Petey Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Westwood Middle School is bringing back a fan-favorite event: The Annual Chili Cook-off and Auction on Nov. 5! Westwood's Chili Cook-off started almost a decade ago, and it's grown in popularity and participation every year. The ultimate goal of the event is to raise enough money to defray costs associated with the school's annual student field trip to Washington D....

Send us Fan Mail This podcast was two years in the making. Before the education world was turned upside down by the pandemic, a science teacher in the Elyria Schools had just learned he was named for a very prestigious national award; an award that is recognized as an elite honor in math and science teaching. Elyria High School Physics Teacher, Jeremy Secaur, learned in 2019 that he had earned the...

Send us Fan Mail Pink Cookies, cotton candy, funnel cakes and just about every deep-fried  delectable you can imagine in one place: The Elyria Apple Festival!  The Petey Podcast crew was on location at the festival, talking up the sights and smells and highlighting the fun to come at Elyria’s signature end-of-summer event. It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Sc...

Send us Fan Mail You don't have to be born into royalty to be a princess. . You can sign up for the Elyria Apple Festival Princess Pageant and earn your crown this month at the Elyria Apple Festival! The Elyria Apple Festival takes place Sept. 16-18, 2022. Festival Chair Stacey Francis and Princess Pageant Coordinator Jen Parker joined us in studio to tout the festival and encourage contestan...

Send us Fan Mail Elyria Athletic Directors, Heather Beck and Matt Siwierka, joined us in the Petey Podcast studio to talk sports and particularly, football! Tonight, August 19, Elyria Pioneers will play hometown rival, the Elyria Catholic Panthers at Dan Reaser Stadium at Elyria Catholic. The two teams are well-matched and it's a not-to-be-missed event in the proud city of Elyria.  Siwierka i...

Send us Fan Mail For nearly 30 years, Bill Pelko has served the city of Elyria as a police officer. Now he wears the badge of Chief.  Pelko joined us in the Petey Podcast studio in June to talk about assuming the role as Chief last year, and to catch us up on what's new with the Elyria Police Department , including body cameras for police officers and a text tip line called TIP411. Pelko talk...

Send us Fan Mail There aren't many communities that can boast three individual libraries in their town, let alone brand-spanking new ones! No doubt about it, Elyria's Public Library System is robust and here to talk about it on Petey Podcast is new Director, Jennifer Starkey, and Jennifer Harmon, Community Engagement Director.  Take a listen to the exciting programs coming our way this s...

Send us Fan Mail Alyssa and Todd Church know a little something about soccer. Actually...they know ALOTTA something about soccer! Both have vast experience in the game--on the field and on the sidelines. Growing up with the sport, Alyssa's earliest lessons were from her dad.  Todd Church is a graduate of Elyria High School and played on Elyria High's first soccer team before becoming a c...

Send us Fan Mail Tina Biltz is a history teacher at Elyria High School. She's also the Student Council Advisor. There are very few events going on at Elyria High that Tina isn't part of. In fact, she's often on the organizing committee and many times that committee is made up of Student Council members. As Elyria High gears up for "the senior season"-- when so many of the...

Send us Fan Mail Sara Sierra is one amazing student. Three years ago she moved from Colombia to the United States, settling in Ohio with her mom and two sisters. In that short amount of time Sara mastered the English Language AND earned The Seal of Biliteracy, an award granted to students who demonstrate high levels of proficiency in two languages.  "What's special about Sara earning The...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Meghan Barlow is a recognized child psychologist and fortunately for us, she has been spending a good amount of time in Elyria lately, heading up a series of sessions for parents.  The topics have ranged from routines and structure in the home and social media and screen time to social pressures on children and resolving conflict. Her expertise and advice is invaluable, and he...

Send us Fan Mail In April, Elyria Schools is hosting a sensational day of fun and fundraising through the Spring Craft and Vendor Fair at Elyria High School, 601 Middle Ave. The event is organized by the Elyria Special Olympics Committee but the proceeds benefit the entire Special Olympics program, including the annual Lorain County Special Olympics which is held at Ely Stadium in May. The craft a...

Send us Fan Mail From new schools to new students, Elyria Schools Superintendent Ann Schloss gives us a big-picture look at some of the many projects taking place in the district.  Here's a rundown of the topics we're covering in this episode of Petey Podcast!  Wrapping up the new-school construction plan Readying for new-student enrollment, enrollment fair March 12 at Ely, 9:30-Noon Tea...

