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Human Interest

October 4, 2018

Wet Weather Not Deterring Public Works Building Construction

Recent bouts of wet weather and some setbacks have not deterred the on going construction of the new Ellwood City Public Works building according to Dan Franus, the architect behind the new building. The decades-old Public Works building on Sixth Street, behind CVS Pharmacy, had been deemed too dangerous for workers and was scheduled for demolition in 2016.  In hopes of building a new Publics Works building in its place, the Ellwood City Council took out a $9 million bond, it had been issued in November of 2016 to begin the new build. The bond was used to cover not only…

September 27, 2018

Beneigh Insurance Opens New Ellwood Location

Beneigh Insurance has made its way into downtown Ellwood City this summer, taking over the old Wilson Insurance building, located on Sixth Street, in July. Andrew Beneigh started Beneigh Insurance back in 2006 with its office in Zelienople, after Beneigh decided to leave his job as a claims adjuster for Erie Insurance and open his own insurance agency. The company continued to see steady growth and found the need to expand, which led to the opening of the second office on Sims Street in Ellwood City in 2013.  “We moved from Sims Street over to Sixth Street because we needed to…

September 25, 2018

Koppel Bridge Construction Continues, Currently Under Inspection

Construction is continuing on the $27.58 million Route 351 Koppel Bridge replacement project according to PA Department of Transportation Press Officer Steve Cowan. In addition, the current 102-year-old bridge will be under inspection through October 4th. Single-lane alternating traffic will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays as crews from the Larson Design Group conduct bridge inspection activities. Although visible construction, including the installment cross sections of girder bridge appears to have paused, Cowan said in a statement last week that there is work occurring at the pier 1 caisson and footer. “It is over the side of the bridge and out…

September 7, 2018

ECMC Gives Back to the Community

The Ellwood City Medical Center, and its dedicated employees and physicians, continue to support and give back to the community. A food drive was conducted within the hospital during the month of July.  Employees and physicians worked together to make this project a huge success!  Together they collected 9 boxes of food and $150.00. During the month of August, employees and physicians donated school supplies.  The hospital was able to donate a large box of school supplies to the Riverside and Ellwood City school districts and also to the local Food Bank.  They also collected an additional $60 to buy…

August 23, 2018

Lincoln High School Building Updates

Lincoln High School is undergoing some renovations to their science wing and the exterior curtain wall of the building. The project was to replace a curtain wall along the science wing of the high school. The curtain wall was inefficient as far as heating and cooling since it was single pane windows and aluminum framing. “The decision to replace the wall occurred this past spring and work began as soon as school let out in May,” Superintendent, Joseph E. Mancini said. “The project got behind this summer with some work that was not anticipated.” As of today, the contractor has…

August 17, 2018

BC3 Golf Outing Draws 110, Raises Record $90K to Support Student Scholarships

(Butler, PA) The 23rd annual golf outing to support student scholarships and other initiatives at Butler County Community College raised a record $90,000 on Aug. 3, according to Ruth Purcell, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation Inc., and brings the total generated since 1996 to $908,000. “There is such a dedicated group of sponsors, volunteers and golfers who make this event a success,” Purcell said, “but we are really celebrating this year.” Chris Lunn, Justin Barker, Nelson Johnson and Jordan Grady, representing the Center for Community Resources, Butler, finishe d first in the team scramble at Old Stonewall Golf…

August 15, 2018

Ellwood City Junior High Cheerleaders Painting Paw Prints

The Ellwood City Junior High Cheerleaders are painting paw prints across Lawrence Ave. today as well as making their way all over Ellwood City as a fundraiser for the cheer-leading boosters. The girls line a paw print stencil with chalk and then hand paint the paw print on the cement. Below is a picture of some of the Junior High Cheerleaders painting paw prints in front of The Color Center on Lawrence Ave.  

August 14, 2018

Venezie Sporting Goods & Apparel Announces Scholarships

Venezie Sporting Goods & Apparel is starting a scholarship for students in both Ellwood City and Riverside School Districts to start. Vanessa Venezie, operations manager of Venezie Sporting Goods & Apparel and the assistant girls varsity basketball coach for Lincoln High School, came up with the idea of starting a scholarship all while sitting at her brother Luca Botti’s graduation ceremony from LHS this past June. “While sitting at my brother’s graduation I realized there weren’t many scholarships for athletes who also excelled in the classroom,” Venezie said. “I remembered when I was in school there was a scholarship offered…

August 13, 2018

Eating out: BC3 Launches Non-Credit Wild Edibles Course

17 of 46 fall Lifelong Learning classes new in Lawrence, Mercer counties (Butler, PA) Butler County Community College this fall will offer 17 new Lifelong Learning courses among its 46 selections in Lawrence and Mercer counties, including the debut of a class designed to educate students about wild edibles that can be found in backyards or in parks, and used to add fresh flavor to old culinary favorites. “Foraging Essentials: Intro to Wild Edibles” will appeal to those who enjoy expanding their culinary horizons, said Paul Lucas, director of BC3’s Lifelong Learning division. “It is a way to find herbs…

August 9, 2018

Ellwood City Throw Back Thursday: July 1981 Storm

Hello Everyone, last Friday we posted some photographs from a storm in the summer of July 1981. One of our viewers Hazel Beltz Ford, reached out to us and she was able to provide us with some more information and some more photographs of the storm. She let us know that the storm in the summer of ’81 was strong like a tornado or micro burst, it knocked down many trees in the area and left roads closed for days. The photos below shows more tree damage by peoples homes, and the last photo is hard to see but it…