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Butter Up! Pennsylvania Farm Show Invites Pennsylvanians to Step Up to the Plate, Create Home Butter Sculptures

Harrisburg, PA – The Department of Agriculture announced today a new opportunity for Pennsylvanians to bring the Pennsylvania Farm Show into their homes, by inviting them to craft their own butter sculpture creations and enter them into the Butter Up! Contest for a chance to win one of a variety of gift cards from members of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA).

“Each year, Pennsylvanians come from near and far to marvel at the 1,000-pound sculpture that has become a keystone to the annual Farm Show,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “It’s a symbol of Pennsylvania’s hard-working dairy industry that works 24/7/365 rain or shine to nourish Pennsylvania.

“Now, we invite you to try your own hand and gain new appreciation for the art of butter sculpting. So Butter Up, Pennsylvania!”

The contest will be open for submissions from Saturday, January 9 through Saturday, January 16, 2021 at 8:00 PM. The guidelines include:

• Individuals can use up to 5 pounds of butter;
• Are allowed to use chicken wire, sculpting wire, and a base to support the design;
• Cannot use food dye or coloring of any kind to enhance the butter; and
• Sculptures must be unique, individual work of the entrants.

While not a requirement, the department suggests individuals look for Pennsylvania butter, to support Pennsylvania’s dairy industry, when purchasing supplies to sculpt their entry. Pennsylvania butter can be identified by looking for the PA Preferred^® logo, plant code 42, or purchasing directly from a local farmers market that sources from a Pennsylvania dairy.

Entrants will be judged in five age group categories including elementary school (ages 5-10), middle school (ages 11-13), high school (ages 14-18), adult (ages 19-64), and senior (ages 65+).

The winners and runners up will be judged by fans of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Facebook page by total reactions (likes, loves, wows, cares, etc.).

To read the full rules and regulations, including eligibility, contest period, how to enter, guidelines, and judging, visit farmshow.pa.gov.

Members of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association have donated $50 and $25 gift cards for the winners and runners up in all five categories, participating merchants include GIANT, C&S Wholesalers, Wegmans, Square One Markets, and Giant Eagle.

“The new at-home butter sculpture competition is an awesome opportunity to keep kids and adults engaged and learning virtually with the Pennsylvania Farm Show in a new and safe way this year. We’re excited that many of our PA Food Merchants Association members value this project and have contributed prizes to those who participate,” said Alex Baloga, president and CEO of the PFMA. “Pennsylvania boasts a strong agriculture industry, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and annual Pennsylvania Farm Show work hard to showcase all our state has to offer.”

The full schedule of virtual Pennsylvania Farm Show events will run from Monday, January 11 through Friday, January 15, 2021, with previews and light programming running Saturday, January 9 and Sunday, January 10.

In addition to this full schedule of virtual live and pre-recorded events, you can follow the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Instagram, where they’ll host 20 takeovers that will take you behind the scenes on Pennsylvania’s farms. Follow along to learn the innerworkings of everything from goat or poultry farming, to organic agriculture or bees or rabbits. The Instagram takeovers will run from Saturday, January 9 through Saturday, January 16, 202

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Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Qualified individuals  seeking a  full time position as a police officer are urged to apply   in Aliquippa, PA Qualifications are :successful completion of Act 120 training, high school diploma or GED,  be at least age 18, have a valid PA  drivers license, be a U.S. citizen and mentally and physically fit. The candidate must also meet other Civil Service requirements. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. To email an application request please send it to :samuel.gill@aliquippapa.gov and a $35 non-refundable  fee  to: City of Aliquippa, attention: Samuel L. Gill , city manager, 581 Franklin Avenue .You may also mail your request in.  Completed applications must be returned by Friday, January 16,2021.

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(Chippewa Twp., Pa.) Pa State  Police reported on Tuesday that they  cited a Westover, West Virginia man with careless driving  on I-376 in Chippewa Township.  According to the report, Joshua L. Kell, 47  of Westover, W.VA  was travelling north on I-376 west  when he fell asleep at the wheel  at 12:23 p.m. His vehicle left the road to the left, striking the guidewires. The vehicle came to rest facing south within the left lane and was towed from the scene. Stat Police said Kell sustained minor injuries , and refused treatment at the scene.

You may be waking up to a little extra cash this morning so make sure you check you bank account because Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin took to Twitter on Tuesday confirming that the payments and checks were on the way for the second round of stimulus money signed into law by President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Mnuchin posted that the U.S. Treasury and IRS would begin delivering the second round of economic impact payments late Tuesday night and Wednesday, via direct deposit for those who have their banking information on file through the IRS.

Paper checks will be mailed out beginning Wednesday.

Eligible Americans will receive a one-time payment of up to $600 per person, or $1,200 for married couples.

On top of that, some families with children will get up to $600 for each qualifying child. Any Taxpayer who made up to $75,000 and married couples who made less than $150,000 in 2019 are eligible for the full amount.
If you made more than that you could still receive a reduced stimulus.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities say they have apprehended Koby Lee Francis who has been on the run since December 20, 2020. Francis is accused of shooting a McKeesport Police Officer while he was in custody. A man hunt has been going on for Francis who escaped handcuffed after shooting the officer three times as the officer opened the back door of his cruiser to lead Francis into the McKeesport Police Station. Francis was apprehended by Federal Marshals Tuesday night around 6:00 pm at an apartment complex in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Francis is being held awaiting extradition back to Allegheny County. Francis was originally arrested for violating a protection from abuse order before the Dec. 20 gunfire and escape.

Boeing Max returns to US skies with first passenger flight
By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer
American Airlines flew a commercial flight using a Boeing 737 Max, the first one in U.S. skies since Max planes were grounded after two deadly crashes. An airline spokesman said American flight 718 on Tuesday left Miami International Airport with about 100 passengers. It landed in the afternoon at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration approved changes that Boeing made to an automated flight-control system implicated in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people in all. In both crashes, the system pushed the nose down repeatedly based on faulty sensor readings, and pilots were unable to regain control.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Hopewell Twp., Pa.) Hopewell Township Commissioners last night approved a resolution reaffirming    a mutual aid agreement  by the  county  and the Beaver County DA’s office, the township and the police department.

Man charged with homicide in death of missing autistic woman
DRUMS, Pa. (AP) — A man has been charged with criminal homicide in the death of a missing autistic woman after authorities said he told them where to find her body in northeastern Pennsylvania. Forty-two-year-old Harold Haulman III is also charged in Luzerne County with abuse of a corpse and kidnapping in the death of 26-year-old Erica Shultz, whose body was found in a wooded area in Butler Township. The (Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader reports that the victim’s sister reported her missing Dec. 6 to Bloomsburg police. Court documents don’t list an attorney for Haulman and phone numbers listed for him had been reassigned or were no longer in service.