(Chippewa Twp., Pa.) A Fire broke out yesterday evening around 6 PM at the Beaver Falls Cemetery on Darlington Road. Chippewa Twp. Volunteer Fire Department stated on their Facebook Page that the First units on scene reported smoke coming from the maintenance building and crews had to use forcible entry techniques to gain access through the metal doors.
The fire had apparently started in the garage area, spread up the back wall of the office and breached the ceiling area.
Chippewa was assisted by Patterson Twp., Patterson Heights, City of Beaver Falls, and Big Beaver Borough fire departments.
There were no reports of injuries or a cause.

HARRISBURG – The Senate Education Committee approved a proposal today that would give charter school students the opportunity to participate in dual enrollment programs, according to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Camera Bartolotta (R-46).

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in concurrent college courses through an institution of higher education, offering an opportunity for students to get a head start toward earning a college degree.

Although dual enrollment programs are available to students who attend traditional public schools, that option is not available to charter school students under current law.

Senate Bill 237 would allow charter schools, regional charter schools, and cyber charter schools to offer similar programs to the students they serve.

“Dual enrollment programs have a proven track record of success in helping prepare students for the rigors of college coursework,” Bartolotta said. “Studies have shown that having access to dual enrollment programs increases the likelihood of students continuing their education after high school, prepares them for academic success in college, and can decrease the cost of college if they have fewer required courses to complete.”

The bill was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Increase; Could Climb Higher with Major Pipeline Shutdown
Gas prices in Western Pennsylvania are six cents higher this week at $3.095 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                  $3.095
Average price during the week of May 3, 2021                                          $3.034
Average price during the week of May 11, 2020                                        $2.106

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.092      Altoona
$3.101      Beaver
$3.099      Bradford
$3.111      Brookville
$3.103      Butler
$3.115      Clarion
$3.089      DuBois
$3.088      Erie
$3.089      Greensburg
$3.099      Indiana
$3.102      Jeannette
$3.075      Kittanning
$3.089      Latrobe
$3.090      Meadville
$3.119      Mercer
$3.067      New Castle
$3.093      New Kensington
$3.096      Oil City
$3.091      Pittsburgh
$3.088      Sharon
$3.097      Uniontown
$3.099      Warren
$3.088      Washington

Trend Analysis:
On the week, the national gas price average jumped six cents to $2.96. If the trend continues, an increase of three more cents would make the national average the most expensive since November 2014 –the last time we saw average prices at $2.99 and higher.

AAA forecasts gas prices to climb this week in reaction to the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which delivers approximately 45% of all fuel to the East Coast. Over the weekend, the Colonial Pipeline announced they were the victim of a cybersecurity attack and, as a precaution, shut down the pipeline, which runs from Texas to New York Harbor. At this time, some lateral lines have reopened, but there is no word of when the mainline, including the gasoline line, will be operational.

This shutdown will have implications on both gasoline supply and prices, but the impact will vary regionally. Areas including Mississippi, Tennessee and the east coast from Georgia into Delaware are most likely to experience limited fuel availability and price increases, as early as this week. These states may see prices increase three to seven cents this week.

The longer the pipeline is offline, the larger the impact on the east coast. However, foreign gasoline imports and other pipelines can supplement Northeastern supply. Other areas of the country will see little impact.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 19 cents to settle at $64.90. Market optimism that crude demand will recover, despite an uptick in coronavirus infection rates, helped to lift prices last week. Prices could continue to climb this week if the market remains optimistic as vaccines continue to rollout. Additionally, prices increased after the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest weekly report revealed that total domestic crude oil inventory dropped by 8 million barrels to 485.1 million barrels. If EIA’s next report shows another decrease in total domestic crude supply, crude prices could climb further this week.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 73 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Vatican warns US bishops over get-tough Communion proposals
By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer
The head of the Vatican’s doctrine office is warning U.S. bishops to deliberate carefully and minimize divisions before proceeding with a possible plan to rebuke Roman Catholic politicians for receiving Communion even though they support abortion rights. The strong words of caution come in a letter from Cardinal Luis Ladaria addressed to the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In it he advises the bishops to seek unanimous support for any national policy to avoid a potential “source of discord rather than unity.” The USCCB convenes for a national meeting June 16, with plans to vote on drafting a document on the sensitive issue.

(File Photo)

(Baden, Pa.) Baden Police received a call at 1:35 a.m. Friday  for a 2 car accident on Route 65 southbound in front of Anderson’s Candies , one vehicle, travelling at a high rate of speed  rolled over , crashed into another car, and crossed into  the northbound lanes. All four lanes of Route 65 were closed for almost 6 hours police  reported.

