Author: Beaver County Radio

John Perrotto Talks About The Pirates’ Changes & Chances In The Second Half Of The 2022 Season

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Back in February, it almost looked as if there would be no MLB games in 2022. Now the season is halfway over.

At the halfway point, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 39-54 and sitting in third place in the NL’s Central Division. Beaver County freelance sportswriter John Perrotto joined Matt Drzik on the July 21 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about the Pirates’ second half of the season, along with how they got to this point with everything that happened in the first half of the 2022 season.

In Perrotto’s eyes, the strength of the Pirates so far this year is their offense. He noted that the Pirates had the fewest amount of home runs in the 2021 MLB season with 124–20 fewer than the 29th-best Diamondbacks (144), and that they have nearly matched that with 97 in the first half. But on the other hand: “I think where they fall short is pitching,” he countered. “I don’t think they still have enough quality starting pitching to be a contending team. The bullpen has been okay, the starting pitching needs work.”

The Pirates aren’t the only team struggling in Major League Baseball this season; twelve of the 40 teams sit below the .500 mark with eight of those twelve having yet to reach 40 wins in the first half. Perrotto points to the system of financial success as the main culprit: “Unless you really feel you can make the playoffs, there’s no incentive to even try and put a good team together because you gain more from losing than you do from being just okay,” he added. “That’s something that neither the players nor the owners fixed in the collective bargaining agreement that they signed in March.”

The Pirates open their second half hosting the Miami Marlins on Friday night (July 22) at PNC Park. Coverage begins on Beaver County Radio at 6:40, and first pitch is at 7:05.

To hear the full interview with John Perrotto, click on the play button below!

VIDEO: Neighborhood North Hosting “Community Play Day” On July 23

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“I think you have both–a variety of different ways of being involved, and also allowing kids to just explore on their own.”

Both will be on display on Saturday, July 23 as Neighborhood North: Museum Of Play will be hosting a “Community Play Day” at their facility on 8th Avenue in Beaver Falls. Executive director Christine Kroger joined Matt Drzik on the July 21 edition of A.M. Beaver County to preview the weekend fun.

The event will be from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM, and feature a variety of activities and activity tools for kids and participating adults to work together on. There will be outdoor and indoor activities, and there will be plenty of water for everyone participating to stay hydrated on what looks to be a humid summer day.

For the full preview with Christine Kroger, click on the Facebook feed below!

Discussing The Shortage Of Essential Service Employees With Commissioner Jack Manning

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“It’s a calling for most people, and a lot of people aren’t seeing or feeling the calling to get into that line of work.”

One week after displaying his feelings on the situation regarding the declining numbers of essential service members–police officers, EMT, firefighters among them–in Beaver County, first-term Commissioner Jack Manning dove deeper into the conversation with Matt Drzik on the July 20 edition of A.M. Beaver County. Manning said that the lacking numbers are “not a severe crisis, but it’s getting there.”

Manning noted that there was a decline in traditional jobs that affected industry back in the 2000s, but an upward trend in the trades came in Beaver County with an invested interest in the Shell Cracker Plant in Shippingport. “I think we need to take a similar approach for people that want to get into the public safety realm. We need to convince people that being a police officer is a great career,” Manning stated. “So we’ve got to start reaching into the schools at an early age; having those kinds of career counseling and job fairs that promote that, and fire departments, and all of the medical opportunities that come out of that…those are good honorable jobs.”

A step in that direction came later that day with the grand opening of the CCBC Center For Public Safety, but Manning acknowledges that the turnaround will be a multi-year process. “I’m hoping that we’ve bottomed out,” he added. “I think we’ll be on the rise, but I’ll be honest–everybody’s competing for the same talent…and it’s gonna be how quickly we respond…I think it’s going to take a while. It may take five or ten years for us to get to the fully staffed level again.”

To hear the full, uncut interview with Jack Manning, click on the play button below.

Aliquippa School Board Hires New Staff Members

(Photo and Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio) 

(Aliquippa, Pa.) The Aliquippa School Board met Wednesday night and hired Shawna McBride as a second grade teacher , Tracy Doughty as an elementary school counselor, Nikki Scrabis as elementary school nurse, and Kylee Steele to teach history at the high school. The board also hired a high school art teacher, a band director and Quipette sponsor.
Dr. Jennifer Damico , director of pupil services  was  appointed acting athletic director for 2022-2023 school year, She will be paid $15,000.

