Hopewell Commissioners announced Monday afternoon that the municipal building will be closed to the public until further notice. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has more. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is providing some guidance on how special events in the church will be handled amid the coronavirus spread. In a statement, Bishop David Zubik said baptisms will happen as small private family events to meet state and locally imposed crowd distance restrictions. Confirmation events set for March have been postponed while those scheduled for after April 1st will be determined in the future. Weddings and funerals will also occur, though those attending must number at or lower than the imposed crowd restrictions.

State Police in Lawrence County report an accident yesterday morning in Wilmington Township that involved an Amish Buggy. According to police, the 16 year old female who was operating the buggy traveled into the path of a vehicle operated by 48 year old Chad Roades of Grove City. The accident took place near the intersection of Route 158 and Phillips School Road. The 16 year old was taken to St.Elizabeth’s Hospital in Youngtown. Rhoades was not hurt.

NEW TRIPOLI, Pa. (AP) — Distilleries are putting their spirits to work to help fill the shortage of hand sanitizers due to the coronavirus outbreak. Green Mountain Distillers is Morrisville, Vermont, is giving away a hand sanitizing solution and Durham Distillery in Durham, North Carolina, is donating one to hospitality colleagues, using high-proof alcohol and other ingredients. A Pennsylvania distillery owner grew so disgusted by the skyrocketing price of hand sanitizer online that he’s also converted his operation. And is selling it for whatever people want to pay.

(Monaca, Pa.) With the safety of Pennsylvanians a top priority, Rep. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) has postponed two Donuts and Discussion Events and his concealed carry seminar.

The Donuts and discussions scheduled for Friday March 20, 2020 at the Donegal Twp Municipal Building has been rescheduled to Friday May 22, 2020 and the Friday April 3, 2020 event at the Brighton Twp. Municipal Building has been postponed until Friday June 5, 2020. Both Events will be from 8:30-10:00 a.m..

The concealed carry seminar scheduled for Wednesday April 22, 2020 at the Center Social Hall is being postponed. A new date will be announced in the future.

Rep. Kail stated that “While it may seem these actions are drastic , we need to defer to the guidance of the experts during critical times like this one” The CDC has now advised against gatherings of 10 people or more for the next eight weeks. Kail also added that “It’s clear we must operate with the greatest of concern for safety.”

Public officials have recommended social distancing to slow and limit spread of the virus, which can be transmitted by individuals without symptoms.

Also for the public’s protection, Kail is temporarily closing his district offices to in-person visits. State related Services will still  be available by calling the office in Center at 724-728-7655 of the Avella office at 724-587-3095. Help is also available online at RepKail.com

 

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry has announced that the unemployment compensation “waiting week”, as it’s called, has been suspended. Previously, claimants were not eligible for benefits during their first week of unemployment. But for now, eligible claimants may receive benefits for the first week that they are unemployed.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will shut down all of its roughly 600 state-owned wine and liquor stores as part of the state’s expanding shutdown to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said all wine and liquor stores and licensee service centers will close 9 p.m. Tuesday. Online sales end Monday. Wolf already ordered the stores to close after Monday in four southeastern Pennsylvania counties where he had said there was “confirmed evidence of risk.” Stores in those four counties first drew large crowds over the weekend, and the liquor control board said it saw unusually high online order volume.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is making some changes to the 2020 trout season due to the coronavirus spread. The season will be consolidated into a single, statewide schedule with trout stocking operations accelerated. Under the revised plan, a single Mentored Youth Trout Day will occur on Saturday, April 11th, and a Statewide Opening Day of trout season will take place on Saturday, April 18th.

PennDOT is closing all Driver License Centers and Photo License Centers statewide for the next two weeks. They add that expiration dates for driver licenses, identification cards, vehicle registrations, and safety and emission inspections will be extended. Also, all PennDOT District and County maintenance offices are closed and construction projects have been suspended in all counties until further notice. PennDOT crews are available to perform critical functions and emergency maintenance as needed.