(File Photo of a Christmas Tree on a Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Landsdale, PA) The administration of Governor Josh Shapiro held an event called “Trees for Troops,” which helped military families in need to receive Christmas trees as those helped to put trees in trucks, delivered from Bustard’s Christmas Trees in Landsdale on Thursday. One of the speakers during the event was Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, who talked about how trees are symbols of hope for those that protect our country during this Christmas season. Redding also talked about how talking trees represent a caring and appreciative message for the military. According to Redding, two percent of the nation is serving in the military as well as another two percent who is responsible for feeding those in the country, which is the underserved population that are receiving these trees through this program.

(File Photo of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Badge)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Hopewell Township, PA) According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver, a crash occurred in Hopewell Township on I-376 West on Thursday. Police confirmed that the driver, 32-year-old Trisha N. Sperry of Greensburg, had no injuries after her vehicle ran over an ice patch, went on the left side of the road, then hit both the front and back bumpers after hitting a cable barrier twice. The report also states that Sperry was charged for “driving on roadways that were laned  for traffic.” 

(File Photo of radio mic)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) If you are looking to watch a show that will bring joy this holiday season, the Beaver County Office on Aging will present “A Christmas Carol,” a radio show that will be live on Tuesday December 10th at 9:30 a.m. at the Center at the Mall, Unit 284, at the Beaver Valley Mall in Monaca, as well as on Tuesday, December 17th at 9:30 a.m. at Circle of Friends in New Brighton. The office will also provide coffee, a themed punch for the holidays, and desserts as you enjoy the performance.

(File Photo of a Drawing of Beaver Falls)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver Falls, PA) According to a Facebook post from D and G Pizza, Beaver Falls, on Sunday, their owner Ken Lovato has made a decision that the local pizza place will close for good on Saturday, December 21st. Lovato notes that the D and G Pizza that originally opened was in operation for sixty years, and since the passing of his father Gene this year, he could not thank the Beaver Falls community and the customers enough for the support to both serve them and to work in the business that his family ran and made a staple in Beaver Falls.

(File Photo of Police Lights)

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano, Published on December 9th, 2024 at 7:41 A.M.)

(Aliquippa, PA) An Aliquippa woman was arrested for robbery and other related charges. Police were dispatched to 159 6th Avenue on Plan 11 at 8:20 a.m. Saturday morning for an unknown problem. Champagne Patrick of Aliquippa robbed $60, keys, and the wallet of a man working at a residence in the area thanks to video evidence that was discovered from a witness.

Patrick was detained after her home was investigated on Wykes Street and she is now in the Beaver County Jail after receiving charges of robbery, second degree misdemeanor for theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and a summary offense of harassment. 

(File Photo of Central Valley School District Logo)

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano, Published on December 9th, 2024 at 7:38 A.M.)

(Center Township, PA) The Central Valley School Board held their regular meeting last week for reorganization purposes. The board president is now Dennis Bloom, who takes over for David Ambrose after two years. The vice president is Donna Belcastro and Joe O’Neill is the treasurer. On January 18 of next year, superintendent Dr. Nick Perry will retire, while high school principal Shawn McCreary will be the acting superintendent. Perry will work as a consultant until he is replaced by someone else. Hannah Lanctot was hired to be a volunteer swim coach, after the resignations of both the head and assistant swim coaches were also announced. Today, the vacancy of the superintendent will be posted by the board. January 8th of next year at 7 p.m. will be the following work session for the board and their next regular meeting will occur at 7 p.m. of January 16th of next year.

File Photo: Source for Photo: Kenny Pollard, 75, holds a photo in his home from a vacation that he and his wife, Elizabeth, took to Clearwater Beach, Fla., approximately 10 years ago. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

(Unity Township, PA- AP) The remains of a woman who fell into a sinkhole were recovered Friday, four days after she went missing while searching for her cat, a state police spokesperson said.

Trooper Steve Limani said the body of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was sent to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy after rescuers used machinery to bring her to the surface.

Limani told reporters Pollard was found at about 11 a.m. approximately 30 feet (9 meters) underground, some 12 feet (4 meters) from the opening of the sinkhole. Limani said Pollard apparently fell onto a cone-shaped pile of debris created by the crumbling mine, then rolled or otherwise moved toward the southwest to where her body was recovered.

The autopsy may help determine whether Pollard was killed by the fall, Limani said.

The announcement came in the fourth day of the search for Pollard, who had last been seen Monday evening, looking for the cat near a restaurant half a mile (0.8 kilometers) from her home in the village of Marguerite.

Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, said a state trooper told him and other family members that her body had been found.

“I was hoping for the best, I really was,” Hayes said in a phone interview. “I was hoping she was still alive, maybe in a coma or something. I wasn’t expecting all of this.”

Mike O’Barto, who chairs the Unity Township Board of Supervisors, said the tragedy was deeply felt among his friends and neighbors.

“Unity Township is a tight-knit community. We are made of several coal mining towns. And of course, Marguerite’s one of them,” O’Barto said. “And when people suffer, we all suffer. The people of Unity Township are sad today.”

Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.

The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-sized gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago. Hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance told police they hadn’t noticed the sinkhole.

Police said they found Pollard’s car parked about 20 feet (6 meters) from the sinkhole with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside. The cat, Pepper, has not reappeared, Hayes said.

The effort to find Pollard — which a fire official said lasted about 80 hours — included lowering a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, although it detected nothing. Crews removed a massive amount of soil and rock to try to reach the area where they believed she fell into the chasm about 30 feet (9 meters) deep.

Pollard grew up in Jeanette, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from Unity Township, where she lived for much of her adult life. She previously worked at Walmart and was married for more than 40 years.

File Photo

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Two separate fires, one in Beaver Falls and one in Chippewa, were both handled on Thursday by some Beaver County fire departments. The Beaver Falls Fire Department went to the 600 block of 16th Street in Beaver Falls when they were called for a building fire at 2:30 a.m. and were assisted by departments from New Brighton, Rochester, Big Beaver Borough, and New Sewickley. They worked for three hours to extinguish both a porch and two floors of a large duplex building. Then at 9 a.m., the same day, the Beaver Falls fire Department got calls about another fire throughout an occupied building on the 700 block of Achortown Road in Chippewa. The Chippewa Township Volunteer Fire Department assisted them until everyone put out the fire shortly following noon the same day. All occupants evacuated safely and no firefighters were injured while operating at either scene.

(File photo of Federal Court Building in Pittsburgh)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a drug trafficking charge, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
James Louis Peronis, 60, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab on December 4, 2024, to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, beginning in May 2021, local, state, and federal law enforcement conducted a joint investigation into Peronis related to cocaine trafficking. During the investigation, law enforcement determined that Peronis would obtain kilogram quantities of cocaine in Ohio and distribute those drugs in Pennsylvania. On July 1, 2021, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Peronis as he entered the Western District of Pennsylvania from Ohio, with a consensual search of Peronis’s vehicle resulting in the seizure of nearly two kilograms of cocaine.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for April 15, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Law enforcement operating under the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program in
Beaver County conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Peronis.