Christopher Lynch, music historian with the Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh, holds a piece of sheet music written by Charles Henry Pace, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

ROARING SPRING, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania school district’s decision to remove a song from a recent student choral concert has divided the community and spurred a review by a civil rights group.

“ Lift Every Voice And Sing,” a late-19th century hymn sometimes referred to as the Black national anthem, was among several songs that were to be performed during the May 7 show by the Spring Cove Middle School chorus. The Altoona Mirror reported that district officials cut the song the day before the concert, saying students had voiced concerns about the song and the “divisiveness and controversy in the nation.”

The district also received several calls from people regarding the song and its inclusion in the concert, officials said. This raised concerns about potential disruptions at the show.

School Board President Troy Wright called the decision a “lose-lose situation” and said parents were threatening to pull their children from the concert over the song.

“We can’t make everyone happy,” Wright told the newspaper. “We have to do the balancing act between who supports it and who doesn’t support it, and our job is trying to find the balance between it.”

The decision to cut the song was made by District Superintendent Betsy Baker and Middle School Principal Amy Miller. Baker said “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was one of many songs selected for the chorus by the music teachers who “picked songs that they felt were appropriate.” Because the chorus practiced other songs, one of those was picked to fill the slot.

“We wanted everyone to feel comfortable,” Baker told the newspaper, saying the decision to cut the song was “clearly a divisive issue here” and stressing that race had nothing to do with the decision.

“There was no right decision, but we focused on letting all of the kids participate in the concert,” Baker said.

Stephen Hershberger, whose son was among the students performing in the chorus concert, was among residents who criticized the decision.

“Cutting the song just sends the message that a few individuals’ discomfort outweighs the perspective and care and concern of minority students and others who don’t have the same beliefs as them,” Hershberger told the newspaper.

The Blair County NAACP has said it executive board will proceed with a formal investigation into the district’s decision, the newspaper reported.

Pittsburgh, PA – As a result of one of the largest environmental mitigation funds in Pennsylvania history, the Shapiro Administration, through an advisory board at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) made up of environmental and community advocates, has recommended funding for 21 projects to benefit the environment, heath, and quality of life of the Beaver County community. Projects include upgrades to a community park in Monaca, renovating an emergency women’s shelter to support victims of domestic violence, a solar array on the News Tribune building in Beaver Falls that will help power a local museum, and projects to protect water quality in the Beaver area.

The Beaver County Environmental Mitigation Community Fund was created as part of a May 2023 consent order and agreement (COA) signed between DEP and Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC. Under the agreement with Shell, the Shapiro Administration secured nearly $10 million for DEP and the local community – including $5 million for projects to benefit Pennsylvanians living in Beaver County. Shell formally acknowledged that the company exceeded total emission limitations for air contaminants and agreed to make repairs to reduce future exceedances. The projects, totaling $4,755,353.60, will exhaust the Environmental Mitigation Community Fund, one of the largest such funds in Pennsylvania history.

“Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to clean air and pure water – that’s why my Administration secured this record-breaking agreement with Shell to hold them accountable for violating the laws and regulations that protect our environment,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “These projects – selected by the people of Beaver – will help make Beaver County an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. My Administration is committed to holding any company – big or small – accountable when they violate our laws, and we’ll continue to make sure Pennsylvanians have the safe and healthy environment they deserve.”

“It is inspiring to see how this community came together to develop the projects we are announcing today,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “In 2023, DEP committed to providing the resources so that these communities could invest in themselves, and we are delivering on that promise. DEP worked over many months to hold community meetings and make sure Pennsylvanians’ voices were heard throughout this process.”

Since the fund was announced, DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice helped convene a 17-member steering committee to outline the process and protocol for allocating the funding and a nine-member advisory board to select the projects for funding. The Pittsburgh Foundation was named as the trustee to manage and disburse the funds, and DEP expects that project applicants will begin to receive funding to launch and execute projects in approximately four weeks.

“These projects will support and revitalize communities throughout the Beaver Valley and help them continue to thrive,” said DEP Special Deputy Secretary for the Office of Environmental Justice, Fernando Treviño. “We’re grateful to the Beaver County community, leaders, and charitable organizations serving county residents for coming to the table and working together to engage, learn, and help realize our goal of a community-driven process. In a sense, the real work begins now as organizations receive funding and launch projects and Beaver County residents begin to see positive benefits in their communities.”

