Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published March 31, 2026 4:19 P.M.

(Beaver, Pa) Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday made a stop to the Beaver Courthouse Tuesday to announce a new program for Beaver County that aims to help those with substance abuse or mental health challenges.

The LETI Program, which stands for Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative, is a program used by PA counties to avoid giving criminal charges to individuals who may simply just need help.  The program allows for the police to recommend LETI for individuals facing charges. Upon successful completion those charges are dismissed.

“The LETI program empowers law enforcement officers to be proactive in their communities by identifying those individuals who get trapped in the criminal system due to mental health and substance abuse issues,” Beaver County District Attorney Nathan Bible said. “Nobody knows and understands the members of their communities better than those who police them.”

Multiple local police Chiefs were in attendance to show support for the announcement.

Beaver County Behavioral Health Administrator Lisa McCoy stated “Beaver County Behavioral Health is dedicated to connecting community members experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders to treatment and various support services,” By introducing a LETI program in the county, we can improve law enforcement’s ability to connect our behavioral health consumers to treatment, in addition to reducing consumer engagement with the criminal justice system.”

When the program is up and running, individuals will also be able to walk into the police station, probation office, sheriff’s department, or the local drug and alcohol authority and ask to be connected to drug and alcohol or behavioral health services.

Attorney General Sunday said “Beaver County is making an important breakthrough by launching LETI and backing it with behavioral health support from the get-go, we’ve seen what this strategy can accomplish: it supports families, breaks cycles, and increases community safety.”

The program is currently operating in numerous other counties throughout the state.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of WTAE TV Pittsburgh, Posted on Facebook on March 30th, 2026)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The “Bucco Bricks,” which are personalized bricks that Pittsburgh Pirates fans can purchase and customize to honor someone with a message, returned to PNC Park this week just in time for the team’s home opener on Friday. The plaques are located on the north part of the park on West General Robinson Street, between Federal Street and Bill Mazeroski Way. The Pirates announced following the 2024 season that they would replace the bricks over the winter for the third time as they had deteriorated because of years of exposure to the elements and wear and tear from fans walking over them. Upset fans found them gone with paved cement over them at PNC Park in April of last year, and they were recycled to be destroyed. Pirates team president Travis Williams and owner Bob Nutting apologized for this incident and also gave fans a chance to get a free commemorative replica of their “Bucco Bricks.” The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County would release their own investigation into this matter, and it showed that after excavating all the bricks, the Pirates wrapped them up on wooden pallets to give back to fans. It also found out that the team then sent those pallets out to be destroyed, instead of giving the bricks back to the fans if they wanted them.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Posted on Facebook on March 31st, 2026)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Penn Hills, PA) A man from Aliquippa was apprehended yesterday at a GetGo in Penn Hills after he was found with a large amount of money, a gun and suspected drugs. Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus announced today that thirty-four-year-old Fidell Eberhart is facing a charge of resisting arrest as well as firearms charges and drug charges. This incident occurred at the GetGo on Frankstown Road just after 4 p.m. Three task force members were conducting operations in Penn Hills on the day of the incident. One of them was a detective from the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office who is also a member of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. The other two were task force members from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and the Allegheny County Police Department. They found Eberhart in the GetGo with what appeared to be a handgun, which was inside of the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt. Eberhart then went into the restroom. After he exited it, he was ordered by the task force members to put his hands behind his back. He tried to escape them and reached for the weapon a few times before one of the task force members handcuffed him and another retrieved the gun. It was a Glock Model 22 and it was found to have a round in the chamber and a fully loaded magazine. A subsequent search of Eberhart revealed a baggie containing forty-five stamp bags of suspected narcotics and approximately $7,000 before he was transported to the Allegheny County Jail.

(File Photo of the Cranberry Township Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) Kenneth Hall will have a solo art show at the Cranberry Artists Network Art Gallery during the month of April. This will be at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, which is open Mondays-Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Fridays from 7:30 a.m.to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hall, a resident of Ross Township, has been an active artist for more than 50 years having started out as an illustrator. He taught Visual Arts for the Pittsburgh Public Schools for 27 years, until 2016, when he had to take a Medical Retirement. After a fifteen-year hiatus from art, he was encouraged to start doing art as therapy. He studied and practiced Art Therapy techniques to help himself heal. His new art forms are no longer illustrations as a result, but are more diverse using personal history and social commentary. Realistic representation changed to emotion and emotional subjects, colors and forms that dominate his work as a tool of self-expression. He earned a Bachelors degree from West Virginian University and a Master’s Degree from Penn State University in Art Education. He has won awards for his work in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, mainly in University gallery settings. This show is his fourth one-man exhibit, having previously shown at the Chambers and Paul Robeson Cultural Center galleries at Penn State, and the Huston Gallery. Hall is also a father of five boys.

(File Photo of Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that daylight and overnight lane and shoulder restrictions on I-376 (Parkway West) between Findlay Township and the City of Pittsburgh will begin tonight, weather permitting, so PennDOT crews can conduct sweeping operations. A mobile single-lane and shoulder restriction will occur as needed on I-376, according to the following schedule:

·       Tuesday through Thursday nightly from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM each night – I-376 in each direction between the Fort Pitt Tunnel and the Erie/Washington/I-79 (Exit 64A) interchange

·       Wednesday through Friday from 4:00 AM to noon each day – I-376 in the westbound (outbound) direction between the Erie/Washington/I-79 (Exit 64A) interchange and the Beaver County line

·       Wednesday through Friday from noon to 8:00 PM each day – I-376 in the eastbound (inbound) direction between the Beaver County line and Erie/Washington/I-79 (Exit 64A) interchange.

 

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Leesa Richards)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver Falls, PA) Social media personality and vocalist Chris Ruggiero will perform his hit show called “Teenage Dreams & Magic Moments” at Beaver Falls Middle School at 7:30 p.m. on April 21st. The PBS-TV star will perform songs from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and he is backed by a four-piece band. His concert might feature songs that are iconic such as “California Dreamin’,” “Stand By Me,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Ruggiero, who is often described as an “old soul” despite his young age, performs pop-rock music which defines three decades with energy, style and soul. The doors will open at 6:45 p.m. and tickets are available at the door. They are worth $25 for adults and $5 for students. The event is sponsored by the Beaver Valley Community Concert Association and Live On Stage Inc.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Allegheny County)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) “Miss Pittsburgh,” the plane that hung for years above the security gates at Pittsburgh International Airport, may finally have a safe landing place. The historic plane didn’t make a move to the new terminal. However, Heinz History center director Andy Masich sent KDKA a statement saying the plane will be preserved as part of its collection and restored for the mail flight’s centennial next year. “Miss Pittsburgh” made the first mail flight from Pittsburgh to Cleveland and back a century ago. The Heinz History Center is putting in a 92,000-foot addition, and Masich also held out the possibility “Miss Pittsburgh” will be displayed at the center.