Author: Beaver County Radio

Elaine Ludovici (1939-2025)

Elaine Ludovici, 86, of Baden, passed away peacefully on September 23rd, 2025. She was born on June 3rd, 1939, a daughter of the late Alice and Oscar Bittner. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years, Dominick Ludovici. She is survived by her devoted daughter, Cindy (Keith) Kristek, eight cherished grandchildren: Samantha (Matt) Lesak, Elijah (Caitie) Kristek, Ezekiel (Katie) Kristek , Jordan (Nikki) Kristek, Caleb Kristek , Phoebe Kristek , Malachi Kristek , and Celeste (Logan) Evagues; along with four great-grandchildren: Oliver, Alice, Emma, and Iris, her sister and best friend, Barbara Harsch, her brother, Robert Bittner, her sister-in-law, MaryJane Ferret, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Elaine found joy in sewing, quilting, gardening, and crocheting. She will be fondly remembered by many preschool children for the hats and mittens she lovingly made for them. The family extends heartfelt gratitude to the nurses and staff at Beaver Valley Rehab and Nursing and Seven Oaks Hospice for the compassionate care they provided.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, October 11th at 10 a.m. at Saint Luke the Evangelist Church, 725 Glenwood Avenue, Ambridge. Interment will be private at Saint James Cemetery, 417 Water Works, Sewickley. Arrangements have been entrusted to Alvarez-Hahn Funeral Services and Cremation, LLC, 547 8th Street,  Ambridge.

Memorial contributions may be made in Elaine’s name to the Saint Vincent de Paul Fund.

Karen Lynn Capper (1942-2025)

Karen Lynn Capper, 83, of Beaver, dearly known for her warmth and boundless energy, passed away peacefully on September 26th, 2025, with her daughter, Debbie, and her brother, Bob, by her side.

She was born on August 25th, 1942, the daughter of the late Robert and Eva Mae Merrick. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Charles “Brub” Capper and her brother, Theodore “Ted” Merrick. She is survived by her brother, Robert (Kris) Merrick, her two children, Debbie (Greg) Koepke and Gretchen (Peter) Lang, three stepchildren: Pamela Capper, Chad (Wendy) Capper, and Susan Capper, two grandchildren, William Koepke and Montgomery (Monte) Lang, ten step-grandchildren: Nicholas Marks, Chandler Lupo, Allison Capper Falconer (Wiley), Charles (Ava) Capper, Spencer Lupo, Andrew Capper, Sally DeVera, Colin DeVera, Jack Lupo, and Charlie Lupo. Karen graduated from Beaver Area High School before beginning her studies to become a concert pianist at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. Two years later, she shifted her focus to business administration and earned her degree from Robert Morris University in Moon Township in 1966. Karen was a most loving mother, wife, and grandmother.

After a long career in medical administration, continuing until the age of 80, Karen turned her full attention to the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton. Having served on the Women’s Council for decades, as a Co-Trustee since 2002 and the Trustee since 2009, she devoted herself fully to the gallery after retiring, embracing it as her new vocation and pouring her heart and energy into its care and growth. She was a longtime member of Park Presbyterian Church of Beaver, where she served multiple terms as an ordained Elder and Deacon, sang in the choir, and contributed as both a Bible study leader and participant. Karen had a gift for making people feel instantly at home in her presence, and her legacy endures through the kindness, grace, and joy she brought to every relationship. Karen lived her life with a rare blend of grace and exuberance. She embodied Christian kindness, deeply good at her core and unfailingly caring toward others, while at the same time brimming with energy. A force to be reckoned with, she poured herself completely into everything she touched, improving whatever she could and inspiring others to join her efforts. Whether through her church or the gallery, Karen had a gift for making things happen; it was impossible to say no to her! A party planner extraordinaire and the “hostess with the mostest,” she turned every holiday and gathering into an occasion to remember, with beautiful décor and thoughtful details that made family and friends feel cherished. Her devotion to her husband, children, grandchildren, and community was reflected not only in her work at the church and gallery, but also in the countless ways she made life special for those around her. She will be deeply missed, but her warmth, grace, and spirit will never be forgotten.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, October 2nd, from 4-7 p.m. at the Noll Funeral Home, Inc., 333 3rd Street, Beaver, who was in charge of her arrangements. A funeral service will occur on Friday, October 3rd at 11 a.m. at Park Presbyterian Church, 275 Commerce Street, Beaver. Private family interment will take place after the service. Online condolences may be shared at nollfuneral.com.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Merrick Art Gallery, 1100 5th Avenue, New Brighton, PA or Park Presbyterian Church, 275 Commerce Street, Beaver, PA.

