The Indiana Gazette, Sept. 29, 2015

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www.indianagazette.com Vol. 112 — No. 38

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Who’s in the news There is good news today in The Indiana Gazette about these area people: Adrienne Straw and Timothy Rash, Bob Kinnan, Helen Kuta, Bill McGraw.

75 cents

Homecoming festivities kick off Friday IUP News Service

newly renovated Folger Dining Hall. The ribbon-cutting is open to the community. Folger is on Pratt Drive, across from the Suites on Maple East. The building was originally dedicated at the 1972 homecoming weekend. Folger Hall is named in honor of the late Olive K. Folger, affectionately known as “Ma Folger” by a generation of students. She was the dietician at Indiana State

Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s annual homecoming celebration this weekend is expected to draw thousands to Indiana for alumni reunions and events for the community, including the annual parade and football game. Events on Friday include the 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the

Coming Wednesday Get a parade map, check out the schedule of events and get to know the Crimson Court in our homecoming publication. Teachers College from 1934 until her retirement in 1950. Folger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in home eco-

nomics from IUP (then Indiana State Teachers College) in 1948 and she was a member of Kappa Omicron Phi. This renovated facility is phase two of IUP’s $37 million dining master plan, IUP Dining Innovations. The $13.75 renovation project began in May 2014. The dining hall is designed to create specialized services and menus that match student lifestyles. It will include

INDIANA AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Union opposes STEM funding

Inside ACCOMPLICE SENTENCED: A former prison worker who helped two convicted murderers escape from a maximumsecurity prison was sentenced Monday to up to seven years behind bars./Page 3 TESTING WOES: State education officials and school districts have been seeking to reassure parents over dramatically lower scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment math test./Page 5 WATER ON MARS: Scientists reported Monday that Mars appears to have flowing liquid water, at least in the summer, a finding that boosts the odds of life on the red planet./Page 7 DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS: A recently released report has found that most people will experience at least one wrong or delayed diagnosis at some point./Page 8 GAME OFF: Saltsburg will forfeit Friday’s varsity football game against Westinghouse due to a lack of players./Page 13

Weather Tonight

61°

Tomorrow

63°

Periods of rain tonight. Rain; cooler tomorrow. See Page 2.

Deaths Obituaries on Page 4 ANDERSON, Donald E. Jr., 57, Kiski Township HILL, Edward R., 91, Rochester Mills THORPE, Lowell T., 84, Bellefonte

Index Classifieds ...............22-24 Comics/TV....................20 Dear Abby .......................9 Entertainment ..............21 Family ...........................10 Health..............................8 Lottery.............................2 Op/Ed..........................A-7 Outdoors.......................19 Sports.......................13-19 Today in History.............9 Viewpoint .......................6

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the Global Grill, which combines Mongolian, char and flattop grills preparing international dishes and traditional favorites; the Sandwich Artisan; Olive’s Kitchen, with traditional favorites, vegetarian dishes and features for those with special dietary needs; Pasta la Vista, featuring pizzas and pasta; Produce Market (salad bar); and Great Wraps in the lobby. Continued on Page 12

By CHAUNCEY ROSS

chauncey@indianagazette.net

The teachers’ union at Indiana Area School District has gone on record against a request for more than $722,000 to support construction of a Challenger Learning Center and STEM Academy at Indiana County Technology Center. The Indiana Area school board on Monday pushed the vote back to its Oct. 12 meeting after hearing a round of opposition, mainly for economic but also for academic reasons. The delay also would give directors a chance to consider a summary of an extensive discussion held Sept. 22 by the board’s Academic and Extracurricular Committee. The Challenger/STEM project is estimated to cost $9 million, and ICTC officials say they have $5 million in grants and $2 million anticipated from interested corporate and foundation donors. ICTC Executive Director Eric Palmer and education consultant Rodney Green have asked the tech center’s seven member districts to pledge shares of the remaining $2 million to convince the grant and donation sources to commit funds to the project. Social studies teacher Michael Tshudy, the president of Indiana Area Education Association, said Indiana’s actual cost for a long-term loan to cover its contribution would be more than $985,000. The district also would pay an estimated $688,000 of tuition to send up to 30 students to the STEM Academy in the first three years of operation. “This request comes at the eleventh hour for the organizers of this project and with the warning that if not received from our district, the Continued on Page 4

MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/Kremlin Pool

PRESIDENT OBAMA and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday for a bilateral meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Breakthrough on Syria so far eludes Obama, Putin PAGE 7

By JULIE PACE

AP White House Correspondent

NEW YORK — U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first formal meeting in more than two years started with an awkward handshake and ended without a breakthrough on Syria, a crisis that has strained their already tense relationship. On the biggest issue that divides them in Syria — the status of embattled leader Bashar Assad — Obama and Putin left their discussions Monday exact-

• World leaders opened a U.N. gathering Monday that aims to wrestle with some of the globe’s biggest crises. ly where they started. The U.S. still insists Syria’s future cannot include Assad, while Putin appears to only want to bolster the standing of his longtime ally, casting him as the best defense against Islamic States militants. Even so, both leaders appeared

“WE ALL want a budget. I understand the need for compromise and we’re both going to have to move if we’re going to get to common ground.”

MARION CENTER AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Gov. Tom Wolf

More talks yield no progress on budget By PETER JACKSON

mained vague about the status of the many thorny issues that separate them. They met for about an hour in early afternoon and for about 90 minutes in late afternoon, but ultimately scrapped tentative plans for an evening session. “At least we’re having a conversation,” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny. “The numbers Continued on Page 12

Associated Press

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative leaders met on and off throughout the day Monday in an effort to craft a compromise to end the Pennsylvania state budget impasse, but no breakthroughs surfaced. Negotiators from both parties described the discussions as promising, but re-

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interested in whether their meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly could yield progress toward ending Syria’s 4½ year civil war. After the 90-minute sit-down at U.N. headquarters, Putin and U.S. officials who described the meeting on Obama’s behalf each spoke of the need for cooperation. “Strange is it may seem, there were many common points,” Putin told reporters. “There were also disagreements which we agreed to work together. I hope Continued on Page 12

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Directors suspend charter payments during impasse By RANDY WELLS

rwells@indianagazette.net

MARION CENTER — The Marion Center Area School District directors Monday voted to suspend payment of tuition to all Pennsylvania cyber/charter schools until a state budget is passed and the district begins receiving state subsidies. The district pays about $38,000 monthly to five Pennsylvania cyber and charter schools for 26 Marion Center district students. District business manager Richard Martini said the district’s basic education subsidy from the state helps pay the cyber and charter schools tuition, and while the district is not receiving any money from the state the district will withhold payments to the cyber and charter schools to limit expenses to avoid the possibility of borrowing

money later in the year if the state budget impasse continues. Martini said anticipated tax revenues now through November should help the district meet its obligated expenses. In other business, the school directors approved a contract for $12,675 with Repine Construction, of Marion Center, to repair the district’s maintenance building along East Main Street in a residential area of Marion Center Borough. Under the contract, Repine will remove the existing siding and install new metal siding and new soffit, fascia, spouting and downspouts. In other action Monday, the directors: • Accepted a $3,000 donation from the Colonial Toyota Reading Mentor Program to support the district’s after-school reading mentoring program. Continued on Page 12

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