QUIP-BOTS

It’s good to know there are passionate residents meeting with public officials proposing ideas to improve Aliquippa’s water system. These residents are still in Elementary school! They’re part of the Aliquippa Quip-Bots, a robotics team creating code and programming robots to do various tasks and learning about local infrastructure.

This is alot different than the fighting robots designed by the high-school aged teams in & around the Pittsburgh area. Sixth grade teacher Robert Signorelli says,
“They’re solving missions rather than doing battles.”

State Police urge safety

The Pennsylvania State Police urge motorists to drive carefully and be courteous to all drivers and pedestrians when traveling during the holidays.

Traffic will be greater than usual and weather can create difficult driving conditions. Be calm and use common sense on the roads. By speeding, driving while impaired, or engaging in other reckless driving behavior, you put yourself and others at great risk.

Troopers patrolling the highways will be enforcing the Commonwealth’s traffic laws including speeding, aggressive driving, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

NEW BLACKHAWK COACH

The Blackhawk School Board has hired a replacement for football coach Joe Lamenza, who went 8-19 in three seasons at the helm of the Cougars’ program. The new Head Football coach is Zack Hayward, a 2009 Blackhawk High School graduate. He plans to bring back the passion and excitement he remembers from the days he was a Cougar.

Blackhawk athletic director Rick Ford, says that Hayward’s familiarity with the program and his ties to its glory days were key factors in his hiring.

After graduating from Geneva, Hayward served as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator on head coach Geno DeMarco’s staff. Next he was co-offensive coordinator under head coach Mark Washington at Moon Area High School and, for the past two seasons, Hopewell High School.

Aliquippa receives funding

The state announced that Aliquippa’s plan to reduce blight was among 125 projects selected to receive support under the state Neighborhood Assistance Program.

Aliquippa Economic Development Corp. was awarded $400,000 in tax credits that will be used to acquire and demolish 18 houses in the city to remove blight and make room for future development, among other community initiatives.

“It’s going to be a multiyear project,” City Manager Sam Gill said, and will involve other nonprofits and public service agencies in Aliquippa during the next six years.

The $400,000 in tax credits is for the first year of the program, state Department of Community and Economic Development spokesman David Smith said.

Fire officials say Christmas lights are to blame for starting a fire early this morning in Lawrence County. Fire investigators say the fire broke out shortly after 1:00 this morning at a home on Matthews Road in Mahoning Township. Officials say a couple was home when the woman heard crackling and discovered the fire. Officials say everyone was able to get out of the home but the flames destroyed a portion of the home. Mahoning Township Fire Chief Francis Exposito said the fire started on the porch and believes it was an electrical fire started by Christmas lights strung on the porch. It took fire crews more than two hours to fight the flames.

THE GRINCH WHO STOLE THE COLOR FASHION SHOW DEBUTED AT HOPEWELL HIGH SCHOOL LAST NIGHT. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO WAS THERE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

AT LEAST ONE BEAVER COUNTY DEPARTMENT IS ON ITS WAY TO GOING GREEN. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO’S GREG BENEDETTI HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Greg’s report…

THE HOPEWELL SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS APPROVED THE CONTINUATION OF THE DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM FOR 2017-18. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

A man is facing drug charges following an incident in Aliquippa. Officers allegedly saw Daryl Adamson engaging in a “hand-to-hand” drug transaction last week at the intersection of Griffith and Wykes streets. They say when they approached him, he began to run, but slipped and fell in the snow. Officers say they found four individually packaged pieces of crack cocaine in his possession.