(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) is hosting several free financial aid webinars during the month of November to guide students that are bound for college and their families in affording their dream of higher education.

Filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) online is the first step to determine if you qualify for a Federal Pell Grant, federal student loans, institutional awards, PA State Grant and scholarships.

The 2027-28 FAFSA became available on October 1st, and students are advised to complete and submit it as soon as possible.

Students can currently complete the 2027-28 FAFSA on fasfa.gov by clicking here.

According to a release from the PHEAA, here is more information about these webinars:

• Ask an Access Partner
  PHEAA’s Ask an Access Partner webinar, is a live, interactive session where experienced higher education access partners will answer your financial aid questions on a wide range of topics including federal and state aid programs, the FAFSA, and scholarships.
  Friday, November 6th
  Noon–1:00 P.M. (ET)
• Creating Your StudentAid.gov Account
  In order to fill out and submit the FAFSA, you will need a StudentAid.gov account. Join PHEAA’s Access Partners to learn more about what a StudentAid.gov account is, and who should create one and when.
  Tuesday, November 10th
  6:00–7:00 P.M. (ET)

PHEAA is encouraging students to exhaust each possibility of gift aid before the organization turns to borrowing to afford the cost of their education.

The best opportunity for gift aid is in the form of scholarships.

Since some of the scholarship money is awarded based upon merit, there are a myriad of scholarships which are offered with a wide variety of eligibility requirements and varying deadlines.

You can register for these webinars by going to pheaa.org/virtual by clicking here.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Beaver County)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Center Township, PA) Big Brothers Big Sisters of Beaver County has launched “Bigs in Blue” as of last month, which is a program aimed at recruiting local law enforcement to serve as mentors to youth in their local community.

This program is part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s national initiative, which was launched in Center Township in October of 2026 with the Center Township Police Department and Central Valley School District.

Funds that are raised for the program go toward efforts of volunteer recruitment, training, and the process of matching Littles with the Big mentors.

Law enforcement officials that volunteer to serve as a Big Brother or Sister will be matched, monitored, trained, and vetted just as any other mentor in the network.

You can find out more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Beaver County by going to www.bcbigs.org or by following Big Brothers Big Sisters of Beaver County on social media.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Allegheny Health Network)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Four Allegheny Health Network (AHN) outpatient surgery facilities have recently been recognized among Pennsylvania’s highest-performing ambulatory surgery centers in Newsweek’s America’s Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers 2027 rankings.

AHN’s Monroeville Surgery Center, Westmoreland Outpatient Center, Bethel Park Surgery Center and Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion Surgery Center were all ranked among the top 10 facilities in the state of Pennsylvania.

AHN’s Monroeville Surgery Center was ranked No. 2 in the state of Pennsylvania, while its Westmoreland Outpatient Center, Bethel Park Surgery Center and Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion Surgery Center were ranked as No. 3, No. 5 and No. 10, respectively.

The 2027 ranking highlights 750 leading ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that are across the country, and are evaluated through a rigorous scoring model which is based on accreditations, patient experience, peer recommendations, and quality metrics.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Monaca Community Development Corporation, Posted on Facebook on November 2nd, 2026)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Monaca, PA) Schmuck’s Boots and Shoes, located at 915 Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Monaca, will be permanently closing after 122 years in business.

There is a “Store Closing” Sign on the business and the third-generation owner, Eugene “Gene” Schmuck, will sell his remaining inventory and retire. 

This family business was opened in 1904 by Eugene’s grandfather, Frank Schmuck, and it sold things like durable work boots and heritage footwear.

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced yesterday that a resident of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of false impersonation of a federal officer or employee.

Thirty-eight-year-old Lazaven Mitchell pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge David Stewart Cercone.

The Court was advised in connection with the guilty plea that Mitchell is a Pittsburgh-based licensed financial advisor and loan officer who, on multiple occasions between April 2024 and June 2024, presented himself to local businesses as working for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

Mitchell would contact businesses in Pittsburgh, then would identify himself as working for EBSA, and would subsequently request to review the businesses’ retirement plans to determine whether they were in compliance with authorities governing retirement plans.

Judge Cercone scheduled Mitchell’s sentencing for March 25th, 2027.

Mitchell could face a maximum total sentence of up to three years in prison, a fine of up to the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain to Mitchell, or both.

(File Photo of the Center Township Municipal Center)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Center Township, PA) A community in Beaver County is under a boil water advisory after a routine test showed E. Coli contamination. 

According to the Center Township Municipal Authority yesterday evening, a sample in the area of Township Road Garage and Wilhelm Drive tested positive for coliforms which included E. Coli. 

Four other samples were taken at other locations, but they did not have any coliforms. 

Residents are advised to boil all water for a minute and to let it cool before using it.  

Bottled water is also encouraged for brushing teeth, washing dishes, cooking, drinking and ice making.

Anyone that wants more information is encouraged to contact the Center Township Water Authority by calling 724-774-7766. 

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Pennsylvania State Police Corporal was sentenced to time in jail for a wide range of criminal conduct, which included using work computers to access A.I. tools to create pornography and for secretly filming and photographing individuals, and this included coworkers. 

Forty-year-old Stephen M. Kamnik pleaded guilty to 14 charges in all against him.

These were nine felonies and five misdemeanors and they included official oppression, receiving stolen property, sexual abuse of children and unlawful use of a computer.

A Montgomery County Judge sentenced Kamnik to 5 to 10 years in jail, followed by seven years of probation and deemed Kamnik a “sexually violent predator” yesterday, which means that Kamnik must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. 

Kamnik was also sentenced for using secured law enforcement and Commonwealth databases for possessing child sexual abuse material and for personal reasons.

According to the investigation, Kamnik created some of the material at Montgomery County barracks, on Commonwealth-owned devices.

An investigation conducted by the Internal Affairs Division of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Office of Attorney General revealed that Kamnik allegedly misused Commonwealth computer resources for his own personal sexual gratification for years, which included the creation of A.I.-generated pornography of numerous female citizens of Pennsylvania.

Kamnik’s cellphone and an external hard drive from his home revealed evidence that he also used a secured database, JNET, to obtain hundreds of photographs of women, which is in violation of JNET usage policies.

Among the materials that investigators found was an unlawfully recorded video of a Montgomery County magisterial district judge during a court proceeding, which Kamnik also edited for apparent lewd purposes.

Kamnik was also found possessing a stolen .22 caliber firearm during a search of his vehicle in January of 2025.

According to a release courtesy of the Pennsylvania General’s Office, Kamnik pleaded guilty to these charges in all:

• Four felony counts of unlawful use of computer
• Sexual abuse of children, a felony
• Receiving Stolen Property (regarding a firearm), a felony
• Unlawful duplication, a felony
• Interception, disclosure or use of wire, electronic or oral communications, a felony
• Criminal trespass, a felony
• Misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy, official oppression, tampering with evidence, misapplication of entrusted property, and unlawful use of an audio or video device in court

This case was prosecuted by the Office of Attorney General’s Public Corruption and Child Predator Sections.