The board also approved the district’s special education plan for 2022 to June 30, 2025.

Beaver County Coroner Called to the Scene of Second Motorcycle Accident In Hopewell in 24 Hours

(File Photo)

(Hopewell Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) For the second time in 24 hours The Hopewell Twp. Police and the Beaver County Coroner were called to the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash in Hopewell Township.
According to Beaver County 911, the crash happened at 9 p.m. Wednesday night at the intersection of Brodhead Road and Cherry Way, in front of Hopewell Shopping Center.
Reports on social media state that the motorcycle was the only vehicle involved in the crash.
Initial reports said the motorcycle struck a utility pole.
Earlier in the day crews responded to motorcycle accident on Kane Road that took the life of 24-year-old Josiah Hufnagel.

Update at 10:16 AM: Beaver County 9-1-1 received a call for a motorcycle accident on Brodhead Road in Hopewell Township in the area of Bruster’s Witnesses  allege that  the male cyclist was speeding when he struck a telephone pole, according to Police Chief Don Sedlacek.

There is no information from the Beaver County  Coroner on the identification of the cyclist or his cause of death.
Chief Sedlacek said this morning that the PA State Police have been called in to do an accident reconstruction. investigation.

Beaver Falls Man Killed in Motorcycle Accident on Route 65 in Glen Osborne

(Glen Osborne, Allegheny County, Pa.) A Beaver Falls man died in a motorcycle accident on Route 65 in Glen Osborne yesterday afternoon. Allegheny County 911 was notified around 3:40 PM of a crash involving a motorcycle and vehicle at Ohio River Boulevard and River Road in Glen Osborne.
The initial investigation shows that a vehicle traveling southbound made a left-hand turn and 62-year-old Shawn Grimm of Beaver Falls was operating his motorcycle northbound and hit the driver’s vehicle. Grimm was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Former President Donald Trump and Family Attend Ivana Trump’s Funeral in NYC

(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is paying respects to his first wife, Ivana Trump. He and his current wife, Melania Trump, joined his three eldest children at a funeral Mass in New York on Wednesday for their mother. Ivana Trump was a 1980s style icon and businesswoman who helped her husband build an empire that launched him to the presidency. The 73-year-old died last week at her Manhattan home. Authorities say the death was an accident, with blunt impact injuries to her torso as the cause. Ivana and Donald Trump were married from 1977 to 1992. Their very public divorce was ugly, but in recent years they were friendly.

YARD CRAWL IN HOPEWELL

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR NORA JANICKI ANNOUNCED THAT  A YARD CRAWL IS SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2022 FROM 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. THE INFORMATION IS ON THE TOWNSHIP’S WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK. AN INTERACTIVE MAP CAN BE ACCESSED ON A SMARTPHONE @YARD SALE TREASURE MAP.

FREE COFFEE AND WATER , ALONG WITH MAPS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE STATE FARM OFFICE FROM CHRISTY POZERNICKI, FROM 8 TO 10 a.m.. A RESIDENT AT 2726 KANE ROAD  WILL PROVIDE MAPS AND WATER WHILE THEY LAST..
FOR THOSE THAT ARE HUNGRY WHILE   YARD CRAWLING FOOD TRUCKS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. AT THE CRESTMONT SHOPPING CENTER.
HAPPY YARD CRAWLING TO THOSE THAT LOVE YARD SALES!

Commissioners Get Update For Brady’s Run Ice Arena, Consider Signage Along Route 51

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The heat of the July weather has turned the attention of Beaver County’s leaders toward the ice…at least to cool down for a few minutes.

At the Commissioners’ work session at the Beaver County Courthouse on Wednesday, the latest updates on the Ice Arena at Brady’s Run Park were provided by Parks & Recreation director Tony Caltury. The focus was also driven to changing the signage for the park itself: “We’re looking for digital signage. I have previous quotes that we did last year, when we initially did the wish list of ‘COVID items’ on that, but I can get updated quotes as well.”

“We’ve got to get a ‘real’ sign,” Commissioner Jack Manning said at the session, referring to the outdated signage on Route 51. Where exactly on Route 51? “If we’re going to change the sign on 51,” countered Garen Fedeles, “we’ll probably have to dig in and see exactly which municipality it’s located in. There’s a decent chance we’ll probably need a sign permit.” Brady’s Run Park is located largely in Fallston, with Brighton Township and Patterson Township close by.

The next Commissioners’ work session is set for 10 AM on July 27.