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Human Interest

December 9, 2025

New Little Free Library Brings Big Community Spirit to Ellport

A new chapter is opening—literally—in Ellport, with the debut of the borough’s very own Little Free Library, a charming, book-filled box ready to spark curiosity, conversation, and community connection. The beautifully painted library, perched at Ellport Playground Park (Sheeler Field area), is hard to miss. Painted blue and white with the iconic Free Little Library tag with the words “Take a Book, Leave a Book” proudly displayed, it looks like something straight out of a storybook itself. To have a Little Free Library in Ellport was an idea that Dawna Poole, Ellport resident, felt strongly should be brought to life….

December 9, 2025

Borough Manager Completes The Certified Borough Officials Program

Ellwood City’s Borough Manager, Kevin Swogger, recently completed The Certified Borough Officials Program. I feel the training and courses I have completed help me to be a better leader/manager for the community and the Borough,” Swogger said. “The classes range from on-line to in classroom and cover a wide range of areas such as administrative, management, planning, zoning, and code enforcement to name a few. It also includes Annual Conferences and Newly Elected Municipal Officials (NEMO) Boot Camp.” The Certified Borough Officials (CBO) designation is a voluntary, educational achievement program for borough officials. It is designed to promote continuing education for…

December 5, 2025

Local Writers Publish Sports-Mystery Conspiracy Novel

Three local writers have collaborated to publish Game Changers, a sports-mystery conspiracy novel that takes place at the intersection of a corrupt government, big business, sports, and gambling. The book is available from Amazon at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2GFGS1C Co-authored by Tim Wesley and Tom Bickert (of Ellwood City), and edited by Jim Pane, Game Changers is an intriguing glimpse into a fictional sports conspiracy started by a low-level government employee.  The tale includes a corrupt businessman, a mobster, and a reporter digging for the facts. “Our story is captivating and the characters are classics,” Wesley said.  “There’s Sherman Shipton,…

October 30, 2025

Faith in the School Day: Local Program Offers Released Time Bible Classes

Kids Quest has quietly become a vibrant hub of support, enrichment, and faith for elementary students in Ellwood City. Far more than just religious education, Kids Quest bridges academics, recreation, and spiritual formation across generations. “This is an effort involving many churches and families in our district,” said founding board member Sean Brubaker. Over the past few years, its programs have grown, its volunteers rallied, and its impact begun to ripple across neighborhoods—providing a space where children feel valued, supported, and encouraged to grow. “We have been around for five years now and have had as many as 80 students enrolled…

October 29, 2025

UPDATE: Ellwood City Borough Trick or Treat Moved to Saturday, November 1

Mayor Anthony Court reached out to Ellwoodcity.org to confirm that Ellwood City will now hold its trick or treat night on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. “It is being moved due to the predicted inclement weather,” Court said. With cold temperatures, high wind, and rain in the forecast for Thursday, Court thought it would be best to move it to Saturday when the weather is predicted to be better. The Ellwood City Police Department will be out and about during Trick-or-Treat hours, handing out treats to kids and helping ensure a safe and enjoyable night for…

October 29, 2025

Free Little Library Honors Local Lifetime Educator, Author

In the heart of Ellwood City, a new little free library is quietly turning a small space into a big tribute. This isn’t just a repository for books — it is a living memorial to LuAnn Santillo, beloved teacher, literacy advocate, and founder of Half-Pint Kids, Inc. The little library, built in her honor, marries her lifelong devotion to children and reading with the spirit of community that she nurtured for decades. This free, take-a-book, leave-a-book library is located at Franklin Community Park on Walnut Street, Ellwood City and is open to everyone. “Rico and Amie Lucy along with their children donated the…

October 24, 2025

It’s A Toxic Takeover at the New Castle Playhouse

Note: Stay tuned to Ellwoodcity.org for a review after this weekend’s opening performances. Get ready, the most polluted town in New Jersey is coming to the Annex! Based on Lloyd Kaufman’s cult classic film, “The Toxic Avenger” is an award-winning rock musical that has it all. When Melvin Ferd III is tossed into a vat of toxic waste, he reemerges as Toxie – a mutant superhero with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark. The Toxic Avenger is a hilarious new monster of a comedy. Armed with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark, he’s out…

October 17, 2025

ALERT: Ellwood City Borough Planned Power Outage POSTPONED To October 26th

ALERT/UPDATE! According to the Borough of Ellwood City social media page: ***IMPORTANT UPDATE-PLEASE READ*** The planned Borough power outage scheduled for Sunday, October 19th HAS BEEN POSTPONED by Penn Power until SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26TH @ 7:30 A.M. The power outage has been postponed due to forecasted inclement weather. below originally posted, October 3, 2025: Ellwood City Borough has announced a planned power outage for October 19, 2025, so that Penn Power can perform maintenance and repairs to a main line that comes into the borough. Borough Manger Kevin Swogger said the outage applies only to borough residents (not Ellport, or…

October 16, 2025

A Century In A Box: Ellwood City Area School District Uncovers a 100-Year-Old Time Capsule

Renovation projects typically bring a little dust, a lot of work, and interesting discoveries among the layers. What started as a routine renovation of Ellwood City’s Lincoln High school, turned into a remarkable connection to the past. School Librarian Heidi Feltrop recounted the moment this quest to unveil a cornerstone to find a time capsule from 1925 began. She said in May a biology teacher was boxing up things in her classroom to accommodate the current construction at Lincoln High School and stumbled upon a dictionary that belonged to a teacher in 1930. Feltrop said this sparked a curiosity within…

September 16, 2025

Ellwood City Borough Council Approves Standing Schedule for Annual Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food, & Entertainment Festival

Ellwood City Borough Council voted Monday night to always hold the Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food, & Entertainment Festival on the weekend on or surrounding Fourth of July. Council determined that should the Fourth of July fall on a Monday/Tuesday, the festival should be held the weekend before, and if it falls Wednesday/Thursday, it should be held the weekend after. Councilwoman Michelle Lamenza made the motion with support from all council members except Jan Williams. Council President Brad Ovial said this would give the festival a set time each year to allow the festival committee to plan. Not everyone was…