(File Photo of the Top of a School Bus)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) It is time for back to school season in Beaver County for the 2025-2026 school year because starting next week,schools will begin their operations. This is to help students and parents to be aware of when Beaver County schools will open again for the new school year. According to the Beaver County Times, here is the list of back to school start dates for Beaver County Schools for the 2025-2026 school year and more information for some specific schools going into this school year:

Aliquippa School District: school starts August 21

Ambridge Area School District, school starts August 21

Baden Academy Charter School, school starts August 19

Beaver Area School District, school starts August 21

Beaver County Christian School, school starts August 26

Big Beaver Falls Area, school starts August 26

Blackhawk School District, school starts August 21

Central Valley School District, school starts August 25

Cornell School District, school starts August 25

Elwood City Area School District, school starts September 2 and What’s new there: Ellwood City Area School District has hired ABC Transit Inc. as the. new transportation provider for students in the district, according to a notice posted at the district’s website. The school district will mail bus cards to students’ homes around Aug. 12. These cards will include the child’s bus number, stop location and pick-up/drop-off times. Any bus changes must be made with ABC Transit by Aug. 22; call 724-390-3900 (from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday) or email janine@abctransit.com. Families whose home address will change before the new school year starts should notify the district as soon as possible at 724-752-1591 x 3016 or adibuono@ecasdk12.org.

Freedom Area School District, school starts August 25

Hopewell School District, school starts August 25

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, school starts August 20 What’s new there: Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is reaching out to students displaced by the sudden closure of Midland Innovation and Technology Charter School. An exclusive tour of the Lincoln Park campus will be held for MITCS students and families at 5 p.m. on Aug. 11. Those who want to RSVP for the tour should send an email to admissions@lppacs.org. Questions can be directed to the school at 724-643-9004, ext. 3000, or at the admission office email address listed above.

Midland Borough School District, school starts August 27

Moon Area School District, school starts August 27 What’s new there: Thomas Misko joined the Moon Area district August 1 as high school principal. He most recently was assistant principal at Shaler Area High School, and he previously taught high school mathematics at the West Allegheny and DuBois Area school districts. He also previously served an administrative internship at Moon’s Allard Elementary School. He is a graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania (now PennWest Clarion) and Robert Morris University and earned his K-12 principal certification from the University of Pittsburgh.

New Brighton Area School District, school starts August 26

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School, school starts August 19

Quaker Valley School District, students in kindergarten to grade 9 will start on August 20, while students in grades 10-12 start on August 21st What’s new there: In June, the Quaker Valley School District was awarded a $184,000 Manufacturing PA Training to Career grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. This grant will update the school’s pre-engineering and technology lab and purchase some new equipment, including a computer numeric control (CNC) milling machine, plastic and metal forming equipment, precision measurement equipment and other manufacturing tools similar to those used by companies in the region. The district is also adding several new courses in manufacturing and fabrication to its curriculum this year.

Riverside School District (Beaver County), school starts August 27th What’s new there: Riverside has three new administrators in the district this year. Chelsea Sharek is the K-4th grade building principal, Jeff Gonzales is the principal in the grades 5-8 building and Emily Smith has been named director of pupil services. Each of these administrators has worked in other positions within the district for many years.

Rochester Area School District, school starts August 26

Sewickley Academy, senior school students start school on August 27, lower and middle school students start on August 28

South Side Area School District, school starts August 25

West Allegheny School District, school starts August 19

Western Beaver County School District, school starts August 26

(File Photo: Source for Photo: The Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel coking plant, is seen Monday, Aug 11, 2025, in Clairton, Penn. (AP Photo/Gene Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Clairton, PA) The second person that was killed from the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works plant explosion on Monday was identified yesterday as fifty-two-year-old Steven Menefee of Clairton. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Menefee yesterday and the cause of this explosion is still being investigated. Thirty-nine-year-old Timothy Quinn was the first person that was identified who died from the Clairton explosion on Monday. Ten people got injured from this explosion and three of them are still being treated for their injuries. A GoFundMe page to benefit the families of Quinn and Menefee along with the families of those who got injured in the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works plant explosion on Monday from United SteelWorkers Local 1557 can be found below:

Click here for the link to the GoFundMe Fundraiser by Travis Laing : Help Families of USW Local 1557 Clairton works

(File Photo of Busses Rolling Down Third Street in New Brighton0

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) As students go back to the classroom in Beaver County next week, AAA and PennDOT met up at Wyland Elementary School in Allison Park recently to discuss school bus safety, pedestrian safety and motorist safety. Tips for motorists include getting rid of distractions, putting your phone away or down while driving and stopping completely at an intersection and a crosswalk. These tips are to help prevent fatal accidents or accidents during the school year. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, some other tips for safety during the school year from PennDOT and AAA can be found below:

Motorist Safety Tips

• Brake for buses and abide by PA’s School Bus Stopping Law.
• Watch out for bicyclists and abide by PA’s Four Foot Passing Law.
• Plan ahead by leaving early and modifying routes to avoid school zones unless necessary.

Pedestrian Safety Tips

• Make eye contact with the driver before crossing in front of their vehicle to increase visibility.
• Stay in well-lit areas when crossing the street and walking on sidewalks.
• Avoid distractions like a phone, and don’t wear headphones so you can be sure to hear traffic around you when near the road.
• Always use crosswalks and use crossing guards when possible.

