Sports .............................. 21 Around & In Town ......... 26
was created to enhance the treatment of dependent and neglected children, and participates in the regional and statewide roundtables. Ruest has been an active participant in the community, serving PAMELA RUEST in several organizations and on boards over the years, including as board president of both the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and Keystone Legal Services. Since her election in 2007 she has been a member of the Prison Board and is currently on the Child Advocacy Center board. She also is a member of the United Way Women’s Leadership Group, Altrusa, Elks Lodge No. 1600, Bellefonte Art Museum, Friends of the Palmer Museum and the American Association of University Women. Ruest, Page 6
What’s Happening ......... 28 Puzzles ............................ 29
Business .......................... 30 Classifieds ....................... 31