(File Photo of the Beaver Valley Choral Society logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Brighton, PA) The Beaver Valley Choral Society invites you to attend their trial rehearsals, which begin on Monday, January 6th and Monday January 13th at 7 p.m. at the New Brighton Methodist Church. The rehearsals will continue in that church through the month of March on Mondays beginning at 7 p.m. You do not need to audition or to be a member of the Beaver Valley Choral Society to participate. The young chorus for second through eighth grade will start their rehearsals at the same location on Monday, January 6th. Details will soon be announced regarding rehearsals for members of the Beaver Valley Choral Society.

 

(File Photo of Police Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News, Published on 1/1/2025 at 8:02 A.M., Updated on 1/2/2025 at 8:00 A.M.)

(Beaver Falls, PA) A homicide was ruled the cause of death for a man that was murdered in Beaver Falls on Monday afternoon. The victim was identified by the Beaver County Coroner as forty-eight-year-old Eric Mason, who was shot in the head. Chief David Johnson of the Beaver Falls Police Department sent a press release on Tuesday to address the incident of a person being shot to death in Beaver Falls on Monday afternoon. According to Johnson, police were dispatched to the 200 block of 11th Street at around 2:40 p.m. for the concern of a male victim. The identity of the dead victim is not available yet and no danger was indicated to the community. Johnson states that the Beaver County Detective Bureau and detectives from the Beaver Falls Police Department are part of the investigation. That is all the details we have at this time, and we will have updates as soon as they are available.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Thomas Breth, front, a lawyer for Fulton County, Pa., stands with other county officials and explains that the state Supreme Court had just put their voting machine inspection on hold before it started in McConnellsburg, Pa., Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Marc Levy, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania court on Tuesday ruled 6-1 that the secretary of state has the authority to direct counties not to allow “unauthorized third party access” to voting machines or risk having those machines decertified and unable to be deployed for elections.

The Commonwealth Court said the Department of State does not have to reimburse counties when they decertify machines, a defeat for Fulton County in a dispute that arose after two Republican county commissioners permitted Wake Technology Services Inc. to examine and obtain data from Dominion voting machines in 2021.

That led the state elections agency to issue a directive against such third-party access based on concerns it could compromise security. Fulton’s machines were decertified as a result of the Wake TSI examination and the secretary of state was sued by the county as well as Republican county commissioners Randy Bunch and Stuart Ulsh.

Fulton had argued it had broad authority over the voting machines, while the secretary of state said that “would mean that every county board of elections can do whatever it wants” with electronic voting systems under their authority to inspect elections, “an absurd and unreasonable result,” wrote Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer for the majority.

She said a 1937 state election law gave county election boards broad power, but state lawmakers amended it “to give the secretary an important role in ensuring statewide consistency and safety” regarding electronic voting systems. The state and local power balance over elections and voting equipment, the majority said, helps “protect and provide for free and fair and secure elections.”

“There is no conflict between those provisions, and it is entirely possible — indeed necessary — for county boards of elections to fulfill their powers and duties while heeding the secretary’s report and directives,” Jubelirer wrote for the majority.

The Department of State issued a statement saying it was pleased with the decision and that the adminstration of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro “is committed to ensuring the free and secure administration of elections, and today’s decision recognizes that the secretary is empowered to keep voting systems secure from unauthorized third-parties seeking to undermine confidence in Pennsylvania’s elections.”

The Fulton County board, through chief clerk Stacey Shives, declined comment about the decision. Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday for Fulton County’s lawyers, Tom Carroll and Jim Stein.

The officials in Fulton, a 15,000 population county in rural central Pennsylvania, brought in Wake TSI and allowed another outside inspection as part of an effort to find the sort of election fraud that then-President Donald Trump falsely claimed existed after his 2020 reelection loss. Fulton heavily supported Trump in all three of his presidential campaigns. Ulsh is no longer an elected county commissioner.

Fulton replaced the voting machines, which were impounded by the court during the dispute over allowing others to access them.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown on Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s planning to attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

Asked about it as he walked into a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump responded, “I’ll be there.” Pressed on whether he’d spoken to members of Carter’s family, Trump said he’d rather not say.

Funeral services honoring Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, will be held in Georgia and Washington, beginning Jan. 4 and concluding Jan. 9.

Trump was a frequent and fierce critic of Carter on the campaign trail ahead of November’s election, using the rising inflation rates of the 1970s to unfavorably compare President Joe Biden to Carter and his administration.

But the president-elect was gracious about the former president in posts on his social media site after Carter’s death Sunday, writing that the nation “owed him a debt of gratitude.”

“While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for,” Trump wrote of Carter. “He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect.”

Wearing a tuxedo as he entered the festivities, Trump took a few minutes of questions from reporters on various topics. He was asked about the possibility of a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, but said only, “We’re going to see what happens.”

The president-elect added of hostages seized more than a year ago by Hamas, “I’ll put it this way: They better let the hostages come back soon.”

Trump also said he thought 2025 would be a “great year” and “we’re going to do fantastically well as a country.”

“There’s a whole light over the whole world, not just our country. They’re a lot of happy people,” Trump said of recent weeks.

Asked about his resolutions for the new year, Trump said, “I just want everybody to be happy, healthy and well.”

