Politics

The Ellwood City School District officially closed Walnut Ridge Elementary School on Thursday with a 5-0 vote during the school board meeting. This is step one of the final plan to reduce the number of elementary schools in the district to two. The school board also agreed to the reconfiguring of the three remaining elementary schools: North Side Primary – Kindergarten through grade 2, Perry Lower Intermediate – grades 3 and 4, and Hartman Intermediate – grades 5 and 6. Closing of Walnut Ridge was necessary because the district will be losing $1.65 million in state funding. Under PA Governor…

A harness racetrack and casino in Lawrence County is one step closer to becoming a reality. Since 2003, developers have been trying to get a track/casino in western PA’s Mahoning Township, but with numerous altercations, the project has been practically at a standstill. In a special Tuesday morning meeting, the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission voted to approve American Harness Tracks the last of the state’s four harness racing licenses. This comes as great news for officials in Lawrence County, as one of the commission’s regulations is that American Harness Tracks keep the project, formally known as Valley View Downs, at…

A contract was awarded last week to a Pittsburgh area company for the demolition of the Ewing Park School, effective immediately after the completion of the Arts, Crafts, and Food Festival in Ellwood City. Following a collection of 12 bids from companies in three different states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, the school board selected the lowest bid of $48,000 submitted by A.W. McNabb of Oakdale, Pa. for the demolition. A bid for the demolition went as high as $143,000 and the average bid was approximately $83,000. The closest company to Ellwood City to submit a bid was Dressler Excavating…