FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. Norfolk Southern announced new details Monday, Sept. 18, about its plan to compensate East Palestine residents for lost home values since the fiery derailment disrupted life in the eastern Ohio town in February. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside them after a freight train derailed in Eastern Ohio last year wasn’t justified, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board told Congress Wednesday. But she said the key decision-makers who feared those tank cars were going to explode three days after the crash never had the information they needed.

The vinyl chloride released that day, combined with all the other chemicals that spilled and caught fire after the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents with lingering fears about possible long-term health consequences.

Experts from the company that made the vinyl chloride inside those tank cars, Oxy Vinyls, were telling contractors hired by Norfolk Southern railroad that they believed that no dangerous chemical reaction was happening, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. But Oxy Vinyls was left out of the command center.

“They informed them that polymerization, they believed polymerization was not occurring, and there was no justification to do a vent and burn,” Homendy said. “There was another option: let it cool down.”

However, that information was never relayed to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the first responders in charge, she said.

Some of this information came out at NTSB hearings last spring in East Palestine. Homendy’s comments Wednesday were the clearest yet that the controversial vent-and-burn action wasn’t needed. But the agency won’t release its final report on what caused the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment until it holds another hearing this June.

DeWine’s spokesperson Dan Tierney said it’s frustrating to hear now — more than a year after the derailment — that it wasn’t necessary to blow open those tank cars.

“The only two scenarios that were ever brought up were a catastrophic explosion occurring, where shrapnel would be thrust in all directions to a one mile radius or averting that through a controlled vent and burn,” Tierney said. “Nobody ever brought up a scenario where if you just did nothing, it wouldn’t explode.”

East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick has said the consensus in the command center was that releasing and burning the chemicals was the “least bad option.”

But Homendy said they never heard Oxy Vinyls’ opinion that the vinyl chloride was stable. Instead, the decision-makers relied on contractors who were alarmed by the limited temperature readings they were able to get, combined with the violent way one of the tank cars released vinyl chloride with a roar from a pressure release valve after hours of calm. Drew McCarty with Specialized Professional Services testified last spring that the tank car “frankly scared the hell out of us.”

Republican Sen. JD Vance, who questioned Homendy at Wednesday’s hearing, said he wasn’t trying to criticize Drabick, DeWine and the other officials who made the decision.

“I think it’s a criticism of the people on the ground who provided inadequate information — and provided inadequate information, I think, to the great detriment of the community on the ground,” Vance said. “This is extraordinary work by your team, but this is a really, really troubling set of circumstances.”

Norfolk Southern defended the decision again Wednesday and said the plan had nothing to do with trying to get the trains moving again more quickly.

“The top priority of everyone involved was the safety of the community, as well as limiting the impact of the incident,” the railroad said. “The successful controlled release prevented a potentially catastrophic uncontrolled explosion.”

Krissy Ferguson, 49, has not been able to return to her home that sits on top of one of the creeks that was contaminated since the derailment. She said she was heartbroken to hear the latest updates from the NTSB.

“Is our government going to allow a corporation to get away with it or are they going to act on it? Or is it going to be swept down the polluted creek like everything else is?” Ferguson said.

Misti Allison, who lives with her family about a mile away from the derailment site, said the findings reaffirm what she believed to be true all along: that the vent and burn did not need to happen.

“The only justification was greed, and that Norfolk Southern was putting profits over people to get the train tracks up and running as fast as possible and to destroy whatever evidence was left,” Allison said.

And most questions about the potential long-term health effects remain unanswered.

“We need to make sure that health care is available to everybody, not just those who want to participate in a study,” she said.

The NTSB has said that it appears an overheating bearing on one of the railcars caused the derailment. Several trackside detectors spotted the bearing starting to heat up for miles beforehand, but the temperature didn’t reach a high enough level to trigger an alarm until right before the crash. That meant the crew didn’t have an opportunity to stop the train.

Many residents of East Palestine are eager to move forward once the cleanup of the derailment wraps up later this year, but some are still experiencing respiratory problems, rashes and other health concerns.

Norfolk Southern has said that its response to the disaster and the aid it has offered the town has cost it more than $1.1 billion. Now an investor group that’s critical of the railroad’s response and the disappointing profits it has reported over the past several years is pushing to fire CEO Alan Shaw and take control of the railroad.

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Associated Press writer Patrick Orsagos contributed to this report from Columbus, Ohio.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing a lane restriction on northbound I-79 in Kennedy and Robinson townships in Allegheny County will occur Thursday, March 7 weather permitting.

There will be a lane restriction on northbound I-79 from the Route 60 Crafton/Moon Run (Exit 60) off-ramp continuing approximately one-half mile past the on-ramp from Route 60 to northbound I-79 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 to allow crews to conduct prepatory work for the anticipated crossover. This work is weather dependent and if not completed on Thursday, work will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 8.

