Author: Beaver County Radio

WEATHER: BEAUTIFUL DAY IN BEAVER COUNTY

WEATHER for THURSDAY JULY 19, 2018

TODAY: A good deal of sunshine. High near 85F. Winds light and variable.

TONIGHT: Mainly clear. Low 66F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.

FRIDAY: Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

SATURDAY: Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 79F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

SUNDAY: Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Girl hit by car–her Sister arrested

A 15-year-old girl jumped on the hood of a moving vehicle driven by her sister Wednesday night in Pittsburgh’s Fineview neighborhood, authorities said. She fell off and was hit  shortly after 10 p.m. on Belleau Drive, according to investigators.

According to Police, the teenager was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was later upgraded to serious condition.

The 15-year-old’s sister was arrested after an altercation with police and faces charges of aggravated assault against police officers.

Jordan Brown’s Conviction overturned in 5-0 decision

The conviction of then 11-year old Lawrence County boy Jordan Brown, in the shotgun killing of his father’s pregnant fiancee has been overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The court ruled unanimously, 5-0, that there was not enough evidence to support the conviction. Brown is now 20 and has been free since turning 18.

Brown’s lead defense attorney, Dennis Elisco, said

“He’s exonerated from any responsibility for these two horrific crimes and he will have his record expunged and the charges dismissed,”
Brown was charged with the shotgun murder of his father’s fiance, inside the Brown family’s Lawrence County home. Kenzie Houk was more than eight months pregnant and asleep when she was shot in the back of her head with a shotgun.

The family of Kenzie Houk has so far declined to comment on the court’s decision.

Lewd Behavior at Buttermilk Falls

Beaver County Radio

Four young women were swimming and sitting on the rocks at the Buttermilk Falls. They observed a man watching them from the bushes, performing a lewd act on himself and making motions for them to come over to his location. The victims told him they were calling the cops and he took off on a bicycle. Steven Bitcko, 27, of Beaver Falls was located by police on State Route 18 and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and narcotics. The accused was subsequently arrested and transported to Heritage Valley Hospital for testing. Charges will follow results.

70th Anniversary Moments – The Reeds, Dick and Jim.

This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.

In 1967, the original owners of WBVP, Frank Smith, Tom Price and Charles Orderka sold the station to a company headquartered in Connecticut by the name of Hall Communications, which was formed just a few years earlier by newspaper column and comic strip syndicator, Robert Hall. Hall Communications continues to thrive in the radio industry and currently operates twenty one radio stations in six different markets. One of the reasons for their continued success is the contributions from the Reed Family.  Specifically, a father and son.  Dick Reed was part of the original operations when Hall Communications was formed and became the Vice President who ran the operation on a daily basis in the early days.  Dick’s job was made somewhat easier because he had a great staff that he could count on, namely, his son, Jim Reed, who was a true “utility player” in the radio business who could build a studio, fix the equipment, and then host a radio show.

Both Reeds would assist in the operations on WBVP and WWKS in Beaver Falls.  Dick Reed was “The Big Boss” in the corporate office whom General Manager, Chris Shovlin would report to.  Dick Reed would also come to town on occasion to meet with the staff and was a fixture at the annual Hall Communications convention meetings.  Once a year, the executives at Hall would host a company wide gathering and training session in one of the cities where they owned radio stations and invite employees from all of their radio stations to attend.  In 1984, that year’s event was held in Beaver Falls at the Holiday Inn, now known as Park Inn by Radisson, near the turnpike exit. People who attended that meeting still recall sales trainer, Tom Howard, doing a presentation for the sales people using orange colored bricks. Chris Shoviln remembered his interactions with the elder read and recounted them in the recently published book “Behind The Microphone, The History Of Radio In Beaver County, PA” : “Dick was an absolute gentleman.  He ran the radio properties. Dick was the first Vice President of the company under Bob Hall.  Nothing got to Bob Hall without going through Dick Reed. Dick Reed ruled with an iron fist, but he was one of the nicest, most generous, kind people I ever met.  Just a tremendous guy. You could look him in the eye and know you were getting the truth. You could trust him. He wanted you to run the company like he ran his. They were great people.  They were the best people”.

Hall Communications era staffers at WBVP and WWKS reunite at WBVP’s 70th Anniversary Gala on May 25, 2018 at the Brodhead Hotel in Beaver Falls, including Bob Martin, Scott Lowe, Ed Prence, Jim Reed and Chris Shovlin.

The younger Reed, Jim, was enlisted by his father to traverse out to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania from company headquarters in New England and help out with moving WBVP and WWKS to a new building, which continues to serve as the physical location of the company,  around 1980.  That project also included the huge task of remodeling some dentist offices in the upstairs floor of the radio station headquarters into a collection of four broadcast and recording studios, along with an engineering and technical room, conference room and work areas for the announcers.  The first floor of the structure at 1316 7th avenue, that  previously existed as Sakraidas Dress Shop, was converted into  office space for the sales and business department with Jim Reed’s help and oversight.  Jim Reed and his fellow engineering team members including Ed Monskie, Wayne Gignac, Jerry Bowers and Bob King also installed a revolutionary device in the radio industry at the time, a programmable computer like giant machine with five reel to reel tape players and dozens of individual

Milke Romigh programs the 16A Basic Automation System used for WWKS around 1983. Photo courtesy of Mike Romigh.

tape cartridge slots known as a “16M Basic A Automation System”.  The

new room-sized contraption produced the music and played recorded segments of the announcers and mixed in commercials as directed, without the need for constant human interaction over the airwaves of  WWKS, or Kiss 107 F.M. as it was known at the time.

Jim Reed would also host air shows and help with remote broadcasts during his stays in Beaver Falls.  His father, Dick Reed continued to run the show at the Hall Communications corporate offices as Group Manager out East and was the one who facilitated the sale and handled the negotiations with Ted and Marilee Ruscitti, who bought WBVP and WWKS from Hall in 1985.

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.

Bradys Run Main Road Set For Spring 2019 Repair

Beaver County Commissioners Dan Camp and Sandie Egley (Tony Amadio is still at home recovering from back surgery) heard from solicitor Garen Fedeles that Penndot will repair the main road thru Bradys Run Park in Spring 2019. Fedeles has requested that Penndot leave traffic patterns alone until after the maple syrup festival and the opening of trout season scheduled for April 6 and 13. Penndot told Fedeles repair work on the road, which is sagging at one point, will take three months.

Jordon Brown Conviction Overturned by PA State Supreme Court

Court overturns then-11-year-old boy’s conviction in slaying
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Wednesday overturned the conviction of a then-11-year-old boy in the 2009 shotgun slaying of his father’s pregnant fiancée, saying prosecutors had not provided enough evidence to support it.
The state Supreme Court’s 5-0 ruling clears Jordan Brown of wrongdoing, his lawyers say, in the slaying of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk, who was eight months pregnant when she was found dead in the family’s rural western Pennsylvania farmhouse.
It reversed a finding by a juvenile court judge in Lawrence County, upheld by a state appellate court, that Brown was guilty of first-degree murder and homicide of an unborn child.
Justices attacked the evidence as insufficient, saying among other things that trial testimony pointing to a shotgun in Brown’s bedroom as the murder weapon “supported an equally reasonable conclusion” that it wasn’t the murder weapon.
Houk was found lying in bed in a pool of blood with a shotgun blast to the back of her head, according to court papers. Brown, now 20, was tried as a juvenile after his lawyers fought a judge’s original decision to try him as an adult.
A lawyer for Brown, Kate Burdick, said Brown — referred to in court papers as J.B. — has maintained his innocence since the murder and has now received “long overdue justice.”
“While we can’t give J.B. his childhood back, we are glad the Supreme Court has cleared his name so that he can move forward with a productive life,” Burdick said.
The state attorney general’s office, which was handling the appeal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Burdick would not discuss Brown’s whereabouts, only saying that he was not in custody and that he had met all his treatment goals. In 2016, a judge put Brown on probation and in the custody of an uncle, who lives in Ohio.
Burdick said charging Brown again for the same crime would violate the “double jeopardy” clause of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits trying someone twice for the same crime.
Brown’s lawyers have battled the case to the Supreme Court before, in 2014 winning an order granting them a new chance to argue there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
Houk’s daughters — ages 4 and 7 at the time — went to live with their grandparents, and it was youngest who found her mom’s dead body, telling a member of a tree service crew that had arrived at the property to finish collecting firewood they had cut the previous day from a wooded area in front of the house.
On the day of the murder, Chris Brown, Jordan’s father, had already gone to work, leaving Houk with Jordan and the two girls before Jordan Brown and the older daughter went to catch the school bus.

