Category: News

Get Ready for Winter: Peoples Encourages Customers to Apply for Up to $500 Heating Assistance Grants through Dollar Energy Fund

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Peoples Natural Gas)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Peoples Natural Gas, Peoples Natural Gas, Peoples Natural Gas reminds customers that the Dollar Energy Fund (DEF) program opens for the 2025-26 heating season tomorrow on Wednesday, October 1st, 2025. Customers of Peoples Natural Gas that are eligible can get grants of up to $500 to assist in offsetting costs of winter heating. These grants are on a first-come, first-serve basis with them being available and customers are encouraged to apply early. According to that same release from Peoples Natural Gas, here is some more information about the DEF program:

To qualify for a one-time payment from DEF, customers must meet the following criteria:

  • Your total gross household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level
  • Gas service is off or in threat of termination
  • Account is for residential service (single family or apartment)
  • Name on the account is an adult currently living in the household
  • Made a good faith payment to the account within the last 90 days of applying for the grant
  • Applied for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)/Crisis benefits (when open)

Customers can use DEF’s income calculator to determine eligibility.

Customers can visit https://www.hardshiptools.org/MyApp/ to apply or contact their local DEF agency for assistance. In addition to DEF grants, several programs are available to assist with paying bills and including Peoples’ Customer Assistance Program, which provides an affordable monthly payment all year round, along with an emergency repair program that covers the full cost of repairs to heating systems and gas lines.

For more information or to apply for assistance, call 1-800-400-WARM (9276) or visit peoples-gas.com/help to learn more.

Irish police not able to substantiate report that Steelers’ Skylar Thompson was robbed

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Supporters sit in the stands during the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

DUBLIN (AP) — A formal complaint had not been filed as of Monday in connection to reports that Pittsburgh Steelers player Skylar Thompson was assaulted and robbed in Dublin while his team was preparing to play a game in the city, Irish police said.

The national police, An Garda Síochána, said in a statement it did not have information to substantiate the robbery report involving Thompson, a reserve quarterback for the Steelers.

The Irish Independent newspaper had reported that “a number of males were involved in an assault on Thompson near the Temple Bar area” and that his phone was stolen.

Police said officers patrolling Dame Street became involved early Saturday when they encountered a man who required medical assistance.

“The male in his 20s was treated and assessed at the scene by emergency services personnel,” police said without commenting further about the assault report.

Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said the team was “aware of a situation” involving Thompson on Friday night. He said the team would have no further comment until it and the NFL gathered more information.

The NFL declined to comment on Sunday.

The NFL Players Association said it was looking into the matter.

“As always, our priority is the health and safety of our player members — especially as we continue to work on the player protections and well-being while playing international games — and we will continue to support Skylar in any way he needs,” the association said.

Thompson, 28, has been on injured reserve and wasn’t eligible to play Sunday in what was Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game. The Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 at Croke Park. Thompson was at the game.

Beaver-Brighton kitchen tour set for Saturday

By Beaver County Radio

Feel inspired by the beautiful and creatively designed kitchens on the  24th Annual  American Association of University Women (AAUW) Kitchen Tour & Tasting on Oct. 4.

Taking place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the AAUW Beaver Valley Branch’s kitchen tour is a self-guided visit to four stunning kitchens in private homes across Beaver
and Brighton Township. At each stop, participants can enjoy delicious tastings from local chefs.

One of the kitchens on the AAUW Beaver Valley Branch’s Annual Kitchen Tour and Tasting. (Photo provided by AAUW Beaver Valley Branch)

The tour also includes the Marketplace at the new IBEW building in
Vanport Township featuring 50 raffle baskets, a bake sale, boutique stations, recipes, door prizes and the Los Gingos Tacos Food Truck.

Tickets cost $20 in advance at The Hostess Shoppe in Beaver, or $25 on event day.
All proceeds benefit scholarships for women in Beaver County.

For more information, visit beavervalley-pa.aauw.net.

