(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio News Staff
(Aliquippa, Pa.) Three female students at the Aliquippa Junior/Senior High School have been charged after they were caught on video in October attacking another student during school hours.
The three unnamed students are teenage girls and they allegedly ganged up on another female student kicking her multiple times on her way to gym class.
Aliquippa Police have charged the three girls with disorderly conduct and simple assault. The charges are misdemeanor juvenile charges.

(Photo from Rep. Josh Kail’s Facebook Page. Used with permission)

Story by Frank Sparks, Beaver County Radio
(Harrisburg, Pa.) Pa State Representative Josh Kail (15th) has been named as the House Republican Policy Committee Chair for the 2023-2024 legislative session.
The Pa House Republican Caucus elected their slate of leaders in the Pa. State House on Tuesday. Rep. Kail said in a Facebook post that he is very humbled to the support of his colleagues to take on the critical role, and he looks forward to the work ahead on how Pennsylvania can move forward.
Other Republican leaders who were elected are: House Leader: Rep. Bryan Cutler, House Whip: Rep. Tim O’Neal , Appropriations Chair: Seth Grove, Caucus Chairman: Rep. George Dunbar, Caucus Secretary: Rep. Martina White, and Caucus Administrator: Rep. Sheryl Delozier.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“Today is a special day in Beaver Falls.”

The city’s mayor, Kenya Johns, opened up the November 22 council meeting with those remarks, and in a matter of minutes she would be correct.

Nearly a month after receiving the unanimous approval of city council to be hired, Christina Good was officially sworn in as the newest police officer for the Beaver Falls Police Department on Tuesday evening. She becomes only the second female and first female of color to serve on the patrol.

Mayor Johns swore her in, flanked by Police Chief David Johnson–who gave his verbal praise and approval one month ago when Good was first introduced to the city council. Officer Good was also supported by many family and friends who were in attendance to see her officially take the new position.

“It really is an honor, and I’m beyond thankful and feel very blessed and privileged to see all the wonderful additions we’re adding,” Mayor Johns exclaimed. “Adding to what we have–not taking it away–but adding additional things, and today is memorable as we add the first female officer of color to the City of Beaver Falls Police.”

Following the ceremony, the regular (and brief) council meeting went on as usual. The largest subject presented was by Fire Chief Mark Stowe, who spoke about the need to resuscitate the Blight Committee following a gradual erosion of concern and meetings begat by the pandemic. “The Blight Committee, when you look at the ordinance for vacant buildings…it’s the Blight Committee that actually hears if there’s an appeal,” Stowe stated. “So this is very important moving forward that we get this Blight Committee up and running again.”

Stowe noted that there are several buildings–“thankfully there’s only a handful”, as he put it–that impede the progress of the downtown business district that Mayor Johns and the council has tried to push forward. In kind, councilwoman Peggy Evans nominated herself with approval from council to represent them in this restart of the Blight Committee.

The council approved General Fund expenditures at a total of $271,308.21, and also approved a recommendation by the Safety Committee to investigate with the intent to solve the drainage issues at the Second Baptist Church on the corner of 24th Street and 10th Avenue. Lastly, council members invited those in attendance (in person or on stream) to attend the Beaver Falls Christmas Parade on November 26 beginning at 6 PM.

(File Photo of The Pennsylvania State Capitol Building, in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.)
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Inflation is gift-wrapping a salary increase for Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2023. That includes boosting rank-and-file lawmakers and district judges into six-figure territory. Salaries will rise nearly 8%, a figure tied by state law to the year-over-year change in the area consumer price index. That’s about 50% higher than what federal data shows for average private sector wages in Pennsylvania. The increase applies to more than 1,300 positions, including the governor, all lawmakers and state and county judges. They are already enjoying a substantial bump in pay this year. The highest paid will be state Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd at about $252,000.

A Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center nurse loads a syringe with a Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine at an inoculation station next to Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Moderna recently announced early evidence that its updated booster induced BQ.1.1-neutralizing antibodies. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer
Americans who have gotten the updated COVID-19 boosters appear better protected against symptomatic infection than those who haven’t — at least for now. That’s according to a first look at the new shots’ real-world effectiveness, released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only about 13% of U.S. adults have gotten the updated booster. The CDC tracked people tested for coronavirus-like symptoms at drugstores between September and early November. The study found people who’d had the new booster were less likely to have COVID-19 than those who’ve skipped the new shot.

(File of the Center Twp. Municipal Complex)
Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News
(Center Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) The Center Township Board of Supervisors met on Monday night and approved the street opening bond permits for Hall Road for $5850, and one for Franklin Avenue for $34,906.67 to Columbia Gas.
In other business the Lakeview Farms Phase V bond was approved for $180,464.65.
A Site improvement Bond was reduced from $524,893.60 to $189,411.78 for the township  redevelopment project.
The municipal offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

(Photo of  38-yea-old Elvin Diaz-Figueroa who was wanted in Ambridge and arrested in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. on Monday) (Photo from Ambridge Police Department Facebook Page.)  

