(File Photo: Caption for Photo: Young teenager boy uncomfortable at counseling – close up on clutching hands)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania nonprofits are working with teens in foster care to ensure they have the resources they’ll need to navigate life once they’re out of the system. In Pennsylvania, about 15-thousand children are in temporary foster care. Dr. Joseph Birli with Bethany Children’s Home says they have a congregate care setting to assist those who have been traumatized. He says teens may need emergency shelter if they’re at risk for human trafficking and the staff works with them as they age out of the system. About 20-thousand young people exit foster care each year in the U-S, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In Pennsylvania, Birli says 18-year-olds can leave the foster care system – but also can return if needed until age 21 by contacting their county. He says many do return, after realizing life is tougher than expected.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2002, file photo, the sun rises on Mt. Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, S.D. as the flag is flown at half staff in honor of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. President Donald Trump is planning to kick off Independence Day weekend in South Dakota with a show of patriotism _ fireworks popping, fighter jets thundering overhead and revelers crowding beneath a piece of classic Americana _ Mount Rushmore. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) PennDOT announced that all of its centers for photos and driver’s licenses will be closed from Saturday, February 15th from Monday, February 17th to observe the holiday of President’s Day. The full-service center for PennDOT in Harrisburg will also be closed. You can visit the PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services Website anytime for services provided by PennDOT and other information. The link to PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services Website can be accessed by the link below.

Click here for the link to PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services website.

(File Photo of State Representative Rob Matzie)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News (Updated on 2/14/25 at 7:38 A.M.)

(Beaver County, PA) According to a release from State Representative Rob Matzie’s office, Matzie announced that state grants worth a total of over $221,000 were given to thirteen local fire companies by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner. The topics for projects that can be eligible through this funding include equipment, upgrades for facilities, and outreach for both the public and education. There is also eligibilty through this funding for certification, training and efforts for both retention and recruitment. Application for construction savings accounts was also permitted to help fire companies with constructing their facilities. According to Matzie, here are the companies that received funding:

 

Ambridge Borough Fire Department		Fire		Ambridge		$13,309.52
Ambridge Volunteer Fire Department		Fire		Ambridge		$14,600.59
Baden Volunteer Fire Department		Fire		Baden		$16,322.02
Center Township Fire House No. 2		Fire		Monaca		$13,309.52
Center Township Volunteer Fire Department Co. No. 1		Fire		Aliquippa		$14,385.41
Center Township Volunteer Fire Department No. 3		Fire		Monaca		$12,879.17
City of Aliquippa DBA Aliquippa Bureau of Fire		Fire		Aliquippa		$14,815.77
Conway Volunteer Fire Department		Fire		Conway		$14,385.41
Freedom Volunteer Fire Department		Fire		Freedom		$12,018.46
Harmony Township Volunteer Firemen, Inc.		Fire		Ambridge		$15,676.48
Hopewell Twp Volunteer Fire Department		Fire		Aliquippa		$13,739.88
Monaca Fire		Fire		Monaca		$38,170.24
Rochester Township Volunteer Fire Department No. 1		Fire		Rochester		$27,891.66

(File Photo of State Representative Roman Kozak)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from State Representative Roman Kozak’s office, Kozak announced that a total of nineteen fire and ambulance companies will receive a total of over $283,000 in state grants. The Office of the State Fire Commissioner and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency administered a program to provide this funding. The topics for projects eligible through this funding includes training, reducing debt, renovating or constructing facilities and repairing or buying equipment.

According to Kozak, here are the companies that received funding:

·         Beaver Falls City Fire Department – $14,600.59.

·         Beaver Falls Volunteer Fire Department (EMS) – $15,000.

·         Beaver Falls Volunteer Fire Department (Fire) – $16,322.02.

·         Big Beaver Borough Volunteer Fire Company – $13,955.06.

·         Big Knob Volunteer Fire Department – $14,600.59.

·         Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Department – $13,955.06.

·         Chippewa Township Volunteer Fire Department – $15,676.48.

·         Darlington Township Volunteer Fire Department – $14,815.77.

·         Daugherty Township Volunteer Fire Department – $13,309.52.

·         Economy Volunteer Ambulance Service – $15,000.

·         Economy Volunteer Firemens Association – $15,246.13.

·         Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department – $15,030.95.

·         Koppel Volunteer Fire Company – $12,448.81.

·         New Brighton Volunteer Fire Company – $28,322.02.

·         New Galilee Emergency Medical Services – $10,000.

·         North Sewickley Township Volunteer Fire Department – $15,676.48.

·         Patterson Heights Volunteer Fire Department – $13,309.52.

·         Patterson Township Volunteer Fire Company – $12,879.17.

·         Pine Run Volunteer Fire Department – $13,524.70.

FILE – A drawn portrait of Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021, hangs on rails outside of the White House during a demonstration organized by his family, July 15, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

(File photo of Aliquippa Jr. and Sr. High School Logo)

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

(Aliquippa, PA) The Aliquippa Junior and Senior High School will have an oratorical contest on Saturday, February 22nd from 1-4 p.m. The Eugene Karmazyn Black Box Theater will host a Dr. Martin Luther King Oratorical Contest for students. According to a release from the Aliquippa Junior and Senior High School, donations will be accepted.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) N95 face mask)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) UPMC has announced that visitors, staff, and patients must wear masks in their facilities after COVID-19 and flu cases are rising. On Wednesday, the mandate will return for the first time since December of 2023, which was taken into effect because of respiratory illnesses increasing. In May of 2023, UPMC took away the requirement of people wearing masks even though masks were worn during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: A customer holds a credit card at the pay-at-the-pump gasoline pump in Rolling Meadow, Ill., Thursday, June 30, 2022. The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday, July 28, in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of the economy — followed a 1.6% annual drop from January through March. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Gas prices are three cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at around $3.53 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s gas price report. The report states at that week last year, the average price for gas was around $3.44. The report also notes that the average price that you can expect for a gallon of unleaded gas here in Beaver County is about $3.55. 

According to AAA East Central’s gas price report, here are the prices of unleaded self-serve gasoline in some Pennsylvania areas:

$3.564      Altoona
$3.548      Beaver
$3.574      Bradford
$3.363      Brookville
$3.588      Butler
$3.465      Clarion
$3.519      DuBois
$3.561      Erie
$3.547      Greensburg
$3.589      Indiana
$3.573      Jeannette
$3.533      Kittanning
$3.556      Latrobe
$3.585      Meadville
$3.581      Mercer
$3.387      New Castle
$3.502      New Kensington
$3.599      Oil City
$3.540      Pittsburgh
$3.374      Sharon
$3.589      Uniontown
$3.599      Warren
$3.535      Washington

(File Photo of Open Sign on Door)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(East Rochester, PA) Big Lots is closing stores around the United States. However, one local store will continue operations. According to filings from bankruptcy courts, Variety Wholesalers will run more than two-hundred Big Lots stores, which includes the East Rochester location on Ohio River Boulevard. The locations for Big Lots in both Hopewell and Moon Townships are closed. 

(File Photo of a Center Township Police Department Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Center Township, PA) A drunk driver crashed into the porch of a Center Township home on Monday. The incident occurred at around 4:30 p.m. when an unidentified male driver went off of Center Grange Road and into a porch. The woman that lives in that house is now doing well. According to police, the man had over twice the legal limit for his blood alcohol level. Police confirm that the man was driving under the influence and his charges will be filed on Tuesday.