Our View

Snow shows local spirit

Whenever snow falls in Centre County during October, it’s not good news for most. The early change in the weather interrupts outdoor activities, halts landscape cleanup and destroys fall foliage.

While the recent snowstorm was one for the record books, not even heavy precipitation or toppled power lines could dampen the Happy Valley spirit of community cooperation.

Local residents, work crews, volunteers and community service organizations did what they do best: pulled together to make the best of a bad situation.

More than 27,500 households and businesses in Pennsylvania were without power during the storm and approximately 22,000 of them were located in the Centre Region. Kudos to Allegheny Power for bringing additional personnel to the area, who worked diligently to restore power to homes and businesses in State College, Port Matilda, Centre Hall and Spring Mills.

Thanks to the swift response of Salvation Army and Red Cross volunteers, residents could find warm shelter and a hot meal at the Park Forest Elementary School within hours after the power outages began.

And a debt of gratitude must be paid to all the volunteers who helped to make Penn State’s homecoming a success in the face of a challenging weather event.

No matter where you choose to live, there are issues of bad news and good, many beyond your control.

And while the list of advantages to living in a major metropolitan area is long, few of them outweigh the “spirit of togetherness” that can be found here in Centre County.