Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published November 12, 2024 12:36 P.M.

(Rochester, Pa) Fire crews responded to the Dollar General store at the Madison Square Plaza in Rochester Tuesday around noon.

Crews performed an inspection of the building and there was no smoke or fire showing. Responding departments included New Brighton and Beaver. Fire crews cleared the scene around 12:18pm.

The store remained open following the incident. We have no additional details at this time.

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano, Published on November 12th, 2024 at 10 A.M.)

Aliquippa councilman Donald Walker chairs the Aliquippa Economic Development Committee, while Cynthia Gormley is the director. The Veterans Memorial that sits off of Main Street in the city  was refurbished and rededicated on  Veterans Day. State Representative Robert  F. Matzie was also present for the event. The Aliquippa High School band directed by Jonathan Morrison  played the National Anthem, TAPS was played by the  saxophone player Skylar Wisdom.  Aliquippa VFW Commander Jason   Shacvkleford presented two $1,000.00 scholarships, one to Mohammed Aziz, and one to Joseph Carter. Shavkleford placed a wreath with ribbons at the memorial along with Ladies Auxiliary President  Diane Martin. Ms. Martin also read the story “WHAT IS A VETERAN?” Ms. Gormley said about 70 persons attended this year’s event. 

Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Gormley, Director of the Aliquippa Economic Development Committee

A dealer that specialized in table games that worked for the Rivers Casino Pittsburgh was arrested for both giving customers too much for betting and refusing to keep the bets that did not win from the players that lost from October 26th to November 2nd, 2024, according to state police. The arrest was eminent for thirty-two-year-old Jamie Smith of Brighton Heights as she went into her job on Friday and after being transported to the Allegheny County Jail, fraud and theft was brought upon her for the charges assigned. Investigators spotted during over thirty-one hours of being employed, Smith gave out one-hundred and ninety-two blackjack hands that were illegal, and officials confirmed that those that were victim to Smith lost over twenty-one thousand dollars. Smith has been released after being on bond, and a court hearing has been scheduled for November 20th. 

On Thursday, the United States Department of Labor announced that benefits for unemployment that were filed in Pennsylvania increased after last week in comparison to the previous week. According to the Department of Labor, more than five hundred claims for unemployment were added from two weeks ago, from 10,033 to 10,524. Meanwhile, in the United States, the total number of claims from last week went up to two-hundred and twenty-one thousand, three thousand more after a sum of the week that passed before last week of two-hundred and eighteen thousand. 

Source for Photo: In this Wednesday, June 3, 2020 photo, Juan Santos stocks shelves at the Presidente Supermarket in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. The U.S. government is set to issue its latest report on the layoffs that have left millions unemployed but have steadily slowed as many businesses have begun to reopen and to rehire some laid-off workers. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

Behavioral-health providers in Pennsylvania face financial instability because of inconsistent rate increases, impacting staff recruitment and retention. In a survey by the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, one provider stated that when increases occur, seventy percent goes to salaries, twenty to occupancy, and ten percent to insurance. Adelphoi CEO Nancy Kukovich recommends improved Behavioral Health Managed Care Organizations review processes for rate increase requests, citing insufficient state oversight over the rate request process. She says their evidence-based multi-systemic therapy is in need of a master’s-level therapist, but due to lack of funding it’s been difficult to recruit for this position. 

Gas prices are five cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.416 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. 

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average:                         $3.416
Average price during the week of Nov. 4, 2024:                                                $3.462
Average price during the week of Nov. 13, 2023:                                         $3.708

The Western Pennsylvania Average for a gallon of gas is .046 cents less than a week ago and .246 less than a year ago. The average price you can expect to receive for a gallon of unleaded gas here in Beaver County is $3.353.

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas, according to AAA:
$3.432      Altoona
$3.353      Beaver
$3.746      Bradford
$3.370      Brookville
$3.357      Butler
$3.377      Clarion
$3.417      DuBois
$3.434      Erie
$3.439      Greensburg
$3.432      Indiana
$3.467      Jeannette
$3.487      Kittanning
$3.421      Latrobe
$3.540      Meadville
$3.408      Mercer
$3.212      New Castle
$3.271      New Kensington
$3.542      Oil City
$3.420      Pittsburgh
$3.129      Sharon
$3.402      Uniontown
$3.759      Warren
$3.152      Washington

Source for Photo: FILE – In this Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, file photo, a woman pumps gas at a convenience store in Pittsburgh. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday, March 15, 2020, that gas prices could continue to fall as demand shrinks amid the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A tour was given to the administration of Governor Josh Shapiro to check out Riverton Farms in Doylesburg, part of Franklin County on November 1st, 2024. Seventeen other farms that are owned by veterans, along with Riverton Farms were provided with grants, thanks to the PA Veteran Farming Network. Agricultral Secretary Russell Reading talked about how the grants will help to expand the agricultural landscape to help veterans who work in this field. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture developed the PA Veteran Farming Network in 2023.

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes is officially a finalist for two of Major League Baseball’s top awards for the 2024 season. On Monday, according to the Baseball Writers Association of America, Skenes joins fellow pitchers Chris Sale and Zach Wheeler to round out the National League Cy Young Award finalists, while Skenes also joins top rookie players Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merill as the National League Rookie of the Year finalists. In only twenty-three major league starts, Skenes posted a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts, 0.95 WHIP, and an 11-3 record. Skenes, who was drafted first overall last year also pitched as the starter for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game for the National League. 

Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates first round draft pick, pitcher Paul Skenes, left, poses with Pirates general manager Ben Cherington after signing with the team in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. The Pirates drafted Skenes first player overall in this year’s Major League Baseball draft. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Even though the United States Senate race ended with Republican David McCormick announced the winner, his Democratic opponent Bob Casey will still not surrender after a very close voting race. On Saturday and Sunday, McCormick and his lead increased and in the morning of Monday, forty-thousand votes separated him and Casey. The estimated percentage that McCormick is ahead by is 0.58, which is over the 0.5 percent mark in which the vote would be processed to be recounted. According to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, around one-hundred thousand ballots were not counted as of Thursday, and the campaign of Casey is aware that the majority lean towards Democrats. Evidence of complaints filed by McCormick last week about canvassing the provisional ballots in Philadelphia, according to the team of Casey, is developing towards a suspicious end to the closest election race in the state of Pennsylvania.

Source for Photo: This combination of photos taken in Pennsylvania shows Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., left, at a campaign event, Sept. 13, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, and David McCormick, the Republican nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, at a campaign event, April 25, 2024, in Harrisburg. (AP Photo)