Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published March 21, 2024 9:56 A.M.

(New Brighton, Pa) Street sweeping in New Brighton Borough will resume on Monday, April 1. The borough issued a release asking residents to please observe the parking restrictions listed on the street sweeping signs posted in each neighborhood. Reminders for parking on the street during posted street sweeping hours will begin on March 25 for a period of two weeks. Street sweeping will continue through December 1, 2024.

Additionally, residents and merchants are reminded to not place leaves and yard debris into the street for collection by the street sweeper. Leaves and yard debris are to be placed in bags and placed by the curb for collection. Curbside leaf collection will begin in mid-October.

Harrisburg, PA – In keeping with Governor Shapiro’s commitment to ensure safe and secure elections in Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt launched the Department of State’s new Election Directors Training Team, providing election administration education and support to Pennsylvania’s county election directors.

“The Department of State is working closely with counties to ensure they are prepared for the 2024 presidential primary and general elections, and we believe this team will give our county election officials additional tools to help them administer free, fair, and safe elections,” Schmidt said. “Because the election administration landscape has changed so much since the last presidential election in 2020, and counties have seen an unprecedented amount of turnover among their top election officials during that time, the Department made it a priority this year to offer this additional training and support.”

The Department began building a new Election Directors Training Team in 2023. The team’s goal is to provide county election directors and their teams with the tools and training they need to ensure elections in Pennsylvania – including the 2024 presidential primary and general election – run smoothly and are administered fairly and securely.

So far, the team has conducted 20 trainings on nine different topics, with two additional sessions planned before the April 23 primary election.

“We are committed to reaching out to all county election administrators to help them better understand what the state’s Election Code requires them to do to ensure free, fair, safe and secure elections for Pennsylvania voters,” Schmidt said. “This team is providing training on everything from ballot completion deadlines to managing hundreds of polling places.”

The team includes professionals with hands-on experience overseeing elections in Pennsylvania counties. In addition to providing group trainings, the team provides one-on-one assistance for election administrators as needed.

“I greatly appreciate Secretary Schmidt and the Department developing a comprehensive training program for elections offices across the Commonwealth,” Mercer County Elections Director Thad Hall said. “The trainings have been especially effective because a former county elections director has been leading the effort. Having people who have run county elections leading the training effort makes all the difference.”

Last month, the Shapiro Administration announced the establishment of the Pennsylvania Election Threats Task Force, led by Schmidt. The task force is composed of federal, state, and local security, law enforcement, and election administration partners who are working together to share information and coordinate plans to mitigate threats to the election process, protect voters from intimidation, and provide voters with accurate, trusted election information.

For more information on voting and elections in Pennsylvania, including how to contact your county elections office, visit the Department of State’s voter education website, vote.pa.gov.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (D-PA), alongside Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), and G.T. Thompson (R-PA) introduced the Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act. This bipartisan legislation would provide a memorial headstone or marker through the Department of Veterans Affairs to an eligible spouse or dependent child of a veteran in a national cemetery or state or tribal Veterans cemetery regardless of the date of death. Under current law, eligible spouses and dependent children who passed before November 11, 1998, or after October 1, 2024, are ineligible to be added to a memorial headstone or marker. Additionally, this legislation would update federal law to extend this important veteran benefit beyond 2024 for an additional 10 years.

This bill was named in honor of Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy, a veteran and his spouse who were killed in a Mexico earthquake in 1985. In 2023, Dennis was given a memorial marker at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Washington County, Pennsylvania. His wife, Lois, is currently ineligible.

“I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill and make sure that eligible spouses and children can be included on veterans’ memorial headstones or markers,” said Rep. Deluzio. “This bill is a powerful way to honor how important family is to our nation’s veterans, and to offer comfort to the family members they leave behind.”

“Our veterans and their families dedicate their lives to our country. As a veteran myself, I understand the important role our loved ones play in the lives of our nation’s heroes,” said Rep. Reschenthaler. “I am honored to introduce this commonsense legislation that cuts bureaucratic red tape for families like the Krisfalusys and ensures we provide the utmost support for those who have sacrificed so much for our nation.”

“Ensuring that military spouses can be buried with their loved ones is a vital part of honoring our commitment to the men and women who served our nation in uniform,” said Rep. Joyce.

“1.5 million Americans have died for this great country. This legislation allows us to not only honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, but also to honor their loved ones who made sacrifices of their own,” said Rep. Kelly. “I’m proud to join Rep. Reschenthaler and our colleagues on this important legislation. This is a significant step toward honoring military families.”

“The great sacrifices veterans and their families make cannot be overstated,” said Rep. Meuser. “Congress must ensure that arbitrary deadlines do not hinder a military family’s ability to properly honor their loved ones. I appreciate Congressman Reschenthaler’s efforts to support the Krisfalusys and our entire veteran community.”

“Our veterans and their families sacrifice so much for our country, and they too should have the opportunity to be honored with their loved ones,” said Rep. Thompson. “As an Army dad, I am proud to support bipartisan legislation that will correct an outdated law and allow all members of military families to receive the honors they deserve.”

