Geauga Maple Leaf 2-16-23

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Vol. 29 No. 7 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com

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Fairgrounds Flooding Causes Controversy With School

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA.com

Controversy is boiling over flooding of the Geauga County Fairgrounds, which fair board and county officials contend didn’t exist before the construction of the new Berkshire Schools campus.

Runoff from the campus and football stadium directed toward a retention pond on the west side of the campus has been invading the north side of the fairgrounds, causing erosion to the race track, according to letters and emails obtained by the Geauga County Maple Leaf through a public records request.

The 13-grade school, built at a much higher elevation than the neighboring fairgrounds, replaced woods and fields several years ago. During construction, a drainage system was installed to remove the water from the 30-plus acres Berkshire

See Flooding • Page 6

Chardon Council Votes to Close Dispatch Center

By Amy PAtterson Amy@kArlovecmediA com

Chardon City Council voted unanimously Feb. 9 to close the city’s police dispatch center — the last to operate independently in the county — and consolidate services with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office dispatch.

City Manager Randy Sharpe laid out the reasons behind the move, which were covered extensively during a Jan. 31 Chardon Safety Committee meeting,

The recommendation comes after research by the committee — on which council members Dave Lelko and Heather Means sit — as well as Sharpe and Chardon Police Chief

Mother Nature Puts the Chill on Snowmobiling page 12

Scott Niehus. That research showed necessary upgrades to the city’s dispatch equipment could cost up to $1 million and with continuous changes

See Dispatch • Page 4

Act 2: ‘Spelling Bee’ Returns to Cardinal’s Stage

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA.com

The show will go on.

Cardinal Schools Board of Education reversed its decision to cancel “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at its Feb. 8 board meeting.

In front of nearly 200 students, parents and concerned residents in the Cardinal High School cafeteria, board President Linda Smallwood read a brief statement explaining the conditions under which the board had summarily canceled the musical it deemed “not family friendly.”

“Cardinal board policy does not require board approval of specific productions chosen by the performing arts department, but the board is, nonetheless, required to uphold

standards set by board policy for the common good of all students in the school district,” Smallwood said. “Cardinal’s chain of communication with the performing arts department is such that the board had no knowledge of the specific, controversial spring musical production chosen by the Cardinal music director until the board received the first complaint about the musical on Jan. 11, 2023.

“Initially, the board was informed that the script could not be revised, but that changed when Music Theatre International, the publishing company, contacted the Cardinal theater department to confirm revisions could be made, with the help of their authors,” she continued. “At this time, the board wishes

MH Board Committee Meeting Highlights Dysfunction page 8

Berkshire Schools Breaks Up with ESCWR page 11

Opinion page 12

Sports page 14

Obituaries pages 10-11

Sheriff’s Sales & Legal Notices start on page 20

Classifieds page 22

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AMY PATTERSON/KMG

John Kloski, a Chardon dispatcher, told Chardon City Council Feb. 9 their decision to close the city’s dispatch center was a result of poor planning and management.

“No one feels good about this, no one’s happy about this. This is the situation. We have to make a decision based on what we have right now before us.”

— Heather Means

ANN WISHART/KMG Emma Clinger, a Cardinal Schools freshman who plays a main character in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” spoke in support of the production at the Feb. 8 board of education meeting. The board reversed its decision to cancel the musical before opening the floor to comments.

South Russell 2-Mill Renewal Levy Set for Ballot

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

South Russell Village voters might see a 2-mill police levy renewal on the ballot come November.

South Russell Village Council approved an ordinance Feb. 13 asking the county auditor to certify the total tax valuation and the amount of revenue that would be generated from the renewal.

“The ordinance to the auditor is for us to ask him how much will be raised if we place on the November 2023 ballot a request to renew a 2-mill levy for five more years,” said Village Mayor Bill Koons. “This is a simple renewal of a 1984 levy. Taxes will not be raised. The auditor simply tells us how much the levy will bring in for our general fund.”

Koons said the reason for putting the levy on the November ballot is to allot time to educate people about it and because more people show up to vote in a November election than in a May one.

“I think people shouldn’t be voting at different times,” Koons said. “Let’s have one

time, let people be prepared, plan for it and come out and support it.”

The renewal would help the police department maintain its income and continue to operate effectively, Koons said.

“This is some of the money that just keeps rolling in from our tax base,” he said. “When we’re running about a $4 million budget, this is bringing in $130,000 a year.”

Koons said the levy helps cover everything from trucks to buildings.

“It will cover our general functioning salaries, cars, trucks, stuff like that,” he said.

If passed, the levy would generate an estimated $140,231 per year and would cost homeowners $21.80 per year per $100,000 property valuation, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office.

Koons said South Russell has been fortunate to have supportive voters.

“Our levies are gonna pass. You’ll see over 70% support at the ballot,” Koons said. “It’s just keeping money that’s been coming since 1984. It’s not like we’re increasing taxes. Then you got a whole different situation.”

Council members also introduced on first reading an ordinance approving an amendment to the contract agreement between Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc. and South Russell Village for the South Russell Village Manor Brook Stream Restoration Project.

“The ordinance with Chagrin River Watershed Partners is a continuation of our 2019 agreement for their services on our Manor Brook Stream Headwater Restoration project. CRWP provides guidance and excellent advice on how to protect and control our water,” Koons said.

The project started back in 2019 and was slated to be complete by October of 2022.

“We had a 14-month delay while ownership of the Manor Brook project property was determined,” Koons said, adding a mistake was made in 1995 and the property needed for the project was incorrectly titled to a bankrupt company that closed long ago.

“We had to wait until it was resolved before we could begin construction,” he said.

Community Meetings

Listed are public meetings and executive sessions in the county for the coming week, unless otherwise noted. To have a public meeting included in this section, fax information to 440285-2015 or email editor@geaugamapleleaf. com no later than Monday noon. These meeting notices are NOT legal notices.

Geauga County: Feb. 22, 5 p.m., Board of Health, Ste. B303; Feb. 23, 9:30 a.m., Geauga County Commissioners; Feb. 27, 1:30 p.m., Family First Council; Feb. 28, 9:30 a.m., Geauga County Commissioners. All county meetings are held at the Geauga County Administrative Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive (Ste. #), Claridon, unless otherwise noted. County commissioners meetings are held in Suite 350.

Auburn Township: Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m., Board of Trustees; Feb. 23, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings are held at the Administration Building, 11010 Washington St., unless otherwise indicated.

Bainbridge Township: Feb. 16, 7 p.m., Board of Zoning Appeals. All meetings are held at Town Hall, 17826 Chillicothe Road, unless noted.

Burton Township: Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at the Township Administration building, 14821 Rapids Road, unless otherwise noted.

Burton Village: Feb. 16, 7 p.m., Public Library Trustees; Feb. 27, 7 p.m., Village Council. All meetings are held at 14588 W. Park St., 2nd Floor, unless otherwise noted.

Chardon City: Feb. 23, 6:30 p.m., Planning Commission, joint meeting with City Council. All meetings are held at Municipal Center, 111 Water St., unless otherwise noted.

Chester Township: Feb. 23, 6:30 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at the Township Hall, 12701 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted.

Claridon Township: Feb. 20, 6 p.m., Board of Trustees. All trustees meetings are held at Administrative Building, 13932 Mayfield Road, unless otherwise noted. All Zoning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals meetings are held at Town Hall, 13930 Mayfield Road.

Huntsburg Township: Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings held at the Town Hall, 16534 Mayfield Road.

Middlefield Village: Feb. 16, 5:30 p.m. – Recreation Committee, 6 p.m. – Finance & Ordinance, 6:30 p.m. – Safety Committee, 7 p.m. – Village Council. All meetings are at the Municipal Center, 14860 N. State Ave.

Montville Township: Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees; Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings held at the Montville Community Center, 9755 Madison Road, unless noted.

Newbury Township: Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings held at the Town Hall, 14899 Auburn Road, unless noted.

Parkman Township: Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at the Community House, 16295 Main Market Road, unless otherwise noted.

Russell Township: Feb. 16, 6 p.m., Board of Trustees; Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings are held at Russell Town Hall, 14890 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted.

South Russell Village: Feb. 17, 9 a.m., Finance Committee; Feb. 21, 5:30 p.m., ABR. All meetings are held at Village Hall, 5205 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted.

Troy Township: Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at Troy Community Center, 13950 Main Market Road, unless noted.

Cardinal BOE: Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m., work session. All meetings held at BOE Office, 15982 E. High St., Middlefield, unless otherwise indicated.

Chardon BOE: Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m., regular meeting. All meetings held at Ira A. Canfield Building, 428 North St., Chardon, unless otherwise noted.

Kenston BOE: Feb. 21, 7 p.m., regular meeting. All meetings held at Auburn Bainbridge Room at Kenston High School, 9500 Bainbridge Road, Bainbridge.

West Geauga BOE: Feb. 27, 7 p.m., regular meeting. All meetings are held at the BOE Community Room, 8615 Cedar Road, unless otherwise noted.

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from page 1 to technology, future maintenance and upgrade costs could continue to balloon.

Sharpe said research included meetings with police chiefs from Chester and Bainbridge townships.

“Both men expressed their belief that disbanding the dispatch operations and going with the (GCSO) was, and continues to be, beneficial for their operations and residents,” he said. “They have not had any significant issues with (GCSO) dispatching for their communities and would do it again.”

The closure of the city’s dispatch center would mean the loss of four full-time and eight part-time employees. Sharpe said an estimate of salaries and benefits for all dispatch positions in 2023 amounts to about $436,000.

The issue is multifactorial and complex, he said.

While consolidation with GCSO will save costs, a new position will likely need to be created at the city to assume some of the duties currently handled by dispatchers, including issuing warrants, copying citations, handling administrative phone calls and managing police records and files.

Sharpe said the city has been unable to secure grant money to upgrade the dispatch center, in large part due to its size. As dispatch centers nationwide move towards consolidation, the city’s dispatch center is too small to qualify for grants for system upgrades.

In 2021, the city applied for a federal Community Project Funding Request to cover the cost of dispatch consoles, the call-taking system and miscellaneous equipment in the center.

“The estimated project cost was $925,000 and the grant request was for 40% of the project or $374,000,” Sharpe said. “The grant request was not successful.”

‘Poor Planning’

Before opening the proposal to discussion among the council, Mayor Chris Grau offered the floor to members of the public.

Dispatcher John Kloski said previous choices by city management led to the decision to fire him and his fellow dispatchers.

“We are angered and hurt, not just by shutting down dispatch, but because of poor management at some level for not preparing or planning for the replacement of equipment, which is the cause of the shut-down,” he said. “It’s our opinion that proper prior planning and budgeting for the required upgrades should have been taking place for many years. These upgrades did not magically show up overnight. The notion of ‘price increases’ should have been predicted and adjusted for.”

Kloski said the need for upgraded equipment was known before the hiring of the three most recent full-time dispatchers.

Hiring them knowing upgrades were needed was a disservice, as they will now be left without a source of income, he said.

One full-time dispatcher was paid 400 hours of overtime in a previous year due to the city’s inability to find part-time staff to cover open shifts, he said, adding the city will argue it’s difficult to get applicants for a parttime dispatch role.