Trump later took the stage to briefly address the crowd ringing in the new year at Mar-a-Lago and promised “to do a great job as your president.”

Biden, for his part, spent New Year’s Eve celebrating the wedding of his niece Missy Owens in Greenville, Delaware, followed by the reception in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Biden and first lady Jill Biden cut short their traditional holiday trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to attend the ceremony.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE—In this file photo from March 12, 2020, work continues at a shale gas well drilling site in St. Mary’s, Pa. Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro is scheduled to release results on Thursday June 25, 2020 of a grand jury investigation into natural gas hydraulic fracturing. The fracking process has raised environmental concerns while turning the state into a major energy producer. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Penn Township, PA) A nonprofit group is challenging permits for the construction and operation of fracking wells in western Pennsylvania’s Penn Township. A hearing set for January 15th will examine whether the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection lawfully issued drilling permits to Apex Energy. Attorney Lisa Johnson, who represents the group Protect P-T, short for ‘Penn-Trafford,’ says it’s been a years-long fight to block the Drakulic Well project, for its proximity to homes and an elementary school. Johnson says the case underscores the importance of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment, which protects citizens’ rights to clean air and pure water. In 2023, the state partnered with CNX Resources, which acquired Apex Energy, to boost transparency in fracking, including chemical disclosures and expanded no-drill zones near homes, schools and hospitals, to better address health and environmental concerns.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published December 31, 2024 5:30 P.M.

(South Beaver Township, Pa) The coroner was called to a residence on Gill Drive in South Beaver Township Tuesday afternoon.

Sources say two people were found dead in a garage as a result of gunshot wounds, although authorities have not yet made an official statement to Beaver County Radio.

State Police and investigators remained on scene as of 4:45pm.

We have no further details at this time.

Updated by Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News, Updated on January 2nd, 2025 at 8:14 A.M.

A male and a female died at the scene at a Gill Drive garage and were found before 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The female died from multiple gunshot wounds and the
male died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Out of respect to the families, we are not reporting the names of the dead individuals. Pennsylvania State Police are continuing to investigate this incident. This is a developing story, and we will have updates as soon as they are available.

 

(File Photo of Pittsburgh International Airport logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh International Airport will be making some changes in the new year thanks to a project worth $1.4 billion. As part of the Terminal Modernization Project, the ground travel at the Pittsburgh airport will be improved. The airside terminal will also have a new complex that is multi-modular. Mineo’s Pizza and some restaurants that are local to the area will also be added to the airport for travelers. The Terminal Modernization Project was started in 2021 and is ready to be completed in 2025.

(Photo Provided with Release)

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from Governor Josh Shapiro’s office, Shapiro and his team allocated the most funding in the history of Pennsylvania for public education in grades K-12. The investment totals over eleven billion dollars, along with funding of $1.1 billion. According to Shapiro, $200 million will also provide resources for students that struggle with mental health and its challenges. The release also states that other budgets of Shapiro’s budget include:

• $1.11 billion in K-12 public education funding increases, with a new formula to direct dollars to schools that need them most.

• $100 million for environmental repair and sustainable facilities in schools, including $25 million for Solar for Schools, creating safe, healthy learning environments.

• $100 million for special education funding, reinforcing Pennsylvania’s commitment to equitable education for all students.

• $100 million in cyber charter reimbursements to better align tuition costs with the actual expenses of providing online education, saving school districts millions.

• $100 million in mental health funding for K-12 schools to continue supporting mental health services for students, building on last year’s investment of $100 million

• $17.7 million increase for early childhood education, ensuring that our youngest learners get a strong start.

• $3 million to provide menstrual hygiene products at no cost to students in schools.

• $20 million for the Educator Pipeline Support Grant Program, which provides stipends to eligible student teachers in Pennsylvania — doubling last year’s investment of $10 million for the program.

• Ensuring 1.7 million students statewide receive free breakfast, regardless of income.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

(Sewickley Borough, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that traffic is currently closed on part of a Sewickley Borough Road, Little Sewickley Creek Road (Route 4024). 

Until further notice, that part of Little Sewickley Creek Road will close because of a slide between both Henry Road and Magee Road. A detour will be held for drivers at Henry Road, Camp Meeting Road, and Magee Road. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Caption Title is, This photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency shows counterfeit Pennsylvania vehicle inspection stickers. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency via AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it has seized more than 20,000 counterfeit Pennsylvania vehicle inspection stickers that were shipped from Israel to an address in Philadelphia.

Customs officers found the stickers in two different shipments that arrived on two different days, Nov. 26 and Dec. 9, and confirmed with Pennsylvania authorities that the stickers were counterfeit, the agency said.

The agency did not say in a Thursday statement who sent the stickers, who was to receive them or what purpose the stickers were going to serve. The agency said it made no arrests.

Had they been real, the 22,000 stickers would have a value of $1.4 million, the agency said. Selling fake vehicle inspection stickers is illegal and a persistent problem for law enforcement, although at a much smaller scale.

Pennsylvania requires that motor vehicles be inspected annually to ensure they meet minimum mechanical, safety and emissions standards. Punishment for using a counterfeit inspection sticker can mean a penalty of up to $500 and jail time, the agency said.