Keystone State News Connection

October 8, 2021

Available files: mp3 wav jpg

Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s parks and outdoor recreational spaces became havens for many in the state looking for safe activities during the pandemic.

A new report from Penn State professors aims to better understand residents’ relationships with parks and lay the groundwork for making parks and recreation services more inclusive and equitable.

The report surveyed 600 residents from across the state, in rural, suburban, and urban areas, about diversity, equity and inclusion in parks, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on these spaces. Although most respondents said they felt a sense of belonging in their community parks, people of color reported feeling less comfortable and less represented in parks than their white counterparts.

Sammie Powers, assistant professor of recreation, park and tourism management at Penn State Abington and the study’s co-author, said the answers can help build the foundation for creating more inclusivity in parks.

“I think we saw a lot more of a national awareness of the need to address some of these issues of systemic inequalities,” Powers observed. “I think we saw that translate into the park and recreation world, with a lot of folks asking these questions, ‘How do folks feel in our park spaces? Do they feel welcome in our parks and trails and facilities?’ ”

The Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society commissioned the report. Surveyed residents also said they would like to see more resources go toward increasing safety at local parks for communities of color.

On questions related to park use during the pandemic, Pennsylvanians said they felt safe being outside and using trails, but were less likely to feel comfortable with indoor facilities or attending in-person events.

Andrew Mowen, professor of recreation, park and tourism management at Penn State University and co-author of the study, said some of these findings could play an important role to ensure public health protocols are in place at Pennsylvania parks going forward.

“One of the key factors that came up was the importance of routine cleaning and maintenance, particularly at restrooms, as well as masking,” Mowen reported. “To have as much of that be as clean as possible, we need to invest in that.”

An upcoming report will pose similar questions around COVID-19 and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion among local officials.

October 8, 2021- 6:46 AM

(Collier Twp., Pa.) (AP Story) A federal official says a former neighbor of a U.S. Postal Service worker in Collier Twp. confessed that he fatally shot him while he was sitting in his mail truck along his route because he believed the mail carrier previously poisoned him and his family with cyanide. The acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania says in a release that 53-year-old Eric Kortz turned himself in Thursday for the shooting death of Louis Vignone in Collier Township. Kortz told authorities that he and Vignone used to be neighbors, and he believes Vignone and his family poisoned Kortz and his family with cyanide. Kortz has been assigned a public defender.

By Beaver County Radio News/Program Director Frank Sparks

October 8, 2021- 6:42 AM

(McKees Rocks, Pa.) A 35-year-old Brian Irby is dead after he was shot in the chest Thursday afternoon in McKees Rocks.

The shooting occurred in the 300 bock of Fair Oaks Street.

First responders found Irby with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

October 7, 2021- 9:45 AM

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing drilling work on Todd Road (Route 3013) in Center Township, Beaver County, will begin Thursday, October 7 weather permitting.

Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on Todd Road from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Wednesday, October 13 between Farm Lane and the northern terminus of the roadway. Flaggers will control traffic. Crews from Armstrong Drilling will conduct drilling operations.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

October 7, 2021- 6:54 AM

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing inspection activities on the Ambridge- Aliquippa Bridge and the Laughlin Memorial Bridge over Route 65 (Ohio River Boulevard) in Ambridge Borough, Beaver County will occur Thursday and Friday, October 7-8 weather permitting.

Single-lane restrictions will occur in each direction on Route 65 for bridge inspection activities according to the following schedule:

• Thursday, October 7 – Route 65 lane restrictions in both directions (not simultaneously) in the area of the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Friday, October 8 – Route 65 lane restrictions in both directions (not simultaneously) in the area of the Laughlin Memorial Bridge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Crews from the Pickering, Corts & Summerson will conduct the routine inspection activities.

Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns. Please use caution when driving through the area.  Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Keystone State News Connection

October 7, 2021- 6:51 AM

Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Major changes are on their way to the U.S. Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which could have a big impact on some of Pennsylvania’s educators.

The program was created in 2007 and meant to provide student-loan relief to public-service workers, including teachers, paraprofessionals and professors, but it has long been plagued by bureaucratic issues that have made it difficult to qualify.

The changes announced Wednesday allow eligible borrowers to complete a waiver to count all payments toward the forgiveness program, regardless of the loan program or payment plan.

Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education, said the department is ready to right the wrongs inflicted on teachers across the country.

“We want to make sure that we’re doing everything in the agency to protect our borrowers, our students,” Cardona pledged. “We serve our students. We have to make that clear, not only in our talk, but in our actions. You’ve done so much to help our community. You were made a promise, and it’s now our turn to deliver on that promise.”

Pennsylvania has the second-highest average student debt in the country, according to The Institute for College Access and Success.

Under the program, the remainder of your student debt is forgiven once 120 monthly payments have been made while working full-time for a nonprofit or government employer.

Jessica Giordano, course director of the genetic counseling program at Columbia University, graduated in 2008, and when she checked in on her student-loan forgiveness in 2017, she was told she enrolled in the wrong loan plan and was not eligible.

Giordano said going forward, she hopes the forgiveness program is simplified.

“If you’re making your payments and been responsible and doing your work, I think it should just be streamlined and easy,” Giordano contended. “Because this complexity just makes it seem like the government doesn’t actually want to forgive the loans.”

Challenges still remain for the forgiveness program as the Pennsylvania Higher Education Association, which operates one of the Department of Education’s main student loan servicers, FedLoan, will not renew its contract with the federal government when it expires in December. According to the most recent data available from 2019, 65% of Pennsylvania college graduates have student debt.

(File Photo of Chippewa Twp Police Cruiser)

Story by Beaver County Radio News/ Program Director Frank Sparks

October 7, 2021-6:10 AM

(Chippewa Township, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that the body of a 46 year-old Beaver Falls women was found along Pa Route 51 in Chippewa around 8:15 AM yesterday, October 6, 2021.
Troopers reported via release that Chippewa Township Police Department requested their assistance after the body of Sharon Benyo was found by a gas worker in field. State Police conducted forensic services and the scene was processed and is considered to be a homicide.
Benyo is the former wife of Beaver County defense attorney Gerald Benyo. She had recently been released from state prison and was trying to get her life in order.

Beaver County District Attorney David J. Lozier said that Beaver County Coroner David J. Gabauer  ruled Wednesday night that Benyo died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. The state police are asking that anyone that has seen Benyo in the last 3 or 4 days  to please contact them. at 724-773-7400.