Articles by Jonathan Cortez

At its regular meeting on Thursday, March 8, the Ellwood City School Board appointed board member Barb Wilson as chairwoman of an ad hoc security committee and arranged for a security firm to provide an assessment of the district’s four buildings. The committee is a response to the Florida school shooting on Feb. 14 and follows visitor concerns expressed at the agenda meeting on March 6. Wilson, who has security experience in her position as a director for a Jewish center in the Pittsburgh area, volunteered for the position and was unanimously appointed. “Congratulations, you have yourself a job,” board…

At Monday’s Ellwood City borough council meeting, council president Judi Dici advertised the position of Borough Manager. Applications will be open until Wednesday, Feb. 28, and interviews will begin shortly after. The position has been open since Jan. 2 when the new council voted in a 5-2 decision not to renew Bob Villella’s contract. Dici, other borough representatives, and borough employees have been performing the manager’s duties. According to Dici, there were six applicants as of Monday evening. “Hopefully we can fill this position quickly,” Dici said.

At Monday’s Ellwood City Borough Council meeting, former council president Connie MacDonald criticized the current council’s decision to stop construction on a new electric building. The building would have been located between Franklin Avenue and Park Avenue Extension and would have been paid for with a 2017 bond issue for over $2 million dollars. At a special meeting on Feb. 1, the new council voted 5-2 to suspend construction, with previous council members George Celli and Michele Lamenza casting the dissenting votes. According to MacDonald, the new building was designed, plans were finalized and the project was open for bid….