Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 17, 2023 7:27 A.M.

(Center Township, PA) The board approved the retirement of Karen  Lyons, an elementary teacher at the end of the 2022-23 school year.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Whether it’s for the sake of construction or the sake of celebration, road travel in New Brighton is going to become different from the usual.

The reason for this is the approval of several different resolutions by the New Brighton Borough Council at their regular meeting on March 15. Neither the General Government Committee nor the Public Safety Committee had any new business for the meeting, so the entirety of resolutions stemmed from two departments: Public Works & Sanitation and Recreation & Community Life. The only other matter was the paying of bills at an amount of $307,379.39.

On the Public Works side, the board approved a one-year contract extension for Valley Waste Services for refuse and recycling in the borough through 2024 with a 8.02% fee increase. The board also approved for a 2023 road paving project that will pave one travel lane for portions of the following streets:

• Valley Avenue
• 19th Street
• Grove Avenue
• 7th Street
• 18th Avenue
• Thorn Street
• 19th Avenue

The paving will be done by Youngblood Paving in cooperation with Columbia Gas, with an estimated cost of $140,000.

Two more resolutions regarding Public Works were approved by the board: a storm sewer project for Route 65 that will replace 32 storm water inlets at a cost of $759,557 from 5th Avenue to the Daugherty Township line, and a sidewalk project for 5th Avenue that will replace hazardous sections at a cost of $171,830.50.

On the Recreation side, the requests for road closures for two events were unanimously approved: The Beaver County BBQ & Brews Fest on June 3, and a “boutique crawl” presented by Honeybee Boutique on June 10. The board also approved a sponsorship for Virginia Carver’s induction into the Beaver County Sports Hall Of Fame, as well as a donation of $100 to the Little Lions club. The original donation was to be $50, but a suggestion from Vice President John Ramer to increase the donation was agreed upon by the council.

The next meeting for the Borough Council is scheduled for April 20 at 7:00 PM.

(File photo of Federal Court in Pittsburgh, Pa.)

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of bank fraud and conspiracy, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Lee Ann Benninghoff, age 44, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Benninghoff owned and
operated Complete Escrow and Bella Casa Realty. From February 2014 through March 2017, Benninghoff used her position and connections in real estate financing, and conspired with others in the industry, to submit fraudulent gift letters in support of mortgage loan applications The gift letters misrepresented the source of the funds and their purported purpose.
Judge Horan scheduled sentencing for July 12, 2023, at 9 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not more than 30 years in prison, a fine of not more than $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

File – A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Arlington Heights, Ill., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Fewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and tamp down inflation. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 11 fell by 20,000 to 192,000 from 212,000 the previous week. The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 196,500, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the eighth straight week. Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as a barometer for layoffs in the U.S.

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. Stocks are opening lower across the board on Wall Street, Tuesday, July 5, and crude oil prices are dropping again. Treasury yields also fell as traders continued to worry about the state of the economy (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shook off an early stumble and gained ground Thursday amid hopes for help for a bank at the center of Wall Street’s hunt for what may crack next in the struggling industry. The S&P 500 was 1.8% higher in afternoon trading after erasing an earlier loss following reports that First Republic Bank could receive financial assistance or sell itself to another bank. This week has been a whirlwind for markets globally on worries about banks that may be bending under the weight of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades.

FILE – The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, on Feb. 28, 2023. China accused the United States on Thursday, March 16, of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok following reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

BEIJING (AP) — China is accusing the United States of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok following reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says the U.S. has yet to present evidence that TikTok threatens its national security. Wang told reporters at a daily briefing Thursday that the U.S. was using the excuse of data security to abuse its power to suppress foreign companies. TikTok was dismissive Wednesday of a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the U.S. Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment was threatening a U.S. ban on the app unless its Beijing-based owner ByteDance Ltd. divested.

This photo taken from video released on Thursday, March 16, 2023, shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 drone and beginning to release fuel as it passes, over the Black Sea, the Pentagon said. The Pentagon has released footage of what it says is a Russian aircraft conducting an unsafe intercept of a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea. (US Department of Defense via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Pentagon has released video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone before the warplane clipped the drone’s propeller in international airspace, leading to its crash in the Black Sea and raising tensions between Moscow and Washington. The U.S. military’s declassified 42-second color footage shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 Reaper drone and releasing fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said. Dumping the fuel appeared to be aimed at blinding the drone’s optical instruments to drive it from the area. Poland, meanwhile, says it’s giving Ukraine a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the first NATO member to fulfill Kyiv’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A mistrial has been declared in the western Pennsylvania trial of a man charged in the death of an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed in a street confrontation more than 3 1/2 years ago. Attorneys for 34-year-old defendant Christian Bey sought and were granted a mistrial ruling by an Allegheny County judge Wednesday after a prosecution witness mentioned that she had known the defendant since he moved into the neighborhood after having been “released from prison.” Bey is charged with homicide in the July 2019 shooting that killed 36-year-old Officer Calvin Hall after an apparent dispute at a Homewood block party.

