NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — Officials say nine railcars from a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Pennsylvania, with no hazardous chemicals on board and no reported injuries. The rail company said in a statement that the derailment happened late Wednesday outside of New Castle. It says crews responded immediately and are actively working at the site. The New Castle Fire Department said that at least some of the cars that derailed contained paraffin wax, which is used to make candles, and soybeans. New Castle is about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The usual quick-paced nature of past work sessions was not present on May 9, as the Beaver County Commissioners encountered a slew of concerns, complaints,

The first major issue brought forth was presented by Treasurer Sandie Egley, who in recent days had been fielding phone calls from county citizens in regards to the status of their tax checks. The usual three to four days (per Egley) that it takes for the tax checks to be processed by the Beaver County Treasury has become compounded by the processing by one of the county’s parent banks they affiliate and work with.

“They would like us to scan these and send in an EFT (electronics fund transfer) to them to speed up this process,” Egley stated in regards to conversations with the bank. “I’m not real happy about that, because it will cost the county money to write the program for our standard to be able to link to the bank.” Egley also stated that there will be additional bank fees that will be required with the move, which she estimated would require a monthly budgeted total of $1,000 from the county.

Another major concern was pushed by Public Works director Dan Colville, who spoke to the Commissioners about issues regarding the Community Development building in Beaver Falls. The air conditioning unit for the building was installed atop a twelve-foot-high deck, which according to Colville was installed “completely wrong” and has become impossible to repair because the deck is “starting to rot”. Colville added that any remedy to fix the situation would cost several thousand dollars.

The most extensively discussed issue throughout the work session was the continuing complaints about lacking response time from local ambulances, bringing up the possibility of developing a quick response service for Beaver County. Emergency Management director Eric Brewer discussed the situation openly with Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp, who approached the idea as a potential solution to assist response time for accidents and house calls in the area.

Brewer estimated that the annual cost for operating a QR unit would be roughly $100,000, which would mainly go to the workers operating the unit. However, nothing was cemented at the work session.

The next Commissioners’ work session is scheduled for May 17 at 10:00 AM.

This combo from photos provided by Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons shows from left, Nasir Grant, left, and Ameen Hurst. Authorities searched Tuesday, May 9, 2023, for two inmates, one accused of killing four people, who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Hurst, 18, and Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center around 8:30 p.m. Sunday by cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons said.(Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons via AP)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — There were no dedicated corrections officers watching the housing unit at a Philadelphia prison where two inmates escaped Sunday night, and there were no armed perimeter guards when they made it through a fence surrounding the prison yard, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press Tuesday. Authorities are still searching for two inmates — one accused of killing four people — who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Prison officials say several headcounts conducted Sunday and Monday reportedly showed that all prisoners were accounted for.

As part of the region’s Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) that the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) manages, the organization is hosting a public meeting for Beaver County residents on Thursday, May 11, so they can provide their opinions on local, long-term transportation and infrastructure challenges.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission is the region’s designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and works closely with the ten counties, including Beaver County, located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In June 2019, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission adopted the region’s official long-range transportation plan called SmartMoves for a Changing Region, which included over $35 billion for the region’s transportation priorities over 25 years. As part of the organization’s efforts to periodically update the plan, it hosts meetings for the public to learn about our region’s long-term transportation and infrastructure challenges and provide their opinions on these issues.

If a member of the public is not able to attend the meeting, but would still like to provide their opinion on a transportation and/or infrastructure issue that they would like to see addressed, they are invited to submit their comments during the public comment period which runs from May 11-June 9. Members of the public can submit their comments by email at comments@spcregion.org, completing an online form, by fax at 412-391-9160, or mailing comments to Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s address at PO Box 101429, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

WHEN:

Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 2 p.m. 

WHO:  

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission staff members

Beaver County officials

PennDOT representatives

WHERE:

Virtual (click the link below to access the meeting)

https://spcregion.webex.com/spcregion/j.php?MTID=mc0b999ea1c4abb6d0ba16a29b111aa96

Story by Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published May 10, 2023 7:59 A.M.

(New Brighton, PA) New Brighton Borough entered into a contract with Mahoning Builders Inc. to replace sections of sidewalks on Fifth Avenue deemed hazardous between Fifth Street and Thirteenth Street. Work started Monday, May 8, and will continue for approximately sixty days, weather permitting.

The image above shows the Police response outside Hopewell High School in March.
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 10, 2023 10:21 A.M.

(Hopewell Township, PA) The district sent out a message last Friday and a discussion is being held today at 5 p.m. in the Hopewell Elementary Library, Monday, May 15 at 6 p.m. in the junior high library, Wednesday, May 16 at noon in the Central Office Board Room, at 6 p.m. at the high school, enter at the gym entrance, Wednesday, May 17 at 6 p.m. the discussion will be held at Independence Elementary’s Library. The last discussion will be at Margaret Ross Elementary at  6 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2023. A notice was sent to all district families  in regards to the 3/29/2023 swatting call that came to the district.

PITTSBURGH (May 10, 2023) – Five Allegheny Health Network (AHN) physicians have been named to the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s (PAMED) ‘Top Physicians Under 40’ list for 2023.

• Nicholas Bonazza, MD, orthopaedic surgery
• Tiffany DuMont, DO, pulmonary and critical care medicine
• Saad Javed, MD, gastroenterology
• Ravi Ved, DO, primary care – sports medicine
• Meilin Young, MD, pulmonary and critical care medicine

The Top Physicians Under 40 list is an annual listing by PAMED. Nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of PAMED members, the list includes the best of the best early-career physicians.

“Behind the exceptional care we provide for our patients every day across AHN is a highly talented, ambitious and innovative team of caregivers who are committed to being at the forefront of medicine,” said Donald Whiting, MD, AHN’s chief medical officer. “We congratulate those recognized by PAMED this year and thank them for helping to drive our patient-centered Living Health model and mission at AHN.”

PAMED is a physician-led, member-driven organization representing all physicians and medical students throughout the state of Pennsylvania. The Society advocates for physicians and their patients, helps to educate physicians through continuing medical education, and provides expert resources and guidance to help physicians navigate challenges in today’s ever-evolving health care system.

For more information, visit www.pamedsoc.org.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are taking up more real estate in dealership showrooms nationwide. Their attractive blend of cutting-edge design, advanced technology and energy efficiency have expanded their popularity.

The new 2023 AAA Car Guide is here to help consumers navigate this evolving automotive marketplace by ranking and rating the newest vehicles, including EVs. The Guide provides consumers with reviews, based on testing by AAA Engineers, highlighting how many advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are included in the vehicle, along with other criteria and information.

Announced at this month’s New York International Auto Show, the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 earned the overall top score for the 2023 edition of the AAA Car Guide. All but one of the category winners for 2023 is electric– the gasoline-powered Kia Carnival SX took the minivan category. Meanwhile, Rivian Automotive placed two models in the top five – the R1T Adventure pickup (Pickup Truck category winner) and the R1S Launch Edition SUV.

Gas priced soared in 2022. The national average reached $5.01 a gallon in June. Consumers responded by purchasing more than 760,000 EVs, a 65% increase from 2021. Of the 71 vehicles reviewed for the 2023 AAA Car Guide, 19 are pure electric.

“EV sales continue to increase each year, but consumers still have a lot of questions about them, such as battery life and ease of charging,” said Mike Hoshaw, vice president of automotive services, AAA East Central. “The AAA Car Guide is an easy-to-understand resource that takes some of the stress and guesswork out of car-shopping by providing the vital information consumers need to make the right choice.”

The 2023 AAA Car Guide includes comprehensive reviews of each vehicle based on 13 criteria, including the number of ADAS safety features, fuel efficiency, emissions, braking, handling, ride quality and acceleration. These vehicles are tested, scored and placed in one of six vehicle-type categories by the Automotive Research Center (ARC) of the Automobile Club of Southern California, a member of the AAA federation of motor clubs.  Additionally, there are three categories based on price.

For those in the market for newer used vehicles, the online AAA Car Guide website also contains links to the two previous editions from 2022 and 2021.

Each of the 2023 AAA Car Guide winners has numerous ADAS safety features and achieves high fuel efficiency. The highest scoring ranked by category are:

Winners, detailed evaluation criteria, vehicle reviews and an in-depth analysis of the ADAS technology can be found at AAA.com/CarGuide. AAA also provides consumers with other resources like the Your Driving Costs calculator and Used EV Car Buyer’s Guide to help with car-buying decisions

The AAA Car Guide also contains detailed information about AAA’s recent research on current automotive technologies such as ADAS and headlight effectiveness.

The image above shows Trez Everett being recognized for his efforts.      
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 10, 2023 10:15 A.M.

(Ambridge, PA) At Tuesday night’s regular council meeting 2 youths, Shamar Underwood, wasn’t present, but Trez Everett attended, and Underwood were responsible for rescuing 2 small children, firefighters Dan Caul, Larry Charlton, Brian Brown, Justin Miller, and Lenny Maytic were honored for their efforts at the fire at 816 11th Street last Sunday night. Police officers, Seng, Causer, and Anderson were honored. The 2 small children’s grandmother was also rescued, and was taken to the hospital, but was at Tuesday’s night’s meeting and thanked everyone for their assistance. She said a cat died in the fire.