(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

After several weeks of detouring citizens, hard construction labor, and millions of dollars spent, the Koppel Bridge was officially and ceremoniously opened back up to the public on Wednesday afternoon (October 23).

The bridge is part of Pennsylvania Route 351 that connects Koppel Borough with North Sewickley Township and all the way into Ellwood City. The old bridge was shut down officially in August due to travel concerns, forcing motorists to travel either through Wampum or Eastvale to cross the Beaver River.

Several local residents and dignitaries, including mayor Tom Vannoy, helped cut the ribbon that made Route 351 a complete route again. Koppel Police Chief Matthew Smock had the honors of driving his unit van across the bridge before anyone else, and he told Beaver County Radio that the bridge being back open is good news for his unit and neighboring police units:

The bridge was built by Brayman Construction in conjunction with PennDot.

2020 isn’t too far away, and the piecing together of the decennial U.S. Census–including the hiring of those who will help out–is already underway.

Susan Licate of the U.S. Census Bureau joined Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County to discuss the 2020 Census Nationwide Recruitment Campaign, including the benefits that come with participating, the importance of making sure everyone’s counted for, and the legal/economic ramifications for any part of the Census that doesn’t get counted.

To hear the full interview, click on the player below.

A recently installed facility in Beaver Falls is looking to push the idea of children’s education into a more fun, resource-based, hands-on category of learning that may not be as prevalent in traditional school settings. That facility is called Neighborhood North: Museum Of Play.

Neighborhood North executive director Christine Kroger sat down with Dr. Peter Birchler (host of “People Purpose Planet” and head doctor at The Chiropractic Health Center) and Matt Drzik (host of A.M. Beaver County) to talk about the origins of her work at the Carnegie Free Library, to how her vision for more children’s resources became a reality, and the plans to evolve the space within the city as well as the outreach across Western Pennsylvania.

The soon-to-be open location for the Neighborhood North facility is at the corner of 8th & 14th in Beaver Falls (the old SkyBank building). Inquiries to help the facility through fundraising or volunteer help can be directed to Christine here.

To watch the interview as it happened, click on the Facebook video below!

Safety and emergency will be on the focus of Beaver County seniors on October 9, as the Beaver County Office On Aging will host their semi-annual Senior Day At The Mall.

Angela Gentile and Erin Shannon from the BCOA joined Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County to talk about Senior Day at The Mall, including the prescription drug takebacks, the information regarding Medicare, and what food and entertainment will be had and heard during Senior Day.

Beaver County Radio will be there as well from 10 until noon, as Frank Sparks and Zach Ulrich will have your chance at great prizes courtesy of the Personality Prize Wheel.

To listen to the full interview, click on the player below!

“Wake Up, Beaver Valley” is a new show that debuts on Saturday, October 5 on Beaver County Radio. Pastor Dave Grove from the Church of The Redeemed (services held at the Center At The Mall) is the host of the show, and it will focus on his evangelical views of the church and the world today.

A taste of that was presented on A.M. Beaver County on September 30, as Pastor Grove talked to Matt Drzik about his views on doctrines against the church, how the people have fallen away from the teachings of the cross, and what inspired him to go into the arena of talk radio.

To listen to the interview, click on the player below!

Editor’s Note: The host of the show mistakenly refers to the new show several times as “Wake Up Beaver County”. Hopefully this show host will not make such mistakes again.

With the 2020 Medicare Open Enrollment season approaching, seniors might be wondering what they may need to do in order to apply for (or renew) their healthcare package.

Kathy Miller and Joanne McDermitt from the Beaver County Office On Aging joined Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County to discuss the 2020 Medicare Open Enrollment program, as well as how the BCOA’s Apprise Program can help seniors with any questions they may have as far as healthcare or insurance for their current or future enrollment. Kathy & Joanne answered several questions in regards to Advanced Programs and the Apprise program during their time on A.M. Beaver County.

To listen to the interview, click on the player below!

With school back in full swing, sports are also back in full swing at schools of different backgrounds: public, private, charter, Christian-based, etc. And the continuing development of the latter of those became the focus of the September edition of “People Purpose Planet”.

Nate Hartman is the founder and director of the National Christian School Athletic Association (NCSAA), and he joined Dr. Peter Birchler from the Chiropractic Health Center on A.M. Beaver County along with show host Matt Drzik. Hartman spoke of what inspired him to start the NCSAA (headquartered in Beaver Falls), the purpose of bringing together and improving the Christian athletes & coaches that compete in these schools, and the values that they reinforce through daily practice and effort.

The NCSAA will be hosting their 7th annual 5K Run/Walk on September 14 at 9:00 AM with registration beginning at 7:30. More details about the run can be found here.

To watch the September edition of “People Purpose Planet”, check out the Facebook feed below!

Football, food, free stuff…just a few F-words that everyone can agree on.

Such was the case at Al’s Corner on September 6, where Rachel and the crew joined up with Frank Sparks and Matt Drzik to host their annual tailgate party at the corner of Routes 18 & 351 in Koppel. Al’s had the grill going with burgers, hot dogs and sausage, while inside customers could get their hands on some fresh fish and homemade macaroni and cheese. Frank and Matt had the prize wheel going throughout the lunch rush, with several winners going home with prizes courtesy of Al’s Corner.

If you want a look, check out the photos below!

(Koppel, Pa) FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE AND THAT MEANS IT’S TAILGATE PARTY
SEASON. COME OUT TO AL’S CORNER IN KOPPEL THIS FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER THE SIXTH FOR A TAILGATE PARTY AL’S CORNER STYLE.
FRANK SPARKS AND MATT DRZIK WILL HOST A LIVE BROADCAST
TAILGATE PARTY AT AL’S CORNER FROM ELEVEN TO ONE. RACHEL WILL
HAVE THE GRILL FIRED UP AND THE SIDE DISHES READY. THE BEAVER
COUNTY RADIO PRIZE VAN WILL BE THERE ALONG WITH THE
PERSONALITY PRIZE WHEEL. TURNERS DAIRY  WILL HAVE THEIR ANTIQUE
CAR THERE AND THEY WILL ALSO BE HANDING OUT FREE ICE TEA. SO
PUT ON YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS GEAR AND HEAD TO AL’S THIS FRIDAY
FOR AL’S TAILGATE PARTY AND MAYBE YOU CAN BE A WINNER.

Usually when there’s a presidential election on the horizon in the United States, a certain segment of the population will express a jaded apathy towards the two-party system, and perhaps give nod to a new idealism that doesn’t constantly beckon towards the status quo.

Enter Dr. Jerome Segal, a 75-year old philosopher and leader of the Bread & Roses party, a socialist party dedicated to the utopian possibilities for the average American. One that echoes the sentiment, as Segal put it, that “nobody ever died wishing they spent more time at the office”.

He put it as such in a phone interview with Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County, where Dr. Segal talked about the necessity for the American individual to become more invested in the stocks and trades of the corporate system, how fear is a destructive force in today’s America, and his 20-year plan for culture change towards each American being in solid (if not comfortable) financial standing.

More information about Dr. Segal’s campaign can be found here.

To listen to the interview with Dr. Jerome Segal, click on the player below.