“I am excited and looking forward to seeing the positive impact on our county that this funding will have,” said Penn State Beaver’s Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Carey McDougall, member of the steering committee. “With a focus on mitigating the environmental impacts from the Shell Cracker Plant, the selected projects will clearly improve our environment and benefit the health and quality of life of our citizens. The numerous applications are evidence that Beaver County is well positioned to advance our future but in need of fiscal support like this to make positive and lasting change. These funds will be a beginning to that work.”

“The proposals submitted underscored the necessity of both our local organizations and the county at large,” said the Franklin Center’s Executive Director Cheryl King, PhD, and member of the steering committee. “The nonprofits recognized a distinctive chance to enhance Beaver County and took advantage of it. Also, congratulations to the organizations whose projects were granted awards. To those whose projects were not selected, please explore alternative funding avenues, as your projects merit implementation.”

The Environmental Mitigation Community Fund advisory board will hold a community meeting to answer questions and close out the process on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Penn State Beaver’s Student Union Lodge at 100 University Drive, Monaca, PA 15061. Applicants may also join virtual office hours for more private discussions on applications and additional funding opportunities in the county. Additional information and details will be posted on DEP’s community information webpage for the fund. 

The Beaver County Environmental Mitigation Community Fund projects recommended for funding are:

B F Jones Memorial Library

Awarded $184,000 for a full-time social worker to rotate through the 10 public library sites on a bi-weekly basis to provide Beaver County residents support for life issues like social and mental health concerns and assist library staff with community outreach.

Bags & Blessings

Awarded $20,000 for a healthy lifestyle project to educate the community and provide healthy skills to handle physical and mental strains of a cancer diagnosis. Classes will include acupuncture, strengthening your body, healthy healing, balance, nutrition, yoga/healthy minds, church-related counseling.

Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC)

Awarded $631,534.22 to assess the quality of air in Beaver County on a continual basis and share data with residents in real-time; provide mobile air monitoring; inform county residents of the presence of real-time air monitors and data so they can make informed decisions; gather data through surveys; and determine if air pollution in the county has biometric outcomes for residents.

Beaver Falls Community Development Corporation in partnership with Geneva College and the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority (BFMA)

Awarded $288,010.54 to install water-quality monitoring stations in Beaver River to continuously assess key water metrics and improve response time to water quality issues by improving BFMA’s access to laboratory testing.

Borough of Ambridge

Awarded $135,375 to complete a 102-kilowatt solar system on the Ambridge Municipal Complex Building to address escalating electricity costs, a considerable long-term concern for the municipality and a measurable tax burden on the community.

Awarded $43,220 for site visits, feasibility assessments, and to install publicly accessible, affordable electric vehicle (EV) charging at one site in Ambridge to improve the environment, health, and quality of life for borough residents. This project will also include awareness, education, and engagement activities for Ambridge residents, businesses, and nonprofits to learn about EV charging and gain input on how they think EV charging can benefit their community.

Borough of Monaca

Awarded $276,040 to promote health and wellness in the borough with upgrades to John A. Antoline Community Park, which currently has a softball field, basketball court, children’s playground, horseshoe pits, parking and four pavilions. Upgrades will help borough provide families with areas of recreation, healthy lifestyle options, and a scenic view.

Brighton First

Awarded $72,000 to construct a new pavilion at the New Brighton Kids Community Garden for more frequent and meaningful community engagement and to further the organization’s mission to provide a sustainable and safe healthy garden environment for children in the community to learn and explore gardening for food and fun.

The Center in Midland

Awarded $68,000 to provide 600 families served by the organization with safe, clean drinking water at The Center in Midland, their homes, and schools.

Communicycle Beaver County Inc.

Awarded $105,055 to increase bicycle collection sites in Beaver County from three to 11, complete the buildout of a new, permanent workshop, provide bike locks, work with partners to install bike racks in four communities, and purchase 3 additional scrap metal trailers to accommodate the growth of the program.

Crop and Kettle

Awarded $295,000 to address food access and equity issues in Beaver County and provide enhanced opportunities for community engagement and development. The project will create new jobs, support workforce training, further agricultural education, facilitate bridges across all facets of the food system, connect residents to locally grown foods, and strengthen the local food economy.

