Once in a 'Blue A second full moon By MARY MALLON Collegian Staff Writer If an event is only supposed to happen "once in a blue moon," State College res idents should be prepared. This month will be an eventful one for interested sky watchers with the rare occurrence of a "blue moon" on Aug. 31. Despite the colorful name, the moon will not actually appear blue the term "blue moon" refers only to the second full moon of the month. The first full moon of the month occurred last night. A "blue moon" happens about once every three years, said Doug O'Neal (graduate astronomy). Boalsburg's Columbus Chapel receives piece of Italian history By PAUL GIANGIORDANO Collegian Arts Writer Pennsylvania is known for its richness in history, and the Columbus Chapel in Boalsburg has added to the state's historic merit. The Italian government has recently donated 26 Christopher Columbus panels to the Columbus Chapel in Boalsburg. The chapel has been called the only tangible link to the explorer in the United States. The panels, made in Italy and composed of poster on cardboard, have captions in various languages such as Latin, English, and Italian. "It was an honor for the panels to remain in Central Pennsylvania," said Pete Cuc chiara, a recent appointee to the Pennsyl vania Heritage Affairs Commission and former state trustee of the Order of the Sons of Italy. Cucchiara, an active participant in the Columbus celebration for the past four years, said he wrote to the Italian Con- America's covered bridges suffer from arson, neglect By DAVID MOORE Associated Press Writer CONCORD, N.H. On an early morning last May, someone went, to ,the Corbin Covered Bridge in Newport, N.H., doUsed the timbers with a flam mable liquid, struck a match and ended 158 years of history. When firefighters arrived, burning timbers were dropping into the Sugar River. By morning, only ashes, charred debris and smoldering anger remained. "I am shocked and angered, angered because it is history that can never be replaced," said Alicia Dixon, a member of the Newport Historical Society. "I can't imagine why anyone would do this." But she and others in Newport, a western New Hampshire town of 4,500 with a town seal that is a replica of the bridge, are not alone in their anger. Covered bridges in Plymouth and Swanzey, N.H., and one in Barrow County, Ga., also were lost to arson this spring, and others in Ohio and Missouri have been damaged by arson attempts. Others fell to neglect: Two in Ohio have col lapsed and bridges in Pennsylvania and California have been torn down and replaced with modern structures. "This has been the worst year for covered bridges that I can remember," said David Wright, presi dent of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. The society, based in Westminster, Vt., has been tracking the nation's covered bridges since the late 19405, when country roads gave way to interstate highways and many of the picturesque structures will brighten A full moon occurs every 29-and-a-half days, therefore a second full moon in a month can only happen if the first full moon falls on the first or second day of the month, said Martin Ratcliffe, director of the Buhl Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Cen ter in Pittsburgh. As a result, a "blue moon" could never occur during the month of February. A full moon occurs when the moon is on the side of the Earth away from the sun. The moon has appeared blue in the past because moonlight was scattered by dust particles in the atmosphere, Ratcliffe said. In September 1950 forest fires in Cana da sent dust particles into the upper "The Italian government chose to present the panels to us because we're the closest connection to Christopher Columbus in the U.S." Jim Van Horn director of the Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel sulate last February, seeking to deposit the panels in Central Pennsylvania. Franco Giordano, consul general of Italy, who was unavailable for comment, made the decision to present the panels to the Columbus Chapel. Cucchiara said the panels traveled all over the state, from Philadelphia to Harrisburg and various museums, before they reached were torn down to accommodate heavier traffic. Wright estimates there once were 16,000 cov ered highway and railroad bridges in the country, nearly all built in the middle and late 19th century. The most recent census, conducted in 1989, listed 871. Pennsylvania has 221 covered bridges, the most of any state. Ohio is next with 140, followed by Vermont, 99; Indiana, 93; and New Hampshire, 48. In all, 30 states have at least one covered bridge. To many, the bridges are a reminder of a slower and simpler lifestyle. Constructed mostly of native spruce, and now darkened by weather and age, covered bridges historically were places where people gathered for political or revival meetings, to escape the sun on long summer afternoons or meet a sweetheart away from the prying eyes of family and friends. Children often kicked out a board or two near the middle of a bridge to drop a fishing line. "People just feel good when they look at a cov ered bridge, it's as simple as that," Wright said. "Steel and cement just don't inspire the same reverence and the same awe as the old timber framing and joinery " Arnold Graton, 54, of Holderness, N.H., has been renovating and reconstructing covered bridges with his father, Milton, for 40 years. The pair have worked on bridges from California to New Hampshire, and are one of the only contractors in the nation who still build them "the old-fashioned way," according to the younger Graton. The elder