I MONDAY, OCT. 4, 2010
Kelsey Moms! Collegian
Wasil Wahi (freshman-physics) and Nick Stanisha (freshman-physics) battle each other ma game of Rock Band at the
Garners Arena, 421 E. Calder Way. Gamer's Arena held its Grand Opening Party on Friday.
Grand opening draws garners
By Zach Geiger
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Gunfire, roaring football fans and
Metallica riffs blasted throughout
Calder Way during the grand opening
celebration of State College's newest
video game store, Garners Arena.
Friday's all-day event at the store's
421 E. Calder Way location had
garners of all ages battling it out in
video games like "Halo: Reach" and
"Madden NFL 2011."
Radio station 894.5 was on hand
from 6 to 8 p.m. broadcasting live, as
well as challenging garners to come
down to the store and take on the
competition.
The event remained packed
throughout the evening. drawing
everyone from Penn State students
to small children and their parents.
"It's pretty amazing," storeowner
Jeremy Gibson said. "There's a lot
more people than I expected."
One of the store's employees
Solar panels reduce costs for Pa. residents
By Matt Morgan
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
Jo-Ann Dreibelbis has had her
solar panels turned on since April
and her electric bill has been $0 ever
since. "I love it," said Dreibelbis, a
resident of Pennsylvania Rirnace, Pa.
"It's quiet And I don't even think it
looks bad."
Dreibelbis's residence was just one
of the seven stops on the inaugural
State College Solar Tour held on
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sponsored by the Penn State Chapter
of the American Solar Energy Society
(ASES), the tour was an effort to
expose people to feasible alternative
energy options.
Don and Delores Breon of State
College also activated their system in
April and didn't have to pay electricity
bills for the duration of the summer.
"You can't hardly go wrong with
this," Don Breon said. "We have
already seen positive results and we
are very happy"
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remained undefeated in "Guitar
Hero" for the entire night. 894.5 let
listeners know about the challenge to
dethrone the champion where
garners could win a $lO gift card, a
free Garners Arena T-shirt and free
entry to a future video game tourna
ment hosted by the store.
John Thompson (freshman-mathe
matics) won a free T-shirt after near
ly beating the Guitar Hero champion.
After seeing an advertisement for
the store, Thompson said he decided
to come downtown and check out the
event. Though he didn't win the com
petition, Thompson said he enjoyed
participating and was glad he didn't
have to walk away empty-handed.
like playing that game." he said.
- The shirt was an added bonus."
All three of Garners Arena's televi
sions were constantly in use through
out the night, with people waiting for
their chance to play.
James Murphy (junior-civil engi
neering) visited Garners Arena for
On average, the solar panels cost
about $50,000, but government incen
tives to use alternative energy ulti
mately make the systems more
affordable, Dreibelbis said.
The Pennsylvania Sunshine Grant
will pay for about one third of the cost
of her solar panels, she said, and she
will receive a 30 percent federal tax
rebate. With the combination of
rebates and the reduction in electric
ity costs, most residents estimate
that the system will pay for itself with
in five to eight years.
"You don't usually find something
that pays for itself that quickly"
Delores Breon said.
Tour participant Charith
Tammineedi (graduate-energy and
mineral engineering) was excited
about the day's events because he
has an interest in solar energy.
Lucas Witmer, president of the
Penn State Chapter of ASES, was
also pleased with the results of the
tour. "I think it went fabulously. It was
terrific," Witmer (graduate-energy
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the first time on Friday
"It's a pretty nice looking
Murphy said. "I like the fact that they
have the radio station out here.-
Murphy and Chris Holland (junior
mechanical engineering) both said
they wouldn't come to the store for
video game competitions, but they
would consider renting games. based
on the store's array of options.
"I'd be lucky to get a kill lin a tour
nament,]" Holland said. "But if they
have a good selection for renting, I'd
come in."
About six people signed up on
Friday for different video game tour
naments the store plans to host in the
future, Gibson said.
But the overall turnout at the
grand opening 30 to 40 people
was a pleasant surprise, he said.
"It was a success, absolutely.'
Gibson said. "894.5 did a good job
too. We're really happy with them."
"We have already seen
positive results and we
are very happy"
and mineral engineering) said.
"There was great support from the
community and a great student
turnout. We all learned a lot about
solar systems."
Witmer also said the enthusiasm of
the local residents made the tour a
positive experience for everyone
involved. "I didn't know what to
expect, but the homeowners were
welcoming and terrific," he said.
But for people who are hesitant to
break their traditional energy usage
habits and convert their homes to
solar energy, State College resident
Sylvia Feldman has some advice.
"Do it and do it now" she said
"Don't wait."
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2008 Cartridge World. All r . .hts reserved
To e-mail reporter: zjgsol2@psu.edu
Don Breon
State College resident
9/11 widow
finds faith
By Katrina Wehr
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Cheryl McGuinness bid farewell to her husband Tom as
he went off to his job as an American Airlines pilot on the
morning of Sept. 11, 2001, not knowing it
would be the last time she'd ever see him.
McGuinness shared her story of that
day on Friday night at Bellefonte High
School, 830 E. Bishop St., with an audi
ence of military veterans, community
members and high school students.
The program began by honoring each
branch of the military with its respective
anthem, followed by a slideshow of the McGuinness
destruction at the crash sites, including
Ground Zero, Shanksville, Pa., and the Pentagon.
When McGuiness took the microphone, she said
despite all the horror of Sept. 11, she still managed to see
the "Beauty Beyond The Ashes." She founded a ministry
and wrote a book of that title to share what she learned
about faith through the experience of grieving her hus
band's death.
First Officer Tom McGuinness co-piloted American
Airlines Flight 11 alongside Captain John Ogonowski and
nine flight attendants, according to a 9 11 Commission
report
The flight had its last communication with the ground at
8:14 am., and about a half hour later the plane made
impact with the North Tower of the World Trade Center,
killing the entire crew and all 81 passengers on board,
according to the report.
"It has been quite a journey out of the ashes of Sept. 11,"
McGuinness said. "At times, it seems there's no end to the
human suffering we can experience."
She said she remembers the details of that morning
clearly, as she sat on her deck in New Hampshire near the
shore right up to the instant when she heard her hus
band, was missing. Her children were in grade school at
the time and she answered the telephone to one of her
friends asking if Tom was at home. When McGuinness
said Tom was at work, her friend told her some planes had
been hijacked and she rushed over to comfort her.
"I remember thinking, 'This is America, that doesn't
happen here, — McGuinness said.
Later that day, after watching hours of news reports
with friends and neighbors, McGuinness said she saw a
black car parked at the bottom of her driveway. Three men
got out and came to the front door. one of them the chief
pilot of American Airlines.
They told her American 11 had not only been hijacked,
but flown deliberately into the North Tower of the World
Trade Center there were no survivors.
McGuinness met her husband when she was 16. They
were the definition of high school sweethearts, she said,
and married shortly after she graduated from college.
They had celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary only
weeks before Sept. 11.
"I never imagined that my peaceful life would be shat
tered," she said.
She imagined she would live the rest of her life in
despair and anguish after the attacks, but after a while
McGuinness said she found a way to heal through religion.
"My story is not what happened just on that day," she
said, "but what God has done with my life since."
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
To e-mail reporter: kmws34o@psu.edu