Interdependence Conservancy Inc.

Awarded $277,100 to conduct a two-year study of the overall health of Raccoon Creek in Beaver County and to identify potential projects to improve its water quality and biodiversity.

Neighborhood North Museum of Play

Awarded $145,240 to create two exhibits to support the museum’s sustainable development goals: 1) a solar array installed on the roof of the News Tribune Building that will power an exhibit within the museum and educate children and families on alternative energy and 2) an exhibit that will open in the museum’s preview space and later expanded to demonstrate how shredded plastic bottles can be recycled to create filament for a large-scale 3D printer to eliminate waste and create 3D printed art or for use in schools.

New Brighton Area School District

Awarded $578,000 to complete a solar feasibility study and develop a large-scale solar installation to address escalating electricity costs, a considerable long-term concern for the school district.

Portobello Cultural Life & Arts Center Inc.

Awarded $50,000 to organize a three-day educational film festival focused on environmental issues and solutions in the heart of Beaver Falls. The festival will feature a curated selection of films, discussions, workshops, and exhibits aimed at educating and inspiring environmental action.

Reforest Our Future

Awarded $292,071 to install the Reforest Our Future Native Tree Nursery and Environmental Education Center at Brady’s Run Park with the support of the Beaver County Commissioners. The facility will produce native trees to be installed in Beaver County parks and throughout the county where they are needed most and will serve as a hub for regular educational programming tailored to the full range of age groups. This multipurpose facility has the potential to form the backbone of an environmental movement in our county, catalyzing reforestation and all the benefits that increased tree canopy has to offer.

The Watersmith Guild in partnership with Outdoor Immersion

Awarded $34,290 to provide underserved youth in Beaver County with meaningful outdoor experiences and empower actions that improve health, wellbeing, and the environment. The First Waves Beaver project will consist of three events per year focused on education and conservation serving 15-30 Beaver County 13 to 20-year-olds selected through a partnership with Outdoor Immersion, a Beaver County nonprofit with extensive experience engaging youth in the outdoors. Each workshop will include instruction from leaders and award-winning curriculum, providing hands-on science and conservation projects at no cost to the participants and will take place on local waterways. Participants will also learn to document their experiences to create their own documentary films.

Three Rivers Waterkeeper in partnership with (BCMAC)

Awarded $135,417.84 to increase waterway monitoring, expand watershed education, conduct monthly on-the-water baseline and location-focused water quality sampling, train community members to identify pollution sources, and enact a crucial expansion of Three Rivers Waterkeeper’s conservation program by establishing an early detection program.

Trails Ministries, Inc.

Awarded $500,000 to safely deconstruct dangerous buildings, salvage as much usable material and capture as much carbon as possible, and create a competent, trained workforce of people re-entering society after being incarcerated.

United Way of Beaver County

Awarded $125,000 to support the ALICE Fund, which provides mini grants to Beaver County charities providing the essentials to asset-limited, income-constrained, employed (ALICE) households that earn more than the federal poverty level but less than the basic cost of living.

Women’s Center of Beaver County

Awarded $500,000 to renovate its emergency shelter to enhance accessibility for all victims and survivors of domestic violence and homeless women and children. Safe shelter is critical in assisting victims and other homeless individuals to address barriers that prevent them from obtaining or sustaining income and housing and maintaining positive mental and physical health. The Women’s Center of Beaver County provides the only 24-hour emergency shelter facility for women and children in Beaver County.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 17, 2024 3:28 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Cynthia Douglas’s retirement will occur at the end of the school year. She teaches at the high school. Dana Wiegel was hired to teach business education at the high school, beginning on August 19, 2024.
The preliminary 2024-2025 district budget was introduced in the amount of $31,773,494,00. The district is awaiting reassessment figures from the county and current millage is 7.73 on buildings, and on land it is 42.14.
The board will meet for its June work session on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 6 p.m. in the Black Box Theater at the junior senior high school.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 17, 2024 10:18 A.M., Updated 11:07 A.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) A Hopewell bus driver has been suspended following an incident. In a statement sent out by Hopewell Superintendent Dr. Jeff Beltz, during a bus trip transporting students to Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and Midland Innovation and Technology Charter School Thursday morning, a Lincoln park student witnessed “what was believed to be a revolver fall from the driver’s possession to the floor while the bus was moving”.

