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Volume 53, No. 8
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CHESTERLAND NEWS
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
Anti-Mask Protesters Heckle West G Officials By Diane Ryder editor@geaugamapleleaf.com A sign-carrying crowd began gathering in front of the West Geauga Schools Board of Education office more than an hour before the Aug. 23 meeting began. Someone had covered the official BOE sign with a big neon green one that read, “Welcome to West GITMO,” but the atmosphere of the determined crowd seemed almost festive as people milled around, talking. By 6:30 p.m., the crowd swelled to more than 50 and a group of about 20 equally-determined people, wearing face masks quietly gathered nearby. None of them carried signs. On Aug. 13, West Geauga Superintendent Richard Markwardt announced in a four-page letter to parents the district will require masks to be worn indoors for the first quarter — Aug. 25 to Oct. 22. “We’re here to support the board,” said Sarah Koenigseker, a nurse from Chester Township who has a son in first grade and a daughter in preschool at West Geauga. “I’m glad the board decided to mandate masks. Last year, my son needed to go into school and did very well with masks. I’m glad how they handled everything last year. They need to follow the science.” “I’d rather have my children in school than in quarantine,” added John Cowles, also from Chester Township and the parent of two high school students. “My two children wore masks the whole year and did fine with no breathing problems. “
DIANE RYDER/KMG
Nita Cavelli and her daughter, Mia, 8, protest mask mandates as they stand outside the West Geauga Schools Board of Education office Monday. BELOW: Protestors posted their own sign over the West Geauga Schools Board of Education sign.
Cowles said all four members of his family have been vaccinated, but still use masks as a precaution. “We still keep masks on in public to protect each other,” he explained. A protester on the other side of the mask issue, Nita Cavelli, also of Chester Township, was there with her daughter, Mia, 8, who is homeschooled. They carried a sign that read, “Let kids be kids.” Other signs were not so subtle — “You are not my child’s doctor,” read one. Several others read, “Let them breathe” or “Freedom of choice.”
Fifteen minutes before the board meeting was to start, a school official announced the meeting location had been changed from the usual meeting room to the middle See Meeting • Page 4
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