Author: Beaver County Radio

Gustav Robert Hampe (1939-2025)

Gustav Robert Hampe, 86, affectionately known as Gus, passed away peacefully at his home on October 20th, 2025.
He was born in New Brighton on February 24th, 1939, the son of the late Gustav G. and Mildred (Warren) Hampe. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his grandson, Michael Miller and a sister, Louise Bunner. He is survived by the love of his life of 63 years, Judith (Smith) Hampe. In addition to his cherished wife, he is survived by his devoted children: Robert Hampe (Chrissy Baker), Lisa Hampe-Miller and Sherry Grady, a dear sister, Marjorie Straub, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Coralee and Michael Syrko, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, seven grandchildren: Erin (Jake) Grossi, Megan (Nolan) Shank, Robyn Hampe (Austin Tisch), Mark (Naomi) Miller, Robert Miller (Stephen Aulerich), Michela Grady (Jesse Moore), Nicholas Grady and Amanda (Jeff) Marsch and Devyn Baker, who lovingly call their grandfather “Mr. Fix It”; as well as his great grandchildren: Robbie, Leena, Eli, Maverick, Easton, Samuel, Abigail, Grady and Maddox.
Gustav was a dedicated business owner, operating Hampe’s Home Repairs for over twenty years. His commitment to quality work and honest service earned him the respect and trust of his community and countless loyal customers.
Outside of work, he was an avid outdoorsman. He found joy in hunting, camping and simply spending time in nature. These moments brought him peace and happiness, and he was always eager to share his love of the outdoors with friends and family.
Above all, he cherished the time he spent with his family. Whether gathered around a campfire, sharing stories at the dinner table or offering a helping hand. His greatest joy was being surrounded by those he loved most. Gustav’s loyal friend from third grade was Ralph Klitz. The two have always remained close.
A Visitation will be on Friday, October 24th from 4-7 p.m. at the Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home Inc., 2026 McMinn Street, Aliquippa, who was in charge of his arrangements.
A service will also be held on Saturday, October 25th at 10 a.m. at New Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, 183 Bethlehem Church Road, Aliquippa with Reverend Randall Clow officiating. Please meet at the church. Private interment will follow at Sylvania Hills Cemetery, 273 PA-68, Rochester.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully asks that one considers making a donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or planting a tree in memory of Gustav. His legacy is one of kindness, hard work, and devotion to family. He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by all whose lives he touched.

 

To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Gustav Robert Hampe please visit the Sympathy Store of the Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home, Inc. by clicking here.

Mark A. Jezowicz (1967-2025)

Mark A. Jezowicz, 58, of Moon Township, passed away on October 19th, 2025 in Heritage Valley Sewickley. He was born in Pittsburgh on February 14th, 1967, the son of the late Paul A. & Theresa R. “Therese” (Maser) Jezowicz. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Beth (Sorba) Jezowicz, two daughters, Hannah Jezowicz (Fiancé Noah Grice) of Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania and Emily Jezowicz (Fiancé Brandon Tretinik) of Oakdale, Pennsylvania and his beloved cocker spaniel, Lily.

Mark grew up in Crafton and graduated from Carlynton High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army Reserves and retired after 20 years of honorable service. he was employed as a hydraulics mechanic for Universal Stainless and Alloy Products in Bridgeville for over 30 years. Family was everything to Mark. His pride and joy were his two daughters. He loved spending time with them whether going on family vacations, camping, fishing, bike riding or just hanging out together. He will be remembered for his kindness, sense of humor, and devotion to his family.

Friends will be received on Friday, October 24th from 5 P.M. until the time of a Memorial Service at 7 P.M. in The Huntsman Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Moon Township, 1522 Coraopolis Heights Road, Moon Township, who was in charge of his arrangements. Private interment at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, 1158 Morgan Road, Bridgeville, will take place at a later date.