NASCAR’s Kyle Larson Dominates Silver Cup at Lernerville for $25,000 Payday

Photos Courtesy of Becky Cade

Kyle Larson Dominates Silver Cup at Lernerville for $25,000 Payday

SARVER, PA – July 17, 2018 – Kyle Larson started fourth and worked his way by Ian Madsen on Lap 9 and never looked back to win his first World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Feature of the year and sixth in his career. Larson also set Quick Time over the 37-car field and won his Heat Race. Brad Sweet finished second with Donny Schatz coming from ninth to complete the podium at the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway.

Western Pennsylvania’s own Tim Shaffer won the Sears Craftsman Dash to earn the pole for the 40-lap Feature. Shaffer, the 1993 Lernerville Track Champion and two-time Silver Cup winner, led the opening four laps before Brandon Spithaler spun off the track, bringing out the only caution of the event.

World of Outlaws rookie Ian Madsen took advantage of the double-file restart to take the lead from Shaffer down the backstretch. Madsen led lap five and Larson took second from Shaffer a lap later.

Larson slid Madsen for the lead on Lap 8, but the Australian turned back underneath Larson’s No.57 to lead into turn three. It was short-lived, however, as Larson pounded the cushion and blasted around Madsen to lead the ninth circuit.

Larson established he was the class of the field and quickly built up a lead as the field stretched out around the 4/10th oval.

Brad Sweet, fresh off his runner-up finish at the Kings Royal, began making the top work and moved by Shaffer for third on Lap 26 and then used the same line to move by Madsen for second a lap later. Simultaneously, Donny Schatz began making the bottom work. Schatz worked his way into third on Lap 31.

As Larson diced through heavy traffic, Sweet began to close in on Larson as the large crowd at Lernerville Speedway watched closely to see if the driver referred to as ‘The Big Cat’ could make a move. Larson was flawless through traffic, re-extending his lead and going on to win by 1.893 seconds over his brother-in-law, Sweet.

“I was able to get through traffic pretty well. There was a strip of moisture in turns three and four. I was trying to check the board because I knew if [Schatz] was coming, I was going to have to do some searching,” Larson said in Victory Lane.

Larson was making his first start at Lernerville in five years, he came from 24th to second in the 2013 Silver Cup. “I didn’t think we were that great in the Dash, but Paul Silva was able to tune it up and I knew right away in the Feature I had a good shot of winning this one.”

“These Outlaw races are so hard to win. I was able to get an Outlaw win for Ricky [Stenhouse] last year, but it has been a couple years since I got an Outlaw win in the No.57,” Larson added.

“It’s great to see a packed house, I was only able to get here five minutes before engine heat because of plane troubles, but I’m glad we made it. We couldn’t be out here without all you fans,” Larson, who won everything but the Sears Craftsman Dash, said to a loud applause.

Brad Sweet settled for second and referenced how similar tonight was to Saturday’s Kings Royal, where he was trying to chase down Schatz on the cushion.

“You know [Larson] is going to be tough to beat out front, I wasn’t making as much speed once the top in turns one and two went away. I kind of saw Donny coming at the end so I moved down on the race track,” Sweet said in good spirits.

“The past few races the tracks have been slick and technical with a lot of Green Flag laps, it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve been right in the hunt throughout this Month of Money and hopefully we can pick up some more wins here soon,” Sweet added.

Schatz came from ninth to complete the podium and referenced his slow start, “We were a little better at the end than at the beginning, but we’ve got to be better earlier. It wasn’t a bad night or a bad finish, it was just one of those nights,” Schatz, who had won three of the last four races prior to tonight, said.

