Dix Honda owner to sell dealership

Dave Dix struck a deal he can’t turn down — the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group will take over Dix Honda, located at 2796 W. College Ave., in March or April.

The deal is pending approval by Honda, according to Dix, owner of the dealership.

“It’s bittersweet — as I see the days go, I can almost do a countdown,” he said. “I’ll really miss this.”

Dix’s father, George, founded a Cadillac dealership in 1955, making the family a 61-year staple in Centre County’s auto industry.

“I’m 69 years old, and I think it’s time for someone else to do it,” Dix said. “There’s no one in my family that wants to take it over.”

Dix, a flight instructor for about 40 years, plans to increase his his time in the sky, ride motorcycles — he likes to fix up old bikes in his spare time — and cook.

“I don’t appear that way, but I might be an adrenaline junkie,” Dix said. “They aren’t risky things. I don’t look at them as risky things. It keeps one young, so I want to do what I enjoy. And my wife informed me I’ll do my share of cooking, too.”

He thanked the community for its support.

“I do have to say that State College has been very good to us,” Dix said. “We got a good brand that’s suited for a college town. I think the community and I have helped each other. I’ve tried to help with our community’s nonprofits. I’ve donated to them. I’ve been on the Youth Services Bureau board for about 20 years. It goes hand in hand.”

Shaner Italia

Shaner Hotels, based in State College, has acquired the Hotel Universo in Lucca, Italy, in a partnership with Italy’s Marcucci Group.

The two companies, the winning bidders in an auction sale for the property, plan to develop a branded hotel through a $7.8 million restoration and renovation program valued at approximately $7 million euros.

Renovations for the 70-room boutique hotel are expected to be complete in about 12 months.

Shaner Hotels CEO Lance Shaner said in a release the deal is an example of the company’s “growing international expansion efforts of acquiring independent hotels featuring bold originality, rich character and uncommon details.”

Shaner Hotels’ Shaner Italia division and the Marcucci Group are also joint venture partners in the recently upgraded 180-room Renaissance Tuscany Resort and Spa in the Tuscan region of Italy.

Moo program

Penn State Extension, in coordination with the Farm Service Agency, will offer “Keeping your Herd Healthy,” a dairy cow health program, on March 1.

The event will be held from8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sugar Valley Community Volunteer Fire Company at 24 W. Anthony St. in Loganton.

Topics such as environmental and nutritional issues will be covered because they affect the health of dairy cows, milk yields and farm profitability.

Robert J. Van Saun, extension veterinarian and professor of veterinary science, and John Tyson, agricultural engineer and extension educator, will discuss solutions to those challenges. They will put an emphasis on managing grazing herds for parasite control; heat stress effects and prevention; cow health versus cow comfort; and dry cow nutrition.

Registration closes Feb. 26 on extension.psu.edu /clinton/events.

Geisinger discovery

Geisinger Health System’s Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute identified 17 new genes causing autism, intellectual disability/developmental delay, epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Christa Lese Martin, director and senior investigator of ADMI, said in a release that “the identification of new genetic causes of brain disorders, such as autism, is increasing our understanding of their underlying biology which will ultimately lead to targeted therapies. We now know that at least 40-50 percent of brain disorders are caused by a genetic change in a person’s DNA, and studies like ours are adding to this knowledge.”

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 11:54 PM with the headline "Dix Honda owner to sell dealership."