Kloski said that argument is correct because of the low pay offered by the city.

The 400 hours of overtime paid could have been diverted instead to raising parttime wages enough to be competitive and attract dispatchers from other departments, he said.

City of Chardon Council:

Chardon Dispatchers Speak Out

We know this letter will be construed as “angered and hurt employees complaining.” We are angered and hurt, not just by shutting down dispatch, but because of poor management at some level for not preparing or planning for the replacement of equipment, which is the cause of the Chardon police and fire dispatch shutdown.

Poor planning by management is now affecting the families of four full-time and eight part-time dispatchers. Shutting down Chardon dispatch not only affects those above, but also affects departments within the city, Chardon Municipal Court, road patrol officers, the Chardon Fire Department and other various entities.

You may not be aware of it, but dispatchers, who monitor the cameras, have been responsible for noticing and reporting the following: trespassers on city property after hours, the electronic door lock not working properly (locking after hours) on the Heritage House, drug use at the Heritage house (subject was cited), along with other situations.

It’s our opinion that proper prior planning and budgeting for the required upgrades should have been taking place since council approved to keep Chardon dispatch in 2014. These upgrades are not items that magically showed up overnight. The notion of “price increases” should have been predicted and adjusted for. These upgrades were known well before the last three full-time dispatchers were hired. Hiring them “knowing” upgrades would be needed was a disservice to those dispatchers who are now going to be terminated, especially if planning was not done.

An example of “magically showing up overnight” are items such as the fax machine, which still does not work properly to this day. This has been written up many times over the past SEVERAL months and still does not work properly. This should be unacceptable to someone.

Mismanagement at some level also includes the payment of overtime. In previous years, one dispatcher was paid over 400 hours in overtime. This was due to not having enough part-time dispatchers to cover the open shifts.

The argument will be, “Well, we could not get enough part-timers to apply.” That is correct. It is difficult to get applicants with the rate of pay given to part-timers. If you would have taken some of the 400 hours of overtime from the one full-time dispatcher, not including the overtime paid to the other full-time dispatchers, you could have provided an excellent hourly wage and obtained more applicants.

In conclusion, it’s too bad the road patrol, courts, citizens, and employees of dispatch and their families must now shoulder the burden of mismanagement.

the Auditor of State’s Ohio Performance Team recommended the city should look into consolidating dispatch operations with the GCSO, Sharpe’s report said.

McArthur said when making decisions, council has to balance the city’s responsibilities to taxpayers who already pay for services used by non-residents who work or visit, but she supports the decision to close the dispatch center.

“I think the numbers are probably pretty solid,” McArthur said. “It’s a very, very difficult thing to have to tell some of the staff that we can’t retain them … But I do want to support the council here tonight. I feel safe in your hands and I think you will make the right decisions.”

Lt. Brandon Reed, who supervises the GCSO dispatch division, said his personal preference would be for the city’s dispatch center to stay open.

He added he did not tell Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, who was seated in the first row of the audience, he was planning to speak that night.

“I didn’t know until just a few moments ago that I was going to step up here and say some things,” Reed said, adding the issue is personal for him.

“I am not a law enforcement officer. I am a dispatcher by trade,” he said. “I know what this job is, I know what these people sacrifice. I know what it takes to be good at this job and there’s a very human element to what’s going on with these people, the sacrifices that they have to make.”

Reed said he and Hildenbrand were not there to sway council members and the GCSO is not “begging” to take on dispatch coverage for the city. However, he added, they are prepared to do so.

“I personally wish we could keep Chardon as our backup dispatch center,” Reed said. “I want nothing more than to be able to keep our backup in Geauga County and come up here and work with our colleagues.”

Most 911 calls now come in over cell phones and a majority of those are sent by default to the GCSO due to the layout of cell towers in the area, Sharpe’s report said.

Additionally, it said in 2021 the city received

12,705 incoming calls — about 35 per day — but only about half were calls for service. The total 911 calls handled by the city averaged out to a little over two per day.

Currently, a majority of 911 calls are routed immediately to the appropriate department, such as the Chardon Fire Department or Chardon Police Department — meaning, emergency calls from many residents are already handled successfully by GCSO.

Hildenbrand told the city’s safety committee at their Jan. 31 meeting his office plans to work with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for backup emergency communications.

“You’re confident you can handle our load that comes in … for (the city’s) emergency services,” council member Dan Meleski asked Hildenbrand Feb. 9.

The offer would not have otherwise been made, Hildenbrand replied.

“I’d just rather hear it tonight and just straight from you,” Meleski said.

“What I told Mr. Lelko was that, you know, we would love to use (Chardon) as a backup, but you’re going to have to upgrade all your equipment to make it work,” Hildenbrand said.

‘An Undue Burden’

Nancy McArthur, a former member of council and previous mayor of the city, spoke in support of the plan, adding she recalls she was the one to initiate a 2012 performance audit, which suggested the cuts. At that time,

The city is already providing other services for non-residents, she said, including a majority of the salary of the school resource officer for Chardon Schools — the largest district in the county — as well as the municipal court, which handles cases from all over the county.

After public comments ended, Means said the city was faced with a decision whether to invest taxpayer dollars into updating the dispatch center when those residents are already paying for dispatch coverage through the county.

Although Chardon dispatch handles multiple issues besides 911 calls, Means said asking for upgrades feels like asking residents to pay for something twice.

“This is a 10- or 20-year decision that we’re making,” she said. “Do we invest this money? Do we ask taxpayers to do this? And so for me, it feels like an undue burden on our taxpayers to ask them to pay for something that they don’t have to spend that money on.”

The decision is incredibly hard, although saying that does not mean anything for those whose jobs are on the line, Means said.

“No one feels good about this, no one’s happy about this,” she said. “This is the situation. We have to make a decision based on what we have right now before us.”

All seven members of city council voted in favor of the closure.

After the meeting, Kloski said the next step is a negotiation of the shutdown between the city and the dispatcher’s collective bargaining unit.

AMY PATTERSON/KMG

Chardon City Council member Heather Means explains the reasoning behind a decision by the city to close its police dispatch center, which would otherwise need up to $1 million in upgrades, during the regular meeting of council Feb. 9.

Dispatchers of Chardon Police Department

Chardon Police Chief Weighs In on Dispatch Decision

Last Thursday night, Chardon City Council made the difficult decision to consolidate dispatch services with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office. Understanding that the City of Chardon’s first priority is to provide public safety to its residents, I can personally attest that the decision made by our council members was not made lightly.

Council was faced with the same reality that many other communities across Ohio have been confronted with, and that’s trying to figure out how to continue to fund and staff a small dispatch center. Changes in Ohio law have resulted in increased requirements for dispatch centers, also known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Required technology enhancements are prohibitively expensive, and dispatch centers have become increasing difficult to staff. Willoughby Hills, Kirtland, Solon, Independence, Gates Mills and many other local communities have come to the same crossroads and have chosen to consolidate.

In addition to dispatching for their own deputies, the GCSO is already providing dispatch services for 14 fire departments, nine police departments and several other local operations including the Geauga County Dog Warden and coroner’s offices, as well as the State Game Protector. This includes police and fire departments in Burton, Bainbridge, Chester, Middlefield, Russell and Thompson. The sheriff does this with a team of emergency communication specialists including a lieutenant, three sergeants, 16 dispatchers and, equally important, three full-time and two part-time technology support personnel. In comparison, Chardon has struggled to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week coverage relying on four full-time and eight part-time

dispatchers, without full-time technology support or outside funding sources.

The city’s attempts to find external sources of funding to rehabilitate our ailing dispatch center have not been successful due in large part to regionalization projects receiving priority in grant funding over single-agency operations like Chardon’s. This is because the State of Ohio’s initiative is to consolidate dispatch centers in advance of emerging technologies to come, including Next Generation 911. NG911 will fundamentally change how community members communicate with police and other public safety agencies, using the full power of their smartphones and other mobile devices. In an NG911 environment, people will be able to send text messages, photos and videos to their local public safety agency, and more generally, to communicate with authorities in many new ways through mobile apps. These advancements are going to be technologically intensive and require that agencies have the requisite technology support necessary to maintain them, which Chardon does not currently have and will not need, by way of consolidating with the GCSO for these services.

Again, it’s important to highlight that the GCSO Communication Center is already providing dispatch service to 90,000 Geauga County residents, noting that 96% of all cellular telephone calls to 911 are already routed to the sheriff’s office, including calls within the City of Chardon. I’m confident in saying that the sheriff and his team will be able to incorporate Chardon’s emergency calls into the county dispatch center, and Chardon residents calling for police or fire department assistance within the City of Chardon will not notice a difference in service.

Other than initially talking to a sheriff’s dispatcher, Chardon residents can expect that members of the Chardon Police Department or Fire Department will promptly be dispatched to respond to a resident’s call for service, just as they do now. It’s also important for the community to know that the Chardon Police Department has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the GCSO and we already share many resources.

For example, police and fire departments across the county are on the same computer-aided-dispatch program, and personnel in the field can see call information entered by the sheriff’s dispatchers via mobile data terminals currently located in police and fire vehicles. In addition, sheriff’s personnel are regularly in the City of Chardon conducting business, and the two agencies routinely provide backup assistance to each other.

At least seven current GCSO dispatchers have worked as dispatchers in Chardon in either a full- or part-time capacity. So, it stands to reason that the sheriff’s dispatchers are reasonably well acquainted with the City of Chardon. Also important to note is 911 calls to the sheriff’s dispatch center are plotted to a map, providing the dispatcher with location information not currently available to Chardon dispatchers.

The savings recognized by consolidating with the sheriff’s office for dispatching can and should be directed into other areas of police operations, which could include increased training opportunities, the purchase of equipment needed to support our officers, and adding personnel in the future.

Facing the reality of spending in excess of $750,000 in equipment and an additional $450,000 annually in personnel costs necessary to continue 24-7 coverage while affording proper relief, and considering that this does not include the cost of maintaining and

providing for future technology upgrades, council made the right business decision.

Emergency communications is rapidly changing and has become administratively and technologically intensive. Council recognized that it does not make sense for the City of Chardon to make such a costly expenditure and thereby commit the city to maintaining what are sure to be expensive future upgrades and maintenance costs, when essentially the same level of service is provided and available to our residents by the sheriff’s office at no additional cost to residents. In fact, Chardon residents’ taxes are already paying for the dispatch services offered by the sheriff.

Members of the Chardon Police Department are working with city staff and the GCSO to ensure a seamless transition of dispatch responsibilities to the sheriff.

Finally, and most importantly, Chardon dispatchers have provided loyal and dedicated service to the residents of the City of Chardon, and their commitment is very much appreciated and they should be recognized for the important work that they have done here.

However, future convergence of technical systems combined with the escalating costs of maintaining a dispatch center can’t be ignored, and as the industry continues to move towards NG911, the associated costs will likely accelerate, and it’s a model that simply is not sustainable for a small community such as Chardon. The opportunity to consolidate with the sheriff’s office for dispatch service solves this conundrum for Chardon and presents an opportunity to add additional patrolmen and equipment that is needed to help keep our residents safe.

