Author: Beaver County Radio

Mike McCarthy introduced as the next Steelers head coach

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Mike McCarthy, center, poses for a photo, after being introduced as the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers by team owner Art Rooney II, left, and general manager Omar Khan, right, in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The tears started early for Mike McCarthy. Really early.

Considering the setting, it was hard to blame him.

There the kid who grew up rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers from his family’s home in the city’s Greenfield neighborhood was on Tuesday, sitting on dais wearing a black suit with a gold tie, a Steelers pin affixed to his lapel.

The job McCarthy always wanted, but never let himself imagine he would get, his at last.

“I thought I’d at least be able to get started,” the new Steelers head coach said, trying unsuccessfully to choke back his emotions while looking at a wide swath of the McCarthy family spread across the first few rows of a posh club inside Acrisure Stadium.

Nope.

McCarthy collected himself then gamely soldiered on. Yes, the feel-good vibes of his homecoming are undeniable to a man who admits “Pittsburgh is my world.”

Yet the 62-year-old is only too aware of why the Steelers hired him to replace Mike Tomlin, who stepped down earlier this month after 19 seasons.

The “obvious” choice

The trophy case inside the team’s facility just a couple of miles away from where McCarthy grew up at 1137 Greenfield Avenue has remained frozen in time for nearly two decades and counting. McCarthy’s handiwork is part of that drought after he led the Green Bay Packers over the Steelers in the Super Bowl 15 years ago.

Neither McCarthy nor his hometown team have been back since. The clock is ticking.

“It’s time to bring another championship back to this great city,” McCarthy said.

One that grew increasingly antsy during the final years of Tomlin’s tenure as solid if unremarkable regular seasons were followed by largely noncompetitive playoff losses, the last a 30-6 blowout at home to Houston two weeks ago that set the stage for Tomlin’s abrupt exit.

The Steelers, conducting a head coaching search for just the third time since hiring Chuck Noll in 1969, interviewed a wide swath of candidates, many of them the kind young assistants in the vein of Noll, Tomlin and Bill Cowher, all of whom arrived in Pittsburgh as relative unknowns and left with Super Bowl rings and Hall of Fame-worthy resumes.

Ultimately Pittsburgh turned to the one candidate who understands better than most how the team is hard-wired into the city’s DNA, one who also happens to have a Super Bowl ring of his own and a long track record of churning out teams capable of competing for a title.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was an obvious decision for us,” said Steelers president Art Rooney II, who noted McCarthy’s hiring became official on the 125th birthday of franchise patriarch Art Rooney Sr.

Rooney II admitted his grandfather would have loved bringing McCarthy home, though he stressed McCarthy’s deep roots “had little to do” with making him just the club’s fourth head coach in 57 years.

“We had an open mind about it I think and really just said, ‘We found the best coach,’” Rooney II added.

Not ready to walk away

A coach who thinks he still has plenty left.

McCarthy went 185-113-2 (.608) across 18 seasons (playoffs included) with Green Bay and Dallas. His tenure in Dallas ended after an injury-marred 7-10 finish in 2024 led to a parting of ways. He took 2025 off to reconnect with his family, though the urge to coach never left.

The circadian rhythms of an NFL season are difficult to shake. He could feel time start to speed up when teams reported for training camp last summer, and even as he leaned into his somewhat unexpected break, he knew he wasn’t finished.

“I’m not ready to walk away from this,” McCarthy said. “To have this opportunity, it just seemed like it was meant to be on so many different levels.”

He called the 72 hours after reaching a verbal agreement with the Steelers “a whirlwind” that tugged at both the heartstrings and the daunting task ahead as he tries to assemble a coaching staff.

McCarthy figures he’s received twice as many texts of support as he did when he led the Packers to a title, though he knows the honeymoon will be short if he can’t find a way to return the Steelers to legitimate contention in the AFC.

While Pittsburgh’s current run of 22 seasons of finishing .500 or better are an NFL record, the club also hasn’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the divisional round in the 2016 season, tied with Atlanta for the sixth-longest active streak in the league.

A Rodgers reunion?

McCarthy is inheriting a team with a talented — if expensive — defense and an offense filled with question marks, most notably at quarterback. Rookie Will Howard and veteran backup Mason Rudolph are currently the only two players at the game’s most important position under contract for next season.

