—The Daily Collegian Wednesday, March 13, 1996 DA position voted By JIM KINNEY Collegian Staff Writer The Centre County commission ers voted unanimously yesterday to make the district attorney posi tion full time. Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar said he has lobbied for the change since he took the posi tion 10 years ago not for himself, but his successor. “The reality is, for the last 10 years, I have been full time,” he said. “Any person who takes this job alter me would probably join a law firm and not spend as much time with the office.” In agreement, Centre County Commissioner Keith Bierly said growth and an accompanying rise in crime have made a full-time dis trict attorney a necessity. “I think it’s the single greatest In College Heights, safety concerns overshadow convenience By JENNIFER NEJMAN Collegian Staff Writer Residents of the College Heights neighbor hood say they are willing to sacrifice conve nience to create a safer environment in their neighborhood with less traffic. An ordinance enacted by the State College Borough Council last month includes installa tion of traffic diverters in order to reduce the flow of heavy traffic through the neighborhood. “A lot of people use (Cherry Lane) as a speed way,” said Laura Getty (graduate-comparative literature). Getty often visits her friend who lives on West Cherry Lane and said she has noticed the traffic problem. Among the modifications included in the ordi nance is the installation of diverters at the intersections of Thomas Street and Mitchell Avenue and at North Allen Street and Adams Avenue for a trial period. Due to the installation of the diverters, the Center Area Transportation Authority is modi fying its bus route to bypass part of the East Ore there guerilla girls in our midst? Ask Anne Demo on March 15 and 16 at the Graduate Research Exhibition. "We didn't need a full time DA to have a great DA. We already had a great DA." Thomas Kistler local attorney improvement in law enforcement in the last 25 years in this county,” he said. “I think the victims of crime deserve a full-time chief law enforcement officer for the coun ty.” Some say a full-time prosecutor may not be warranted. Attorney Thomas Kistler, 1500 S. Atherton St., said the move is a reaction to a recent rash of violent crimes in the county. “I’m not sure that making the DA College Heights neighborhood, which borders the north side of the campus. Eric Bernier, director of service development for CATA, said the diverters would force the buses to detour to North Atherton Street and Park Avenue, eliminating the bus service on Cherry Lane, east of North Atherton Street. “Our surveys showed the option we chose will effect seven percent of our ridership,” Bernier said. He said the new route will give residents of the College Heights neighborhood two options: cross North Atherton Street and use the bus stops located there, or walk to their des tination. “Probably half of the people who currently ride will walk out (to North Atherton Street) and the other half will walk,” Bernier said. Because of the neighborhood’s proximity to campus, many of the residents said, they will not be adversely affected by the rerouting of the bus service. Laura Macy of 864 N. Allen St. said she sup ports the traffic diverters despite the loss of easy bus access. Macy said that although she full time full time will solve the problem, but it will not have any negative effects,” he said. Kistler said most counties have part-time district attorneys. “Really, what we had is what most of the counties our size has,” he said. Bierly said that Centre County is the third county of population class in the state to create a full-time position. Kistler said he has been satisfied with Gricar’s performance even as a part timer. “We didn’t need a full-time DA to have a great DA. We already had a McCormick said Gricar’s lobby great DA,” he said. j ng f or the full-time position, which Attorney Reed McCormick, 1500 will raise the annual salary of the S. Atherton St., said the full-time district attorney from $51,000 to district attorney is completely $102,000, is unseemly, unnecessary. “DA’s been begging for this for “It’s not warranted for this DA,” years,” he said. “I guess they he said. couldn’t resist the begging.” l*aaa State SubShups l I Bagel Wednesday \ Buy any Bagel Sandwich I Receive Another Bagel Sandwich I FREE . I WITH THIS VALUABLE COUPON I ONE PER PERSON 1 I Free Delivery 234-4782 \ | Also good at locations 3& 5 234-7000 and 359-3344 I Ray Gricar becomes full-time district attorney does not ride the bus often, she will not mind crossing North Atherton Street to use the bus stops located there. However, some residents said they will not cross North Atherton Street. Alex Caterson (freshman-history) of 116 E. Cherry Lane said he does not ride the bus often but he would not try to cross North Atherton Street at 8 a.m. Caterson said he does see advantages to the diverters such as a reduction of traffic and a safer environment for the neighborhood children. Caterson said the traffic in the neighborhood is so heavy during the early evening hours that it is difficult to pull out of a driveway. But installation of the diverters will create other problems in the neighborhood. CATA is not the only service that will have to altar its route because of the traffic diverters. Dave Rogus, a mail carrier, said he may have to change his delivery pattern. “I think all they’re doing is taking the prob lem in one area and pushing it two blocks," Rogus said. New publication aids sexual assault victims By VALERIE MANNS Collegian Science Writer A new publication may give fac ulty and staff members more help ful information to aid sexual assault victims. “The (Sexual Assault) Protocol has a lot of information about dif ferent resources that are avail able,” said Dr. Margaret Spear, director of University Health Ser vices. The publication will not offer any new information, but will put all important facts together to help faculty and staff better aid students, she said. The protocol provides informa tion about where to get medical examinations, how to contact crisis counseling services and when it is advisable to report an assault. Three committees worked together to create the protocol. Members were selected from Uni versity Police Services, the Office of Student Affairs, the Center For Women Students and other organi zations involved with providing student services. Spear said the committees hope the document will get more infor mation out to faculty and students who need it. v The new protocol may also allow victims to feel more comfortable approaching the proper authorities, said Amanda Collings, graduate assistant at the Center for Women Students. Currently, only 10 per cent of rapes are reported to the proper authority. Since 1991, reported incidences of sexual assault on campus have decreased from six cases to zero cases in 1994, Collings said. The statistic does not necessarily mean the number of victims has gone down, but it may mean that less HV MfOl mIL RESTAURANT & LOUNGE V u.m,. 1521 Martin Street 237-8833 KARAOKE * 150 Wings __ * _MGD Draft Feature l Inside Northland Bowl, Behind Giant victims are reporting their inci dences, she added. Spear said the new protocol may help more students get the support they need and she said she hopes students at the Commonwealth Campuses will get the same infor mation. "We made the protocol available to the campuses on disk,” Spear said. A campus can replace specif ic University Park information such as phone numbers and loca tions of offices with that campus’ information and print their own versions, she added. But Patty Johnstone, assistant director of the Center for Women Students at University Park, said offering help after a victim has been assaulted is not enough. Another important part of the equation when dealing with sexual assault is getting out preventative information, she said. "One of the things that (the Cen ter For Women Students) has been doing for three years is giving pro grams at the Freshman Testing, Counseling and Advising Pro gram,” Johnstone said. The pro grams are important because some of the research done on campus has shown that the average age of victims is 18'A the age of many freshman students. Other programs include Resi dence Life presentations held once a month dealing with sexual assault and women’s issues, and programs in sororities and fraternities. But Johnstone said the new pro tocol will aid sexual assault victims even after they have been exposed to preventative programs. “For me, (the protocol) is really to ensure that a student who comes forward almost anywhere on cam pus can get help,” she said.
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