[naviga:h3]BC3 students earn bank scholarships[/naviga:h3]

Butler County Community College business students from Armstrong and Mercer counties have been selected to receive inaugural $1,000 Farmers National Bank of Emlenton scholarships as reward for their academic excellence.

Matthew Reitler, 19, of Cowansville and Lena Holmes, 29, of Grove City were chosen as Business Student Scholarship recipients for BC3’s spring 2019 semester following Farmers National Bank’s first “meet and greet” designed to attract BC3 business students to the financial institution’s 170-member workforce, Jennifer Roxbury, the bank’s chief operating officer, said.

Fourteen students from BC3’s 15 associate degree programs within its business division attended the Nov. 1 event at BC3. All were pursuing the scholarship, Roxbury said, while others sought banking positions.

“We are looking to get an employable workforce,” Roxbury said. “It can be a challenge to get talent.”

[naviga:h3]Science academy set Feb. 23 at SRU[/naviga:h3]

SLIPPERY ROCK — More than 540 high school scientists will compete for Slippery Rock University scholarships on Feb. 23 as the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science stages its 62nd Annual Region IX meeting.

Participants are juniors and seniors. A cumulative $25,000 will be handed out as awards.

The university is again offering a $12,000 scholarship — $3,000 per year for four years — to attend SRU to the top senior and top junior award winners.

Additionally, SRU’s mathematics department will present $100 awards for the top senior high student and junior high student math presentations; the chemistry department will give a single $100 award to the overall top chemistry presentation; and the biology department will provide a $100 award for the top senior high student and junior high student presentation in any biological field, plus a $200 Mentor Award to both the winning student’s teacher-sponsors for the purchase of science supplies at their home school.

“This year’s event will see the largest number of participating students ever in the more than two decades that we’ve hosted the event,” said William Sigmund, SRU professor of biology.

[naviga:h3]Kelly introduces craft tax reform act[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-16th, Ron Kind, D-Wis., and several other colleagues introduced the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act on Tuesday in Washington.

Kelly co-chairs the House Small Brewers Caucus.

The bill would make permanent the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s excise tax reduction on breweries, wineries and distilled spirits producers.

During the 115th Congress, the bill had 303 co-sponsors.

[naviga:h3]West Penn says power restored[/naviga:h3]

CENTER TWP — Those affected by a power outage in Center Township and other surrounding towns on Thursday should now have their power restored, according to West Penn Power officials.

Todd Myers, a spokesman for the company, said an equipment failure at a substation servicing the Center Township area caused the outage that affected 2,400 people.

“It’s not something like a tree down or anything like that,” Myers said. “We will try to determine a cause.”

A preliminary explanation for the outage was that a bushing on a transformer paired with the substation had failed. A bushing is an insulated device that allows an electrical conductor to pass safely through a grounded conducting barrier.

Power company employees rerouted the power of those affected, finishing around 11 a.m.

Myers said the reroute would last as long as it takes the substation to receive repairs, and that there is not an established timeline.