(File Photo of the Beaver County Courthouse)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver, PA) Several topics were discussed at this morning’s Beaver County Commissioners’ work session at the County Courthouse.

One of them was a topic that was brought up last week’s work session, which was the ongoing closure of Wildwood Road.

The road in Brighton Township has been closed since 2025 and it has been a shortcut for a long time between Route 51 and Dutch Ridge Road to get to the hospital there.

Beaver County Solicitor Garen Fedeles provided an update on the work to get this road reopened.

Fedeles noted that the meeting was held between the county and PennDOT yesterday, and after PennDOT was called, they told the Commissioners that Wildwood Road is on its list of projects to accomplish.

However, PennDOT confirmed that they are tentatively working on a bid for 2028 Wildwood Road to have work done.

PennDOT also is divided up into several regions through Pennsylvania, and since Beaver County is combined with the Allegheny and Lawrence County region, Fedeles believes that “there is about 60 slides on various roads on that region alone that they’re working their way through.”

The Commissioners talked to PennDOT yesterday and wanted the company to consider putting in a one-way stop sign in each direction on Wildwood Road which would allow traffic to go over the area where it is slid and consider to expediate the road.

PennDOT said that they would try the second option under circumstances.

The Commissioners also reached out to State Representative Josh Kail about Wildwood Road.

Kail noted that there is money in the state budget to work on rural bridges and roads, and he believes that Wildwood Road would qualify for this work.

The Commmssioners want to try to get Wildwood Road open as soon as they can, but Fedeles confirmed that this project is “in PennDOT’s hands.”

Another road that is closed is Achortown Road, which has been closed in Beaver Falls since 2018.

Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp informed the audience of a program that is called “The Takeback Program,” which was also discussed on the Commissioners’ call with PennDOT yesterday.

The state of Pennsylvania has money to fix this road, but if the Commissioners apply for “The Takeback Program,” the state can fix it and then turn it back to the county.

However, the Commissioners will be working with Representative Kail in terms of Achortown Road as well.

Fedeles also noted that boy scouts, girl scouts and other groups from the county are needed if they would like to participate in the America250 parade in Beaver on September 19th, 2026.

If you are interested, contact the Beaver County Recreation and Tourism office, whose contact information can be found by clicking here.

Jenny Stiefel, the Offsite Emergency Preparedness Specialist from the Beaver Valley Power Station, also presented information about an upcoming project that the station is Shippingport is undergoing.

Emergency alerts will be updated from the primary method of outdoor warning sirens to a system that is known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).

The system is in Beaver County, Hancock County in West Virginia, and in Columbiana County in Ohio.

(File Photo of Police Siren Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Gibsonia reported today that an unidentified driver was cited after a two-vehicle crash occurred in Cranberry Township on Monday.

According to police, this crash occurred at 1:50 p.m. on the on-ramp of Exit 28 on I-76 West on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The first driver was at the yield sign traveling west and a second driver was also going west.

The second driver rear ended the first driver when their vehicle entered the on-ramp.

There were no reported injuries.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Allegheny County Police Department)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A man from Ohio was recently sentenced in federal court for checking luggage that was filled with ammunition and guns at Pittsburgh International Airport.

According to the Department of Justice, 29-year-old Luis Rojas Cay was previously convicted of robbery and attempted kidnapping in Kansas, making him ineligible to have or own a gun.

Prosecutors confirm that agents found three semiautomatic handguns and more than 200 rounds of ammunition inside a checked bag belonging to Rojas Cay on April 26th, 2024, and he was heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The items were reportedly wrapped in foil-backed tape and were placed inside a metal briefcase that was lined with sheet metal.

Rojas Cay was convicted of both carrying a weapon on an aircraft and possessing a firearm as a felon.

A judge sentenced him to 51 months in jail on July 29th.

BEAVER COUNTY RADIO

PITTSBURGH — This Saturday, “Rock Reggae & Relief” will transform Downtown Pittsburgh’s Forbes Avenue and the newly revitalized Market Square into the city’s ultimate urban oasis for a full day of live music, immersive experiences, local food, handcrafted cocktails and community connection, all while supporting an important cause.

