SPORTS
Tiger Woods: Fallen
hero, crippled star,
and now a Masters
champ again 1B
VOLUME 131, No. 4
STAY CONNECTED CENTREDAILY.COM
Federal investigation
into AccuWeather finds
‘pervasive’ harassment
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
A federal investigation into a
company run by one of President
Donald Trump’s nominees to
head a prominent federal agency
WHEN THE ‘HOMEWORK
GAP’ HITS HOME
How rural Pa. students learn with limited broadband
Logan Snyder, a junior at Penns Valley High, tries to load his school email and assignments from his home in Madisonburg on March 19. Snyder’s
family uses a cellular data hotspot for their internet connection, which makes doing schoolwork, especially with videos, nearly impossible.
BY SARAH PAEZ
spaez@centredaily.com
When many high school stu-
dents get home from after-
school activities, they open their
laptops and start in on the
homework they have due the
next day.
But Logan Snyder, 17, a high
school junior living in rural Ma-
disonburg, has had to travel to
his mom’s office eight miles
away to complete video assign-
ments or sit in McDonald’s to
download online textbooks and
large files he needs for school.
“There’s nothing quick,” he
said of his internet connection at
home. “I can’t just check my
grades quickly. I always have to
check if the internet is on or
good. I can’t check my email as
fast as everyone else.”
RURAL STUDENTS FACE
THE ‘HOMEWORK GAP’
Snyder is one of almost
CUSTOMER SERVICE
To subscribe or report delivery issues,
888-237-3801 or centredaily.com/customer-service
FACEBOOK.COM/CENTREDAILY NEWS ALL DAY.
TWITTER.COM/CENTREDAILY YOUR WAY.
found a “severe and pervasive” utives and that women who com-
culture of sexual harassment. plained feared retaliation. Accu-
The Labor Department report Weather’s chief executive at the
from January 2018 made a harsh time, Barry Myers, has been
assessment of the internal culture nominated by Trump to head the
at AccuWeather, concluding that National Oceanic and Atmo-
multiple sexual harassment spheric Administration.
claims were ignored by exec- A redacted copy of that report
PENNSYLVANIA INFLUENCER PROJECT
MEHDI SALEHI For the CDT
Madisonburg is 22 miles from Penn State’s University Park campus, but
residents face challenges with internet access.
340,000 youths in Pennsylvania study time, in what the Federal
who do not have access to a Communications Commission
reliable broadband connection, calls the “homework gap.”
according to 2010 American Across the United States, se-
Community Survey responses ven in 10 teachers assign home-
through the U.S. Census Bureau. work that requires internet ac-
Slow broadband speeds or non- cess, but one in three house-
existent connections restrict holds does not have access,
these students’ ability to com-
plete assignments or put in extra SEE HOMEWORK GAP, 3A
Advice 5A Horoscope
Classified 5B Lottery
Comics 6B Obituaries
Serving central Pennsylvania and online at www.centredaily.com
SPORTS
Analyzing Penn
State’s Blue-White
Game – the good,
bad and ugly 1B
MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2019
from the Office of Federal Con-
tract Compliance Programs has
now been obtained by The Asso-
ciated Press, providing previously
unreported details on the extent
of the company’s problems.
The investigation claims that
multiple sexual harassment
claims – including several against
a specific “high-profile male
employee”– were ignored and
that the company “was aware of
the sexual harassment but took
no action.”
It also concludes that claims
from the company’s human re-
sources director that they had no
knowledge of the accusations are
“not credible” and that several
female employees say they were
SEE HARASSMENT, 6A
ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com
What are the
biggest hurdles
to providing
rural broadband?
BY SARAH PAEZ
spaez@centredaily.com
Cost is one of the biggest fac-
tors holding back infrastructure
development in rural areas to
provide high-speed internet, ac-
cording to a survey of regional
leaders this month.
Conducted with reader input by
the Centre Daily Times, the sur-
vey found concerns that high cost,
low competition and lack of public
funding in the broadband market
hurt rural consumers. Fourteen
leaders chosen by the CDT re-
ceived the questionnaire, asking
why broadband service is so diffi-
cult to provide in rural areas and
SEE BROADBAND, 3A
5A People 2A
2A Puzzles 5A, 6B
4A Sports 1B
Stray showers
$1 49°/36° See 6A
Getty stock image
FILING DEADLINE
TAXES DUE BY
MIDNIGHT
Taxpayers who haven’t yet
submitted last year’s
return to the IRS have until
midnight tonight to file or
to apply for an extension.
Tip: If you’re filing by
mail, you’ll need an official
postmark with the time.
Check to find out when
your post office closes.
