The number of riders using mass transit in Beaver County continues to surge, increasing 19.4 percent from July 1 to Sept. 30 over that same period last year.

The ridership total for a full 12 months -- from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008 -- reached a record high of 754,017.

Here's the breakdown of ridership numbers from the Beaver County Transit Authority for July 1 through Sept. 30 of this year:

• Route 2, local service including Center retail area, Brodhead Road, Aliquippa and Ambridge -- 62,168, a 20.4 percent increase.

• Route 4, rush-hour express service to Pittsburgh via Route 60 and the West Busway -- 19,464, a 19.6 percent increase.

• Route 11, local shuttle service through Rochester, Vanport and Beaver -- 13,821, a 19.6 percent increase.

The authority added a fifth inbound Route 4 trip Oct. 13 in response to increased ridership. Additional service improvements are planned for April.

"Beaver County residents may have initially tried transit to trim the family budget, but the authority's continuing commitment to provide a safe and pleasant commuting experience keeps passengers coming back," Mary Jo Morandini, the authority's general manager, said in a news release.

Carriage and trolley rides, entertainment, a lighted parade, raffles and hot chocolate will be part of the light-up program from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday in the business district in Beaver.

Labeled lighted luminaries to benefit the American Cancer Society will be available to honor individuals who have cancer or who have died. Luminaries can be purchased for $7 each at the Shirley Shoppe, 659 Third St.

The activities will culminate at 8 p.m. with fireworks.

The final episode of the Telly Award-winning series "The Doctor is In: When Medicine Fails" will be broadcast at 10 a.m. and 4 and 8 p.m. today on Moon Community Access Television.

The show, produced and hosted by a Coraopolis physician, Dr. Marc Schneiderman, is the last of three shows about medical and surgical therapies used to treat the same illnesses. This episode will concentrate on thyroid disease and peripheral vascular disease.

The first program in the series, which informed viewers about osteoporosis and strokes, won a bronze Telly Award in the 29th Annual Telly Awards Competition. The second episode was about liver and kidney diseases and the ethics of organ transplants.

MCA-TV is channel 14 of the Comcast cable system and channel 35 on the Verizon FiOS network.

For show times, visit www.mca-tv.com/schedule.

Focus On Renewal has received a donation of 300 children's books from the Books-To-You program of Volunteers of America All Of Us Care. The books are to be distributed through the Focus On Renewal Parent-Child Home Program.

The home-visiting program promotes learning through play for families with children age 16 months to 3 years. The children receive a free book or educational toy each week during home visits from October to May.

In partnership with Scholastic Inc., Volunteers of America supports efforts to get children reading by distributing books to children in need through the Books-To-You program.

For information, contact Chris Crytzer, Focus On Renewal grant writer, at 412-771-6460, ext. 305, or e-mail ccrytzer@forstorox.org.

E.J. Doychak, Andrew Hinch and Joseph Mort will be presented with the Boy Scouts' highest rank, Eagle Scout, during a ceremony at 3 p.m. Saturday in St. Andrew Church in Moon.

The Scouts earned their Eagle rank as members of Troop 310. Each advanced through six ranks, earned at least 21 merit badges, held various youth leadership positions within the troop, designed and supervised an Eagle community service project, and passed a board of review to earn their Eagle rank.

Mr. Doychak attends Edinboro University, and Mr. Hinch attends Capital University. Joseph is a ninth-grader at West Allegheny High School.

An $828,112 project to repair a slide on Presto-Sygan Road will begin at 7 a.m. Monday, with the road closing between Thoms Run and Oak Ridge roads in South Fayette.

The road will remain shut through April, causing detours for about 4,400 vehicles each day while crews from Carmen Paliotta Contracting Inc., of South Park, repair the slide, reconstruct the northbound lane and mill and resurface the southbound lane.

The detour is Miller's Run Road, Route 50, Interstate 79 between the Bridgeville and Kirwan Heights interchanges and Thoms Run Road.

The Beaver Falls, Hanover, New Brighton and Raccoon fire departments will receive more than $276,000 for operations and safety through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.

Beaver Falls will get $136,325 for operations and safety; Hanover will receive $84,508 for vehicle acquisition; New Brighton will get $33,222 for operations and safety; and Raccoon will receive $21,969, also for operations and safety.

The grants were announced by U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless.

Traffic will be restricted this week for maintenance by state Department of Transportation crews on these Beaver County roads:

• Beaver Valley Expressway (Route 60), Hopewell and Center -- litter pickup between Allegheny County border and the Vanport Bridge;

• Block House Run Road, Daugherty -- crack sealing between Harmony Street and Rombold Lane;

• Brodhead Road, Hopewell -- crack sealing between Allegheny County border and Mill Street;

• Lisbon Road, Ohioville -- crack sealing between Tuscarawas and the Ohio border;

• Old Furnace Road, Franklin -- drainage replacement between Route 588 and Hartzell School Road;

• Tulip Drive, Daugherty -- crack sealing between Route 68 and Harmony Road.