(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of WTAE-TV Pittsburgh, Posted on Facebook on April 20th, 2026)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) The official 2026 NFL Draft Welcome Center activation space was unveiled yesterday at the Pittsburgh International Airport. City and county officials were on hand for the opening of the larger-than-life photo installation inspired by the official NFL Draft stage which welcomes all passengers arriving at that airport. This was revealed in time for the 2026 NFL Draft, which will take place in the Steel City this Thursday through Saturday.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Vehicles move past signs that indicate payment methods for driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the entrance ramp in Gibsonia, Pa. in this file photo from Aug. 30, 2021. Gov. Tom Wolf gave final approval on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, to legislation aimed at getting owners or operators of some 25,000 vehicles to pay their overdue bills for turnpike usage, The law that could trigger the suspension of thousands of vehicle registrations early next year. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved bipartisan legislation today sponsored by Senator Camera Bartolotta called Senate Bill 1273 and also approved a package of commercial driver’s license (CDL) bills strengthening safety standards sponsored by Senator Judy Ward (R-30). This bill clarifies that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission may share time-sensitive information collected through its automated tolling system with law enforcement in specific situations.This includes cases that involves Amber Alerts and Missing Endangered Person Advisory System alerts, which is where rapid access to vehicle data can be critical.
(Aliquippa, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver reported via release today that forty-one-year-old Randall Sennett of Leetsdale was arrested for possessing suspected crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia in Aliquippa on February 26th, 2026. Sennett was found with the drugs at 1:41 a.m. after he was stopped at the 700 block of Sheffield Avenue for a vehicle code violation.
(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Geneva College, Posted on Facebook on April 21st, 2026)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver Falls, PA) The Geneva College Athletic Department recently selected DJ Damazo to be the new head men’s basketball coach after a nationwide search. Damazo will replace Jeff Santasiero, who retired after this past season after 30 years as the head coach of the Golden Tornadoes and 38 years on the men’s basketball staff. Damazo returns to his alma mater for this opportunity, because he graduated from Geneva in 2013. He also played basketball for Geneva and was a two-year starter. He began his coaching career at Blackhawk High School as an assistant before serving as a graduate assistant at Eastern University for two years. He was then hired as the head coach at Valley Forge University in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania in 2017 and led the program for four years. He turned a team that with a 3-17 record into one that posted its highest win total in the program’s Division III history, while also finishing fifth in NCAA Division III in scoring in his final season. Damazo has served as an assistant coach at Grinnell College in Grinell, Iowa for the past five seasons, which included the best three-year stretch in its program’s history, including the recently completed 2025-26 season in which the program achieved the most wins in program history of 22. Grinnell won two Midwest Conference Championships during Damazo’s tenure and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament both seasons.
(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Allegheny Health Network)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Allegheny Health Network (AHN), Highmark Health announced today that Mandy Ranalli has been named the organization’s Chief Development Officer to lead all of the fundraising activities for AHN. Ranalli most recently served as the vice president of Major and Principal Giving for the Children’s National Hospital Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most respected children’s hospitals. Before that, she worked as the associate vice president for Major, Principal and International Giving at that same foundation to cultivate relationships with grateful patients and foundations around the world. Ranalli is a Western Pennsylvania native who is returning to a city she knows well because from 2007 to 2019, she served in various fundraising and leadership roles at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, which included roles leading the major, principal and corporate engagement programs. She also spent three years at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children’s hospitals and pediatric programs in the United States and Canada, including at AHN Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie. Ranalli will work with executive and clinical leadership to advance the philanthropic strategy for one of Pennsylvania’s largest academic health systems in her new role. She will also oversee the operations of AHN’s existing trusts (Alle-Kiski Medical Center Trust, Forbes Health Foundation, Saint Vincent Hospital Foundation for Health and Human Services, Suburban Health Foundation, and the Western Pennsylvania Hospital Foundation).
BEAVER — A new, free exhibit at the Beaver Area Heritage Museum tells the untold stories of the people and never-before-seen archaeological artifacts from a pivotal time when, in the nation’s earliest years, nearly the entire U.S. Army was based at Fort McIntosh in Beaver.
