Service workers union local 668, representing about 180 workers at the social service center in Beaver Falls, set up about 20 informational pickets this afternoon to call attention to their contract impasse with the county. Beaver County Radio’s Greg Benedetti was there. He says local 668 does not represent the service workers at the Beaver County Courthouse who are currently negotiating a new contract.

A McKees Rocks woman was killed when a train struck her in Leetsdale last night. 54-year-old Carolyn Mayhugh was struck at First and Perry Streets at 9:12 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:23 p.m., according to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. No word on why the woman was walking along the tracks that late at night or why she didn’t see or hear the train in time.

We continue our special series on the long-range impact of the budget impasse in Harrisburg on school districts here in Beaver County. Dr. Joe Guardino is the superintendent of schools in the New Brighton Area School District. He tells Beaver County Radio newsman Pat Septak that 70% of the district’s funding comes from Harrisburg. He says  they’ve had to put a ban on all purchasing in the district except for that which is deemed “critical” and says he can’t rule out shutting down the schools if a budget isn’t passed soon.

A woman was rushed to the hospital after a car fire in Franklin Township overnight. Officials say the car fire happened around 1:30 this morning along South Hazen Avenue. Witnesses say that an off-duty officer was able to pull a 19-year-old woman inside the car to safety. She was rushed to the hospital and there is no word on her condition. A dog inside the car died in the fire. Firefighters quickly put out the flames, but not before they spread a little to the auto shop next to the car. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Three Beaver Falls men are being recognized for outstanding safety on the roads. Paul Yarosz, Mark Tukalo and Carl Zahn have been inducted into the prestigious National  Safety Council’s “Million Mile Club” for achieving 30 or more years of accident-free driving on the job. Beaver Falls postmaster Margo Perry tells Beaver County Radio newsman Pat Septak that the three men received a special plaque in a ceremony among their co-workers this morning at the Beaver Falls office.

As the state budget impasse continues to drag on, with no end in sight, many Beaver County school districts are just hanging on by a thread, without any of the much-needed funding they’ve come to rely on from Harrisburg. Today Beaver County Radio News began a four-part series on what long-term impact this lack of a budget will have on local districts. Gary Ceccarelli -Business Manager for the Big Beaver Falls Area School District – tells us that they’re very close to bankruptcy. He says they’re probably be okay through June, but eventually they’ll need to take out a loan, raise property taxes and possibly even close their doors.

Police say one man beat another with a skillet when they argued about doing the dishes at a charity-run transitional housing facility in Butler County. The Butler Eagle reports 26-year-old Joseph Parker faces a hearing March 28 on a charge of simple assault. The charges stem from an incident Feb. 18 at a home run by The Lighthouse Foundation. Police say 23-year-old Randy Fenstermaker Jr. told them that Parker didn’t like how Fenstermaker was washing the dishes so Parker grabbed a skillet and hit him in the head until it broke.