Aaron Rodgers, who spent 13 seasons alongside McCarthy in Green Bay, will become a free agent in March after helping the Steelers win the AFC North at age 42. McCarthy certainly seems open to a reunion.

“Definitely,” McCarthy said. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

Rodgers said near the end of his 21st season that he would take some time to decompress and meet with his inner circle before deciding whether to try and return in 2026. The four-time MVP believes he’ll have options if he wants and pointed out it would be easier to play in an offense he already knows. McCarthy’s hire assures that would be the case in Pittsburgh.

McCarthy plans to call the plays as he has throughout his coaching career and wants to keep the same 3-4 defensive scheme the Steelers have been using for decades, noting he’s just had one defense ranked in the top five during his head coaching career. It also happened to be the same season the Packers won the Super Bowl.

There’s a long way to go before that happens in Pittsburgh. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered in the coming weeks and months, including whether this offseason is the one the Steelers try to find the franchise quarterback they’ve lacked since Ben Roethlisberger’s prime in the 2010s.

The work has already started, though McCarthy did take a brief moment on the first official day of what could be his final head coaching stop to take it all in. He posed for pictures surrounded by the family that still calls him “Michael,” the one dutifully moved their NFL allegiances in lock-step with his career, the one that will be there for him in Greenfield no matter how this goes.

“We can finally, hopefully, wear our Steelers swag, so let’s get it,” McCarthy said. “My heart is full.”

2026 Beaver County Maple Syrup and Music Festival cancellation among topics discussed at recent Commissioners’ work session

(File Photo of the Beaver County Courthouse)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver, PA) Beaver County Recreation and Tourism Director Tony Caltury responded to an audience member during the audience participation segment of the Beaver County Commissioners’ work session this morning at the Beaver County Courthouse regarding the status of this year’s Beaver County Maple Syrup and Music Festival. Becky Gallagher of Baden asked the Commissioners for an update on that event, because she told them at their work session last week that there were rumors that it was being canceled. After Commissioner Jack Manning addressed Caltury if he had a response to Gallagher’s question, he said: “PUSH Beaver County and the organizers of the event; I haven’t seen an official public statement or press release, but this year’s event is being cancelled due to some structure and leadership of the event. It’s a very, very big loss for us, but I think PUSH is committed to reimagining the event and making it a continuous one, but they felt at this time that it was not doable to do an event in this short time frame from when they were notified about the leadership change to put on an event that’s worthy of a historical event that’s happened over the last 48 years in the county, so our office is committed to working with PUSH and bring in additional volunteers and organizations to make sure that this is just a one-year hiatus and we’ve already reached out to some organizations that may be interested in partnering as well.” One of the other topics that was discussed during this work session was the improvement of the credit rating of Beaver County because during the Solicitors’ report of the work session, Beaver County Solicitor Garen Fedeles mentioned that rating went from an “A” to an “A+” after receiving a recent update from the S&P global ratings at the beginning of this year. This happened after results came in yesterday because of financial flexibility and improvements that were sustained in budgetary performance.

Katherine A. “Kay” (Kufel) Dzikowski (1927-2026)

