(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Though it was nice and sunny outside, the vibes were less so inside the Beaver County Courthouse on Wednesday.

Things started off decently enough with an update from Tim Ishman regarding the County’s celebration of Earth Day, following Ishman was a very defensive District Attorney David Lozier. The reason for DA Lozier’s defensiveness was that he was addressing a recent rumor that the County was considering dropping the number of detectives in the county from a possible 8 (7 are currently employed) to possibly 6 or fewer detectives.

Lozier was staunch in defending his detective unit’s place in keeping the public safe–particularly from the public themselves:

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Then Cory Trautman–who is the representative of Susquehanna Consulting and working with the County on their budget (having done so since the firing of Ricardo Luckow in 2018)–gave an update on the current financial status in the county. Trautman said that the budget was in decent health, but still needed work:

But one part of the released numbers didn’t sit well with Hopewell resident Carl Hughes, who felt that the county’s financial situation will push residents away:

And lastly, the debate over the future of Beaver County’s K9 unit dogs continued, with Sheriff Tony Guy and several members of the Sheriff’s Department having a back and forth with Commissioner Sandie Egley about the issue. One such example of the dialogue featured Commissioner Egley still feeling like the details were unclear:

Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp said that he’d like to have the final decision on the addition of a K9 unit, whether leased or bought, by the May 9 public meeting.

Assistant County Solicitor Nathan Morgan was absent from this April 24 work session.

UNDATED (AP) — The National Rifle Association is gathering this week for its annual meeting amid inner turmoil the likes of which have not been seen in decades. The NRA is used to battling outside forces. But these days, NRA insiders and longtime observers describe an organization at war with itself. The central question: Has it strayed too far from its original mission of gun safety and outdoor shooting sports and become too political?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his White House will be “fighting all the subpoenas” issued by House Democrats in their investigations into his administration. Trump is criticizing those investigations and telling reporters that he “thought after two years we’d be finished with it.” Democrats have stepped up their inquiries in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference. Trump says “it’s enough” and that “we’re fighting all the subpoenas.”

THE MAYOR OF EAST ROCHESTER SAYS THERE’S NOT MUCH HE CAN DO FOR BOROUGH RESIDENTS VICTIMIZED FROM LAST WEEKEND’S VIOLENT STORMS…UNTIL THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING. MAYOR BOB KNOX SPOKE WITH BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWSMAN PAT SEPTAK ABOUT THE FLOODING……AND GAVE THIS ASSESSMENT:

HE TOLD US THERE WAS ONE RESIDENT IN PARTICULAR – TERRY MASON – WHO RECEIVED THE MOST AMOUNT OF PROPERTY DESTRUCTION…

HE TOLD PAT THAT HE HAS ALREADY HAD THE STREETS DEPARTMENT CHECK THE BOROUGH’S DRAIN PIPES…

MAYOR KNOX INVITES ALL RESIDENTS AFFECTED BY THE STORMS TO ATTEND NEXT WEDNESDAY’S COUNCIL MEETING – MAY 1ST AT 7PM…AT THE LACOCK DWELLING COMMUNITY BUILDING IN EAST ROCHESTER.

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey police officer and a New York City high school teacher are among 16 men who allegedly tried to set up sexual encounters with people they thought were teenage boys and girls. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir announced the arrests Wednesday. He said most of the defendants were arrested when they arrived at a residence in Bergen County, where they expected to find their victim home alone. Seven defendants travelled there from New York State, while another came from Philadelphia.

MUNCY, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was killed when she fell into a meat grinder at a processing plant in northern Pennsylvania. It’s not clear what caused the accident at the Economy Locker Storage Company in Muncy. The Lycoming County coroner’s office says 35-year-old Jill Greninger fell late Monday morning. Her body was found by a co-worker who heard strange noises coming from the commercial machine. Greninger may have been standing on a set of wheeled stairs prior to the fatal accident.

On Tuesday, Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation (Senate Bill 9) designating the Eastern Hellbender (the largest amphibian in Pennsylvania) as the state’s official state amphibian. Andrea Sears reports….

The State Department of Health is marking World Immunization Week by reminding Pennsylvania residents about the importance of being up to date with their vaccinations. Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, says the health department wants to reassure Pennsylvanians that vaccines are safe. She says misinformation about the measles vaccine has led to fewer children being vaccinated against measles and to recent outbreaks in Washington and New York states. Dr. Levine says there have been no confirmed cases of measles in PA this year. There were two confirmed cases in the state last year.

After several weeks of increasing numbers, the rate of influenza-related deaths is slowing somewhat. Last week that count jumped from 115 to 128, but this week only five new flu-related fatalities have been announced. The total number of confirmed cases reported state-wide continues to increase, and now stands at well over 96-thousand people sickened. Allegheny County has been the hardest hit by a wide margin with over 93-hundred cases.