FILE – A sign asks those getting vaccinated to keep 6 feet apart during the vaccination event, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif. The CDC has again revised its COVID guidelines, further relaxing quarantine recommendations and dropping the recommendation that people stay at least 6 feet away from each other. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP, File) 

By MIKE STOBBE and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency is relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines and dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said Thursday that people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others. The changes come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the pandemic. They are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

With the first day of school nearing, many members of any school district–teachers, administrators, parents, students, and local law enforcement–are hoping that the school is safe enough for everyone on a daily basis.

The Blackhawk School District is no different, and those feelings were echoed at the August 11 school board meeting at the high school library. Superintendent Dr. Robert Postupac addressed the topic right at the front of the meeting; particularly addressing the police training sessions that had been held in the school district with trained experts earlier in the week, and the pros and cons being weighed in regards to a campus officer being hired.

“We won’t have one when school starts. We know that,” Postupac stated. “But we are using these people and their expertise and reports to continue the question of ‘How do we employ the right amount of personnel, and do we want a layered approach?'” Dr. Postupac acknowledged that there were several options in regard to school security and that the school district was continuing a thorough process: “Instead of just jumping in and saying ‘We’re gonna go this route or this route’ and not have a solution, we’re working with these experts.”

However, the rebuttal to the lack of hired safety at the start of the school year was strong and pointed; most notably, the police chiefs of the three major municipalities in the Blackhawk School District–Chippewa, Darlington, and Patterson Township–all addressed the urgency of having an officer on site as soon as possible.

“One’s better than none,” spoke Chippewa Police Chief Eric Hermick. “If we can get one officer in one of the buildings, it’s better than none…we really need to consider that. We’re doing everything as a department we can to help you out and keep these kids safe…but I’ll echo a comment I heard the other day from the other chiefs…if the kids aren’t safe in school, we don’t have to worry about air conditioners, football games, or anything else.”

Patterson Police Chief David Stanislawski went even further, calling out the school board members for not having attended the two-day school safety symposium held at CCBC, where the importance of the subject was addressed in great detail. Darlington Police Chief Greg Beighey echoed his two colleagues’ urgent messages, adding that the police are also parents of kids who attend these schools and their concern is intensified from that perspective.

Other notes from the August 11 meeting of the Blackhawk School Board:

• A 45-minute presentation by Mark Scheller of DRAWCollective presented the board with a budget proposal for a new air conditioning system in the school district.
• Ten new hires, four resignations and two substitutes were accepted by the school board for the 2022-23 school year.
• General Fund expenditures for the new school year were approved at a rate of $346,644.06.
• The Athletic Department had one resignation and three new hires approved, including the hiring of Joe Boyer as Assistant Athletic Director.

The next Blackhawk School Board meeting is scheduled for August 18 at 7:30 PM.

The entrance to the FBI headquarters in Cincinnati is shown Thursday, August 11, 2022. An armed man decked out in body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Ohio on Thursday, then fled and exchanged gunfire in a standoff with law enforcement, authorities said. (Liz Dufour/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Authorities say a man has “unknown injuries” after he tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office, fled and exchanged gunfire in a standoff with law enforcement. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Thursday that no one else was hurt. Officials say the man was wearing body armor and was chased onto Interstate 71. Officials say the man abandoned his car on nearby roads, where he exchanged gunfire with police and remains in a standoff. The episode came a day after the FBI director warned against threats circulating online against agents and the Justice Department following the agency’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News
(Hopewell Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) The Hopewell School Board met for a work session on Tuesday evening, August 9, 2022, and approved the extending of Dr. Robert Kartychak, appointment as the district’s acting superintendent. His appointment was extended, effective. August 14, 2022. He was granted a leave of absence from his current position as the assistant high school principal.
In other business Nadia Engel was hired as acting assistant principal at the high school beginning August 15, 2022. She will continue in that position while it’s vacant.  Donna Steff was approved to be the student services coordinator/elementary assistant principal effective August 10, 2022. She has been a teacher in the district for several years. Richelle Montgomery was hired as a high school special education teacher.
The board also approved Karen Gartley, a kindergarten teacher ‘s retirement effective June 30, 2022. She taught at Hopewell Elementary School.
Junior high school English teacher Brittany Story’s resignation was approved effective August 15, 2022.

(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News
(Center Twp., Beaver County , Pa.) The Central Valley School Board held a work session on Wednesday night and approved the Rhodes Transit bus driver/aide list pending receipt, review, and acceptance of clearances  for the 2022-23 school year.

(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News
(Ambridge, Pa.) The Ambridge Area School met this week and approved the School Resource Officer agreement with the borough during  Wednesday night’s work session meeting .The agreement is for 5 years and the SRO is for the middle and high schools.  Cost  for the service is $90,000 for each school year.