Returning to its original downtown street festival roots after two years at Stage AE, “Rock Reggae & Relief” (RRR26) celebrates nine years of music, community and giving back, while showcasing the energy and revitalization of Downtown Pittsburgh.

From noon through the evening, festivalgoers can experience two stages of
national touring artists, local favorites, immersive activations and the signature positive vibes that have made “Rock Reggae & Relief” a highly anticipated summer event.
This year’s headliner is the famed U.K. band UB40, known for hits like “Red Red Wine,” “(The Way You Do) The Things You Do” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You.”

Two stages, on Forbes Avenue and in Market Square, will anchor the festival footprint

The full lineup:

Tickets are $69 for general admission, $43 for kids 12 and under; $159 for VIP Gold and $369 for VIP Platinum, available at rockreggaerelief.com.

The concert raises money for Café Momentum’s paid internship program — a 12-month curriculum that transforms the lives of youths leaving the juvenile justice system. Throughout the year, interns engage in paid professional development in the Pittsburgh area that builds essential social and life skills while teaching financial and academic fundamentals. Case managers walk alongside them, offering resources like parenting classes, educational support and career exploration, while helping them navigate challenges tied to anger, trauma or abandonment. At the end of the program, graduates are placed in meaningful jobs with community partners, ready to take their next steps.

Festival organizer Lucas Piatt and prominent Pittsburgh concert promoter Rich Engler appeared on the Beaver County Radio Morning Show on Wednesday to discuss the concert. Hear the full interview by pressing “play” here:

 

The festival also offers diverse array of vendors, specializing in food, drink, art and overall creativity. The full list is at rockreggaerelief.com

(Caption and Credit for Photo: <p>Derek Lee’s counsel from the Abolitionist Law Center argued the court cannot and did not look at individual culpability because second-degree murder is murder committed during the commission of another felony. (Adobe Stock)</p>)

(Reported by Danielle Smith, Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided on March 26th that the state’s mandatory life-without-parole law is unconstitutional. Lawmakers have now missed an important follow-up deadline to establish a new sentencing scheme for felony murder. The Commonwealth v. Lee case centered on Derek Lee, a man who was involved in a 2014 Pittsburgh home robbery when his accomplice fatally shot a resident. He was given a mandatory life sentence despite not firing the gun. The court gave the state’s General Assembly 120 days to come up with new rules for sentencing, but that deadline passed on July 24th, meaning the ruling is now in effect. Elizabeth Wood-Bennett with the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania explains that Lee isn’t exonerated of his crime. The ruling will impact future sentencing decisions, but there’s still the unresolved issue of “retroactivity” – whether others serving the same sentence are also owed a resentencing. Woods-Bennett says hundreds of others serving the same mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole still remain in legal limbo. In its decision, the Court recognized that people convicted of felony murder can have vastly different levels of responsibility.

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cleveland, OH) Fifteen people are now facing federal charges after prosecutors confirm that they ran a large-scale drug ring that distributed over 100 pounds of methamphetamine in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

According to a statement in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the group obtained meth from drug suppliers in Akron, Ohio, and the U.S.-Mexico border before it was sold to people in Pennsylvania, Ohio and other places in the surrounding region.

The news release also noted that four homes in Akron were used as stash houses to distribute, process and store the meth. 

Investigation from law enforcment was a yearlong effort from federal and local agencies and it found drug transactions totaling over 100 pounds of meth.

Investigators seized approximately 15 pounds of meth as well as a firearm as part of the investigation, and authorities confirm that the 15 people were taken into custody between April and May in a series of coordinated arrests.

The defendants charged have an age range from 27 to 62 years old and these people received a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine:

• Ricardo Allison
• Sheldon Bell
• Earl Breckenridge
• Craig Consilio
• Clarence Daniels
• Bryce Dittman
• Larry Finch
• Nicholas Helfrick
• John Koza
• Samantha Lentz
• Marcus Nixon
• Anthony Raunikar
• Tyler Smith
• Jazzmin Thomas
• John Townsend