This work is part of the $43.9 million I-79 “S-Bend” Project that includes full-depth pavement reconstruction, bridge preservation work on five mainline structures (I-79 northbound and southbound over Clever Road, I-79 northbound and southbound over Route 51, and the Neville Island Bridge). Additionally, there will be milling and paving of three ramps at the Route 51 (Coraopolis/McKees Rocks) interchange. The project also includes guiderail replacement, highway lighting and signing upgrades, new pavement markings and delineation, and other miscellaneous construction work.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway 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 X alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 7, 2024 10:23 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Jordan Bazemore and Anjani Williams were promoted to full time street department laborers based on Street department superintendent Lawrence Reddick. The men’s statuses changed on  Friday, March 1, 2024.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Showing Up for Students Act, which provides $280 million in additional funding for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education. The OCR is the office responsible for protecting the civil rights of students in American schools, including from incidents related to antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab discrimination or harassment. Amidst a notable increase in reported incidents of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab actions in schools across the Nation, the bill would give OCR the capacity to meet the moment and ensure students are free from harassment and discrimination.

“Every student—regardless of their race, gender, disability, or religion—deserves to go to school without facing discrimination,” said Senator Casey. “As incidents of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab harassment increase in schools rise across the Nation, Congress has an obligation to act. We must provide the Office for Civil Rights the resources it needs to keep our students safe from discrimination and hate.”

The Showing Up for Students Act would provide the Office for Civil Rights with the funds it needs to protect students from harassment and discrimination. This effort follows a disturbing rise in incidents involving antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab harassment, vandalism, and assault on school campuses. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, between October 1, 2023 and February 15, 2024, OCR received 219 complaints involving Title VI shared ancestry investigations, the category under which complaints relating to antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab discrimination are classified. This is a staggering increase of a 1,360 percent in the number of complaints compared to the same time period the year before. The surge in complaints must be met by an increase in resources for OCR.

For years, funding for OCR has not kept up with the trending increase in need for their services. Through OCR, students can file a complaint against their school for failure of the administration to prevent or respond to a violation or incident. OCR will then investigate the student’s complaint, make a determination of wrongdoing against the school, and potentially levy consequences against the school administration. Senator Casey’s Showing Up for Students Act will ensure OCR finally has the funding to respond appropriately to these cases, hire additional staff, resolve cases in a timelier manner, and increase capacity to help schools proactively prevent the discrimination and harassment of students.

The Showing Up for Students Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Fetterman (D-PA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) announced that his constituent guest to join him at President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union is Mike Carreon, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Darlington Township, Beaver County, PA. Darlington Township is just over the state line from East Palestine, Ohio, and was one of the communities impacted by the Norfolk Southern train derailment in February 2023. With the toxic fireball in plain sight, dozens of Darlington households were told to evacuate, and the community was left with fear and uncertainty around their health, livelihoods, and well-being after the derailment.

Supervisor Mike Carreon lives with his wife Kelly and their two children on their 400-acre family farm. Their children are the fifth generation to live on the farm, where they currently raise beef cattle and crop. Supervisor Carreon is also a truck driver and hauls steel out of Pittsburgh as his day job. He ran for Township Supervisor in 2022 and was elected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors after his first year. A photo of Supervisor Carreon is available here.

“It is an honor to host Supervisor Mike Carreon down here in Washington for this year’s State of the Union Address,” said Rep. Chris Deluzio. “I hope his visit to the United States Capitol will bring back needed attention to the Norfolk Southern derailment’s impact on Western Pennsylvanians and the urgent need for rail safety reform. Congress must take action and pass my bill, the Railway Safety Act.”

“The people of Darlington Township were hit hard by the Norfolk Southern train derailment last year, and a lot of our residents were and remain concerned for their health and safety,” said Supervisor Mike Carreon. “Many small towns across America share their space with the railroads, and safety should always be a top priority. More than a year after the derailment, industry lobbyists are hard at work trying to block efforts to make rail safer. We can’t let that happen. I am grateful for the chance to attend the State of the Union with Congressman Deluzio to share the story of my community of Darlington Township and to continue to try and pass the Railway Safety Act.”

Monaca, PA – The Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) has been named a recipient of the 2023  Campus Prevention Network (CPN) Seal of Prevention. Presented by Vector Solutions, the CPN Seal of  Prevention is awarded to institutions of higher education that have demonstrated leadership in digital  prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion. 

“Each year, CCBC requires all faculty, staff, and administrators to complete prevention courses offered  by Vector Solutions,” said Sally Mercer, vice president of human resources. “Employees are assigned  Title IX, Sexual Harassment, HIPPA, and FERPA training to ensure they understand the concepts and can  act appropriately.” 

