—The Daily Collegian Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1993
Hospital
Continued from Page 1
contract to reduce health insur
ance co-payments to between $l2 and
$9B a month, said Jon Forster, the
union's administrator organizer.
But Forster said union members
are not satisfied with having to make
co-payments.
"The vote was by no means
unanimous," he said, adding it was
only a compromise.
Other issues ratified in the hos
pital's contract are wage increases
and significant pension
improvements, Forster said.
The contract will be retroactive
July 1 of this year and will last two
years, Forster said. Negotiations will
take place before a new contract
begins on June 30, 1995.
Members of the union were also
able to change the hospital's posi
tion on co-payments as of Jan. 1, 1995,
Forster said. The hospital's initial
proposal was to make its workers pay
any health care cost increase. Monday
night the hospital decided to split the
increase evenly with workers, Forster
added.
Renegotiations stemmed from
Tax
Continued from Page 1
another home, or renovating the
current building.
"The constituents that I talked to
wanted to keep it as a community
entity," said Bierly, who voted for
the resolution. Private-pay resi
dents those not subsidized by the
county will force the nursing home
to maintain high standards, he said.
Commissioner Denny Sciabica, who
voted for the resolution, said Centre
Crest has not complied with state
regulations for at least four years,
and the previous board ignored the
Problem.
"This is one of the biggest
problems, and one that's been on the
back burner too long," he said.
Sciabica said he is concerned about
the growth of Centre County's elderly
population and the problems of
current residents who are county
subsidized.
He said that by making an
unpopular decision he is looking
beyond future election campaigns
and doing now what needs to be done.
But Wedler said she believes her
two colleagues made up their minds
on this issue a long time ago and were
not interested in her alternatives.
Wedler called the vote premature.
"The Collegian didn't make me a better
It made me a
If you wanted to learn how to sing well, you wouldn't
just take classes in music theory, you would join a choir.
Diane Nottle supplemented her journalism education at Penn
State with hands-on experience at The Daily Collegian, as did
several of her colleagues at the New York Times. She started
as a reporter at the Collegian and rose to the rank of editor in
chief by the time she graduated in 1975.
The Daily Collegian is one of the loudest choirs at Penn
State. If you want to add your voice to ours, we are looking
for students who have a flair for writing and the kind of
confidence it takes to interview students, faculty and
administrators. We encourage freshmen and sophomores to
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bring a blue examination book and a pencil):
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James Building, 123 S. Burrowes St.
• 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, at The Daily Collegian,
James Building, 123 S. Burrowes St.
Questions about the tryout? Can't make it to one of the
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at 865-1828.
daily the Collegian
• 123 5865-1828 Burrowes St •
... your student newspaper
"The hospital was at a
point to where it
wanted to settle."
Jon Forster
union administrator organizer
union efforts to make the hospi
tal's board of trustees aware of its
stance, Forster said.
"The hospital was at a point to
where it wanted to settle," he said.
Members of the union made several
attempts last week to voice their
protests to the hospital as well as the
community. Workers picketed out
side the medical office of Dr. Do
nald F. Mandetta, a hospital trustee.
They also protested in front of trustee
chairman David Lee's home. And a
candlelight vigil was held outside the
hospital.
"I think we were doing a fairly
effective job in getting the mes
sage out to the community," Forster
said.
She said a better alternative would
have been to talk to a non-profit social
ministry planning to build a new
nursing home facility in Pleasant Gap.
A public/private partnership could
have been worked out that would
have been less expensive than
renovating, she said.
"We should not be competing with
the private sector," she said, ref
erring to Centre Crest's tax-exempt
status.
Sciabica said that the issue has
been talked about for too long.
"(Wedler) has been wanting to
study for a long time. How long can
you wait?" he said. "At some point,
somebody has to say, 'Let's straighten
things up.' "
The reassessment project will
attempt to make property taxes
equitable throughout the county, said
Spicher.
The computers and technology
project will modernize outdated
computer systems for many coun
ty offices, Bierly said. A local data
systems agency will coordinate the
county computer systems, he said.
The 911 project will bring
emergency 911 service to the entire
county, Spicher said.
Diane Nottle, copy editor, New York Times
Shipwrecked
The German submarine U-534, sunk by British forces in 1945, is boat, salvaged from the seabed Monday, is scheduled to become the
suspended above sea level near the Danish island of Anholt. The U- centerpiece of a Danish museum.
Center
Continued from Page 1
versity development. "(We raised)
$22 million and some change."
The lowest contractor bid for the
on-site construction of the center was
nearly $56 million about $ll million
over budget. The decision to reject
all bids was made in hopes of
lowering the projected costs for the
arena.
McKinnon said the general services
department and the University are
doing whatever possible to bring the
project's costs down. Although a size
decrease for the center is not an
option, he said, structural changes
may be made.
journalist, period."
"We're working with DGS and the
architects to identify things that can
be taken out of the project,"
McKinnon said.
For example, a larger-sized brick
may be used to reduce labor costs
the larger bricks will enable the
construction crew to cut construc
tion time. Another option to reduce
costs, McKinnon said, is to place the
steam lines in insulated jackets and
lay them in the ground instead of
running them through the building.
Groves said although there are a
lot of priorities at the University, it
Will do whatever is necessary to
complete the center.
Mars
Continued from Page 1.
"We're not giving up, and I need
to emphasize that point strongly,"
he said earlier. "We are not giving
up."
Engineers had insisted they were
confident that the spacecraft even
if unheard from would execute
automatic computer commands, fire
its thrusters at 1:24 p.m. PDT yes
terday, start orbiting Mars, then radio
Earth.
The earliest possible signal was
expected at 2:44 p.m. But that time
passed and there was still no sig
nal.
If the spacecraft hasn't received
any of the commands sent to it in
recent days, it should automatical
ly start another computer program
and try to contact Earth this
afternoon, Cunningham said.
If the craft orbited Mars, it could
stay safe for weeks while engi
neers tried to regain contact, but "if
we don't get it toward the end of the
week, then the hope is going to
become, well, really, hope," Albee
said.
The spacecraft fell silent Satur
day as it was carrying out com
mands.
journalist.
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