A Brighton Township house on the AAUW Beaver Valley Branch’s annual Kitchen Tour & Tasting. (Photo provided by AAUW Beaver Valley Branch

Congressman Chris Deluzio Releases Report Detailing Ongoing Push for Better School Smartphone Policies

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A person uses an iPhone on Oct. 8, 2019 in New York. Apple is letting some iPhone users fix their own phones, a sharp turnaround for a company that has long guarded its software in a walled garden that only Apple-approved technicians can unlock. The company said Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2021, it will enable users of two of the newest iPhone models and later some Mac computers to get access to genuine Apple parts and tools to be able to repair them. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office, Deluzio released a report today in Carnegie, Pennsylvania laying out his findings after more than three months of research and stakeholder engagement on the issue of smartphones in schools. The report from Deluzio includes information that is detailed about and a summary of the policies for smartphones in schools in the 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, commentary from students, educators and parents, the analysis and results of a public survey and findings from across the United States that are legislative. This report from Deluzio also includes a list of the present smartphone use policies that are in place in dozens of schools in Western Pennsylvania. Deluzio will be sharing this report with parents, constituents, boards of schools, officials of state education and other stakeholders at each level of government, because their feedback is important, considering that Deluzio will consider what state or federal legislation could be and what bills that are existing on the topic of using smartphones in schools he will support.

Lincoln Park High School senior point guard Josh Pratt commits to playing college basketball at Columbia University

(File Photo of a Basketball Broadcast Schedule Logo with a Basketball Picture)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Midland, PA) Lincoln Park High School senior point guard Josh Pratt finished his recruitment for college basketball on Saturday, which is when he committed to Columbia University of New York City, New York. Pratt becomes the first player from Lincoln Park High School to commit to an Ivy League University basketball program. Pratt is the seventh-best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania and the top ranked point guard prospect in the state of Pennsylvania. On August 31st, 2025, Columbia University, along with Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Northeastern University in Boston, Masachusetts and Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania became the final four colleges in Pratt’s decision of where he wanted to commit to play college basketball. Pratt played as a freshman at Lincoln Park High School and then transferred to Aliquippa High School to play there for two seasons as a sophomore and as a junior, before both he and his younger brother, Jeremiah Pratt, transferred to Lincoln Park High School on June 12th, 2025 for Josh Pratt’s senior season. Pratt has a PIAA and a WPIAL title as a sophomore playing for Aliquippa High School and went to the playoffs for both the PIAA and the WPIAL playing for Aliquippa High School as a junior. Pratt had 22 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as a junior and during that time, he became the WPIAL Class 3A player of the year. During Pratt’s sophomore and junior seasons playing for Aliquippa High School, Pratt was named in the Pennsylvania all-state teams for the PA Sports Writers. Both Josh and Jeremiah Pratt also have an older brother that also played for Lincoln Park High School. L.A. Pratt is Josh Pratt’s older brother and L.A. assisted Lincoln Park High School as a former basketball player for them to a pair of WPIAL Championships and semifinal appearances for the PIAA.

$5,000 reward being offered to find man wanted for homicide for allegedly killing a Marine sniper in Aliquippa in 2016

(Photo of thirty-nine-year-old Brandon Eugene Revis Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Police)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) Pennsylvania State Police Troop D- Beaver Station and the Beaver County Detectives are currently searching for a wanted man who has a homicide warrant for allegedly killing twenty-eight-year-old Sjavante Gilliam in Aliquippa on June 1st, 2016. Pennsylvania State Police are also offering a reward of $5,000 for anyone who can help find thirty-nine-year-old Brandon Eugene Revis. According to the Beaver County District Attorney’s office, a confidential source reported that Revis admitted to killing Gilliam and stealing $1,500 from him. Gilliam was found dead on McMinn Street in Aliquippa when he was killed on June 1st, 2016 and was shot in the back of the head. Gilliam was previously seen at Main Street Bar around five hours before he was shot and killed. Gilliam received a Purple Heart in 2010 and served in Afghanistan as a Marine sniper. Gilliam also served as a youth football coach and was a star football player for the Aliquippa Quips. Gilliam is also survived by two children. Revis is a Black man who has black hair and brown eyes and is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 170 pounds. If you have any information about this case, call 1-800-472-8477 or you can click here to submit information online: https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=107

The picture of Revis can be found below:

