News for 12/6/12

PSU Administrators           12 6 12

 A preliminary hearing that was set for next week for Gary Schultz, Tim Curley and Graham Spanier is on hold as is the jury selection and trial for Curly and Schultz.

 Dauphin County Judge William Wenner delayed the December 13 hearing for the three men until defense motions are resolved and though online documents do not indicate a reason, Judge Todd Hoover postponed Curly and Schultz’s January 7 jury selection and trial.

 One of the unresolved issues in the case includes former Penn State general council Cynthia Baldwin who the defendants believe misrepresented herself as their counsel when they testified to the grand jury. Baldwin argued that she was representing Penn State’s interests and was permitted to hear the grand jury testimony.

 Judge Hoover ordered that prosecutors have 30 days to respond to the issues raised by the defense attorneys in a pre trial motion concerning Baldwin.

Sandusky

 Jerry Sandusky is seeking the return of his forfeited pension.

 According to the Patriot News, in a notice of appeal with the State Employees Retirement System last month, Sandusky said his annual pension of $59,000 was wrongfully forfeited in the wake of his October sentencing for molesting 10 boys.

 The paper says he based his appeal on two major points: That he joined the system in 1969 before the pension forfeiture act was enacted and that he was not an employee of Penn State after 2004 and therefore had no students, when the act was amended to make sex crimes against students a cause for forfeiture.

 In its initial ruling SERS staff held that Sandusky remained a “de facto” employee of the university in the years after his 1999 retirement ultimately putting him in a position to commit the crimes in question.  

Missing Person

 State College police are searching for a missing juvenile.

 14 year old Ryan Scott Williams was last seen on Tuesday night at approximately 10:30 and was discovered missing from his home around 6:30 yesterday morning. He is described as a white male who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and approximately 130 bounds with blue eyes and blond hair.  

 His red BMX bicycle is also missing and police said he may be wearing a black-hooded jacket with “Woodward” lettering.

 If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact State College Police. 

Corbett

 Governor Corbett may know one of his potential challengers in 2014

Citing the governor’s weak leadership, Montgomery County commissioner Bruce Castor is expressing interest in challenging Corbett in the 2014 republican primary election.The two men have a political history together. Castor ran without his party’s support in the 2004 primary for attorney general and lost to Corbett. 

Lottery

 Democrats in the General Assembly want Governor Corbett to halt plans to privatize Pennsylvania Lottery management.

 Democratic lawmakers argue the governor is being too secretive and creating a corporate giveaway for the lone bidder.

 The Corbett administration has been exploring private lottery management as a way to see if a private company can boost lottery revenue for the state’s growing senior population.

Keystone Grants

 Applications are now being accepted for Keystone Historic Preservation Grants.

 The grants are being offered to nonprofit organizations and local governments for projects that identify, preserve and protect historic and archaeological resources.

 The deadline to apply is March 1.