Aliquippa Police Chief John Lane said officers received a call to Eleanor Roosevelt Apartments at 2:54 p.m. concerning 4 black males with guns outside the complex. Upon the arrival of police, the 4 males fled, one of them Shawnquez Redd, who is in his 20’s who is wanted on multiple felony warrants.  He was captured, handcuffed and placed in an Ambridge police car, he fled, stole a police van from the police department fleeing down Route 51 southbound, crashing into another police vehicle and an embankment.  Redd fled on foot, Beaver County sent out an alert for all residents to stay indoors at 7:10 p.m., describing Redd.  He was captured in South Heights after a short foot chase, according to Chief Lane.  At 7:54 p.m. Beaver County 9-1-1  announced that the search was over.

New Castle City Police Department reported that officers responded to a car jacking at a Dollar General store on Center Avenue in West Pittsburg on Monday. The responding officers spoke to the 82 year old female victim. The woman stated that a man threw her out of her vehicle and drove away. Detectives and officers were able to identify the man as 34 year old Andrew Mercado from Ellwood City. The vehicle registered on a license plate reader yesterday in Chippewa Twp. and Chippewa Twp. Police, Darlington Twp. Police, and Beaver State Police did a search for the vehicle ultimately locating it at the Walmart in Chippewa. Officers arrested Mercado as he exited Walmart with a buggy full of stolen merchandise. Mercado was placed into the Lawrence County Jail on a previous bench warrant for aggravated assault. New charges are being filed in reference to the car jacking, including robbery of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, and assault and harassment.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

The Commissioners of Beaver County have made a deal with Fennell Brothers Baseball LLC to improve the ballfields at Brush Creek Park. Fennell Brothers will pay the cost of $41,900 to make the improvements, under the agreement that they will be able to use the fields at no cost through 2029 for games and tournaments.

The Beaver County Chief of Tourism and Recreation,Tony Caltury,told Beaver County Radio that improvements to the Brush Creek Park ballfields will create improved access for sports recreation. A total of 25,500 sq/ft is presumed to be stripped for infield area enhancements to one little league/softball field (7,500 sq/ft) and one high school field (18,000 sq/ft). Drainage and trench work will be completed to both fields to protect from flooding and drainage issues. Infield mix will be installed and spread and all disturbed lawn areas will be re-graded with sifted topsoil and hydro-seeded. He says they are proud to announce this partnership to transform these fields into a more welcoming and playable asset for the park and community. They are also excited for the potential of additional improvements and opportunities being opened through this project and look forward to exploring them further.

The current state of the fields at Brush Creek is rough. Two of the fields are merely nothing but a catchers box surrounded by grass. The other field contains bases pulled out of the ground in what’s left of a flooded infield.

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced the opening of the 2021-22 PA Farm Bill’s $500,000 Farm to School Grant Program to improve access to healthy, local foods and increase agriculture education opportunities for children pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

“Our Farm to School Program works to improve health and nutrition for young children, provide hands on ag education opportunities, and support local farmers by fostering connections between schools and farms,” said Redding. “Through this program, Pennsylvania schools have the opportunity to address our workforce needs of the future by encouraging agricultural interests in young students while simultaneously improving their access to fresh, local foods.”

Over the past two years, the Wolf Administration has invested nearly $800,000 in farm to school programming in Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Farm Bill. (2019 awards, 2020 awards)

The Farm to School Grant Program aims to enrich the connection communities have with fresh, healthy food and local producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and early childhood education sites.

Any school district, charter school, or private school with pre-kindergarten classes, kindergarten, or elementary through fifth grade – regardless of offering in-person, virtual, or hybrid instruction models – is eligible to apply for up to $15,000. Eligible applications should include:

• A list of Pennsylvania farmers who have agreed to supply products from their farms;
• Nutrition and agriculture education, including integration into regular classroom subjects;
• Training of teachers and other educational staff on nutrition and agriculture education;
• Inclusion of parents, caregivers, and community groups in educational activities; and
• Field trips to Pennsylvania farms or other direct agricultural experiences which teach children about sources of food and Pennsylvania agriculture.

The 2021-22 Farm to School program opened for applications on August 16 and the deadline to apply is October 1, 2021.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is calling the violent chaos at Kabul’s airport “gut-wrenching,” but he’s standing by America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden spoke from the White House on Monday in his first in-person remarks since the Taliban over the weekend rolled over an Afghan military and government that American forces had spent two decades building. Despite it all, Biden said he stands squarely behind his decision to end the United States’ longest war. He faulted leaders of the Afghan government and military for its swift collapse, saying he had warned President Ashraf Ghani to prepare to fight a civil war with the Taliban after American troops left.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government. The militants are seeking to reassure a wary population that their rule will be different this time. Tuesday’s comments come a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. Following a blitz across Afghanistan that saw many cities fall to the insurgents without a fight, the Taliban have sought to portray themselves as more moderate than when they imposed a brutal rule in the late 1990s. But many Afghans remain skeptical. While there were no major reports of abuses or fighting in the capital of Kabul as the Taliban now patrol its streets, many residents have stayed home and remain fearful.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are lining up to blister President Joe Biden’s handling of Afghanistan as they try to turn violence and chaos there into political opportunity back home. That’s despite many agreeing that it was ultimately time for U.S. forces to leave that country. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, negotiated a peace deal that would have seen U.S. forces withdraw months earlier, one that was cheered by much of his party. But many of those leading Republicans are now criticizing Biden, not for what he’s doing in sending U.S. troops home but for how he’s doing it. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called the chaotic withdrawal “an embarrassing spectacle, a diplomatic humiliation and a national security catastrophe.”

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a man was found shot to death in a car that had crashed into a Pittsburgh home over the weekend. Allegheny County police say officers were called to the Beltzhoover neighborhood shortly before midnight Saturday after a gunshot detection system indicated gunfire. A 911 call soon afterward sent them to an address where they found a vehicle crashed into a home. Inside, they found the lone occupant of the vehicle with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene minutes later. The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office on Monday identified him as 29-year-old Darren Green of Sheraden. Police are investigating and no arrests were immediately reported.