Edward J. “Rags” Ragula, Sr. (1935-2025)

Edward J. “Rags” Ragula, Sr., 90, of Baden, passed away peacefully on the evening of October 19th 2025, at home with his family by his side. He was born in New Brighton on February 28th, 1935, a son of the late Stephen and Julia Olash Ragula. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Helen and his brother Stephen Ragula II. He is survived by his sister, Peggy Madish, a daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Randall Aiken of Katy, Texas, a son and daughter-in-law, Edward Jr. and Rachel Ragula of Economy Borough and several grandchildren: Julia Aiken, Robert Aiken, Nicholas Ragula and Ciera Ragula.

Edward was a U.S. Army Veteran who was employed by J&L Steel for over thirty years.

Family and Friends will be received on Friday, October 24th from 3 to 7 p.m. in the John Syka Funeral Home Inc., 833 Kennedy Drive, Ambridge, who was in charge of his arrangements and where a blessing service will take place on Saturday, October 25th at 10 A.M. Entombment will follow in the Beaver Cemetery Mausoleum.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to the Beaver County Humane Society, 3394 Broadhead Road, Aliquippa, PA 15001, to reflect his love of the family pets.

Dennis Michael O’Shea (1953-2025)

Dennis Michael O’Shea, 72, of New Brighton, passed away on September 24th, 2025, surrounded by love in the comfort of his home.

He was born in New Brighton on April 27th, 1953, a son of Esther (Rae) O’Shea and Patrick O’Shea. He is survived by his partner, Laraine McGown, his mother, Esther O’Shea, and her partner, Zenas Thomas, his brother, Kevin O’Shea and his partner, Kathi and his children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother, Patrick O’Shea Jr. in 1976. He was the proud father of Jacquelyn Matotek, Laura Haddox and Ryan O’Shea and he was the grandfather of Cierra and Dawson Rauch, Shaiane Matotek, and Lana and Mina Haddox, who lovingly knew him as Pap-Pap O’Shea.

Dennis graduated from New Brighton High School and worked as a steelworker and machinist before his retirement. Those who knew him will remember his big heart and his creativity. He had a gift for choosing the most beautiful, heartfelt cards that brought tears to your eyes and reminded others how much they mattered. He enjoyed camping, fishing, gardening, and spending time outdoors. He had a deep love for the animals that shared his life. He was an artist at heart that was endlessly creative, a dreamer and a tinkerer who was happiest when his hands were busy bringing an idea to life. He loved to grill and found joy in the simple moments spent with family.

GABAUER FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC. 1133 Penn Avenue, New Brighton, was honored to care for Dennis and his family during this difficult time and was in charge of his arrangements.

Paul A. Tharp (1967-2025)

Paul Anthony Tharp, 57, of Industry, formerly of Center Township, passed away at Providence Health and Rehabilitation Center in Beaver Falls on October 12th 2025.

He was born in Aliquippa on December 12th, 1967, a son of the late John F. and Nellie W. Tharp. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Joe Tharp, John Tharp and Terry Tharp and his sister, Julie Swan. He will be cherished and missed by all he loved dearly especially those who survive him like his daughter, Paula Tharp, brother, Timothy and his sister, Sheila (Dean) Garcia.

Paul liked to shoot pool, go to car shows, build models of cars. He also enjoyed listening to his old C.D.’s and records and watching deer and wildlife.

Paul was a kind man and was willing to help people if he could.

In accordance with Paul’s wishes, no services will be held.

Professional arrangements have been entrusted to the Noll Funeral Home Inc., 333 Third Street, Beaver.

Online condolences may be made shared at www.nollfuneral.com.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Paul A. Tharp, please visit the flower store of the Noll Funeral Home, Inc. by clicking here.

The Louvre reopens 3 days after thieves took French crown jewels in daylight heist

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Visitors queue to enter the Louvre museum three days after historic jewels were stolen in a daring daylight heist, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre reopened Wednesday morning to crowds under its glass pyramid — even as France reeled from one of the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory just days earlier at the famed museum.

The Sunday morning smash-and-grab unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa and has prompted a national reckoning, with some officials comparing the shock to the 2019 burning of Notre-Dame cathedral.

