(Photo Courtesy of the Center Township Police Department)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The Center Township Police Department is asking for the help of the public in identifying a man who they say was involved in a hit-and-run crash in Beaver County. That crash happened at the intersection of Brodhead Road and Pleasant Drive on January 8th, 2026 and police confirm the man escaped the scene after he hit another vehicle. His picture can be found below, and if you can identify him, call 724-774-3329.

(File Photo of a Police Siren Light)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Forty-year-old Dale Lamar Jackson was taken into custody following a massive police presence in the Uptown neighborhood of Pittsburgh that stemmed from an incident in Swissvale this morning. According to the criminal complaint, Jackson’s license plate was picked up by a plate reader as he had a warrant out for his arrest. Police state that they attempted a traffic stop with Jackson, who then crashed his car into the patrol vehicle of an officer. Jackson reportedly led police on a chase, at one point driving 110 miles per hour, in the Squirrel Hill tunnel and he allegedly brought police to the city’s Uptown neighborhood along Jumonville Street, where police note that he jumped out of his car and ran on foot down Tustin Street. Later, drones tracked Jackson to a rooftop that was just above the officers. According to the aforementioned criminal complaint, Jackson walked to the edge of the roof and ignored police commands. Then, Jackson reportedly jumped off the roof and onto the ground, where police brought him into custody. Police also expressed that Jackson carried a bag that contained heroin and cocaine. Jackson now faces 29 charges, including fleeing police, resisting arrest and reckless driving.

(File Photo of a Fire Background)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) Dispatchers confirm that one person was taken to a hospital after a fire occurred in Monroeville this morning. This happened at a house on the 300 block of Willow Hedge Drive. The floor above the garage of the home appeared to have been destroyed by flames. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Thirty-one-year-old Marissa Lynn Segal of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of distributing and possessing material depicting the exploitation of a minor. According to Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti, Segal pleaded guilty to two counts that day. The court was told in connection with the plea that on July 14th, 2025, Segal distributed material depicting the sexual abuse of a child via a mobile app. Prosecutors state that the material sent includes photos and videos of infant victims and victims engaged in acts of bestiality and Segal possessed child sexual abuse material of prepubescent minors. Segal will be sentenced in April of 2026. She faces up to 30 years in jail, an up to a $500,000 fine, or both.

(Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Allegheny County)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Monroeville, PA) A man who was convicted of shooting a Monroeville police sergeant after an armed robbery in Monroeville in 2024 received his sentence in jail yesterday. Court documents show that thirty-four-year-old Jamal Brooks of Aliquippa, was sentenced to up to 70 years in prison. Brooks, who also acted as his own attorney, was found guilty of attempted homicide, assault of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and several gun charges like carrying a firearm without a license on October 15th, 2025. Brooks was given a sentence of 20-40 years in jail for the assault of a law enforcement officer as well as 15-30 years for attempted homicide. According to police, Brooks committed armed robbery at a Crumbl Cookie store. This happened on January 3rd, 2024 at the store at the Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville and Monroeville Police Sergeant James MacDonald was shot twice after he spotted Brooks, who matched the description of the suspect. MacDonald survived and he was questioned by Brooks during the trial. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE- Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert, poses for a portrait with the Dilbert character in his studio in Dublin, Calif., Oct. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

(AP) Scott Adams, whose popular comic strip “Dilbert” captured the frustration of beleaguered, white-collar cubicle workers and satirized the ridiculousness of modern office culture until he was abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023 for racist remarks, has died. He was 68.

His first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, announced the death Tuesday on a livestream posted on Adams’ social media accounts. “He’s not with us right anymore,” she said. Adams revealed in 2025 that he had prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. Miles had said he was in hospice care in his Northern California home on Monday.

“I had an amazing life,” the statement said in part. “I gave it everything I had.”

At its height, “Dilbert,” with its mouthless, bespectacled hero in a white short-sleeved shirt and a perpetually curled red tie, appeared in 2,000 newspapers worldwide in at least 70 countries and 25 languages.

