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Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County radio News Correspondent
Friday December 17, 2021 at 7:48 AM
(Hopewell Township, Pa.) Hopewell Township Commissioners adopted their 2022 budget earlier this week The budget is $5,953,507, and millage will remain at 16 mills, according to Township Manager Jamie Yurcina. There is a 3.5 percent increase in healthcare costs for employees.

The commissioners will meet at 7 p.m. for reorganization January 3, 2022

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Friday, December 17, 2021 at 7:25 AM
(Harrisbur, Pa.) Rep. Joshua D. Kail (Beaver/Washington) announced yesterday that House Bill 1332 that he is co-sponsoring that would require school districts to publish the curriculum that will be taught for each grade and subject area so parents can review the lessons and textbooks in advance of the school year has passed the House.

Kail said via statement “Parents should never be left in the dark when it comes to their child’s education,” Kail said. “Transparency between parents and school districts will create an environment that best suits our students.”

The bill would go into effect for the 2022-23 academic year. Kail said a school administrator or designee would be required to post the curriculum online in order to avoid overloading teachers. School entities would also have 30 business days to update their websites after approval of updated curriculum.

The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk.

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Friday, December 17, 2021 at 7:18 PM

(PITTSBURGH, PA) – Today, Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17) announced that Shreya Rathi and Sejal Verma, both Juniors at South Fayette High School, are the winners of the 2021 Congressional App Challenge for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District for developing the “Fighting Hate Crimes” app.

“The app that these high school students created is a powerful tool that can have an impact here in our community and across the country,” said Lamb.  “Congratulations to Rathi and Verma for their hard work.  Thanks to all of the students – and the teachers and family members who supported them – who participated in this year’s contest.”

The “Fighting Hate Crimes” app was created using Java and runs on the mobile Android system.  The app was designed for users who are susceptible to hate crimes, providing users with the capability to defend and protect themselves against attackers, as well as spread awareness of hate crimes.  The “Fighting Hate Crimes” app features the following four main components:

• Map Feature: Adds a pin to the map page of the location of a reported incident to warn users of areas where a hate crime has taken place;
• 911 Emergency Feature: Calls the police when pressed in an emergency situation and sends an automated voice message requesting help, providing the location.  This feature also allows the user to send a pre-written message and location details to three personal contacts;
• Report Feature: Allows a user to report details to the police about a hate crime in a non-emergency situation; and
• Defense Strategies Feature: Provides a detailed list of different strategies users can use to defend themselves in an unfavorable situation.

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual nationwide competition sponsored by the Internet Education Foundation to inspire students to explore STEM, coding and computer science through hands-on practice.

Lamb hosted the Congressional App Challenge to provide middle and high school students in PA-17 an opportunity to practice coding and computer science skills.  A panel of independent judges from the Pittsburgh region chose the winning app which will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year.

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Friday, December 17, 2021 at 6:52 AM
(Hanover Township, Washington County, Pa) Pa State Police are investigating this morning after 47-year-old Lori Ann Dickey, of Aliquippa, was killed when she was hit by a vehicle moments after she was involved in a crash shortly after 2 AM this morning in Hanover Township Washington County.
Dickey was driving a vehicle traveling east on Route 22 near the Burgettstown exit and crossed the center media and entered the westbound lanes, crashing into an oncoming tractor-trailer.
Dickey got out of her vehicle after the collision, began to approach the operator of the tractor-trailer and was struck by another vehicle and killed. The Westbound lanes have since re-opened after being closed for over three hours.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press
U.S. health officials say most Americans should get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot. Thursday’s decision came after government advisers reviewed new safety data about rare but potentially life-threatening blood clots linked to J&J’s shot. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with this risk and are widely available. Of the 200 million fully vaccinated Americans, only a small fraction — about 16 million — got the J&J option. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accepted the panel’s unusual recommendation.

Panel gives state House, Senate district maps preliminary OK
By MARK SCOLFORO and MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Legislative Reapportionment Commission is advancing new preliminary Pennsylvania state House and Senate maps over objections from the state House’s Republican leader. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 5-0 for the Senate map and 3-2 for the House map on Thursday. A vote on the final maps is likely a month or more away. The approval on Thursday is a key step in the once-in-a-decade process that will reverberate politically for years to come. There are about two months left before candidates are scheduled to begin circulating nominating petitions to get on the May 17 primary ballot.

Panel to make key vote on state House, Senate district lines
By MARK SCOLFORO and MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some of Pennsylvania’s most powerful elected officials are poised to vote on the first draft of new district maps for the state House and Senate. The vote Thursday in Harrisburg by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission is a key step in the once-in-a-decade process that will reverberate politically for years to come. The commission is expected to vote on preliminary district maps for 203 House seats and 50 in the Senate. There are about two months left before candidates are scheduled to begin circulating nominating petitions to get on the primary ballot. The primary is May 17.

5th person dies in related wrecks on Pennsylvania interstate
HAMBURG, Pa. (AP) — A fifth person has died from his injuries in a series of related crashes on an eastern Pennsylvania interstate. Berks County’s coroner identified the latest victim as a 21-year-old Reading man. State police are still investigating the twin crashes on Interstate 78 in Berks County. Police say the first crash happened Tuesday night when the driver of an empty school bus failed to stop in a construction zone and slammed into two vehicles. Two people were killed. Police say a truck driver then failed to slow down for traffic stopped as a result of the earlier crash, causing a fatal chain-reaction crash that killed three.