(Santa Rosa Beach, FL.) A man who is wanted by the Ambridge Police Department on multiple counts of sexual assault on a minor has been arrested in Santa Rosa Beach, Walton County, Florida by Walton County Sheriff Deputies.
38-year-old Elvin Diaz-Figueroa was arrested on Monday. He is facing charges that include 65 charges of which 20 are counts of sexual assault of a minor under the age of 13.
He was taken to the Walton County jail and is awaiting extradition back to Beaver County. Ambridge Police posted on their Facebook Page saying great job by all the officers involved. You can see that post below:

Mike Keiser speaks with the press. With the busy holiday driving period just around the corner, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission came together at the PennDOT Regional Traffic Management Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) in Harrisburg to remind drivers to wear their seat belts, drive sober, and eliminate distractions behind the wheel as they prepare to take to the road for Thanksgiving. November 21, 2022 – Harrisburg, PA

Harrisburg, PA – With the busy holiday driving period just around the corner, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission came together at the PennDOT Regional Traffic Management Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) in Harrisburg to remind drivers to wear their seat belts, drive sober, and eliminate distractions behind the wheel as they prepare to take to the road for Thanksgiving.

Regional Traffic Management Centers throughout the commonwealth serve as hubs where PennDOT traffic control specialists monitor a network of 1,000 traffic cameras to help keep roads open and traffic flowing.

“We can all do our part to avoid crashes by always wearing a seat belt, designating a sober driver, and never driving distracted,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “We want everyone to arrive at their holiday destinations safely, but when crashes do happen, PennDOT and first responders will work quickly to help the motorists involved and keep traffic moving.”

Operation Safe Holiday kicked off on November 14 with the “Click It or Ticket” Thanksgiving enforcement mobilization running through November 27. Aiming to keeping Pennsylvania’s youngest travelers safe on the road, PSP will hold child safety seat fitting clinics at several locations across the state.

“Child safety seats reduce crash deaths and injuries, yet troopers cited 1,200 drivers last year for not having children secured. That is unacceptable,” said Lt. Col. Jeremy Richard, Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Pennsylvania State Police. “Parents and caregivers attending our clinics learn how to install and use car seats properly, and our trained child passenger safety technicians will check your seat for recalls, all at no cost to you.”

Pennsylvania law requires any occupant younger than 18 to buckle up when riding in a vehicle, as well as drivers and front-seat passengers. Children under the age of two must be secured in a rear-facing car seat, and children under the age of four must be restrained in an approved child safety seat. Children must ride in a booster seat until their eighth birthday.

Throughout Operation Safe Holiday, law enforcement will also conduct sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols, and regular traffic safety patrols beginning the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, November 23, through the New Year’s holiday to crack down on drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol.

According to PennDOT data, during the 2021 holiday travel period beginning the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and running through January 2, 2022, there were 1,276 crashes involving an impaired driver, resulting in 41 fatalities.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike expects Thanksgiving to be the busiest travel holiday of the year with 3.5 million motorists traveling during the six-day period starting on Tuesday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Nov. 27.  Tuesday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week will be the heaviest travel days, so travelers should plan their trips accordingly.

“We want all travelers to stay safe this holiday season,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “Holiday activities can increase our levels of stress and fatigue, and this can contribute to distracted driving. Other activities that take drivers’ attention off the road, including talking or texting on cellphones, eating, turning your head to talk with passengers, and adjusting vehicle controls are major safety threats. Avoid doing that while driving. And most importantly, if you are tired it is crucial that you ask someone else to drive or take a rest before getting behind the wheel.”

The partners encourage motorists to visit the “Historic Holiday Traffic” page at www.511PA.com which allows users to see how traffic speeds on the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2019 and 2021 compare to traffic conditions during a typical, non-holiday week. Users can choose their region and view an hour-by-hour, color-coded representation of traffic speeds to help them decide the best times to travel during the holiday.

While PennDOT and the turnpike will remove lane restrictions and suspend construction projects wherever possible, the “Historic Holiday Traffic” page also allows the public to view interstate restrictions that will be in place during the holiday travel period.

The public can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles in Pennsylvania by visiting www.511PA.com. The service, 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.

The holiday seat belt and DUI enforcement are funded through PennDOT’s statewide annual distribution from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information on PennDOT’s highway safety efforts visit, www.PennDOT.pa.gov/safety.

(File Photo of Commissioners taken by Matt Drzik) 

(Beaver, Pa.) The Beaver County Commissioners announced this morning that the Commissioners Work Session scheduled for Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022 at 10:00 AM has been cancelled.  The next work session meeting will be on Wednesday, November 30^th, 2022 at 10:00 AM in the Commissioners Public Meeting Room.

FILE – Riley June Williams, of Harrisburg, Pa., is released from Dauphin County Prison on Jan. 21, 2021, in Harrisburg, Pa. Williams, a Pennsylvania woman linked to the far-right “Groyper” extremist movement, was convicted Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, of several federal charges after prosecutors said she was part of a group that stormed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Dan Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP, File)
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman linked to the far-right “Groyper” extremist movement has been convicted of several federal charges. Prosecutors say she was part of a group that stormed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Riley June Williams was found guilty Monday of six federal counts, including civil disorder. But the jury deadlocked on two other charges, including “aiding and abetting the theft” of a laptop that was stolen from Pelosi’s office suite during the insurrection. The jury also failed to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Williams obstructed an official proceeding.