Hundreds queued outside as barriers came down, a visible coda to three days of forensic work, inspections and staff briefings. Tuesday’s closure was routine; the museum is normally shut that day.

However, the scene of the heist — the jewel-lined Apollo Room — stayed shuttered.

France acknowledges failings

Authorities say the gang spent less than four minutes inside the Louvre. Using a freight lift wheeled to the Seine-facing façade, the thieves forced a window, smashed two display cases and fled on motorbikes into central Paris.

Alarms drew Louvre agents to the gallery, forcing the intruders to bolt — but the theft was already done.

“We have failed,” Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said, noting criminals were easily “able to place a freight lift on a public way” — a breach that projects “a very negative image of France.”

Eight objects were taken: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem; and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship.

One piece — the emerald-set imperial crown of Empress Eugénie, with more than 1,300 diamonds — was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

Fears the jewels will be destroyed

The haul is valued at about €88 million ($102 million) — a “spectacular” figure that fails to capture the works’ historical weight, according to Prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

She warned the thieves would be unlikely to realize anything close to that figure if they pry out the gems from their settings or melt the metals. Many curators fear exactly that: that an object’s centuries of meaning could be pulverized into anonymous gems for the black market.

The in-and-out took only minutes; no arrests have been announced and the jewels remain missing.

The investigation is widening. Beccuau said four people have been identified as being at the scene of the heist, with expert analyses underway and about 100 investigators mapping the crew and any accomplices.

The theft has sharpened scrutiny of the Louvre’s surveillance — and landed its president-director, Laurence des Cars, on Wednesday before the Senate’s culture committee — though top officials have refused to remove her.

Questions over Louvre’s overhaul

All this comes in the middle of a security overhaul at the Louvre announced in January by President Emmanuel Macron’s government — a new command post and expanded camera grid the culture ministry says is being rolled out.

It raises hard questions, including whether Sunday’s breach is tied to staffing levels, and how uniformly the upgrades in the overhaul are being applied.

Protection for headline works is airtight — the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled case — yet the break-in exposed seams elsewhere in a 33,000-object labyrinth. For many French, the contrast is a public embarrassment at the landmark.

There is also another raw nerve: swelling crowds and overstretched staff.

A June staff walkout delayed opening over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions argue that mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight access and visitor flows intersect.

On Wednesday, the Louvre’s other star attractions — from the Venus de Milo to the Winged Victory of Samothrace — were open again.

But the cordoned-off vitrines in the Apollo Room, guarded and empty, told a different story — one of a breach measured not just in minutes and euros, but in the fragility of a nation’s patrimony.

Steelers lose special teams ace Miles Killebrew to season-ending knee injury

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers safety Miles Killebrew (28) is helped off the field after an injury in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Miles Killebrew’s season is over.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Killebrew is done for the year after undergoing knee surgery.

Killebrew, a two-time Pro Bowler as a special teamer and a 2023 All-Pro, injured his knee in a victory over Cleveland earlier this month at Acrisure Stadium on what some of his teammates described as an unplayable field.

The 10-year veteran and longtime special teams captain who occasionally moonlighted at safety had five tackles this season.

“Our heart aches for Miles,” Tomlin said. “Obviously he’s a significant component of what we do, particularly in the special team space.”

Veteran safety Jabrill Peppers filled in for Killebrew as the personal protector on punts, though Tomlin isn’t quite ready to hand the job to Peppers on a full-time basis.

“It’s probably a collection of men that have to step up when you’re faced with a challenge like that,” Tomlin said. “Pep did a nice job as a personal protector on our punt team last week, but there’ll be no exhale there. That’s something that’s got to be earned over a long period of time.”

Outside of Killebrew, the Steelers (4-2) are relatively healthy heading into a Sunday night visit from Green Bay (4-1-1). Pittsburgh wide receiver Calvin Austin III could return to play after sitting out the last two games with a shoulder injury.

Tomlin dismissed concerns about the state of the field at Acrisure, which came under criticism from Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and longtime defensive captain Cam Heyward among others for the condition it was in against the Browns.

The field will see plenty of action this weekend. The Pittsburgh Panthers, who share the stadium with the Steelers, host North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon, with that game wrapping up a little over 24 hours before the Steelers and Packers kick off.

“I am not a grass expert,” Tomlin quipped. “I haven’t cut my grass in a long, long time. I coach football. I’m going to stay in my lane. I don’t even know who cuts my grass.”

Crosby scores, Letang reaches 600 career assists as Penguins breeze past Canucks 5-1

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates his goal with Rickard Rakell, left, and Parker Wotherspoon (28) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored his fourth goal and Kris Letang became the 20th defenseman in NHL history to reach 600 career assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Crosby beat Kevin Lankinen from the slot in the later stages of the second period to extend his goal streak to three straight games. It also gave Pittsburgh’s longtime captain 1,896 career points combined between the regular season and the postseason, moving Crosby past Penguins icon and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and alone into seventh place in NHL history.

Letang set up Tommy Novak’s first goal with the Penguins 14:21 into the second period to reach 599 assists. Letang picked up No. 600 in the third period when he was credited with the secondary assist on Justin Brazeau’s fifth goal of the season. The 38-year-old Letang is just the 10th defenseman in league history to reach 600 assists with a single team.

Brazeau added two assists for the Penguins. Anthony Mantha and Connor Dewar also scored as Pittsburgh won its third straight.

Arturs Silovs, in a competition with two-time All-Star Tristan Jarry to become Pittsburgh’s No. 1 goaltender, allowed Vancouver’s Conor Garland to beat him on the first shot of the game but settled down from there and finished with 23 saves.

Lankinen stopped just 20 of the 25 shots he faced as Vancouver saw its three-game winning streak end.

Pittsburgh broke a tie game in the second period when Novak, Crosby and Mantha each scored in a span of just over three minutes to put the Penguins comfortably ahead as Pittsburgh improved to 5-2-0 under first-year coach Dan Muse.

Up next

Canucks: finish up a five-game road trip in Nashville on Thursday.

Penguins: visit two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida on Thursday.

Butler man wanted for allegedly trying to intentionally hit a trooper during chase in both Butler County and Armstrong County

(Photos of Ronald Piper Courtesy of WPXI, Posted on Facebook on October 21st, 2025)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Butler, PA) Pennsylvania State Police are looking for forty-six-year-old Ronald Piper of Butler after he allegedly tried to intentionally hit a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper during a pursuit through two counties in Pennsylvania on Monday evening. According to a Pennsylvania State Police press release, troopers with the Kittanning and Butler Stations were involved in an incident that began in Butler County and then in East Franklin Township of Armstrong County. Piper attempted to strike a trooper who was standing off a road after that trooper deployed spike strips during the pursuit. Piper then reportedly drove into the woods and then ran away. Investigators have not found Piper yet after they tried to find him. Pennsylvania State Police also learned of a reported stolen vehicle from Bear Road in East Franklin Township at around 5 a.m. today and they think that Piper stole this vehicle after crashing. That stolen vehicle was later found damaged near Swartzlander Lane in Clearfield Township of Butler County on State Route 422. An active arrest warrant is now out for Piper’s arrest. According to online court records, Piper faces a dozen charges, including three counts of aggravated assault, fleeing and evading arrest. Anyone with information on either the location of Piper or information regarding this incident is asked to call 724-543-2011 and speak with Trooper Swartz of the Pennsylvania State Police Kittanning station.

Overnight I-376 Parkway East Ramp Inspection Activities Wednesday in Pittsburgh

(File Photo of Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that tomorrow night, weather permitting, overnight ramp inspection activities on I-376 (Parkway East) in the City of Pittsburgh, will occur. From 9 p.m. tomorrow night to 5 a.m. on Thursday morning, inspection activities, requiring a lane restriction on the ramp that carries Route 885 (Boulevard of the Allies) to eastbound I-376 will occur as needed and this ramp will stay open as this work occurs as crews from NBIS will conduct routine inspection work there.