WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) — Search crews have found the body of a 14-year-old girl who was missing in the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh, police said. West Mifflin police said the girl’s body was found at about 1:45 p.m. Saturday a few feet upstream of the Mansfield bridge. Police said the girl was with relatives fishing in the river and was reported missing at about 6 p.m. Friday. More than 100 search and rescue personnel spent more than four hours looking for her Friday night and resumed the effort on Saturday morning.
By JEFF MELNICK Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Derek Shelton staged baseball’s first major, socially distanced umpire argument, then got his first victory as a big league manager as the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. Shelton came out to argue with plate umpire Jordan Baker in the third inning after pitcher Derek Holland was ejected from the dugout for arguing balls and strikes. Shelton pulled a gaiter over his face as he left the dugout, and Baker pulled a face mask out of his pocket and held it to his face as Shelton argued from about six feet away. Baker let Shelton say his peace, and the first-year skipper was not ejected.
They use the term “great outdoors” to speak of its vastness in size, but on Beaver County Radio’s second stop of the summer to Hufnagel & Majors Trailer Sales in Harmony Township, the outdoors itself could not have been more great.
The duo of Matt Drzik & Malik Garrett took the Legendary Prize Van up north of Exit 88 on Interstate 79 and were spinning away on the Personality Prize Wheel under pure blue skies and zero accumulation of clouds or precipitation. All the while, the staff at Hufnagel & Majors were helping people take the indoor comfort of a trailer to the great outdoors and JD Merkel was spinning some classic tunes from the hey-day of AM radio.
To check out some of the highlights from our trip, check these photos out:
As we continue to look at Beaver County Memories, we turn our attention to “industrial strength” memories. This segment is part of a special series showcasing the manufacturing sector. Beaver County Memories brought to you by St. Barnabas.
Beaver County is well known for making steel. Behemoth mills bearing the names of Jones and Laughlin, Crucible and Babcock and Wilcox became legendary for their contributions to the local economy as well as keeping the world supplied with top quality products, as only Beaver County workers could produce. But there were other things that were made in Beaver County. Everything from fine china to chocolates, to bricks to cork and many other things were created by local residents through the years.
The self proclaimed “World’s largest producer of wrought iron products” was located right here in Beaver County. For a span of around forty years, hundreds of employees produced amazing quantities of wrought iron pipes and other things at the A.M. Byers Company in Ambridge. Before plastic, and before copper, many of the water pipes that existed in homes, businesses and municipal infrastructure was made out of wrought iron. Many older buildings still have the classic, heavy, wrought iron plumbing. It was durable and raw material to make the product was plentiful.
Former A.M. Byers Company and current O’Neal Steel building along Duss Avenue in Ambridge, PA.
Memories of driving along Duss Avenue in Ambridge and seeing the bright orange glow given off from a Bessemer Converter furnace used in the process to melt and refine raw material into usable molten steel and iron, are common. The Bessemer Converter was located outside and not far from the highway. It became somewhat of a local attraction, particularly at night when the skies would also be colored with multi colored smoke.
Smokestacks from the original A.M. Byers Company plant still visible along Duss Avenue in Ambridge, PA.
Up through the 1960’s, at times up to around five hundred people made their way into the sprawling A.M. Byers plant along Duss Avenue to form and reportedly create more wrought iron products annually than what was produced by all other plants in the United States added together. The Ambridge facility was built and began operations in 1930. A.M. Byers was already in the steel and wrought Iron manufacturing business at that stage of the game, having opened a plant on Pittsburgh’s South Side in 1863. At one point in time, A.M. Byers had five sites producing their signature wrought iron items throughout the United States. In 1969, A.M. Byers closed The Pittsburgh and Ambridge plants due to falling demand for wrought iron. The remaining company assets were sold to Goodyear Tire and Rubber a short time after that. A few of the original A.M. Byers buildings are still standing and now house other enterprises. In Addition, two giant smokestacks adorned with A.M. Byers vertical lettering on the outside stand tall and remain a testament and memorial to the company.
This “industrial strength” Beaver County memory has been presented by St. Barnabas. Archived transcripts of this and other Beaver County Memories can be found at Beaver County Radio dot com. Tune in everyday for another Beaver County Memory on WBVP, WMBA, 99.3 F.M., and online through google play and iTunes apps, and Alexa smart devices.
Lisbon Road Improvement Work Starts Monday in Beaver County
Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11is announcing a single-lane restriction on Lisbon Road in Ohioville Borough and Brighton Township, Beaver County, will begin Monday, July 27 weather permitting.
Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on Lisbon Road between Tuscarawas Road and Route 168 weekdays from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as crews conduct base repair work. The improvement work will continue through Friday, August 7.
PennDOT crews will conduct the improvement work. Please use caution when traveling through the area. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.
Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that expiration dates for driver licenses, identification cards, and learner’s permits, will be extended for Pennsylvania residents in response to statewide COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
Effective July 23, expiration dates for driver licenses, photo ID cards and learner’s permits scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020 through August 31, 2020, have been extended until August 31, 2020. These extensions are in addition to those announced on June 25.
A camera card is considered a driver’s license, so it is covered by the same terms and conditions extending other driver’s license products. Camera cards with expiration dates within this timeframe are also extended through August 31, 2020.
Additionally, limited services are available at some Driver License and Photo License Centers. For a list of open driver license and photo license centers and the services provided, as well as their hours of operation, please visit www.dmv.pa.gov.
