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January 21, 2016

Committee Approves Vogel Bill Reducing General Assembly Size

The Senate State Government Committee today (Jan. 20) approved legislation introduced by Senator Elder Vogel that would reduce the size of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Senate Bill 488, which would decrease the Senate from 50 to 45 Senatorial Districts and the House of Representatives from 203 to 153 districts, now goes to the full Senate for consideration. “This is a bill that I have been working to get passed since I was elected to the Senate. When I first ran for office, one consistent message I heard from voters was that the size and scope of the Pennsylvania General Assembly…

January 20, 2016

Veterans’ Specialist to Visit Gibbons’ Office Next Week

To assist veterans and their families, state Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence, today announced he will host state Department of Labor and Industry veterans’ specialist Ryan Paglia in his Ellwood City office from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26. Gibbons said Paglia develops job and training opportunities for veterans, with special emphasis on veterans with service-connected disabilities. Paglia provides direct services to veterans, enabling them to be competitive in the labor market; he also promotes community and employer support for employment and training opportunities, including apprenticeship and on-the-job training. No appointment is necessary. Constituents with questions can contact Gibbons’…

January 20, 2016

Borough Council January Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Borough Council meeting held on Jan. 19: Visitors Ralph Chiappetta, a former council member, asked council if the police department had implemented a schedule change passed by council last year and intended to reduce overtime. Council members replied that as that is Mayor Anthony J. Court’s duty, they are not yet aware if the changes have been implemented. Chiappetta asked council to find out and to authorize Borough Solicitor Ed Leymarie to obtain a writ of mandamus if the mayor doesn’t comply. Appointments/Resignations Ellwood City Library Board- Norma Zingaro and…

January 19, 2016

One of Perry School’s Boilers to Be Replaced

In a unanimous vote on Jan. 14, the Ellwood City School Board decided to replace a broken boiler at Perry Lower Intermediate at a cost of $90,000. Perry has two boilers but only one is needed to properly heat the building. Both are over 50 years old and are well past their expected years of service, according to Business Manager Richard Zarone. “It could last five years, it could last five minutes,” Zarone said regarding the functional old boiler. Zarone presented the board with an option to replace both boilers at a cost of $150,000. Replacing both this year would…

January 19, 2016

Three School Board Members Wish to Change Ellwood City Festival’s Relationship with District

Although they were shut down by a majority vote on Jan. 14, three Ellwood City school board members wanted to change the district’s relationship with the Ellwood City Festival Committee. Erica Gray, Jennifer Tomon and Danielle Woodhead, all new members as of December, voted no on a routine annual motion to approve the Festival Committee’s request to use district property. “It’s our property. We should negotiate directly with the organizations that will be using it,” Tomon had said at Monday’s agenda meeting. The property specified in the motion includes the old Ewing Park School ground and the parking lot on…

January 18, 2016

Library Activities Week of Jan. 18, 2016

Activities taking place at the Ellwood City Area Public Library include the following: The library will be closed on Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Normal hours will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 1:30 p.m. – Afternoon Book Discussion Group for Adults. The group will discuss the book, “The Headmaster’s Wife,” by Thomas Christopher Greene. New members are always welcome, so call the library for more information. Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 3:30 p.m. – Creative Writing Workshop for students in 9th grade and up. The group meets twice each…

January 18, 2016

School Board January Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Area School Board meeting held on Thursday, Jan. 14: Awards/Recognitions Perry Lower Intermediate was recognized as a 2016 Distinguished Title I School. Only five percent of Title I schools in the state receive this recognition and this is the second year in a row Perry earned this honor. Maddy McCommons was undefeated in three rounds of Linguistics, an academic competition, and thus qualified for the state competition. Molly McCommons, a 7th grader at Lincoln, went undefeated in Propaganda Identification, an academic competition, and also won another competition, Presidents, for which…

January 18, 2016

Rotary Club January Meeting Recap

The Rotary Club of Ellwood City met for their weekly meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7. The club is planning to sponsor a performance of the Duquesne University Tambouritzans. Pete Kucan presented the information to the club. The performance will be on Sunday, March 20, pre-sale tickets will be $20 and tickets at the door will be $25. The group of dancers has appeared for many years on stages all over the world and features folk dances from many nations and cultures including all the Slavic nations in central and Eastern Europe. Alena Kucan, recent Lincoln High School graduate, is a…

January 15, 2016

EC School Board Gives the Go Ahead for Two Makerspace Labs

The Ellwood City school board granted conditional approval for makerspace labs at Hartman Intermediate and Lincoln High School in a 6-2 vote yesterday. The motion, as passed, approves the administration’s plan for two workshops and will provide the necessary funding to adopt the programs for the 2016-17 school year. In addition, the board will hire a teacher for the Lincoln workshop. This is a significantly different wording than originally proposed, which would have committed to providing $150,000, which the administration said is the minimum cost required to have two functional workshops. The board plans on launching a community fundraising campaign,…

January 15, 2016

Student Brings BB Gun to School

A Lincoln High School student was charged with possession of a weapon on school property following an incident on Jan. 6 According to the police report, officers were called to Lincoln around 3 p.m. on Jan. 6 by Principal Kirk Lape in response to a student possessing a weapon. The offender, a 14-year old male, had displayed a semi-automatic BB pistol in the main gym. The model mimics the appearance of an actual handgun. He was reported by students. Officers questioned the defendant, who admitted to having stolen the pistol on Jan. 4. After shooting a vehicle, the male hid…