Adams was the 1997 recipient of the National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award, considered one of the most prestigious awards for cartoonists. That same year, “Dilbert” became the first fictional character to make Time magazine’s list of the most influential Americans.

“We are rooting for him because he is our mouthpiece for the lessons we have accumulated — but are too afraid to express — in our effort to avoid cubicular homicide,” the magazine said.

“Dilbert” strips were routinely photocopied, pinned up, emailed and posted online, a popularity that would spawn bestselling books, merchandise, commercials for Office Depot and an animated TV series, with Daniel Stern voicing Dilbert.

The collapse of “Dilbert” empire

It all collapsed quickly in 2023 when Adams, who was white, repeatedly referred to Black people as members of a “hate group” and said he would no longer “help Black Americans.” He later said he was being hyperbolic, yet continued to defend his stance.

Almost immediately, newspapers dropped “Dilbert” and his distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, severed ties with the cartoonist. The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Massachusetts, decided to keep the “Dilbert” space blank for a while “as a reminder of the racism that pervades our society.” A planned book was scrapped.

“He’s not being canceled. He’s experiencing the consequences of expressing his views,” Bill Holbrook, the creator of the strip “On the Fastrack,” told The Assoicated Press at the time. “I am in full support with him saying anything he wants to, but then he has to own the consequences of saying them.”

Adams relaunched the same daily comic strip under the name Dilbert Reborn via the video platform Rumble, popular with conservatives and far-right groups. He also hosted a podcast, “Real Coffee,” where talked about various political and social issues.

After Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC was suspended in September in the wake of the host’s comments on the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Adams stood for free speech.

“Would I like some revenge?” Adams said. “Yes. Yes, I would enjoy that. But that doesn’t mean I get it. That doesn’t mean I should pursue it. Doesn’t mean the world’s a better place if it happens.”

How “Dilbert” got its start

Adams, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Hartwick College and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, was working a corporate job at the Pacific Bell telephone company in the 1980s, sharing his cartoons to amuse co-workers. He drew Dilbert as a computer programmer and engineer for a high-tech company and mailed a batch to cartoon syndicators.

“The take on office life was new and on target and insightful,” Sarah Gillespie, who helped discover “Dilbert” in the 1980s at United Media, told The Washington Post. “I looked first for humor and only secondarily for art, which with ‘Dilbert’ was a good thing, as the art is universally acknowledged to be… not great.”

The first “Dilbert” comic strip officially appeared April 16, 1989, long before such workplace comedies as “Office Space” and “The Office.” It portrayed corporate culture as a “Severance”-like, Kafkaesque world of heavy bureaucracy and pointless benchmarks, where employee effort and skill were underappreciated.

The strip would introduce the “Dilbert Principle”: The most ineffective workers will be systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage — management.

“Throughout history, there have always been times when it’s very clear that the managers have all the power and the workers have none,” Adams told Time. “Through ‘Dilbert,’ I would think the balance of power has slightly changed.”

Other strip characters included Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss; Asok, a young, naive intern; Wally, a middle-aged slacker; and Alice, a worker so frustrated that she was prone to frequent outbursts of rage. Then there was Dilbert’s pet, Dogbert, a megalomaniac.

“There’s a certain amount of anger you need to draw ‘Dilbert’ comics,” Adams told the Contra Costa Times in 2009.

SCOTT TADY

BIG BEAVER – Picking and grinning is guaranteed this weekend at the Ramada by Wyndham Hotel.

The January Ice Jam returns for a third year to Beaver County, presenting 28 bluegrass acts from throughout the tri-state region.

“Bluegrass music, fun, family, and tradition – that is what makes the January Ice Jam the huge success it has been for the past 25 plus years,” Amy George, co-founder of the event, said.

Originating in a Butler County hotel that closed in the pandemic era, the January Ice Jam is a free indoor bluegrass music festival inside the Ramada, off Route 18 just north of the Beaver Valley interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

There’s no admission charge, though basket raffles, 50/50 raffles, instrument
raffles, donations and merchandise sales raise money for the Bluegrass Relief Fund, Inc., a charitable organization dedicated to
placing financial and emotional support where it is needed within the local bluegrass music community.

