(File Photo of a Mosquito)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Zelienople, PA) The Mercer County Conservation District reported on Wednesday that two mosquito samples which were collected from Zelienople tested positive for West Nile virus, but no human cases have been reported.
Businesses and residents in Zelienople are asked to take precautions, like applying insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved pants and shirts outdoors during dawn and dusk.
(Credit for Headline Photo and Photos Below: Photo Courtesy of Beaver County Radio’s Frank Sparks, Posted on Facebook on August 20th, 2026)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(New Brighton, PA) 8-year-old Gabi Sparks received the Mayor’s Good Citizen Award from New Brighton Mayor Valerie McElvy and the New Brighton Borough council yesterday for saving the life of her grandmother, Gigi, by calling for help when Gigi was having a medical emergency on July 14th.
This occurred at Gigi’s house in Center Township.
Gabi acted quickly after shaking Gigi and after she did not receive any response from Gigi, Gabi picked up the phone and called for help.
Center Township Police Corporal Kristen Brown and K-9 Officer Will Peake along with his K-9 partner Tonda also honored Gabi on July 27th for her quick response that saved Gigi’s life.
The officer presented Gabi with a Center Township Police K-9 hoodie, a special bracelet, and Tonda charms for her Crocs.
Gabi was also able to meet Tonda.
Gabi commented that she is just glad that her Gigi is ok.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: A Delta Air Lines jet leaves the gate, Friday, July 19, 2024, at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) A Delta flight returned to Pittsburgh International Airport shortly after it departed yesterday.
A Delta spokesperson told WPXI that Delta flight 1504 was bound for Atlanta when the crew reported fumes inside the Boeing 737-900 aircraft.
Crew members followed a safety protocol and declared an emergency with the air traffic control.
The flight landed normally and it was taxied to its gate and Delta is working to get customers to their destinations.
(File Photo of a Gavel)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced yesterday that a resident of Farmington was sentenced in federal court to 70 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release on his convictions of distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.
Forty-one-year-old Nathan Fike received this sentence yesterday.
According to the information presented to the Court, on or about October 4th, 2023, Fike distributed a video depicting a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct to an undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in Jacksonville, Florida.
The FBI also executed a federal search warrant on the defendant’s residence on February 9th, 2024, and discovered that he was in possession of approximately 156 images and 63 videos that depicted the sexual exploitation of minors, some of whom were prepubescent or minors who had not attained 12 years of age.
(File Photo of a Gavel)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced that a resident of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to charges of attempted murder and assault of a federal agent, drug trafficking, and use of a firearm in connection with those crimes.
Twenty-four-year-old Drew Gordon, of the Overbrook section of the Steel City, pleaded guilty to five counts.
The Court was advised in connection with the guilty plea that on August 30th, 2024, a DEA agent was conducting surveillance in an unrelated investigation, which took the agent onto the street where Gordon lived. Gordon followed the agent in his vehicle and opened fire, shooting 18 rounds.
Gordon struck the vehicle of the agent, and the agent was not hit or injured. The FBI executed a search warrant at Gordon’s house, and recovered over $10,000 in cash, over $37,000 worth of crack cocaine, fentanyl and powder cocaine, and two guns, one of them being the gun that was used in the shooting.
Gordon’s sentencing will be on December 23rd, and he faces a total sentence of at least 20 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $6,000,000, or both, provided by the law.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(East Palestine, OH) Over three years after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, people are learning about the health impacts of the incident with studies confirming that people were in fact exposed to those toxic chemicals which were released into the air, soil and water.
The derailment occurred on February 3rd, 2023.
Researchers from the University of Kentucky and Wayne State recently shared the outcomes of urine samples that were taken five months after the incident occurred.
They found that 74% of samples from people who were living within a mile of the scene had detected levels of exposure to vinyl chloride.
Those studies will increase next week as lab testing officially gets underway as part of a larger long-term medical initiative that was launched earlier this year.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: (File Photo: Source for Photo: Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Carlisle, PA) An investigation continues into a crash that occurred at Carlisle Airport on Wednesday at approximately 6:58 P.M. in which a Cessna 150 single engine airplane and a Pennsylvania State Police Bell 407GX helicopter collided in midair.
The helicopter hit the plane while it was hovering over a grassy area north of the runway at this airport and the pilot of the plane died as a result of this incident.
He has been identified as fifty-seven-year-old Paul Sokoloski of Hershey, and the Cumberland County Coroner’s Office pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to a report from WJAC and Penn State Health’s website, Sokoloski was an emergency medicine physician for Penn State Health.
Authorities believe that Sokoloski was the only person on the plane.
The Cessna 150 was trying to land and because of an unknown reason, it veered off of the north side of the runway and collided with the back of the helicopter, which was hovering in mid-air.
Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured because of this incident, Corp. Bryce Corman and Tpr. Jason Mills.
The duo was piloting the helicopter and they were airlifted to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for medical treatment in Hershey.
Corporal Corman has since been released from the hospital, while Trooper Mills remains hospitalized in stable condition.
The PSP Troop H Major Case Team was activated to assist with the investigation that is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Penguins recently announced that they named Marc-Andre Fleury, the late Jack McGregor, Larry Murphy and Jim Rutherford to the franchise’s Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
That class represents the second group of inductees in a three-year plan to relaunch the Penguins Hall of Fame.
Fleury played for the Penguins for thirteen seasons, (2003-2017) and his accolades include being a three-time Stanley Cup winning goalie (2009, 2016 and 2017).
Murphy played for the Penguins for five seasons, (1990-1995) and his accolades include being a two-time Stanley-Cup winning defenseman (1991 and 1992) and recording a plus-102 rating, which leads all defensemen in Penguins franchise history.
Rutherford served as the team’s executive vice president and general manager from June of 2014 to January of 2021, winning three Stanley Cups in that span (2009, 2016 and 2017.)
McGregor, who organized the original effort to bring an NHL franchise to Pittsburgh and served as the Penguins’ president from 1967 to 1970, will be inducted posthumously.
Inductees will be featured permanently in a dedicated Hall of Fame space that is located on the FedEx main concourse level at PPG Paints Arena.
An on-ice ceremony for the Penguins Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will take place before a Penguins home game against the Ottawa Senators on November 14th.
The four remaining members that are scheduled for induction as part of the relaunch plan, Tom Barrasso, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Kunitz and the late Ray Shero, will be inducted in 2027.
(File Photo of the Starbucks Logo)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Vanport Township, PA) A new business is preparing to open in Vanport Township.
A Starbucks coffee shop and drive through will be opening after several months of planning and building.
It will be located across from the Nick Crivelli Chevrolet in Beaver.
The opening date for this store has not been announced at this time.
(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Lottery)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver County, PA) A Pennsylvania Lottery player recently won a jackpot of $1.63 million by buying a Match 6 Lotto ticket online.
According to a news release provided by the Pennsylvania Lottery, that ticket correctly matched all six winning numbers, 1, 17, 22, 26, 31 and 41, in yesterday’s drawing.
The winner has not been identified at this time and that person has one year from the drawing date to claim their prize.
Online winnings will appear in the player’s account automatically after the claim has been processed.