Wm. Scott Niehus Chief of Police City of Chardon

Commissioners Grant Asphalt Projects for Four Roads

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

Staying on course with the county’s fiveyear road plan, Geauga County Commissioners approved two asphalt projects Feb. 14.

During the meeting, commissioners approved resolutions for the asphalt resurfacing of Morgan and Leggett roads in Montville Township, and Old State and Farmington roads in Parkman Township.

“All of these projects were on the fiveyear plan. Morgan was the only road in the group that we intended to do next year in 2024, but because of its proximity to another project, we decided to advance it,” said Deputy Engineer Shane Hajjar.

Hajjar said the condition of the roads supports the work.

“We were able to financially take that project on and expect to get attractive bid numbers for that size of a project so these are all part of our rolling five-year plan and this would constitute 7.7 miles altogether for the two projects.”

Both resolutions will have a bid opening March 8 with Morgan and Leggett set for 2 p.m. and Old State and Farmington at 2:05 p.m.

Notices for each bid opening will be advertised Feb. 16 and on the county website.

Hajjar said Morgan and Leggett roads abut one another and cover a total of 4.6 miles.

“This would be the final step of the bidding process to put these out for bid,” said Hajjar. “Even though it’s two roads, it’s one project.”

Hajjar said Old State and Farmington are also two roads that are close to each other in proximity.

“The last section of Old State Road before you leave the county was a small chunk of road that was not done prior,” he said.

“Since it’s in such close proximity to Farmington, we decided to pair that one up and the total is about 3.1 miles for that project.”

Hajjar said the engineer’s office will be looking for Morgan and Leggett not to exceed $1.3 million and Old State and Farmington not to exceed $1.2 million.

“They’re both pretty much on the same schedule. We have an early start date of May 1 and latest completion date of July 14 as planned, with a 28-day duration to complete them,” Hajjar said.

In other business, commissioners approved:

• The retirement/resignation of Geauga County Department on Aging Food and Services Aide Peggy Peters, effective March 6;

• The abolishment of a food and services aide position and revision of the organizational

chart, effective March 7.

• A department on aging request for an increase to the number of positions for fulltime recreation and education assistants from five to six positions, and a revision of the organizational chart reflecting the change, effective Feb. 14.

• Permission to advertise for two department on aging positions for a full-time recreation and education assistant (internally) for a period of five days, with applications being accepted from Feb. 21 through Feb. 27. If no qualified candidates are found, the positions will then be advertised externally until the positions are filled.

Niehus

BRIAN DOERING/KMG

From left, Commissioners Ralph Spidalieri, Jim Dvorak and Tim Lennon approved resolutions for asphalt resurfacing of four township roads.

Flooding from page 1

Schools leases from Kent State University for the school and the stadium.

“Although the overall flows leaving the Berkshire site were designed to be lower than before, prior to the Berkshire site being developed, the stormwater discharge was never concentrated at this one location but rather overland flow over the entire property line as sheet flow,” said Carmella Shale, director of Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District, to Berkshire Schools Superintendent John Stoddard in a Dec. 1, 2022, email.

“Although the fairgrounds drainage system may be antiquated, it basically functioned without these flooding issues prior to Berkshire developing and discharging all the site stormwater at one point onto their property. That is the crux of the problem.”

Shale and SWCD district technician Mike Tadaj visited the fairgrounds Nov. 30 to verify a flooding complaint from the Geauga County Fair Board.

“Upon inspection, the stormwater discharging from the school property is too much for the fairground’s inlet pipe to handle. Water is pooling by the inlet pipe while further down toward the racetrack, the pipe clean-out has popped off and is causing damage to the racetrack,” Tadaj wrote in a Nov. 30 email to Stoddard.

While Tadaj acknowledged the school followed the construction stormwater pollution prevention plan and an engineer calculated less water is being discharged off the school property, the drainage issue did not occur before construction.

“The school is now focusing a lot of stormwater to a single discharge point, whereas before, most stormwater was spread out over the entire property line,” Tadaj said.

He recommended the installation of a catch basin at the fairground stormwater inlet and the installation of about 480 feet of new pipe that would take the water to an open ditch on the north side of the fairground fence.

Stoddard had proposed a solution of jetting out the receiving storm drainage system on the fairgrounds, past the area where the stormwater blew off the clean-out cap, according to Shale’s Dec. 1 email to Stoddard.

“I concur that this may provide an immediate bandage to the problem at low flow conditions,” Shale wrote Stoddard. “My only concern is that this will not be a long-term sustainable solution as the storm sewer system on the fairgrounds contains 6-inch pipes that clearly cannot handle the same discharge as the 15-inch discharge pipe from the school detention basin.”

She reaffirmed Tadaj’s recommendation and encouraged Stoddard “to work with all parties to alleviate this ongoing problem.”

On Jan. 3, 2023, Shale again emailed Stoddard to encourage the school and fair boards to work together to resolve the issue.

“This won’t be going away,” she said.

A rough sketch of the area showing a proposed solution was included with Tadaj’s letter. Shale emphasized the drawing is not the final plan.

“This is just a concept of a solution. This would have to be designed and upgrading the existing receiving pond accordingly. This was to get the conversation of solutions started,” she said over the phone last week.

In a Jan. 3 response to Shale’s email, the superintendent said the district’s architect developed a stormwater plan that complied with all regulations and was approved by au-

thorities having jurisdiction over its project.

“(T)he district’s conduct related to the stormwater generated on its property cannot be considered anything but reasonable under the circumstances, which is the obligation in Ohio between adjacent upper and lower riparian landowners,” Stoddard wrote to Shale.

“The reason water is pooling by the inlet pipe is because the fairgrounds is not taking the necessary steps to maintain the drainage system on its property. Specifically, the drain lines are clogged and the fairgrounds has made no effort to clear them.”

In addition, Stoddard said the fairgrounds were required to take reasonable steps to accommodate the reasonable amount of flow coming from the school district’s property.

“Moreover, the school district does not have the statutory authority to gratuitously use its funds to install drainage improvements on the property of an adjacent landowner for the benefit of the adjacent landowner,” he wrote. “The fairgrounds could certainly implement this proposed solution itself . . . to address the storm drainage issue on its property, but it is unreasonable to request that of, or impose that upon, the school district to implement.”

Stoddard also told Shale the school district was “troubled” by the manner in which the SWCD was inserting itself in the fray and advocating on behalf of the fairgrounds to pressure Berkshire “to fund an issue that the fairgrounds itself has never seen fit to address.”

Stoddard’s Jan. 3 letter was forwarded to Geauga County Administrator Gerry Morgan, as the county owns the underlying property of the fairgrounds.

“Understandably, the board of county commissioners is deeply concerned with the flooding that is occurring on the iconic fairgrounds property,” Morgan wrote Stoddard in a Jan. 27 letter.

Morgan, who worked as a civil engineer prior to becoming county administrator, challenged the design and construction of the school district’s system, claiming it brings more flow to the fairgrounds than existed prior to the construction.

First, pre-construction flows were determined utilizing the entire disturbed area of 30.6 acres, which is almost double the size of the pre-construction area that flowed to the new pond’s discharge point, Morgan said.

“At a minimum, you are doubling what should have been the allowable flow to be discharged at that point,” he wrote.

Second, the 30.6 acres included areas that not only did not flow to the discharge point, but were in separate sub-drainage areas that flowed off the site to other parcels away from the fairgrounds.

“Therefore, the design is improper even if you try to argue that no more flow is going onto the overall fairground property post-construction in comparison to pre-construction,” Morgan added. “The final construction takes stormwater from those original sub-drainage areas and directs it to the pond.”

Increasing the size of the storm sewer on the fairgrounds property would not solve the problem, given the amount of flow from the school property has increased, but would only “push the issue further down the line into the Village of Burton,” said Morgan.

Moreover, he asserted there were issues with the detention basin flooding during the construction of the school, but school officials and contractors expected those problems would abate when the work was complete.

“Given recent events, it is obvious these assurances have not been kept,” Morgan wrote, adding Berkshire must fix the stormwater problem.

“Failure of the school to do so will force the county to immediately pursue any and all means necessary to address and eliminate the problem,” he said.

Stoddard said last week the school district is in discussions with interested parties and was hopeful a resolution could be reached shortly.

On Feb. 13, Morgan said the county commissioners have not been discussing the matter with the school but he believes the fairboard and school attorneys have

been involved in the process.“In an effort to work with the school, the dirt mound on the fairgrounds property was breached to allow the water to continue to flow across the fairgrounds and eliminate the pooling of water on the school driveway, however, this has only further exacerbated the flooding issues on the fairgrounds,” Morgan added. “The commissioners are hopeful a solution can be determined to solve the flooding problem and an agreement reached to get the necessary adjustments made.”

Paul Harris — secretary of the board of directors of the Ohio Agricultural Society, the group responsible for running The Great Geauga County Fair — said Tuesday the fair board was hopeful a resolution could be reached.

“Our job is to put on a fair,” Harris said. “We’ve been dealing with a lot of runoff since 2019. We had several meetings and were assured once completed, the retention pond would work and we would have no issues, but since completion, the flooding is worse than ever before.”

Any amount of rainfall now floods the fairgrounds and the entrance and parking lot become unusable — and the 71-year-old racetrack is washed out, Harris added.

“Unfortunately, a nasty letter from Stoddard’s attorney recently was sent to the fair board’s attorney, Casey O’Brien,” said Harris. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s where we’re at.”

Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District Director Carmella Shale said this possible solution to the flooding problem was proposed to start a conversation between the fair board and Berkshire Schools regarding flooding at the fairgrounds.

ANN WISHART/KMG

In an effort to stop stormwater from flooding the Geauga County Fairgrounds on Claridon Troy Road, an earthen dike was created along the property line with Berkshire Schools.

Musical from page 1

to thank Music Theatre International and its authors for assisting the Cardinal board and music director with the 23 requested revisions required to create a script that finally complies with the Cardinal board policy.”

Production will resume immediately, she said, with performances scheduled as before for March 10, 11 and 12 at the Cardinal Middle School cafetorium.

When Smallwood asked the board whether there was consensus in favor of her statement, no negative responses were audible and no formal vote was taken, but “yes” was heard from most board members.

After the meeting, Smallwood said if the board had not shown consensus for her statement, she had a second statement ready that would have upheld the cancelation.

Board legal counsel Dan McIntyre sat to her right.

The decision was met with applause and cheers from the crowd.

Parkman resident Joyce Peters spoke first during the public comment portion of the meeting. She thanked the board for its decision but took them to task for not following any of the four board policies she said would have applied.

Peters also objected to the board canceling the musical in executive session.

“The executive session on January 25 has some problems with regard to open meetings and executive session rules. According to the (Ohio Revised Code), topics discussed in executive session are limited and the high school musical is not one of them,” she said. “Furthermore, decisions are not permitted in executive session. All such deliberations are to take place in public. Lastly, the board needs to be accountable for its kneejerk reaction to unverified information combined with their own personal agendas when making poor decisions on the fly.

