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Ford's Focus
 This is the first News & Views since the Spring Celebration, and it happens to fall on the first day of summer. I hope you have all put in orders for your free OPP t-shirt. I think they really convey all that we do, all over the University.
We have many new employees to welcome and a number of folks leaving us who have been part of the OPP family for many years. Please be sure to wish all of them well, and enjoy the first true weekend of summer.
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Safety Record
We've had a few avoidable injuries this week, all of which involved over exertion. Always be aware of what your body is telling you and when it might be time to get some help.
 One employee was hand digging and moving trees at the Landscape Nursery when they suffered a muscle pull while lifting a tree. This employee could have used mechanical lifting aids or sought the help of another employee to team lift the tree.
An employee was on the Chambers dock ready to load furniture. They went to lift the bay door, but it was stuck. They continued to lift and pull, overstraining and injuring their lower back. This type of injury could have been prevented by having someone from Area services come out and diagnose the problem with the door rather than trying to force it open.
Another employee was climbing the water tower 100+ feet off the ground and started to experience pain in the shoulder later in the afternoon. Employees are tied off to ladder climb systems for protection from falling. However, the best way to have prevented this injury would have been for the employee to slow down and take breaks while climbing.
 As always, please report all safety hazards, near miss incidents and safety success stories.
Call us at 863-2340.
Visit us, or even drop a note outside our office in 103 Physical Plant.
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Announcements & Reminders
Spring Celebration Shirts
 One final reminder that orders for the FREE t-shirts seen at the Spring Celebration are due by 5 pm TODAY. Supervisors should e-mail Candace Wert with their orders. The sizes available are small through 5x. The colors available are lime (likes the ones thrown at the celebration), white, sport grey, black, and safety orange.
You can check out all of the photos from the Spring Celebration on Flickr.
Post Early
 Coming this fall, OPP e-mail will migrate to University Collaboration Service (UCS). More details will come in the weeks ahead, but the gist is that everyone will receive a new UCS account, all e-mail will migrate over, and all of your devices will be configured to connect to UCS.
In general, your current e-mail clients will be able to be used, though there may be some workarounds. Continue to check here as ITS rolls out this new system.
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Cheers
 A Feast for the Eyes
Congratulations to the staff in the OPP Annex (ITS and FSS) who participated in their own Biggest Loser challenge.
According to Beth Clark, the 14 participants lost a total of 135.2 pounds!
Money Back Guarantee
 While working on Old Main's third floor, Custodian Sherry Dillon found an envelope outside room 308. In handwriting on the front of the envelope were 10 names, and it was marked "Gas Card for Joe." Enclosed was $148 in cash.
Sherry and co-worker, Leiann Chamberlin, came to the office of Damon Sims, Vice President for Student Affairs, to give it to someone who could take responsibility for it. Damon thanked Sherry and Leiann for their determination to do the right thing and invited them to a special event at the Schreyer House where VPs have an opportunity to introduce top members of their staffs to Trustees and senior administrators. As Damon said, "They are both a credit to OPP, Finance & Business, and all of Penn State."
 Taking Hazards to the Mat
The Penn State Hazardous Material Response Team recently passed its rigorous recertification process and will serve as the Centre County Haz Mat team for four more years, a position they have held since 1993.
Many thanks to all the members of the team and all who are willing to respond to hazardous materials emergencies at all hours of the day or night.
Half-Staff
Flag Day was last Friday, and we want to send out a special thanks to the small and unsung team who handle flag notifications at the University. Dan Kutch, Robin Weaver, and Christina Stitzer in the Work Control Center work closely with Area 4 staff to make sure everything runs smoothly.
 Orders to display the US and/or PA State flag at half-staff come from the President of the United States or the Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania. The Work Control Center and Area Services 4 monitor press release websites to receive order to fly the flag(s) at half-staff. Area Services 4 then send out instructions via email to University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses and contact the appropriate District 41 Custodians to make the necessary changes to the Old Main flags.
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Welcomes & Farewells
Donald Rice is the new Utility Maintenance Worker in District 13. He began work on May 19.
Melvin Fleck, Jr. is the new Custodian in District 12. He is new to the University and began work on May 20.
Peter Prohaska is the new Stockroom Clerk in OPP Stores. He transferred from Business Services and began work on May 20.
Bill Campbell is the new Facilities Supervisor in Area Services. He began work on May 20.
Michelle Carr is the new IT Consultant. She began work on June 10.
Stephen Vaughn is the new Chilled Water Operator in Utility Services. He began work on June 10.
Karen Rodkey is the new Custodian in District 52. She transferred from Housing and Food Services and began work on June 10.
Ryan Magyar is the new Budget Analyst working in Financial Services. He began work on June 10.
Sam Shawver is the new Custodian in District 33. He transferred from the College of Ag and started at OPP on May 16.
Lance Wert is the new Custodian in District 52. He transferred from Student Affairs and began work on June 17.
Michael Jones is the new Utility Maintenance Worker in District 43. He began work on June 17.
Pat Tormey is the new Utility Maintenance Worker in District 33. Her first day was June 17.
Farewells
We bid a fond farewell to Albert Rossman, Lead Plumber-Fitter, who retired on May 31. Albert started at Penn State back in 1971.
We wish all the best to Phillip Williams, Sr., Custodian, whose last day at OPP was May 31.
We say goodbye to Nancy Antes, Documents Coordinator (featured below), who retired on June 1. She began working at OPP in 1979.
Farewell to Tim Zerby, the Lead Tech in Environment Systems whose last day was May 31. He started at Penn State in 1980.
Finally, we say goodbye to Gerald Bruss, Roofer-Carpenter. He was hired in 1980 and has his last day is today.
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A Day in the Life of a...
Documents Coordinator
Before retiring on June 1, Nancy Antes had worked at OPP since 1979. As the official Physical Plant Documents Coordinator, Nancy was in charge of the OPP Library. She maintained all operations manuals and service instructions for campus equipment.
"If the guys needed information on a broken fan, they would look it up, copy the pages, and take the copies back to the work site. We had a single-side only, black & white copier that made whooshing sounds all day long."
Nancy's job entailed contacting OPP customers through the use of clunky Facility Coordinator notebooks. They were used in emergencies to notify the appropriate building coordinators. Unfortunately, they were often out of date.
"When we called, a typical response was WHO? That person doesn't work here anymore." Today all customer information is accurate and accessible with the click of a computer mouse.
Code Name: Ivory Tower
Nancy's first job at OPP was the front desk Receptionist and Taxi Dispatcher. "The duties were to greet visitors, answer the telephone on 15 lines, and dispatch the OPP taxi service. It sounded perfect. After I accepted the position, the interviewer said, 'the last person in this job went to lunch on her first day and never returned.' I must have had a terrified look on my face because the next thing she said was "don't worry, you'll do just fine."
"After only being on the job for 2 days, a supervisor said he needed to go to the 'Ivory Tower,' so I dispatched an OPP taxi over the radio system for the whole world to hear (not knowing that 'Ivory Tower' was Old Main!)."
Nancy was soon promoted to radio/pager inventory clerk, then transferred to the Service Desk, and finally ended up as Documents Coordinator.
When Nancy worked at the Service Desk, Area Services did not exist, so all phone calls came to one main desk. "Our phones rang all the time. From a leaking faucet to something major, every call came through us. The technicians used to laugh because all they heard was 'Service Desk, can you hold please? Service Desk, can you hold please?' We can do this. Service Desk, can you hold please?"
Cracked Pelvis on Sunday, Work on Monday
Nancy has performed a daily fitness run for the past 34.5 years. That works out to 8,280 days of running, rain or shine. If it rained, she ran with an umbrella. She not only ran across campus every day at lunch, she also stopped at the I.M. Building to lift weights. Her goal is to outlive her parents, who both died young.
Nancy is also an equestrian. Her passion for horses began when she was 5 years old and continues today. About 15 years ago, Nancy's horse fell on her.
"It was like somebody cut off her front feet... She came down, did a flip, landed on top of me and cracked my pelvis. This happened on a Sunday and I was back at work on Monday." She was on crutches for 6 months. She still did her daily campus walk...on crutches. The doctors told her that if she hadn't been in such good shape, her pelvis would have broken completely through.
Retirement Plan
Nancy always loved working at OPP, she enjoyed seeing all her co-workers and meeting with customers. "I never went to work without a smile! Most customers were phenomenal, except for that student who called in because she lost her cell phone and wanted to know what OPP was going to do about it!"
In retirement Nancy plans to be active in the shooting sports, take up swimming, and maybe get back into riding horses. "I want to thank everyone who has touched my life in the past 34.5 years and made my career at Penn State a great place work. It is now time to ride off into the sunset, embrace my old friends, make new friends, and enjoy life."
Nancy also wants to offer a special tribute to her "unretired" OPP colleagues. "Let us remember some of the OPP family who have touched our lives, received their wings much too early, and who never had the opportunity to retire from OPP and enjoy growing old with their family and friends."
In Memoriam: Tim Witherite, Stepanie Hazel, Brian Hoover, Tim Heltman, & Harry Lego
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Up for Grabs
FOR SALE: Universal Home Gym
 PRICE: $650.00 CONTACT: Nancy Antes
DEPARTMENT: Central Services
PHONE: 814-692-4731 only Mondays thru Fridays 8 am to 4 pm.
DESCRIPTION: 2 convenient work stations that include both upper and lower body exercise workouts. Actual weights--not bands--from 10 lbs. up to 150 lbs. Original instruction manual included. Gym will need to be disassembled before moving.
FOR SALE: Hunting/Fishing Camp
 PRICE: $11,000...OBO...or trade for motorcycle
CONTACT: John Daulby
DEPARTMENT: Paint Shop PHONE: 814-280-1919
DESCRIPTION: 1.5 miles from Poe Valley State Park, new metal roof, new vinyl windows, new doors, new exterior paint, fully furnished, refrigerator, microwave, stove, pots & pans, dishes, TV, 2 chairs, 2 sets of bunk beds, single bed, washer & dryer, oil hot air heat, full tank oil. FOR SALE: 2005 Polaris Magnum 330 4x4  PRICE: $3200 or OBO CONTACT: Tiffany Bainey DEPARTMENT: Human Resources PHONE: 814-880-2627 DESCRIPTION: ATV with low hours and runs great. New Last Issue FOR SALE: NEW Huffy Green Machine  PRICE: $65 CONTACT: Bill Montgomery DEPARTMENT: Central Environment Services E-MAIL: wrm3@psu.edu PHONE: 865-4555 DESCRIPTION: A really cool slider bike by Huffy. This is the remake of the 1970s Marx Green machine, revamped with a solid metal frame, xtra wide front tire with rear slicks, vapor green frame shield and dual action control sticks. Ages 5 and up to adult, height of 43+ inches and a max weight of 180 lbs. More... FOR SALE: 2010 JZee Zero Turn Clipper Lawn Mower  PRICE: $3,500 CONTACT: Roger Berg DEPARTMENT: Central Services E-MAIL: rdb20@psu.edu PHONE: 865-4731 DESCRIPTION: Excellent Condition. Only used about 10 times. Only reason for selling is because, too big for our yard. More... Any OPP employee can post an item FOR FREE with their name, department, and e-mail address. |
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EHS Tips: Pesticides
This week's EHS tips on Penn State's use of pesticides come from Lysa Holland in EHS.
 Pests are unwanted plants, animals, insects, germs or other organisms that may bite, destroy food crops, damage property, or otherwise make our lives more difficult.
Penn State follows Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices that emphasize knowledge of pests' needs and behaviors to address pest problems through prevention, sanitation, exclusion, and non-chemical devices/practices. IPM quite often leads to an overall decrease in the amount and/or specific types of pesticides used while more effectively suppressing pests. This leads to improved health and safety for both people and the environment.
The term pesticide means to "kill pests," however pesticides also include attractants, repellants, and growth regulators. At Penn State, indoor pesticide use is largely physical traps, baits, and gels. Spraying is never used. For landscape areas, emphases is on proper mowing, aerating, overseeding, fertilizing, adding compost, plant replacement, pruning and mulching.
Outdoor turf and elm tree pesticide applications are announced, and signage is posted, to inform the Penn State community. People should avoid areas with signs posted during elm spraying.
Pesticides need to be respected, but not feared. If you have any pesticide concerns, please feel free to contact Lysa Holland in EHS.
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Photo of the Week
Facilities Engineer Blair Malcom received a fun message from his father-in-law this week. It was a snapshot of Air Force 2 performing touch-and-go landing exercises at the University Park Airport with Mt. Nittany in the background.
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Contact Us
If you have any comments or suggestions for News & Views, contact Alex Novak by e-mail or at 863-0432.
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