Author: Beaver County Radio

Investigation Continues Into Drug Trafficking In Aliquippa

AN INVESTIGATION CONTINUE INTO DRUG TRAFFICKING IN ALIQUIPPA. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

Local Newspaper Drops Syndicated Cartoon After Vulgar Message To President Trump

At least one newspaper says it has dropped the syndicated cartoon “Non Sequitur” after a vulgar message to President Donald Trump appeared in it. The Butler Eagle in Pennsylvania reported Sunday that a “shot at President Donald Trump” will cost cartoonist Wiley Miller “his place in the Eagle’s Sunday comics.”  A scribbled message in one panel of that day’s cartoon appears to begin with “We fondly say go …” followed by the message to Trump. Miller appeared to acknowledge the message in a tweet that said “some of my sharp-eyed readers have spotted a little Easter egg. … Can you find it?”

Aliquippa Man Has Hearing This Morning On Drug Charges

AN ALIQUIPPA MAN WHO WAS ARRESTED LAST WEEK HAS A HEARING THIS MORNING ON DRUG CHARGES. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sand’s report…

&

;

I-376 Vanport Bridge Weekday Lane Restrictions Begin Today

PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane restrictions on the Vanport Bridge (I-376 Beaver Valley Expressway) in Vanport and Potter townships, Beaver County, will begin Monday, February 11 weather permitting. Single-lane restrictions will occur on the Vanport Bridge weekdays through late mid-March as crews install bird screens. Work will occur in the westbound direction from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and in the eastbound direction from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

High School Basketball: February 11, 2019

ALL games in high school basketball tonight are non-section.

BOYS

6:30pm
Erie vs. Lincoln Park (at Pine-Richland)
Western Beaver at Freedom

7:30pm
Hopewell at Ellwood City
New Brighton at OLSH
Highlands at Beaver
Quaker Valley at Summit Academy
Peters Township at Central Valley
Union at Riverside

8:00pm
Sewickley Academy at Pine-Richland

GIRLS

6:00pm
Union at Riverside
Quigley Catholic at Fort Cherry

7:30pm
Moon at South Side Beaver
Blackhawk at Neshannock
Central Valley at Mohawk
Rochester at Mars
Sewickley Academy at Avonworth
Quaker Valley at Shady Side Academy
West Allegheny at Peters Township

8:00pm
Lincoln Park at Freedom

John Putzier Talks About The 2019 Pittsburgh International Auto Show

For some, February means time for romance and chocolates. For others, it means a month of cars…whether it’s the start of the NASCAR season or the annual Pittsburgh International Auto Show.

The 2019 edition of the Auto Show is the 75th Anniversary edition, and John Putzier (CEO of Greater Pittsburgh Auto Dealers) called into A.M. Beaver County to talk about it with Matt Drzik. He spoke about how this year’s “Dancing With The Cars” falls on Valentine’s Day, the different kinds of exotic sports cars that will be on display, and how those looking to go could get in (including an announcement about a potential fee waiving for government workers; listen below for details).

For more information about the 2019 Pittsburgh International Auto Show, check out pittautoshow.com. Stay tuned to Beaver County Radio and our Facebook page for YOUR chance to snag tickets to this year’s show!

If you missed this morning’s interview or want to listen back to it, click on the player below!

Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, All Hendrick front row

Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, puts Hendrick up front again
By MARK LONG, AP Sports Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — William Byron put Hendrick Motorsports in a familiar position: on the pole for the Daytona 500. His bigger goal is to make the starting spot pay dividends for the NASCAR powerhouse.
The 21-year-old Byron and 25-year-old teammate Alex Bowman locked in the front row for “The Great American Race” during qualifying laps Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. They comprise the youngest front row in Daytona 500 history.
The coveted starting spot hasn’t meant much for NASCAR’s season opener over the last two decades, though. The last Daytona 500 pole-sitter to win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
The last four — Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott (twice) and Bowman — have failed to notch a top-10 finish.
“To have them on top of each other means the organization did a heck of a job,” Hendrick said. “This is the deal to sit on the pole at Daytona.”
Byron and Bowman edged the other two Hendrick drivers: seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and fan favorite Chase Elliott.
“That’s a pretty amazing feat, I feel,” said longtime Hendrick crew chief Chad Knaus, who is entering his first season with Byron after 18 years with Johnson.
Knaus and Johnson landed the Daytona 500 pole in their first race together in 2002. After splitting with Johnson at the end of last season, Knaus essentially repeated the feat with Byron.
“I think it’s huge,” Knaus said. “We’ve had a lot of late nights, a lot of long hours. The last time I came here with a new driver, we sat on the pole. This is really special for me.”
Byron reached a top speed of 194.304 mph in the final round of qualifying, nearly two-tenths of a second faster than Bowman (194.153).
“I thought we were going to be somewhere in the hunt,” Byron said. “I was excited to get down here and see what we had. It’s really cool.”
The rest of the 40-car lineup will be set by two qualifying races Thursday. Thirty-six of those spots are already filled because of NASCAR’s charter system.
Former Hendrick driver Casey Mears and Tyler Reddick secured two of the remaining spots in the Daytona 500. They posted the top speeds of the six drivers vying for four open spots in NASCAR’s season opener.
“I really feel like we’ll be able to be competitive,” Mears said. “I can tell you this: I’ve been at Daytona with a lot less and ran inside the top five.”
Joey Gase, Ryan Truex, Parker Kligerman and Brandan Gaughan likely will have to race their way into the 500 during the qualifying races. Two of them will make it, and the other two won’t.
Byron and his teammates will spend the week being lauded as the Daytona 500 favorites. They also will try to stay out of trouble in the qualifying races.
“We want to take care of the cars for sure,” Hendrick said. “We don’t want to put the cars in any unnecessary harm’s way. It’s kind of a two-edge sword on the front row. You don’t want to take a chance of tearing up a really good car, but you’ve got to figure out what to race.”
Hendrick has been outspoken about how difficult the 2018 season was on the organization, calling it one of the worst in team history.
The Hendrick cars were mediocre at best — Johnson failed to win for the first time in his Cup career — and it took 22 races for the organization to get its first victory. The final tally included three victories for Elliott and no drivers in the championship-deciding finale for the second consecutive year.
Hendrick responded by splitting up Johnson and Knaus, tasking Knaus with building another team around Byron. A new racing package in 2019 also should benefit Bowman and Byron because neither had much experience under the old rules.
For at least one day or maybe even a week, the moves are paying off.
“You work all these years coming down here and you want all the cars to run well,” Hendrick said. “And if you have one up front and a couple in the back, in the middle; but this is a tribute to our organization, the engine shop, the chassis, body shop, and the teams to come down here and run with four cars running that good. I can’t believe it.”
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NC State holds off Pitt 79-76

