Articles by Tracey Ferguson

Ellwood Fall Sport Senior Q&A: Part 1

School is back in full swing and so are high school sports! Football and Volleyball are among the popular sports for students at Lincoln. We caught up with the coaches of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries “We are just trying to get a little bit better everyday,” said football coach Joseph Lamenza. For Volleyball Coach Jenna Ricciuti, this is a unique season. “This is a very special volleyball season for myself and the team,” she said. “This group of seniors were 7th graders when I first took the position of Head…


Baierl Toyota Deletes School Lunch Debt for Ellwood Schools

More than $22,000 of school lunch debt will be gone for parents and students of Ellwood City Area School District. Baierl Toyota of Mars, PA will present a check to Superintendent Joseph Mancini and John Dzurina, Food Service Coordinator for the District Friday afternoon at the dealership. “All in all, we are very appreciative of Baierl Toyota and their generosity to the students and families of Ellwood City,” Mancini said. Michael Hull, General Manager of Bariel Toyota of Mars, stated in a KDKA report that “we have a lot of customers that come in from Ellwood City and we wanted…


Peebles in Franklin Plaza to Become Gordmans

The store closing sign on the front of the Peebles store in Franklin Plaza signifies an end but also a new beginning. “Stage has exciting news,” said Blakely Graham, manager of brand publicity for Stage. “We are planning to convert the Peebles location in Ellwood City, Pa to a Gordmans store in early 2020.” Both Gordmans and Peebles are part of the Stage community of stores, which also includes Bealls, Goody’s, Palais Royal, and Stage. Peebles will remain open until the conversion. “The Peebles store is planned to close in the days leading up to the Gordmans grand opening in…


Adult Dance Party/Karaoke Night to Make Waves at Ewing Park Pool

Although Councilwoman Marilyn Mancini doesn’t plan to sing at the Adult Dance Party/Karaoke Night, she invites everyone to stop by and say hello at the gate. Mancini said this Adult Dance Party is special because it will feature Karaoke this time. “This will be the last Adult Dance party at the pool for this summer and we are making it a karaoke night!” she said. “The DJ is Frank Pezzi—a Ellwood City resident.  His DJ name is Franco.” The party will be held at the pool, Monday, August 26th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Rain date is August 27th…


Ellwood to Join Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT)

In a 5-2 vote, Council decided that Ellwood City would join Lawrence County’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). The two “no” votes came from Councilman George Celli and Councilman James Barry. This is the second time CIRT participation was up for a vote in council. On June 17 council had a 5-2 vote of no. At that time Councilwomen Marilyn Mancini and Michele Lamenza were the only members who voted to participate. This time around, council President, Judith Dici, and council members Lisa Guerrera and Rob Brough changed their votes. Guerrera had one question, “Does this cost anything?” Dici, who…


Council Votes to Amend Hospital Zoning Ordinance

In a unanimous vote, Ellwood City Council voted on August 19 to amend the hospital/medical district zoning ordinance that they originally passed in May. The proposed amendment will be sent to the borough and Lawrence County planning commissions for review. The amendment adds to the definition of “Health Services” “facilities and residences included in a continuum of care entity.” Borough Manager David Allen said the wording basically boiled down to nursing homes. Solicitor Ed Leymarie said during an Aug 12 agenda meeting that the move will resolve an appeal filed by Penn Med LLC, a lender who is seeking a…


Medical Center to Host Free Diabetes Education Program

The Ellwood City Medical Center will host a Free Diabetes Nutrition Education Community Snacks & Facts Program. It will be Presented by Jason Barnot RD, LDN – Registered Dietitian/Licensed Nutritionist Date: Friday September 6, 2019 Time: 1 p.m. Place: Ellwood City Medical Center, Basement Cafeteria Back Dining Room Topics: How to read food labels and food ingredients What foods will help lower blood sugars and what foods will raise them Nutritional supplements Healthy snacking ideas Please RSVP to 724-544-9845 or on the Ellwood City Medical Center Facebook page event by Monday September 2, 2019.


Life Changing Gift: A Surprise for Local Man

The look on CJ DeGennaro’s face was priceless. CJ, 31, suffers from cerebral palsy. On August 17, CJ received the gift of a Safe Step walk-in tub, but it was a complete surprise to CJ. CJ had been nominated 110 times during the last two years to receive this tub by his friends, his family, his community. A crowd that worked hard to make this happen gathered in his driveway. As his family and friends and nominators stood around awaiting CJ’s return from breakfast at Christy’s diner, they anticipated his reaction. Pop out comments from the crowd filled the summer…


Board to Re-evaluate Soccer Program Funding in September

During  a special board meeting on Friday morning, Ellwood City School Board decided to allow the soccer program to use the Ewing Park School property for practice and to order nets to facilitate those practices, according to District Superintendent Joseph Mancini, who was reached for comment following the meeting. He said the games will continue to be held at Stiefel Park. He added that the board will re-evaluate the funding request at the September board meeting. Practices are being moved to Ewing Park to allow for more practice availability time in the hopes to attract additional players. This “special meeting”…


RACE Swim Team Hosting Tryouts

RACE is looking to build a team for the 2019-2020 swim season and will be hosting tryouts on Monday at 5 p.m. “Joining a swim team can give kids many benefits and be incredibly rewarding,” said Gwen Nulph, RACE coach. “It gives them the chance to be part of a team, build camaraderie, improve skills, get consistent physical activity, set and strive for goals, and have a lot of fun!” What is RACE?  Riverside Aqua Club of Ellwood (RACE) was established with the purpose of teaching competitive swimming and developing teamwork. Its mission is to build and maintain a competitive…