Vespa Sculpture Parks In Downtown State College

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Sydney Britton didn’t know what she was looking at when she took a break from her morning run Saturday.

“What the heck is it?” she asked.

She then took a step back to get a better view.

“Oh, I get it,” she said. “That’s actually kind ofcool.”

A 2-D version of a 16-foot sculpture of a Vespa is a new attraction in downtown State College next to the S&T Bank at the intersection of Fraser Street and Beaver Avenue.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/08/02/4289581/vespa-sculpture-parks-in-downtown.html?sp=/99/116/#storylink=cpy

Proactive Policing Prevents Problems At Arts Fest

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Being proactive is always better than reactive. Especially in law enforcement.  A certain borough in Western Montgomery County springs to mind for always taking a reactive approach to crime.  Maybe a field trip to State College is in order. Apparently, they got the memo up there.

STATE COLLEGE, PA — The crime numbers over the weekend of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts show a dip in some areas but an increase in others.

State College police Lt. Chris Fishel compared the activity to a football weekend as he unveiled the numbers to members of the media Monday.

“This is actually a good thing,” he said. Fishel said it could point to more proactive involvement of officers making self-initiated stops rather than constantly responding to dispatched calls.

The total number of police calls in 2014 came in at 235, up from 171 in 2013.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/07/14/4265555/proactive-policing-prevents-problems.html?sp=/99/116/#storylink=cpy

Festival Prep Kicks Into High Gear

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Setup for large events like the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and Philipsburg Heritage Days can create nail-biting situations.

Heritage Days Chairman Jim Pollock watched several years ago as a trailer traveled down Front Street facing the wrong direction. No damage was done, but it could have ended in disaster.

“He was a new vendor, and when he first pulled in, he would have been serving toward the sidewalk instead of the street,” Pollock said. “We tried to tell him how to pull out and come back, but he came down wrong and could have taken out several trailers.”

That was a challenge, Pollock said, “so we have to be clear in our direction, especially for new vendors each year when everyone wants to hook up at the same time with over 100 trailers. You have to keep your composure.”

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/07/06/4254950/festival-prep-kicks-into-high.html?sp=/99/264/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy