Story by Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published October 26, 2023 7:16 A.M.

(Beaver, PA) Donna Lee Siple, who was the President of the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce has announced that she has stepped down from her position. She cites in a letter sent to chamber members and friends, that the decision was made due to her husband accepting a job position with the Nashville Rescue Mission. Siple stated “My resignation comes with both sorrow and affection. I am immensely thankful for the opportunity my husband has been given, yet it saddens me to leave the Beaver County community.”
The chamber Board of Directors has formed a search committee, made up of members of the Executive Committee and Personnel Committee, to begin the search for a new President of the Chamber. Information on the job will be posted soon.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bill passed the GOP-controlled state Senate to require Pennsylvania parents to opt in their children to access book deemed sexually explicit after more than an hour of passionate floor debate Tuesday.

The bill passed 29-21, with objection from most Democrats. It now goes onto the Democrat-controlled House, where it faces an uncertain future. The bill passed the chamber, along with another that regulated how teachers communicate with parents about curricula, and drew opposition from the state’s largest teachers union.

The move is part of a larger nationwide effort of expanding parental oversight of schools, which saw a swell of energy in Florida last year. In the months since, other state Legislatures have taken up similar legislation that opponents say specifically targets LGBTQ+ and students of color.

In Pennsylvania, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster County, said the bill was a “very measured approach to addressing what was rapidly becoming a contentious national issue.” He rejected that it was an attempt to ban books, attack the LGBTQ+ community or censor anyone.

One Democrat, Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County, agreed, saying policies like this draw heated, vocal support on both sides of the issue.

“It’s tearing our communities apart,” she said. “That’s why this General Assembly needs to lead. It needs to set forth a statewide policy that balances those radically different viewpoints of parents on both sides of this issue.”

Under the Pennsylvania measure, a similar version of which also passed the chamber last year, districts would identify and list books that contain any sexual material — used in classroom instruction or available in the library — and require parents sign an opt-in form to grant permission for their children to access some books.

It defines sexually explicit as showing “acts of masturbation, sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality or physical contact with a person’s clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or, if the person is a female, breast.”

The measure would also prohibit depictions of nudity in books for students in kindergarten through grade eight.

Opponents denied that the legislation wouldn’t ultimately censor voices, and said books available in school are vetted by educators. They said parents already have the ability to control what their children read.

“Exploring human relationships, sex and love are some of the most challenging and rewarding obstacles that we will face in life,” said Democratic Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, of Montgomery County. “And we need the right education and materials available to ensure people can explore those spaces safely and with the right knowledge to be able to interact with the world around them compassionately.”

Another bill — a similar version of which was vetoed by former Gov. Tom Wolf last year — that considered what it calls “classroom transparency” also passed the chamber, 28-22. That measure would require schools to post online the title or link for every textbook used, syllabi and course summaries and the state academic standards for the course.

Democrats said schools already allow for parents to review curriculum, and the legislation would be needlessly burdensome on districts.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Doug Mastriano of Franklin County, said there was “nothing nefarious” about the bill’s intent.

Both measures were opposed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The Community College of Beaver County has been named one of the Top 16 Community Colleges in Pennsylvania according to website intelligent.com. This is the second consecutive year that CCBC has made the list, in a ranking system based on tuition costs, the number of credits required to graduate, and the online coursework delivery format.

Furthermore the school was ranked highest by intelligent.com for Financial Aid, scoring a 98.38 out of 100. The score is based on a comparison of tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, reputation, and the student resources provided for online students.

“I always tell our students, staff, and faculty that the ‘best is yet to come’ and now it is here,” said CCBC President Roger W. Davis in a press release. “As the community’s college, we are so proud to receive this recognition and are committed to offering all residents real learning for real life at a realistic cost.”

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — Local election offices have been understaffed for years. But the 2020 election became a tipping point, with all the pandemic-related challenges before the presidential election and the hostility and death threats afterward that were fueled by the false claims of a stolen election. A wave of retirements and resignations has followed across the country, creating a vacuum of institutional knowledge in an environment in which the slightest mistake can be twisted by conspiracy theorists into a nefarious plot to subvert the vote. One Pennsylvania county is now on its fifth election director in the last three years, but has vowed to regain stability — and rebuild trust with voters.

FILE – The United States Mint is seen, March 1, 2002, in Philadelphia. Federal authorities, in an indictment unsealed on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, released more information and detailed charges in the theft of more than 2 million dimes earlier this year from a tractor-trailer that had picked up the coins from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Dan Loh, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal authorities have unsealed charges against four men in the theft earlier this year of more than 2 million dimes from a tractor-trailer that had picked up the coins from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Authorities have said the driver was bound for Miami on April 13 when he pulled into a parking lot to sleep. They say thieves raided the truck overnight, stealing a portion of the $750,000 in dimes — a shipment weighing six tons. The heist left thousands of coins scattered over the lot. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports four defendants face conspiracy, robbery, theft of government money and other charges that were unsealed Monday.