Customers may continue to complete various transactions and access multiple resources online at www.dmv.pa.gov. Driver and vehicle online services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include driver’s license, photo ID and vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle registration restoration letters; ability to pay driver license or vehicle insurance restoration fee; driver license and photo ID duplicates; and schedule a driver’s exam. There are no additional fees for using online services.
PennDOT will continue to evaluate these processes and will communicate any changes with the public.
Gov. Wolf: 11 years at $7.25. Pennsylvania Workers Deserve a Raise
Harrisburg, PA – Today marks the 11th anniversary of Pennsylvania’s last minimum wage increase. The state’s wage floor has been stuck at $7.25 since July 24, 2009, when the federal government, not the commonwealth, raised the minimum wage. With many workers struggling to get by, especially essential workers who are providing vital services during the pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf called on the General Assembly to finally raise the wage.
“Today is a sad reminder that across the state many workers are on the job and earning poverty wages because Pennsylvania hasn’t raised the minimum wage in over a decade. Many of them are essential workers, who throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have gone to work and put themselves at risk to provide the services all of us rely on.
“While those hardworking people lag behind, 29 other states – including all of our neighbors – have raised the wage for their workers. It’s ridiculous that a Pennsylvanian earns less for the same job than someone in West Virginia, Ohio or New York. Pennsylvanians are known for our tremendous work ethic, but too many of them, especially our essential workers, can’t afford their basic needs. That must be unacceptable to all of us.
“Eleven years is far too long for hardworking people – no matter the age – to struggle with low wages. Now more than ever, it’s time for the General Assembly to listen. It’s time to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Turnpike officials have announced yet another toll increase — 6% beginning early next year — as well as a new 45% surcharge for non-EZ-Pass users whose tolls are assessed by mail based on their license plates. Officials said the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on Tuesday approved a 6% increase for EZ-Pass users as well those without passes in the “Toll by Plate” program. But they also approved an average 45% increase over the 2020 cash rate “to reflect the costs of collections for this tolling method.” The new rates are to take effect Jan. 3.
NEW YORK (AP) — A retail venture owned by licensing company Authentic Brands Group and mall owner Simon Property Group has agreed to buy Brooks Brothers for $305 million. The offer from Sparc Group LLC, announced late Thursday, has been designated as a “stalking horse” and therefore subject to court approval and any higher or better offers as part of the company’s ongoing auction process. A court hearing to approve the bid has been set for Aug. 3., and competing offers are due by Aug. 5. The sale process is expected to take place Aug. 11. The iconic 200-year-old clothier, which has dressed nearly every U.S. president, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month. At the time, it had over 200 stores.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes rose a sharp 13,8% in June, the second straight increase after two months when sales plunged as the country went into lockdown because of the coronavirus.The Commerce Department reported that the June gain pushed sales of new homes to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 776,000. The June increased followd a 19.4% jump in May sales. The sales increase for new homes sales followed a report Wednesday that sales of previously owned homes surged 20.7% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million. Even with the gain, which followed three months of declines, new home sales remain roughly 20% below pre-pandemic levels.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced a layoff during the coronavirus pandemic believe those jobs are lost forever. That’s according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. It’s a sharp change from April, when 78% of those in households with a job loss thought they’d be temporary. It’s a sign of increasing pessimism that would translate into roughly 10 million workers needing to find a new employer, if not a new occupation. Still, the poll shows 72% of Americans would rather have restrictions in their communities to stop the spread of COVID-19 than remove them to help the economy. Just 27% want to prioritize the economy over efforts to stop the outbreak.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government has reached a $3.9 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs in exchange for dropping criminal charges against the bank over bond sales it organized for the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Malaysian and U.S. prosecutors had alleged the bond sales provided one of the means for associates of ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to steal billions from the fund. Najib is on trial on multiple corruption charges after his election ouster in May 2018. Goldman and 19 of its former executives were also charged in the fraud. The finance ministry says Goldman has agreed to pay $2.5 billion in cash and guarantee that Malaysia gets at least $1.4 billion in proceeds from assets bought with the bond money that have since been seized.
Seems like the sky is the only part of life that hasn’t been affected these days is the sky above, and the Beaver County Amateur Astronomers are inviting you to take a closer look at what lies above and beyond.
Curt DiGiovine, Frank Marzano, & Michael Colalella from the Beaver County Amateur Astronomers joined Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County to talk about a “Star Party” that the organization is holding tomorrow night, July 25, at the Brady’s Run Softball Fields in Fallston. The public is invited to attend for free and are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs, and binoculars or telescopes to the viewing. Social distancing practices will be in place, and face coverings are strongly recommended.
The trio of astronomers spoke about the awe-inspiring nature of the elements in the sky, the intricacies that are necessary for the stars/planets/comets to be viewed, and the feeling that many first-time viewers have when they see these “jewels in the sky”. They also addressed the natural phenomenon of how long it takes these comets and planets to appear on schedule, plus the effects that a decrease in air pollution has contributed to stargazing.
To hear the full interview with the BC Amateur Astronomers, click on the player below!
Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano
(Aliquippa, Pa.) Nick Lackovich was hired as the Quips basketball coach by the Aliquippa School Board last night.
Athletic Director Brandon LeDonne said this morning 5 candidates were interviewed prior to last night’s special meeting, and 2 candidates, one of them being Lackovich , were presented to the board.
LeDonne said Coach Lackovich was ecstatic when he was approved.” He’s an Aliquippa guy, he’s passionate about being the basketball coach.”
Six letters of interest and resumes have been received for the girls basketball coaching position, he said.
