The Centre Files
Bungling burglers
Thieves broke into Burkholder's Country Market near Millheim on Saturday night by entering through a hole cut in the roof. Once inside, they tried to open but only damaged a locked safe. Then they took off with whatever loose cash they could grab. We're not talking caper of the century...
The Centre Files
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THE CENTRE FILES
Ping, crunch go the acorns
I hear them at night. Ping. I hear them under my feet. Crunch. The acorns have been falling like hail for weeks now from the oaks towering over my house. They ricochet off the cars, striking sharp metallic notes. They have carpeted my yards so that walking across them is like stepping on marbles.
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THE CENTRE FILES
Street theater
On the way to work the other morning, I witnessed a bit of street theater. Waiting to turn from Clearview Avenue onto Waddle Road, I watched the young driver across the intersection suddenly jump out of his car, dash to the car behind him and lift both windshield wipers so that they pointed skyward...
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THE CENTRE FILES
Wake up, wake up
Summer may have a few official weeks left, but, really, it ended this morning when the school bus arrived. Thinking about today, I figured my two sons would have to be dragged out of bed. After all, for weeks they've been staying up late and sleeping in, worn...
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THE CENTRE FILES
Lettuce give thanks
One of the things my wife and I like about being in the community garden at Tudek Park, other than fresh vegetables, is the camaraderie. We're in our second season with a double plot beside one of the water hoses. Consequently, we end up chatting a lot. Gardening becomes a universal language, bringing...
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THE CENTRE FILES
School's out; summer's in
I remember the magical feeling. School has just let out for the summer, and months of freedom stretch ahead, starting with the first night. I relived the excitement the other day watching my two sons celebrate. Late into the night, they watched movies and slurped ice cream, allowed to stay way past...
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THE CENTRE FILES
Pie-eyed on pizza
I saw the new restaurant on South Atherton Street and thought: Halleluiah! A new pizza joint! Never mind a real Greek place. Forget about a New York deli. What this town needed was another pepperoni purveyor. With the university's record population, our local pizza...
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THE CENTRE FILES
Seasonal delights
You'd never know it from the humid, overcast weather, but today ushered in autumn. That got me thinking about a few of my favorite fall things. I'm looking forward to bins of crisp local apples, apple cider oatmeal, apple pie, all things apple really.
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THE CENTRE FILES
A squirrelly plan
Here they come, the first waves of the flood. Stepping on my porch the other morning, I glanced at my front lawn, already sprinkled with brown oak leaves. Some fluttered down as I stood there. I live in a shady neighborhood, where raking will be a constant chore until Thanksgiving. Sometimes, it...
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THE CENTRE FILES
Madeira on the mike
Mike Madeira surprised me when I saw him recently. He stood in front of the Centre County Courthouse, like me attending a ceremony honoring law enforcement officers killed nationwide last year in the line of duty. Without a program, I figured the county's district...
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THE CENTRE FILES
Cream of the crop
Cream rises to the top, and so do talented young dairy farmers. Two local students — Isaac Haagen, who lives near Howard, and Derek Wasson, of Centre Hall — are among the eight finalists recently announced in the Holstein Association USA Youth ...


