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Volume 52, No. 25
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967 West Geauga Baseball
Balloon Artist Brings Joy To Chester Township Park By John Karlovec editor@geaugamapleleaf.com
ALAN KORNSPAN/KMG
The Wolverines have started the season 4-8, which included two losses last week to rival Chagrin Falls (11-0 and 5-4).
Chill on The Hill
By Alan Kornspan sports@geaugamapleleaf.com The Chagrin Falls Tigers, the Division II second-ranked high school baseball team in the state of Ohio, hosted their rivals, the West Geauga Wolverines April 20. Two future college players — West Geauga’s Lino Valletta (Baldwin Wallace University) and Chagrin Falls’s Jack McMullen (Lafayette College) took the mound for their respective teams. The cold blistery afternoon made for a challenging day on the hill as the Tigers went on to win 11-0. “It takes a lot more time to get prepared to get ready for the game,” McMullen said. “And you have to know how it affects your stuff in game and be able to pitch around it. Living out here in Northeast Ohio that’s something you got used to.” It was evident throughout the game, that although the weather was quite cold, the West Geauga and Chagrin Falls Baseball teams were happy to have a 2021 High See Baseball • Page 7
When Chester Township resident Elizabeth Randau was furloughed from her marketing career in the touring theatre industry late last spring, she admittedly found herself in a funk. An active member of the PTO, Girl Scout leader and regular volunteer at her daughters’ school, Randau suddenly was unable to do most of the things that brought her joy, including celebrating family milestones with intricately themed, DIY-infused parties. “When the pandemic first hit, my youngest daughter was about to turn 6. We come from a family that has a birthday party or other event almost every single weekend, and suddenly we couldn’t get together,” said Randau. “We decided to go over-the-top for her, even if it was just us. As a household, we dressed up as characters from her favorite movie, decorated the whole house and at the end of the night, she proclaimed it was her ‘Best Birthday Ever.’ At that moment, I realized that a lot of people were probably going through what we were going through and had no idea how they were going to make these moments special without large gatherings.” Already an avid follower of party décor and balloon design accounts on Instagram and Pinterest, Randau dove in and attempted her own creation to help make a very different graduation day for her niece a bit more special. With the help of her husband, Adam, she built her first bit of balloon décor, a jumbo silver 2020 with navy, white and silver for a graduating Wolverine. The balloons would go
ONLINE Wolverines Make Statement At Perry
Read about the track and field team at geaugamapleleaf.com
karlovec media group Seeking
SALES REP
JOHN KARLOVEC/KMG
On April 24, Extra Betty LLC owner Elizabeth Randau installed a rainbow balloon arrangement at Chester Township Park as part of the One Million Bubbles initiative, a global campaign that balloon artists and decorators launched to spread love, joy and hope through their art to their communities.
on to pop randomly throughout the day, startling everyone nearby with each unexpected BANG – but the sentiment made its way across and, although she didn’t realize it at the time, it was that day that Extra Betty was born. Soon after, Randau’s oldest daughter’s best friend was having a drive-by birthday party and she thought she’d try to make one of the balloon bouquets she had seen
on Instagram and Pinterest. “I just wanted to do something over-the-top to put a smile on her face,” said Randau. “Before I knew it, my sister-in-law posted one of my garlands on Facebook, someone asked if they could purchase one, and it all snowballed from there.” In the months that followed, Randau focused on learning the See Balloons • Page 4
Karlovec Media Group is hiring account representatives to sell print and online advertising in and around Geauga County, specifically in the Chesterland and Kirtland areas. We are seeking self-motivated and aggressive salespeople who aren’t afraid of a challenge. Sales areas will include both print and online media. Candidates must be able to manage time wisely, meet deadlines and have reliable transportation. All of our staff must be willing to work in a team environment to help grow our newspapers. The ability to understand and live with a deadline-driven business is a must. The ideal candidate would have at least two years of sales experience. This is an independent contractor (1099) position.
Submit resumes to
editor@geaugamapleleaf.com
Maple Leaf GEAUGA
COUNTY
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