(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that on Monday, September 22nd, weather permitting, slide repair and pipe replacement work on Willoughby Run Road (Route 1023) in New Sewickley Township will begin. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, beginning at approximately 7 A.M. Monday, a portion of Willoughby Run Road will close to traffic around-the-clock through late November between Glen Eden Road and Zeigler Road and work will occur in two separate locations on the roadway, but the work will not occur simultaneously. Glen Eden Road and Zeigler Road is where traffic will be detoured during this work. Slide repair and pipe replacement work will be conducted by crews from PennDOT’s Beaver County maintenance forces in the first location and slide repair work will be conducted by crews from PennDOT’s Beaver County maintenance forces in the second location.

(File Photo of a Dollar Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) 56 grants worth $86,750 was recently awarded to 43 graduates of high school from the Beaver County Foundation, who concluded their scholarship program for 2025 and these winners were a record number of applicants for scholarships from the Beaver County Foundation. These high school graduates are furthering their post-secondary education this fall in either colleges or universities and vocational school environments and they are from 11 local communities. A big winner was Shaun Haklo, Jr. of Midland, who got three different scholarships worth a total of $3,500.

According to a release from the Beaver County Foundation, here is the full list of winners:

Ambridge 1950s Scholarship Fund: Reanna Ramirez, Ambridge; Mara Ilko, Sewickley; Savanna Jones, Ambridge; Cody Roper, Freedom; Kaitlyn Desrochers, Baden; Allison Baker, Baden; Scarlett Truskowski, Baden; Carter Catalano, Baden; Kaia Fubio, Ambridge; Madelyn Palmer, Baden; Margo Petalino, Sewickley; MacKenzie Keber, Freedom; Julien Hubbard, Baden; Sheridan Olenic, Baden; Owen Buchanan, Freedom; Carman Georgakis, Ambridge; and Hayden Oslick, Freedom.

Domenic Viccari – McDonald’s of Ellwood Scholarship Fund: Lucas Moody and Tessa Folino, Ellwood City

Tri-County Management – NCST Scholarship Fund: Cameron Zabawsky and Joshua Whipple, Beaver Falls

John James Manjerovic Memorial Scholarship: Ethan Chen, Beaver Falls

Robert Wayne and Alda Jane Cole Memorial Scholarship: Katelyn Biskup, Aliquippa

Ellwood City Class of 1957 Scholarship: Kailyn Hamilton, Ellwood City

Sherri A. Zdunek Medical Scholarship: Marissa Hooks, Baden

Daniel J. Zuppe Scholarship: Ava Opalka, Enon Valley

Executive Women’s Council Scholarship: Roslyn Steinbach, Rochester

James Botti and James Kaplan Scholarship: Katherine Deacon, Beaver Falls

Dr. Nick Trombetta Scholarship: Gianna Lipomi, Midland

Fred “Coach” Latherow Scholarship: Alexis Drear, Industry

Ambridge Football Alumni Scholarship: Blaize Kolar, Ambridge

Stanley Polikowski Scholarship: Carter Catalano, Baden; Summer Hartman, Baden; Sheridan Olenic, Baden; Madelyn Palmer, Baden; and Reanna Ramirez, Ambridge;

John Knobloch Scholarship: Catherine Hutsky, Rochester and Jailah Tarver, Beaver Falls

Naomi Sondheimer Scholarship: Katherine Deacon, Beaver Falls

Midland Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship: Shaun Haklo, Jr., Midland

Charles Cerjak Scholarship: Ayden Garcia, Beaver Falls

Richard D. Zana Memorial Scholarship: Katherine Deacon, Beaver Falls; Mara Ilko, Sewickley; and Shaun Haklo Jr., Midland

Dylan J Elchin Scholarship: Jackson Liller, Industry

Carole J McBride Scholarship: Ava Opalka, Enon Valley

Joe Zerilla Scholarship: Reanna Ramirez, Ambridge; Julien Hubbard, Baden; Mackenzie Keber, Freedom; and Kaia Fubio, Ambridge;