Top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna looking forward to his Penn State debut

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Canada forward Gavin McKenna celebrates his first goal during first period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship tournament action against Finland, Dec. 26, 2024, in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Gavin McKenna admits he didn’t watch a lot of college hockey growing up in Western Canada.

But the projected 2026 NHL draft’s top prospect saw enough last season to know he wanted to play for Penn State.

McKenna met with reporters Monday for the first time since shocking the hockey world in July by announcing his departure from the Western Hockey League to commit to Guy Gadowsky’s Nittany Lions.

“Seeing what these guys did last year, making it to the Frozen Four, that was a big influence on me,” McKenna said. “I wanted to come to a winning team and I thought this was the spot.”

The 17-year-old was already the main man for a winning program.

He finished second in the WHL with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 games last season and was the league’s player of the year. He led the Medicine Hat Tigers to the WHL championship and Memorial Cup finals.

In his three seasons for Medicine Hat, McKenna had 79 goals and 165 assists.

Now he aims to provide even more scoring and playmaking for the Nittany Lions who return their top six scorers from last season’s squad that fell a game short of playing for an NCAA title.

“It’s continuing on where we left off and I think Gavin was really adamant about that when coming in and talking about the reasons why,” Gadowsky said. “He’s here to enhance that, not change that.”

McKenna is joined by new teammates Lev Katzin, Luke Misa and Shea Van Olm, and defensemen Jackson Smith and Nolan Collins who are among the nearly 325 CHL players who have committed to Division I college programs this year.

The NCAA lifted its ban on CHL players in November, paving the way for McKenna and other CHL players — previously considered professionals because they received stipends for living expenses — to defect to the NCAA ranks.

McKenna, living on his own for the first time nearly 3,500 miles from his home in Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon Territory, has already made a strong first impression on his coaches and teammates.

Gadowsky said McKenna, is a “chill, great hang” while team captain Dane Dowiak called him a normal guy who “just wants to win.”

They’ve all been mesmerized by the winger’s hockey IQ, speed and ability to think and react before defenders can get a bead on him.

“He does think the game differently,” Gadowsky said. “He’s a different animal when it comes to that. Not only compared to any other freshman, compared to anybody.”

But there are areas where the phenom will be tested, Gadowsky said.

Notably, McKenna goes from being one of the older players in the WHL where players as young as 15 can suit up, to one of the youngest in the NCAA ranks.

“He’s going to be playing against guys eight years older that have been lifting weights in a very structured environment for a long time,” Gadowsky said. “Don’t forget, he’s 17 so there is going to be a transition process, there really is.”

McKenna is counting on it.

“I think there’s a lot less time and space,” McKenna said. “The guys are bigger, faster, older. It’s not too different in terms of skill and stuff. Obviously both leagues are very skilled and guys can make plays, but in terms of speed and size, I think that’s the biggest difference.”

Listed at 6-foot, 170 pounds, McKenna said he considered the length of the NCAA season a positive and negative when making his decision.

A negative because he loves the game and wants to play as much as possible. Even with a postseason run, Penn State played 40 games last year. McKenna skated in more than 60 games each of the last two seasons with Medicine Hat.

The positive? He’ll have some time to develop physically for what comes after his time in Happy Valley.

“I’m itching to play games,” McKenna said. “With that though, that’s a reason I came here is because less games, more time in the gym. I’m not a big guy, so I want to put on weight and that was part of the reason I came here.”

And to win.

Aiden Fink, the team’s leading scorer last season with 23 goals and 30 assists, is looking forward to skating with McKenna and is ready for the extra attention on the program.

“It’s going to be an exciting year for us, definitely,” Fink said.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will keep Don Kelly as manager after improvements in the second half of the 2025 MLB season

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly stands on the dugout steps during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Don Kelly feels like he spent his first couple of months as the interim manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates drinking from a fire hose.

At some point after the All-Star break, the pace of the job started to slow down. And a season that was on the verge of careening out of control when he was promoted following Derek Shelton’s firing on May 8 began to get back on track.

Enough that the Pittsburgh-area native earned something that was a rarity during his playing career: stability.

