(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers covers 26,000 square miles of land over six different U.S. states within the Pittsburgh District…and many of those miles are getting cleaned up for a big day.

That day is Earth Day–April 22–and the USACE is holding several events on that day and throughout the next week in which they are inviting the public to volunteer to help keep the public lands in good shape. Evan Skornick from the USACE joined Matt Drzik on the April 21 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about these events.

The first three “clean-up” events will take place on Friday morning:

• Loyalhanna Lake in West Alexandria from 9 AM until 12:30 PM (lunch provided)
• Tionesta Lake in Tionesta from 10 AM until 12 Noon
• Youghiogheny River Lake in Confluence from 9 AM until 3:00 PM

A fourth will be happening at the Shenango River Lake on April 30 from 9 AM until 12 Noon in Transfer, PA. The USACE is encouraging citizens to maintain the local lakes and natural areas in their neighborhoods, and ask that any who are willing to hold an event contact the lake managers for assistance.

To hear the full interview with Matt and Evan–containing more examples of the USACE’s Earth Day events–click on the player below!

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Patience remains a virtue with Tyrone Zeigler.

The man behind the Tigerland Wave Pool project joined Matt Drzik on the April 21 edition of A.M. Beaver County to provide the latest updates in the ongoing process. A public meeting regarding the feasibility study was held several weeks ago, but according to Zeigler the attendance “wasn’t what I expected”–indicating he had hoped more of the city’s residents would attend.

On a more positive note, Zeigler did make note that Tigerland Inc. LLC did receive its non-profit status, and the next major move for the project will be to secure the property where the Wave Pool once operated, just a block or so south of Wallace Run Road. The project now enters its sixth year of preliminary process, but Zeigler isn’t letting the frustrations get to him: “It’s God’s plan. Can’t rush this.”

To hear the whole interview with Tyrone Zeigler, click on the player below!

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“Stuff had kinda stopped, but right now we’re getting back on track.”

Tom Albanese Sr., mayor of the borough of New Brighton, made that statement to Matt Drzik on the April 18 edition of A.M. Beaver County. The statement was made in reference the stoppage of progress due to the pandemic, and the resurgence towards “as normal as normal is” with activities coming back on a regular basis. Albanese has been the mayor of New Brighton since 2017 and has served in different roles in the borough prior to that.

The mayor spoke about the consistent growth of businesses, including seven new ones in the last year alone. “If you go through town, 3rd Avenue’s pretty much looking the same,” he said, “but 5th Avenue is starting to just build business up.” Along with that are the many different festivals and events coming up over the spring and summer, along with the traditional events like Fall Fest and the annual Halloween Parade returning once again to the schedule.

The flipside of the recreational and business side of New Brighton is what goes on up top; and while the relationship between mayor and council is strong, the police department is going through struggles that many other municipalities are facing. “Over the years, when you wanted a policeman coming in, you’d have 20 applicants,” Albanese said “That’s not the case now. Now the case is that you have fewer applicants, and everyone’s jockeying to get someone out of the academies.”

Still, Albanese recognizes the leaps and bounds taken by the police department as the introduction of body cams have helped officers learn on the fly, and that the fire department remains solidly staffed despite similar number drops in other boroughs. To reach out to the borough for more information, you can find contact info by going to their website.

To see the full interview with Mayor Albanese, click on the Facebook feed below!

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“Most people adequate change by cosmetics, so if they see something being torn down or something being built, then they figure change has arrived.”

Aliquippa mayor Dwan Walker spoke that message on the April 14 edition of A.M. Beaver County, as he talked with Matt Drzik about the upcoming summer projects brought on by grants applied for within the city. Walker mentioned that several construction projects will be happening over the course of the summer, in order that the city continue to progress: “We definitely want to get into the cosmetic stage of rebuilding Aliquippa and changing the landscape of Aliquippa; that builds progress, that shows progress, so that’s what we want to do.”

Walker also mentioned that there is a couple of events coming up in the city over the course of the next couple of weeks: one such event is a city-wide Easter Egg Hunt taking place at Uncommon Grounds from 10 AM to 2 PM in downtown Aliquippa, along with an e-waste recycling event on April 23 from 10 AM to 2 PM with dumpsters located downtown as well as at Plan 12 and Lefty Cepull Field.

To listen to the full interview with Mayor Walker, click on the player below!

