subscriber services
Web search
powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
Sunny
42° Sunny, High 65°, Low 45°
  • reprint or license
  • Print
  • Bookmark and Share
Tuesday, May. 19, 2009
Comments (0)

Milesburg man is fixture on election day

- adanahy@centredaily.com

At two elections a year, every year, since 1959, Jerry Halderman is closing in on his 100th.

CDT file photo

Jerry Halderman has helped county elections officials organize supplies for every primary and general election since 1959.

View larger

Maybe then he’ll consider full retirement. But for now, at election No. 99, Halderman has no plans to stop his work helping the Centre County Elections Office make sure the primary gets off to a smooth start by getting the poll workers supplies organized, packed and ready for the elections.

“I wanted to get to 100 and then maybe retire,” he said. “I never missed an election night.”

That includes every primary and general election since he started working for the county. Never mind that he retired from his job with the county in 2002 or had a heart attack and surgery in February this year.

“I missed being around the people more than anything,” Halderman, 67, said.

Plus, as someone who likes to help out, he didn’t want to leave his election colleagues hanging. There have been a couple times he wasn’t feeling very good on an election day, but decided against taking a day off.

“I thought, boy, I better get in there, nobody else is going to know how to do that,” he said.

Halderman, who lives in the Milesburg area with his wife, Judy, said the most interesting part of the job has been meeting all the people he’s come across over the years. He’s been in the county Willowbank Building getting ready for today’s election for about two weeks, getting the supplies for the county’s 89 voting precincts in order.

Elections Director Joyce Mc- Kinley said Halderman has gone through the process so many times that he knows exactly what the precincts need to receive and makes sure everything is ready to go.

“With his background, knowledge and experience with the

election process, it certainly makes it run smoother,” McKinley said.

He’s developed a system for making sure the voting supplies —from provisional ballots to “I voted” stickers — are packed and the boxes are labeled, so each goes to the correct precinct.

At about 8 p.m. today, he’ll be back in Willowbank Building waiting for the results to start coming in. That’s when he’ll make sure everything is returned to its place.

“We have a system worked out,” Halderman said.

The night usually ends about midnight — earlier than in past years when the county used paper punch-card ballots. The current system has paper ballots, but voters feed them into counting machines that tabulate the results, speeding the process.

Also gone are the old wooden voting booths and big metal ballot boxes of past years.

“The ballot box was so heavy it took two people to lift it,” Halderman said.

For 48 years, he actually delivered the voting supplies to the precincts too, until his health would no longer allow such heavy lifting.

“Some of them are still voting in the same place they did 50 years ago,” he said.

Anne Danahy can be reached at 231-4648.

Comments

See more jobs at CareerBuilder.com

2007 Nissan Pathfinder SE

Super Black color, 50433 miles, $19,653
StateCollegeMotors.com

2002 Suzuki Vitara JLX

Ivy Green Metallic color, 130635 miles, $5,987
StateCollegeMotors.com

2008 Honda Element EX

Blue color, 17481 miles
Five Star Suzuki

2008 Suzuki Forenza

Black color, 59 miles
Five Star Suzuki

2008 Hyundai Elantra GLS

Beige color, 6732 miles, $13,990
StateCollegeMotors.com

2008 Suzuki Forenza

Gold color, 66 miles
Five Star Suzuki

2007 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE

Grey color, 12744 miles
Five Star Suzuki

2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara Luxury

Garnet Red color, 19579 miles
Five Star Suzuki

2008 Scion tC

Super White color, 40019 miles, $14,466
StateCollegeMotors.com

2009 Nissan Pathfinder SE

Super Black color, 22640 miles, $28,983
StateCollegeMotors.com
powered by

495 Valley View Rd.

$189,000 Bellefonte
Charming victorian style home. Hardwood floors throughout. All new double hung windows. Shed and workshop...

731 14th St. W.

$250,000 Tyrone
Well maintained commercial building located on the tyrone borough/synder township line. No zoning restrictions...

361 Selders Cir.

$179,900 State College
This clean, bright, cheery home has a lot to offer. Located on a cul-de-sac with nicely landscaped yard...

113 Alma Mater Dr.

$180,900 State College
Beautiful condominium unit located at the village at penn state. Live 1. 5 miles from penn state university...

209-211 Presqueisle St.

$75,000 Philipsburg
Awesome investment opportunity. 3 units/1 office space all currently rented on one-year leases. Unit...

Lot 525 Old Route 220

$74,900 Milesburg
Building lot. Garage will be torn down and new surveyed lot will be ready for building with new deed...

309 Hazel St.

$79,900 Milesburg
Perfect for first time home buyer or as an investment property. This 2 bedroom 1 bath home is full of...

1923 Park Forest Avenue

$250,000 State College
Charming ranch home located in park forest. This home includes remodeled kitchen and den/office with...

1179 Blue Spruce Rd.

$109,900 Philipsburg
200 amp in shop, separate, 100 amp service in offices. Building is in excellent condition. Main shop...

126 Barnard St. N.

$1,550,000 State College
2 buildings on property, first building up front - 3 story building permit for 11, currently leased...

Box 177 Grazierville Rd.

$125,000 Tyrone
Being sold as-is. Property consists of 3 buildings on 16 +/- acres. Buildings are in need of a lot of...

11 Addition Ln.

$379,000 Pottersdale
Noisy neighbors no more. Solitude at last! comfortable 3 bedroom, 2. 5 bath custom homes sits on 42+...

0 Hartman Rd.

$200,000 West Decatur
86. 591 acres located in boggs township in west decatur bordering hartman road route 970. Owner to retain...

11 Kolesar Ln.

$199,900 Mill Hall
Terrific ranch style home built in 2003, situated on almost an acre lot with east access to interstate...

911 Tyrone Pike

$595,000 Philipsburg
22 minutes from beaver stadium! large southern plantation styled estate with hand-made south carolina...

4102 Penns Valley Rd.

$89,000 Spring Mills
This perfectly charming older home has been handled and maintained with true tlc! recently painted,...

202 E. Beaver St.

$52,000 Philipsburg
Live in this 2 bedroom, 1 bath spacious first floor apartment while you collect rent for the 2nd floor...

1272 Pine Cir.

$245,900 Bellefonte
Two story in parkview heights ready to move in. This four bedroom, 2. 5 bath has plenty of room and...

721 Linnet Ln.

$234,000 State College
Well maintained one owner home adjacent to neighborhood park. Just seconds to the bike path and just...

On Hartline Rd.

$20,000 Clarence
Wooded lots. Choose your builder. No covenants on lots. Hartline road goes to fish hatcheries, great...

1 Frazier St.

$34,900 Millheim
Get away from the hub-bub of town to the relaxed paced living of the outskirts of centre county. Close...

2036 Oak Ln. N.

$189,000 State College
Tired of the same old floor plans? Visit this captivating contemporary with a first floor master. Lower...

1102 Decker Valley Rd.

$297,000 Spring Mills
Private escape! city congestion is far behind when you spend time on 58 restful acres. Located half...

607 Spruce St. E.

$69,900 Philipsburg
A good deal more for a good deal less. Super loveable 4 bdrm, 1. 5 bath home in philipsburg offers a...

2216 Zion Rd.

$134,900 Bellefonte
Great view and locations. Minutes from i-99 and state college. Home features open floor plan. Lodge...
powered by
powered by