Performances start Friday at 7 p.m., with the music continuing that night until 10 p.m.

On Saturday, the music begins again at noon and continues until 10 p.m.

Different bands take the stage every 30 minutes to perform their favorite bluegrass music.

The Ramada’s restaurant and lounge will be open, with food sold inside the performance space, too. A coffee suppling food truck will be parked outside.

“Over the past
27 years and counting, we have raised well over $100,000 to help support countless friends of
the bluegrass community,” George said. All musicians and event staff proudly volunteer their
time and talents to ensure the event’s continued success.

For more information and to see the performance schedule, visit bluegrassrelieffund.org, or the event’s Facebook page.

 

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture, Labor & Industry and Education)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced yesterday in Harrisburg on the third day of the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm show that $600,345 in PA Farm Bill Agriculture & Youth Grants, which includes 15 matching and 47 direct awards to organizations in 33 counties, will fund projects that will empower youth across Pennsylvania to succeed in its $132.5 billion agriculture industry. Pennsylvania Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker, and Pennsylvania Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe joined Secretary Redding to make this announcement during a Career Expo which connected over 2,200 Pennsylvania students with career opportunities offered by 48 agricultural businesses. According to a release yesterday in Harrisburg from the Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture, Labor & Industry and Education, here is some more information about these grants:

Grant recipient Trellis for Tomorrow, a Chester County nonprofit, received $18,100 to expand its garden and farm-based youth programming initiatives in 2026. For the last 22 years, Trellis has provided hands-on, paid work experiences for young people in agriculture, prioritizing youth in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The group has worked with more than 1,600 youth over that time, and in the last six years has provided over 30,000 lbs. of organic produce to neighbors in need through its youth programming initiatives.

Grant recipients, funded project titles, and funding amount by county are as follows:

 

Allegheny

Riverview School District –Seeds of Tomorrow: VR Agriculture and Aquaponics Career Lab, $7,000

Bible Center Church –The Oasis Project, Oasis Farm Field 2 Fork Youth Academy, $7,500

Hilltop Urban Farm  – Season extension, $7,398

Grow Pittsburgh – Garden Dreams, $25,000

Chatham University – Deer Education and Infrastructure at Eden Hall Campus, $12,280

 

Beaver

RiverWise  – 2026 Summer Sustainability Institute, $7,500

 

Berks

Alvernia University – Seeds of Discovery: Raised Bed Pilot Project, $7,500

Brandywine Heights Area School District – Poultry Science Program, $7,500

 

Blair

Spring Cove School District – Food Science and Safety, $7,481

 

Bucks

Middle Bucks Institute of Technology – Phase 2 Greenhouse Restoration Project, $25,000

Upper Bucks County Technical School – Barn Renovations and Expansion Capital Project – $25,000

Snipes Farm and Education Center – Youth Ag Education Equipment for Snipes Farm Seed-to-Fork Program, $7,482

Middle Bucks Institute of Technology – Hydroponics Project for Horticulture and Landscape Program – $6,165

 

Butler

Butler Area School District Districit – Ag Programming Expansion, $7,500

 

Centre

The Pennsylvania State University – Philipsburg-Osceola High School Greenhouse and Gardening Program, $7,000

Bald Eagle Area School District – Floriculture on Display – Floral Cooler, $4,494

 

Chester

Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines – Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines Youth Summer Camps, $7,500

Chester County Intermediate Unit – School Co-op Garden, $7,500

Chester County Intermediate Unit – The Learning Lab Grant, $7,500

Trellis for Tomorrow, Trellis for Tomorrow – Agricultural Education Grow Space Expansion, $18,100

 

Columbia

Southern Columbia Area High School Agriculture Program – SCA Agriculture Career Exploration and Leadership Development Project, $7,500

Southern Columbia Area High School Agriculture Program – Greenhouse Project, $10,000

 

