CHESTERLAND NEWS VOLUME 49 No. 22
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
Cirino Leaves WG for Bigger Opportunities BY JAMIE WARD JAMIE@GEAUGAMAPLELEAF.COM
For 33 years Lou Cirino has felt attached to West Geauga. But now the 33-year-old coach is headed to the west side. Cirino has stepped down as the Wolverines head football coach, taking the head football job, and a teaching position, at Strongsville High School. It was a bittersweet decision. “West Geauga has always been my one true love, my first love,” Cirino said Monday after school had let out. “Moving on from that, it’s going to be a whole new world for me.” What began as rumors turned into full-scale breaking news when the Strongsville Schools Board of Education posted the announcement on its website. A special board meeting was held Feb. 28 in which the Strongsville Board of Education
West Geauga Earns State Auditor’s Award SUBMITTED A recent financial audit of the West Geauga Local School District by Auditor of State Dave Yost’s office has returned a clean audit report. The district’s excellent record keeping has qualified it for the Auditor of State Award with Distinction. “Accurate bookkeeping enables school districts to focus on their chief duty – education,” Auditor Yost said. “The West Geauga Local School District’s clean audit demonstrates its commitment to both its students and taxpayers.” The award is present to local governments and school districts upon completion of a financial audit that is considered “clean,” by meeting the following criteria: The entity must file timely See Award w Page 5
BILL FUGATE/KMG
After seven seasons as head coach, Lou Cirino will leave his alma mater for the larger Strongsville High School football program.
approved Cirino’s hiring. As rumors continued in the hallways and throughout social media, Cirino met with his Wolverines players inside the lock-
er room at the high school, an emotional moment. “It was hard, and I could tell some kids were looking at me differently throughout the day,”
Cirino said. “But these kids are set. They know the routines. This program is better now than when I started, and that’s the way I look at it. That’s the objective.” Cirino is a 2002 West Geauga graduate who spent four years at Ohio State University before returning to West Geauga as an assistant coach right after graduation in 2006. He took over a 9-2 West Geauga team as head coach before the 2010 season and went 46-28 over his seven seasons. He reached the playoffs every other season after taking over, finishing with a 1-4 playoff record. The team’s 35-28 triple overtime win over Medina-Buckeye in 2015 was the second playoff win in school history. “I have the utmost respect for coach Cirino, and he has done a fantastic job for West Geauga See Cirino w Page 5
Goodrick Wins State Diving Championship
Russell Park Board Discusses Possible Land Sale
BY JAMIE WARD JAMIE@GEAUGAMAPLELEAF.COM Kamr yn Goodrick likes to stress the camarderie she feels with her fellow divers. But the West Geauga junior saved the best for last when she finished first in Ohio at the state tournament. Goodrick knew the competition and has qualified for the Division II state meet all three years she has competed. But with 24 divers and 11 rounds, she knew anything could happen. “I try not to think of competition,” Goodrick said. “I don’t like knowing my score. I’ve made a lot of friendships diving.” Goodrick was competing against other divers that had beaten her in other events, like the Chagrin Valley Conference meet and the Viking Invitational at Cleveland State. So when her coach Marc Cahalane told her if she kept it up, she would be the See Diving w Page 3
Read article in this week’s Geauga County Maple Leaf
Classifieds Start on page 13
Publication Schedule As of May 2016, the Chesterland News switched to publishing every other week. Karlovec Media Group reserves the right to change, cancel or add publication dates at any time.
SUBMITTED
Goodrick made 11 dives in the OHSAA state diving championship, finishing with her hardest dive, an inward double.
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