The image above shows a door boarded and covered in plastic at Bowser Hyundai in Chippewa
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published February 24, 2023 9:50 A.M.

(Chippewa Township, PA) The coroner was called to Boswer Hyundai in Chippewa Friday Morning. Unconfirmed reports have said that a garage door fell on a person. When Beaver County Radio arrived to the scene, a rear garage door was seen covered in plastic and boarded up. It was not clear whether that door was involved. Boswer Hyundai of Chippewa issued a statement confirming there was a “workplace accident involving a construction worker at the property and that individual is deceased”. It is currently unknown what caused the accident.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published February 23, 2023 5:30 P.M.

(Center Township, PA) The Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee held a public hearing Thursday Morning at the CCBC Golden Dome. Chairman Senator Doug Mastriano led the hearing along with Democrat Chair Katie Muth. First on the agenda was supposed to be a testimony from Alan Shaw, President of Norfolk Southern. Shaw declined to attend the hearing and the committee placed an empty chair on the stage with his name on it. The committee proceeded to start the hearing by listening to a panel of pre-selected residents. A resident who was not preselected attempted to ask Senator Mastriano questions, but he was not given any response by the committee. Residents from the surrounding area of the train derailment shared testimonies of their experience. Many described ending up with cold like illnesses, facial rashes, and burning eyes and questioned why there was little communication to them as the events unfolded. A few broke into tears while speaking. Some said their made them ill. Following the resident panel, a group of administrative leaders were questioned. These leaders included Randy Padfield, Director of PEMA, PA Department of Agriculture Acting Secretary Russell Redding, PA Department of Environmental Protection Acting Secretary Richard Negrin, PA Department of Transportion Acting Secretary Michael Carroll, and Captian John Hopkins of the Bureu of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region of the PA Fish and Boat Commission. They explained that Norfolk Southern’s model of how the controlled explosion would take place was the one chosen to use during meetings with officials and Governors Shapiro and DeWine, and that Norfolk Southern did not allow any other options for different models. Norfolk Southern was said to have determined that not only one tanker car, but five, needed to be detonated and the officials trusted their roughly one mile evacuation model was accurate, even though other models they had created didn’t add up at first. Intial models other than Norfolk Southern’s were said to have required a much larger evacuation zone. It was stated that Norfolk Southern claimed to be experts of 200 years and didn’t want to listen to anyone else. It was also said that Norfolk Southern acknowledged that the situation was worsened by their failed communications. A panel of local Beaver County leaders, including Commissioners Dan Camp and Jack Manning, Director of Emergency Services Eric Brewer, Darlington Township Fire Chief Chris Laderer, and Assistant Darlington Township Fire Chief/EMA Coordinator William Douthitt were next to take the floor. They gave the committee a run down of the response taken to the derailment by the county. They made it a point to say that they did the best they could with the information they had at the time, noting that Norfolk Southern was not providing good communication. Darlington Township Volunteer Fire Department stated that Norfolk Southern was pushing to do the detonation sooner, but they challenged kids should be released from school first, particularly because the detonation was going to be much bigger than originally planned. This led nearby school districts to be able to dismiss their students. County leaders also stated they were prepared for a much larger evacuation. Camp made a comment near the end of the hearing, that Beaver County should have their own clinic for residents to visit for health concerns. Following the local leaders, legal counsel made presentations.
Information provided for residents:

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leaves after a news conference Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, near the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
By JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is calling on congressional Republicans to increase the fines levied on rail companies for safety violations in the wake of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. There are still safety and health concerns among residents in the village after dozens of train cars being pulled by Norfolk Southern went off the tracks on Feb. 3 and released chemicals into the area. The White House says that the highest fine that can be charged to companies for violations involving the transportation of hazardous materials is $225,455. That’s less than 1% of Norfolk Southern’s profits last year of $3.27 billion.

.

Jaqueline Benitez pushes her cart down an aisle as she shops for groceries at a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Benitez, 21, who works as a preschool teacher, depends on California’s SNAP benefits to help pay for food, and starting in March she expects a significant cut, perhaps half, of the $250 in food benefits she has received since 2020. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner)

(Washington, D.C.) (AP) Nearly 30 million Americans who got extra government help with grocery bills during the pandemic will soon see that aid shrink. An analysis shows for the average recipient, the change will mean about $90 less per month in food stamps. In 32 states and other jurisdictions, the COVID-19 emergency allotments will end with February payments. Other states have already stopped giving out extra foods stamps. The extra help started at the beginning of the pandemic. Government officials and advocates are using texts, flyers and social media posts to make sure recipients know the program is ending.

FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. West Virginia’s water utility says it’s taking precautionary steps following the derailment of a train hauling chemicals that later sent up a toxic plume in Ohio. The utility said in a statement on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2023 that it has enhanced its treatment processes even though there hasn’t been a change in raw water at its Ohio River intake. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — Toxic wastewater used to extinguish a fire following a train derailment in Ohio is headed to a Houston suburb for disposal.
“I and my office heard today that ‘firefighting water’ from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment is slated to be disposed of in our county,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a Wednesday statement.
“Our Harris County Pollution Control Department and Harris County Attorney’s have reached out to the company and the Environmental Protection Agency to receive more information,” Hidalgo wrote.
The wastewater is being sent to Texas Molecular, which injects hazardous waste into the ground for disposal.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told KTRK-TV that Texas Molecular “is authorized to accept and manage a variety of waste streams, including vinyl chloride, as part of their … hazardous waste permit and underground injection control permit.”
The company told KHOU-TV it is experienced in managing this type of disposal.
“Our technology safely removes hazardous constituents from the biosphere. We are part of the solution to reduce risk and protect the environment, whether in our local area or other places that need the capabilities we offer to protect the environment,” the company said.
The fiery Feb. 3 derailment in Ohio prompted evacuations when toxic chemicals were burned after being released from five derailed tanker rail cars carrying vinyl choride that were in danger of exploding.
“It’s … very, very toxic,” Dr. George Guillen, the executive director of the Environmental Institute of Houston, said, but the risk to the public is minimal.
“This injection, in some cases, is usually 4,000 or 5,000 feet down below any kind of drinking water aquifer,” said Guillen, who is also a professor of biology and environmental science at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Both Guillen and Deer Park resident Tammy Baxter said their greatest concerns are transporting the chemicals more than 1,300 miles (2,090 kilometers) from East Palestine, Ohio; to Deer Park, Texas.
“There has to be a closer deep well injection,” Baxter told KTRK. “It’s foolish to put it on the roadway. We have accidents on a regular basis … It is silly to move it that far.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the derailment site Thursday, has warned the railroad responsible for the derailment, Norfolk Southern, to fulfill its promises to clean up the mess just outside East Palestine, Ohio, and help the town recover.
Buttigieg has also announced a package of reforms intended to improve rail safety while regulators try to strengthen safety rules.