Cory Miller Scholarship: Shaun Haklo Jr., Midland

Arnold Mitchell Scholarship: Jaivona Smith, Beaver Falls and Ryan Boffo, New Brighton

Michael Wickline Scholarship: Miguel Keefer, Beaver Falls

Midland Alumni Scholarship: Gianna Lipomi, Midland

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: cropped-Mic-icon-circle-logo-white-small-edit-March-2021.png)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver Falls, PA) A 2025-2026 four-show season from the Beaver Valley Community Concert Association and Live On Stage Inc. will start next week on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025 at Beaver Falls Middle School auditorium at 7:30 p.m. with a concert from the MidAtlantic Men. The payment is check or cash only and the cost at the door to see this MidAtlantic Men show is $25 and the cost to see all four of the shows from the Beaver Valley Community Concert Association and Live On Stage Inc. is $70. The cost for students of Beaver Falls to see this MidAtlantic Men show is just $5 while $10 is the cost for Beaver Falls students to see all four shows from the Beaver Valley Community Concert Association and Live On Stage Inc. The vocal trio of the MidAtlantic Men have two men from the United States of America and one man from Great Britain have both charm that is magnetic and harmonies that are captivating in their concerts to audiences across the United States. The concert from the MidAtlantic Men features entertainment that is family friendly for everyone will include iconic songs from acts like Billy Joel, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Madonna, The Beatles, Queen and more.

You can also get tickets for the Beaver Falls show of the MidAtlantic Men or any of the other spots of their 2025 tour at the link below:

Click here to buy tickets: Tour Dates | Midatlantic Men

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The Nittany Lion logo taken before an NCAA college football game between Penn State and Delaware, Sept. 9, 2023, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(University Park, PA) Last week, the board of Penn State University in University Park took a vote of 34-1 to increase the compensation package of Neeli Bendapudi, the president of Penn State University. Bendapudi is now earning $1.4 million a year in base salary, which went up from her previous base salary amount of $950,000 a year. Bendapudi became the second highest paid president of a public university in the United States with that increase of her base salary. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, in base pay, Bendapudi is behind Jay Hartzell, the president of the University of Texas at Austin, and in front of Michael Ray Williams, the president of the University of North Texas system. An automatic 3.5% increase of money per year until 2032 will be given to Bendapudi. $525,000 a year from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2032 is what Bendapudi’s completion/retention payment will increase to. The previous supplemental retirement plan of Bendapudi of $555,000 will now go up to the present supplemental retirement plan of $650,000. On the condition that Bendapudi meets “mutually approved goals,” her annual performance bonus will be set at up to 15% of her base pay.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Police officers ride during a procession Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Spring Grove, Pa., after multiple police officers were shot and killed. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

NORTH CODORUS, Pa. (AP) — The gunman who killed three officers and wounded two more in southern Pennsylvania before he was killed by police was a 24-year-old being sought on stalking charges, according to court documents and law enforcement.

The violence erupted in rural York County on Wednesday as officers sought Matthew James Ruth, who was also charged with trespassing, loitering and prowling at night in a domestic-related investigation that began a day earlier, court documents show.

Details on the domestic situation that led police to the farm were expected to emerge Thursday. The two injured officers remained in stable condition in the hospital.

A few doors down and across the street from Ruth’s home outside Hanover, neighbor Rose Miller said investigators arrived in two waves Wednesday, first around noon and again at about 5 p.m.

Miller said she didn’t know Ruth well but remembered him selling for fundraisers for the Boy Scouts. She said police removed items in bags from the house before leaving after midnight. No one answered the door at the Ruth home Thursday.

A law enforcement official who confirmed that Ruth was the shooting suspect spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Families of the officers in York County, and the community at large in the rolling farmland of southern Pennsylvania, were left to grieve and search for answers a day later.

“We need to do better as a society,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said. “We need to help the people who think that picking up a gun, picking up a weapon is the answer to resolving disputes.”

Wednesday was one of the state’s deadliest days for law enforcement this century, matching the toll from a day in 2009 when three officers were ambushed by a domestic violence suspect sporting a bulletproof vest.

