FILE – U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks before President Joe Biden about his infrastructure agenda while announcing funding to upgrade Philadelphia’s water facilities and replace lead pipes, Feb. 3, 2023, at Belmont Water Treatment Center in Philadelphia. Casey’s campaign said Wednesday, July 5, that he raised over $4 million in the last three months, his best fundraising quarter ever as he awaits a Republican challenger to his re-election bid in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the Helping States Integrate Medicare and Medicaid Act. The bill would provide substantial new funding to states to help the more than 9 million Americans who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Due largely to insufficient funding for states, at present only 12 percent of seniors and people with disabilities who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid are actually enrolled in programs that align their coverage, forcing millions of low-income seniors and people with disabilities to navigate two separate, complex systems on their own.

“So many older adults and people with disabilities face fragmented systems and roadblocks that prevent them from accessing the support they need,” said Chairman Casey. “This bill will help Americans who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare navigate those programs and get the health care they deserve.”

The Helping States Integrate Medicare and Medicaid Act would provide $300 million to states and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and advance integrated programs. The bill would also increase the federal match that states receive to 80 percent for administrative activities to support the implementation and advancement of these integration strategies and to finance the initial costs of building an infrastructure that is reflective of the needs and preferences of the local Medicare-Medicaid population.

Chairman Casey has long led efforts in Congress to help older Americans and people with disabilities more easily access the care they need. In May 2023, Casey introduced the Beneficiary Notification Eligibility Simplification 2.0 Act, which would simplify Medicare enrollment by require the federal government to provide advance notice to people approaching Medicare eligibility about basic enrollment rules. Earlier in 2023, he introduced the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act, which would allow Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing services and increase the federal investment in Medicaid, incentivizing more states to provide these comprehensive services.

FILE – A sign on the sidewalk outside an antique store in Spartansburg, Pa., on Feb. 29, 2024. Police investigating the killing of a pregnant Amish woman inside her Pennsylvania home last week recovered several firearms, bullets and spent casings as well as broken knife parts, according to an inventory made public on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

Police investigating the killing of a pregnant Amish woman inside her Pennsylvania home last week recovered three firearms, bullets and two spent casings as well as broken knife parts, according to an inventory made public on Tuesday.

The state police document said the search of the house where Rebekah A. Byler was killed on Feb. 26 produced the broken orange handle of a knife, a broken knife blade and a bone-handled knife. Investigators also took a white bonnet and the contents of an ash tray, trash can and dust bin.

A man who lived about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the Byler home in northwestern Pennsylvania was charged Saturday with criminal homicide, homicide of her unborn child, burglary and criminal trespassing. Police have not disclosed what they think may have motivated Shawn C. Cranston, 52, to kill her in the living room, where her husband and a family friend found her.

It’s unclear from the search inventory if any of the items taken belonged to Cranston or were used in the killing, which police have said involved “shooting her in the head and/or slashing her throat.” They include a .22-caliber rifle, two shotguns and a variety of ammunition. Investigators also recovered a .22-caliber cartridge case and a 6.5 Creedmoor casing, both discharged.

Cranston remains in the Crawford County Correctional Facility without bail. No defense attorney has appeared in court records, and the county public defender’s office said Monday it was not representing him. Family members have not answered phone calls seeking comment on his behalf.

Police said the 23-year-old Byler, whose two children were home but unhurt, suffered wounds to her neck and head.

Cranston’s cousin, Rebekah Cranston of Erie, said Tuesday that Cranston was a native of the Corry area and had worked as a truck driver. She said she had fallen out of touch with him in recent years and that many of his relatives knew nothing about the allegations.

“We’re just in shock and sending out prayers for the victim,” she said.

Shawn Cranston’s next-door neighbor, Chris Knight, said he was a “respectful” neighbor who often rode motorcycles. His wife is a nurse, she said.

Knight said that in recent months Cranston’s pickup truck was no longer parked at the home. The Cranstons seemed to be down to one vehicle, she said, a red Jeep.

“It seemed like he’s been home a lot but I don’t know what that situation is,” Knight said.

March 5, 2024, Monaca, PA: 

The United Way of Beaver County (UWBC) and Shell Polymers, Monaca (Shell) is thrilled to announce that Shell has offered an additional $25,000 matching grant to the UWBC’s ALICE Fund! Shell gave a $50,000 Matching Grant toward The ALICE Fund in late 2023 – as of today, this initial $50,000 grant has been fully matched by companies and organizations in Beavery County. Realizing that the need is so very great, and recognizing the tremendous support of The ALICE Fund from the Beaver County community, Shell wants to spearhead the effort of helping even more of their ALICE neighbors through the UWBC through this additional grant. This means that any gifts to the UWBC’s ALICE Fund will continue to be doubled, up to $25,000, through this additional match from Shell.