On view until December, the interactive “Fort McIntosh: Its People and Archaeology” invites visitors to learn what soldiers experienced during a remarkable chapter of the Revolutionary era, and how personality quirks and clashes among the leaders shaped its legacy.
From December 1784 to November 1785, the troops stationed at Fort McIntosh — with only small detachments at Fort Pitt and West Point — represented the core of the first permanent body of the United States Army. In this moment, the site played a defining role in the establishment of the nation’s first peacetime standing army.
“This exhibit during the America 250 commemoration connects Beaver directly to the founding story of our nation in a way few people realize,” Mark Miner, chairman of Beaver Area Heritage Museum, said. “It’s not just local history — it’s national history — it happened right here, and we want the world to know it.”
“We wanted to create an experience that sparks curiosity — especially for young people in our community,” Stacey Ivol, director of the Beaver Area Heritage Museum, said. “Through hands-on elements like the children’s dig and the real stories behind these artifacts, we hope to inspire the next generation to explore history, ask questions, and see their connection to the past.”
The exhibit features a host of man-made artifacts unearthed from the original fort site during the digs of 1974–1975, but stored away ever since. They have been organized, analyzed, and prioritized by professional archaeologists and cultural resource specialists with Michael Baker International. These materials highlight how modern archaeology deepens and refines our understanding of the past.
A new interactive children’s dig station offers younger visitors a hands-on way to experience the process of archaeological discovery, conduct their own mini digs, log their finds, and take home their treasures.
The Museum is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the first Sunday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m., along with select additional Sundays throughout the season.
By combining decades of research with new discoveries and interpretation, the exhibit strengthens Beaver as a destination for national historical tourism — and invites visitors to see it with a fresh perspective.
Beaver Area Heritage Museum has a new exhibit, “Fort McIntosh: Its People and Archeology.”
This exhibit has been made possible through the support of Heritage Valley Health System, Community College of Beaver County, the Spanos Group of Raymond James, The Wright Promise, and IBEW Local 712.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: Leon Smith, named the 2026 National Teacher of the Year, stands in front of his classroom at Haverford High School, in Havertown, Pa. on Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
HAVERFORD, Pa. (AP) — A high school history teacher in Pennsylvania who helps students look inward to find their strengths and outward to find community inside and outside the classroom has been named the 2026 National Teacher of the Year.
Leon Smith, 46, has spent his entire 25-year career at Haverford High School, where he teaches Advanced Placement classes in U.S. history and African American studies. He describes himself as a “warm demander,” someone who sets high expectations while surrounding students with love and support. Often, that means recognizing hidden talents and bringing them to the forefront, he said in an interview Monday.
“An adult can tell you that they see something in you that maybe you didn’t see in yourself,” he said. “I love to do that for students. When I see ambition, when I see talent, I let them know that so that they can hopefully pursue that goal and achieve their dreams.”
Smith starts each class with a community building exercise — on Monday, he asked his students to talk about a song that made them happy. One shared a track that reminded him of a family vacation. Another recalled music she listened to with friends before they went their separate ways. The exercise helped settle the students before the discussion shifted to a harder question: When, if ever, should the United States enter a war happening far away?
“We want to make sure that our students can think critically, that they have empathy, that they can understand the nuance and complexity that goes into making decisions,” he said. “My hope is that when they leave my classroom, that they can be civically engaged, that they can make sure that they can create a society that they can be proud of.”
Smith also extends his teaching to outside the school, taking students to the state Capitol each year to engage with policymakers. That won him praise from the organization behind the award, the Council of Chief State School Officers, which also cited his emphasis on the inclusion of multiple perspectives in history.
As the Teacher of the Year, Smith will spend a year promoting the pivotal role educators play in shaping the next generation.
“They’ve moved societies. They have empowered activist movements. They’ve helped people to figure out what they want to do when they group up,” he said. “They’ve had a tremendous impact, and my hope is that people are inspired to join that legacy.”