Send us Fan Mail "I knew there was a need, I didn't know how great the need was going to be." Roger Dorsey graduated from Elyria West High School in  1988. In seventh grade, Roger moved from West Virginia to Elyria with his mom and siblings to escape a domestic violence situation. They moved in with an aunt and cousins in an Elyria home that was roughly 1,000 square feet. "We h...

Send us Fan Mail There’s wonder in the air at Eastern Heights Elementary School.  A fourth grade classroom there welcomes a tiny visitor now and again  from a land far away.  Her name is Kindness Fairy, and she’s been visiting a certain teacher in Elyria Schools for a handful of years; Really, since that teacher installed a tiny little fairy door years ago in her former classroom at McKinley Eleme...

Send us Fan Mail Bill and Janet Bird are well-known locally for their work in preserving the history of Elyria and Lorain County. They  joined us recently on Petey Podcast to reminisce holiday traditions gone by.  What a wonderful time we had sharing this collection of memories. We hope these moments inspire your own holiday remembrances. Happy holidays! It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Than...

Send us Fan Mail Thousands of students have passed through the halls of Eastern Heights school in the 20 years that Rachel Brown has taught music there. But only a handful of them know that their music teacher is a singer, songwriter and musician on the professional stage, as well. Rachel Brown comes from a long line of musicians, and it was her first passion. "My family is very, very musical...

Send us Fan Mail Maria Fotinos teaches business, finance and computer skills at Elyria High School. But none of these areas were the subject of a class she taught recently. And none of the students in the class were from high school. The topic of this class was baklava, and the students were staffers of Elyria Schools who wanted to learn how to make this decadent dessert by hand. Maria grew up in...

Send us Fan Mail The Elyria Fire Department has a new Chief: Joe Pronesti. Pronesti has been with the Elyria Fire Department for 33 years but grew up in the city of Elyria and in the department. His dad was a fireman in the 1950s. "Growing up, all my heroes were Elyria Firefighters," said Pronesti.  "They are all passed now but I keep pictures of them, and think of them, and I also...

Send us Fan Mail On Petey Podcast...What are the chances that a lost dog would find its way into a school at the very moment a third grade class in that same school was reading about a lost dog at a grocery store? Well, that's exactly what happened at Eastern Heights Campus when a dog named Hershel wandered into the middle school one day for refuge.  On the other side of the school, Mrs. Cind...

Send us Fan Mail You know him already as the play-by-play guy for the Elyria High School Pioneer Marching Band but maybe you didn't know his name. He's Bob Putka, and he holds the coveted spot as the voice of the band. "One thing I've found in Elyria is people really like their band, and they get very excited. You can hear it in the stands. So, it feels good to be able to do th...

Send us Fan Mail We're chomping our way to one million crunches as we celebrate all things apple in Elyria Schools this week during the 2021 Great Lakes Apple Crunch Week. Joining us in studio are Kathy Koepp and Lauryn Palgut. Koepp is a curriculum specialist and Palgut is the district's foodservice director. They're teaming up to bring apples into the classrooms and lunchrooms: pr...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of Petey Podcast, recorded earlier in October (2021), features Elyria Township Fire Chief Russ Scarbrough and Assistant Chief Art Mead. Elyria Township Fire is an staunch partner of the Elyria Schools and an excellent teacher of safety to our little learners at the Elyria Early Childhood Village and Westwood Elementary School. The Chief and Assistant Chief chatted wit...

Send us Fan Mail We're welcoming artist and Elyria Schools Teacher, Mel Rainey, in studio. Mel spends most of his days in the art classrooms of Elyria High School but today he joins us on Petey Podcast to send out a message to all young artists of Elyria Schools: Get creative, and enter your artwork in the Elyria Apple Art Contest! The Apple Art Contest takes place during the Elyria Apple Fes...

Send us Fan Mail The Elyria Apple Festival is 40 years old. To talk about the history of the festival and what's to come this year, we welcome Apple Festival Committee members, Jim Vandemark and Stacey Francis. The Apple Festival takes place every year the third weekend of September downtown Elyria. The festival this year is September 17-19. The Apple Fest is Elyria's end-of-summer celeb...