Harrisburg, PA — With the deadline to file 2020 Pennsylvania personal income tax returns and make final 2020 income tax payments approaching on May 17, 2021, the Department of Revenue is reminding Pennsylvanians that there is a free online option available for filing state returns and making payments.

myPATH, available at mypath.pa.gov, is user friendly and allows most taxpayers to seamlessly file the Pennsylvania Income Tax Return (PA-40) and make income tax payments. myPATH also gives taxpayers access to error-reducing automatic calculators and provides instant confirmation that your return has been filed successfully.

“myPATH offers Pennsylvania taxpayers a free option to quickly file their returns and to ensure they receive their refunds as soon as possible if they are expecting one,” Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell said. “If you’re looking to save some money this tax season and avoid paying a fee for filing your Pennsylvania return, myPATH is a great option.”

As a reminder, the income tax filing deadline was extended to May 17, 2021 — about a month later than usual. Under Pennsylvania law, the filing deadline for state income tax returns is tied to the deadline set at the federal level. The IRS also extended the federal income tax filing deadline to May 17, 2021.

Important Features in myPATH

Taxpayers do not need to create a username or password to perform many functions in myPATH. That includes filing a PA-40 or making a payment, responding to department requests for information, and checking the status of a refund.

In order to file the PA-40, taxpayers will need to provide their Social Security number and either: (1) the tax liability for a previous tax year; or (2) their birth date, Pennsylvania driver’s license/photo ID number and the expiration date for the license/photo ID.

If you choose to create a username and password in myPATH, you’ll have the ability to update/view detailed account information and notices. You can also manage third-party access to your account, meaning you can give a tax professional or another person access to file your return and make payments on your behalf.

A detailed list of instructions is available in the myPATH User Guide. myPATH replaced the department’s previous personal income tax filing system, PA Direct File.

Electronic Filing for Free

Other free electronic filing options are available to file state and federal returns using software from a reputable vendor. More vendor information is available on the Department of Revenue’s website.

Electronic Filing for a Fee

Paid tax preparers and commercial tax preparation software providers offer electronic filing, or e-filing, for a fee. Check a list of vendors on the department’s website for further information.

Taxpayer Assistance and Checking the Status of Your Refund

Personal income tax assistance is available through the department’s Online Customer Service Center and by calling 717-787-8201 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Online Customer Service Center contains answers to hundreds of common income tax questions and allows taxpayers to securely submit a question to the department through a process that is similar to sending an email.

The Department of Revenue’s district offices are also open in a limited capacity with social distancing guidelines in place. Appointments are required to receive in-person assistance.

Taxpayers can check the status of their refunds online by selecting the Where’s My Income Tax Refund? link on the department’s homepage; or by calling 1-888-PATAXES. Taxpayers will be prompted to provide their Social Security number and requested refund amount to obtain the current status.

Free tax forms and instructions are available at www.revenue.pa.gov

Harrisburg, PA – Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier reminds claimants and employers that the next phase of the unemployment compensation customer service improvement initiative began today. Approximately 230 new customer service representatives began answering incoming calls to the Unemployment Compensation Service Center, while existing highly trained staff members have been shifted to exclusively work on resolving outstanding claim issues.

The additional staff will allow for individuals receiving unemployment benefits to more easily reach a customer service representative by phone, while also increasing the speed at which staff members can resolve claim issues. This is part of a larger effort to improve the customer experience and prepare people receiving unemployment payments for the transition from a 40-year-old mainframe system to an easier-to-use modern computer system in June.

“Starting today, we hope that individuals calling us see a difference in their hold time, with the time decreasing over the next few weeks as we ramp up staffing,” said Acting Secretary Berrier. “Behind the scenes, we’ll be seeing faster claims processing times as our highly trained claims specialists can now dedicate their full attention to resolving outstanding issues. This is all part of our efforts to serve individuals receiving unemployment benefits with the best possible customer service.””

The benefits of the improve customer service initiative include:

• More customer service representatives will be answering calls and providing answers to basic questions.
• If a caller has a more complex question or needs assistance with their specific claim, the customer service representative will create an “inquiry” that will be sent to the claims staff.
• The claims staff will work on inquiries in the order they are received, and callers will be provided with a tracking number that can be used to see where their inquiry is in the queue.
• Callers will choose to get a phone call or email from claims staff, or to simply have claims staff resolve an outstanding issue.
• An additional 200 customer service representatives are completing onboarding and training and will begin answering calls on May 17.
• L&I will continue adding customer service representatives until all calls to the Unemployment Compensation Service Center are answered or until 1,000 total customer service representatives are staffing the phones.

Hiring for the customer service improvement initiative is ongoing. Individuals interested in working for the Unemployment Compensation Service Center are encouraged to reach out to their local PA CareerLink location for more information.

In addition to calling, unemployment program enrollees can also reach the Unemployment Compensation Service Center by emailing uchelp@pa.gov or using the live chat service. L&I also offers a variety of self-assistance resources on its website, including FAQs, videos, infographics, and guides.

For the latest updates on unemployment programs, visit L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or following L&I on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.