AMBRIDGE, March 16 – Multiple grants totaling more than $4.2 million from the Commonwealth Financing Authority will fund infrastructure and transportation projects throughout 16th Legislative District, state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Beaver, announced today.

“These dollars are funding projects that keep our water clean, our sanitary sewer systems functioning and our buildings safe,” Matzie said. “These are largescale investments that will make a difference for residents and small business owners and save taxpayer dollars.”

Matzie said more than $3.5 million in funding secured under the Statewide Local Share Account grant program includes:

• $519,900 to Harmony Township to renovate the township municipal building.
• $500,000 to Aliquippa for infrastructure improvements to various city buildings.
• $500,000 to Aliquippa Municipal Water Authority to replace the Sheffield Terrace water storage tank.
• $500,000 to Hopewell Township for improvements to the Wickham Village wastewater pollution control facility.
• $284,500 to Monaca Borough for civic center site preparation and outdoor improvements.
• $250,000 to Aliquippa Municipal Water Authority for construction of a new collector well.
• $250,000 to Hopewell Township for construction of a UV disinfection system and related tank and electrical systems at the Raccoon Creek Water Pollution Control Facility.
• $250,000 to Rochester Borough Sewer and Maintenance Authority for a sanitary and combined sewer improvements project.
• $149,888 to Hopewell Township for the purchase of a Vactor Truck.
• $93,240 to Hopewell Township for Hopewell Community Park playground equipment.
• $82,544 to Center Township Sanitary Authority for purchase of a utility dump truck for use in Monaca Borough and Center, Hopewell and Potter townships.
• $68,984 to Hopewell Township for Woodlawn Park playground improvements.
• $57,137 to Hopewell Township for new play equipment at Sharon Grange Park.

In addition to the funding under the LSA, Matzie said nearly $750,000 was secured under the Multimodal Transportation Fund, including:

• $400,000 to Ambridge Borough to fund new streetscape improvements along Merchant Street.
• $336,384 to the West View Water Authority to pave Tevebaugh Hollow Road in Baden and Economy boroughs.

The funds distributed through the Statewide Local Share Account grant program come from gaming revenues. The Multimodal Transportation Fund provides grants to encourage economic development and ensure residents enjoy a safe and reliable system of transportation.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing emergency railroad track repairs on Arthur Street (Route 351) in Koppel Borough, Beaver County, will occur today, Thursday, March 16 weather permitting.

Crews from Hard Surfaces LLC will conduct railroad track repairs for Norfolk Southern today through approximately 4 p.m. on Arthur Street. To allow the emergency work to occur, Arthur Street will close to traffic between 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue.  Traffic will be detoured.

Posted Detours

West of the Closure

• Take Route 351 to Route 18 (Big Beaver Boulevard)
• Take Route 18 southbound
• Turn left onto Route 588 (Eastvale/4th Street Bridge)
• Turn left onto 2nd Avenue (Route 588)
• Turn left onto Route 65 (Mercer Road)
• Follow Route 65/288 to Fountain Avenue in Ellwood City
• Turn left onto Fountain Avenue
• Turn left onto 5th Street
• Turn right onto Spring Avenue
• Turn left onto 6th Street
• Turn right onto Beaver Avenue
• Turn left onto 8th Street
• Turn right onto Route 351 (Lawrence Avenue)
• Follow Route 351 back across the Koppel Bridge
• End detour

East of the Closure

• Take Route 351 eastbound into Ellwood City
• Turn left onto 5th Street
• Turn right onto Fountain Avenue (Route 65/288)
• Turn right onto Second Street (Route 65/288)
• Continue southbound on Route 65
• Turn right onto Route 588 (Bennetts Run Road)
• Cross the Eastvale/4th Street Bridge
• Turn right onto northbound Route 18 (7th Avenue)
• Turn right onto eastbound Route 351 (Arthur Street)
• End detour

PennDOT is not involved in this work and is providing this information as a public service announcement only. For additional information contact Chris Staschiak at 330-519-1371.

Motorists are advised to use caution, allow extra time, and expect changing traffic patterns when traveling through the area. Visit 511pa.comor call 511 from any phone to check traffic conditions on major roadways before traveling.