Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

Page 13 text:

Arson At Garden Theater An early-morning fire in late January 1980 extensively damaged the upper floors of the Hotel State College7Gar- den Theater complex on South Allen Street. An arsonist was later arrested in connection with the blaze. Alpha Fire Company officials report- edly found debris stacked at the end of a hallway on the buildings top floor where the fire began. The fire spread across the roofand burned out of control for nearly two hours after firemen were summoned at 12:14 am. About 70 Alphas. with the help from several Boalsburg firemen, fought the blaze, which gutted 16 living units, apartments and rooms. The the- ater, reportedly built in 1914. also sus- tained extensive smoke and water dam- age. Even by late December, owner Fred lannurelli remained uncertain as to when the theater would reopen. -Liz Chesney Sharp Dies Centre County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard M. Sharp, of Phillips- burg, died Oct. 7, 1980 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 61. Judge Sharp, elected to the bench in Centre County in November 1977, died at Phillipsburg State General Hospital Where he had been a patient for three Weeks. Judge Sharp had been initially hospitalized in February for a potassium imbalance. In December the judges ill- ness was found to be liver cancer. Judge Sharp was an attorney for 30 Years and a former District Attorney of Centre County from 1957 to 1961. He had served on the bench since 1977. He was instrumental in establishing pro- grams of constructive rehabilitation for juvenile and adult offenders. He was most noted for his contribu- tion to court improvement at the trial court level. In 1979, Judge Sharp pio- neered the Inmate Work Program, the only program of its kind in the state, which allows convicted offenders the op- portunity to serve the community in a constructive fashion. -Sherri Ross TMI Clean-up Clean-up activities designed to decon- taminate and restore the now famous Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island lagged seven months behind schedule this year. Metropolitan Edison estimat- cd that cleanup following the March 1979 accident will take at least three more years and cost $500 million. Clean-up efforts in the shut-down re- actor started with the venting of krypton gas from the sealed airlock leading to the reactor building. The venting allowed the first workers to enter the area and take radiation readings. A major problem hindering the cleanup is the new equipment which must first be designed and built. One such innovation is a system known as EPICOR 11, which helped decontami- nate the water that spilled into one of Unit 2's auxiliary buildings. The wastes from this process will be stored in tanks on the island until a permanent disposal site is found. In addition to the technical aspects of the clcan-up operation, Met-Ed also faced a barrage of public criticism about the company's handling of the actual ac- cident and the venting of the krypton gas. As a result, Met-Ed is trying to re- store its tarnished image and recapture the publicis confidence. A-Jill Rippey T CATA Troubles A strike by the local transit employees union halted Centre Line bus service in the State College area and left many stu- dents and business people without trans- portation for nearly a month. A dispute between Local 1203B of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Cen- tre Area Transportation Authority arose in late December upon termination of the drivers contract. The disagreement centered around increases in hourly wages and the length and wording of a new contract. In addition, the dilemna grew to encompass problems surround- ing the inclusion of a part-time worker pension plan and a non-discrimination clause in the contract. After many weeks of unsettled tension between CATA and the union, the courts stepped in and im- posed a mandatory collective bargaining session. The result was a two-year con- tract settlement ratified by a vote of 23 But that sill did not put the buses back on the road. CATA manager Vernon Lyght and the drivers clashed over the terms under which unionized drivers would resume work. Almost one full work week passed before service was re- stored and transportation returned to normal in the Centre Region. ALiz Chesney State7Local 9

Page 12 text:

r- StateyLocal Election Results As was the trend throughout much of the country. Pennsylvania Republican candidates won big in state and local elections. Republican Arlen Specter was elected Pennsylvaniais US. senator in a long struggle against former Pittsburgh Mayor Pete Flaherty. In a neck-and- neck race, Republican E. Budd Dwyer defeated Democratic incumbent Robert E. Casey for the post of State Treasurer. R. LeRoy Zimmerman became first elected Attorney General in a close win over Democratic hopeful Michael OiPake. The victory of incumbent Auditor General Al Benedict proved to be the only bright spot for Pennsylvania Demo- crats in state elections. In local action, Republican Congress- man William Clinger posted an easy vic- tory and will return to the US. House of Representatives for the 23rd Congres- sional District. Republican Rep. Gregg Cunningham was easily re-elected to the State General Assembly. eJill Rippey Divorce Bill A unilateral, no-fault divorce bill went into effect in Pennsylvania on July 1, 1980 which revised the States 95- year-old divorce code. The no-fault provision in the legisla- tion allows one spouse to win a divorce without blaming the other. The four ma- jor areas of reform were: U divorce by mutual consent 90 days after a petition has been filed in court, 2i contested di- vorce granted after a separation period of three years and after the filing of a petition stating the marriage was irre- trievably broken, 3i equitable division of property, and 4i alimony when property settlements were deemed insufficient. State Representative Gregg Cunning- ham, a Republican from Centre County, was one of the main supporters of the legislation. Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh called the new law 0a com- passionate and realistic measure which brings Pennsylvania into the twentieth century in this sensitive area of human relations. -Seott Smith 8 StateiLocal Cuban Refugees Pennsylvaniais Fort Indiantown Gap military reservation was one of four camps in the nation selected to handle the influx ofCuban refugees into Florida last spring. The first refugees arrived on May 18, and within a week the camp had neared its capacity of 20,000. Unlike the predominantly middle or upper-class Cubans given asylum in the United States after Fidel Castrois 1959 triumph, the latest refugees were gener- ally penniless workers, some of them freed criminals. This, combined with frustration and the sheer numbers of Cu- bans being processed at Fort Indiantown Gap, resulted in an Aug. 5 riot in which 16 camp officials and 42 Cubans were injured, one fatally. The 300 to 500 refu- gees involved cited long processing, 95- degree heat and guard brutality as rea- sons for the uprising. Security increased after this incident, as the remaining ref- ugees waited to be reunited with rela- tives or otherwise resettled. -Jill Rippey Funds Cut in the ongoing abortion controversy, 1980 brought on a victory for anti-abor- tionists. In mid-November, the Pennsyl- vania legislature overwhelmingly ap- proved a bill that prohibits the use of Medicaid funds for poor women who want abortions. The bill resulted from a US. Supreme Court decision in June which ruled that states can refuse to pay for abortions even when the health of the mother is at stake. Most states have since taken that option and passed anti-abortion bills. The Pennsylvania bill was sponsored by Rep. Stephen Friend. a Republican from Delaware County; and Rep. Gregg Cunningham, the Republican assembly- man whose district includes the State College area. Cunningham was re-elect- ed to a second term last November. Both Friend and Cunningham planned to introduce a bill that would restrict abortions for everyone under any circumstances. The current bill denies funding for abortions except for those reimbursed by the federal government in cases of rape and incest, or when the mothers life is endangered. -Cindy Halterman Phillies Win Series After a long season of dissension and turmoil, the Philadelphia Phillies sur- prised everyone by capturing their first World Series Championship in 98 years. Picked third in their division, the Phil- lies battled the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal Expos into the final weeks of the season before clinching the East- ern Division title in their second-to-last game. The Houston Astros, who slid over the Dodgers into the number one slot of the National League West, be- came the next fallen opponent as the Phillies conquered them for National League rule. Moving on to the World Series, the Phillies faced the Kansas City Royals, who had triumphed over the Yankees to secure the American League pennant. Picked as underdogs, the Phillies, win- ning four out of six games, brought the World Championship home. -Cindy Halterman

Page 14 text:

r- National Presidential Election In a startling landslide victory, Ron- ald Reagan was chosen by the voters of the United States as their 40th presi- dent. Earlier in the year, a field of faces dominated the campaign. For the Demo- crats. incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy. and California Gov. Jerry Brown all drew public support. The Republicans were also well-re- presented by people like Rep. Philip Crane. Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker, former Texas Gov. John Connal- ly, Congressman John Anderson, Sen. Lowell P. Weiker. former ambassador and CIA director George Bush and Ronald Reagan. the former Governor of California. The Democrats let support for Jerry Brown fade as most backed the Carterl Mondale team. and the rest threw their support to Kennedy. But the Republican situation was more complicated. Since he had almost won the partyls 1976 nomination. Reagan was the early favor- ite. But when George Bush made a strong showing in New England and won the Iowa caucus. Reaganls dominance was questionable. John Anderson. a former GOP hope- L 10 National ful. announced his independent candida- cy. His decision evoked cheers from Democrats and Republicans alike who considered him a viable alternative to Carter and Reagan. Carter won 24 primaries to Kennedyls 10. giving him 1,982 delegates to the Democratic Convention - 316 more than he needed to win. In spite of the American peoplels increasing displeas- ure with his presidency, Carter was sit- ting comfortably. The July Republican Convention was held in Detroit. Reagan went into the convention smiling. the support and uni- ty of his party behind him. The only ma- jor tremor arose when it looked like Rea- gan might choose former President Ger- ald Ford as a running mate. He finally settled on his major challenger, George Bush. a choice which satisfied the party. As the Democratic Convention warmed up in Madison Square Garden in August. Kennedy was not yet ready to give up. The American pcoplcls support of Carter had dropped to 22 percent. even lower than Nixon's 25 percent after the Watergate scandal. Kennedyls ac- tion to win over some of Carteris dele- gates failed and Carter received his re- nomination bid. The campaign was ready to start mov- ing. Reagan tried to win over traditional- ly Democratic groups by appealing to union workers and minorities. pointing out Carter's inadequacies. Carter re- sponded by saying Reagan lacked a com- mitment to peace and social welfare. The Anderson impact faltered as the AndersonlLucey coalition concentrated on getting their names onto state ballots, instead of campaigning through their economically conservative, socially lib- eral ideology. When the League of Women Voters invited Anderson to an initial debatet Carter refused to be a part of it a Rea- gan and Anderson debated without himJ A week before the election, Carter and Reagan debated alone. Toward Election Day, pollsters be- lieved Carter had tightened the gap and that the election was too close to call. They were wrong. Reagan won 44 states and 489 electoral votes while Carter snatched only 6 states and the District of Columbia for 49 electoral votes. Reagan received 51 percent of the vote: Carter, 41 percent; and Anderson, 7 percent. The remaining one percent went to mi- nor candidates from other parties. 4Cindy Halterman