Education

ECASD Board of Directors Approve Retirement of District Superintendent

The Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors reluctantly passed a motion to accept the retirement of District Superintendent Dr. Wesley Shipley during Thursday evening’s regular meeting. As the motion was made, there wasn’t an easy second. Board President Jennifer Tomon said she is happy for Shipley but sad for the district. Shipley will continue to serve as superintendent until June 30, 2025. Shipley said serving the district and students has been a pleasure. During his 35 years in education, he said he has held roles at numerous districts, but Ellwood stands out. “This has been the most fulfilling…


Ellwood City Mom, EMT & Organ Donor Lauds BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing As Open House Nears

New Castle, PA – A 27-year-old full-time emergency medical technician, foster and stepmother and nondirected organ donor has long wanted to resume pursuit of a college degree. That pursuit was brought to a halt in 2017, when Danyelle Kirby was no longer able to afford the costly regional private university she attended for two semesters. The Ellwood City resident has since helped others, in becoming an EMT who works 40 hours per week with a Beaver County EMS provider and in raising foster and stepchildren ranging in age from 2 to 13. It was BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing’s affordability, Kirby…


Riverside School District Receives Public School Facility Improvement Grant

Riverside Beaver County School District received $350,000 for a roof repair, HVAC, and plumbing system project at the Riverside Beaver County Elementary/Middle School facility as part of PA Public School Facility Improvement Grant Program (PSFIG). The program provides grants to public school districts and area career and technical schools for eligible facility improvement projects. The grant is part of 21 state grant issued improvement projects valued at $11 million that will take place in Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence counties.  Four additional Beaver County school district projects are being funded through the grant projgram. “Investments in our roads, schools, sewers, and…


BC3 Moving Lawrence County Location to Shenango Township For Fall 2025

New Castle, PA-  BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing, founded to serve a Pennsylvania county under-represented by higher education and recognized since for its economic impact, will relocate next summer to a new home being developed in Shenango Township. Butler County Community College trustees Wednesday approved a lease that will move BC3’s first additional location outside of Butler County from Lawrence County’s Union Township to Shenango Commons, which was once known as Lawrence Village Plaza. Trustees authorized a 10-year agreement with Shenango Commons, New Castle, that will introduce BC3 to neighboring businesses such as Hugger Mugger Tasty Recipe, Pizza Joe’s, Great Wall…


ECASD to Get Weapon Detection System

The Ellwood City Area School District will be getting a very smart weapon detection system. During Thursday’s regular meeting of Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors, Director and Chair of the Board’s Security Committee Claire Fauzey announced that she was “Pleased to share that the hard work and collaboration of Mr. Sovich (high school principal) and Officer Brian Speer over the last several months, the district has been able to purchase a weapon detection system that will be put into place at LHS. With much investigation of safety concerns and reviews of this device with other schools, we…


CCBC Recognized for Excellence in Student Voter Registration and Turnout

MONACA – Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) was recognized for its non-partisan democratic engagement efforts that fostered high levels of student voter engagement in the 2022 midterm elections. ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) recognized CCBC as having the Most Improved Voter Turnout for a 2-Year Institution in 2022, reflecting its commitment to ensuring that nonpartisan democratic engagement is a defining feature of campus life. “At CCBC, we feel it is important to engage our students in the voting process and educate them about the power of their voices. Not only do we encourage first time voters to…


Riverside Fall Sports Q&A 2024: Part 2

This is part two of a three part series featuring area athletes in fall 2024 sports. [VIEW PART ONE] The start of fall sports is upon us, so we took the opportunity catch up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries and to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future. Riverside Athletes DeLana Fox Sport? Volleyball Grade? Senior How many years have you have participated? I have participated 4 years What do you feel is your biggest strength? I think my biggest strength is…


Riverside Fall Sports Q&A 2024: Part 1

This is part one of a three part series featuring area athletes in fall 2024 sports. The start of fall sports is upon us, so we took the opportunity catch up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries and to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future. Riverside Athletes Zachary Hare Sport? Football Grade? 12 How many years have you have participated? 6 What do you feel is your biggest strength? Catching What is your favorite part of it? Scoring Touchdowns and Headtopping Who…


Covert, BC3 Men’s Golf Squad Seek To Repeat As Conference Champions

BUTER, PA — Lincoln High School grad Mitchell Covert and BC3 will begin pursuit of a fourth consecutive Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference men’s team title and a 10th under coach Bill Miller when it opens up its regular season against Westmoreland County Community College, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College and the host Community College of Allegheny County at North Park Golf Course. Covert, a 2024 graduate of LHS, is expected to battle for a No. 3 through No. 5 roster spot on the men’s golf team The Pioneers finished 12-0 in fall 2023. They captured the postseason WPCC team title with…


ECASD Officials, Board of Directors Face Scrutiny From Concerned Parents Following School Shooting Threat

Concerned and angry parents flooded the Hartman Intermediate School Cafeteria Thursday night for the Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors regular meeting following a school shooting threat that occurred on Tuesday (see story here). Their overall demand was for answers about what was going to be done about the situation to make students safe and to end their fear of going to school. District Superintendent Dr. Wesley Shipley confirmed that there was a verbal threat made by a student on Tuesday during a lunch period. He said other students were quick to inform district staff about the threat….