On the Friday morning edition of A.M. Beaver County, former Penguins General Manager and current 3ICE commissioner Craig Patrick will talk with Matt Drzik at 8:10 about the 3ICE League in its inaugural season, which will be making a stop in Pittsburgh on July 23.

Frank Sparks starts the morning with local news at 6:30 on Beaver County Radio.

(Photo courtesy 3ICE/Getty Images, used with permission)

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo/Beaver County Radio Files)

A big event is returning to Chippewa Township in 2022.

The township will be hosting its Community Day from 4:00-8:00 PM on Saturday, July 9 at the Wright Fields at Veterans Park (located on the corner of 37th Street Extension and McKinley Road). Parks and Recreation director Lauren Doyle spoke about the event with Matt Drzik on the July 7 edition of A.M. Beaver County.

“We have a car show, we have food trucks, games, giveaways, inflatables, live music,” Doyle spoke in regards to the events taking place on Saturday for Community Day; the two bands playing will be Jukebox and The Granati Brothers for 90-minute sets. Along with the aforementioned elements, the McKinley Schoolhouse will also be open to the public during Community Day–a free event to the public, as well.

Doyle said that the bands played a key role in the planning for this year’s event: “We’ve had the bands locked in for almost a year, and everything else kind of takes shape after Christmas. We start really planning what we want to do and add and change and…adjust year after year.”

For more information about this year’s Community Day, you can check out the Township’s website, or email the Parks & Recreation Department. To listen to the interview with Lauren Doyle, click on the player below!

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo/Beaver County Radio Archives)

Many Americans will be celebrating Independence Day by not going to work. Not every American will though, and many of the ones who do may not feel all that great about it.

A recent study from New View Strategies shows that nearly a third of all Americans–32%–feel guilty when they take Paid Time Off (PTO) from their job, and 45% of Americans surveyed do not use all of their PTO. The large majority of Americans receive less than four weeks of PTO per year (81%) while employees across the pond in Europe have a 70% rate of receiving four weeks or more of PTO per year. In fact, 1 out of every 10 Europeans surveyed take at least 30 days off per year.

Megan Sanctorum from New View Strategies talked about those numbers and several more PTO statistics with Matt Drzik on the July 1 edition of A.M. Beaver County. To listen to the full discussion, click on the player below.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The city of Aliquippa has been home to many great moments in sports and industry, but starting in July they look to add music and gathering to that list.

The Uncommon Grounds Cafe, in partnership with The Genesis Collective, will be hosting a series of concerts throughout the summer entitled “Uncommon Concerts & Conversations“, featuring a wide variety of musical acts ranging from blues to jazz to choral song. The first of the bi-weekly shows will be on July 1, as Billy The Kid & The Regulators will be presenting a blues workshop for children at 6:00 PM, followed by the concert and subsequent conversation beginning at 7:00 PM.

“All of the public is invited, it is free, and the conversations are open,” said Pam Rossi-Keen, the executive director for The Genesis Collective, who joined Uncommon Grounds executive director Andrenna Williams in talking with Matt Drzik on the June 30 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about the concert series. “Basically our goal here is to make sure that Aliquippa and the surrounding region–Beaver County, Allegheny County–feels invited to participate in creativity and to dream and feel empowered to make on their own.”

All concerts begin at 7:00 PM and will be held inside the Uncommon Grounds Cafe located at 380 Franklin Avenue in Aliquippa.

July 1 — Billy the Kid and The Regulators.
July 15 — Joy + Peace (with performer Joy Ike)
Aug. 5 — Yoko Suzuki Trio
Aug. 19 — TBD
Sept. 2 — Voces Solis

“Our space is intentionally created to invite people in to explore and to dream and to feel safe to just be who they’re created to be,” Williams said. “So we’re excited…it just continues the will of building relationships, having these conversations, and ultimately just drawing us closer and closer together across all the lines that are created to separate us.”

For more details on the “Uncommon Concerts & Conversations” series, click on the player below for the full conversation with Pam Rossi-Keen and Andrenna Williams.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“Honestly, a hero can be anyone who’s been a hero to you.”

