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Volume 54, No. 1
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967 West G Alum’s Geauga Roots Helped Him Fly By Kristin LeFeber editor@karlovecmedia.com Matt Tuffuor may have gone from rural Geauga County to California — working for companies like Google and Eventbrite — but the 32-year-old hasn’t forgotten the roots that fed his entrepreneurial spirit. A West Geauga Schools alum, Tuffuor moved to Russell Township from Shaker Heights when Tuffuor he was 10 years old — a move that would change his life in many ways. Shaker, known for its racial and socioeconomic diversity, was quite a different atmosphere from Russell, and Tuffuor, whose mother is Black American and father is from Ghana, was one of only two students of color in his fifth-grade class at West Geauga Schools. “I thought, ‘This is going to be different,’” Tuffuor recalled during a recent interview. “My parents spent a lot of time teaching me about race and about being a minority.” However, according to Tuffuor, the kids at West Geauga were merely curious and life went on. “I took school seriously. I hit the ground running. I was tight in everything I did,” Tuffuor said. His work ethic paid off. After his junior year at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., Tuffuor was offered a summer internship in marketing at Google in California, which eventually turned into a full-time job. In 2011, Tuffuor moved to the west coast, where he still lives today — currently doing global community marketing for Eventbrite. See Tuffuor • Page 7
Newbury Residents Appeal to West G BOE to Continue Negotiations By Valerie S. Clause editor@karlovecmedia.com
A number of Newbury Township residents pleaded with West Geauga Schools Board of Education May 9 to resume negotiations with Newbury trustees regarding the fate of the former school campus. “I love the West Geauga schools. My daughter went to high school and graduated from here and I was very excited for the (Newbury Schools) transfer to take place,” said Janice Stefancik. “I spent many years volunteering at the Newbury Schools — my son graduated from there — and that is the heart of our community. And for this to just end, with nothing coming of the building or that property, breaks my heart.
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West Geauga Schools Board of Education member Christina Sherwood reads a prepared statement May 9 from the board in response to residents’ comments, reiterating the district has been patient with Newbury trustees, but has a commitment to all of its resident and could no longer afford to continue negotiations indefinitely.
I’m hoping that negotiations will somehow continue and we can work this out.” Last week, board President Kathy Leavenworth issued a letter to Newbury trustees informing them the board had decided to
cease negotiations, indicating both parties could not reach an agreement on material terms and conditions and West Geauga Schools could not afford to continue maintaining the property. See Negotiations • Page 4
New Chester Police Chief Sworn In
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Chester Township Trustee Craig Richter, right, swears in new Chester Township’s Police Chief Craig Young at a recent trustees meeting. Young began his service as chief on May 2, following the retirement of former Chief Mark Purchase.
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