Some lawmakers say Pennsylvania is falling behind neighboring states when it comes to utilizing alternative energy sources, and they’re proposing legislation to change that. Don Rooney has details…
The mother of a black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer outside Pittsburgh told supporters at a vigil that she was glad to see her son’s life celebrated at a place that meant so much to him. Michelle Kenney, mother of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II, joined scores at the Hawkins Village housing complex in Rankin. People brought red roses, white flowers and candles, and purple ribbons to the basketball court _ which Kenney called “his spot” _ where they sang and prayed.
A BEAVER FALLS MAN HAS ENTERED A GUILTY PLEA TO A CHARGE OF BANK ROBBERY. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…
(Beaver County Radio file photo)
WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, MARCH 25TH, 2019
TODAY – A FEW SHOWERS THIS MORNING WITH OVERCAST
SKIES DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. HIGH
NEAR 50.
TONIGHT – CLEAR SKIES. LOW – 24.
TUESDAY – MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 48.
(Beaver County Radio file photo)
Darlington Volunteer Fire Department assisted by the Little Beaver Lions Club are holding an INDOOR CAR WASH at the Darlington Twp. Fire Dept.
Saturday April 6 from 10am-2pm.
Donations accepted………so drive right in and sit a spell!
Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the Easter season and come to
the 2019 Lenten concert, “Wondrous Love,” presented by Beaver Valley
Choral Society’s Treble Youth Chorale. The concert takes place on Friday,
April 12 at 7pm, at Monaca United Methodist Church, 814 Indiana Avenue,
Monaca PA 15061. Admission is free but donations are accepted.
Concert selections include: Sing Rejoice – George F. Handel, arranged by
Matthew Michaels; Ubi Caritas – Becki Slagle Mayo; A Psalm – Andy Beck;
What Wondrous Love is This – traditional folk hymn arranged by Trevor
Manor; Tumekuja Kuimba – Lynn Zettlemoyer; and A Song of Blessing –
Jude B. Roldan.
Treble Youth Chorale is entering its fourth season. The choir of thirteen
boys and girls is directed by Donna Mateer. Karen High serves as piano
accompanist.
The Beaver Valley Choral Society will celebrate its centennial anniversary
in 2020. Follow the Society on Facebook.
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For more information about any event fee and program details or the Beaver Valley Choral
Society’s many community and music education opportunities for adults and children, write to
Beaver Valley Choral Society, PO Box 1628, Beaver Falls, PA 15010 or visit us at
www.bvchoralsociety.org or on social media at Facebook.com/beavervalleychoralsociety
Keselowski routs field to earn win at Martinsville Speedway
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Brad Keselowski gave Team Penske and the new Ford Mustang its third Cup victory through the first six races of the season by routing the field at Martinsville Speedway.
Keselowski led 446 of the 500 laps around the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule and was only challenged a handful of times by Chase Elliott — the only driver to pass Keselowski on the track Sunday.
Although Elliott led 49 laps, a late caution sent the field to pit road and Keselowski beat Elliott back to the track. Elliott could never get close enough to challenge Keselowski for the win again.
“The car was really good. Just a great day for a team,” Keselowski said. “Just one of those days you dream of as a race car driver, where you’ve got a great car.”
The 446 laps led is the most for a winning driver since Kyle Petty led 484 to win at Rockingham in 1992. It was the most laps Keselowski has ever led in a single race, passing the mark of 312 laps out front at Texas Motor Speedway in 2015.
He credited the offseason work by Ford, which rolled out a new Cup car at the start of the season, and the Team Penske pit stops that got him off pit road first every time he came in for service.
“Ford worked really hard in the offseason to build these cars and make them real strong and so far, so good,” said Keselowski. “It’s just a great day for our team, awesome execution on pit road. Those guys work really hard.”
Ford has three wins this season, all from Team Penske, while Toyota won the other three races.
Martinsville, a paperclip-shaped track at 0.526 miles, typically forces drivers to gouge each other out of the way. The tight confines of the tiny Virginia track raises the aggravation levels for most of the field and usually leads to bumping, banging and busted-up race cars. But NASCAR’s new rules package, in its first stop at a short track, seemed to hamper drivers’ ability to close on the leader and it limited passing opportunities.
The one time Elliott did pass Keselowski, he studied Elliott’s lines and took notes for when he was back out front.
“He was certainly faster on that short run, and when he passed me I learned just enough,” Keselowski said. “The pit crew got me back in front of him on the next to last pit stop, and I seemed to kind of apply the lessons.”
