BEAVER, Pennsylvania – Today, the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce announced Lance Grable to be its next President.  Lance’s career experience in the private and public sectors as well as his deep knowledge of Beaver County will bring significant benefit to Chamber members and the community at large.  

For the last 19 years, Lance has worked in Beaver County government, and for the last eight years as the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority and the Director of the Office of Planning and Redevelopment.  Through this work, Mr. Grable has partnered with many of the same stakeholders that are essential to the Chamber’s success.  His knowledge of local, state and federal programs and processes were particularly germane to the Chamber’s hiring goals.

Board President Kathryn Klaber said “A board’s top responsibility is to hire the organization’s leadership.  The Chamber’s board took the challenge of identifying the next President extremely seriously and is gratified to select Lance Grable for this important role.  We are very bullish on the prospects for additional value to the Chamber’s members and organizational growth that Lance will bring.”

“I am grateful for the years I was able to serve the people of Beaver County from my position in County government.  It will be an honor to lead the Chamber for the next major chapter of my career.  To me, it’s all about helping to make Beaver County the most attractive place to live and work.  Working in tandem with the Chamber board and staff, we will set and realize truly remarkable goals for the County in the months and years ahead“ said Lance Grable.

The search was led by Chamber Vice Chair Paul Hoback, who added “The search committee appreciates the interest in the President role by many qualified candidates.  Beaver County is fortunate to have the depth of talent for leadership.  Lance Grable demonstrated both the skill set and the passion for Beaver County that will serve our organization for years to come.“

Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service

The shortage of educators and school staffers has reached a crisis level in some Pennsylvania public schools, prompting a new “Educators Rising” program, which aims to recruit future educators from local high schools.

Ten schools are already participating, with students attending the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center to develop teaching skills.

Donna Rain-O’Dell, workforce education coordinator at the center, said in the “Grow Your Own” program at Mount Pleasant High School, the students gain hands-on experience by observing and assisting teachers in classrooms a couple of days a week.

“We actually have some of our students going into classrooms that are teaching small group or mini-lessons,” Rain-O’Dell explained. “Like, one student is teaching Spanish I, when she’s a Spanish III student; and then we have a student, that’s in AP Bio that’s helping with the biology class. So it’s kind of cool, and it’s definitely a unique situation.”

She pointed out next year, they will start their first “college in high school” course at the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg campus. Keystone State schools are struggling to fill more than 5,500 vacant teaching positions.

Rena Enterline, vocational rehabilitation counselor for the center, said they partner with The Learning Lamp and Shippensburg University and students can earn nine credits toward higher education.

“That is more of a dual-enrollment type class,” Enterline noted. “They will take classes through Shippensburg University, and they’ll actually get a transcript through them. And then, they can take those credits and use them at any university that will accept them when they decide to go to college.”

Enterline added current seniors will not have been in the program for two years but can still use the credits they earn this year through the dual enrollment opportunity.

Amanda Funk, CTE instructor at McCaskey High School in Lancaster, said hers is the only Lancaster County high school to have an in-house career and technology program. It attracts a diverse group of students who help out in elementary schools as juniors and seniors, eventually extending to middle schools.

“The goal is to bring them back and they get a guaranteed interview after college in our district and then they’ll have that added support,” Funk stressed. “Part of our job description is to actually mentor them through their college years. And then once they come back and get a job in our district, to mentor them there as well.”

Funk added one lesson in the Educators Rising curriculum focuses on anti-bias instruction. She observed students have personally thanked her for classroom discussions on the topic.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican lawmakers are advancing a $3 billion tax cut, their newly unveiled counterproposal to a budget proposal from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro as each side offers a competing vision for how to use a massive cash surplus. The legislation cutting taxes on income and electric service passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 36-14 vote Tuesday. Republicans said it would be the largest tax cut in the state’s history. In the coming weeks, budget negotiations could revolve around Shapiro’s bid to boost spending by $3 billion, versus the Republican counterproposal to cut taxes by $3 billion. Democrats warn that the Senate GOP’s tax bill won’t pass in the Democratic-controlled House.

Panera Bread said it’s discontinuing its Charged Sips drinks that were tied to at least two wrongful death lawsuits due to their high caffeine content. Panera didn’t say Tuesday whether the drinks were being discontinued because of the lawsuits or health concerns. It also wouldn’t comment on the timeline for removing them from stores. The St. Louis-based company introduced Charged Sips in the spring of 2022. In the fall of 2023, Panera was sued by the families of two people with heart conditions who died after drinking Charged Lemonades at Panera. The families say Panera didn’t properly warn customers that the drinks contained so much caffeine.