Graton retired last year, leaving the business to his son, who hopes to rebuild the Cor bin and Plymouth, N.H., bridges. rmmmmmm II expires 8/31/93 coupon. Good A participating stares.. Pepperocinie and special Garlic Sauce Moon' the sky later this month atmosphere, and in 1883, a volcanic erup tion sent ash and dust into the strato sphere, according to a news release from the center. Both events caused what appeared to be a blue moon. On the nights of Aug. 11 and 12, the Perseid meteor shower will also occur. Meteors are pieces of dust particles and boulder streams which orbit the sun. A few times a year the Earth runs into this orbit allowing a meteor shower to be viewed, O'Neal said. "Every one or two minutes a bright meteor will be seen," O'Neal said. The showers will look like a bright streak in the sky, he said. They will be seen most clearly in an open field at nighttime. their final resting place in the Columbus Chapel. "It's a one-of-a-kind collection put together. The Italian government chose to present the panels to us because we're the closest connection to Christopher Columbus in the U. 5.," said Jim Van Horn, director of the Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel. Van Horn said that a member of the Boal family studied architecture in Paris, where he met and later married a woman named Matilde DeLagarde, a member of the Columbus family. The couple inherited the Columbus fortune in 1908, and in 1909 the Chapel, originally a part of the Columbus family castle in Spain, was brought to Boalsburg. "Everything here is as it was in Spain," he said. Van Horn said the panels were specif ically made for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' journey in 1992, and the Italian government sought to "lay them to rest forever." "They're very interesting panels to read," said Cucchiara. PLUS: FREE Black leaders, ACLU angered by Pittsburgh anti-loitering ordinance An anti-loitering ordinance, which may be passed soon, is provoking controversy, and black leaders claim the law will be used more against African Americans than other groups. PITTSBURGH (AP) City Council is poised to approve an anti-loi tering ordinance that could help fight the drug war and will surely pro voke a battle on the civil liberties front. The American Civil Liberties Union and black leaders predict police will use the law against black people more than any other ethnic or racial group. Proponents argue that the ordi nance helps minority neighbor hoods, where drug dealing is more common. "A growing number of cities are looking at any resource they can get to diminish the trafficking in drugs and the violence that goes with it," said Randy Arndt of the National League of Cities, based in Wash ington, D.C. Erie and Harrisburg already have anti-loitering laws on the books. ( r • . :!'; II wt,,,,‘" ~ V (Ili , 1 Large 14 inch, 2 Topping Pizza FS. Q Dcii-ve.vi•vnge , .__NW"Piood In Erie, an ordinance enacted April 7 states that loitering is ille gal when it is done "with purpose to commit or aid the commission of a drug-abuse offense." A loiterer who also is stopping cars or using a walkie-talkie near a known drug market may be arrested. No court challenge has been mounted to the Erie ordinance, Assistant City Clerk Gloria Cris cione said yesterday. An ordinance in Philadelphia prohibits loitering only in the public transit system or on private prop erty that is open to the public. Cheryl Carlson, an assistant city attorney in Tacoma, Wash., said an anti-loitering law was the key to eliminating several open-air drug markets there. However, Jerry Sheehan of the Washington state chapter of the ACLU indicated the law was enforced selectively. An analysis showea most people arrested under the law were African-American or Hispanic, he said. In a preliminary vote last week, the Pittsburgh City Council's two black members, Duane Darkins and Christopher Smith, and member Jim Ferlo, who is white, voted to reject the ordinance. It passed with the support of the other six Council members. =Mb Plus tan. Not v4I with airy dher coupon. Good 4 participating stares. Witold Walczak, director of .::::::,..Isiginimiil'iiiPiltiii.t.:::.i.:.:::4,....iric • n,i,i,:".,Rip., .....,..„ .iiiitt4",Egl:P.l.7frizzga :.......„...........,.........„.„.„„: • •41-411 F....,..„ ~.............5..... ... ••••••:—......,......„...........„ ... . 9 ...................... ......................... ... . ............. ............................ ......•............,......„........ .......,.... ....,,.........,......., , ...v..: ' ... % •• ' . lagifaiiVM% ... . ~,...., 2 . .........:.:'': ''. 4 i tiniii : ”.. . expires 8/31/93 Plus tax. Not mid with any other 111 coupon. Good at participating stores II PaIIIIMIIIMINERIII1111111111.1111111111.• State College 1341 S. Atherton Pittsburgh's ALI I . ,:imptur, said that on some street (awiter.- known lot drug trafficking. "You o€' fair game even it ymi just standing ill front of your hoir;e " The civil rights fo ganriation said it will file ;Itit to Block the ordinance it Hit couiß gi‘ es the measure final apprw, al today. The U.S Surrer Court struck down a previous 2,erierat ion of anti loitering la \;.; in IQOS, said Hobert Teir, general , etin-.el for the American Alliance for Rights 8; Responsibilities. r , -- -- -1 i,,,1 ,( c „, _ -• -..:1-:::-Iye:; -,..!, ,„. 414 et Esoli ") ... chimichanga IN/ purchv of a chimi & two drinks Not valid w any other coupon or cpp , -1,11 Must yeseril , oepon wh«-;, ~rdeorld Expire- Aug 21 149' • 254 E. Beaver Ave. 234-7400 L 234-7272 IMMMM'i
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