“Cardinal Schools has been humiliated in our district, our county, our state, our country and also internationally due to this fiasco. It is time to get right with the world around us. To embrace diversity, open-mindedness and kindness,” she continued. “Do you know how many kids there are who relate to the characters in this musical? Do you know how many kids in the community contemplate suicide

‘Spelling Bee’ Writer Responds To Requests

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA com

The cast of Cardinal Schools’ “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” has a month to adjust to more than 20 script changes approved by the production’s writers.

One of the two writers, Rachel Sheinkin, responded to requests from two Cardinal Schools Board of Education members in an email in which she said 10 of the requests — mostly word changes — were fine.

Six requests — several of which were focused on the content and timing of adlibs from the cast — could be negotiated or were up to the director, she said.

because of their feelings of exclusion? Do you even realize that this musical takes these issues and has the characters resolve them for themselves in a positive way? I am just one of hundreds if not thousands of Cardinal community employees, former employees, students and former students and people who want this district to come into the world as it is now.”

Joyce charged the board with establishing a citizen’s advisory committee to address similar situations in the future.

“I call upon this board to use its own Policy 9140 to set up a citizen’s advisory committee to study the processes already in place regarding censorship, free speech, citizen complaints, controversial issues, and the right to free expression and due process afforded in our current policies,” she said. “Also, I call upon this board to use its own Policy 9140 to set up a citizen’s advisory committee to study the issue of alienated students and save students’ lives in our own little corner of the world. I ask that this board extend an apology to (director Vanessa) Allen, who followed the process according to all previous practices and did not deserve criticism. The students who have suffered such heartbreak for the past two weeks deserve your apologies, as well.”

More than a dozen people took the podium to address Peters’ points and to thank the board for its decision to allow the musical to

continue. Several emphasized why “Spelling Bee” is especially appropriate for the times and applicable to today’s youth.

Megan Baril, of Parkman Township, said the musical is more complex than other, less controversial productions.

Because of that, it will help them grow as actors and singers, she said.

Michael Lewis, of Huntsburg Township, said the district failed to communicate the cancelation to the cast and stage crew, who arrived for practice one cold wet night and found the doors locked.

“The lack of information given to my family … was an absolute disgrace,” he said. “You did not treat the kids in the way they should have been treated. You owe them an apology.”

One speaker said there was tremendous community support for “Spelling Bee” to go on, including a petition that gathered 3,266 signatures.

Freshman Emma Clinger, who plays a main character in the musical, said she didn’t understand why this particular musical was canceled when the theater department had produced “The Addams Family” musical with no changes to the script.

One mother said she felt the school might be overstepping her parenting authority but she was more comfortable since modifications were made to the script.

No Delay on Cardinal’s ‘Spelling Bee’ Opening Night

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA com

The curtain will rise March 10 for Cardinal Schools’ production of the Broadway musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” despite almost a month of no official preparation.

Production assistant director Mandi Matchinga said in a phone call last week the small cast, hopeful the Cardinal Schools Board of Education would reverse its Jan. 11 cancellation of the PG-13 musical, worked on their own to prepare for opening night.

“We want to be ready by March 10,” she said.

Practice recommenced after the board’s meeting Feb. 8 and stagehands picked up their paint brushes again to put the finishing touches on the production’s background, she said.

But coordinating all the work and practice, including singing and choreography, after several lost weeks has not been easy.

“There’s a lot of moving parts, but we

were ready to hit the ground running,” Matchinga said. “We’re just trying to bring it back together.”

On Jan. 25, responding to an email from an individual concerned about “Spelling Bee” not being “family-friendly,” the school board announced the production was canceled. The cast had been practicing since the beginning of the winter semester with director Vanessa Allen, unofficially assisted by her husband, Brad Allen.

The director, a school employee, was unable to comment on the situation, but Matchinga, a volunteer, spoke to the media.

Public outrage, including a lot of social media input and cooperation from the musical’s publishers and writers, led the board to reconsider its decision. On Feb. 8, the board agreed the 23 changes, primarily replacing foul language with more benign terms, were sufficient to allow the show to go on.

In the interim, Matchinga said she has been amazed at the outpouring of support she has received.

“All kinds of people I don’t know have found me,” she said.

That included Canton’s Avenue Arts Theatre Director Dave Lee, who invited the cast and crew to see “Spelling Bee” Feb. 4, Matchinga said.

The students were invited to visit the community theater’s green room backstage and Lee provided tickets for the production.

“They’ve had some great experiences,” she said.

Cardinal Schools Superintendent Jack Cunningham said last week it might be possible to move the production dates to later in the spring, if necessary, but no one had communicated to him there are issues with meeting the March 10 date.

He served as mediator in discussions between the director and board members in one tense meeting Feb. 1, but once it became clear the writers were willing to make the requested changes, the path to resolution smoothed out.

“I was happy to be able to communicate and get things resolved so the musical can move forward,” he said. “We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The list of requests came from two board members and Sheinkin noted the first person’s main goal is to make changes to shift “Spelling Bee’s” rating from PG-13 to PG.

“Anything that has to do with changing profanity to milder language, we are happy to accommodate,” she wrote.

Sheinkin said the writing team could not approve seven of the requests that delved deeper into the production’s message.

“Things that have more to do with distaste for how a character is being portrayed or how a character’s story evolves, we hope will be the basis of productive conversation in the community — and we hope even more might be viewed differently when your students bring these characters to life. But, we can’t change things that are fundamental to the story,” she said.

An example of an essential aspect of “Spelling Bee” is a dream scene in which Jesus appears to a character, Sheinkin said. A request to have it removed was denied.

In addition, one of the characters, Leaf, has been homeschooled and the first board member objected to the perceived stereotyping of home-schooled children. The board member also wanted changes to the song “I’m Not That Smart.”

Sheinkin responded: “This we can’t do, I’m afraid. Would there be any value in talking to the community member who is particularly worried about homeschool depiction? She objects completely to Leaf’s characterization and yes, it would make more sense not to do the show if this is truly a deal breaker, but it seems like the time to discuss that would have been before it was chosen and students so deep in rehearsal.”

The request to change the character of a bully named William Barfee also was denied.

“Perhaps this can open conversations about why people bully? The arc of the show is very much about how William learns to see outside of himself, recognize someone else’s needs and grow as a result,” Sheinkin said.

The writers refused to change a song of one of the spelling bee losers to make it “more uplifting.”

“Although we can’t accommodate all of the requests listed here, we are able to accommodate some, and are hopeful that the discussion can get us to a place where the students are able to put on the show they’ve put so much work and love into,” she said at the end of her five-page response.

AMY PATTERSON/KMG

Cardinal Schools Superintendent Jack Cunningham was interviewed Feb. 8 by Channel 8 following the school board’s decision to allow the “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” musical production to go on with revisions.

MH Board Committee Meeting Highlights Dysfunction

By Allison Wilson And Amy PAtterson editor@kArlovecmediA com

The Geauga County Board of Mental Health Planning and Policies Committee meeting Feb. 8 — intended to be a discussion of the board’s policy manual — quickly derailed into personal attacks and arguments.

The mental health board has been working for months on selecting and interviewing candidates for the role of executive director after its firing of, and later financial settlement with, former Executive Director Jim Adams last summer. The current lack of a director was a stress point during the committee meeting.

“It’s good to refresh ourselves and do an overview on the policy manual,” board member Walter ‘Skip’ Claypool said. “We’re going to have a new director and certainly she’s going to have — he or she, whoever it is — is going to have something to say about the policies. We are the policy committee, we are an existing organization and we should be able to help that person come on board.”

Present at the meeting Feb. 8 were five of the 14 members on the mental health board, including three appointed by Geauga County Commissioners — Claypool, Jimmy Lee Holden and Kathy Johnson — and two appointed under state law requirements. Those members, Ann Bagley and Alberta Chokshi, were appointed according to Ohio Revised Code section 340.02, which requires a portion of the board to be made up of clinicians or family members of those dealing with mental health disorders.

From the beginning, the committee was split over how to conduct the policy review, with Claypool proposing starting with certain policies he found important and Johnson asking to start with bylaws previously discussed by the board.

Bagley wanted to start from the first section and work all the way through the policy manual, with which most of the board said they were not familiar.

Eventually the committee agreed on the need to develop a work from home policy, with Johnson and Chokshi emphasizing their wish to wait for directorial review.

“We’re sort of in flux because we don’t have an executive director, yet. So, maybe there should be some input from that person, too,” Chokshi said.

Claypool rejected this concept, saying the director works for the board. His concerns were focused on public perception and staffing of the office.

“The reason this came up was because the doors were locked the other day when somebody came to the mental health board,” Claypool said, adding a member of the public called him to ask why the building was closed.

Johnson said she believed the incident was caused by specific circumstances leading to a one-day closure of the office.

“If somebody comes and there’s nobody here and the taxpayers are expecting people to be here, we would have an issue,” Claypool said, adding he thinks the new director, once appointed, should have an opportunity to weigh in and put their stamp on the office.

“I’m sure Diane Grendell — I mean, whoever, that’s a joke — will have some say over things,” he said.

Grendell, former state representative for Geauga County, threw her name in as a candidate for the director’s role in December along with about 20 other applicants, including several with clinical and professional experience.

Claypool Rants on Mental Health Spending

Former Commissioner Targets LGBTQ Support Group for Defunding

By Amy PAtterson Amy@kArlovecmediA

Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services member Skip Claypool said Feb. 8 the board should drop funding for local agencies that “confuse” children in schools.

Claypool made the remarks during a mental health board Policies and Planning Committee meeting, adding he recently sat in on a presentation by Lori Criss, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, that made his blood boil.

“All I heard was money, money, money. We’re giving $30 million here, we’re giving $70 million here. We’re gonna grow this agency, we’re gonna grow that agency,” he said. “The reason that angers me is because we’re acting as though money solves problems. Money does not solve problems.”

Claypool said Criss emphasized the importance of following the data on mental health outcomes.

“The problem with following science is that science follows the money,” he said. “Many of our agencies are businesses and they’re in practice or they’re in business to make money. And their practices oftentimes are to generate more money.”

Board member Alberta Chokshi cautioned the connection between spending and the results he cited is not necessarily causational.

Claypool proposed the committee create a policy whereby all mental health board members could weigh in — and bring in medical experts or agency representatives — to evaluate the funding process for different agencies and improve outcomes.

“Because what I’m seeing is we’re not improving the outcomes. They’re going in the wrong direction. I don’t know what to do about it,” he said.

Board member Kathy Johnson said

The committee went back and forth on a policy regarding the building being open, until Holden interjected.

“I’ve been sitting here listening to y’all talk, OK? And it’s very apparent to me that you three over there,” Holden said, indicating Chokshi, Johnson and Bagley, “aren’t going to agree with anything (Claypool) says.”

When Chokshi attempted to respond, Holden firmly said he had the floor.

Claypool brought up the work-from-home policy to see if a conversation was necessary so that when taxpayers show up, they get the service they want or deserve, Holden said.

“And y’all have been attacking him over here because (he said) we should wait until we have a director. No! We don’t have to wait until we have a director,” he said. “But to continue to attack this man for bringing things to the policy committee that need to be looked at is just plain wrong. And if y’all don’t stop it, I’m not going to be part of it anymore.”

Chokshi said she was not attacking Claypool, adding the meeting was an open forum where committee members could give their opinions about policies.

agencies that are funded through the mental health board must already meet specific criteria.