The release states “It was immediately picked up by the seated driver and placed out of sight as the bus continued its route”.  Upon arrival to the school, the student reported the incident to school officials and an investigation began. Hopewell Police say the driver admitted he had the weapon on the bus and that it fell out while transporting students.

The driver faces legal action and has been suspended indefinitely. Hopewell Police report the incident is still under investigation.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published May 17, 2024 10:12 A.M.

(New Brighton, Pa) New Brighton will see a new band director and football coach for the 2024-25 season. Jamie Beilstein will be leaving the district effective May 31st after serving as the High School Band Director for over 10 years. She will serve as the Band Director at Slippery Rock School District. Replacing Beilstein will be Hannah Claerbaut.

John Macuga will take over as Varsity Head Football Coach for the Lions, a postion held by Tony Caltury for the past two seasons. Former Coach Joe Greco has also announced he will be retiring from his position as the athletic director.

The Board has also voted to end the competiive spirit program in the district.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published May 17, 2024 10:05 A.M.

(New Sewickley Township, Pa) After Young’s Custard Stand closed their serving windows last year after 75 years, the future of the business wasn’t clear. It was announced yesterday that Young’s will be reopening Friday, May 17th, at 2pm. The business is under new operators that say customers can expect the same great flavors with new faces serving the community.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 16, 2024 2:44 P.M.

(Industry, Pa) The Norma Kerr PA Association of School Retirees Beaver County Chapter’s 33rd annual Countywide Sixth Grade Spelling Bee was held at Western Beaver High School on Wednesday. Sixteen schools participated, Riverside was the only school that didn’t compete this year.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 16, 2024 2:41 P.M.

(Ambridge, Pa) The Beaver County Prevention Network and Class Academy  sponsored the annual Mr. Beaver County awardees. Senior Pietro Pucci received a $1,000.00 scholarship, and junior Chase Fetterman received a $500.00 scholarship at Wednesday night’s school board meeting. The awards were from Clearview Federal Credit Union and Behavioral Health. BCCTC students Jason DeSantis and Kaitlyn Turco received NTHS recognition both are business Information Systems students at the school.

Whistleblower Robert Kroutil poses for a photo Monday, May 13, 2024, in Olathe, Kan. Kroutil, who worked supporting an EPA program to collect aerial data, is questioning the agency’s efforts to collect data with a specialized airplane after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The U.S. government has a specialized plane loaded with advanced sensors that officials brag is always ready to deploy within an hour of any kind of chemical disaster. But the plane didn’t fly over eastern Ohio until four days after the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment there last year.

A whistleblower told The Associated Press that the Environmental Protection Agency’s ASPECT plane could have provided crucial data about the chemicals spewing into the air around East Palestine as the wreckage burned and forced people from their homes.

The man who wrote the software and helped interpret the data from the advanced radiological and infrared sensors on the plane said it also could have helped officials realize it wasn’t necessary to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside because the plane’s sensors could have detected the cars’ temperatures more accurately than the responders on the ground who were having trouble safely getting close enough to check.

But the single-engine Cessna cargo plane didn’t fly over the train crash until a day after the controversial vent-and-burn action created a huge plume of black smoke over the entire area near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

Robert Kroutil said even when the plane did fly, it only gathered incomplete data. Then, when officials later realized some of the shortcomings of the mission, they asked the company Kroutil worked for, Kalman & Company, to draft plans for the flight and backdate them so they would look good if they turned up in a public records request, Kroutil said.

Kroutil said his team labeled the mission inconclusive because only eight minutes of data was recorded in the two flights and the plane’s chemical sensors were turned off over the creeks. But he said EPA managers changed their report to declare the vent-and-burn successful because the plane found so few chemicals when it eventually did fly.

“We could tell the data provided from the ASPECT plane’s two East Palestine flights on February 7 was incomplete and irregular. We had no confidence in the data. We could not trust it,” Kroutil said.

The revelations about the use of the ASPECT plane in the aftermath of the worst rail disaster in a decade raise new questions about the effectiveness of the “whole-of-government response” in East Palestine the Biden administration touts.