Those words from George McGrady of the Beaver Rotary sums up the meaning behind “Flags For Heroes”, their yearly dedication to the heroes who have impacted lives through their service for the citizens of Beaver and the surrounding communities. McGrady spoke to Matt Drzik on the June 30 edition of A.M. Beaver County about this Independence Day weekend dedication.

The rotary plants “anywhere between 60 and 100” flags at Quay Park in Beaver in honor of the holiday weekend, but McGrady says that there is no limit to how many flags can be purchased in a given year. “We’ve had families purchase flags for four different heroes,” he spoke, “so that is entirely up to the sponsor, however many they’d like to purchase.” The purchasing for this year’s flags has closed, but the flags at Quay Park–each of which is complemented with a special medallion to commemorate the heroes–are currently being displayed and will continue to be throughout the weekend.

For further details about “Flags For Heroes”, check out their website by clicking here. To listen to the full conversation with George McGrady, click on the player below.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Many summer events are returning to Beaver County for 2022, and one up in the northwest corner of the county begins its festivities this week.

The New Galilee Carnival is returning to the borough for the first time since 2019, and it will run from Wednesday, June 29 to Saturday, July 2. The mayor of New Galilee, Mark Benes, joined Matt Drzik on the June 28 edition of A.M. Beaver County to preview the four days of fun for residents and visitors alike.

Benes announced that the carnival will be headquartered in and behind the community center in New Galilee, located on the corner of Centennial Avenue and Fairlane Boulevard opposite the walking track. The walking track itself will be used for parking, with access to the lot at the Route 168 entrance.

The carnival will kick off with a parade at 6:00 PM on June 29, with a Car Cruise in conjunction that will run until 9:00 PM. There will be live music each night, along with 25¢ bingo in the community hall and a nightly 50/50 drawing. The carnival will run from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM nightly with the exception of Saturday, when the gates will be open from 4:00 PM until midnight and feature a skydiver 50/50 and an ice cream eating contest.

For full details about the New Galilee Carnival, check out their website for event times and information about the live bands performing. To watch the full interview with Mayor Mark Benes, click on the Facebook feed below!

On the Tuesday edition of A.M. Beaver County, Matt Drzik will talk with Mark Benes, the mayor of New Galilee, about the upcoming New Galilee Carnival starting on June 29. The preview of the week’s festivities takes place following the 8:30 news.

Frank Sparks starts your morning with local news at 6:30 on Beaver County Radio.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“I got butterflies. I can’t believe it’s actually going to happen.”

The excitement from Committee General Chair Raylene Boots in describing her anticipation for the upcoming Ellwood City Arts Festival has been echoed by several vendors, crafters, and citizens of the Ellwood City area; this edition of the Festival is the first since 2019 due to the pandemic. She, along with Vice Committee Chair Richard DiGia, joined Matt Drzik on the June 24 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about the 2022 edition of the Arts Festival, which will take place in Ewing Park during July 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Over the course of those three days, those attending will get to experience over a dozen different live musical acts, a Hall of Fame ceremony honoring those who have helped build the Festival to what it has become, and an art show showcasing local renditions of a certain theme (this year’s is “Succeeding Together”) that those in attendance can look at and vote for–on top of all of the local vendors serving food and local artists displaying their own crafts. The festival will culminate in a fireworks show at 10 PM on Sunday, July 3rd at the Ewing Park Football Field.

In lieu of this year’s comeback festival, DiGia and his wife Mari decided to create a new mascot for the festivities. The mascot is an 8 foot-9 inch eagle dressed in patriotic threads (including a top hat) that will serve as mascot for this year’s festival and future festivals as well. It also has a name that was selected by the citizens of Ellwood City–but only the Committee knows it for now. The mascot’s name will be revealed on July 2 at 4:30 PM.

To watch the full discussion about the 2022 Ellwood City Arts Festival, click on the Facebook feed below!

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“We’re helping them live with their independence as best they can.”

The description of the services provided by Patriot Home Care by Kelly Cope showcases their dedication to assisted independent living for their many clients throughout Beaver County. Cope joined Matt Drzik on the June 23 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about how someone can become a client OR caretaker at the facilities headquartered in downtown Beaver Falls, along with the element of “compassion” it takes to care for someone in the assisted independent living arena.

To watch the full interview with Kelly Cope, click on the Facebook feed below!