Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 4, 2023 10:49 A.M.
(Aliquippa, PA) Ri’Kiah Griffie, 24, of Aliquippa has been missing since October 11, 2022. Her family has had no communication with her by cell phone or any for personal contact, according to a brief statement issued by Beaver County Chief Detective Andy Gall.
Monaca, PA – Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) will host hundreds of graduates and their families for the 54th annual Commencement ceremony this Thursday, May 4, at 6 p.m. at the campus’s historic Dome.
CCBC’s 2023 Commencement will incorporate many traditional ceremonial elements, including Pomp and Circumstance (arr. James D. Ployhar), the national anthem, inspiring remarks from CCBC President Dr. Roger W. Davis that will connect graduates with the “Force”, and the reading of each graduate’s name for the conferring of degrees and certificates from CCBC’s four academic schools.
The ceremony will also include student success stories from graduates ages 20 to 81 and a celebration of May the Fourth with special lighting effects, iconic Star Wars music, and more.
“We are excited to celebrate the CCBC Class of 2023 and their academic accomplishments,” said Dr. Roger W. Davis, CCBC president. “This is a tremendous milestone in their lives, are proud of all they have achieved during their time at CCBC and can’t wait to see where they go next.”
Commencement Keynote Speaker
Keynote speaker Dan Rosenberg, CCBC Class of 1992, is a veteran comedian, writer, radio host, and emcee with more than three decades of experience in the entertainment industry. A Chippewa Township native, Rosenberg, who graduated from CCBC with an associate degree in business, is also a respected author, workshop leader, accomplished entrepreneur, and former high school basketball coach.
Student Scholar Speakers
The 2023 ceremony will feature remarks from two of CCBC’s graduates, Jacee Serak and Lucy Rabak. Both were recently named to the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team and Jacee was honored as a 2023 Coca-Cola Academic Team Gold Scholar. Serak and Rabak, who received these accolades based on their academic achievements, leadership, and engagement in college and community service, will receive scholarships for two years of tuition at any Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) college or university.
The May 2023 CCBC graduating class includes future pilots, air traffic controllers, software developers, teachers, police officers, nurses, and engineers, among other professions.
To watch the commencement live stream, visit www.ccbc.edu/commencement (log-in details will be posted on this page).
(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
The Beaver County Commissioners ran the gambit at their first work session of May, discussing everything from scholarly accolades to safety concerns and a little bit of everything in between.
Starting off the meeting was Parks & Recreation director Tony Caltury, who praised the Beaver County YMCA for their early preparations for the opening of the Old Economy Pool, its first since 2021. “There was a slight increase [in rates] for season passes,” he explained, “but daily rates are the exact same as they were in 2021.” He also gave credit to the YMCA for bringing back their school lunch program for students at the pool, referring to the agreement as “a great partnership already”.
Caltury also mentioned that the decision to move the new “Discovery Center” at Brady’s Run Park to another section has prompted the department to start preparing shows at the Horse Arena. He stated that one of the rings is being looked at for potential improvements. The next horse show of the season is scheduled for Saturday, May 13.
Also happening in May are the primary elections for Pennsylvania (May 16), and despite the Election Bureau being “knee deep in matters”, Solicitor Garen Fedeles spoke about things being put into place. According to Fedeles, 8,400 mail-in ballots for the primary election have been requested, with 30% of them being processed. “The ballots are good to go,” he added, “and all of the precincts are good to go as well.”
Commissioner Tony Amadio responded to a complaint from a resident of Beaver Borough who lives within the vicinity of the parking garage next to the County Courthouse, warning the Commissioners that–as Amadio put it–“kids in the garage making a lot of noise on the weekends”. The Commissioners were notified of the issue through Beaver Police Chief Dan Madgar, who noted that the possible loitering was taking place on the property belonging to the County Courthouse. Though no decision on the matter was made at the work session, Commissioner Dan Camp suggested that a sign designating “No Loitering” or something similar might be in the future for the garage.
Commissioner Jack Manning honored Lincoln Park senior student Carson Thompson, who was the recent winner of the Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest. Thompson, who was in attendance at the work session with her mother, Jill Thompson, stated that she plans to major in biochemistry and minor in journalism at Spelman College in Atlanta. Thompson received a proclamation of recognition from the Beaver County Commissioners for her achievement.
David Wytiaz, the administrative director at the Beaver County Career & Technology Center, came to the Commissioners in regards to a current renovation project being brought on by an increase in students from roughly 700 to 800. According to Wytiaz, the ongoing project is going to come at a cost of $1.5 million, and it is hoped to be completed by the start of the 2023-24 school year. Solicitor Fedeles said that the grant money that was allotted to the project will be released to the BCCTC in order to pay for contracting services and other costs.
The next Beaver County Commissioner work session is scheduled for May 10 at 10:00 AM.
