Woman accused of giving drugs to inmate

21/05/2010
Source: centredaily

A McKees Rocks woman was arrested Thursday afternoon at Rockview state prison after police said they caught her passing a balloon filled with marijuana to an inmate she was visiting.

Police said after Cherish L. Harris was caught, they found out she had done this in the past successfully. More charges are expected.

PSU biologist honored by National Geographic

Beth Shapiro, a molecular biologist at Penn State, has been named one of 14 “Emerging Explorers” by the National Geographic Society.

The June 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine will feature Shapiro and the other explorers. Shapiro studies species’ DNA samples at different points in time to understand how evolution occurred over time. She compares those changes with environmental changes occurring at the same time.

“We can pinpoint when a species’ genetic diversity changed and see if that change may have been influenced by a specific event such as a new predator or a shift in climate,” she said.

The Shaffer Career Development Assistant Professor of Biology at Penn State, Shapiro received a MacArthur Fellowship and a Searle Scholar Award in 2009.

Hargitay, PSU officials view documentary

Actress Mariska Hargitay, of “Law & Order: SVU,” and officials from Penn State and other institutions gathered Tuesday in Washington, D.C., for the premiere of a Penn State Public Broadcasting documentary about domestic violence.

“Telling Amy’s Story” focuses on Amy Homan McGee, a mother whose husband shot and killed her. State College Detective Deirdri Fishel tells much of the story, which will begin airing June 1 on PBS stations.

The project received support from a $385,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to Penn State to fund a domestic violence prevention training program.

Festival for peace to be held in Boalsburg

A Boalsburg chiropractor is inviting the public to his festival for peace on Saturday.

The first Peace Celebration, organized by Dr. Matthew Hertert, will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at his practice, Centre Chiropractic, at 128 E. Boal Ave. Hertert said the free event was inspired by a quote from Mother Teresa: “I was once asked why I don’t participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.”

Speakers from community groups will address different forms of peace — in the world, in the family, in the environment and within people. In addition, there will be food, live music and the planting of a Peace Pole on the site.

Peace Poles — posts bearing the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” — are part of a global effort called the Peace Pole Project. Since its start in Japan in 1955, more than 200,000 monuments have been installed, including at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Magnetic North Pole in Canada and the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Hertert said several poles already stand locally, among them one on the Penn State campus and another at the State College Friends School. At the Peace Celebration, attendees will have the chance to place notes with thoughts and prayers on the pole.

Parking is free at the Boalsburg Fire Hall, on Pine Street behind Hertert’s practice. For more information, call 466- 2000. Visit www.peacepoleproject.com to learn more.