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo by Mark Peterson)

“If we can get more neighbors to help one other, we can start solving our own problems.”

Those were the words of Kenya Johns, the mayor of Beaver Falls, as she sat down to talk with A.M. Beaver County’s Matt Drzik on the April 14 edition of the show. She provided updates on several of the city’s upcoming events, including a celebration for the renovation of the Second Avenue Playground to take place on April 22 & 23. The first day will be to help clean up and paint the playground area, and the second day will be to commemorate and officially announce Phase One of the renovation project. The Second Avenue Project is headed by the Beaver Falls Reunion Committee.

The mayor mentioned job openings in the city too, a topic that had first been brought up at the city council meeting on Tuesday night. Applicants for these positions must be CDL-certified. Those interested can submit applications to the Beaver Falls City Building, located at 715 15th Street in Beaver Falls

Johns also noted that there has been more activity and appearances at the city council meetings, even if the opinions there aren’t 100% harmonious: “Obviously in any business or anything you do, not everyone is going to be happy. But we want everyone to feel like even if they’re not happy with one decision, there’s another decision they feel like they’re being seen in, valued in, or represented in.”

To watch the full interview with Mayor Johns, click on the Facebook feed below!

On Tuesday, Matt Drzik will talk about the first game for the Pirates’ 2022 season to be played at PNC Park–as long as the weather cooperates.

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

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Kelly Cope from Patriot Home Care joined Matt Drzik on the April 11 edition of A.M. Beaver County to discuss the services that Patriot provides; services designed to assist older clients (or those who qualify) to maintain independent living in the comfort of their homes and the surrounding area.

Cope spoke about the comfort and flexibility that clients with Patriot have in choosing how much assistance they desire to have. “We try to keep them in their own home,” she stated. “We have clients that require 10 hours a week, we have clients that are 24/7 and around the clock.” She spoke about how PHC will assess clients and help them out in the comfort of their own homes to maintain independent living; different from assisted living at a remote location.

PHC is also looking for caretakers on their staff as well, but Cope says that the job isn’t necessarily easy: “You have to able to be around people, you have to want to take care of people…you have to have some sort of compassion to be wanting to take care of people [in order] to do this job.”

Patriot Home Care has an office in Beaver Falls located at 1225 7th Avenue (next to the Carnegie Free Library southbound), and they can be contacted by reaching (724)-506-8911. Kelly herself can be reached via email at kcope@patriot-hc.com for inquiries as well.

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

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Sometimes a small community has big plans.

Thus is the case with the borough of New Galilee in northern Beaver County, and Mayor Mark Benes joined Matt Drzik to talk about those plans on the April 8 edition of A.M. Beaver County. Benes has been the mayor of the borough for six years, and prior to that he was on council for the borough and helped establish the New Galilee CommUNITY Foundation in 2012.

Benes, who grew up in New Galilee, is happy to see the ongoing growth of the events coming to the community…but he doesn’t want it to stop there. “We’ve always been pushing for infrastructure, sewage, and water,” he said. “For now, the kids and taking care of these community events and making sure they have positive things to do within the borough is kind of what we’re pushing.

The mayor is also hoping that the growth of New Galilee comes with cooperation and partnership from neighboring municipalities such as Darlington to help boost connections and opportunities within both communities.

To watch the full interview with Mark Benes, click on the Facebook feed below!

On the Friday edition of A.M. Beaver County, Matt Drzik speaks with New Galilee mayor Mark Benes following the 8:05 news to talk about the latest issues involved with the small borough in the northern corner of Beaver County.

Also on the Friday show, mechanic Rick Maddock joins Matt to talk about how to look after your car as winter transitions to spring. That conversation follows the 8:30 news on A.M. Beaver County.

Frank Sparks starts the last show of the work week with news at 6:30 on Beaver County Radio.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The warmer weather is coming soon, and with that comes many an opportunity to walk down the street of your neighborhood to see who’s selling what.

The Beaver Falls Business District Authority is looking forward to such opportunity to bless the city over the course of the next several months, as its various shops continue to open their doors for the public. Denise Donnelly (Carnegie Free Library & Clear Choice Enterprises) and Tammy Clark (This & That Consignments) joined Matt Drzik on the April 7 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about the different businesses throughout the city and the network of services and goods they provide.

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