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October 22, 2015

Students Create First Inter-school Powder Puff Game

The first ever inter-school Powder Puff game for Lincoln High school will be against Mohawk this Saturday, October 24. Ellwood has enjoyed a long tradition of intramural powder puff games but now the Lincoln senior girls will be pitting their athletic prowess against the Mohawk senior class. The game is the brainchild of seniors Sydney Schurtz and Alley McKelvey, who informed Athletic Director Darin Morella. Morella in turn contacted several surrounding schools. However only Mohawk responded positively, with their Athletic Director, Jared Stratton, joining the effort. According to Morella, the event should be a two-year commitment. This year’s game will…

October 21, 2015

Former Police Chief Sues Borough

Former police chief Mark Romutis is suing the Borough of Ellwood City. Romutis filed a wrongful termination lawsuit on Monday, October 19 at the Lawrence County Courthouse. According to court documents, the lawsuit is four-pronged: breech of contract, breech of policy violation, breech of implied covenant, and interference with prospective economic advantage. Romutis is seeking $35,000 for each of the claims for a total of $140,000. The lawsuit rests on the grounds that the reason for the police chief’s abrupt removal violated the terms of his contract and has limited his employment prospects. Romutis served as police chief from January…

October 21, 2015

Police Cruiser Purchase Causes Dissension in Council

Council voted to purchase a new police cruiser at Monday’s council meeting on October 19. However, the vote was not unanimous. Council members Ralph Chiapetta and David DeCaria voted no. Chiappetta said that due to low patrol hours in the police department (about 2.4/man hour), he couldn’t justify purchasing a new cruiser. “The police department has been focusing on drug activity while other crimes, such as vandalism, are on the rise,” Chiappetta said. David DeCaria joined Chiappetta in the dissenting vote, adding that the decision “won’t affect the safety of officers or the public.” However, the other five members of…

October 21, 2015

Police: Theft of $65,000 from Ellport Residence

Theft An Ellport woman stole over $65,000 from her mother, according to police reports. On September 10, 2015, Jeanette Mathas, of Ellport, reported a theft from her house. Mathas stated that she had been in the hospital for the past two months. When she returned, she found that approximately $65,000 she had hidden was missing. Mathas stated that her daughter, Brenda Anthony, was the only person with access to the house. A witness provided pictures of Anthony with the money. Another witness reported that Anthony had recently bought all new furniture for the house she was residing in. On September…

October 16, 2015

Photos: Homecoming 2015

Homecoming photos from 2015. Allie McKelvey was crowned homecoming queen at halftime during the game against the Mohawk Warriors. The Homecoming Court consisted of Emily Brown, Brittany Casuccio, Alena Costulas, Taylor Hartle, Karington Ketterer, Victoria Ketterer, Allie McKelvey and Sydney Shurtz. The Ellwood City Wolverines won the game 48-6.

October 16, 2015

Police: Theft and Driving on Wrong Side of Road

Theft According to the police report, Ellwood City Power and Light reported a theft on Oct. 12. Investigating officers were informed that the theft occurred between Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 12 at 8:30 a.m. The chain link fence had been cut open and three electric transformers, valued at $15 each, were stolen. Investigation ongoing. Theft Rocco Ierino reported a stolen lawn mower from his property on Division Avenue on Oct. 11 around 4:40 p.m. According to the police report, Ierino was working on his property on Division Avenue. He placed his lawnmower on the sidewalk and went…

October 15, 2015

Council Members Disagree on Revision to Civil Service Regulations

The Ellwood City Borough Council was poised to adopt revised civil service regulations at its voting meeting on Monday, Oct. 19. However, after council member Connie MacDonald raised several questions during the agenda setting meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13, council agreed to table the motion for further discussion. MacDonald felt the regulations should include a credit check in the civil service commission’s background check. He also felt the borough should require police officer’s to have a college education, either a bachelors or associates. “In this day and age, we should hire the most qualified people and encourage people to have…

October 15, 2015

Riverside Parents Inquire about Co-Op Wrestling with Ellwood City

Several parents attended the Riverside School Board agenda setting meeting on Monday, Oct. 12 to inquire about a potential Riverside wrestling program. Visitor Rani Schweiger asked the Board if there was interest in either establishing a Riverside wrestling team or forming a Co-Op with Ellwood City. Superintendent Dr. David Arney said that because of how imminent winter sports season is, it is more practical to look into having Riverside athletes wrestle as independents for the 2015-16 school year. Schweiger countered that wrestling as an independent is an entirely different experience for athletes than having the support of a team. “My…

October 14, 2015

Local Effects of PIAA Transition to 6A Classification Uncertain

The nature of high school sports in Pennsylvania will change in the 2016-17 school year. At a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 6 the PIAA board voted 26-4 to increase the number of football classifications from four to six. Traditionally, high schools sports have been divided into two to four size rankings (A, AA, AAA, AAAA) based on the student population of freshmen through juniors. Male and female populations are counted separately. With this change, there will now be six classifications (A-AAAAAA) in the PIAA for not only football, but baseball, softball, and boys/girls basketball. According to other news sources, the…

October 13, 2015

Strike Averted, School Tomorrow! Tentative Agreement Reached

Around 9 p.m. tonight, the Ellwood City School Board and the Ellwood Area Education Association reached a tentative agreement. As such, a strike has been avoided, and there will be school tomorrow as normal. Today’s negotiation, which began at 6 p.m., concluded a series of negotiations since the last contract expired on June 30. Following today’s agreement, Board Vice President LeRoy Cortez thanked the teachers for their patience. “We’ve reached an agreement that I believe is fair to both sides,” Cortez said. The threat of a strike loomed over the district since Wednesday, Oct. 9 when the Education Association announced…