Seven schools from the Pittsburgh area, one of them in Beaver County, awarded National Blue Ribbon School honor

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, published on September 24, 2024 at 11:16 A.M.)

(Pittsburgh, PA) The United States Department of Education has recognized seven schools in the Pittsburgh area as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Thirteen schools in Pennsylvania were given this honor, and the schools in the Pittsburgh area are Butler Area’s Connoquenessing Elementary School, Fox Chapel Area’s Dorseyville Middle School, Ambridge Area’s Economy Elementary School, Mercer Area High School, Quaker Valley Middle School, River Valley’s Saltsburg Elementary School and Lakeview’s Oakview Elementary School. There will be an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. in November to formally recognize these schools and their achievements. 

Beaver County family looking for missing cow that escaped from trailer

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 24, 2024 at 11:10 A.M.)

(Hookstown, PA) A cow named Speck who belongs to a Beaver County family is missing after escaping a trailer. Ashley Thompson from Thompson’s Family Farms has noted that her son takes good care of Speck by daily washing, bathing, and walking the cow. Thompson also expressed that the family would need to get more money to buy another cow because the money that her son spent to show Speck at the Hookstown Fair next year will go to waste if Speck is not found. If you have a trail camera or have seen Speck around Hopewell, Clinton, or Hanover, please send a message to the Thompson Family Farms Facebook page, where pictures of Speck are posted.

Beaver County Chamber’s Monday Memo: 09/24/24

Sign up today for our final Beaver County Chamber Afterhours, featuring a favorite Beaver County Brewery!

October 10th from 5 PM – 7 PM at Fermata Brewing Company

  • Enjoy an evening at one of Ambridge’s “hoppin'” breweries, Fermata Brewing Company, as refreshments (via drink tickets) will be provided as you network and make new business contacts in an enjoyable environment.

Member Pricing: $25

Non-Member Pricing: $35

Sponsorship Opportunities

*If you are interested in any sponsorships, please contact Molly Suehr at msuehr@bcchamber.com or call 724.906.4286.

REGISTER HERE for October 10th Fermata Afterhours 

Mark your calendars for our 2024 Business of the Year Awards & Annual Meeting, where you will enjoy food stations, cocktails, networking, and music, on November 6th at 5 PM at The Club At Shadow Lakes.

View Full Event Calendar
On Wednesday, September 18th we kicked off Cohort VII of Leadership Beaver County! We are excited to take the next step with these 19 individuals in the 2024-2025 Cohort.

Thank you for being a wonderful host, Pittsburgh International Race Complex!

On Wednesday, September 18th we kicked off Cohort VII of Leadership Beaver County! We are excited to take the next step with these 19 individuals in the 2024-2025 Cohort.

Thank you for being a wonderful host, Pittsburgh International Race Complex!

Follow the Leadership Beaver County Facebook page this cohort for deeper insight on what this program is like.

View all event photos
Submit your member news to msuehr@bcchamber.com

October 10, 2024 Event

Benefiting Beaver County

Humane Society

A PAWFECTLY Purrfectly Event featuring the “Eldorado Band.” Special Guest: John Parrendo – Fiddlelist.

REGISTER HERE.

JOIN A COMMITTEE TODAY:

Events Committee: This committee is responsible for working directly with Chamber staff to determine and plan programming and events for the year as well as reviewing the effectiveness of current events and programming. Committee members should help to further the Chamber’s strategies

by providing business community insights and ideas to staff to collaborate on strategies and events. In addition to this committee, subcommittees are established for each signature event – such as the

Annual Gala and Golf Outing to assist the staff directly in executing these larger events and include more members in the process.

Ambassador Committee: The goal of the Ambassador Committee is to create a welcoming experience for our new Chamber members and continue building relationships with our current members. If you enjoy meeting new people at events like ribbon cuttings, afterhours, and events throughout the year, please join us!

 

Interested in connecting and learning more? Contact Molly Suehr.

Now Hiring! Want to see a list of job postings from members? Don’t forget to add your own posting to the job postings portal on our website.
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Beaver County Chamber of Commerce
724.775.3944
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Beaver, PA 15009
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AAA: Gas Prices Continue to Fall in PA

Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.502 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                         $3.502
Average price during the week of Sept. 16, 2024                                              $3.521
Average price during the week of Sept. 25, 2023                                              $3.941

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.422      Altoona
$3.579      Beaver
$3.780      Bradford
$3.394      Brookville
$3.545      Butler
$3.408      Clarion
$3.338      DuBois
$3.454      Erie
$3.522      Greensburg
$3.464      Indiana
$3.555      Jeannette
$3.639      Kittanning
$3.481      Latrobe
$3.484      Meadville
$3.711      Mercer
$3.401      New Castle
$3.404      New Kensington
$3.499      Oil City
$3.499      Pittsburgh

$3.323      Sharon
$3.580      Uniontown
$3.758      Warren
$3.310      Washington

Trend Analysis:
The national average for a gallon of gas has remained stable over the past week at $3.20. Gas prices have been relatively steady lately due to lower demand and lower oil prices. There are now 14 states with averages below $3 a gallon. Today’s national average is 17 cents less than a month ago and 65 cents less than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased slightly last week from 8.47 million barrels per day to 8.77. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks remained flat at 221.6 million barrels, while gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate fell by 28 cents to settle at $70.91 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels from the previous week. At 417.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Monaca holding Fall Fest this Saturday

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published September 23, 2024 12:42 P.M.

