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Volume 53, No. 5
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
A Story of Faith, Love & a Gas Station Community Helps Couple Revamp Russell Sunoco By Valerie Angie editor@geaugamapleleaf.com
When Steve and Kristin Gaetjens purchased their Russell Township home in 2005, the two set out to make it their own. The old house, originally designed by Steve’s grandfather in 1938, was given a fresh coat of paint, a number of renovations, remodeling, landscaping and an entirely new addition. The couple decided not to stop there, seeing a similar opportunity with the dilapidated then-Shell gas station on the corner of state routes 306 and 87 in Russell Township. When the Gaetjens purchased the station over a decade ago, they faced a lot of trials and tribulations rejuvenating it. “When facing struggle, it can be difficult to know whether the struggle is a sign to stop or a sign to overcome it,” Steve said.
Community Meetings SUBMITTED
Kristin and Steve Gaetjens recently renovated their Sunoco gas station on the corner of state routes 306 and 87 in Russell Township with the help of loved ones and community members.
While the couple owned the station itself, they did not own the property it sat on. “If we were to improve the building, those improvements would stay with the property,” Steve explained. “We would have to abandon them without compensation.”
Kristin said the station belonged to four sisters and the land had been in their family for generations, so the sentimentality of the situation made it difficult for them to let go of the little 3-quarters-acre. For years, the septic system had been closed and the “zero dis-
charge” status meant nothing could be sent down the drains, forcing the Gaetjens to provide their customers with portable bathrooms and sinks. Their lease agreement didn’t offer a very easy back door, either, they said, adding if they were to end the See Station • Page 7
Chester Man Charged with COVID-Relief Fraud Staff Report Criminal charges have been filed against a Chester Township man related to his alleged scheming to submit fraudulent loan applications seeking tens of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds. According to an indictment returned last week by a federal grand jury in Cleveland, in July 2020, Robert Bearden, 49, allegedly devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and
Economic Security (CARES) Act, including approximately $60,000 in loans identified in the indictment. Bearden is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government funds. The indictment states Bearden allegedly carried out the scheme in a number of ways, including submitting EIDL applications through the SBA’s online application portal that contained false information about existing and non-existing businesses; submitting fraudulent EIDL applications in the name of third parties in return for a kickback of a portion of the funds re-
ceived; and by using the personal identifying information of persons interested in obtaining government pandemic assistance to submit loan applications on their behalf that ultimately went into accounts Bearden controlled. The indictment also identifies three fraudulent EIDL loans, totaling approximately $60,000, that Bearden applied for in July 2020. After receiving a fraudulent loan in his own name, Bearden recruited a purported third-party borrower only to use that party’s information to obtain a $12,300 loan issued not to the third-party’s account but to his
own account. In another instance, Bearden obtained a $34,800 loan for another third-party in exchange for a $6,000 kickback. One federal prosecutor in New York called the EIDL grants “catnip for criminals” because they required little documentation from an applicant and were deposited into an applicant’s bank account withing three days. The FBI and the IRS-Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation into Bearden’s actions. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliot Morrison and Brian McDonough are prosecuting the case.
Listed are public meetings and executive sessions for the coming two-week period, unless otherwise noted. These meeting notices are NOT legal notices. To find out whether a government meeting is in person or virtual, contact the appropriate township or school district office for meeting information. Chester Township: July 21, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission; July 29, 6:30 p.m., Board of Trustees; Aug. 4, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings are held at the Township Hall, 12701 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted. (Meetings are open to public, but seating limited to 10. Trustees, fiscal officer and department heads, if in attendance, are practicing social distancing.) Russell Township: July 21, 6:30 p.m., Board of Trustees; July 28, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission; Aug. 2, 7 p.m., Board of Zoning Appeals; Aug. 4, 2:30 p.m., Board of Trustees. (Trustees have opted to resume their regular meeting schedule but have changed the location of future meetings to the Russell Town Hall, 14890 Chillicothe Road. Meetings will be held in the Town Hall until further notice.)
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