Recent News
E-news Updates – November 21, 2023
In this Update: Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving Eagle Scout Nicholas Von Damico Playing Santa? Shop Small on Saturday Sen. Hutchinson meets with Jacob Hagofsky Healthy, Free Food Available to Low-Income Seniors Preparing Pennsylvanians of All Ages for Career Success Winter Life Jacket Requirement in Effect Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving Pennsylvania has a rich […] [Read More]
E-news Updates – November 16, 2023
In this Update: Senate Honors the Life and Sacrifice of PSP Trooper Jacques F. Rougeau, Jr. Thanking our Nation’s Veterans Tax Revenues and PIT Collections Above Monthly Estimate Loans Available for Businesses Creating and Retaining Jobs Protect Yourself with Free Weekly Credit Reports Recognizing National Child Safety and Protection Month Senate Honors the Life and […] [Read More]
E-news Updates – November 9, 2023
In this Update: $900 Million Moved to PA’s Rainy Day Fund Are You Owed Unclaimed Property? Medicare Beneficiaries: Get Free Health Benefits Counseling Recognizing Outstanding Pennsylvania Educators Heating Assistance Program Open Now Slow Down, Stay Alert for Deer Honoring the Sacrifices of Our Veterans $900 Million Moved to PA’s Rainy Day Fund Thanks to the […] [Read More]
E-news Updates – November 2, 2023
In this Update: Commonwealth Court Rules Against RGGI, Higher Energy Costs Senate Passes Bill to Fight Opioid Epidemic How Can I Improve This E-Newsletter? Grants Available to Organizations Benefitting Veteran Employment Paid Government Internships Available for Undergraduates Turn Those Clocks Back This Weekend Commonwealth Court Rules Against RGGI, Higher Energy Costs The Commonwealth Court has […] [Read More]
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On Wednesday, the Senate Majority Policy Committee held a public hearing on regulatory reform and cutting government red tape. We heard from Bob McCafferty, owner of North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock, who provided testimony about the struggles he has faced in dealing with government bureaucracies while trying to grow his business and provide competitive pay and benefits to his employees. The hearing provided an opportunity to discuss how we can streamline government for all Pennsylvanians and eliminate unnecessary government roadblocks to job creation and economic growth.
Over the summer I visited the Wolf’s Corners Fair where some young farmers showed me how to feed their calf during the annual Youth and Ag Livestock Sale – what a fun time! Mark your 2024 calendars for the next Wolf’s Corners Fair – Clarion County’s “Biggest Little Fair” – which is held every year during the week of July 4th.
This past week at the state Capitol, I had the great honor to meet retired Pfc. U.S. Army Jessica Lynch, who addressed the state Senate to mark POW/MIA Recognition Day in Pennsylvania, which is every third Friday of September.
On March 23, 2003, while serving in Iraq, Lynch was captured after her unit was ambushed in the town of An Nasiriyah, leaving her severely injured. She was initially listed as missing in action but was being held captive by Iraqi forces. After some time in the custody of the Iraqi army regiment that had captured her, she was taken to a hospital in An Nasiriyah.
My colleague Sen. Devlin Robinson, who joined Lynch and me, was part of Marine Task Force Tarawa, which went door-to-door in An Nasiriyah to search for evidence of prisoner whereabouts. After nine days of tireless operations, actionable intelligence was collected and a special forces operation was launched to rescue Lynch. Two weeks later, the remaining soldiers who had been taken prisoner were rescued by marines in Baghdad.
Lynch became the first American POW to be successfully rescued since World War II. Nearly 82,000 Americans are still missing in action today.
Since Iraq, Lynch continued her education, became a mother and teacher, starred in a film and wrote a book. She has dealt with adversity and overcome it with courage and strength – she is an inspiration to me and many others.
This week, I joined hundreds of Butler County Chamber of Commerce members and business leaders for the Chamber’s annual Celebrate Business Dinner where they graduated the 2023 Leadership Butler County class, and presented the Stan Kosciuszko Leadership Excellence Award, the David L. Lloyd Chamber Champion Award and the William A. Morgan, Jr. Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In addition to the awards, Sen. Elder Vogel and I were pleased to present each recipient with a Senate citation.
Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche was honored with the 2023 Stan Kosciuszko Leadership Excellence Award. Commissioner Osche serves our community in a variety of roles such as chairman of the board of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, Tri-County Workforce Investment and the Community Development Corporation.
Dr. Paul Keelan was named the William A. Morgan, Jr. Entrepreneur of the Year honoree for starting Keelan Dental in Butler eight years ago and for being an example to others throughout our community of what hard work looks like!
Mars Bank was presented with the David L. Lloyd Chamber Champion Award for their continued commitment to Butler County over the years. Jim Dionise, president and CEO of Mars Bank received a citation on behalf of Mars Bank for all of their great work!
I recently had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ed Judd, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, at the Clarion Venango Forest Farm Bureau Picnic. What an amazing life of service, thank you!
Jeff Miller was named the 2023 Friend of the Fair at this year’s Clarion County Fair! For anyone who has attended the fair over the last 20 years, you would recognize Jeff, as he has been the voice of the fair during the announcements. Jeff, we thank you for all of your support to the fair throughout the years! If you have not made it to the fair yet this year, you have until Sunday, July 29!
Recently, I joined Venango County Commissioners Sam Breene, Mike Dulaney and Chip Abramovic; along with State Rep. Lee James and numerous staff members of the Veterans’ Administration for a ribbon cutting of the new VA Clinic right here in Cranberry Township in Venango County.
Following this ribbon cutting ceremony, we were provided a tour of the facility, where we were able to see where nearly 2,000 local veterans will be able to receive wonderful, affordable healthcare at their convenience. Thank you to the staff, for this opportunity and for all that you do to care for our veterans!
Recently, I caught up with Susan and Kat from the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss issues impacting businesses across our region. I was also able to see some other Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry members, along with their President and CEO, Luke Bernstein; and PA State Rep. Lee James and PA State Rep. Jamie Barton.
On Tuesday, students from Forest Area School District stopped by our state Capitol for a tour. PA State Rep. Kathy Rapp and I, had the opportunity to meet with the students and discuss many exciting things currently happening within the state. To anyone who has not seen our magnificent Capitol, the summertime is a great opportunity to do so!
Today, I took to the Senate floor to introduce our summer intern, Garrett Weber. Garrett is interning in our Capitol office, proudly serving the constituents of the 21st Senatorial District and we are glad to welcome him before the Senate today. This fall, Garrett is entering his sophomore year at Penn State University, where he is pursuing a degree in Finance.
Garrett is an active and involved student at Penn State where he is a member of the Club Rowing team, a YoungLife Leader, a Statistics Teaching Assistant and more recently joined the Nittany Lion Consulting Group.
Outside of his academic studies and extracurricular activities, Garrett enjoys spending time outdoors – hunting, fishing, backpacking and hiking.
In my office, Garrett has already proven to be an eager learner and quick study. He has been joining me at meetings, assisting constituents and getting to know other public officials and staff.
Over the summer, Garrett is looking forward to gaining a greater understanding of how our system works and exploring a future career in public service.
We are grateful to have Garrett in our office assisting us this summer!
This week, the Capitol was filled with participants from the Keystone Boys and Girls State programs. I had the opportunity to catch up with each group and discuss the key roles that our state government plays. Each group had many thought provoking questions and were very engaging. These great programs, which are organized by the American Legion, teach our young people across the Commonwealth leadership skills and allows them to get involved in our state and local government.
Today, along with Reps. Aaron Bernstine and Marci Mustello, I welcomed the Butler High School coed cheerleading squad to the Capitol.
Recently, the Golden Tornados won the PIAA Competitive Spirit State Championship in Hershey, where the squad topped a field of 16 teams to win its first PIAA coed crown since 2019.
Congratulations, to the Golden Tornados!