“I would like to thank Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler, Chris Deluzio, John Joyce, Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, and G.T. Thompson for their efforts towards introducing legislation for my brother, Dennis Krisfalusy, and his beloved wife, Lois Krisfalusy,” said Pat Maxon, sister of Dennis Krisfalusy. “Not only will Lois’s name be engraved on the memorial stone with Denny, but spouses and children of veterans will be entitled to the military rights they justly deserve. Our brother, who served over 20 years in the military, and his wife, who was by his side, should both be recognized for their patriotic duty. We are forever grateful to all who brought this bill to fruition and look forward to its passage for all veterans and their families.”

Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy’s story was previously covered in the Observer-Reporter here.

HARRISBURG, PA:  The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported today that the combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming, along with fantasy contests, during February 2024 was $499,093,210, an increase of 9.25% compared to revenue generated in February 2023.

 

Sources of gaming revenue regulated by the PGCB include slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests and video gaming terminals (VGTs). The PGCB has posted separate reports for these types of gaming on its website, https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/.

 

Total tax revenue generated collectively through all forms of gaming and fantasy contests was $204,961,221* during February 2024.

(New Brighton, Pa) Artist William Kofmehl will judge the 47th ANNUAL ART EXHIBIT for the Beaver Valley Artists. The show will be at the Merrick Art Gallery, 1100 5th Avenue New Brighton, April 16 – May 9. Hours are Tues., Wed., Thurs. 10 – 2, Sunday 1 – 4. 

William Earl Kofmehl, III, is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on sculpture. A native of Pittsburgh, Kofmehl studied fine arts and civil engineering at Carnegie Mellon University before earning his MFA from Yale University. Kofmehl has exhibited work around the United States and internationally and has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art (France), University of Pittsburgh, Geneva College, and Robert Morris University. Kofmehl’s recent sculpture is composed of reclaimed cast bronze and aluminum alloys harvested from Pittsburgh’s industrial history.

Artists in BVA meet once a month to learn Art techniques, to practice drawing, and to critique one another’s work.

Each year a juror selects awards at the annual member’s show .

The show opening celebration is on April 28, 2024 from 1 – 4.  It will be on display at the Merrick till May 9 at 7:00 pm. when William Kofmehl will critique art work in the show. The public is invited to the opening and the critique.  Refreshments will be served.

Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published March 20, 2024 10:47 A.M.

(Crescent Township, Pa) The Department of Environmental protection says they’re investigation is ongoing in regards to the house that exploded in Crescent Township earlier this month claiming the lives of a couple inside the home. DEP inspectors have established a soil gas monitoring network around the property and are conducting an extensive search for all potential gas sources, whether they are documented or not. DEP also screened the nearest residence as a precaution. DEP will continue to have a regular presence on site and assist the Allegheny County Fire Marshall’s Office.

FILE – Dot Skoko, owner of Dot’s Dollar More or Less shop in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., hands a customer a Mega Millions lottery ticket, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2022. The Mega Millions jackpot has reached an astounding $977 million for Friday night’s drawing after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $977 million for Friday night’s drawing after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday night. The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday were 24, 46, 49, 62, 66 and the gold Mega Ball was 7. The estimated jackpot was $893 million with a cash prize of $421.4 million. The cash prize for Friday’s drawing is $461 million. Four people won $1 million each in California, Texas, Virginia and Florida.

This selection of undated still frames from security video camera footage provided by Michael Grant shows a variety of oversized box trucks crashing through the historic Miller’s Run covered bridge in Lyndon, Vt. Over the years, truck drivers have failed to notice the height warning signs leading to the bridge. (Michael Grant via AP)

LYNDON, Vt. (AP) — One of Vermont’s historic covered bridges is under threat from modern technology. Box truck drivers relying on GPS designed for cars continually crash through Lyndon’s 140-year-old Miller’s Run bridge. That’s despite signs, including a flashing one, to deter vehicles that are too tall or too heavy from crossing. Drivers can face fines of $5,000 from the town, plus state penalties. But the bridge keeps getting whacked. Lyndon is far from alone. According to head of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, last November, a tractor trailer truck seriously damaged a covered bridge in Princeton, Illinois, and a bridge in Ohio was damaged in a similar way a year earlier.

FILE – This Oct. 17, 2023 file photo shows the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County jail could significantly increase its mental health staffing and provide more training about use of force and restraint after five inmates alleged that the Pennsylvania facility treats those with mental illness unfairly, under proposed settlement filed Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The Allegheny County jail could significantly increase its mental health staffing and provide more training about use of force and restraint. This after inmates alleged that the Pennsylvania facility unfairly treats those with mental illness. A court order filed Tuesday awaits a judge’s approval. It responds to a class action filed in 2020 in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania by five people incarcerated at the county jail. Lawyers say mental health care in the jail was “non-existent or wholly deficient” when the lawsuit was filed, impacting intake, medication, counseling and suicide prevention.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published March 19, 2024 1:13 P.M.
Photos by Keith Walsh – Beaver County Radio

(Beaver Falls, Pa) The Rabid Raccoon 100 took place over the weekend at Brady’s Run Park. Runners from all over traveled to Beaver County to participate in the main event, the 100 mile race, which consisted of 8 loops of the course.

The event was organized by Visit Beaver County and managed by Wolf Creek. Visit Beaver County stated the reason Brady’s Run Park was chosen for this years race was improved trail maintenance, an upgraded course with no road crossing, greater parking capacity, and close proximity to hotels, among other things.

The 1st place male and female winners of the 100 mile race received a large championship style belt, and all 100 mile finishers received a custom belt buckle.

Photos from the event: