A big announcement came from Geneva College today: 54-year-old Calvin Troup will take office on the Beaver Falls campus as Geneva’s 20th president this spring. Troup is a Geneva alum and is currently an associate professor in Duquesne’s Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, a campus where he has worked for two decades. Troup was introduced to the students, faculty and staff of the college during a brief ceremony this afternoon.
The Community College of Beaver County has made an historic land purchase to accommodate future growth. CCBC formally acquired nearly 13 acres of land adjacent to the main campus in Center Township from the same families who sold the college its first 100 acres in 1967. Scott Monit – the interim vice-president of finance and operations for CCBC – tells Beaver County Radio’s Pat Septak that at the time they don’t yet have any future plans for the land but their long-term goal is to grow the campus, increase enrollment and expand services for students and the community.
One woman was injured and a home was destroyed by fire in Freedom on Sunday morning. Crews worked to battle the blaze in the 1100 block of Eighth Street. Officials say 50-year-old Dianne Kirk jumped from a second story window of the home. They say she had burns on her body, but was able to walk. She was flown to West Penn Hospital. No word on her condition. One firefighter was also treated at the hospital. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
A fourth transplant patient who came down with a fungal infection during a mold outbreak at a Pittsburgh hospital has died. UPMC officials say Che DuVall was diagnosed with the infection about a month after getting a double lung transplant last August.
For the second year in a row, the NFL sponsored a Super Bowl Ad that focused ending domestic violence. The NFL donated airtime for the spot from NO MORE, an advocacy that works to combat domestic violence and sexual assault.
The Beaver County Commissioners voted unanimously today to adopt a revised 2016 budget of 63 million dollars, down 14 million from the 77 million dollars budget adopted by the previous board of commissioners. According to Beaver County Radio’s Greg Benedetti, who attended this morning’s 20-minute special session, the budget shows a 5-point-three-million dollar deficit that budget administrator Ricardo Luckow said will be made up with cuts by the end of the year. The Commissioners will meet on Tuesday, February 16th for the final vote on the budget. The budget will be open for public review at the courthouse until then.
Gov. Tom Wolf said today that the state budget he proposes Tuesday will include two mergers intended to save money and improve the service of related missions. Wolf will renew his call to merge the Department of Corrections and the Board of Probation and Parole into a single agency. A bill to combine the two entities passed the Senate back in November. He also will propose moving the eHealth Partnership Authority, which was created to enable the secure exchange of electronic health information, into the Department of Human Services.
Senate Democrats have blocked a bi-partisan energy bill after majority Republicans balked over sending millions in emergency aid to Flint, Michigan, for the city’s water problems. GOP Senator Pat Toomey, considered vulnerable in his re-election fight, voted with Democrats on the measure.
Pittsburgh-area police fired a dozen times at a man they killed Sunday after he fatally stabbed a police dog in Wilkinsburg. That’s according to prosecutors. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says it’s not clear how many bullets hit Bruce Kelley Jr. Zappala is deciding whether Kelley’s shooting was justified.
Who will be the kicker for the Steelers in 2016? That is just one of the decisions the Black and Gold will have to make in the off season. They went through four of them due to injury and lack of results. It all started in the Hall of Fame game in August when their All Pro Kicker Sean Suisham tore up his knee trying to make a tackle. It ended when rookie kicker Chris Boswell made 29-of-32 field goals. He lead the league in field goals and in points scored 113. Boswell is 26, a rookie,and unflappable. Sean Suisham is a decade older, established kicker, and had more kickoffs for touch-backs than Boswell. The big element is cost. Suisham’s 2016 cap hit is 3.5m. Boswell 525 thousand. One factor to consider is if the Steelers cut Suisham the 3.5 m