 

Through The ALICE Fund, the UWBC will award mini-grants in early 2024 to Beaver County charities, not currently funded through the United Way, but which serve those in need in Beaver County, providing food, shelter, after-school programs, and other assistance. An alarming 38% of the households in Beaver County are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Restrained, Employed). ALICE populations are found in every town, borough, and municipality throughout Beaver County, with the percentages of ALICE households ranging from 17% to a distressing 73%! ALICE households are unable to afford the basics of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology. (Source: www.unitedforalice.org). 

 

“I am so grateful that Shell immediately recognized the need to support The ALICE Fund as soon as they heard the alarming statistic that 38% of Beaver County Households are ALICE or in poverty. To continue to help in the way of an additional matching grant leverages other donations from Beaver County residents and from the corporate community, allowing us to extend our reach of support even further,” said Mary Lou Harju, Executive Director of the UWBC.

 

“Donating money to The ALICE Fund gives us yet another opportunity to put our words into action,” said Bill Watson, General Manager of Shell Polymers Monaca. “Our employees live in Potter Township, Monaca -throughout Beaver County – and in other communities that surround our plant. We may very well be living right next door to someone who needs the help that The ALICE Fund can provide. So, when we say we support our friends and neighbors, we literally mean it.”

 

“Additionally, an anonymous Beaver County resident donated $25,000 to be used as a matching grant for donations made by individuals to The ALICE Fund,” Harju continued. “This means that I, as an individual donor, can make my gift to the UWBC double in size just by either giving a little more this year or designating all or part of my gift to the ALICE Fund,” said Harju. “We are close to meeting that matching grant as well, but we still need help from the community to do so.” Additional large gifts to The ALICE Fund were given by The Edwin D. Hill Charitable Trust in the amount of $10,000, and by NiSource (Columbia Gas) in the amount of $5,000. 

 

The ALICE population is often overlooked when assistance is offered because they are employed. “We must see them. We must help them,” Harju said. Therefore, she is asking both Beaver County residents, companies, and small businesses to support The ALICE Fund and the 2023/2024 Annual Campaign by becoming a new UWBC donor or, if a current UWBC donor, donating a little more this year to help ALICE. 

 

She hopes that other companies and small businesses in Beaver County will also understand the need to help through The ALICE Fund and give to the UWBC.

 

“I am just overwhelmed by the amount of support that we have received for this endeavor so far,” said Harju. “The high percentage of ALICE households is not going to decrease anytime soon. We need to do what we can to help ALICE, while also trying to lower that statistic in Beaver County. We are grateful to Shell Polymers, Monaca and the many other companies in Beaver County for their generosity. Additionally, the anonymous matching grant donor and the other individuals in Beaver County who are helping us help ALICE through their tremendous support shows just how caring and compassionate Beaver County residents are, and how fortunate we are to live in such a wonderful community.”

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is inviting the public to attend a career fair on Wednesday, March 6 to learn about available maintenance positions the department offers in Beaver County.

The event will be held at PennDOT’s Rochester Maintenance Building located at 155 Stewart Avenue Rochester, PA 15074 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6.

Available positions in Beaver County include full-time, permanent Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Operators, seasonal CDL Operators, and full-time and seasonal Diesel Mechanics. Commercial drivers must have a valid Pennsylvania CDL Class A or B with the Air Brake Restriction (L) removed and a current medical examiner certificate.

PennDOT representatives will be on-hand to discuss openings in Beaver County. Onsite application completion, on the spot interviews, driving skills testing, and conditional job offers for select positions will occur. Applicants are asked to bring two forms of identification.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 5, 2024 12:32 P.M.

(Ambridge, Pa) The Ambridge School Board hired a new teacher at their meeting. Nicole Kelly was hired to teach fifth grade at Highland Elementary School. She will begin her duties on Monday, March 18, 2024. Her salary will be $48,781 a year.

The board also approved the hiring of all spring sports coaches for 2024.

Their next meeting is a work session on Wednesday March 13, and the regular meeting is Wednesday, March 20. Both meetings begin at 7 pm.

Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published 12:28 P.M.

(Center Township, Pa) An adjunct faculty member of CCBC will be featured in a television series called Into the Wild Frontier. Brady Crytzer teaches history at CCBC and is an expert commentator in the series.

The show is described as a look into early pioneers, scouts, hunters, and traders as they fulfill America’s destiny to expand Westward, exploring uncharted territory to blaze new trails.