NC State holds off Pitt 79-76 to snap 3-game skid
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — North Carolina State opted for modified shootaround late Friday night after arriving in Pittsburgh. No plays. Just shots. Lots and lots of shots, not the worst idea in the world less than a week removed from a record-setting loss to Virginia Tech in which the Wolfpack managed just nine baskets in 40 minutes.
Head coach Kevin Keatts jumped in the fray during the laidback session, pointing out he might have been the best shooter on the floor. While his players don’t quite remember it that way — guard Braxton Beverly claims Keatts was “extending the truth” — either way it created the desired effect. The Wolfpack walked onto the Petersen Events Center floor loose, kept their composure when the host Panthers made a second-half push and held on for a 79-76 win to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I think we played a complete game,” Keatts said. “We played through some adversity.”
The Wolfpack (17-7, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) let a 14-point lead briefly get away in the middle of the second half before relying heavily on Beverly, C.J. Bryce and Markelle Johnson to pull through. Bryce scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 10 seconds. Beverly added 17 behind five of N.C. State’s season-high 14 3-pointers and Johnson finished with 10 points and a season-high eight assists.
After being limited to just 24 points — the fewest ever by a team ranked in The AP Top 25 (the Wolfpack were 23rd last week) in the shot-clock era — last Saturday, N.C. State is averaging 87.5 points over its last two contests.
“We know we can score,” Bryce said. “We have very talented players. We have players who can go get buckets if we need it. We were just focused on playing as a team tonight and I think we did great at that.”
Bryce went to the line with the Wolfpack (17-7, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) holding onto a 76-75 lead with 9.9 seconds left. He calmly drained both free throws in front of the blacked-out T-shirt student section.
N.C. State opted to foul ahead by three. Pitt’s Sidy N’Dir made just one of two with 7 seconds remaining. Bryce grabbed his seventh and final rebound and made one of two with 5.5 seconds left. N’Dir collected the rebound and weaved his way through traffic but his off-balance 3-pointer from outside the top of the key was left all the way as time expired.
“I wanted to make the last one to make it a four-point game but I felt like we did a really good job, once I missed it, getting back and forcing a tough shot,” Bryce said after N.C. State won its eighth straight over the Panthers.
Xavier Johnson led Pitt (12-12, 2-9) with 17 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Jared Wilson-Frame hit 6 of 7 shots to finish with 16 points, N’Dir and Terrell Brown added 12 each and Trey McGowens finished with 11 points but the Panthers ran out of gas late.
Pitt missed its last seven shots, including potentially game-tying 3-point attempts by Johnson, N’Dir and Brown during an extended possession in the final 90 seconds. Johnson did make two free throws to get Pitt within 76-75 but the Panthers would get no closer. Pitt has dropped seven consecutive games, the last three by nine points or less.
“It’s frustrating because you’re always right there,” Wilson-Frame said.
N.C. State won each of last seven meetings, including an 86-80 victory at home on Jan. 12 thanks to 54 points off the bench. The Wolfpack built a slim 41-38 halftime lead, relying heavily on a massive advantage off the backboard and some sloppy ballhandling by the Panthers, who turned it over 11 times and struggled to keep N.C. State off the offensive glass.
N.C. State pushed the advantage to 14 early in the second half before Pitt responded with an 18-2 surge led by Wilson-Frame and N’Dir to go in front 61-59.
The momentum didn’t last. Dorn and Bryce knocked down 3-pointers on the Wolfpack’s next two trips and while Pitt managed to tie it a couple of times, the Panthers couldn’t quite sneak out in front.
“We’re on the ropes a little bit right now, but we have to fight our way off of it,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said.
BIG PICTURE
N.C. State: The Wolfpack showed an ability to defend when they had to against Pitt, particularly after the sudden 3-point barrage that briefly gave the Panthers the lead. “We weren’t panicking,” Beverly said. “In this conference, every team has the capability of going on runs like that. To get through it you’ve got to stay solid and stay together.”
Pitt: The Panthers remain engaged under Capel but the losses are starting to pile up. Getting five players in double figures is a positive development for a group that’s become overly reliant on Johnson and Wilson-Frame to provide the offense of late.
UP NEXT
N.C. State: Hosts Syracuse on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Pitt: Visits Boston College on Tuesday at 7.
___
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Central Connecticut over Robert Morris 77-68

Kohl lifts Central Connecticut over Robert Morris 77-68
Associated Press
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Tyler Kohl had 23 points as Central Connecticut beat Robert Morris 77-68 on Saturday.
Kohl also had seven turnovers but only five assists.
Joe Hugley had 15 points and seven rebounds for Central Connecticut (11-14, 5-7 Northeast Conference). Ian Krishnan added 14 points. Deion Bute had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the visiting team.
Malik Petteway had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Colonials (13-12, 8-4). Josh Williams added 12 points. Dante Treacy had 10 points.
The Blue Devils evened the season series against the Colonials with the win. Robert Morris defeated Central Connecticut 70-59 on Jan. 21. Central Connecticut matches up against Wagner on the road on Thursday. Robert Morris plays Mount St. Mary’s on the road on Thursday.
___
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
___
This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com