Ceremony in Pittsburgh honors Chippewa Township based Portage Learning as one of 2025’s Top Workplaces in the Pittsburgh Region

(Photo Courtesy of Portage Learning)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Portage Learning, an online learning company based in Chippewa Township, got named a top Workplace in the Pittsburgh region for 2025 during a ceremony in September of 2025 at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. Portage Learning earned this honor for the sixth year in a row. Portage Learning teams up with Geneva College in Beaver Falls and Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon to help students across the country by giving them prerequisite courses for digital instruction and the flexibility of it. Portage Learning was selected because of feedback from employees through a survey that was anonymous from Energage, a research and technology company. You can visit Portage Learning’s website by clicking on the link below:

Click here to go to Poratge Learning’s website: portagelearning.edu

No formal complaint filed in Dublin incident involving Steelers backup quarterback Skylar Thompson, police say

(File Photo: Source for Photo: A Vikings and Steelers mural is seen on a house wall ahead of the NFL football match between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

DUBLIN (AP) — Irish police say no formal complaint has been filed regarding an early morning incident in Dublin involving Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Skylar Thompson and that they haven’t established if there was a robbery.

The Steelers said the 28-year-old Thompson was involved in a weekend “situation” in the Irish capital, but neither the team nor police have confirmed reports in Irish media that the player was robbed early Saturday.

“No formal complaint has been made by any person at this time,” the national police, called An Garda Síochána, said in a statement Monday.

“Following preliminary enquiries, An Garda Síochána has no further information to substantiate, or not, any report this incident involved a robbery,” it added.

The Irish Independent newspaper reported that “a number of males were involved in an assault on Thompson near the Temple Bar area” and that the player’s phone was stolen.

Police didn’t comment on reports of an assault.

Police said they became involved early Saturday when officers on patrol on Dame Street “encountered a male who required medical assistance.”

“The male in his 20s was treated and assessed at the scene by emergency services personnel,” the police statement added.

Thompson has been on injured reserve and wasn’t eligible to play Sunday in what was Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game. The Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 at Croke Park, and Thompson was at the game.

Thompson’s Instagram account has been switched to private.

Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said the team was “aware of a situation involving Skylar Thompson on Friday night in Dublin. We will have no further comment at this time as we are working with NFL security to gather more information regarding the incident.”

The NFL declined to comment on Sunday.

The NFL Players Association said it was looking into the matter.

“As always, our priority is the health and safety of our player members — especially as we continue to work on the player protections and well-being while playing international games — and we will continue to support Skylar in any way he needs,” the NFLPA said.

Three children and one adult die from a house fire that occurs in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

(Photo Courtesy of City of Lebanon, PA Government, Posted on Facebook Page on September 28th, 2025)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Lebanon County, PA) A house fire in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania has killed four people yesterday morning and three of them are the ages of seventeen years old or younger. The incident occurred at a home on 815 Church Street. According to authorities, two people were seriously injured, with one victim last listed in stable condition while the other was last listed in critical condition. Four more people got injured as well with injuries that were minor, bringing the total of people injured from this house fire to six. The mayor of Lebanon County sent a Facebook post out yesterday claiming that the fire was an accident in nature and began from an electrical outlet in the living room of the first floor. A total of ten people were in the house when the fire started, with some visiting for a celebration of a birthday yesterday. The victims that passed away from this house fire were seventy-three years old, seventeen years old, four years old and one year old. This fire has been stabilized and is being investigated by the fire marshal’s Office of the Pennsylvania State Police. 

AHN Wexford Hospital Recognized by Vizient as 2025 Birnbaum Quality Leadership Top Performer

(File Photo of the Allegheny Health Network Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Allegheny Health Network, AHN Wexford Hospital announced on Friday it has been recognized as a top performer nationally in the 2025 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Ranking by Vizient, Inc. The Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, which has been conducted every year since 2005, recognized AHN Wexford Hospital and twenty other hospitals across the United States for their care that is high-quality as well as demonstrating excellence in that care. AHN Wexford Hospital was the only hospital recognized in this study from Western Pennsylvania, which puts it in the top nine percent of community hospitals nationwide in this category.