Articles by Jonathan Cortez

Winter Storm Results in First Snow Day of the School Year for Ellwood City

At the Ellwood City Area school board meeting last Thursday, Feb 11, Superintendent Joe Mancini said that students will still have Monday off because there hasn’t been a snow day yet. A few school board members responded with, “Don’t say that yet!” It was semi-prescient. Students did indeed have Monday, designated as a snow-makeup day, off. Ironically, the first snow day of the year came yesterday, giving students a four-day weekend. Both Ellwood and Riverside districts had cancellations. For Ellwood, the next snow-makeup day is March 24, the Thursday before Good Friday. The winter storm also caused the Riverside girls…


Photos: St. Agatha Deconstruction Underway

Demolition of the properties west of St. Agatha nears completion while deconstruction of the church is underway. The windows facing Spring Avenue have been removed, and crews have been dismantling the inside as well. According to local CVS sources, the new pharmacy is expected to open sometime next fall and the current CVS in Franklin Plaza will relocate to the new location.     Photos by Jonathan Cortez/EllwoodCity.org


Correction: Consultant Company Proposal Stated Incorrectly

The article “Marketing Consulting Company Presents Proposition to Skeptical EC School Board,” incorrectly presented Image Consultant’s preliminary proposal. Image Consultants’ initial quote was for $50 per hour for 32 hours, totaling $1,600. Specified services included consultation with school representatives, development of sponsorship funding levels, creation of handout materials and solicitation of potential sponsors. These rates didn’t include gas mileage, which would be charged at 57.5 cents per miles. The proposal recommended an initial 90 or 120-day contract. The quote was preliminary and open to revision. Specifically, Marshall mentioned that the rate could be dropped to $40. The previous description of…


Fifth Grade Scheduling Causes Extended School Board Debate

On Monday’s agenda meeting, most members of the Ellwood City Area School Board accepted a fifth grade schedule proposal as the best possible option. However, board president Renee Pitrelli didn’t accept the change, resulting in an extended circular conversation. Currently, the fifth-graders are divided into two classroom “pods” each rotating between three teachers. Frank Keally, the principal at Hartman Intermediate, felt this was a fine model and several school board members agreed, including Pitrelli, Jeniffer Tomon, Danielle Woodhead and Erica Gray. Unfortunately, this year’s fourth grade class is smaller than normal and as a result, Keally will have to move…


Video: Ketterer Ends Varsity Career with 1005 Points

Karrington Ketterer broke the 1000 point mark in her final game of varsity basketball on Monday against Montour. Ketterer has played at the varsity level since her freshmen year. She scored 156 points in 9th grade, 265 in 10th, 284 in 11th and 300 this year. The Ellwood City Lady Wolverines lost Monday’s away game 57-42. They end the season 9-13 overall and 6-8 in their conference. Although the team was hoping for a playoff run, they finished fifth in their Class AAA conference. The top four teams advance to playoffs. Last year, the girls tied for fourth place and…


Marketing Consulting Company Presents Proposition to Skeptical EC School Board

The Ellwood City Area School Board listened to a business proposition by Image Consultants, an Ellwood-based company, during their agenda meeting on Feb. 8. Earla Marshall offered her professional services via Image Consultants to organize a fundraising campaign for two STEAM labs in Hartman Intermediate and Lincoln Jr/Sr High School. Marshall had previously visited the board representing the Kitchen Cabinet, a volunteer community activist organization. Marshall had said that Cabinet members would volunteer their services to raise money for the STEAM labs. In January, the board passed a motion to give the administration $150,000, which was the minimum estimated cost…


Photos: Riverside Girls and Boys Win Senior Nights, Advance to Playoffs

Senior Katie Stang took advantage of the senior spirit and scored 39 points, breaking her high score record last year by seven. Stang has scored 895 points during her junior and senior years. The Lady Panthers dominated New Brighton 65-22 in the Senior Night conference game held on Thursday, Feb. 4. Seniors Jordan Annarumo, Morgan Bailey, Ashely Boehm, Abbey Matiko, Katie Stang and Suzuno Kimara were honored prior to the game. Riverside consistently outscored New Brighton and the second quarter was 22-2. Seniors Annarumo and Matiko scored nine and seven while Bailey landed a three-pointer. On Monday, they finished the…


Senior Privilege is Working Well, According to Administration

The Lincoln High School administration reported that senior privilege, a scheduling policy for the 2016-17 school year, has been working fantastically. At the Ellwood City Area school board agenda meeting on Tuesday, Lincoln assistant principal John Sovich presented the board with statistics and feedback on the policy. Following the feedback, the board, which was skeptical of the policy last year, overwhelmingly approved of senior privilege. Senior privilege is a scheduling policy in which seniors may opt to come in at 10 a.m. or leave two hours early rather than taking electives. This is not due to a lack of elective…


Federal Marshals Apprehend New Castle Attempted Homicide Suspect in Ellport

Federal marshals apprehended a New Castle man charged with attempted homicide in an Ellport house last Tuesday, Feb. 2. Shaquone Lockett, 20, was wanted by New Castle police since an incident on Oct. 12. Lockett was charged with attempt to commit homicide, two counts of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person. All charges are first degree felonies. According to the criminal complaint filed with District Judge Melissa Amodie, Lockett shot Ortarius Williams, 19, of New Castle, in the face with a shotgun. During his recovery, Williams informed investigating officers that he had been lured…


Photos: Ellwood City Girls Basketball Triumphs on Senior Night

Senior Karrington Ketterer scored 26 points in yesterday’s 49-34 win against New Castle on Senior Night. The Lady Wolverines have five seniors on the roster and all hold a special place to head coach Jolene Krupa and her sister, assistant coach Dena Noble. When the two started coaching, the Class of 2016 was in eighth grade, and Krupa and Noble have coached them up through the years. This roster also qualified for playoffs last year, the first time the Lady Wolverines have done so since 1997-98. They are not only great athletes, but are amazing young ladies as well,” Krupa…