(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of People’s Natural Gas)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Peoples Natural Gas is encouraging their customers in Pennsylvania to apply now for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is a federally funded program that provides cash grants ranging from $200 – $1,000 that are one-time to help eligible low-income households pay their heating bills. These Grants can be directly applied to a Peoples account of a customer. According to a release in Pittsburgh today from People’s Natural Gas, here is some more information about applying for the LIHEAP program, the website to apply as well as some crisis eligibility guidelines they provide:

• To qualify for a LIHEAP grant, total gross household income must be at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Customers do not have to be on public assistance or have an unpaid heating bill. LIHEAP is open to both renters and homeowners, and Pennsylvania households experiencing a heating crisis may be eligible for additional benefits.

2025 LIHEAP/Crisis Eligibility Guidelines
Family Size	Month	Year
1	$1,956	$23,475
2	$2,644	$31,725
3	$3,331	$39,975
4	$4,019	$48,225
5	$4,706	$56,475
6	$5,394	$64,725
7	$6,081	$72,975
8	$6,769	$81,225
For each person, add:	$688	$8,250

• Customers can visit Peoples-Gas.com/LIHEAP to learn more and apply.

 

• LIHEAP is one of several programs Peoples offers customers to help pay bills or make energy-saving home improvements. If you or someone you know needs assistance, call 1-800-400-WARM (9276) or visit peoples-gas.com/help.

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Allegheny Health Network)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release in Pittsburgh today from Allegheny Health Network (AHN), the AGH Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patient Mobility program, which is a new program at AHN Allegheny General Hospital, demonstrates that getting patients up and moving around while receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support can dramatically improve health outcomes, leading to better survival rates and shorter hospital stays. This program was launched in 2022 by critical care and cardiovascular clinicians at flagship hospital of Allegheny Health Network and is currently designed so patients can get upright and walking short distances or moving in some other capacity, but so long as they are stable on a heart-lung bypass machine. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a type of heart-lung bypass therapy and patients that require it typically need bed rest that is extended, which is due to the severity of their illness and the invasive nature of the therapy itself.

(File Photo of the Beaver County Courthouse)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver, PA) Several topics were discussed at the Beaver County Commissioners’ work session this morning at 10 a.m. at the Beaver County Courthouse in Beaver. During the Department Head Report of the work session, Beaver County Controller Maria Longo mentioned the main topic addressed, which was increased and excessive spending as well as spending on items that were unacceptable in Beaver County. Longo has brought this up in a few other sessions looking for a solution because she is concerned about it and she stated that “as of this date, revenues are at $72.1 million, which is 66% of budget and expenses are at $81.2 million, 75% of budget, for a deficit of $9.1 million, and these numbers don’t include payroll that just posted to date which adds another $2 million, which puts us $11 million behind for 2025.” Longo also let the Commissioners know about several other matters including the $3,200 of charges on credit cards that were spent on non-essential promotional items with personal names on them and expenditures in increased travel. Longo is reporting these issues because she believes that this deficit spending that she is mentioning is wrong and it could have been avoided. Beaver County Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp recommended to Longo after rhetorically asking what can we do to solve the credit card issue is that no one has a credit card and everything is completed via a purchase unless someone is traveling. Chairman Camp also noted that the Commissioners’ heads of department as well as elected officials need to be responsible for holding their credit cards unless for example, they have to go to a hearing. In other business, during the Commissioners’ Report of the work session, Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning stated that the Commissioners attended the County Commissioners’ Association’s Fall/Winter Coference in Hershey the weekend before Thanksgiving. Manning confirmed that most of the talks there were about the Pennsylvania state budget and he said that 911 funding is the top priority for all sixty-seven Pennsylvania counties after a voting session taken at that conference for the priorities for 2026, followed by mental health funding and assistance with timely reassessment. Manning also gave congratulations to the staff of the Beaver County Jail after a recent inspection there, which went well despite some minor itesm that could be found with procedures and policies.

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) According to a release in Carnegie today from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office, Deluzio (PA-17) announced today that fourteen Western Pennsylvania fire departments are receiving more than $2.8 million in federal grant funding to support their public safety missions. This followed some outreach from the office of Deluzio to bring home grants like these back to the 17th Congressional District  of Pennsylvania. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) via the Department of Homeland Security’s Fiscal Year 2024 Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs was where the funding was provided through. The majority of this funding will help fourteen fire departments in Western Pennsylvania to purchase, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and critical equipment and other resources through the AFG program. The Assistance to Firefighters Grants went to these fire departments listed below along with their respective amounts they were awarded:

1. Beaver Falls Fire Department – $12,290 
2. Big Beaver Volunteer Fire Company – $4,571 
3. Castle Shannon Firemens’ Relief Association – $65,588 
4. Cherry City Volunteer Fire Company – $96,000 
5. Darlington Township Volunteer Fire Department – $471,428 
6. Hanover Volunteer Fire Department – $19,047 
7. Harmony Township Volunteer Firemen – $59,090 
8. Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Company – $47,419 
9. Kennedy Township Independent Volunteer – $74,666 
10. Moon Township Volunteer Fire Company – $43,636 
11. Peebles Volunteer Fire Company – $52,436 
12. Presto Volunteer Fire Department – $330,604 
13. Ross/West View Emergency Medical Service – $363,181 
14. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services – $242,761 

A Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant went to Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services with an amount of $949,240.

 

(File Photo of Handcuffs)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A man was arrested this week for allegedly breaking into an apartment occupied by college students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The incident occurred at around 10 a.m. on Monday morning when Carnegie Mellon graduate student Ahana Agrawal returned to her apartment in Squirrel Hill after class and she heard the voice of a man inside of her room. According to a criminal complaint, the man, identified by Pittsburgh Police as 38-year-old Malki Miles, was allegedly naked from the waist down as he stood next to Agrawal’s bed. Agrawal stated that Miles woke up her roommates who were sleeping and he left within a few minutes and tried to bribe her with money at one point so she would not call the police. Police then arrived quickly, and according to the complaint, found two used crack pipes and a baggie of suspected crack cocaine on Miles. Miles was charged with felony burglary and several other misdemeanors. According to court documents, Miles was unable to post bail. The preliminary hearing for Miles is scheduled for December 9th, 2025. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – This April 2, 2021, file photo shows bridges spanning the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh. Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose President Joe Biden’s ambitious rebuild America agenda than to lend support for the costly $2.3 trillion undertaking for roads, bridges and other infrastructure investments. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Local leaders broke ground in Pittsburgh yesterday on the Esplanade Project that will transform part of the North Shore. This project plans to bring an entertainment space, housing and a Ferris wheel to a 15-acre lot that is empty. According to the developers of the Esplanade Project, they say it will cost around $740 million. 

(File Photo of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Cars)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Ross Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Pittsburgh reported via release today that thirty-year-old Rebeckah Schaelchlin of Cranberry Township was charged after causing a single vehicle crash in Ross Township early Monday morning. At 12:58 a.m., Schaelchlin was driving on I-279 North and left the left travel lane there for reasons that are unknown, but hit a cable barrier with her vehicle. 

(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Robinson Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Pittsburgh reported via release today that twenty-six-year-old Cole Ourada of Coraopolis was not charged after causing a single-vehicle crash in Robinson Township early yesterday morning. Ourada was driving on I-79 North at 5:49 a.m. and went across the west fog line and hit a traffic sign there and the driver side tire of his vehicle became flat as a result of this crash.