(Photo Provided by Keystone State News Connection)

Keystone State News Connection

November 12, 2021 at 9:16 AM
Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Bills making their way through the Pennsylvania General Assembly would provide more resources to people who keep parks and recreational activities up and running.

House Bill 764 would allow all employees working directly with children to be hired on the same 45-day provisional basis as licensed daycare facilities, so long as they’ve completed state-related background checks and have applied for an FBI background check.

Rep. Brett Miller, R-Lancaster, the bill’s prime sponsor, said after a recent camp worker shortage, it would help speed up the hiring process to meet the needs for youth programs.

“People want to get back into the activities,” Miller observed. “The young people want to be able to participate in sports camps, and camping and the like. So, having this bill proceed with a provisional component will allow these programs to continue, youth to be served.”

The bill previously passed out of the House unanimously, and got through the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at the end of October. This week, it was referred once again to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

House Bill 1694 would legally protect volunteer groups that maintain parks from lawsuits related to incidents on park grounds.

Maura McCarthy, executive director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy in Philadelphia, said the groups are integral to the care and management of outdoor public recreation spaces.

She pointed out at least one volunteer group dissolved due to high insurance costs from liability claims, and the bill would ensure the work they do can continue.

“It explicitly includes them in a protected group of folks who cannot be sued,” McCarthy explained. “And this bill actually calls out that volunteer groups do not have a ‘duty of care.’ They do not have an obligation to ensure the safety of folks using that space for recreation.”

More than 100 Park Friends groups help with upkeep on Philadelphia’s 10,000 acres of park land. The bill passed the House Tourism and Recreational Development committee in late October.

Thursday 11-11-21 at 9:47 AM

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Pittsburgh International Airport is supporting military members by opening up a new center where they can relax and recharge before taking to the skies.

Those who make sacrifices to serve our country have a new welcoming place at the airport. Rebecca Parkes, with the United Service Organizations, said military members can kick back at the USO Pittsburgh Airport Center.
Along with donations from the public, Sheetz provided financial help, as well as snacks in the lounge.
Those in the military can also enjoy amenities like a $10 food voucher, cable tv, reclining chairs, a computer lab, a gaming system and a kids’ area with toys.

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A statewide recount is being ordered in the Nov. 2 election for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court. Two candidates finished within a half-percentage point of each other. That’s according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Wednesday. Two seats on Commonwealth Court were on the ballot. The agency says Republican Stacy Wallace, a lawyer, won one of them. For the second seat, unofficial returns from all 67 counties show Democrat Lori Dumas leading Republican Drew Crompton by nearly 17,000 votes. That’s within the margin for a mandatory recount.

Pennsylvania’s school mask mandate remains in place, even after a judge ruled Wednesday that it is “void and unenforceable. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says that it quickly filed an appeal to Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon’s ruling, and that stops the mandate from being overturned.” in the ruling Cannon said the mask mandate for K-12 students didn’t comply with rules for setting regulations and was adopted without an existing disaster emergency declared by the governor. The Commonwealth Court sided 4-1 with the ranking Republican in the state Senate and others who sued to challenge the masking order that took effect in early September. Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday announced he’ll return authority over masking decisions to local school districts in January.

Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 8:48 AM
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Justice was not blind when a lawyer dropped his pants after repeatedly setting off a metal detector at a Pittsburgh courthouse.
Jeffrey Pollock, 59, was trying to pass through security outside family court on Wednesday, but the machine kept sounding an alarm, authorities said. The lawyer told guards his suspenders were causing the alerts and he could not remove them.
The guards asked him to keep trying until the alerts stopped.
“After a heated discussion with the guards, Pollock unhooked his suspenders, dropped his drawers, took them off, and placed them in the bin to go through the metal detector,” the Allegheny Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Authorities said Pollock stood in his shirt and underwear.
He was charged with disorderly conduct.
“I used poor judgment,” Pollock told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I was trying to make a point.”
The sheriff’s office noted “that visible underwear is not part of the dress code.”

(File Photo)
Story by Frank Sparks News/Program Director
Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 6:11 AM
(Columbus, OH.) Huntington Bank confirmed on Tuesday that it is closing two Beaver County branches and a branch in Lawrence County in February of next year. The cuts were revealed in regulatory filings. Huntington, based in Columbus, Ohio, plans to shutter 48 Huntington National Bank sites across several states. The majority are branches inside Giant Eagle supermarkets in Ohio.
The three local sites that are closing are :
Beaver Valley Mall in Monaca, Tuscarawas Road in Brighton Twp., and Market Street South in New Wilmington.

The featured image above shows the tractor trailer that struck the cyclist.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh, published November 10, 2021 at 10:19 PM

(New Brighton,PA) A man riding a bicycle was hit by a tractor trailer shortly before 10 PM Wednesday night in New Brighton. The incident took place at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 8th Street. Witnesses told Beaver County Radio that emergency responders arrived quickly. The victim was transported via life flight helicopter. The condition of the man is unknown at this time.

The Wednesday work session for the Beaver County Commissioners on November 10 provided a cornucopia of issues addressed by those in attendance.

Treasurer Sandie Egley brought to attention the backup of dog license renewals being dealt with because of a rejection by the bulk mailing services in Pittsburgh, who are rejecting the current envelopes from being sent because of a stamp overlay. “The only option that I’m seeing so far,” she stated, “is that we don’t put it through the bulk mail system…we put it through the regular mail system and take it over to the Beaver post office.”

Egley asked for the additional $3,700 to cover the charges in regards to the switch, adding “From this point on, I’ll make sure that the black stamp is not there…but I have 97,000 envelopes sitting in the hallway.” The Commissioners gave the green light to the funding being allotted.

Also at the Commissioners’ work session, Commissioner chairman Dan Camp addressed the ongoing campaign by RiverWise to build the Black’s Run Bridge across Route 51 in the south portion of the county. Camp mentioned that the Board of Commissioners had met with RiverWise at the Monaca borough building, but that the Commissioners’ stance on the project remained the same.

“I’m not going to speak for the whole board, but I don’t think we have many objections to the project as a whole,” Camp said. “There’s just objections on how it’s going to come to fruition, and I think everyone in the room wanted to see the trails in Beaver County.”

The Commissioners’ next work session is scheduled for November 17 at 10:00 AM.