Recent Stories

Home Page

November 16, 2015

Police: Shoplifting, Marijuana and DUI

Shoplifting at Dollar General According to the criminal complain, on Oct. 21 around 1:45 p.m., officers responded to a reported shoplifting at Dollar General on 1221 Lawrence Ave. An employee informed officers that two females had shoplifted a white t-shirt, gray in color baseball cap and a bra with a total value of approximately $23. Investigating officers reviewed a surveillance video and identified the suspects as Rebecca Irwin, 30, and Melissa Sabo, 34, both of Ellwood City. Irwin and Sabo each have three prior convictions for retail theft. They were both charged with two counts of retail theft. Marijuana, Public…

November 13, 2015

EllwoodCity.org 2015 Reader Survey

To our valued readers, we will soon be launching a new site that will be more reader and technology friendly. To create the best possible Ellwood news site, we are looking for feedback. From now until November 25, we will be running an end of the year survey. We welcome both technical and content related suggestions to steer our course into 2016. We encourage everyone to take the 10 question survey and an additional five question demographic survey. Please feel free to be specific and elaborate in any of the open-ended questions. We appreciate your time and feedback, and we…

November 13, 2015

November School Board Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City school board meeting held on Thursday, Nov. 12. This was the last board meeting with board members Jennifer Grossman, Bob Stevenson and George Garda, who did not run for re-election. In December, Erica Gray-Sutkowski, Danielle Woodhead and Jennifer Tomon will be sworn in the reorganization meeting. Revenue/Finance The Board approved the final expense report for board member Renee Pitrelli’s attendance at the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference. Personnel/Education Matt Walley was approved as a wrestling coach, and Darin Morella was approved as the 9th grade basketball coach. Board member Matt Morella…

November 12, 2015

Photos: Lincoln High School Presents “Into the Woods”

This weekend, the students of Lincoln High School will present the musical “Into the Woods.” It’s an unusual and challenging production for several reasons. First, the students selected it. Director Laura Adams said the directorial staff, comprised of high school faculty, almost always chooses the musical. However, this year the students were especially excited about “Into the Woods” and convinced Adams to give it a try. The students had to perform in a workshop to demonstrate they could pull off some of the difficult numbers required. The students were inspired to do the musical after seeing the 2014 Disney film…

November 11, 2015

Into the Woods: Q&A with Cast Members

This year’s Lincoln High School Musical presented a certain challenge for a conventional Ellwoodcity.org Q&A. The musical, “Into the Woods,” a Brother’s Grimm fairy tale medley, has no defined leads but instead features an extensive ensemble cast. Accordingly, the Q&A is presented in collective responses rather than individual sessions. Overall, the cast loved the diverse emotions the musical portrays. “It’s quirky and funny and the audience will love both the comic side and the serious parts,” junior Joey Cortez, who portrays the titular character in “Jack and the Bean Stalk,” said. Cortez is one of the veterans players, having participating in…

November 11, 2015

Council: Questions Remain Regarding Civil Service Regulations

At Monday’s agenda setting meeting on November 9, the Ellwood City borough council discussed adopting amended civil service regulations at its regular meeting next Monday, Nov. 16. Borough solicitor Ed Leymarie mentioned that a specific requirement in the regulations could cause legal issues. The regulations, as they stand to be adopted, require prospective police officers to live within 25 miles of the borough. Leymarie said that council does not have authority to unilaterally make that a requirement and must first negotiate with the police union. He said there is substantial case law supporting a negotiation. Council responded by asking Leymarie…

November 10, 2015

Ellwood Chamber of Commerce Director Resigns

Lori Hilliard, the Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, submitted her letter of resignation to the Chamber’s board on November 5. Hilliard cited spending more time with her parents and grandparents and having a job that will have a more flexible work schedule as reasons for her resignation. Her letter also served as her two weeks notice. “I regret having to leave the Chamber as the Executive Director, but my father suffers from health issues, and I need to be able to offer my parents more support on a regular basis,” Hilliard said. “In order to do that, I…

November 10, 2015

Katy’s Baked Goods Brings Cookies, Cakes, Fudge and More to Downtown

Although it was a summer in arriving, Katy’s Baked Goods is open for business at 429 Lawrence Ave. The establishment adds a bakery to the growing list of downtown businesses. Katy’s celebrated it’s grand opening with an Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, October 31. Katy Mook-McGrath, an Ellwood resident, has sold baked goods for years at the Farmer’s Market and at the urging of her customers, she decided to open a bakery. McGrath emphasizes small batch, home-style baking and makes nothing in mass quantity. She uses real ingredients, such as vanilla beans, real butter, and…

November 10, 2015

Real Estate Transfers from October 2015

Courtesy of the Register & Recorder section of the Lawrence County Government Center in New Castle, the following are real estate transfers from the Ellwood City Area for October of 2015: Ellwood City Borough 506 Franklin Ave; Judith and George Curry to Charles and Kathryn Murray for $30,000 122 Line Ave; Raymond and Mary Bettoni to Bank of New York Mellon Trustee for $2760.12 507 Pershing St; Adrienne Neff to Paul Night for $98,000 510 Haig St; Megan and David Moore to Adam and Ashlee Carter for $137,000 809 California Ave; Look at My Homes LLC to Michelle Pogozelec for…

November 10, 2015

Letter to the Editor: Mayor Thanks Emergency Personnel for Fire Response

Many of you are already aware of the lithium explosion that occurred at approximately 8:50 a.m. on Sunday, November 8, 2015 at the Inmetco Plant. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all emergency personnel that quickly responded to a horrible situation. After hours of work, they were able to diffuse the fire and get the situation under control. I would like to commend these individuals for safe guarding our community, and for their outstanding and professional work ethic. To the best of my knowledge, no major injuries were reported. I believe these special people who responded…