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February 17, 2018

Riverside Advances, Wolverines Fall in WPIAL Opening Round Action

The 12-seeded Riverside Panthers knocked off Burrell 32-27 Friday Night in Class-3A WPIAL opening round playoff action. Ty Thellman led Riverside with nine points while Donovan Russell led Burrell with 11. The defensive struggle saw a halftime score of 15-13, and later a Panthers 9-0 run to end the third quarter.  Riverside held Burrell without field goal for final 6:27 of the third frame, but had to withstand a 12 point rally late. “I told the guys, at this point in time, you’ve just got to win,” Rorick said after the game to Trib-Live reporter. “If we would have won…

February 16, 2018

Penn State Master Gardeners Announce Spring Symposium

The Penn State Master Gardeners of Lawrence County are holding their spring symposium on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church, 135 Decker Drive in New Castle from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This year’s program will feature four educational topics. Join Adam Haritan, a wild food enthusiast, researcher, and forager, as he presents “Spring Foraging for Wild Edible Plants”. Brandon Ratvasky, from Ratvasky Supply, will share “New Plants of 2018”. Penn State Extension Urban Forestry Associate Educator, Scott Sjolander, will present “A Practical Introduction to Assessing Tree Risk”. Come learn the art of bonsai, as Michael…

February 16, 2018

Ellwood City Schools Offering Counseling After Suicide

The Ellwood City School District is offering counseling to students in the wake of the sudden death of one of their classmates. In a statement posted on the district website, officials announced that it is with great sadness to inform you that one of our students took her own life Wednesday night.  Our thoughts and sympathies go out to her family and friends. All of the students were given the news of the death by their teacher during advisory Wednesday morning. According to the statement, members of a crisis team will be available to the students over the next days…

February 15, 2018

Ellwood City Playoff Tickets On Sale

Playoff tickets for the Ellwood City versus Cardinal Wuerel North Catholic boys varsity playoff game will be on sale in the Main Office at Lincoln High School Thursday and Friday.  The game will be played at Ambridge High School at 6:30 on Friday.  [View our story, and WPIAL playoff brackets — CLICK HERE) The cost of the tickets are as follows: Student tickets – $5.00 Adult tickets   – $7.00 There will be no student tickets sold at the door Tickets for the middle school boys basketball championship games are also on sale.  Ellwood City eight-graders will take on Neshannock at…

February 14, 2018

Police Standoff At Home Off Mercer Road [Updated Feb. 16]

  SWAT officers surrounded a home off Mercer Road in Franklin Township Wednesday morning in a standoff that lasted three hours. According to reports, police and SWAT officers were on site at the Franklin Township residence where a male was inside the home with a gun before the standoff eventually led him into police custody. As a result of the police presence and locale, Riverside School District issued a lockdown with parents and guardians receiving automated phone calls. Investigators haven’t said why they were originally called to the home or why the standoff ensued.  No one was injured.  More information…

February 14, 2018

WPIAL Basketball Playoff Matchups Announced

The WPIAL released the boys and girls basketball playoff brackets Tuesday night with three local teams making their respective classification playoffs. The Ellwood City and Riverside boys basketball teams both will play Friday night, while the Riverside girls basketball team was seeded with a first round game scheduled for February 21. The Wolverines (5-5 Section 1, 14-8 Overall) will play Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (7-3 Section 2, 11-11 overall) in their first round game Friday night at 6:30pm at Ambridge.  The Section 2 runner-up Trojans, the defending WPIAL Class-3A champion, comes in with a .500 record but owns the classification’s stingiest defense…

February 14, 2018

POLICE: Union Township Man Leads Police On Chase

According to reports, Ellwood City Police have charged Gary Joseph Rakoci Jr., 26, of Union Township, after he allegedly fled from police in his vehicle and on foot, around 3:00am Saturday while he allegedly was driving drunk. According to a criminal complaint filed by Ellwood City police, an officer driving an unmarked patrol car was southbound on Seventh Street when he saw a gray Jeep go through an intersection at Crescent Avenue at high speed, and it turned north, failing to stop at a stop sign. After observing a gray Jeep go through an intersection at Crescent Avenue at high speed,…

February 14, 2018

February Ellwood City Historical Society Meeting Notes

The Ellwood City Area Historical Society meeting held its monthly meeting Monday evening at the History Center.  The meeting was opened as President Everett Bleakney welcoming everyone, and explaining the mission of the Historical Society which is to protect, promote and preserve the Ellwood City Area History and,  to make it accessible to the people of Ellwood City. The Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag was led by World War II Veteran Guy Prestia. Everett acknowledged Kathy Powell and Karen Hungerford, guests from the Zelienople Historical Society.  Kathy related on the Zelienople Society and their functions there. Ron Geddes,…

February 13, 2018

“The Tamburitzans” To Perform In March At Lincoln High School

“The Tamburitzans” (formerly the Duquesne University Tamburitzans) will perform their new production on Sunday March 25 at the Lincoln Junior/Senior High School on Sunday, March 25th at 3:00pm. In their 81st season, the Tamburitzans will take the audience on a whirlwind tour of Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Mexico, Cuba and “Dance of the Gypsy Roma”.  The blend of colorful costumes, precise footwork and youthful energy has long been a trademark of any Tamburitzan concert and all attendees will thrill to the performance. The concert is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ellwood City Scholarship Fund and…

February 13, 2018

Visitors Bring Concerns Regarding Beechwood Boulevard Address Changes

At yesterday’s Ellwood City borough council agenda meeting, several residents expressed concerns regarding a proposed change to Beechwood Boulevard street addresses. The change would affect 38 properties, many on Beechwood Boulevard. All of the addresses were identified by Lawrence County Emergency Services as potentially difficult for emergency personnel to find due to confusing street numbers. David High presented council with a petition signed by 10 residents addressing multiple concerns over the changes. Several of the affected addresses are in Beaver County, and High questioned how a Lawrence County agency could request a change in another county. In addition,  the petition…