Much of downtown Ellwood City lost power briefly when a truck knocked over a telephone pole on Division Avenue. Affected areas included Lawrence, Beaver and Crescent Avenues. The outage began around 10:30 a.m., and power was restored by 11. Ellwood City police, fire fighters and electric department personnel responded to the accident. Photos by Jonathan Cortez for Ellwoodcity.org.
The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Area School Board meeting held on April 14: Recognition: The board recognized junior Taylor Petrak for finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard freestyle at the swimming PIAA Championship at Bucknell University. Petrak has now earned five PIAA state medals, more than any athlete in Ellwood City history. Congratulations! Personnel Timothy Robinson was approved as a bus driver for the remainder of the 2015-16 school year and the 2016-17 school year. The board approved six student teachers for the 2016-17 school year. The board approved the…
The 5th grade team of Maddy McCommons, Grady Smith, Hunter Rock and Hayden Slade won the K’NEX STEM Design Challenge at Penn State Beaver and will advance to the state competition on May 13 at Harrisburg. The team’s creation, the Bio Aquatic Research Facility (BARF), was required to be three meters tall, hold weights and be environmentally sound.
After 11 hours of deliberation over Wednesday and Thursday, the jury found defendant Leon Platt guilty of third-degree murder. Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Minett is prosecuting and defense attorney John Bongivengo is representing Platt. Although the prosecution pushed for a first-degree murder charge, the jury ultimately decided on third-degree. Per Pennsylvania law, murders in the third-degree are committed with malice but…
Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches The Ellwood City school board will interview two candidates each for the positions of boys and girls basketball head coaches. The positions were open since Jolene Krupa and James Kosior resigned in following the 2015-16 season. The positions may be filled at today’s meeting. Video Highlight Board for Helling Stadium At the board’s agenda meeting on Monday, Athletic Director Darin Morella presented a proposal to install a video highlight board at Helling Stadium. Although Morella estimated the board would cost between $7,000 and $35,000, he emphasized he was looking for ways of negating the price,…
At its voting meeting tonight, the Ellwood City school board will consider allowing Walmart and Kmart to sell Ellwood City school district-themed clothing. The agreement would be negotiated through Pel Industries, an athletic apparel company. During the board’s agenda meeting on Monday, Business Manager Richard Zarone said the district had attempted a similar arrangement before with a different company, but it hadn’t worked out. The school would receive eight percent royalties from sales. Vice President Matt Morella was concerned that such an arrangement would hurt local businesses. Board member Kathy Pansera noted that Beaver County Walmarts already sell t-shirts for…
Are you caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or a related Dementia? Have you felt like you have gotten lost in the world of being a care provider? Could you use an evening out with people who are going through similar experiences that you can relate to? Is it time to take care of you, your issues and your needs? Learn practical care giving information Get mutual support Learn about local community resources Find solutions to challenging behaviors Special Guest speaker: – Constituent Services Coordinator with The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter Date: Wednesday May 4, 2016 Time: 6p.m. to 7…
[This is Part 3 in a series covering the homicide trial of Leon Platt. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here.] Update April 14, 8:30 a.m.: The defense called no witnesses and the jury began deliberations yesterday afternoon. They will reconvene today. Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Minett is prosecuting and defense attorney John Bongivengo is representing Platt. On…
Ellwood City Borough Council will vote on a motion to advertise for a full-time patrol officer at its regular meeting next Monday. The motion was added to the agenda at Monday’s agenda meeting after a discussion. [Correction 12 a.m.: The motion will advertise the position, not hire an officer.] The police department currently has one lieutenant, one sergeant, eight full-time patrol officers and one part-time patrol officer. Council member Judi Dici started the discussion with statistics concerning overtime rates for the police department. According to numbers read by Dici, overtime costs for January through March are $42,606.84. According to borough…
[This is Part 1 in a series covering the homicide trial of Leon Platt. Parts 2 and 3 can be found here and here.] After six days and over two dozen witnesses, the prosecution rested its case yesterday afternoon in the murder trial of defendant Leon Platt. Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. It’s the first murder trial in Ellwood City since 1980. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case before a jury of…