The Pirates extended Kelly’s contract on Monday, confident the leadership he provided during a turbulent year is what the club needs as it tries to emerge from a decade of irrelevance.

Pittsburgh was 12-26 when the Pirates jettisoned Shelton in early May, part of an embarrassing stretch in which the club had problems hitting on the field and avoiding public relations disasters off it.

The Pirates went 59-65 once Kelly took over, including a 32-33 mark after the All-Star break. General manager Ben Cherington pointed to the trust Kelly built during his five-plus seasons as bench coach and his “tenacity” as key factors in deciding to retain him.

“I think really over the course of the last five months, it’s just become very clear … that this is the right choice,” Cherington said.

Kelly isn’t the only one sticking around.

Cherington and team president Travis Williams will also be back in 2026. Both were hired as part of an organizational overhaul in late 2019. The Pirates have yet to finish .500 since, and actually took a step back in 2025.

Yet there is internal optimism the team can contend next summer behind a pitching staff that features reigning National League Rookie of the Year and leading Cy Young Award contender Paul Skenes.

“Our goal is to win in 2026 and to make the playoffs, period, full stop,” Williams said.

How they get there is a little murky. Under owner Bob Nutting, the Pirates annually have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Their deal with a regional sports network is modest, and attendance actually dropped this season even with Skenes available all year.

While Cherington said the team will be open to everything when it comes to improving the worst offense in the majors, he added that free agency is not an “open ocean” where the club would have a legitimate chance to land anyone on the market.

“We’ve got to be prepared to chase down every single thing that we think has a chance to help this team win more games in ’26, execute on the ones we can get to and just be dogged about it all offseason,” Cherington said.

The Pirates were in a similar position a year ago and opted to focus on overhauling some of the coaching staff rather than investing in proven major league talent. While first baseman Spencer Horwitz was solid after being acquired in a trade with Cleveland last winter, and veteran Tommy Pham recovered from a miserable start, Pittsburgh finished dead last in every significant offensive category, including runs, home runs and OPS.

“We need to be making bets on guys who are not proven,” Cherington said. “We may be able to make some bets on guys that are proven, and we’ll pursue that too, but some of the targets have to be guys who are unproven.”

Cherington acknowledged there were times this year when “we got into patches where we just didn’t have enough options to create good matchups up and down the lineup.”

The Pirates played in a major league-high 60 games decided by one run and lost 35 of them, also tops in the majors. A little run support might go a long way for a starting rotation loaded young talent, including Skenes (23), Bubba Chandler (23), Braxton Ashcraft (25), Mike Burrows (25) and Jared Jones (24), who missed all of this season after having Tommy John surgery.

Shortstop Konnor Griffin, all of 19, hit a combined .333 across three levels of the minors this season.

“We have the best young pitching staff in all of baseball,” Williams said. “We have a great core of young position players, and in addition to that, we have one of the best farm systems in baseball, the top prospect in baseball. And at the same time, we know that we need to be better.”

Kelly can at least exhale knowing he has the job in the city where he grew up. He remembers having his heart torn out when Atlanta’s Francisco Cabrera drove in the deciding runs in Game 7 of the 1992 NL Championship Series.

Thirty-plus years later, that remains as close as Pittsburgh has gotten to a World Series since it won the title in 1979. Kelly wants to be part of the group that makes the team matter again.

“I will work tirelessly fighting for you, fighting with you to help make the Pittsburgh Pirates the best team possible,” Kelly said, “and to bring playoff baseball back to the city of Pittsburgh.”

Get Ready for Winter: Peoples Encourages Customers to Apply for Up to $500 Heating Assistance Grants through Dollar Energy Fund

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Peoples Natural Gas)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Peoples Natural Gas, Peoples Natural Gas, Peoples Natural Gas reminds customers that the Dollar Energy Fund (DEF) program opens for the 2025-26 heating season tomorrow on Wednesday, October 1st, 2025. Customers of Peoples Natural Gas that are eligible can get grants of up to $500 to assist in offsetting costs of winter heating. These grants are on a first-come, first-serve basis with them being available and customers are encouraged to apply early. According to that same release from Peoples Natural Gas, here is some more information about the DEF program:

To qualify for a one-time payment from DEF, customers must meet the following criteria:

  • Your total gross household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level
  • Gas service is off or in threat of termination
  • Account is for residential service (single family or apartment)
  • Name on the account is an adult currently living in the household
  • Made a good faith payment to the account within the last 90 days of applying for the grant
  • Applied for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)/Crisis benefits (when open)

Customers can use DEF’s income calculator to determine eligibility.