Katherine A. “Kay” (Kufel) Dzikowski, 98, of Aliquippa, peacefully passed away on January 23, 2026. She was preceded in death by her husband Thomas Joseph Dzikowski. She was born in Poland on September 25th, 1927, a daughter of the late Joseph and Anna Kufel. In addition to her beloved husband and parents, she was also preceded in death by her sister, Helen (Chuck) Burrell and joyfully reunited with her loved ones again.
She is survived by her twin daughters: Carol (John) Ort and Linda (Thomas) Kilian. Her legacy continued with four grandchildren: Kimberly (Joe) Lentz, Diane (Jeffrey) Ammerman, Michael (Alicia) Ort, Laurie (Anthony) Conti. Nine great grandchildren: Aidan, Andrew, Anthony Thomas, Meredith, Michael, Ava, Sophia, Jonathan and Samuel; as well as two special nieces JoAnne (Tom) Walsh, who was like a daughter to Katherine, her loving nieces, Romaine Jesky-Smith and Dottie (Ed) Dillion. She proudly accepted the role of grandmother to her niece Emma (Kody) Walsh. She was dedicated to her Catholic upbringing. She was an active member of Mary Queen of Saints Parish and Saint Titus Church in Aliquippa and devoted many years faithfully cleaning the church and making pierogies. She worked in the maternity ward at the former Aliquippa Hospital, a career she began in 1963 and enjoyed until her retirement in 1993. She was also proud to be a lifetime member of the Polish National Alliance.A Visitation will be held on Friday, January 30th from 3-7 p.m. at Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home, Inc., 2026 McMinn Street, Aliquippa, who was in charge of her arrangements. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Saturday, January 31st in Saint Titus Church, 972 Franklin Avenue, Aliquippa at 10:00 a.m. Everyone is asked to meet at the church.
Interment will follow at Mr. Olivet Cemetery, 2186 Brodhead Road, Aliquippa.In lieu of flowers, the family would like to honor Katherine’s request and remember her by offering an act of kindness to someone.

To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Katherine A. “Kay” (Kufel) Dzikowski please visit the Sympathy Store of the Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home, Inc. by clicking here.

June L. Hodge (Passed in January 26th, 2026)

June L. Hodge, 94, a resident of Center Township, passed away peacefully on January 26th, 2026. She leaves a legacy of love for her family and love for her friends. June was a kind and gentle soul. She was a lady. She was born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania, and spent most of her growing up years in downtown Monaca, Pennsylvania. She was a graduate of Monaca High School. She was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of Monaca. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 51 years, E. Ray Hodge, her loving parents, Arthur E. Laughner and Opal Phillips Laughner as well as two devoted brothers, Eugene Laughner and Dale Laughner. She is survived by her sons, David Hodge and Daniel (Lori) Hodge. She was cherished as well by her two granddaughters, Kayla (Tim) Denman and Megan (Tyler) Petti. She took immense pride in her two great granddaughters, Blaykely Denman and Camdyn Denman, she is also survived by her devoted niece, special confidant and travel companion, Peggy Laughner.

Friends will be received at Simpson Funeral and Cremation Services, 1119 Washington Avenue in Monaca on Thursday, January 29th from 6-8 p.m., and on Friday, January 30th from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. A funeral service under the direction of the Reverend Beth Wierman will take place at the First Presbyterian Church of Monaca on Saturday, January 31st at 11:00 a.m. followed by interment at the Beaver Mausoleum, Buffalo Street, Beaver.

If desired, the family invites donations in June’s name to be given to the First Presbyterian Church of Monaca, 1301 Indiana Avenue, Monaca, Pennsylvania 15061.

June A. Beighley (1938-2026)

June A. Beighley, 87, of Beaver Falls, passed away on January 26th, 2026, at Concordia Villa St. Joseph in Baden. She was born in North Sewickley Township on May 15th, 1938, the daughter of the late Walter and Bessie Love Tatsch Shotsinger. In addition to her parents, June was preceded in death by her loving husband, Ronald Beighley. She is survived by her niece, Tammy Romesburg, two nephews, William (Jane) McGraw and Timothy F. (Robin) McGraw, two great-nieces, Cheryl (Chuck) McDanel and Erin (Matt) Shaffer, three great-nephews, Timothy M. McGraw, Ryan (Gabby) Brown and Eric (Marina) Brown and eleven great-great-nieces and nephewsL Hannah, Cole, Connor, Olivia, Bryce, Kellen, Leah, Evyenia, Yianni, Markella, and Thespina.

June was a proud retiree from Westinghouse where she had diligently served as an Assistant to Purchasing. Her dedication was reflective of her reliable nature, and her resilience was evident in every task she undertook. June was a woman of simple pleasures and found joy in her regular lunch dates with friends and traveling the world. Her love for her pets was unparalleled, a testament to her thoughtful and caring nature.  Friends will be received Sunday, February 1st from 2-6 P.M. at CORLESS-KUNSELMAN FUNERAL SERVICES, LLC, 3801 4th Avenue, Beaver Falls, where a blessing service will be held on Monday, February 2nd at 10 A.M. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 2927 Clayton Road, Beaver Falls. Online condolences may be shared at www.corlessfuneralhome.com.

