Recent Stories

Articles by Jonathan Cortez

February 4, 2016

Inmetco and Parent Company Horsehead File for Bankruptcy

Horsehead Holding Corp. and its affiliated companies, including Ellwood City-based Inmetco, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, Feb. 2. According to published sources, Horsehead missed a $1.9 million payment and saw its stock drop more than 90 percent. Horsehead Holding Corp. is based in Pittsburgh and owns seven affiliated facilities, including Inmetco, a battery recycling plant. In a press release on Jan. 22, Horsehead announced it was temporarily idling its zinc plant in Mooresboro*, N.C. The plant opened in June 2014 after Horsehead shut down a facility in Beaver County. A press release on Feb. 2 announced that…

February 2, 2016

Opinion: Taxpayers Don’t Stipulate Terms of Use

“It’s our property because we’re the tax payers,” said every American at some in their life. Upon first thought, this argument seems solid or at least something you can throw at elected officials when they make a decision you don’t like. After all, public property is for public use. Our tax dollars pay to upkeep it and we elect people to oversee the use of it, so we expect that when we want to use it, we can. However, it’s a bit more involved than it simply being “our property.” We pay taxes for the US government to manufacture stealth…

January 29, 2016

Fire Destroys The Ranch

The Ranch, a Wayne Township restaurant and bar, was destroyed in a fire yesterday afternoon. The fire originated in the kitchen as a grease fire shortly after 1:30 p.m. and spread to the entire building. Nine fire departments rushed to the scene as state police directed traffic. By 2:30, the fire had gone through the building’s roof. Firefighters from Wayne Township were still at the scene at 6:30 p.m. Fire companies that responded include Wayne Township, Ellwood City, Wurtemburg-Perry Township, Chewton, Frisco, Portersville, Shenango, Slippery Rock Township and North Sewickley Township. The Ranch, on 4628 Ellwood Road (Route 65), was…

January 29, 2016

Weekly Basketball Recap: Ellwood City Girls Defeat Hopewell in Conference Game

The Ellwood City girls basketball team played two conference games this week, losing a close away game to Beaver 42-35 on Monday, Jan. 25 and defeating Hopewell 51-30 at a home game yesterday. In Monday’s game, the Lady Wolverines trailed Beaver 38-24 by the third quarter. However, a fierce counterattack in the final quarter gave Ellwood 11-4, closing the gap but not enough to even the score. For Ellwood, Breonna Streit and Karrington Ketterer led the offense with 11 points each. Nine of Streit’s points came from three-point shots. In a social media post, assistant coach Dena Noble congratulated Streit,…

January 27, 2016

Drug Sweep Arrests Three in Ellwood City Area

The Lawrence County District Attorney Drug Task Force arrested nine people Monday and Tuesday in a countywide drug sweep, including three in the Ellwood City area. Heroine Dealing The Drug Task Force arrested two people for heroin dealing following an incident on Oct. 15. According to the criminal complaint filed on Jan. 22, Amanda Hasan, 25, of Ellwood City, and Timothy Wilkes, 27, of New Castle, were caught after attempting to sell heroin to an informant in a pre-planned operation. On Oct. 15 at approximately 10:40 p.m., the informant met with Wilkes on 13th Street and purchased .4 grams of…

January 26, 2016

Riverside Wins Important Conference Game Against Neshannock

The Riverside girls basketball team is on a drive for the section title. Yesterday, there was one obstacle: Neshannock’s powerful team. However, the Lady Panthers thrashed Neshannock 55-34 in a home game, putting them a half-step ahead in their Class-AA section rankings. Although victory is often expected among a team with a 15-2 record, the girls went into the game knowing Neshannock would be tough competition. Back in December, Neshannock handed Riverside its first taste of defeat in a 51-39 game away game. Riverside would steamroll through eight wins before experiencing their second loss against Beaver Falls on Thursday. The…

January 25, 2016

Demolition of Properties for CVS Pharmacy Begins

Demolition for the CVS Pharmacy began earlier this month as crews brought down a few of the buildings. The Pharmacy will be located at the intersection of Fifth Street and Fountain Avenue roughly across from the Rite Aid Pharmacy. The construction site consolidated 10 properties, including the old St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church. According to CVS sources, St. Agatha will possibly be deconstructed as opposed to demolished and the materials will be sold. CVS’s time table indicated a start date late in 2015. However, according to Ellwood City Borough Officials, CVS had not yet completed all the proper work paperwork…

January 22, 2016

New Chamber Director Settles In, Set Goals

“First week on the job and we already lost Trader Horn,” Ray Santillo joked as he worked on arranging his new desk. Santillo is the new executive director the Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce, a role he began on Monday, Jan. 11. Although there are many challenges ahead, he has a matching enthusiasm for the work and the Ellwood area. Santillo is a lifelong resident of Ellwood City, who raised four children here and says he is blessed that they all live nearby. He made his career with Riverside school district as a teacher, coach and ultimately principal of…

January 21, 2016

Council Appoints One Full-Time Patrol Officer Over Objections Raised by Two Members

In a 5-2 vote, Ellwood City borough council appointed a full-time patrol officer on Monday, Jan. 19. The officer is also the nephew of recently sworn-in council member George Celli. The new full-time officer, Jonathan Fauzey, has been working part-time since a previous council hired him in August 2013. Monday’s vote had similarities to the vote almost two and a half years ago to hire Fauzey as part-time. In both votes, council members Judi Dici and Marilyn Mancini voted against the motion but were defeated by a majority that included Celli. Dici and Celli have been off council since losing…

January 19, 2016

One of Perry School’s Boilers to Be Replaced

In a unanimous vote on Jan. 14, the Ellwood City School Board decided to replace a broken boiler at Perry Lower Intermediate at a cost of $90,000. Perry has two boilers but only one is needed to properly heat the building. Both are over 50 years old and are well past their expected years of service, according to Business Manager Richard Zarone. “It could last five years, it could last five minutes,” Zarone said regarding the functional old boiler. Zarone presented the board with an option to replace both boilers at a cost of $150,000. Replacing both this year would…