Photos: CVS Construction
Construction continues on the CVS Pharmacy at Spring Avenue and 5th Street. Photos by Jonathan Cortez for EllwoodCity.org
Articles by Jonathan Cortez
Ellwood City School Board to Interview Candidates for Basketball Coaches
Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches The Ellwood City school board will interview two candidates each for the positions of boys and girls basketball head coaches. The positions were open since Jolene Krupa and James Kosior resigned in following the 2015-16 season. The positions may be filled at today’s meeting. Video Highlight Board for Helling Stadium At the board’s agenda meeting on Monday, Athletic Director Darin Morella presented a proposal to install a video highlight board at Helling Stadium. Although Morella estimated the board would cost between $7,000 and $35,000, he emphasized he was looking for ways of negating the price,…
Ellwood City School Board to Consider Athletic Apparel Deal
At its voting meeting tonight, the Ellwood City school board will consider allowing Walmart and Kmart to sell Ellwood City school district-themed clothing. The agreement would be negotiated through Pel Industries, an athletic apparel company. During the board’s agenda meeting on Monday, Business Manager Richard Zarone said the district had attempted a similar arrangement before with a different company, but it hadn’t worked out. The school would receive eight percent royalties from sales. Vice President Matt Morella was concerned that such an arrangement would hurt local businesses. Board member Kathy Pansera noted that Beaver County Walmarts already sell t-shirts for…
Homicide Trial: Prosecution’s Primary Witness
[This is Part 3 in a series covering the homicide trial of Leon Platt. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here.] Update April 14, 8:30 a.m.: The defense called no witnesses and the jury began deliberations yesterday afternoon. They will reconvene today. Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Minett is prosecuting and defense attorney John Bongivengo is representing Platt. On…
Council to Vote on Full-Time Police Officer on Monday
Ellwood City Borough Council will vote on a motion to advertise for a full-time patrol officer at its regular meeting next Monday. The motion was added to the agenda at Monday’s agenda meeting after a discussion. [Correction 12 a.m.: The motion will advertise the position, not hire an officer.] The police department currently has one lieutenant, one sergeant, eight full-time patrol officers and one part-time patrol officer. Council member Judi Dici started the discussion with statistics concerning overtime rates for the police department. According to numbers read by Dici, overtime costs for January through March are $42,606.84. According to borough…
Homicide Trial: Prosecution Rests Case
[This is Part 1 in a series covering the homicide trial of Leon Platt. Parts 2 and 3 can be found here and here.] After six days and over two dozen witnesses, the prosecution rested its case yesterday afternoon in the murder trial of defendant Leon Platt. Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. It’s the first murder trial in Ellwood City since 1980. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case before a jury of…
Homicide Trial: Prosecution Witnesses
[This is Part 2 in a series covering the homicide trial of Leon Platt. Parts 1 and 3 can be found here and here.] After six days of testimony and over two dozen witnesses, the prosecution rested its case in the trial of Leon Platt. Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. It’s the first murder trial in Ellwood City since 1980. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case before a jury of seven men…
Spring Sports Senior Athlete Q & A
Boys Track & Field Nick Ioanilla Parents Names: Linda and Damien Barret and Dave Ioanilla Years Participated: All of varsity but not junior high. Events: 100 and 200 meter sprints and long jump. Q: What has your favorite memory been over the years? I was on the 4 x 100 meter relay team that qualified for states my freshmen and sophomore year. Q: What are you looking forward to about the upcoming season? Doing my best and seeing how far into the post-season I can get. Q: What have you been doing to prepare for your first match? Working on…
Ellwood Boys Tennis Going for a Winning Record
For the first time in the past few seasons, the Ellwood City tennis team had a solid preseason to prepare. “Last year, some of the kids’ first time on the court was their first match,” head coach Keith Golebie said. “It’s hard to organize a team in those conditions.” Golebie, a tech teacher at Lincoln High School, has been coaching for five years. This season, with several new factors in their favor, the team is looking for a winning record. Last year, the team was 1-7 in the section and 1-10 overall. Already, Ellwood defeated Riverside in a conference match….
Close Game Ends in a Triumphant Comeback for Lady Wolverines
When the fourth inning started, the Ellwood City softball team was in a quagmire, down 5-2 where any gains could be shut down by more Laurel runs. However, the Lady Wolverines made a resounding comeback to win 8-6. Ellwood earned two runs in the fourth inning and from then on, kept Laurel at bay. The Lady Spartans only got one run in for the rest of the game while Ellwood picked up four more in the sixth and seventh inning. Freshmen Ariana Garroway, straight out of a massively successful junior high team, had four hits, three runs and three RBIs….