DETROIT (AP) — A strike by autoworkers against General Motors is expected to cut the automaker’s pretax earnings by $800 million this year, and another $200 million per week after that. That’s according to the company’s chief financial officer. And those figures just include factories that are on strike now by the United Auto Workers union. So if more plants are added, the losses will pile up further, CFO Paul Jacobson told reporters. His statements came as GM reported Tuesday just over $3 billion in net income from July through September, a figure that was 7% below a year ago due to lost production from the strike and increased warranty costs. But the results soundly beat Wall Street estimates.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published October 24, 2023 10:15 A.M.
The photograph above shows the fiery blaze of the derailment from the Pennsylvania side of Taggart Road.(Curtis Walsh) 

(East Palestine, Ohio) Since the train derailment in February, Taggart Road, off of Route 51 in Darlington, has been closed to the general public.  Officials in East Palestine have announced that the road re-opened Monday for daytime traffic, while some restrictions will remain in place as work continues. Potential 15 to 30 minute delays are said to be possible at various times due to work operations, and drivers are still being recommended to use alternative routes.
Officials also discourage the public from walking along the road, citing heavy equipment and truck activity, in addition to parking not being allowed along the road. 50 to 100 water, soil, and other various support vehicles are expected to be present daily. Officials add that they do not anticipate any health risks being associated with the activities occurring along the road.
The speed limit is set to 15 miles per hour for the public, but they advise using caution as air monitoring vans will be travelling at 10 miles per hour.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Not one member of the current iteration of the Beaver Valley Choral Society was born when the organization began at Beaver College back on October 23, 1923.

This fact did not stop them from presenting a performance worth 100 years of celebration.

Before a large crowd at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Hopewell, the BVCS formally commemorated 100 years of song in the Beaver Valley by performing selections from the oratorio “Messiah” composed by Georg Frédérich Handel. The group of principal vocalists and instrumentalists was joined by members of the Academy Chamber Orchestra from Pittsburgh, along with featured mezzo-soprano soloist Caroline Friend.

Following the opening number–Lloyd Larsen’s “Celebrate The Day”–the evening opened with an introduction from BVCS President Jim Angeloni, followed by the Historical Address from Chief Historian (and trombonist) Bob Headland. A proclamation from the Beaver County Commissioners was then read aloud by Board Member (and bass singer) Rick Murphy before being presented to BVCS Artistic Director Sharon Burchill.

Additionally, the performance of “Messiah” was an interactive one. Not only did Burchill occasionally turn from the choir towards the audience to conduct them, but the BVCS provided copies of the music to those in attendance.

In all, the centennial was lauded by the attendees, who stood and applauded following the final note of the first 100 years–a century of a non-profit group of ordinary citizens who only need three requirements to be active: to pay dues, to sing to the glory of God, and to sing “tunefully”.

On this night, they sang exceptionally.

Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Connection

A Pennsylvania environmental group is touting electric vehicles as both cost-effective for drivers and a means to address climate change.

Keystone State motorists appear to be embracing the transition to EVs, with registrations surging 82% last year, to nearly 43,000.

Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president of political affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, said car companies have made billions of dollars in commitments to help drive down EV prices. Her group estimated Pennsylvania EV owners could save more than $25,000 over the life of the vehicle, along with lower fuel costs.

“There are tax credits that were part of the Biden clean energy plan,” Gore explained. “Those can be point-of-sale rebates. This drives the price down even farther. And so, families can stop worrying about the price of gas, and they can experience lower maintenance costs.”

Gore emphasized the Inflation Reduction Act included substantial tax rebates for buying an electric car or passenger truck, as much as $7,500 for a new vehicle, and $4,000 for a used one.

Gore argued adopting the EPA’s stronger clean car standards would help reduce pollution even more. She noted transportation is a major contributor to climate pollution, and Pennsylvania’s efforts to electrify transportation would also curb emissions.

“The EPA standards can help further accelerate the transition that’s already underway,” Gore stressed. “By encouraging even more investment in electric vehicles and their manufacture, and charging stations, all of these efforts work together to drive more electric vehicles to the roads.”

Lois Heckman, owner of two electric vehicles, a Pocono Mountains resident, said she has owned electric vehicles for more than five years. She explained the decision was motivated by a desire for a better, cleaner environment.

“We have two electric cars now and we couldn’t be happier,” Heckman added. “We charge it in our own garage, and it hasn’t really seriously raised our electric bill at all. And there’s no maintenance, like, you don’t even realize that when you buy one. The only thing that you ever need on an electric car is tires and my husband just said, ‘And the wiper blades!'”

The Pennsylvania EV Mobility Plan recommended the state’s Department of Transportation support installing at least 5,000 new EV charging ports at 2,000 sites by 2028.