While there are no policies established for the type of review Claypool proposed, there are already processes put in place by the service providers, she said.

“(If) you want to be a home care agency providing services and you’re getting (paid by) Medicare and Medicaid, you have to do a test of at least two or three cases and follow them over a six-month period to show them that you’re following the Medicare and the Medicaid guidelines,” Johnson said.

Claypool — who said he is “involved with Medicare and Medicaid” and is disappointed in government-provided healthcare — pivoted to singling out the Geauga Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Support Network, which does not receive funding from the mental health board. In the past, GSSN held support group meetings at Ravenwood Health, which does receive reimbursement from the board.

GSSN is “harming kids,” he said.

“I’d like to put a policy in place that says if you have anything to do with SOGI, we are not funding you,” Claypool told the committee.

Chris Steigerwald, president of the Geauga SOGI Support Network board, said as Claypool has served on the mental

She added she agreed with Claypool that if the doors were locked, a discussion of policy may be necessary.

“OK, so he brought up a point here that if we are in violation of a policy, shouldn’t we just get out there and change it, put it out there before the board before we get sued,” Holden said. “And you want to wait. Why? If we’re in violation of policy, shouldn’t we fix it? That’s the problem with this board. Everybody wants to put everything on a goddamn back burner. Let’s stop doing that.”

Chokshi reiterated she did not attack Claypool, but she was not ready to jump in and say whether the incident meant the board is in violation of its policies.

“I want to read the policies again and then we start looking at it,” she said. “But I have not — I don’t attack people and I did not attack him. You may see it that way, I do not see it that way.”

“I’ve been a student of people for 40 years,” Holden responded. “And I can sit here and I can tell when people are … being condescending. You’re attacking him. Stop it. Knock it off.”

Referencing her own input, Bagley said

health board since 2020, he is aware the organization has never received funding from the mental health board.

In an email to the Geauga County Maple Leaf Feb. 14, Steigerwald said GSSN’s funding comes from individual donors, family foundations, business foundations and a grant from the Cleveland Foundation.

“This is a falsehood that Mr. Claypool insists on spreading,” she said.

SOGI Support

Claypool said he was approached by a psychiatrist from Beachwood the night before the committee meeting who is “livid” about the way his peers approach gender and sexuality because he fears they are making the problem worse and not better.

“We have a lot of activity going on in and around our young people today having to do with LGBQT, transgender — and that was not even a term,” Claypool said. “That’s a made-up concept, by a bunch of (psychologists) — look at the history about it — that are trying to explain a psychological condition.”

Steigerwald said among the public there are myths and a lack of understanding about transgender people.

The American Psychological Association is working to advance knowledge on

See Claypool • Page 9

she honestly believed she was responding to what Claypool asked for input on. Holden said input from the three is always negative.

“Well, OK, but I had a different opinion,” Bagley said, adding she does not want to pretend she has the same opinion as Claypool.

“We have agreement on the fact that we’re having a conversation about the work-fromhome policy and we can determine how to approach that at our next meeting and what our thoughts are and that,” Claypool said, adding he agreed with Holden’s thoughts that the board does not have to wait for a new director before making changes.

“We have a responsibility to the public today,” he said. “And we haven’t been fulfilling that responsibility.”

On Feb. 14, county commissioners accepted the resignation of mental health board member Jennifer Malainy, who was not present at the committee meeting. No reason was given for the resignation.

Malainy’s, Claypool’s and Board President Steve Oluic’s terms are set to end June 30, 2023. Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak requested the county post all three openings for public application.

com

“We’re just saying that that non-profit corporation, and its practices, are leading to worser outcomes because of what they’re doing to our kids. They’re confusing our kids in school and then they’re becoming depressed and become suicidal, blah blah blah.”

– Skip Claypool

Kelly’s Farm Trial Questions Definition of ‘Agritourism’

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

A Geauga County farm headed back to court Feb. 7 for a bench trial to determine if its educational programming constitutes agritourism according to the State of Ohio.

A large crowd of supporters showed up to support Kelly Clark, who, along with her husband, William Roe, own Kelly’s Working Well Farm in Bainbridge Township.

Clark appeared before Geauga County Judge Carolyn Paschke to address various disputes that have occurred over the past several years with the township, which she said has put the farm’s fate in limbo.

Clark and Roe purchased the 6-acre parcel of land in Bainbridge in July of 2012 and filed to incorporate Kelly’s Working Well Farm as an Ohio nonprofit established for agricultural education purposes.

The property is currently home to chickens, sheep, pigs, ducks, rabbits and one goat, but once hosted summer camps with upwards of 20 to 25 children per week.

Since 2019, the farm, located at 16519 South Franklin Street, has been tied up in litigation with Bainbridge Township over several issues, including alleged zoning and fire code violations, as well as numerous safety hazards at the property.

In the spring of 2022, Clark signed a consent agreement with Bainbridge Township to allow members of the public onto the property to participate in agritourism activities. The consent agreement covered the entire property while providing a process for abating issues within buildings on the property.

The agreement required all activities to be held outside, with the public prohibited from entering those buildings on the property deemed unsafe by township inspectors.

Within a few weeks of signing the agreement, the Bainbridge zoning inspector sent a letter to the farm demanding they demolish a small farm stand and the State Fire Marshal was notified of the violations, according to previous reports. Upon inspection, the fire marshal found numerous hazards on the property.

Clark has said in the past the fire mar-

Claypool

from page 8

gender identity and sexual orientation to benefit society and improve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people’s lives, she said, adding guidelines for transgender care are currently set by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations.

SOGI is an established acronym the board chose to describe the focus of the organization, and everyone has a sexual orientation and gender identity, Steigerwald said.

After Claypool aired concerns about children being harmed by the organization last year, four GSSN board members were asked to give a presentation before the mental health board in June 2022, outlining its mission and activities.

“Since that time, Mr. Claypool has continually used the term SOGI, an acronym for sexual orientation and gender identity, to refer to our organization rather than our actual name. This causes confusion about his meaning,” Steigerwald said.

During the meeting, Claypool said some agencies that receive funding from the men-

shal did not clarify to her what issues on the property needed to be corrected. However, she was cited for violating a number of state fire codes, lost the case and was fined tens of thousands of dollars.

“She appealed that to the board of building appeals and they unanimously upheld the Bainbridge citation. She then appealed that to the court of common pleas, but then they dismissed their appeal,” said Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz. “They filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the appeal on Nov. 30 of 2021, which then rendered this decision final.”

In total, Clark has been fined in an excess of $100,000, Flaiz said.

Clark said in a follow-up interview she does not expect to pay any fines.

“As Ms. Applebaum knows, the buildings in question are farm buildings and have not been used to accommodate the public in the intervening years,” Clark said. “Meanwhile, we have been making every effort to understand and mitigate the citations while being resisted in our efforts by Ms. Applebaum and the Bainbridge fire inspector. Her filing for money on behalf of the State Fire Marshal is just another example of the harassment that she has been practicing against us.”

Township officials have continued to be concerned with public safety after observing children in and around the structures on the property and have maintained the farm is in violation of the consent agreement.

tal health board are making things worse.

“(The agencies are) going into the school system and teaching our kids, at a very early age when their minds aren’t developed and they’re not even able to comprehend some of these ideas and thoughts, (which) makes it worse, not better,” he said.

GSSN has never gone into schools and taught youth, Steigerwald said.

“GSSN provides peer support groups for youth in a neutral location, when parents seek it, a peer support group for adults, education, resources, and events,” she said.

Discrimination

Chokshi raised concerns that creating a policy prohibiting funding or working with a specific organization, such as GSSN, may violate anti-discrimination laws.

Claypool refuted this, saying while he is not an attorney, he does not believe the board could discriminate against an organization.

In the Spring of 2022, Kelly held food workshops on canning and food preservation, and in November, a community tree planting event in the backyard of the farm.

Clark has also faced the assertion she is operating a school and not a farm, which she has maintained she is not.

After four years, the owners of the farm and its supporters were hopeful the hearing would provide answers and closure, so they could determine how to move forward.

‘A Disaster On the Property’

The purpose of the hearing was to determine if the farm’s self-directed agriculture program fits the legal definition of agritourism and if a 2022 consent agreement between the farm and the township has been violated.

After four years of litigation with Bainbridge Township over zoning and fire code violations, the owners of the farm and its supporters were hopeful the hearing would provide answers and closure so they could determine how to move forward.

Assistant Geauga County Civil Prosecutor Linda Applebaum represented the Bainbridge Township fire department and zoning inspector in the proceedings against Clark.

“We’re here because we entered into a consent agreement. This was such a disaster on the property with the numerous fire violations that there was no way to correct this,” said Applebaum in her opening statement.

“If we discriminate against people of color, people of a certain age, people of a certain ethnicity, those are all groups of people, as are LGBTQ, and I think we tap dance on the line for sure, if not actually step across it,” mental health board member Ann Bagley said.

“SOGI is an organization. It’s not a group of people. It’s not a class, like LGBQT,” Claypool replied. “Us not providing funding to an organization is not discriminating against individuals. We would always provide care to those folks in the LGBQT-whatever class. Those folks always receive service.”

Claypool said if the board were to eliminate funding to groups who work with GSSN, it would not be discriminating against anyone in a protected class.

“We’re just saying that that non-profit corporation, and its practices, are leading to worser outcomes because of what they’re doing to our kids. They’re confusing our kids in school and then they’re becoming depressed and become suicidal, blah blah blah,” he said.

“We were trying to give Mrs. Clark an ability to use the grounds of her property but stay away from the structure.”

Applebaum said Clark was violating the agreement within a month of signing it, and doing exactly what the board of zoning appeals told her not to do.

“She’s in a violation of consent agreement because she started up what she’s claimed as agritourism that was already decided that it’s not,” said Applebaum. “Even if it was agritourism, which we disagree with, you are also violating the strict conditions relating to the structures. The structures still have fire hazards.”

Applebaum added Clark has made “do it yourself“ repairs to one of the structures.

“She thinks it’s fine to let children right in front of the structure, so that’s why we are here,” said Applebaum.

Clark’s attorney, Andrew J. Karas, of Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, said in his opening statement he disagreed with Applebaum’s characterization of the consent agreement.

“You are going to hear about what they are doing on the property. You are doing to hear about what the Chagrin Valley Learning Collective is. You are going to hear about the things that happen during Kelly’s Working Well Farm summer camp,” said Karas. “You are going to hear that they are as defined by the consent order. They are agriculturally related. They are educational. They are recreational.”

Karas said the township’s enforcement posture has been completely inappropriate.

“I believe they fit the definition squarely of agritourism both under Ohio law and as defined specifically by the consent agreement,” said Karas. “I think it becomes clear that this case needs judicial intervention.”

After hearing testimony from a total of six witnesses, including Clark, Paschke laid out the next steps in the process.

“We discussed with counsel that we aren’t going to do standard closing arguments,” said Paschke. “What we’ll do instead is — I will permit you to do written findings of fact and conclusions of law.”

Paschke added closing arguments can be included in the submissions.

In her email, Steigerwald questioned Claypool’s intent to prevent agencies from working with GSSN.