This week, I joined local legislative colleagues, the Butler County Chamber of Commerce and Bayer for a ribbon cutting at Bayer’s new 60,000-square-foot raw materials hub in Saxonburg.
The continued investment in our local economy is a wonderful addition for our region. Bayer employs nearly 1,900 people within our communities, who support the company’s radiology medical device operations and digital solutions business.
I was glad to join many of my House and Senate colleagues recently at the Annual Butler County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, along with Luke Bernstein, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
On Friday, I met with Jackie Hutz, co-founder of the Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation, and presented her with a Certificate of Commendation in honor of Donate Life Month 2023.
Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation now supports transplant patients, donors and their families while raising awareness for organ donations. In Western Pennsylvania, the foundation works to increase awareness of the urgent need for organ donation and decrease the wait time for people on the transplant list. They encourage all citizens to support organ donation by registering to be an organ donor.
Yesterday, I joined Senator Joe Pittman, PA State Rep. Abby Major and PA State Rep. Marci Mustello to congratulate the Freeport Area High School Girls Volleyball Team on winning the PIAA Class 2A state title last November. This is the Yellowjackets second state championship in the last six years. The team is coached by Head Coach Thomas Phillips and JV Coach Claire Crytzer. Congratulations, Yellowjackets!
This morning, I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Neupauer, president of Butler County Community College, members of his staff and students from BC3! We discussed some of the great things that BC3 has to offer students throughout our region and why they are continuously ranked the #1 Community College in Pennsylvania!
Yesterday, I joined Senator Elder Vogel Jr., PA State Rep. Lee James and PA State Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, for the 2023 Governor`s Awards for Local Government Excellence. The Southwest Butler Stormwater Planning Commission and Franklin Mayor Douglas Baker were recipients of this year`s awards.
The Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence recognize local officials for their successes in undertaking innovative initiatives to improve the quality of life in their communities. The Governor’s Center for Local Government Services, within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, partners with the multiple local government organizations to sponsor the annual awards.
You can read more about the Southwest Butler Stormwater Planning Commission and Franklin Mayor Douglas Baker at www.senatorscotthutchinson.com/newsroom/news-releases/
This morning, Representative Aaron Bernstine and I, joined with many of our great farmers and representatives from farm bureaus across Northwest Pennsylvania who were at the Capitol today for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Legislative Day. We had great discussions about some of the bureau’s legislative priorities for this session, as well as the amazing work our farmers do all across our communities.
This morning, along with PA State Rep. Donna Oberlander, I had the great opportunity to join students, teachers and officials from Clarion-Limestone High School and the Northwest Industrial Resource Center to discuss their recently launched student-run manufacturing enterprise. Clarion-Limestone High School is a recipient of the Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant which is designed to train a skilled workforce, build opportunities in manufacturing, and engage youth. We are thrilled to see the opportunities for training and career development that students are taking with manufacturers, right here in our community!
This morning, I had the opportunity to meet with William Thiele, a state board director for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, representing Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer Counties. William and I had a discussion about the current issues facing our agricultural industry and some of the burdens our farmers are facing. Thank you, William for stopping by!
Today, I had the opportunity to present Sam Anderson, with a certificate of recognition from the Senate of Pennsylvania to honor him for being a recipient of the 2022 Pennsylvania Farm Show Scholarship Foundation.
Sam, is a senior majoring in biological engineering at Penn State University. Upon graduation, he will be working for New Holland as a combine field test engineer with the goal of a career in machine design engineering.
Congratulations, Sam!
The 107th Pennsylvania Farm Show is off to a great start! This weekend, I caught up with some of my Senate colleagues, Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill, and Dave Smith, from the PA Dairymen`s Association, before a busy week of session! If you have not made it to the Farm Show yet – be sure to check it out! www.Farmshow.pa.gov
Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers running back star and Hall-of-Fame legend, Franco Harris, stopped by the State Senate!
We welcomed Harris and his family to Harrisburg, as he recalled one of the most famous plays ever completed in all of American football – the Immaculate Reception, which he completed his rookie season, 50 years ago on December 23, 1972!