Customers can visit https://www.hardshiptools.org/MyApp/ to apply or contact their local DEF agency for assistance. In addition to DEF grants, several programs are available to assist with paying bills and including Peoples’ Customer Assistance Program, which provides an affordable monthly payment all year round, along with an emergency repair program that covers the full cost of repairs to heating systems and gas lines.

For more information or to apply for assistance, call 1-800-400-WARM (9276) or visit peoples-gas.com/help to learn more.

Irish police not able to substantiate report that Steelers’ Skylar Thompson was robbed

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Supporters sit in the stands during the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

DUBLIN (AP) — A formal complaint had not been filed as of Monday in connection to reports that Pittsburgh Steelers player Skylar Thompson was assaulted and robbed in Dublin while his team was preparing to play a game in the city, Irish police said.

The national police, An Garda Síochána, said in a statement it did not have information to substantiate the robbery report involving Thompson, a reserve quarterback for the Steelers.

The Irish Independent newspaper had reported that “a number of males were involved in an assault on Thompson near the Temple Bar area” and that his phone was stolen.

Police said officers patrolling Dame Street became involved early Saturday when they encountered a man who required medical assistance.

“The male in his 20s was treated and assessed at the scene by emergency services personnel,” police said without commenting further about the assault report.

Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said the team was “aware of a situation” involving Thompson on Friday night. He said the team would have no further comment until it and the NFL gathered more information.

The NFL declined to comment on Sunday.

The NFL Players Association said it was looking into the matter.

“As always, our priority is the health and safety of our player members — especially as we continue to work on the player protections and well-being while playing international games — and we will continue to support Skylar in any way he needs,” the association said.

Thompson, 28, has been on injured reserve and wasn’t eligible to play Sunday in what was Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game. The Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 at Croke Park. Thompson was at the game.

Beaver-Brighton kitchen tour set for Saturday

By Beaver County Radio

Feel inspired by the beautiful and creatively designed kitchens on the  24th Annual  American Association of University Women (AAUW) Kitchen Tour & Tasting on Oct. 4.

Taking place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the AAUW Beaver Valley Branch’s kitchen tour is a self-guided visit to four stunning kitchens in private homes across Beaver
and Brighton Township. At each stop, participants can enjoy delicious tastings from local chefs.

One of the kitchens on the AAUW Beaver Valley Branch’s Annual Kitchen Tour and Tasting. (Photo provided by AAUW Beaver Valley Branch)

The tour also includes the Marketplace at the new IBEW building in
Vanport Township featuring 50 raffle baskets, a bake sale, boutique stations, recipes, door prizes and the Los Gingos Tacos Food Truck.

Tickets cost $20 in advance at The Hostess Shoppe in Beaver, or $25 on event day.
All proceeds benefit scholarships for women in Beaver County.

For more information, visit beavervalley-pa.aauw.net.

A Brighton Township house on the AAUW Beaver Valley Branch’s annual Kitchen Tour & Tasting. (Photo provided by AAUW Beaver Valley Branch

Congressman Chris Deluzio Releases Report Detailing Ongoing Push for Better School Smartphone Policies

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A person uses an iPhone on Oct. 8, 2019 in New York. Apple is letting some iPhone users fix their own phones, a sharp turnaround for a company that has long guarded its software in a walled garden that only Apple-approved technicians can unlock. The company said Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2021, it will enable users of two of the newest iPhone models and later some Mac computers to get access to genuine Apple parts and tools to be able to repair them. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office, Deluzio released a report today in Carnegie, Pennsylvania laying out his findings after more than three months of research and stakeholder engagement on the issue of smartphones in schools. The report from Deluzio includes information that is detailed about and a summary of the policies for smartphones in schools in the 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, commentary from students, educators and parents, the analysis and results of a public survey and findings from across the United States that are legislative. This report from Deluzio also includes a list of the present smartphone use policies that are in place in dozens of schools in Western Pennsylvania. Deluzio will be sharing this report with parents, constituents, boards of schools, officials of state education and other stakeholders at each level of government, because their feedback is important, considering that Deluzio will consider what state or federal legislation could be and what bills that are existing on the topic of using smartphones in schools he will support.