Crawford

Conneaut Area School District Agriculture Department – CASH Greenhouse, $4,010

 

Cumberland

Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation – Mobile Ag Lab Increases Access to Vital Agriculture Education, $7,500

 

Dauphin

Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation – DLT Farm Tours and Exploration Experiences, $7,500

Wildheart Ministries – The Hill Farm Field Trips 2026, $25,000

 

Erie

Groundwork Erie – 4th Street Farm Expansion and Education, $7,487 

Eco-Erie – Water and Sanitation Upgrade for Youth Agricultural Training, $25,000

 

Franklin

Franklin County Fair Commission, Franklin County Junior Fair Board Improvement and Expansion, $7,500

 

Huntingdon

Standing Stone FFA – Huntingdon Area High School Plant and Soil Science Curriculum Equipment, $7,500

Southern Huntingdon County High School, Animal Science Equipment for Southern Huntingdon County Agriculture Department, $7,460

 

Lancaster

Killiann George – Hands-On Animal Reproduction Technology and Safety Lab, $7,018

 

Lawrence

Wilmington Area School District – Wilmington Farms: Growing Creativity, $7,500

 

Lebanon

ELCO School District – Legacy in the Making: The ELCO Barn Raising, $21,250

 

Montgomery

Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley – Variety’s Agricultural Vocational Program for Youth with Disabilities, $7,500

Montgomery County Intermediate Unit – 25-26 MCIU Transition Envision Horticulture, $7,500

 

Montour

The Pennsylvania State University – Montour County 4-H Agricultural and Environmental Science Program Extension, $3,354

 

Northampton

Easton Area Neighborhood Center – Pathways in Agriculture and Leadership, $7,500

 

Northumberland

Line Mountain School District Animal and Veterinary Program Additions, $7,368

 

Perry

LEAF Project – Farm Fellowship: Shared Authority and Sustainability on the LEAF Farm, $7,500

Greenwood School District – Energizing Engines Small Gas Engine Curriculum Enhancement, $7,500

 

Philadelphia

Novick Urban Farm – Giving of Self Partnership School Garden, $1,226

AgrotheraPA – G.R.O.W. Hub Intergenerational Garden Initiative, $5,000

The School District of Philadelphia – Fox Chase Farm Student-Run Farm Store, $7,500

Home and School Association of the Penn Alexander School – Penn Alexander Middle Grades Science Ag Education Program, $7,500

WB Saul Alumni Association – Saul School Support, $3,732

Home and School Association of the Penn Alexander School – Outdoor Classroom for Urban Garden, $25,000

Greener Partners – Farm Explorer, $7,500

Potter
The Pennsylvania State University – Learning Kits for Agricultural and Rural Education, $2,447

Snyder

The Pennsylvania State University – Agriculture Adventures Youth Day Camp, $6,103

 

Somerset

Berlin Brothersvalley High School – Animal Production Equipment, $7,490

 

Tioga
Wellsboro Area School District – Lab Science Supplies for Student Success, $7,500

 

Union

The Pennsylvania State University – Putting the Science Back in Livestock and Environmental Projects, $7,500

Mifflinburg Area School District – Agriculture Program Mobile Workstation – Mifflinburg, $25,000

 

Warren

Warren County School District – Eisenhower Middle-High Agricultural Program Supports, $7,500

 

Washington

California Area School District – The Greenhouse as a Living Classroom for STEAM, $5,658

Pennsylvania Guernsey Breeders Association – PA Junior Guernsey Breeders Attendance at 2027 National Convention, $7,500

Jeannette Hartley – Trinity Hydroponics Retrofit, $7,500

California Area School District – Agri-Ready Youth Training in Veterinary and Animal Science, $24,000

 

Wayne

The Pennsylvania State University – Wayne County 4-H Spring 2026 Education, $7,492

 

Wyoming

The Pennsylvania State University – Cloverbud and Junior Explorers Agriculture Safety and Community Discovery, $6,850

 

Statewide Project

The Pennsylvania State University – AP 4-H Agriculture and Nutrition Education – Books for Cooks, $7,500