FILE – Violent insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump storm the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. A Connecticut man who used a stolen riot shield to crush a police officer in a doorframe during the U.S. Capitol insurrection has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6 attack. The sentence that a U.S. District Court judge imposed on 25-year-old Patrick McCaughey III on Friday, April 14, 2023, was approximately half the length of the prison term that prosecutors had recommended. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
A former FBI supervisory agent has been charged with joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol more than two years ago. Court records show the former agent, Jared Wise, was arrested Monday in Oregon on charges including entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds. The FBI says Wise worked as a special agent or supervisory special agent for the bureau from 2004 through 2017. An FBI agent’s affidavit says Wise entered the Capitol and later berated police officers outside the building, cheering on rioters who attacked police.
FILE – This photo shows the Facebook’s Messenger Kids application on an iPhone in New York, Feb. 16, 2018. U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app. The Federal Trade Commission says Facebook misrepresented the access it provided to app developers to private user data. As a result, the FTC on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 proposed sweeping changes to a 2020 privacy order with Facebook — now called Meta — that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, file)
U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app. The Federal Trade Commission says Facebook misrepresented the access it provided to app developers to private user data. As a result, the FTC on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes to a 2020 privacy order with Facebook — now called Meta — that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18. This would include data collected through its virtual-reality products. Meta would also be subject to other limitations, including its use of face-recognition technology and be required to provide additional protections for users.
FILE – Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pa., March 24, 2023. Workers at the Pennsylvania chocolate factory smelled “rotten eggs” before a powerful natural gas explosion that leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven, federal safety officials said Monday, May 2, in a preliminary report. (Jeff Doelp/Reading Eagle via AP, File)
Workers at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory smelled rotten eggs before a powerful natural gas explosion that leveled one building and heavily damaged another, killing seven people. That’s according to federal safety officials, who released a preliminary report on the March 24 blast. The National Transportation Safety Board’s five-paragraph account Tuesday of the fatal explosion confirmed earlier reporting by The Associated Press and other media outlets that employees had detected an odor of natural gas at the R.M. Palmer Co. factory in West Reading. Federal investigators have been focusing on the role of a natural gas pipeline as they look for the cause of the explosion.
FILE – A sign is displayed at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., Aug. 28, 2020. A judge tossed 49-year-old Bruce Webster’s death sentence in accordance with a 2002 Supreme Court decision that executing anyone with an intellectual disability violated Eight Amendment protections against “cruel and unusual” punishment. After years of delays, his lawyers said Webster has been moved off death row to a less restrictive prison. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
CHICAGO (AP) — Prison officials have moved a former drug dealer convicted of killing a 16-year-old Texas girl off federal death row to serve a life sentence in another prison amid criticism he should have been moved years ago after a judge deemed him intellectually disabled and vacated his death sentence. The transfer comes two weeks after The Associated Press first highlighted Bruce Webster’s case, reporting that chronic bureaucracy left him stuck in solitary confinement on federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana, since the judge’s 2019 ruling. His lawyers say the prison told them Tuesday that Webster had been transferred to a less restrictive prison in Pennsylvania. Lawyer Steven Wells said he was “delighted” but that the move should have happened “a long time ago.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bill to broaden protections for LGBTQ+ people passed the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives, the first time similar legislation has advanced this far after years long efforts by Democrats, though it faces strong headwinds in the Republican-controlled Senate. The bill passed 102-98 on Tuesday where Democrats have a razor-thin majority, becoming the first of its kind to see a floor vote. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, says he supports it. Under the bill, it would be illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in housing, work places and public services.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The man charged in the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history has lost a bid to get the death penalty removed as a possible punishment. Robert Bowers is accused of gunning down 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. Jury selection is underway at his federal trial. Lawyers for Bowers argue the Justice Department is pursuing the death penalty against Bowers in an arbitrary manner. A federal judge ruled against the defense Tuesday, leaving the death penalty on the table. More than 100 potential jurors have been questioned by prosecutors and the defense, with a heavy focus on their views on a potential death sentence.
FILE – Students work in the library during homeroom at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School in Pottsville, Pa., on March 15, 2022. Test scores in history and civics have declined slightly for eighth-grade students in the U.S., according to results that show an increasing number of children lack a basic understanding in either subject, according to the the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (Lindsey Shuey/Republican-Herald via AP, File)
Test scores in history and civics have declined slightly for eighth grade students in the U.S., according to results that show an increasing number of children lack a basic understanding of either subject. The scores were released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That same assessment reported in October that every single state had seen a decline in math or reading scores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest scores, officials said, reflect more of the impact of the disruptions from the virus that shuttered schools across the country. Nearly one-third of eighth grade students, 31%, cannot describe the structure or function of government, according to the results.