PennDOT is reminding parents to get their child prepared for the school commute by talking with their child about the route for waling to school or the stop for the school bus, letting children know about safe walking areas, and what to do in case an emergency occurs when children are riding on the school bus.

Tips related to the school bus for school safety include to follow the school bus driver’s instructions, knowing where emergency exits are located in the bus, how to exit the bus safety. This can help students feel increased confidence and preparation when riding on the school bus.

(File Photo of Road Closed Signs on a Road)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Robinson Township, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that occurring tomorrow night, weather permitting, overnight closures of the northbound I-79 to westbound I-376 (Parkway West) ramp in Robinson Township, Allegheny County will begin. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, paving operations and pavement marking installation work will be conducted by crews along I-376 (Parkway West) between the Campbells Run Road (Exit 62) and I-79 (Exit 64A) interchange ramps and on the interchange ramps at I-79 and the northbound I-79 ramp to westbound I-376 (Exit 59B) will close for milling and resurfacing and pavement marking installation work according to the following schedule:

Weekend Closures, August 15-18

• 6:00 PM Friday, August 15 to 7:00 AM Saturday, August 16
• 9:00 PM Saturday, August 16 to 7:00 AM Sunday, August 17
• 9:00 PM Sunday, August 17 to 5:00 AM Monday, August 18

Weeknight Closures, August 18-21

• 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM each night Monday through Thursday

Weekend Closures, August 22-25

• 6:00 PM Friday, August 22 to 7:00 AM Saturday, August 23
• 9:00 PM Saturday, August 23 to 7:00 AM Sunday, August 24
• 9:00 PM Sunday, August 24 to 5:00 AM Monday, August 25

Weeknight Closures, August 25-26

• 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM, Monday and Tuesday

Ramp traffic will be epxerience a detour, and according to that same release from PennDOT District 11, here is the detour route:

Posted Detour

• Continue straight on northbound I-79 past the closed ramp
• Take the Route 60 Crafton/Moon Run (Exit 60) off-ramp
• Turn left onto Route 60 (Steubenville Pike)
• Take the ramp to I-79 South toward Washington
• From southbound I-79, take the ramp to West 376 toward Pittsburgh International Airport/Beaver (Exit 59B)
• End detour

I-376 will keep having single-lane restrictions happening in both directions between the Ridge Road (Exit 61) and I-79 (Exit 64A) interchanges from 9 P.M. to 5 A.M. on weeknights and from 9 P.M. to 7 A.M. on weekends through late October. Milling, paving, and pavement marking installation work occurring in coordination with the ramp closures will be seen by motorists. Motorists will be driving on milled roadway surfaces until paving work occurs as the project progresses as part of this work.

(File Photo of the Fort Pitt Tunnel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced tomorrow night, weather permitting, a lane restriction in the Fort Pitt Tunnel on I-376 in the City of Pittsburgh will occur. From 10 P.M. tomorrow to 5 A.M. on Saturday morning, a single-lane restriction will occur in the outbound westbound Fort Pitt Tunnel. Drainage work will be conducted by PennDOT crews.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: The Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel coking plant, is seen Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025, in Clairton, Penn. (Sean Stipp/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review via AP)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Clairton, PA) A recent confirmation from hospital officials states that seven of the ten people that got injuries from the explosion that took place at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke works plant on Monday got released. According to a UPMC spokesperson, three patients are still being treated at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. No word was given on their condition. Thirty-nine-year-old Timothy Quinn and fifty-two-year-old Steven Menefee of Clairton were the two people that were killed from this explosion in Clairton on Monday. The number of the people that got treated at the scene of this explosion is unknown. The cause of this explosion is still being investigated. Routine maintenance had been scheduled in Batteries 13 and 14 of the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke works plant, which is where this explosion happened. Several batteries of that same plant are still shut down from the explosion. A GoFundMe campaign to assist the families of those who were injured and the families of both Quinn and Menefee by United Steelworkers Local 1557 can be found below:

Click here for the link to the GoFundMe Fundraiser by Travis Laing : Help Families of USW Local 1557 Clairton works

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: police car lights at night in city with selective focus and bokeh background blur) Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto/z1b)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A tractor-trailer got overturned partially on a Downtown Pittsburgh road this morning. Crews responded to the scene of this incident which happened on the road of Fort Pitt Boulevard and Stanwix Street, which police were also blocking at the scene. It appeared that the tractor-trailer cab was upright and its back got turned over on the road of the scene. The cause of the crash is unknown at this time and there were no reported injuries.

(File Photo of Fire Background)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Upper St. Clair, PA) Yesterday morning, a dog of a family helped them escape a fire that happened that day in Upper St. Clair at a home on the 1400 block of Meadow Road just after 4:30 a.m. The fire was under control after around forty-five minutes of work by fire crews from Upper St. Clair. They even had to get a fire hydrant down the road because one hydrant could not be operated and a collapse was seen at one part of the house that caught on fire. According to Upper St. Clair Fire Chief Ted Hale, the dog of two adults and a one-year-old child woke them up and got them safely displaced before the fire happened. This fire is being investigated by the Allegheny County fire marshal. The cause of this Upper St. Clair house fire that is believed to have started on the back porch of that home is unknown at this time.