The Government Accountability Project that represents Kroutil and has been critical of EPA’s response in East Palestine sent a sworn affidavit detailing his concerns to the EPA inspector general Tuesday and requested a formal investigation. The group provided a copy of the affidavit and Kroutil agreed to an interview with the AP ahead of time.

Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has tried unsuccessfully to pass rail safety reforms ever since the derailment, said the agency should take these concerns seriously.

“These are disturbing allegations and EPA must thoroughly investigate this incident,” Brown said. “EPA needs to immediately release more details surrounding this incident – they at least owe that to the people in East Palestine.”

In a statement Tuesday, the EPA said it didn’t even request the plane until Feb. 5 — two days after the derailment — and it arrived in Pittsburgh late that day from its base in Texas. Due to icing conditions, the flight crew decided it wasn’t safe to fly it on the day of the vent-and-burn, but it’s unclear why the plane didn’t make a pass over the derailment on its way into the area. EPA Response Coordinator Mark Durno has also said he believes the agency had enough sensors on the ground to effectively monitor the air and water as the derailed cars burned.

The agency said its “air monitoring readings were below detection levels for most contaminants, except for particulate matter” in the first two days after the derailment and “air monitoring did not detect chemical contaminants at levels of concern in the hours following the controlled burn.” Officials say data gleaned from more than 115 million readings since then doesn’t show any “sustained chemicals of concern” in the air.

But many residents of the town who still complain of respiratory problems and unexplained rashes while worrying about the possibility of developing cancer have doubts about the EPA’s assurances that their town and the creeks that run through it are safe. More than 177,000 tons of soil and over 67 million gallons of wastewater have been hauled away as part of the ongoing cleanup that’s cost the railroad more than $1 billion.

The head of the NTSB has said her agency’s investigation determined the vent-and-burn wasn’t necessary because the tank cars were actually starting to cool off, confirming that a dangerous reaction wasn’t happening inside them — something the chemical company had tried to tell officials. But the people who made the decision to blow open those tank cars said they were never told what OxyVinyls’ experts determined. Instead, they heard only about the fears the tank cars might explode.

The EPA said the ASPECT plane’s flights in East Palestine were consistent with past missions and the plane gathered the requested information, but that doesn’t match Kroutil’s experience.

“The East Palestine derailment was the oddest response I ever observed with the ASPECT program in over two decades with the program,” said Kroutil, who helped develop the program when he worked for the Defense Department after the 9/11 attacks demonstrated the need for such airborne monitoring over New York.

Kroutil said he retired in frustration in January and wants to share his concerns about the East Palestine mission. He said this incident was handled differently than the 180 other times the plane has been deployed since 2001.

“You want to fly over a train derailment in the first five to 10 hours after the incident and while the fires are still burning. It is really advantageous if you have a plume. That big black plume … is when you want to get in and collect data,” Kroutil said. “The EPA ASPECT airplane should have made passes over the derailment site right away but certainly before the vent-and-burn. I think they chose not to know.”

Kroutil’s former boss, Rick Turville, is the program manager for the ASPECT plane data interpretation at Kalman. He said he trusts Kroutil completely because he is one of the world’s preeminent experts in spectroscopy and he shares Kroutil’s frustration about the plane not flying sooner.

“These kind of fires or refinery fires, fertilizer plant explosions, they don’t happen often,” Turville said. “But when they do, you got to be there and you got to be there quick. And that’s how you save lives.”

Fortunately, no one died in East Palestine but thousands of lives were upended after the derailment and the worries about future health problems won’t go away.

The EPA manager in charge of the program, Paige Delgado, didn’t immediately respond to an email sent to her Monday with questions about her actions.

Kroutil said he heard Delgado order the plane’s operator during the mission to shut down the chemical sensors when it flew over the creeks in East Palestine even though officials were concerned about chemicals reaching those waterways, potentially fouling drinking water supplies downstream on the Ohio River. Kroutil said his satellite link to the plane’s instruments confirmed those sensors were turned off.

The EPA’s official report on the two East Palestine flights describes pictures the plane took over Little Beaver Creek after a problem with its aerial camera was fixed, but it doesn’t mention Sulphur Run that flows right next to the derailment site or the bigger Leslie Run creek that flows through town.