“If the board of mental health creates a policy denouncing our organization with respect to other agencies, will the LGBTQ population feel comfortable seeking mental health care in this county? Such a policy would further alienate this population, and likely increase anxiety, depression and suicide,” she said.

Claypool’s opinions regarding the cause of the challenges facing youth were provided without facts or data, added Steigerwald.

“The Trevor Project, a respected national organization and authority on LGBTQ youth, has clear data showing that depression and suicidal thoughts/attempts are caused by lack of support for and acceptance of LGBTQ individuals,” she said. “Respected authorities in this field have demonstrated that lack of support for LGBT and other diverse youth is associated with greater mental health challenges.”

The funding discussion was tabled as the committee ran out of time to continue their meeting.

The next mental health board meeting will be held Feb. 15, at which time the board is expected to name a new executive director.

BRIAN DOERING/KMG

Attorneys Linda Applebaum and Andrew Karas spar over questions being asked during the Kelly’s Working Well Farm hearing on Feb. 7.

Roy E. Ditto

Roy E. Ditto, at 101 years old, passed away peacefully on Feb. 8, 2023, with his family beside him at Maplewood Assisted Living Home in Chardon.

Roy was born March 10, 1921, in Chester Township, to Dale W. Ditto and Mary S. (nee Whitman). Chesterland was Roy’s home his whole life. He worked as a carpenter for over 50 years and belonged to the union.

Roy married Phyllis Barstow on Jan. 2, 1946. He built the home they lived in for over 75 years where they raised their three children together.

Roy had a long and meaningful life; he would always lend a hand to anyone in need. He enjoyed caring for their home, working outside in the yard.

Roy loved taking Phyllis to the dance hall at Painesville Park, where they would meet good friends and dance the night away. Another favorite pass time was playing cards with a group of friends they went to school with and grew up together, and he outlived them all.

In 2008, Roy had bestowed upon him the title “Keeper of the Cane” in Chesterland. He is the third generation of our family to have this title over the last 85 years; there have only been 21 “keepers.” He was honored to have the cane for as long as he did.

The house he was born in is still standing on Mulberry Road. A reminder things were built to stand the test of time back then — and so did he. In his life time there has seen 18 presidents, four wars and a world that went from simple to complex.

He was a son, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather; a man of few words, but when he did speak people listened.

Roy is predeceased by his father and mother, Dale W. Ditto and Mary (nee Whitman) Ditto; sisters, Gerrie Crotty, Donna (nee Wendt) Tursic, Dorothy (nee Wendt) Paglio; and son-in-law Tom Havlicek.

He is survived by his wife of 77 years, Phyllis; daughters, Peggy Havlicek, Nancy Aloi (Phillip); son, Dale Ditto; granddaughters, Stacie Malone (Jeff), Lindsey Nelson, Tiffanie Petty (Virgil), Kelly Alisesky (Dan), Karen Roderick (Josh), Anita Mehmood (Asher); grandsons, Tim Howson, Bob Havlicek (Karianne), Brad Aloi (Brittani); great-granddaughters, Lauren Malone, Allison Malone, Jordan Malone, Megan MacCartney, Grayson Howson, Maggie, Harper, Laurel, Emma, Ella, Dani, Morgan, Nayah; great-grandsons, Cody

Howson, Liam Nelson, Austin MacCartney, Xavier, Kasen, Zion; and great-great-greatgrandson, Cole Schneider (Allison Malone).

Family and friends called at Gattozzi and Son Funeral Home, 12524 Chillicothe Road, Chesterland, on Feb. 12, 2023, where services were held Feb. 13.

Interment in Western Reserve Memorial Gardens in Chesterland.

Memorial donations in Roy’s name may be made to Hospice of the Western Reserve at www.hospicewr.org.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.GattozziandSon. com for the Ditto family.

Linda Carol Gribble

Linda Carol Gribble, age 75, passed away on Feb. 7, 2023, surrounded by family.

She was born on Feb. 19, 1947, to Clarence and Anna Mae (nee Ely) Running.

Linda was a Geauga County resident most of her life. She loved to garden, bake and cook for her family. She cherished making memories with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She valued her time by meeting new people, and stayed busy by taking a position at Home Depot here in Chardon.

Linda is survived by her children Brinda (Bill) Cheraso, Tamara (Bob) Gribble Jenkins; son-in-law, Jeff Wakeley; grandchildren Edward, Krystal, Melanie, Robert, Amber, Megan, Brittany and Ashley; great-grandchildren, Oliva, Jazzy, Jewel, Rhiley, Oliver and Justin.

Linda is preceded by her loving husband, Joseph; daughter, Trisha Wakeley; and grandson Joey.

Family received friends Feb. 15, 2023, at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon, from 4-6 p.m., with a service taking place at 6 p.m.

Burial will take place Feb. 16, 2023.

In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society via their website www.cancer.org.

Arrangements made by Burr Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Chardon. Information and condolences online at www. burrservice.com.

Anne Lisbeth Burke

Anne Lisbeth Burke, age 76, passed away peacefully on Feb. 8, 2023, after a brief illness.

Anne was born to the late Earle Geuder and Dorothy Higgins (nee Bishop) on April 3, 1946, in Olean, N.Y.

In addition to her parents, Anne is preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Michael Burke, who passed away on Jan. 2, 2012.

In her early life, Anne worked as a telephone operator for the Bell System in Michigan and Ohio, and later in life, through retirement, as an aide in Berkshire Schools in Burton, Claridon and Troy.

She resided in Burton Township for nearly 50 years.

Anne enjoyed writing to, talking with and spending time with her friends, watching and feeding wild birds, and everything about her granddaughter, who was the light of her later years.

Anne also enjoyed sending cards and small gifts to friends and family.

Anne is survived by her son, Sean (wife Kathleen); granddaughter, Maeve; brothers, Robert and David Geuder; as well as many dear friends and family.

She will be missed tremendously.

Visitation and a celebration of Anne’s life was held Feb. 13, 2023, at Gattozzi and Son Funeral Home, 12524 Chillicothe Road, Chester Township.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Geauga County Dog Shelter, (https:// www.co.geauga.oh.us/Departments/Dog/ Adopt).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.gattozziandson. com for the Burke family.

William A. Wolfgang

William “Bill” A. Wolfgang, age 101, went home to be with the Lord on Feb. 10, 2023.

He was born on Oct. 12, 1921, to Cloyd and Sadie (nee Himes) Wolfgang.

Bill was born in Timblin, Pa., and worked in the coal mines until he moved to Ohio. He served his country proudly in World War II in the United States Army.

Bill met the love of his life, Kathleen Gahagen, and they married on May 11, 1946.

He spent most of his career working for General Motors in Euclid.

Bill enjoyed gardening, helping his family with home repairs and spending time with his family, whom he loved and prayed for every day.

Bill is survived by children, Connie (Louis) Oris, Susan (Dean) Paullin, Wayne (Rita) Wolfgang and Keith (Rhonda) Wolfgang; grandchildren, Michele Oris, Rachele (Jason) Blake, Nicole (Michael) Liotta, Stephen (Meghan) Paullin, Travis (Melani) Wolfgang, Brooks (Janell) Peyton, Sara (Michael) Baint-

er, Emily (Rory) Hiett; great-grandchildren, Ashton and Alyssa Blake, Dominic and Gabriella Liotta, Luke, Logan, Makenzie, Beau Wolfgang, Poe and Lincoln Bainter, and Finley Hiett.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen; and siblings, Joyce Alt, Alice Carlson, Jeanette Kluciar, Rebecca Beall, Jay Wolfgang and Donald Wolfgang.

The family will receive friends for visitation on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, from 4-7 p.m., at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon.

Funeral services will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, at Freedom Alliance Church, 9892 Old State Road, Hambden Township. Christian burial will follow at Hambden Township Cemetery.

Arrangements made by Burr Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Chardon. Information and condolences online at www. burrservice.com.

Elmer Gasser

Elmer “Rudy”

Gasser, age 92, passed away peacefully at Western Reserve Hospice House on Feb. 10, 2023.

He was born Feb. 4, 1931, in Pierce, W. Va., to Sebastian and Mary (nee Gartner) Gasser.

Rudy was a longtime resident of Hambden Township, moving from Richmond Heights.

He served proudly in the United States Air Force, and shortly after met the love of his life, Dolores Ann Cambeiro, and they married in Johnstown, Pa., on Aug. 1, 1953.

When he wasn’t at General Motors as a tool and die maker, Rudy enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, and woodcarving.

He was a faithful member and very involved in Christian Assembly Church in Richmond Heights and later Morning Star Friends Church in Munson Township.

Rudy will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

He is survived by his children, Kathy (Phil) Tedeschi, Rudy Gasser, Lisa (Doug) Roessler and Michael (Carla) Gasser; grandchildren, Micah (Kelsey), Gina, Joshua, Sam, Ines, Ben, Abby, Drew (Claire), Grant, Chase and Macy; and six great-grandchildren.

Rudy is preceded by his loving wife, Dolores; sisters, Toni, Jenny, Mary, Tina and Martha; and great-grandson, Tayden.

Family will receive friends Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, for visitation starting 4-8 p.m., at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon.

Service will take place the following day, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at 10 a.m., at Morning Star Friends Church, 12550 Ravenna Road, Munson. A burial will follow the service at Western Reserve Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of the Western Reserve, 17876 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, OH 44110; or charity of your choice.

Arrangements made by Burr Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Chardon. Information and condolences online at www. burrservice.com.

Berkshire Schools Breaks Up with ESCWR

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA.com

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, love was not in the air for Berkshire Schools’ relationship with the Educational Services Center of the Western Reserve.

On Feb. 13, the Berkshire Schools Board of Education voted 4-1 in favor of a two-year contract with the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio, despite pleas from half a dozen people to delay the vote.

Those who spoke supported the district’s continued relationship with the ESCWR, which includes districts in Geauga and Lake counties.

An ESC provides a variety of programs for students, particularly for those with disabilities, and charges the districts for those services.

ESCWR board member Ken Burnett said the deadline for the vote on the contract with ESCNEO was June 30 and he urged the Berkshire school board to vote no.

“Do your homework like I have done. I have learned some things. As a board, you need to put that effort in. Think this through before you act,” he said. “We have a long-standing relationship we want to keep. Let’s sit down and collaborate and work this out.”

Burnett said there are 47 school districts in ESCNEO, which is located in Indepen-

dence and covers many districts in Cuyahoga County. He argued Berkshire will not be represented in that ESC.

Three board members on the ESCWR live in Burton Township, he said.

The home-schooling community in Geauga County has been very satisfied with the ESCWR, said Vickie List, who is part of that community.

“Western Reserve has worked well with homeschoolers in the past and has a great track record,” she said, asking how Berkshire will cover the additional workload if the new ESC cannot.

“Why are you leaving? Nothing is enough to warrant this change,” she said. “Why move to an organization that has significantly less dollars per student? You will have no say in Cuyahoga County.”

Berkshire Superintendent John Stoddard said any additional work the ESCNEO does not cover, Berkshire would pick up, and the district would continue to partner with Auburn Career Center.

“There is no scenario where we could leave Auburn Career Center,” he said.