Joanne Louise Clark (1932-2026)

Joanne Louise Clark, 93, of Chippewa Township, passed away on January 25th, 2026. Her final weeks were spent surrounded by her devoted daughters and loving granddaughter, Katie. She was born on July 11th, 1932, a daughter of the late Paul and May Laveing. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Charles W. Clark, her daughters, Jo Ellen Musguire and Diane Clause, her siblings, Janet Zurga, Paul and Bob Laveing. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law: Debra Armstrong, Susan and Rob Russell, Elaine Clark, Carol Clark and Terry Marks; as well as her granddaughters: Katie, Kelly, Christina, Jennifer, Leslie, Lori; along with her grandsons, Paul and Matt, her sister and brother, June and Jack Laveing and numerous nieces and nephews.

Joanne was a homemaker for many years and later worked at CVS Pharmacy for over 20 years. She enjoyed spending time with family playing games, puzzling, bird watching and going for nightly rides through the countryside. Friends will be received on Friday, January 30th from 4 p.m. until the time of service at 6 p.m. at Corless-Kunselman Funeral Services, LLC, 3801 4th Avenue, Beaver Falls, who was in charge of her arrangements. Private interment will take place at Clinton Cemetery in Wampum.

John Daniel Metzler, Sr. (1952-2026)

John Daniel Metzler, Jr., 73, of Industry, passed away on January 24th, 2026.

He was born on May 6th, 1952 and was preceded in death by his parents, John and Evelyn Metzler, and his in-laws, Howard and Dorothy Benson. John’s legacy lives on in the lives he touched, the community he served, and the family he loved so deeply. He will be missed beyond words. He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 46 years, Cynthia L. Benson Metzler, his children, John D. Metzler III and his wife Emily of Mt. Airy, Maryland, Joshua J. Metzler and his wife Erica of Industry, PA, Cynthia F. Straile and her husband Joshua of Industry, and Joy L. Metzler and Jeffrey Snedden of Industry, and his grandchildren: Ava Metzler, John D. Metzler IV, Joshua A. Straile, Adelynn Dinsmore, and Abigail Dinsmore. He is also survived by his siblings, Richard Metzler and his wife, Joyce, Renee Curry and Darlene Kuban and her husband, Bill, Evelyn Kunkle and her husband, Mark, and Sharon Callahan and her husband, Mike, along with many nieces and nephews and their children who he loved following along with their sports and activities.

John lived a full, meaningful life rooted in faith, family, and community. He was the kind of man who showed up consistently and with his whole heart. As a child, he attended Assumption School in Pittsburgh, where he served as an altar boy, and later graduated from Avalon High School in 1971. Early in life, he followed a calling to become a Franciscan Friar. While that chapter shaped his faith and values, he ultimately chose a different path, one that included marriage to his beloved wife Cindy and later children. John worked hard his entire life. His previous employment includes a local steel mill, a truck driver, and eventually a supervisor at Neville Chemical where he worked until retirement. He dedicated over 20 years to serving on the Western Beaver School Board and spent 5 years as Western Beaver’s representative on the BCCTS board, always advocating for students and the community he loved. Family was at the center of everything he did. As his children grew, so did his involvement, coaching youth sports, serving on boards, lining fields, and making sure his kids had every opportunity to enjoy the things they loved. He coached BTB football and WLBRA baseball, proudly leading his beloved 90s Phillies team. Even when he wasn’t officially coaching, he could be found in the bleachers, on the sidelines or along the fence line, making sure his presence was known. One of his favorite roles in life was becoming a “Pappy”. He loved making his grandkids lunches, taking care of them and making sure they always had access to a sweet treat. He was always happy feeding people whether through Big John’s BBQ, his famous Thanksgiving Doughballs, Christmas Baklava or just simple dinner for his family. Nothing brought him more joy than hearing laughter around his table or his swimming pool. He loved cheering on the Steelers, playing golf, snow plowing the neighborhood during winter storms, and heading to the beach in the summer where you could find him under an umbrella. He took great pride in maintaining his swimming pool, not because he swam himself, but because he loved watching his wife, children, and grandchildren enjoy it. He also enjoyed driving the golf cart around the Western Beaver football field, setting things up for game day, a small task that perfectly captured who he was: dependable, humble, and always willing to help.