We at the
Centre
Daily Times
are here to
serve you
BY JESSICA MCALLISTER
jmcallister@centredaily.com
In the first months of 2019,
our community has faced
back-to-back tragedies that
rattled our region and left us
all wanting answers. From
January’s shooting massacre
and last month’s mental health
call that left one dead, Centre
Daily Times journalists were
on the scene,
bringing you
updates in real
time, and we’re
still seeking
answers about
how those
events hap-
pened, what Jessica
they mean McAllister
about mental
health, race relations and pub-
lic safety, and how our com-
munity can heal.
As the new editor of the
Centre Daily Times, I want
you to know that we will con-
tinue to dig into these issues
and others that affect your
lives. That’s important to me
as a journalist, and it’s impor-
tant to me as a member of this
community who is raising a
family here.
Monday marks my first day
as executive editor, having
worked closely with Adam
Smeltz. I’m grateful for the
energy Adam brought to our
newsroom and community,
and wish him luck as he and
his wife, Lexi Belculfine, take
on new adventures in Philadel-
phia.
Looking ahead, I don’t have
to tell you about the changes
the CDT and the news indust-
ry as a whole are navigating. I
will tell you what is not chang-
ing: our commitment to hold-
ing leaders and institutions
accountable, to telling you
about projects and plans that
will directly affect your lives,
to breaking news that makes a
concrete and lasting differ-
ence. Faced with the same
challenges as countless other
SEE MCALLISTER, 6A
6 51105 22222 6
MONDAY APRIL 15 2019
CENTREDAILY.COM Cover story 3A

nection using their cellular data
hotspot.
An aspiring college football
player, Snyder said he can’t ac-
cess his Huddle videos — videos
of his plays during football games
and practice — to edit and send
off to colleges for recruiting pur-
poses. For most assignments, he
either has to factor in extra time
or try to download all materials
at school.
“It’s just another thing you
have to think about,” said Snyd-
er.
Ian Dodson, a senior at Penns
Valley, feels the same way. Liv-
ing in Spring Mills, the Dodsons
have switched internet providers
more times than he can count on
one hand. The latest provider
gives them 4 to 5 Mbps internet
speeds — enough for one person
to stream music and browse the
internet.
Dodson was accepted into
Penn State’s engineering pro-
gram to start in fall 2019. He said
he’s looking forward to the faster
ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com internet speeds on campus next
Penns Valley High School senior Ian Dodson pulls up his Google Classroom account from the library of the year.
school on March 25. Though the school gives every student a laptop, internet connections at home vary for Though his parents live just 16
their students. miles from Penn State, Dodson
said he won’t come home every
weekend since he knows much of
FROM PAGE 1A Doing her homework during his college coursework will re-
Ram Time, she said, feels “like quire a high-speed internet con-
Keller said he feels like he has
missed out on some important
learning experiences due to the
poor quality broadband at his
parents’ house.
During the summer, he was
doing research work at Shaver’s
Creek and also taking organic
chemistry online. If he went
straight from work to his parents’
house, he could catch the start of
the livestreamed lecture and
question and answer sessions his
professor hosted.
That is, if the internet cooper-
ated. He tried it twice and the
lecture wouldn’t load, he said.
“I never once that entire sum-
mer got an actual class,” he said.
“I definitely think I could’ve
done better in the class if I was
able to watch and interact with
the professor.”
LOSING THE YOUTH
POPULATION
Reliable internet is a selling
point and often a deciding factor
for people in his generation, said
Keller.
“I grew up (in the Seven Moun-
tains) my entire life. I love where
I live, but to sit back and say
internet wouldn’t be an aspect I’d
be thinking about I’d totally be
lying,” he said. “... When I’m
able to afford to, I’ll most defi-

HOMEWORK GAP I’m rushed sometimes, but you

according to Jessica Rosenwor-
cel, a member of the FCC, who
coined the term “homework gap”
to describe the hardships this
places on some rural students.
“There are 12 million students
in this country in rural and urban
areas that don’t have internet
access at home, and when they
don’t, they don’t do their nightly
school work,” she said.
For Snyder, it means he relies
on the daily 40 minutes allotted
by Penns Valley Area High
School called “Ram Time” to
complete all of his homework.
During Ram Time from 2:35 to
3:15 p.m., Snyder can use the
school’s internet connection,
which he estimates has download
speeds 10 minutes faster than the
one at his house. Students may
use Ram Time to complete
homework, finish in-class assign-
ments or conference with teach-
ers for extra help, said Nate Alth-
ouse, Penns Valley communi-
cations director. Ram Time
wasn’t specifically designed to
give students internet time, since
it has been in place since the
days before Penns Valley issued
computers to every student, he
said.
Deneen Keller, a middle school
learning support teacher in the
Penns Valley district, said that a
“decent amount” of the students
she works with don’t have re-
liable internet at home — in most
cases they are relying on DSL
service, a data hotspot connected
to a cellular network or a parent’s
cellphone data plan.