(Monaca, Pa) From 2-6pm Saturday, George Washington Plaza in Monaca will be the  place to be. The event will feature food trucks, raffles, craft vendors and a Chinese Auction to benefit MS. From 2:30-5:30pm there will be Balloon Art and Face Painting. The Monaca Recreation Board is hosting a bake sale and  Pierogi Eating Contest in addition to a Chili Cook-off at 4 pm. The winner will be announced at 5 pm. Dave Kramer, Borough Manager, provided the information for this annual event.

Three suspects arrested in an undercover drug operation by Center Township Police

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published September 23, 2024 12:39 P.M.

(Center Township, Pa) On Wednesday, September 18, 2024 police found 65.92 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of marijuana, and 1.97 grams of crack cocaine as part of an undercover sting operation in Center Township. $3,000,00 in U.S. currency was also confiscated during the bust. Three people were arrested during the sting. No further information has been made available.

Hopewell Area School District announces meetings scheduled on school consolidation options

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published September 23, 2024 12:36 P.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) Dr. Jeff Beltz, Hopewell Superintendent, sent a letter to  families and the community as the district prepares to vote on a district-wide school facility option at the Tuesday, October 22, 2024 meeting at 7 pm. Dan Engan and Jackie Cowan from DRAW Collective will review the school consolidation and facility options as well as recommendations once again. The options were previously presented at the June 11, 2024 meeting.

The meeting will be held in the high school auditorium.

Aliquippa Police respond to shots fired from vehicle

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published September 23, 2024 12:34 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) At 6:55pm Sunday, Aliquippa officers responded to the 700 block of Wade Street. Two of the three callers reported to police that a tan or gold GMC Acadia  was seen leaving the area. No properties or persons were struck by the gunfire, according to the report.

The vehicle was located travelling down Maratta Road and was stopped at Upland and Elgin Streets.
In the vehicle were 2 Hispanic males reportedly visiting the area from Honduras. The vehicle was towed, pending a search warrant.  Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call Aliquippa Police at 724-775-0880. The incident is still under investigation.

Beaver County Humane Society hosting new adoption event

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 23, 2024 at 11:35 A.M.)

(Center Township, PA) The Beaver County Humane Society made an announcement that from Tuesday through Saturday that they will be hosting an adoption event called “Fall in Love.” Pre-approved adopters will be given free adoptions thanks to a friend of the humane society, and those can also complete a pre-adoption application and confirmation. Parents must bring a valid identification and any children or dogs in the home for a meet-and-greet. The Beaver County Humane Society will also offer activities including children’s arts and crafts, tables for pet product vendors, and behind-the-scenes looks at managing the shelter throughout the week. 

Three Mile Island restarting operations and powering Microsoft

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published September 23, 2024 10:49 A.M.

(Londonderry Township, Pa) Constellation Energy announced Friday that they have plans to restart the idled Three Mile Island Reactor 1 by 2028, as long as the Nuclear Power Commission gives approval.

The TMI restart could create 3,400 direct and indirect jobs, bring in more than $3 billion in taxes annually, and add 800 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the power grid, according to a report produced by The Brattle Group.

A 20 year agreement was made between Microsoft and Constellation Energy for Reactor 1 to serve as power for Microsoft data centers supporting Artificial Intelligence. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Bobby Hollis, Vice President of Energy for Microsoft said “This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative. Microsoft continues to collaborate with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the grids’ capacity and reliability needs.”

Constellation plans to rename the reopened plant to “Crane Clean Energy Center”, paying respect to their former CEO Chris Crane. Constellation says they are also pursuing a license renewal from the Nuclear Power Commission to extend operation until at least 2054. President and CEO of Constellation, Joe Dominguez, says the plant is in good shape and will be a reliable power source.

“Before it was prematurely shuttered due to poor economics, this plant was among the safest and most reliable nuclear plants on the grid, and we look forward to bringing it back with a new name and a renewed mission to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania.”

Constellation has also committed an additional $1 million to the Middletown region over the next five years for community needs and workforce development.

Pennsylvania 16th District State Representative Rob Matzie says he is in favor of the restart as it would boost clean power generation while generating billions in revenue and thousands of jobs.

“Pennsylvania is a net exporter of power generation, but our power grid is facing demands like never before in our history. Restarting Reactor 1 at Three Mile Island gives us more capacity and more flexibility to face demands – it’s not just clean power generation, it’s billions in tax revenue and thousands of good-paying jobs to boot, with even more jobs created in supporting industries.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has also weighed in on the announcement stating “Under the careful watch of state and federal authorities, the Crane Clean Energy Center will safely utilize existing infrastructure to sustain and expand nuclear power in the Commonwealth while creating thousands of energy jobs and strengthening Pennsylvania’s legacy as a national energy leader.”

TMI Reactor 1 was shut down in 2019 with plans to decommission it when former owner Exelon Generation experienced financial struggles operating the facility. The reactor was transferred to Constellation Energy in 2021. Reactor 2 ceased operations in 1979 when it was the site of a partial meltdown ranked as the worst United States nuclear power accident in history. It is now owned by EnergySolutions, who plans to continue to fully decommission and demolish the separate plant in coming years.

Nuclear power is nothing new to Beaver County residents, as the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant began operations in 1957 at the now decommissioned Shippingport Atomic Power Station, next to the current Beaver Valley Power Station.