Students are also required to complete Title IX training to recognize, report, and react to potential  situations. This program empowers students by providing knowledge and resources to help them if they  find themselves in a difficult position. 

“The prevention programming we do with Vector Solutions benefits the campus as a whole,” said  Brittney Golden, dean of students. “They keep our faculty, staff, and administrators up to date on the  ever-changing dynamics of education and help us create a campus environment that is warm,  welcoming, and inclusive.” 

Each recipient of the CPN Seal of Prevention has taken action to create a safer, more inclusive campus  through comprehensive, evidence-based digital prevention education on issues such as sexual assault,  alcohol misuse, mental health, and discrimination. The CPN Seal of Prevention establishes guidelines for  discerning quality online prevention education and implementation practices and positions prevention  as central to institutional outcomes. 

FILE – U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks before President Joe Biden about his infrastructure agenda while announcing funding to upgrade Philadelphia’s water facilities and replace lead pipes, Feb. 3, 2023, at Belmont Water Treatment Center in Philadelphia. Casey’s campaign said Wednesday, July 5, that he raised over $4 million in the last three months, his best fundraising quarter ever as he awaits a Republican challenger to his re-election bid in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the Helping States Integrate Medicare and Medicaid Act. The bill would provide substantial new funding to states to help the more than 9 million Americans who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Due largely to insufficient funding for states, at present only 12 percent of seniors and people with disabilities who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid are actually enrolled in programs that align their coverage, forcing millions of low-income seniors and people with disabilities to navigate two separate, complex systems on their own.

“So many older adults and people with disabilities face fragmented systems and roadblocks that prevent them from accessing the support they need,” said Chairman Casey. “This bill will help Americans who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare navigate those programs and get the health care they deserve.”

The Helping States Integrate Medicare and Medicaid Act would provide $300 million to states and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and advance integrated programs. The bill would also increase the federal match that states receive to 80 percent for administrative activities to support the implementation and advancement of these integration strategies and to finance the initial costs of building an infrastructure that is reflective of the needs and preferences of the local Medicare-Medicaid population.

Chairman Casey has long led efforts in Congress to help older Americans and people with disabilities more easily access the care they need. In May 2023, Casey introduced the Beneficiary Notification Eligibility Simplification 2.0 Act, which would simplify Medicare enrollment by require the federal government to provide advance notice to people approaching Medicare eligibility about basic enrollment rules. Earlier in 2023, he introduced the Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act, which would allow Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing services and increase the federal investment in Medicaid, incentivizing more states to provide these comprehensive services.

FILE – A sign on the sidewalk outside an antique store in Spartansburg, Pa., on Feb. 29, 2024. Police investigating the killing of a pregnant Amish woman inside her Pennsylvania home last week recovered several firearms, bullets and spent casings as well as broken knife parts, according to an inventory made public on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

Police investigating the killing of a pregnant Amish woman inside her Pennsylvania home last week recovered three firearms, bullets and two spent casings as well as broken knife parts, according to an inventory made public on Tuesday.

The state police document said the search of the house where Rebekah A. Byler was killed on Feb. 26 produced the broken orange handle of a knife, a broken knife blade and a bone-handled knife. Investigators also took a white bonnet and the contents of an ash tray, trash can and dust bin.

A man who lived about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the Byler home in northwestern Pennsylvania was charged Saturday with criminal homicide, homicide of her unborn child, burglary and criminal trespassing. Police have not disclosed what they think may have motivated Shawn C. Cranston, 52, to kill her in the living room, where her husband and a family friend found her.

It’s unclear from the search inventory if any of the items taken belonged to Cranston or were used in the killing, which police have said involved “shooting her in the head and/or slashing her throat.” They include a .22-caliber rifle, two shotguns and a variety of ammunition. Investigators also recovered a .22-caliber cartridge case and a 6.5 Creedmoor casing, both discharged.

Cranston remains in the Crawford County Correctional Facility without bail. No defense attorney has appeared in court records, and the county public defender’s office said Monday it was not representing him. Family members have not answered phone calls seeking comment on his behalf.

Police said the 23-year-old Byler, whose two children were home but unhurt, suffered wounds to her neck and head.

Cranston’s cousin, Rebekah Cranston of Erie, said Tuesday that Cranston was a native of the Corry area and had worked as a truck driver. She said she had fallen out of touch with him in recent years and that many of his relatives knew nothing about the allegations.

“We’re just in shock and sending out prayers for the victim,” she said.

Shawn Cranston’s next-door neighbor, Chris Knight, said he was a “respectful” neighbor who often rode motorcycles. His wife is a nurse, she said.

Knight said that in recent months Cranston’s pickup truck was no longer parked at the home. The Cranstons seemed to be down to one vehicle, she said, a red Jeep.

“It seemed like he’s been home a lot but I don’t know what that situation is,” Knight said.