At Penns Valley, where at least
8% of students have only dial-up
internet access at home, many
teachers don’t assign internet-
based homework. The district’s
handbook suggests that teachers
“adjust assignments and strate-
gies to reflect the limited avail-
ability of broadband access in our
area, (encourage) students to use
the Internet while at school
(when needed) and use the soft-
ware at home to complete their
tasks.”
But in an increasingly digital
world, that’s becoming more
difficult.
An online math practice pro-
gram Keller gives her students,
for example, can be completed
during Ram Time, but “if you
have someone who’s struggling
and needs a bit more practice,
they do end up taking it home,”
Keller said.
And for students who get let
out of school early for sports
games or need to meet with a
teacher during Ram Time, that
40 minutes is not always enough
time, Snyder said. During base-
ball season in the spring, he said,
he leaves school during Ram
Time twice or more a week.
Access to home broadband
provides a measurable difference
in test scores, according to a 2015
study from the National Center
for Education Statistics. On aver-
age, math and reading scores
were almost 20 points higher for
eighth graders in rural areas who
reported having access to in-
ternet at home than those who
did not.
COLLEGE COURSES,
APPLICATIONS RAISE THE
STAKES
Lanna Rummel, a junior at
Penns Valley who lives in the
Seven Mountains area, said she
tries to get all of her homework
done at school because her con-
nection, through Verizon DSL, is
so poor. But at the beginning of
the year, when she was taking
three difficult courses, she
clocked about two hours of
homework each night.
know I feel like all of the stu-
dents kind of feel rushed a lot.”
Rummel, like many other 16-
year-olds, is busy with after-
school activities and a part-time
job. She recalled a time during
her freshman year when, after
getting home from activities at
9:30 p.m., she realized she had a
group project due the next day.
The many tabs she had open
for research slowed her internet
speeds, and her mom was doing
taxes online and couldn’t get off
the internet.
“I just started to cry,” said
Rummel. “I’m like, ‘When am I
going to get this done?’”
Next year, Rummel is taking a
college science class for credit
and applying to colleges. She’s
nervous about how her unreliable
home broadband will affect her
ability to complete assignments.
“I’m very frustrated,” she said.
“Like, I just want (the internet) to
work. You know, these things are
available to us; why aren’t they
working?”
MILES AWAY, WORLDS APART
Amish buggies and rolling
fields are a common sight outside
the Snyders’ home in Madison-
burg. In the summer, the peace-
ful quiet is replaced by the roar-
ing of motorcycles parading
down Route 445, a popular scenic
route that runs right through
town.
A mere 22 miles from Penn
State’s University Park campus,
Madisonburg might as well be a
world away from the campus
where high-speed internet is
standard and fiber-optic internet
is starting to take hold.
If Snyder has a large project
with video or large files to down-
load, he doesn’t even bother
starting it at home, where he’s
constantly arguing with his par-
ents about the best place to stand
in the house to get the best con-
nection.
But for David Keller, the
broadband problems didn’t stop
after he graduated from high
school.
Now a senior at Penn State
Altoona, the Penns Valley gradu-
ate travels roughly 60 miles to
his parents’ house in the Seven
Mountains most weekends to
visit family and help out around
the house.
Penns Valley teacher Deneen
Keller, David’s mom, said their
internet download speeds are
anywhere between 0.5 and 1
Mbps and the upload speed is 0.3
Mbps, according to a recent
broadband test she ran on her
computer.
That doesn’t meet the Penn-
sylvania definition for broadband
(1.5 Mbps download and 128
Kbps upload), let alone the feder-
al definition of 25 Mbps down-
load speed and 3 Mbps upload
speed.
As an environmental studies
major, Keller does research on
amphibians at Shaver’s Creek
Environmental Center and Stone
Valley Forest in Huntingdon
County for school credit. But his
fieldwork involves a significant
amount of data collection, data
sharing and analysis.
“To load very large documents
with tons of data on the internet
speeds we have at home it’s near
impossible,” he said.
He usually does fieldwork on
the weekends and leaves the data
crunching, analysis and sharing
for during the week while he’s on
campus in Altoona — where he
has access to much faster in-
ternet speeds.
Weekends at home, then, are
mostly spent at his sister and her
husband’s house in Centre Hall.
Internet speeds are much faster
there compared with the Seven
Mountains area, and there are
more providers competing to
provide service.
nitely look (for housing) some-
where else.”
Surveys conducted by the
Center for Rural Pennsylvania in
2010 showed that most rural
youth like living in their commu-
nities and believe them to be
good places to raise a family, but
are not optimistic about their
higher education or economic
prospects if they stay, prompting
“out migration.” Although many
respondents said they’d like to
move back eventually, one of
their main requirements to do so
is having reliable internet service,
said Barry Denk, director of the
Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Broadband access also raises
one’s chance of finding employ-
ment, according to a 2016 brief
from the Council of Economic
Advisors. Research has shown
that applying to jobs online leads
to faster re-employment for un-
employed individuals. In fact, the
brief stated, an unemployed
person’s chance of landing a job
in a month jumps 4 percent if
they live in a house with internet
versus one without.
