(Photo Courtesy of Duquesne Light Company)

Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) According to Duquesne Light, as of 8:15 a.m., there are over 42,000 people experiencing a power outage in Beaver County. Outages occurred because of forceful winds last night. The map of the locations experiencing power outages is available by visiting this website: https://duquesnelight.com/outages-safety/current-outages

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: Winter Driving)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) As winter sets in in Pennsylvania, it’s crucial to be cautious of fall hazards, especially for seniors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in one recent year, more than six hundred and sixteen thousand older adults reported taking a fall in Pennsylvania. Dr. Gwen Bergen with the CDC says falls and motor vehicle crashes are the two leading causes of injury and death among seniors. She suggests getting an eye exam and doing strength-building exercises to improve balance and prevent injuries. Bergen also recommends consulting with a health-care provider about potential side effects of medications that can affect balance or driving ability. There may be alternatives or adjustments to minimize these risks.

File Photo: Source for Photo: Bethany Gill winds a clock in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court chamber, Dec. 13, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. It’s one of 273 clocks in Pennsylvania’s ornate state Capitol complex buildings that must be wound by hand. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. The seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately — and frequently capped by a dome.

Visitors to Pennsylvania ‘s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, polished marble and intricate carvings, but hidden behind the doors of some of its most ornate offices and chambers are another treasure: hundreds of antique clocks that were part of its original design.

The 273 working clocks include many that are integrated into fireplace mantels and other building features.

They are not low maintenance, requiring regular oiling and occasional mechanical overhauls.

And every week, in a throwback to a time before wristwatches and cellphones, clock winders roam the halls — ensuring the century-plus-old timekeepers keep ticking.

On a recent morning, Bethany Gill demonstrated how it’s done — going room to room with an array of ladders and custom tools. She opens the glass covers, rotates the mechanisms enough to keep them going for about a week and checks their accuracy before moving on to the next one.

Gill is a former art student who works for Johnson & Griffiths Studio, a Harrisburg firm that just received a five-year, $526,000 winding and maintenance contract renewal from the Capitol Preservation Committee.

She’s also a lifelong clock lover who looks forward to the semiannual transitions between daylight saving time and Eastern Standard Time.

Why?

“My dad was a clock collector growing up,” Gill said. “And every Sunday we would go around the house and wind the clocks. And that was always just a nice thing that I did with my dad.”

Pennsylvania’s Capitol was crafted by architect Joseph M. Huston, who won its design competition in 1901 with a vision for a temple of democracy — a palace of art that would be as fancy as what could then be found in Europe.

Among countless other fine touches, Huston designed at least 180 custom clock cases, including smaller so-called keystone clocks that are shaped to remind people of Pennsylvania’s early and critical role in the formation of the United States, leaving it with the nickname of the Keystone State.

“The clocks are just part of why the building’s so unique and so intricate,” said Capitol Preservation Committee historian Jason Wilson. “The mantels surrounding the clocks are all custom designed.”

Every so often the clocks, most of them built from mahogany or stained mahogany, are carefully removed from their spots around the Capitol and taken to a facility for cleaning, maintenance and repair. They seem to run better when kept wound.

Huston, the architect, achieved his goal. The Capitol is a showpiece that draws thousands of visitors every year to where 253 state lawmakers convene to debate and pass legislation.

While the buildings and the clocks are his lasting legacy, Huston was convicted of a conspiracy to defraud the state during the Capitol construction project and spent several months in another Pennsylvania landmark, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.

(File Photo of PennDOT logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) PennDOT announced that a skills test will continue to be included at their Driver’s License Centers. The tests for for commercial driver’s licenses, thanks to the administration of Governor Josh Shapiro. These tests have been used since August 28th, 2023 until now. The waiving of an extension brought by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also occurred. This was for those who wanted to achieve an endorsement for school busses. This helped to remove a test for these drivers to identify parts of a vehicle that were beneath the hood, which happened through November 27th, 2024.

(File Photo: Caption for photo: Young boy playing with educational toys)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) As holiday spending in Pennsylvania and across the nation is expected to reach a record high of nearly nine-hundred and eighty-nine billion, there’s no guarantee that everyone who bought toys for the kids in their lives thought about whether they were safe. Many children’s toys are manufactured in other countries, like China and India. Product liability attorney Don Fountain says in their haste to avoid possible Trump administration tariffs, a few safety steps may have been skipped before sending these products to the United States. He believes consumers’ assumptions about toy reliability are not always accurate. The Consumer Product Safety Commission website lists thousands of unsafe or problematic items. Fountain notes complaints listed on the site are due to public grievances, not government detection. Fountain recommends the commission’s website, Saferproducts.gov, to report or search for information about unsafe products.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A water tower at United States Steel Corp.’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa., is seen, Thursday, May 7, 2020. On Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, U.S. Steel said that it rejected a $7.3 billion buyout proposal from rival Cleveland Cliffs and was reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Nippon Steel now has just over two weeks to think about acquiring U.S. Steel after the President of the United States processes the addition of U.S. Steel for fifteen billion dollars. President Joe Biden now only has fifteen days to refer this matter to determine whether the purchase will be a true trade for the company. On Thursday, Nippon Steel commented in a statement that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States decided on Monday to analyze gaining U.S. Steel to their company. Nippon Steel will be closing around the opening quarter of 2025. The third or final fourth of this year was the original date that the company was set to be closed.

(File Photo of Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Castle, PA) Two men from New Castle are now in jail after trafficking cocaine that originated from Puerto Rico. Seventeen people in total from Lawrence County, Ohio, and Puerto Rico were part of this plan to give the cocaine to residents of Ellwood City and New Castle. However, the New Castle natives, thirty-seven-year-old Luciano Bratini Rivera and thirty-five-year-old Markus Hobel, were given time in prison. Ninety-seven months in jail with a four-year supervised release was given to Rivera. Hobel received seventy-two months in jail, which includes a five-year supervised release.

(File Photo of Cranberry Township Emergency Medical Service logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) On Thursday afternoon, a car went about one hundred feet down the side of a hill in Cranberry Township. Two people were in the car after traveling away from the road. According to the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, emergency crews performed a low-angle rescue for both patients and got them to awaiting ambulances. The condition of the two people involved in the incident is currently undetermined.

(File Photo of Pennsylvania Lottery logo and past drawing)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) An Aliquippa Sunoco gas station on Pleasant Drive sold a winning lottery ticket worth a million dollars after the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing. On Christmas Eve, the winning ticket featured five numbers that all matched. However, the more than a billion-dollar jackpot was not won as the number three featured on the Yellow Mega Ball was not picked. $5,000 was given to the Aliquippa Sunoco for the lucky ticket sold. The winner has a year to claim their prize after the winning numbers were selected in this order: 11,14,38,45,46.