(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) According to a recent release from the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, applications are open now for Leadership Beaver County.

Click here to find more information about applying for this opportunity and to apply.

Leadership Beaver County is a cohort-based program that has a maximum of twenty participants which is designed for existing and emerging leaders whose primary residence or professional work is in Beaver County with sessions being held at various locations throughout Beaver County. Each of its cohorts meets from September through May, from 8 A.M. to 3 P.M. and it is usually on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

(File Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of AAA East Central)

Noah Haswell,  Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to AAA, today’s national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.32, which is 34 cents more than Monday and 42 cents higher than a month ago. Today’s national average is the highest since September of 2024. Some tips that AAA recommends for Pennsylvanians and beyond to improve vehicle gas mileage can be found below, according to a release from AAA East Central in Pittsburgh:

The Daily Drive

• Slow down and drive the speed limit. On the highway, aerodynamic drag causes fuel economy to drop off significantly as speeds increase above 50 mph.
• Reduce trips and lighten your load. Limit the amount of cargo in your vehicle when possible.
• Avoid “jackrabbit” starts and hard acceleration. These actions greatly increase fuel consumption. Accelerate smoothly with light to moderate throttle.
• Avoid extended idling to warm up the engine. Even in winter, idling, and warming up an engine are unnecessary and wastes fuel.
• Look ahead. When approaching a red light or stop sign, let off the gas early and allow the vehicle to coast down to a slower speed until it is time to brake.
• Use cruise control to help maintain a constant speed and save fuel. However, never use cruise control on wet roads because a loss of vehicle control could result.
• Take advantage of fuel savings programs. AAA members have access to savings when filling up at Shell gas stations. More information is available at AAA.com/Shell by cliking here.

Ownership, Maintenance, and Repairs

• Keep tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires reduce fuel economy, but more importantly, tires low on air affect handling and braking, wear more rapidly and can overheat and blowout.
• Maintain the vehicle according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Regular maintenance will ensure optimum fuel economy, performance and longevity.
• Make all necessary repairs. Take the vehicle to a trusted repair facility by clicking here as soon as possible if the “Check Engine” light comes on.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ J. Scott Applewhite, File)

(Washington, D.C. – AP) Donald Trump has fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. He made the announcement Thursday. He also said he’ll nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Trump made the announcement on social media, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats. Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere. Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.

(File Photo of a Police Siren Light)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) A former Highlands School District teacher accused of sexually assaulting his students is headed to trial. Fifty-three-year-old Sean Dicer pleaded not guilty during his formal arraignment yesterday in the Allegheny County Courthouse. According to Allegheny County Police, Dicer is accused of sexually assaulting two young boys at his home in 2021. The victims were eleven and twelve years old at the time. Court paperwork gave details of graphic accounts where a victim said that Dicer would buy gifts as well as paying the kids up to 20 dollars after performing sexual acts on one another while Dicer watched. Dicer resigned from his teaching position in 2022. If convicted on all of the charges against him, the maximum amount of time Dicer could face is seventy-nine years in prison. The criminal complaint also stated that Dicer performed sexual acts with one of the victims at least ten times. There were not any victims yesterday in Allegheny County Court, but Judge Jaime Hickton brought up the importance of not violating a “no contact” order that was put in place.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – This Oct. 17, 2023 file photo shows the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County jail could significantly increase its mental health staffing and provide more training about use of force and restraint after five inmates alleged that the Pennsylvania facility treats those with mental illness unfairly, under proposed settlement filed Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) An inmate is now charged with trying to bring drugs into the Allegheny County Jail. According to Allegheny County police, detectives were called to the jail on October 15th, 2025 for a reported conspiracy to smuggle synthetic cannabinoids, also called K2, into the jail through the attorney-client mailing process. Detectives alleged that an inmate, forty-four-year-old Edwin Wylie-Biggs worked with people outside the jail to smuggle drugs inside. Police state that witness interviews helped detectives recover documents addressed to Wylie-Biggs that tested positive for K2. Wylie-Biggs is facing multiple charges, including criminal conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility and the investigation into this incident is ongoing. 

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner, the Shapiro Administration is now reminding Pennsylvanians to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms when moving their clocks ahead one hour for the “spring forward” time change on Sunday during the 2026 Daylight Saving Time. Functioning and properly placed smoke alarms can decrease the risk of someone dying in a home fire by as much as half. Dead or missing batteries are the most common cause of a malfunction of either a smoke or a carbon monoxide alarm. 

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Plum Borough, PA) Two parents are now facing charges after police say more than 60 teenagers were drinking at a large party in their Plum Borough home. According to a criminal complaint obtained yesterday, fifty-year-old Ian Dryburgh and forty-five-year-old Corrinne Dryburgh are facing felony charges of endangering the welfare of children, and misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors, recklessly endangering another person and furnishing alcohol to minors. Authorities arrived at the home of the couple on Saturday, where dozens of minors, along with empty beer, seltzer, and vodka bottles and cans, were found. Police stated that a total of sixty-six underage kids were at the home. The parents told police that a birthday party for their seventeen-year-old daughter got out of hand and that some kids had been kicked out, but more came and they didn’t know what to do.

(Credit for Photo: Courtesy of WPXI)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A landslide shut down part of a street in the South Side Slopes of Pittsburgh yesterday. Emergency crews were called to Josephine Street near Salisbury Street for reports of a tree that had fallen across a roadway just before 8 p.m. The tree brought part of a hillside down onto the road with it when it fell. Crews put barricades up to block off a stretch of Josephine Street that was the closest to the hillside. Traffic continued flowing once those barricades were set up. 

(File Photo of the PennDOT Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT stated in a virtual meeting with neighbors yesterday that the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge will be closed for 25 days starting on March 14th, 2026. The closure will take place so preservation work can occur on the nearly century-old bridge and the work is part of a $50 million project that will last until 2028, which is when a second closure will take place. PennDOT’s presentation stated yesterday that because of the detour, what is currently a one-minute drive, will take at least 20 minutes during the closure from March 14th to April 7th. If everything goes as planned, the bridge will fully reopen to traffic in mid-September of 2028, just after the 100th anniversary of its opening in 1928.   

(File Photo of Police Siren Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) A person is dead after being hit by a vehicle along a major road in Wilkins Township this morning. The call to Allegheny County 911 for the crash in the 3400 block of William Penn Highway came in around 4:33 a.m. Officers on the scene told WPXI that the crash was a hit-and-run. Allegheny County Police detectives are investigating this crash. The westbound lanes are closed from Kingston Street to Hawthorne Street. It is unclear how long this roadway will remain closed.