Police and Fire

Police Reports: Ellwood Resident Gets “Trumped” By Mysterious Caller

Ellwood Resident Gets “Trumped” By Mysterious Caller According to the police report, on September 17, officers received a complaint that a resident had their “Hillary Clinton for President” sign taken down and replaced with a Donald Trump sign after being lured to a fake voter registration event. The victim said she had received a call from “Sean Jackson” on the 15th who claimed to be a Democratic committee member; the caller asked the victim if she could participate in a voter registration event to be held Saturday September 17. The victim agreed but when she arrived there was no event…


Police: Boy Claims His Family Treats Him like “Harry Potter”

Boy Claims His Family Treats Him like “Harry Potter” According to the police report dated September 10, a juvenile came to the police department to report that he feels that he is being treated unfairly at home; he furthered his statement saying he is adopted, his parents don’t talk to him unless they need something, he’s forced to do chores, and he’s overall treated like “Harry Potter”. The minor said he did not want to go back home and he was getting bit up by bed bugs that live in his mattress. He also claimed that there are bats living…


Man Steals An Estimated 2,000 Kilowatt Hours of Electric

On September 6, officers and the electric company were investigating a residential meter in Ellwood that had been tapped into. Bob Villella gave the following information about the electric companies investigation, “the Ellwood City Borough Electric crew was reviewing the TIP Report which is generated from the Borough Utility Software. The TIP report identifies that a meter was pulled and is inactive and if there is activity then it identifies new usage compared to the period when it was pulled. This process requires crew members going to each listed address on the report to check meter status. Our crew checked…


Breaking News: Accident on 6th Street

Updated: 9/15/16 Officers, firefighters, and paramedics crowded the intersection of 6th and Crescent after receiving reports of a car accident. At approx 1:20 p.m. there was an accident involving a GMC truck and a Chevrolet car. According to the accident report, the driver of the Chevrolet didn’t see the other vehicle driving south on 6th before pulling out at the stop sign at the intersection of Crescent and 6th, striking the GMC and causing it to do a 180 degree spin. There was considerable front end damage to the Chevy and the GMC had some visible damage on the side….


School Teaches Students About 9/11 With Service Dog

Ellwood City’s North Side Primary School has “service learning projects” scheduled throughout the year to teach the students about their community. Today at the primary school, Jessica Herr, an AmeriCorp worker, set up a service learning project to introduce the students to the tragic events that took place in New York City on September 11, 2001. To help make it a positive learning experience Herr introduced Melissa Parker, a rescue dog handler to the event. “Rather than introducing the kids in a scary fashion, we thought we center the conversation around the heroes involved in 9/11,” said Herr.  “We focused on emphasizing the…


Ellwood City Police Not Securing Home Game Tonight

It was mentioned in a previous post that Ellwood City School District is forced to hire private security instead of having Ellwood City Police securing the home games like they have been doing for years. The issue stems from the borough being unable to comply with the schools security needs at this time, mainly due to an ongoing uncertainty regarding how many officers they would need to hire per game. At the school board meeting last night, the school board president, Renne Pitrelli, stated that the issue between the school and borough has not yet resolved and the school has…


Brush Creek Park Closed Due to Flooding

Due to heavy rain and flooding, the Beaver County Department of Public Works (DPW) has closed Brush Creek Park.  The park will be reopened as soon as possible.


August Crime Watch Meeting Brief

Mayor Court held the monthly Crime Watch Meeting for August, touching upon topics concerning crime of the past month. There was discussion about scams throughout the area, targeting our elderly and some of the scams included the IRS and Publishers Clearing House. Frank Sniezek of Jaret Gibbons Office spoke to the audience about the new texting and driving laws of Pennsylvania. Mayor Court stressed to everyone that he is working diligently to protect the residents of the Community. The meeting ended with a question and answer session from those in attendance. The next Crime Watch meeting will be held on…


Weekly Police Reports: Man Calls Police for Relationship Advice

Man Calls Police for Relationship Advice According to the police report, on Sept. 2, police were called to scene because a husband and wife were having a disagreement. The man told the responding officer that the disagreement started because his wife was talking to other guys on Facebook. The officer thoughtfully listened to both sides of the story and advised the couple to handle their relationship like adults, especially in front of their children. Child Services Called to Local Residence Due to Poor Living Standards According to the police report, on Sept. 7, officers were asked to accompany Child Services…


Police: Wampum Man Impersonates State Trooper

David Rowbotham, 40, of Wampum is facing charges of impersonating a public servant, criminal coercion, harassment by communication and a wiretap violation after he called a woman and pretended to be a state trooper. He is accused of threatening her and he telling her she had a burglary warrant for her arrest. Rowbotham recorded the calls without permission from the victim. According to the report, the victim and defendant were hardly acquaintances and the victim was likely targeted due to being loosely linked in a domestic dispute. At this time, officers are searching for Rowbotham and encourage anyone with any…