STATE COLLEGE One of the anchor slots at the Nittany Mall will soon be occupied.
The former Bon-Ton Department Store, which was most recently used as a COVID-19 free testing site, will have a new life as a Gabe’s clothing store. It will be the first Gabe’s in the Centre Region. Previously, the closest Gabe’s was along Pleasant Valley Boulevard in Altoona.
Gabe’s was founded in 1961 in Morgantown, W.Va. There are more than 110 stores, according to Gabes.com, there are stores in Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Mar 2, 2021
Altoona isn’t the only city having to deal with deteriorated structures that undermine the positive aspects of the municipality.
It is a fact that businesses’ exit to malls, shopping centers and other suburban sites, which ramped up in the 1960s, set the stage for long-term vacancies and erosion of buildings’ interiors and exteriors not only in Pennsylvania but across the country.
Among buildings’ interior components that become victimized by years of lack of use are waterlines, wiring, heating systems, flooring, and unique wood and other surfaces and designs that were part of the businesses’ identities.
Deterioration over time, combined with issues such as asbestos and lead paint, made some structures too costly to try to save.
ifredregill@altoonamirror.com
Police added drug charges to a list of offenses for a Tyrone woman involved in a drug bust on New Year’s Eve, Blair County court documents stated.
Arica M. Robenolt, 28, was arraigned Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Matthew Dunio on a felony drug-related charge and multiple misdemeanors, according to court documents.
On Dec. 31, Robenolt was staying at the Econo Lodge on Pleasant Valley Boulevard when police stopped Valerie Sprankle, who was leaving the motel, for driving with a suspended registration, police reported.
Sprankle told police she was visiting Robenolt to borrow some clothes, but after compiling a search warrant for Sprankle’s car, Logan Township police discovered methamphetamine in the vehicle, the Mirror previously reported.
bkibler@altoonamirror.com
The state has backed off plans to use mass COVID-19 vaccination sites, due to a shortage of vaccines, according to Altoona’s Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Tim Hileman, speaking at a City Council meeting Monday.
Only 143,000 doses are currently earmarked for Pennsylvania. A third of those will go to nursing homes and the rest dribbled out to 500 vaccination sites while no information on additional shipments is expected for two weeks, at least, Hileman told council.
It doesn’t make sense to set up large operations when there aren’t enough doses to sustain them, so the ongoing effort will rely for now on small sites handling hundreds of vaccinations per day, rather than big ones handling thousands, Hileman said.