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March 18, 2016

“Casualties of Steel,” a Documentary on the Closing of Ellwood’s U.S. Steel

In 1974, U.S. Steel closed its seamless tube mill in Ellwood City. “Casualties of Steel,” a documentary, chronicles the cultural impact of that closing through first hand accounts of the people who lived during the booming times of steel and its sad aftermath. This film was created by Ben Minett as a requirement for an ethnography class at Carnegie Mellon University. The documentary has no narrator and instead progresses through the voices of Ellwood City residents. Minett is a 1997 Riverside High School graduate. He created “Casualties of Steel” during his master’s degree studies at Carnegie Mellon University. Minett lives…

March 3, 2016

Photos: St. Agatha is No More

Wednesday morning, a few walls of St. Agatha were standing but by 11 a.m., only rubble remained as the final upright structures were demolished. The gallery below shows the staircase still intact. Construction has begun on a pit, presumably for the foundation of CVS. According to the design plans, much of the land where St. Agatha was will be used for a parking lot while the pharmacy building itself will be where the apartment buildings were. Photos by Jonathan Cortez/EllwoodCity.org

February 29, 2016

Photos: 17th Annual Mr. Lincoln Pageant

The 17th Annual Mr. Lincoln Pageant was held on Sunday, Feb. 28 in the Lincoln High School auditorium. This year’s participants were: Brian Hudson, Nicholas Fleeson, Devin Cortez, Dominic Nocera, Hunter Bailey, Scott Miller, Norman Ballard, Vincent Romanio, Shawn Brown and Corey Hobbs. Dominic Nocera was named Mr. Lincoln 2016. Norman Ballard was the talent winner, and Corey Hobbs had the highest ticket sales. All proceeds from Mr. Lincoln benefit the March of Dimes.

February 26, 2016

Photos: St. Agatha Deconstruction

St. Agatha’s roof is half gone and the north wall has been demolished. It’s half-destroyed look combined with storm clouds made it a particularly haunting image today.       Photos by Jonathan Cortez/EllwoodCity.org

February 19, 2016

Photos: CVS Deconstruction Crews

Deconstruction crews are now working on taking apart the church brick by brick, apparently beginning with the archway facing Fifth Street, which has now been all but removed. Shingles have also been removed facing Spring Avenue. There are minor traffic stops on Spring Ave west of Fifth Street, so taking an alternative route may be preferable. Photos by Jonathan Cortez/EllwoodCity.org

February 12, 2016

Photos: St. Agatha Deconstruction Underway

Demolition of the properties west of St. Agatha nears completion while deconstruction of the church is underway. The windows facing Spring Avenue have been removed, and crews have been dismantling the inside as well. According to local CVS sources, the new pharmacy is expected to open sometime next fall and the current CVS in Franklin Plaza will relocate to the new location.     Photos by Jonathan Cortez/EllwoodCity.org

February 11, 2016

Video: Ketterer Ends Varsity Career with 1005 Points

Karrington Ketterer broke the 1000 point mark in her final game of varsity basketball on Monday against Montour. Ketterer has played at the varsity level since her freshmen year. She scored 156 points in 9th grade, 265 in 10th, 284 in 11th and 300 this year. The Ellwood City Lady Wolverines lost Monday’s away game 57-42. They end the season 9-13 overall and 6-8 in their conference. Although the team was hoping for a playoff run, they finished fifth in their Class AAA conference. The top four teams advance to playoffs. Last year, the girls tied for fourth place and…

February 10, 2016

Photos: Riverside Girls and Boys Win Senior Nights, Advance to Playoffs

Senior Katie Stang took advantage of the senior spirit and scored 39 points, breaking her high score record last year by seven. Stang has scored 895 points during her junior and senior years. The Lady Panthers dominated New Brighton 65-22 in the Senior Night conference game held on Thursday, Feb. 4. Seniors Jordan Annarumo, Morgan Bailey, Ashely Boehm, Abbey Matiko, Katie Stang and Suzuno Kimara were honored prior to the game. Riverside consistently outscored New Brighton and the second quarter was 22-2. Seniors Annarumo and Matiko scored nine and seven while Bailey landed a three-pointer. On Monday, they finished the…

February 9, 2016

Photos: Ellwood City Boys Basketball Senior Night

The Ellwood City basketball team and cheerleading squad celebrated senior night before Friday’s conference game against New Castle. New Castle defeated Ellwood 79-23. New Castle remains undefeated this season and are ranked number 4 in the PIAA Class AAA by the Patriot News in Harrisburg. Ellwood City managed to score 14 points in the third quarter. Anthony Roth was the high scorer with 14 points. However, Ellwood City was able to end the season with a victory when they defeated Slippery Rock 40-30 on Saturday. Anthony Roth and David DeLoia each scored 12 and Nick Ioanilla scored nine. The Ellwood…

February 5, 2016

Photos: Ellwood City Girls Basketball Triumphs on Senior Night

Senior Karrington Ketterer scored 26 points in yesterday’s 49-34 win against New Castle on Senior Night. The Lady Wolverines have five seniors on the roster and all hold a special place to head coach Jolene Krupa and her sister, assistant coach Dena Noble. When the two started coaching, the Class of 2016 was in eighth grade, and Krupa and Noble have coached them up through the years. This roster also qualified for playoffs last year, the first time the Lady Wolverines have done so since 1997-98. They are not only great athletes, but are amazing young ladies as well,” Krupa…