However, the district’s relationship with the ESCWR has not been satisfactory, Stoddard said, adding the administration has been dealing with this dissatisfaction for at least four years and it has not been resolved, despite assurances from the ESCWR.

Obituaries

Heather Lynn Hatridge

Heather Lynn Hatridge, age 48, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Feb. 11, 2023.

She was born on Feb. 14, 1974, to Roger and Linda (nee Guthrie) Hayhurst.

Heather loved searching for antiques and had a big heart for animals. She rescued many pets and volunteered at several animal shelters.

She spent many hours with her two daughters at the beach searching for sea glass.

Heather worked at Avery Dennison for 27 years and was well loved by her coworkers.

She loved visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands and even volunteered to help restore St. John, after Hurricane Irma, through the National Geographic Society.

She will be missed by all who loved her.

Heather is survived by her two daughters, Alexis and Hailey; mother, Linda Hayhurst; and sister, Lorrie (Jim) Vandersluysveer.

She is preceded by her father, Roger Hayhurst.

Family will receive friends for visitation Feb. 24, 2023, from 4-7 p.m., at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon.

A private family burial will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, family request that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements made by the Burr Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Chardon. Information and condolences online at www. burrservice.com.

Michael Yurko

Michael Yurko, age 61, passed away on Feb. 9, 2023, at Chardon Healthcare Center.

Born June 23, 1961, to Michael and Barbara (nee Delaney) Yurko Jr., he was a lifelong Geauga County resident.

Michael loved sports, especially football. He was an avid sportsman, enjoying skeet shooting and fishing. Mike was also a true animal lover.

His greatest asset was his sense of humor, which he maintained until the end. He was generous and kind to everyone he encountered.

Michael was an employee of Progressive Insurance for over 20 years.

He is survived by siblings Deborah (Ron) Haubert, Elizabeth (Michael) Funka and James (Sandy) Tench; sister-in-law, Terry Yurko; and his nieces and nephews.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents, Barbara and Michael Yurko Jr.; and brother Jeffery L. Yurko.

Visitation will be held Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, from 2-4 p.m., at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon. The funeral service will follow and begin at 4 p.m. at the funeral home.

The graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at Maple Hill Cemetery in Munson Township.

Arrangements made by Burr Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Chardon. Information and condolences online at www. burrservice.com.

“ESCWR does have programs but not what we want for our students. We essentially have no say in the programs,” he said, adding research shows districts of similar sizes compared to Berkshire have superior programs and professional development opportunities through the ESCNEO.

Chardon and Kenston school districts contract with ESCNEO, he said.

Another ESCWR board member said the board was “blindsided” by the news Berkshire was considering the change.

Stoddard repeated he has tried for four years to work with the ESCWR administration.

“It is not appropriate for me to approach the board members of another organization. It’s up to your superintendent to tell you,” he said. “You shouldn’t direct your ire at me — you’re supposed to direct it at the person not informing you.”

Berkshire board President John Manfredi said a former board member, the late Jim Koster, investigated moving to ESCNEO before Stoddard came on as superintendent. Koster was in favor of the change, but the district got tied up in planning and funding the

new all-grade school and then COVID-19 hit.

“There was never a time during those years (to make the change) because other things took precedence. If you think there wasn’t discussion — there was plenty,” Manfredi said, adding secluding students with special needs from the rest of the student population is an injustice.

The district’s students with special needs have been removed from the ESCWR program and included in regular classrooms at Berkshire, he said.

“We made it clear we were going to get our kids out of that program. Those kids deserve it, as do our other 1,400 kids. We have to look at what’s best for them,” he said, crediting Stoddard and Treasurer Beth McCaffrey for finding the solution for that student population.

Mary Hipp, a Berkshire board member who voted no, said she was in favor of tabling the vote, so there would be more time to hear from the community.

“That’s not because I don’t have faith in our administrators,” she said. “We should table it simply because you all took the time to come here.”

Mother Nature Puts the Chill on Snowmobiling

By rose nemunAitis editor@kArlovecmediA com

For snowmobile enthusiasts, there may be nothing quite like trailblazing across a winter wonderland after a big snowfall.

Unfortunately, this winter sport has yet to kick off in Geauga County.

The current “snow drought” is driving local snowmobile club members to haul their sleds to other places to enjoy the activity they love, despite all kinds of preseason planning.

“Winter 2023 has been frustrating for snowmobilers,” said Tim Doerr, president of the Thompson Ledge Runners Snowmobile Club. “Mother Nature has not been kind in providing the snow we need to ride. Our club of 55 active members/families has had volunteers working hundreds of hours preparing trails, building bridges, installing trail and field markers all to remain closed due to lack of snow this season.”

Doerr is a lifelong snowmobile enthusiast, Ohio State Snowmobile Association board member and safety director who teaches snowmobile safety in Northeast Ohio.

“My dad bought his first snowmobile in 1968, so I was born into the sport,” he said. “I have had many adventures riding, whether it be around home or traveling to find snow. There is nothing more gratifying than riding through the woods enjoying the scenery and wildlife, or watching families ride together making memories that will last a lifetime.”

Their club takes trips, chasing snow in upper and lower parts of Michigan, New York, Ontario, Quebec, and some travel to Montana and Wyoming to ride.

Doerr said the sport is addicting and he is happy his parents introduced it to him at a young age.

“My wife and I introduced the sport to our boys and our boys have continued in the sport introducing it to our grandchildren, who already have their own mini snowmobile,” Doerr said. “It has been enjoyable for me to see generations of families enjoy and make memories in this sport.”

Their club meets monthly from September through April to prepare for the upcoming season and they have a fall cookout at Thompson Ledge Park, a winter hot dog roast and other fundraisers.

They ride locally on trails privately owned by landowners.

“We are granted permission to respectfully ride on their land and maintain and ride throughout Thompson,” Doerr said. “We also share trails with our two neighboring clubs, Grand River Trail Riders and Montville Highlanders.”

The Thompson club and Highlanders have worked with Geauga Park District to receive permission to ride trails at Observatory Park in Montville Township.

Chip Hofstetter helped start the Montville club, which currently has 110 families as members, in 2003 and serves as presi-

dent. Their club is privately funded through memberships and fundraising events to cover annual expenses like signage, bridges, trail grooming and insurance.

“We realized that many members of the community enjoyed snowmobiling since we would get plenty of snow, but everyone just kind of rode everywhere without an established trail system,” Hofstetter said. “Our thought was to establish a trail system within the community for all of us snowmobiling enthusiasts to enjoy with our families during the winter months.”

They worked with landowners to establish and maintain a network of winter trails for club members.

“We figured if we had an established trail system, it would keep everyone from riding wherever they want and giving snowmobilers a bad name,” he said. “There are a few bad apples out there like in any sport, but with the trails being established, groomed and maintained by the club, we have had minimal issues during the season. We periodically hire the (Geauga County Sheriff’s Office) to check snowmobiles on the trails to make sure they are a member of the Highlanders or another affiliated club.”

The club belongs to OSSA and weather-permitting, they have ride-ins — a specific date established at the start of the season where everyone from different clubs can meet and ride through areas of Michigan and New York, which generally have enough snow.

A lot of club members go on trips in different groups with different families, Hofstetter said.

“The 2023 winter season has not been good to us locally, so most of us have already taken trips out of state to find snow so we can

ride,” he said. “These new snowmobiles cost around $18,000 each so we want to be able to enjoy them during the winter months.”

The club also enjoys giving back to the community by sponsoring baseball teams and golf outings, donating to churches, fire departments and schools, and giving landowners gift cards in appreciation, Hofstetter said.

For Mike Buyarski, a member of the Troy Snowmobile Association, the club represents a connection between people with a variety of lifestyles and a shared love of snowmobiling.

Buyarski said his club — which has 37 active members that meet the first Monday of every month at Mulligan’s Pub in Troy Township — is a great bunch of people who gather to work on trails, do fundraisers and get outside to enjoy their shared passion.

“If one is looking to make new friends and be part of a true team who has fun together, this is the best way to do it,” he said. “It will also get the entire family outside during the winter, enjoying a great winter sport. You get out and enjoy winter, get to go to places you can’t drive to. You see awesome scenery. You spend quality family time together and time with friends away from all the hustle and bustle.”

Buyarski agreed this winter season in

Geauga has not been great.

As a result, a group traveled to Newberry, Mich., for a long weekend over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and some are heading to Maine over Presidents’ Day weekend to ride for the week.

“The biggest issue is the ground never froze solid, so the snow didn’t last when it came,” Buyarski said of Geauga County. “The few storms we had didn’t put enough down to cover the ground enough. If the ground would freeze, we can ride on a 10-inch base and it would hold. Since it never froze, the snow would flatten and expose the mud.”

The same happened in western New York, he said.

“The trails did open in the Chautauqua area for only one day and the mud was exposed in the turns in a few hours, so they closed the trails that evening,” he added.

Members are canceling trips around Maine due to the lack of snow.

“The Upper Peninsula in Michigan does have a good amount of snow and the trails are groomed and in good condition, so that is the only good option this winter so far,” Buyarski said.” But it is a nine-hour drive. Hopefully a good freeze will happen, followed by a good snowstorm, so we can ride local.”

Letters to the Editor

Push Education, Not Propaganda

I’m happy to see Cardinal Schools has approved the “Spelling Bee” musical.

As a government agency, the First Amendment prohibits it from censoring views some in our community don’t want to hear. Doing so would have opened the school to costly lawsuits.

To those who want it censored because it runs counter to your values, don’t be like the woke cancel mob and shield your children from disagreeable ideas with safe spaces. Expose your children to these ideas and teach them the critical thinking skills needed to understand why the ideas are wrong.

To the artistic crew, thank you for producing a controversial performance. Con-

sider producing future performances with more viewpoints. Perhaps next year can portray conservative values or ruffle the feathers of a different religion.

To the board, thank you for supporting the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Please encourage the theater crew to explore competing themes and messages. Schools should expose children to a variety of ideas, to teach them how to think independently and not devolve into pushing an ideological agenda.

While I am happy to see “Spelling Bee” performed, I’d be unhappy if every year we see the same ideological theme being pushed. That’d be propaganda, not education.

David Mooter Parkman Township

ROSE NEMUNAITIS/KMG

Geauga Park District’s Observatory Park in Montville Township allows snowmobiling, by permit only, when conditions are right for tracking trails. Photo taken on Feb. 11.

SUBMITTED

Thompson Ledge Runners Snowmobile Club President Tim Doerr’s son, Zach, teaches Tim’s granddaughter, Mia, their shared family love of snowmobiling in Thompson.

Kenston Parents Tapped As Bus Driver Backup Plan

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

The bus driver struggle is real for Kenston Schools.

Like many of its counterparts across the nation, Kenston has been challenged with finding available school bus drivers, said Superintendent Steven Sayers in a Feb. 13 letter to parents.

“To date, we have continued our daily transportation with minimal disruption by combining routes and adjusting pick-up and drop-off times,” he said, adding the school has recently had to notify parents via early morning call of the necessity for them to transport their children to and from school.

“Unfortunately, this is no longer just a possibility but has become a reality. Please be aware that this may impact your family,” Sayers said. “We will give you as much notice as we can. Changes or updates will be communicated only to those directly impacted via an automated call and text messaging, similar to a snow/calamity day communication, with as much notice as possible.”