Keselowski started the race third behind teammate Joey Logano, who led the first five laps of the race. Keselowski briefly nudged Logano out of the groove on the sixth lap and took off for the rout that earned him his second Martinsville grandfather clock.
Elliott finished second in a Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports — the first top-five finish for a Hendrick driver this season.
“I felt like we were about as even with him as we could be,” said Elliott, who second-guessed the timing of one of his attempts to pass Keselowski.
“When he did get the lead, there was a little advantage to being out front, being able to work traffic … I tried to move up there at the end, and I don’t know if I could have got to him. Maybe if I moved up a little sooner, maybe next time.”
Kyle Busch was third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch had won two consecutive Cup races before Sunday, the Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville, and was seeking a weekend sweep. Busch notched his fifth top-five finish of the season while making his 1,000th career NASCAR national series start.
“We fought hard for today’s finish, not a finish that we wanted to get,” Busch said. “Thought we had a chance to win actually, but could have been a whole lot worse. We’ll go on.”
Penske driver Ryan Blaney was fourth, while Gibbs driver and five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin was fifth.
Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer were sixth and seventh, Gibbs driver Martin Truex Jr. was eighth, then SHR drivers Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.
Ford drivers took six spots in the top 10, while Gibbs and Toyota claimed three of the slots.
JOHNSON SLUMPS
Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with nine victories at Martinsville, but his struggles spanning more than a year continued Sunday. He was lapped during the second stage and finished 24th. Since winning the fall 2016 race, Johnson has not finished higher than 12th.
NO REPEAT WINNER
Clint Bowyer was the defending race winner and worked his way to fifth as he exited pit road from a pit stop in the third stage. But he was penalized for speeding onto pit road and dropped to the back of the pack on the restart.
“Well, there went that,” he moaned over his radio.
Bowyer was flagged for speeding on the next round of pit stops, too, and finished sixth.
UP NEXT
NASCAR goes to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Kyle Busch won the race last April.
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More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announces retirement
By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) — The New England Patriots’ gentle giant has decided to hang up his cleats.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL after nine seasons.
Gronkowski announced his decision via a post on Instagram , saying that a few months shy of his 30th birthday “it’s time to move forward and move forward with a big smile.”
“It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far,” Gronkowski wrote in his post. “I will be retiring from the game of football today.”
Drew Rosenhaus, Gronkowski’s agent, confirmed his client’s decision to retire.
The tight end, who turns 30 in May, leaves as a three-time Super Bowl champion who established himself as one of the most dominant players at his position.
But he has been dogged in recent seasons by back, knee, ankle and arm injuries that have limited his ability to stay on the field.
It led him to hint at retirement following New England’s Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to end the 2017 season and again last month after the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.
In his Instagram post, Gronkowski thanked the Patriots organization, coach Bill Belichick and New England’s fans for their support during his nine NFL seasons.
“Thank you for everyone accepting who I am and the dedication I have put into my work to be the best player I could be,” Gronkowski wrote.
Gronkowski’s teammates almost immediately began to flood social media with well-wishes.
“Love you man!!” quarterback Tom Brady wrote on Instagram, along with an emoji of a goat to refer to Gronkowski as the greatest of all-time. “Couldn’t be a better person or teammate!!!!”
It was a sentiment shared by receiver Julian Edelman.
“The other goat,” Edelman posted on his Instagram page.
Though he won’t have the longevity of some of his contemporaries at tight end, Gronkowski is expected to get strong consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame when eligible.
Gronkowski was one of Brady’s favorite targets after being drafted in the second round of the 2010 draft.
He had his fourth career 1,000-yard receiving season in 2017 and was an All-Pro for the fourth time that season.
But at times he looked like a shell of himself during the Patriots’ Super Bowl run this past season. Gronkowski finished the 2018 regular season with just 47 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns.
He had one of his best games of the season in the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Rams, hauling in six catches for 87 yards, including two receptions on New England’s only touchdown drive during their 13-3 victory.
A fan favorite in New England for his gregarious and playful persona that included awkward dance moves and touchdown celebrations, Gronkowski was one of the most dominant tight ends of his era.
His 12 career postseason touchdown receptions are the most by a tight end in NFL playoff history. His 81 career postseason catches are also best among tight ends.
He’ll also retire with 79 career TD catches — regular season and playoffs — which is third all-time by a tight end behind only Antonio Gates (116) and Tony Gonzalez (111).
Brady and Gronkowski connected on 78 TD passes. It is the second-most scoring connections between a quarterback and a tight end in NFL history behind only Philip Rivers and Gates (89) and is fifth overall between quarterbacks and all pass-catchers.
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL