On Topic

Brynn Rousselin discusses how Penn State OLLI brings lifelong learners together through education, travel, and community engagement By Mark Brackenbury Brynn Rousselin began her tenure as executive director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State in late 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic sent everyone home. Not an ideal time…

Centre County coroner reflects on the change, challenges, and commitment to families As Centre County Coroner Scott A. Sayers discusses the work of his office one morning in April, he excuses himself to take a phone call. A deputy is calling about a death in a residence, the third such case in the past 90…

Cynthia Hahn calls the organization a “small but mighty” operation C-NET (Centre Network), with four full-time and three part-time employees plus interns from Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications, produces and broadcasts about 520 government and educational programs annually in Centre County. From gavel-to-gavel coverage of local government meetings to interviews with political candidates, educational…

Jason Dambach has made his shop a community gathering place for sports card collectors who love the thrill of the chase The sight of a 1983 Topps baseball card takes Jason Dambach back to his childhood in Punxsutawney. “My grandfather worked in a grocery warehouse and they sold baseball and football cards for Topps and…

How the Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation is rebuilding spaces, community pride, and a long-term vision for the borough The Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation is progressing in its vision for what a renewed downtown can look like, and part of its strategy involves opening eyes to the possibilities — outside the community and within. “We have a generation…

t When Ferguson Township Police Sergeant Ryan Hendrick was honored as the Centre County Crisis Intervention Team’s officer of the year in 2018, a familiar face who showed up at the ceremony gave him pause. “I thought, ‘This isn’t going to be good,’” Hendrick recalls. But that moment proved meaningful for all the right reasons.…

When the Rev. Jeremy Richards was looking for a new ministry last year, the University Baptist and Brethren Church in State College stood out. But there was an obstacle. A 2,700-mile-wide obstacle. Richards and his family were living in Oregon and love the Pacific Northwest. “I came across the church’s profile in February of 2024,”…

Christy Shields turned a childhood fear of thunderstorms into a passion for understanding the science behind the weather. Now she works to spark that excitement in other young people. “I was afraid of thunderstorms growing up as a kid to the point where I annoyed my parents because all I watched was the Weather Channel.…

Rick Jacobs was taking a walk in Bellefonte’s Talleyrand Park during the COVID lockdown of 2020 when he bumped into an old buddy, then-mayor Tom Wilson. “He stopped me and said, ‘I need your help.’ He is a musician and he loves live music. … So, he said, ‘I have a friend [Tom Bathgate], I…