David Gravel came from 10th to finish fourth with Ian Madsen fading to fifth. Kasey Kahne made a last-lap pass in the Last Chance Showdown to make the Feature and earned KSE Hard Charger honors coming to 17th at the Checkered Flag.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series continues its 40th Anniversary Season with a trio of dates with the Pennsylvania Posse starting Thursday, July 19 at Lincoln Speedway before heading over to Williams Grove Speedway for the Summer Nationals. If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action LIVE on DIRTVision.com!

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson [4][$25,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$7,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [9][$5,000]; 4. 5-David Gravel [10][$4,000]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [2][$3,000]; 6. 9-Daryn Pittman [5][$2,900]; 7. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1][$2,800]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7][$2,700]; 9. 10H-Chad Kemenah [14][$2,600]; 10. 7K-Cale Conley [6][$2,500]; 11. 2-Shane Stewart [13][$2,400]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [11][$2,300]; 13. 19-Brent Marks [15][$2,200]; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8][$2,100]; 15. W20-Greg Wilson [20][$2,000]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [16][$1,500]; 17. 4K-Kasey Kahne [24][$1,300]; 18. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [19][$1,200]; 19. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17][$1,200]; 20. 83-Cory Eliason [21][$1,200]; 21. 39-Spencer Bayston [12][$1,200]; 22. 22-Brandon Spithaler [22][$1,200]; 23. 40-George Hobaugh [18][$1,200]; 24. 4-Parker Price-Miller [23][$1,200]; 25. 2AJ-A.J. Flick [25][$]; 26. 51-John Garvin [26][$]; Lap Leaders: Tim Shaffer 1-4, Ian Madsen 5-8, Kyle Larson 9-40; KSE Hard Charger Award: 4K-Kasey Kahne[+7]

Qualifying: 1. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.36; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.397; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.475; 4. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.517; 5. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.566; 6. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 13.593; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.614; 8. 7K-Cale Conley, 13.669; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.671; 10. 42-Sye Lynch, 13.685; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.694; 12. 39-Spencer Bayston, 13.72; 13. 2-Shane Stewart, 13.742; 14. 5-David Gravel, 13.748; 15. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.756; 16. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.758; 17. 83-Cory Eliason, 13.768; 18. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.792; 19. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 13.808; 20. 2AJ-A.J. Flick, 13.855; 21. 7W-Logan Wagner, 13.886; 22. 40-George Hobaugh, 13.892; 23. 19-Brent Marks, 13.945; 24. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.025; 25. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.035; 26. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 14.062; 27. 98-Carl Bowser, 14.07; 28. 4K-Kasey Kahne, 14.134; 29. 51-John Garvin, 14.245; 30. 45-Trevor Baker, 14.298; 31. 13-Brandon Matus, 14.427; 32. 91-Sadie Siegel, 15.032; 33. 33-Brent Matus, 15.104; 34. O8-Dan Kuriger, 15.175; 35. 4KX-William Kiley, 16.284; 36. 1R-Gale Ruth, 16.73

For full results from Lernerville Speedway, July 17, 2018 visit woosprint.com     

Darrelle Revis Is Retiring From The NFL

He went from Aliquippa to Hershey to Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl, and now it looks like he is heading into the sunset.

NFL cornerback Darrelle Revis officially announced his retirement today after an 11-year career, 8 of which were spent with the New York Jets. In his career, Revis amassed 29 interceptions, 12 recovered fumbles, and 3 defensive touchdowns. His career also had stops in Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and New England, with whom he won a Super Bowl in 2015.

Revis was a member of Aliquippa’s class of 2004, leading the football team to a 15-1 record and state championship in 2003. He also played four seasons for the University of Pittsburgh before being picked 14th overall by the Jets in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Free Care 5K For St. Barnabas Charities Taking Place On August 4

The annual Free Care 5K will be taking place on Meridian Road near the St. Barnabas Campus in Gibsonia on August 4th beginning at 9 AM. The race is for runners and walkers of all ages.

Shelli Sommariva from St. Barnabas Charities spoke to Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County on Wednesday, July 18 about the upcoming 5K, including all of the different gifts and prizes that attendees can receive for registering early or placing in the race. St. Barnabas also is in charge of the Beaver Meadows facility in Brighton Township.

To hear the interview with Shelli, click on the player below.

 

For more information on the Free Care 5K, go to freecare5k.com.