Vol. 26,
o. 5
mer pleads guilty in PSH theft
la Marcel
/ Times Staff
Capita ,
A former m
maintenance of
Harrisburg has t
$36,613 in tool]
from the univers
Kenneth E. W
to a $lOOO fine,
Penn State, tw
community serv*
tanager of facilities and
Derations at Penn State
pleaded guilty to stealing
is and building materials
sity.
yitmer, 42, was sentenced '
$20,854 in restitution to
jo years probation and
ice.
Dauphin C
Attorney Willi
Patriot-News hi
silent at the sen)
counts of theft
count in exchang
In addition tti
say Witmer has
$14,000 in tools
Penn State.
ounty Chief District
am T. Tully told the
is office agreed to stand
iltencing and to merge 14
; by deception into one
!;e for Winner's plea.
restitution, court papers
returned approximately
and unused materials to
According to
court papers, Witmer used
areas in tl
versify keeps mum on funding
•e Ashton
r Times Staff
Lei
Capital
State auditoi
how public fii
University of :
invited to do tl
according to Uni
Bill Mahon.
Pitt recently
review at the i
Auditor General
called for new
state's public uni'
•s currently scrutinizing
uids are spent at the
Pittsburgh aren't being
ne same at Penn State,
iversity Park spokesman
opened its books for
Request of Pennsylvania
ll Barbara Hafer, who has
legislation requiring the
versities to fully disclose
Cap
lat is running out of space for new materials
ital T
Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg
purchase orders to buy $1519 in clothing
and gifts from the Penn State Harrisburg
Bookstore, and materials from local
merchants, including a lawnmower, a
ladder, building and roofing materials,
tools, and a $l3B Redspire pear tree.
Winner used some of the materials to
put an addition on his Elizabethtown
residence, improve his summer home in
Rehoboth Beach, Del., and build a home
on Chestnut Road in Conewago Twp.,
which he and his brother later sold for
$98,200, court papers also say.
James D. South 11, associate provost
for administrative operations, said
the university scrutinized purchasing
procedures following the theft. Officials
found it was possible for someone to
make a purchase and approve payment of
the bill.
To prevent the problem from
happening again, South said the university
has reduced the number of standing
how public monies are allocated.
A sampling of students and professors
at Penn State Harrisburg seems to indicate
support for part of Hafer's plan, as long as
personal issues such as staff salaries
remain a private matter.
"I don't think they should make public
the professors salaries,'' said Mike Rineer,
a senior communications major. "On the
other hand, I'd like to know what Penn
State does with other funds. I think the
community has a right to know how
public funds are being spent"
Harris Imadojemu, assistant professor
purchase orders, reduced and restricted the
number of people authorized to deal with
standing purchase order vendors, and will
pay closer attention to matching purchase
orders with a particular activity.
Edward Dankanich, Witmefs successor,
said "It's highly unlikely that this type of
action could happen again, based on all
these checks and balances."
South agreed, but added, "Systems are
fallible. If someone wants to cheat,
eventually someone will figure out a way
to do that."
According to court papers, the problem
surfaced in October 1990. One of Winner's
staff, Work Management Coordinator Jay
Michael Ray, said he noticed irregularities
while matching purchase orders with paid
invoices.
South said the theft was discovered in
December 1990, but declined to discuss
See Wftmer, page 3
PSH students
library
Karen M. Putt
T.J. Brightman
Capital Times Staff
Calling the library a "second-class
facility which does not reflect a fair return
on the student dollar," a group of students
known as the Students For a Quality
Library (SFQL) is waging a war on the
problems with Penn State Harrisburg’s
Heindel Library.
The group organized following an open
forum on Nov. 2, during which students
and faculty discussed the many problems
with the library. The forum, and a second
one held on Nov. 21 by campus
administration, came following Patriot-
News coverage of the library’s
inadequacies. After identifying problem
areas at the first forum, the group drafted a
petition, which about 400 students signed
during last Monday's "block walk"
through the dorms and Meade Heights.
of mechanical engineering, said, "My
salary is my own business. I'm not aware
of what everyone else is being paid--it's a
personal thing." He also said it is the
university's business on how money is
spent. "Look at the library, the state
should have provided money to upgrade or
build a new facility here a long time
ago."
Hafer testified before the Senate
Education Committee in Harrisburg on
Sept. 18, when she was invited to offer
input on House Bill 1075, an amendment
to the Right-to-Know law. Her action
imes
inadequacies
November 25, 1991
Kenneth E. Witmer
iredby
Stating in their petition that they "no
longer accept administration's continued
neglect of the Heindel Library," the group
is seeking immediate improvements in
problem areas. Major issues include
replacing the manual check-out system
with an automated one; the purchase of an
additional copy machine; replacing or
repairing damaged tables, tom carpet and
worn or peeling paint; and purging
outdated material to make room for new
material.
"Our issue is really directed at the
administation," said Douglas Manger, a
graduate student in American Studies and a
member of the student organization. "We
want them [administration] to understand
very clearly where our values lie. And
that is a good, sound library."
Manger said there are some "severe
problems in the facility that have been
See Library, page 2
came in the wake of press reports
questioning spending practices at Pitt.
Among other disclosures was a story
about outgoing Pitt President Wesley
Posvar being offered a $201,000 annual
pension.
But Bill Mahon, Penn State’s director
of public information, maintains "we are
extremely well managed fiscally." He said
the university's position is that an
investigation shouldn't be conducted at our
campuses just because Pitt expenditures
See Funds, page 4