NEWS LAST UPDATED TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2007 IUP yesterday announced plans to add a hotel to the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, which has yet to begin construction, but is slated to open in less than four years. The hotel, located caddy-corner to the KCAC, will address what the university sees as a drastic shortfall in the number of hotel rooms that would be needed for a convention or other event. A blue-ribbon committee will be formed to get the ball rolling, including coming up with the funding for the facility. Indiana currently offers about 440 hotel rooms to visitors. The KCAC will be able to accommodate 700 conferees at its convention center and up to 5,000 attendees for a single event at the sports arena. The Blairsville-Saltsburg School Board heard a proposal last night for the Indiana County YMCA to offer an after-school care program for district students. The program would be for children in kindergarten and up to age 6, and would be at no cost to the district. Superintendent Arnie Nadonley will meet with the school principals to discuss the proposal. The program would be offered to students in both the Blairsville and Saltsburg ends of the district. The state House yesterday passed a bill that would ban smoking in most public places, eliminating many of the exemptions included in the original Senate bill, but the Senate then turned around and soundly defeated the House version. State Representative Dave Reed voted against the bill, saying the House did not go far enough in addressing the loopholes. Reed said the bill creates an uneven playing field, allowing some businesses to permit smoking while denying that privilege to others, asserting that “If it’s good for one, it should be good for all”. The House version of the Smoke-Free Pennsylvania bill prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants, and publicly-accessible areas, including casinos. However, it allowed private clubs such as fraternal organizations and legion halls to permit smoking. The Senate’s 36-13 rejection of the House’s amendments means the bill won’t be debated again until the Fall session begins, but some Senators suggested the vote yesterday killed the bill altogether.