(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, center, stands on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Stamford, CT) Sources confirmed to ESPN today that former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is joining NBC’s Sunday night pregame show, “Football Night in America,” as an NFL studio analyst. Sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that talks between Tomlin and NBC picked up steam in Augusta, Georgia two weeks ago. The Athletic first reported Tomlin’s hiring at NBC. The fifty-three-year-old Tomlin is the second former Steelers head coach to transition into broadcasting, joining his predecessor, Bill Cowher, who was hired at CBS as a studio analyst in 2007 after stepping down from the Steelers. Cowher never returned to coaching. Tomlin stepped down as the head coach of the Steelers on January 13th, 2026 after nineteen seasons with the team and was the longest-tenured head coach of a North American professional sports franchise prior to his resignation. Tomlin had a 193-114-2 record in the regular season, a record of 8-12 in the postseason and never finished below .500 during his NFL head coaching career.
Nancy L. Theil, 68, of Monaca, passed away peacefully in the comfort of her home on April 18th, 2026. She was born on July 8, 1957, a beloved daughter of the late Michael and Ethel (Carpenter) Theil Sr. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Zackary and Dannielle Theil, two grandchildren, Caliana and Adriana, her siblings, Marcy (John) Harvey, Michael “Dinky” Theil, and Jackie (Dave Zanker) Theil; her niece, Vinessa (Jesse) Boice; and her special friends, Ed and Anne Becker.
Nancy was a dedicated bartender for over 30 years at The Midway Bar, earning the respect and affection of countless patrons. After the Midway closed, she continued her craft at Brewski’s in Center Township, where her warm personality and skill behind the bar shone just as brightly. She also delighted friends and family with her homemade chocolate-covered treats, especially her signature strawberries, which became a beloved staple at gatherings. She was an avid fan of “Days of Our Lives,” a tradition she began with her aunts as a young girl and cherished throughout her life. In her neighborhood, she was affectionately known as Miss Nancy, the favorite neighbor who handed out popsicles and bubbles to the children, always bringing joy and laughter. Her love for the holidays was unmatched, she was a true Holiday Enthusiast, decorating her home with festive cheer and making every celebration special.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Nancy on Wednesday, July 8th, with further details to be announced.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home, Inc., 2026 McMinn Street, Aliquippa.
Donations in her memory may be made to Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home Inc. to assist the family with funeral costs, 2026 McMinn Street, Aliquippa, PA 15001.
Lisa Anne Trapizona (Denny), 61, unexpectedly passed away in her sleep at her home on April 19th, 2026. She was born on January 28th, 1965, and was preceded in death by her parents, William and Bonnie (Wilgruber), and her brother, William Denny Jr. She is survived by her husband, Richard Trapizona, and her three children, Joshua Walker, Marissa Trapizona, and Sarah Trapizona (Shane Welteroth).
Lisa grew up in Hopewell, attending Hopewell School District Schools from kindergarten through senior high. There she made many friends and created lasting memories that she shared years later at several reunions. She attended Carlow Business School and began a long career of business management. She began working for Church and Dwight with partner company Arm and Hammer. She then went on to work for Delmonte Foods and split her time between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and San Francisco, California. Later in her career she began developing a technological background, developing an app and helping her company win an Emmy. In the latter half of her life, she worked for Highmark helping improve health care systems and supporting all those she worked with. In 1994, she married Richard Trapizona in a small ceremony held in Ross Township. She and Richard had been married for 32 years and together for 39 years. For their honeymoon, they went to Las Vegas, Nevada which became a staple family vacation every year after. She and Richard built their home in Sewickley, where they raised their son and two daughters. She was an active member in the Quaker Valley community where her son and two daughters attended school there, participating in classroom activities and extracurriculars. She was a passionate and strong woman that would lend a helping hand to anyone who needed help. She believed strongly in family values and enjoyed spending time with her kids and hearing all about their days. Lisa was a devoted Catholic practicing at St. James Church in Sewickley. She recently helped her future son-in-law become a member of the church. She taught Sunday school for over twenty years and helped anywhere she could. She loved the community it built and enjoyed the congregation being like a family.
According to her wishes, Lisa wanted to be cremated. A Memorial visitation will take place on Friday, April 24th from 3-7 P.M. in the John Syka Funeral Home, Inc., 833 Kennedy Drive, Ambridge, who was in charge of her arrangements. Family and friends will then meet on Saturday, April 25th at 10:30 A.M. in the St. James Church-Divine, 200 Walnut Street, Sewickley, for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will follow in the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, 2186 Brodhead Road, Aliquippa.
Lisa will be remembered for her kindness, creativity, and passion for family and friends.
