When freshman Sen. Bob Casey opens his regional offices across Pennsylvania, he'll be offering students something a local official says they're not used to -- a voice in Washington, D.C.

Casey, D-Pa., recently announced his plans to open eight regional offices in Pennsylvania, including one in Centre County, Centre County Democratic Committee chairwoman Dianne Gregg said. Casey will be the first U.S. Senator to open an office in Centre County, she said.

"This is really a great opportunity for the people of Centre County," Gregg said. "In politics, the power has always been in the large cities, but that will all change when this office opens."

While the new office will open up doors for many Centre County citizens, the positive impact may not stop there, College Democrats spokesman Eliot Schmidt said.

Schmidt said internship opportunities at the regional office could be a great way to get even more Penn State students involved in politics.

"From the election results data, it seems pretty clear that Centre County going blue had a huge part to do with the student voting population in State College," Schmidt said. "If that many people got involved in the election, then I'm sure having internships at a local U.S. senator's office would be a great way to spark students' interests."

Aside from providing opportunities for internships, opening an office in Central Pennsylvania could also eliminate the burden of trying to get in touch with a representative in Washington, Schmidt said.

Finding a convenient way to access the political scene in Washington has been a problem Gregg said she has faced for years, and she agreed that a local office should help. "Problems and concerns in Central Pennsylvania are often overlooked because we are not near any major city," Gregg said. "Having our own office will insure strong communication with our elected leaders."

At this time, the location of the office has not yet been determined.

"Sen. Casey has only been sworn in for two weeks, so it's going to take some more time before all the specifics are worked out," she said.

Gregg said, so far, the office's only official hire was Kim Bierly from Centre Hall as the office field coordinator. Bierly and Casey were unavailable for comment yesterday.