Friends will be received Friday, January 30th from 2-4:30 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. in the Noll Funeral Home, Inc., 333 Third St., Beaver, who was in charge of his arrangements. A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at St. Blaise Roman Catholic Church, 772 Ohio Avenue, Midland on Saturday, January 31st at 10:30 a.m. Online condolences may be shared at nollfuneral.com.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Daniel Metzler Jr., please visit the flower store of the Noll Funeral Home, Inc. by clicking here.

Allegheny Health Network’s “Alcohol Bridge Clinic” Transforms Treatment of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease

(File Photo of the Allegheny Health Network Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release in Pittsburgh today from Allegheny Health Network, their innovative “Alcohol Bridge Clinic” has demonstrated remarkable success since launching last fall, improving sobriety for patients with liver disease and alcohol use disorder (AUD), and significantly reducing related hospitalizations. This clinic integrates transplant hepatology and addiction medicine which is designed to improve outcomes for patients suffering from Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease (ALD). 

TikTok faces app deletions, censorship claims and glitches in days after its ownership change

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The icon for the TikTok video sharing app is seen on a smartphone in Marple Township, Pa., Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

(AP) Censorship claims, technical problems and a report of a surge in app deletions are just some of the challenges TikTok is facing as it adjusts to a new ownership structure in the United States that was finalized last week.

The company said Monday it was experiencing a “major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage” at one of its U.S. data center partner sites. The outage led to bugs such as creators temporarily seeing zero views on their videos even if people had looked at them, as well as slow load times and timeout requests when posting videos.

On Tuesday, TikTok said it had made significant progress restoring services though users could still see glitches while using the popular video sharing app.

At the same time, users were raising concerns that the company is “censoring” videos, including ones critical of President Donald Trump, ICE or mentions of Jeffrey Epstein. The complaints were enough for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce on X Monday that he is launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content.

Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok’s new U.S. joint venture, said it is inaccurate to say that the problems users have been encountering are “anything but the technical issues we’ve transparently confirmed.”

Still, the technical problems combined with the ties that some of the new owners have to Trump bristled some U.S. users just enough to delete the app. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower said Tuesday that daily average app uninstalls grew 130% from Jan. 22 to Jan. 26 compared with the previous 30 days. However, daily average users still increased by 2% in the same period, which Sensor Tower says suggests the uninstalls had little effect on overall usage. And while TikTok lagged YouTube and Instagram in U.S. user growth, people spent more time on the platform than its rivals.

Minda Smiley, a social media analyst at research firm Emarketer, noted that ownership change did just happen and that TikTok is going through a lot of infrastructure-related shifts, which can lead to technical issues. But if there are still problems with certain videos not uploading, or the censorship claims persist, TikTok could see bigger issues down the line.

“Optics and perceptions are really important in situations like this, so I would stay like regardless of what’s actually happening, if people do feel as if content is being suppressed or content is difficult to upload or is being moderated or whatever it might be, that’s enough reason for a lot of users to flee or to stop using TikTok or to say they’re going to stop using TikTok,” she said.

That being said, “what users say and do is often different,” she added. After all, it was only a year ago that TikTok users were flocking to RedNote, a Chinese social media app, to protest a potential TikTok ban. The protest didn’t last and RedNote doesn’t see much discussion in the U.S. these days.

“Still, I think my point still stands that if this continues and people do feel as if the algorithm is changing, the content is changing, it certainly presents a challenge for TikTok,” Smiley added.

Bridgeville man dies after motor vehicle crash in Scott Township from natural causes; no charges filed

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: police car lights at night in city with selective focus and bokeh background blur, Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto/z1b)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Scott Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Pittsburgh reported via release yesterday that an unidentified sixty-year-old man from Bridgeville died after a motor vehicle crash occurred in Scott Township on the evening of July 24th, 2025. This happened at 8:55 p.m. on I-79 South and EMS personnel transported the victim from the scene to Allegheny General Hospital, which was where he was later pronounced dead. No charges were filed in the investigation into this incident and an autopsy that was performed by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that the victim passed away from natural causes.