As news of the tragedy spread, community members held American flags and saluted as police and emergency vehicles formed a procession to the coroner’s office. Police departments across the region mourned their colleagues on social media, while people left flowers at the headquarters of the Northern York Regional Police Department.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi called violence against police “a scourge on our society.”

The confrontation unfolded on a rural road in south-central Pennsylvania, not far from Maryland. Neighbor Dirk Anderson heard “quite a few” shots from his home across the street and wondered what was happening. Then he saw a helicopter and police arrive.

Some 30 police vehicles blocked off roads bordered by a barn, a goat farm and soybean and corn fields. The area, North Codorus Township, sits about 115 miles (185 km) west of Philadelphia.

Another officer was killed in York County in February, when a man armed with a pistol and zip ties entered a hospital’s intensive care unit and took staff members hostage before a shootout that left both the man and an officer dead.

(File Photo of the PennDOT logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Sewickley, PA) Two public meetings will be held in Sewickley on Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 to talk about the I-79/Route 910 Wexford Interchange Project in Franklin Park Borough and Marshall Township in Allegheny County. These meetings will take place at the Saints John & Paul Catholic Church Upper Cardinal DiNardo Center Social Hall on Saturday, September 24th, one from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and another from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Besides talking about this project, PennDOT wants to get the public involved regarding its upcoming and current projects. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, here is more information about this project:

• The $46.5 million I-79/Route 910 Wexford Interchange project will include new construction of a full offset single-point urban interchange (SPUI) at the I-79/Route 910 Wexford Interchange. The project limits along I-79 are from approximately 1.5 miles north of the I-79/I-279 split to Mingo Road and the limits on Route 910 are between Nicholson Road Drive and Brandt School Road/VIP in Franklin Park Borough and Marshall Township. Bridge work includes two new flyover structures over I-79, as well as sign structures and bridge preservation to the existing bridge carrying Route 910 over I-79. Other work includes traffic signal improvements, new highway lighting, minor ITS upgrades, drainage work, signing/pavement marking and guide rail updates, and other miscellaneous construction. During construction, three lanes of traffic in each direction are expected during peak travel times, as well as temporary ramps to maintain access for most of the project. Additionally, short-term lane and shoulder closures will be utilized. Beams for the new structures will be set during overnight traffic stoppages on I-79 northbound, while I-79 southbound will be detoured overnight using the existing southbound off and on-ramps during beam setting. The project is anticipated to continue through the 2027 construction season.
• Additional information regarding this project can be found on the I-79 / Route 910 Wexford Interchange Project webpage, by following PennDOT’s regional X page @511PAPittsburgh or joining the Greater Pittsburgh Area PennDOT Facebook group.
• The presentation and meeting materials can be made available in alternative languages or formats if requested. If you need translation or interpretation services, have special needs, or have concerns that require individual attention, please contact Nick Warner at nwarner@pa.gov.
• To help keep motorists informed, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Interstate 79 traffic advisories and construction updates. If not already subscribed, motorists can enroll by sending email addresses to nhaney@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – Interstate 79” in the subject line.
• Information about infrastructure in District 11, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/D11Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
• Find PennDOT news on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