Doug and Sandy Dodson, Ian
Dodson’s parents, said they’re
concerned their sons might not
move back to the area or visit
after graduation because of their
slow broadband connection.
“I do actually kind of fear that ...
(Ian) is going to like that internet
connection speed and he’s going
to get hooked,” said Doug Dod-
son. “He might just say, ‘I have
too much to do; I don’t want to
come out this weekend.’ ”
Reporters Tim Johnson and
Lauren Muthler contributed to this
report.
This series was produced with
financial support from the Knight
Foundation. The Centre Daily
Times maintains full editorial
control of this work.

FROM PAGE 1A
BROADBAND
how elected officials can
facilitate better access.
The respondents, in-
cluding officials in higher
education, government,
health care and the non-
profit sector, are part of the
Pennsylvania Influencer
project — a monthlong
effort by the CDT, its pa-
rent company McClatchy
and the Knight Foundation
to spur discussion around
the state’s rural broadband
access.
Over 70% of respondents
thought the cost of laying
fiber and cable to provide
robust, high-speed internet
in rural areas was the big-
gest impediment to getting
broadband connectivity to
rural Pennsylvanians.
“In my conversations
with consumers ... it seems
like the over-riding issue is
cost,” wrote Tammy Gent-
zel, executive director of
the Centre County United
Way. “Like it or not, broad-
band is a product being sold
to consumers. Business’
number one priority is pro-
fit. In today’s environment,
they have little incentive to
develop or invest in infra-
structure in areas where it is
unlikely they will recoup
those costs.”
Low population density
and topography challenges
in rural areas were also
cited by respondents as key
reasons providers face diffi-
culties getting broadband
service to rural residents.
More than a third of
respondents said they be-
lieve that instead of penaliz-
ing internet providers for
charging rural residents
similar prices for high-
speed internet as they do
for suburban and urban
residents, the government
should incentivize compa-
nies to come up with a more
fair pricing system.
“We need cooperation
from electric companies
allowing the use of utility
poles, uniform permitting
guidelines in towns, and
government to provide
incentives to complete this
task,” wrote Wayne Camp-
bell, president of the Penn-
sylvania Grange.
But Sascha Meinrath, a
telecommunications expert
at Penn State specializing in
internet freedom, sees it
differently, saying federal
consumer protection laws
against price-gouging and
anti-competitiveness need
to be enforced and provid-
ers who don’t comply
should be penalized.
Still, 28% of respondents
thought increased competi-
tion in the broadband mar-
A cellphone and a 911 tower can be seen in the distance on Centre Hall Mountain over the
farmland of Madisonburg.
ket would benefit consum-
ers by giving them access to
better quality and more fair
prices.
Additionally, respondents
echoed their comments last
week in calling for more
public-private partnerships
to roll out broadband
coverage for rural residents
in all areas of Pennsylvania.
“The ability for the feder-
al government to partner
with local institutions and
communities to provide
essential broadband con-
nectivity is critical,” wrote
Curt Coccodrilli, state di-
rector for USDA Rural De-
velopment in Pennsylvania.
“USDA Rural Development
is a lead federal agency that
funds broadband in rural
America. The ReConnect
program invites applications
from a broader set of appli-
cants including telecommu-
nications companies, elec-
trical cooperatives, (internet
service providers), and
municipalities.”
Several respondents li-
kened broadband coverage
to a public utility, with
some suggesting that it
could be regulated as such.
ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com
But Steve Samara, presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania
Telephone Association,
cautioned against internet
service rate regulation,
calling it a “slippery slope
that may make provisioning
broadband in rural areas
even less attractive.”
But nearly all respon-
dents said they think a
solution needs to come out
of a joint effort between
several different entities.
Said Penns Valley Area
School District Superintend-
ent Brian Griffith: “If we
believe that broadband is
. ........................................................
Pennsylvania
Priorities
Summit —
Focus on Rural
Broadband Crisis
What: Experts throughout
Pennsylvania will convene
for a summit to develop
strategies to address the
rural broadband access
issues.
When: 10 a.m. April 24
Where: The State Theatre,
130 W. College Ave., State
College
Info: Attendance is free but
registration is required at
http://bit.ly/2Ga1G6o
.........................................................
indeed important then we
need to provide the funding
necessary to make it a real-
ity. Imagine if we took the
approach of waiting for
private funding to build
roads, operate schools or
provide for other govern-
mental services.”
This series was produced
with financial support from
the Knight Foundation. The
Centre Daily Times
maintains full editorial
control of this work.