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In this Update:
PA Athletic Trainers’ Society 2024 Life Saver Award Honoree
On Saturday, I joined PA State Rep. Donna Oberlander and the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers’ Society at the PennWest Clarion Golden Eagles Spring Intrasquad Scrimmage to honor David Snowberger upon receiving the 2024 Life Saver Award, along with a House and Senate Citation. In February, at a women’s basketball game at Seton Hill University, a spectator suffered a heart attack while standing on the track above the gymnasium floor. As Assistant Athletic Trainer for PennWest Clarion, Mr. Snowberger and several others ran to the man and performed CPR and used an AED device to revive him. The man was then transported to Independence Health Westmoreland Hospital. Mr. Snowberger has demonstrated an admirable concern for the safety and welfare of his fellow citizens and a willingness to put his concern into action. Thank you, David, for going above and beyond the call of duty to assure the safety of others! School Safety Grants Awarded
More than $150 million in School Safety Grants have been approved this week for students across the commonwealth. Pennsylvania’s School Safety & Security Grant Program was originally established in 2018, providing for school entities to be safer places for students, staff and visitors. Most recently through Act 33 of 2023, changes were made to strengthen and expand the program, which is overseen by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, School Safety and Security Committee. Meritorious Grants ranging from $30,000 to $45,000 were awarded to each of the 497 applicants from all 67 counties that applied. The award amount is based on the school size. Funding can be used to address safety and security through security assessments, violence prevention and all-hazards plans. Mental Health Grants ranging from $70,000 to $100,000 were awarded to each of the 719 applicants from all 67 counties that applied. These applicants included school districts, area career and technical schools, intermediate units, charter schools, regional charter schools and cyber charter schools. School districts received a base of $100,000 plus a formula amount depending on their school size. The intermediate unit, area career and technical school, charter school, regional charter school or cyber charter school applicants each received $70,000. The funding can be used for school mental health services, training and programs for students and staff. Additionally, grants were approved through the Competitive School Safety and Security Grant Funding, and Targeted School Safety and Security Grant Programs. Learn more. Training PA’s Workforce for Available Positions
Complementing Senate Republicans’ efforts to protect Pennsylvania jobs, support is available for community colleges, trade or tech schools, school districts and nonprofits through the Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant Program. The program is designed to help companies identify and train a skilled workforce for existing positions or ones that will be open soon. It is also designed to advance capacity for local and regional manufacturers and increase awareness of manufacturing career opportunities for youth or those with barriers. Grants may be used for professional services/consultants, internships, equipment purchases, shop modifications, program development, marketing, domestic travel and salaries. Learn more and apply online. Increasing the Number of Firefighters in Pennsylvania
The Senate approved a bill aimed at increasing the number of volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania by reforming the certification process without sacrificing quality or safety. Current firefighter applicants must complete four training modules totaling 188 hours. They then must pass a cumulative test covering all four modules. Senate Bill 1101 would enable applicants to be tested following each of the four modules. In the 1970s, the commonwealth had as many as 300,000 volunteer firefighters. There currently are fewer than 38,000 volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania. Spring Gobbler Season Begins April 27
On Saturday, April 27, spring gobbler season opens with a half-day hunt for junior hunters and mentored hunters 16 and under. All participants must be accompanied by adults, and hunting hours run from 30 minutes before sunrise until noon. The regular season runs from May 4-31. Hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise until noon from May 4-18 and 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset from May 20-31. Approximately 172,000 people hunt spring turkeys in Pennsylvania every year. Last season, hunters harvested about 39,500 gobblers – an increase from 35,700 in 2022 and 28,100 in 2021. Information about spring turkey hunting rules and regulations, for youth and regular hunts, is available here. BEAD Challenge Process: Expanding Access to High-Speed Internet
The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program aims to help everyone in America get affordable, reliable high-speed internet by funding infrastructure deployment and adoption programs. A requirement of the BEAD program is for Pennsylvania to conduct a map challenge. This map challenge will determine which Broadband Serviceable Locations and Community Anchor Institutions will be eligible to be served by BEAD-funded networks. Any changes made to Pennsylvania’s Broadband Map will be based on evidence submitted during the challenge process by qualified participants. Pennsylvania will be administering its BEAD Challenge starting in spring 2024. The final map will determine how we will use the $1.16 billion in BEAD program funding to close the digital divide in the commonwealth. Local governments, non-profit organizations and Internet Service Providers are eligible to challenge the availability of broadband services. Eligible participations have a 90-day timeline for challenge submissions, starting with initial submission on April 24 to May 23, to the rebuttal process on May 24 to June 22, ending with final determinations through June 23 to June 22. Additional details on registering for the BEAD challenge portal can be found here.
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