(File photo of Handcuffs)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Sewickley Township, PA) According to a release from the New Sewickley Township Police Department, on Friday, September 5th, 2025, the New Sewickley Township Police Department received a report of a computer scam from a New Sewickley Township resident. That resident made a statement that a pop up appeared on their computer’s home screen which locked their computer. After being advised to call Microsoft Support to unlock their computer, that resident got advised that they would have to make a payment in cash to a Federal Agent for subscription services provided and to have their computer unlocked and that person was on that call for several hours. Almost $25,000 in cash from a bank account was withdrawn and an individual pretending to be a Federal Agent arrived at the residence of this resident and collected the money from that resident. Individuals that pretended to be from both Microsoft and the bank of that resident were on the call with that resident was on for another two hours. Thirty-five-year-old Xinhua Chen, an undocumented immigrant from China, was identified by that resident as the fake Federal Agent that took this resident’s money and his car was identified by that resident as well. It was learned that Chen was taken into custody on Friday, September 12th, 2025 by both the Pennsylvania State Police and the Aliquippa Police Department  from an investigation that was similar to the investigation that the New Sewickley Township Police Department. According to that same release from the New Sewickley Township Police Department, Chen was charged by the New Sewickley Township Police Department with Theft by Unlawful Taking graded as a Felony of the 3rd degree, Theft by Deception graded as a Felony of the 3rd degree, Theft by Extortion graded as a Felony of the 3rd degree, Receiving Stolen Property graded as a Felony of the 3rd degree, Criminal Use of a Communication Facility graded as a Felony of the 3rd degree, Conspiring to commit Unlawful Use of a Computer graded as a Felony of the 3rd degree, and Impersonating a Public Servant graded as a Misdemeanor of the 2nd degree. Chen is in the Beaver County Jail and is being held there without bond as a result of charges that were filed against him by the Pennsylvania State Police and the City of Aliquippa Police Department and he is also being held because of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer as a result of that. No officer that is legitimate from any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency will ever come to their residence and demand or request payment in cash is what the New Sewickley Township Police Department wants you to know, and that if this happens, immediately call 911, and contact your local agency of law enforcement that provides service to where you reside if you got victimized in a matter that is similar to what Chen did. During this ongoing investigation into the incident with Chen, the New Sewickley Township Police Department wants to thank the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the City of Aliquippa Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Hopewell Township Police Department, and the Beaver County District Attorney’s Detective Bureau for the assistance they provided.

(File Photo of the Duquesne Light Company Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Officials from Duquesne Light Company went before some leaders from across Allegheny County yesterday in Allegheny County to talk about the improvement plan that was newly released following the Western Pennsylvania storms on April 29th, 2025 that caused power outages in that region. Some customers of Duquesne Light Company did not have power for over a week when these storms occurred. This presentation from Duquesne Light Company was centered around methods of making the process of getting power back faster for customers and communications that need to be improved. According to Ben Cain, Duquesne Light Company’s operations center director, Duquesne Light is looking at plans and procedures that can enable it to expand its response effort to 2,000 mutual aid contractors. 600 contractors after the storms on April 29th, 2025 were used by Duquesne Light Company and before that, Duquesne Light Company only needed 200 contractors. According to Duquesne Light Company, it has also given its field crews more access to internal systems, speeding up restoration, and it should be easier to use its automated phone line because Duquesne Light Company is adding ports and it is also working on an online chatbot. More accurate estimated restoration times are also promised by Duquesne Light Company and they are looking to both better coordinate with local municipalities and expand training as well. Officials from Duquesne Light Company were not ready yet when they canceled their prior appearances in front of that group of leaders that they presented to yesterday on short notice.

(File Photo of Police Siren Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) One man was charged and one man was jailed after they caused a disturbance at A Rocket Fireworks on Constitution Boulevard on Monday morning. 9 a.m. that morning was when the City of Aliquippa Police Department got dispatched for this incident. Twenty-five-year-old Simon Unis of Coraopolis had a “meth pipe” with him along with being involved in this incident and he was charged with a misdemeanor charge of posssession of drug paraphernalia. Forty-four-year-old Kenneth Colley, Jr. of Beaver Falls was also involved in this incident and he got taken into custody and is in the Beaver County Jail. According to a Facebook post yesterday from the City of Aliquippa Police Department, Colley had an arrest warrant for his arrest out of Altoona, Pennsylvania.

(Photo of what the new Bridgewater Bruster’s Real Ice Cream Store looks like courtesy of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream of Bridgewater)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Bruster’s Real Ice Cream will now open another store location later this month in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. According to Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, the new store at 4815 Centre Avenue, Suite 101 in Pittsburgh will offer two outdoor patios, over 50 free parking spaces and public transit access, as well as local delivery options. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream is continuing to expand its business because their company that wants to sell its ice cream and desserts just reopened their new location at 1515 Riverside Drive in Bridgewater on Tuesday.