Sayers encouraged parents to develop carpool arrangements with family, friends and neighbors should the need arise for individuals to be asked to provide transportation.

“Should it become necessary to ask for your assistance in transporting your children to school, the school buildings will open earlier to receive students and assist families,” Sayers said.

The doors for Timmons Elementary School will open at 8 a.m.; Kenston Intermediate School, at 8 a.m.; Kenston Middle School, at 7 a.m.; and Kenston High School, at 7 a.m.

“We understand the inconvenience this creates for our families and appreciate your partnership as we address this challenge,” the superintendent said. “If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a substitute transportation aide or bus/van driver, please go to Kenston’s website and search employment opportunities or contact our transportation department at 440-543-9567.”

The district provides free training for all positions, including Class B Commercial Driver Licenses.

Woodland Wednesday Winter Tree ID: Leaves are for Chumps

Don’t let the lack of leaves prevent you from being able to identify the trees on your property.

On March 1, from 2-4 p.m., at the Lantern Court Estate at Camp Red Oak, 9203 Kirtland Chardon Road, Kirtland, learn to use buds, twigs, bark, bud scars, form and surrounding habitat to identify woody species all year without their leaves.

Featured speakers include Natalie GertzYoung, conservation educator at Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Eddie Lagucki, horticulturalist at Red Oak Camp.

This free, in-person program is limited and registration is required by visiting: woodlandwednesdaysmarch2023. eventbrite.com.

Questions? Call 440-350-2033 for more information.

Collaborators include NE Counties Farm Bureaus, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Geauga, Lake, Ashtabula, Portage, and Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Division of Forestry, and Holden Forests and Gardens. For more information visit ofbf.org/counties

Geauga Park District Propels Mission to Preserve Natural Heritage

By rose nemunAitis editor@kArlovecmediA com

Since 1961, the residents of Geauga County have entrusted Geauga Park District to manage what has grown to 27 open parks.

“This growth is a result of our residents’ unwavering support for parks, recreational activities and amenities, and the protection and conservation of ecologically significant lands,” GPD Executive Director John Oros said. “The 10,000 acres that make up these areas are important resources. They require purposeful management and stewardship.”

Leading said stewardship in buildings and infrastructure is GPD Deputy Director Matt McCue and in natural resource management is GPD Park Biologist Paul Pira.

“Our planning and natural resource management department has a tremendous responsibility to develop and update master plans and management plans that serve all our parks and preserves,” McCue said. “These plans are the basis for everything from how we manage meadow and varying habitats for invasive species, to how we identify and prioritize stream and habitat restoration projects, to how we prioritize existing infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, as well as capital improvement.”

Veterans Legacy Woods

The park district is working on 2,913 linear feet of stream restoration at the new park in Newbury and Burton townships, with about 1,700 linear feet being used to create a new cold-water stream habitat that could support Ohio native brook trout and priority areas identified for reforestation.

A new hiking trail network is planned for

completion as part of an original master plan, with upgrades to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the park’s former clubhouse.

Troy Wetlands

In 2023, access to the GPD property — which was not accessible to the public since its acquisition about 20 years ago — will be established off of state Route 700 in Troy Township with a parking area, boardwalk, trail and observation platform, as well as a hardwood forest and marshland for future birding, fishing and nature viewing.

Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Park

Last year, amenities were improved at Chester Township park, opened in 1993, with improved trails, bridges and a scenic overlook on Summit Trail, and a new playground, improved trails, seating areas and landscaping around Wisteria Hill Shelter.

Orchard Hills Park

Reforestation continues at the former golf course in Chester Township to protect headwater streams flowing to Caves Creek.

“This project will reduce over 46,072 gallons of stormwater runoff each year,” according to Chagrin River Watershed Partners, which assisted the GPD in applying for $72,000 in grant funding that supported the planting of 2,473 native trees and shrubs over a 10-acre area.

“Many native plants, particularly long-living trees like oaks and maples, help fight climate change by successfully storing the greenhouse gas carbon monoxide,” CRWP said.

Big Creek Park

Improvements at Chardon’s park, which is mostly forested by rich beech-maple woods, include a new Deep Woods lodge, playground at Maple Grove and a small camping cabin.

The West Woods

A new steel roof was replaced on The West Woods Nature Center at the park in Russell and Newbury townships, a popular attraction with a large wildlife feeding and viewing area and interpretive displays.

“Professionals in this line of work are so very passionate about what we do,” Pira said. “I’ve found over the years that it is more of a calling in life than simply a job. While it is true

that we are public servants, we are also servants of the natural world. Because of this, we take our work very seriously as so much depends on it. We are essentially charged with passing on to future generations Ohio’s wonderful natural heritage. You bet we take this seriously. I love all our native plants and animals and want to share that with others and also make sure that my children and grandchildren are able to enjoy these special places, plants and wildlife.”

The GPD is trying to manage intact natural areas that are fully functional native ecosystems so they are free of something Pira calls “biological pollution,” or non-native plants and animals.

See Parks • Page 15

SUBMITTED

GPD Park Biologist Paul Pira, left, and Geauga Park employee Linda Gilbert conduct bird research at Orchards Hills Park in Chester Township.

Parks

from page 14

This proves a challenging job because humans have so greatly altered their landscape and changed the natural environment, Pira said.

“It is an ever-changing balancing act between human use and native wildlife needs,” Pira said.

To meet these goals, an annual invasive plant management plan and ecological restoration projects aimed to help heal damaged parklands are needed, as are biological surveys, inventories and, sometimes, very species-specific management, Pira said.

“For example, we have just recently been awarded a very large grant (over $1 million) from the Ohio (Environmental Protective Agency) to restore and create cold-water streams in … for a very special Ohio endan-

gered fish — Ohio brook trout,” Pira said.

The fish are exclusive to Geauga County, nowhere else in Ohio.

“That is a huge responsibility that we take very seriously,” Pira said. “We are entrusted with this Ohio jewel. GPD is very fortunate to have such amazing natural areas. I talk a lot with other natural resource professionals all over the state and they are all envious of what we have here. That is a good feeling.

“My overall philosophy is that we are undeniably interdependent on our natural world,” he continued. “As the natural world goes so too the fate of we humans. We should all be careful stewards of the natural world. We are one piece of a larger puzzle that is all interconnected. Use science as our guide to sound management and know what we have before we make responsible resource decisions. If we give nature half a chance, quite often, nature will surprise you with its resilience.”

ROSE NEMUNAITIS/KMG Geauga Park District purchased Veterans Legacy Woods in November of 2018 with the intent of restoring these lands to a more natural state and safeguarding them with significant stewardship plans.

Physical Therapy First: Avoid Surgery

How can physical therapy improve your quality of life? Physical therapy is the field of medicine that is devoted to restoring and improving human movement. Physical therapists achieve correct posture and spinal alignment by reducing pain and using physical methods such as strength training, massage and using the body’s natural healing processes. Physical therapists are experts in movement, kinesiology (study of human movement) and functional independence. Physical therapists help people of all ages and skills to improve strength, restore mobility and reduce pain.

Nobody wants surgery, so then why do individuals consult with an orthopedic surgeon? Surgery is a surgeon’s specialty. Sure, they will offer costly imaging, ineffective injections and tell you to “rest and see how it feels. ” Then, in 4 weeks of “letting it rest,” it’s worse! So when your symptoms are worse, of course, the only option left is surgery.

Avoiding surgery takes an independent Doctor of Physical Therapy who’s only focus is helping people avoid surgery. In many cases, physical therapy has been shown to be just as effective as surgery when treating a wide variety of conditions from low back pain, shoulder issues and knee arthritis. How wonderful to be able to participate in several weeks of non-invasive therapy to get the same outcomes as an invasive, costly and risky surgery.

Unfortunately, there are misconceptions about physical therapy that may discourage

people from seeking the skilled guidance of a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy. Some misconceptions include: insurance coverage, physician involvement, preconceptions about pain, not understanding what physical therapists are capable of treating, clinical indications and therapists’ education.

In the U.S., a physical therapist can perform a physical therapy evaluation without a physician referral. By participating in a physical therapist evaluation, you will learn what physical limitations you have and how they relate to your pain or limited independence and how to correct them.

Physical therapy is typically a covered service by most insurance policies. For people that have Medicare, services are covered at 80% and the other 20% is covered by a supplemental policy, if you have one. Other insurance policies may even cover physical therapy costs at 100% making it an affordable alternative to costly surgeries.

Physical therapy is not only for injuries or accidents. The skilled physical therapist is able to evaluate and diagnose potential issues before they lead to more serious injuries or falls. A physical therapist can improve the joint function in one joint to impact the functional performance of another. For example, if you are having pain in your back related to vertebral dysfunction, the therapist can improve the joint mechanics and muscle action of your low back, and further improve the joint mechanics of your hips and knees, reducing potential complications down the road. All treatments are specific to the individual needs and vary person to person with the ultimate goal of eliminating pain and restoring natural movement.

Doctors of Physical Therapy are capable of and license to treat numerous physical disabilities from orthopedic conditions such as: preand post- joint surgery, chronic pain to Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Doctors of Physical utilize our body’s natural healing abilities by incorporating state of the art treatment techniques including laser therapy, trigger point dry needling, manual hands-on skills, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization and private education/training so clients understand exactly what is occurring and how they can alleviate symptoms by themselves.

A licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy or physical therapist assistant can only deliver and provide physical therapy services. Physical therapists are highly educated Doctors of Physical Therapy that possess a thorough understanding of the human body’s anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and health conditions. All therapists participate in yearly continuing education to maintain their state license to practice. Many therapists hold board certifications for specific areas of medicine including: neurology, orthopedics, geriatrics, pediatrics, cardiovascular-pulmonary, sports enhancement, research and women’s health.

Physical therapy is not something that can be done on your own or by any other health/medical practitioner. You need the critical and trained eye of a licensed doctor of physical therapy in order to assess and determine appropriate diagnosis, limitations and treatments. So, if you want to avoid surgery and become pain free consult with a doctor of physical therapy first!

dr. AdAm m crAmer, Pt, dPt

Dr. Adam M Cramer, PT, DPT is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy and the owner of MyoFit Clinic in Ashtabula, Chardon & Middlefield, Ohio.

Cramer

Bombers Victorious on Senior Night, 8 Place at WRC

By AlAn kornsPAn sPorts@kArlovecmediA com

The Kenston Bombers hosted a dual match with the Kirtland Hornets on Feb. 9 — soundly defeating their visitors on Senior Night — then participated Feb. 11 in the Western Reserve Conference championships.

After beating Kirtland, Kenston Head Coach Ricky Deubel discussed a few of the night’s senior highlights.

“Leo (DiPadova) going out there being aggressive, scoring a bunch of points and finishing the match with a pin, (was a highlight),” he said. “(Another highlight was) AJ (Pemberton) coming out with another pin, which I believe he has 24 wins and 24 pins on the season. So every match he has won this year has been by a fall, which has been great.”

Then came the championships two days later.

Not having had the chance to wrestle in the dual match due to a Kirtland forfeit, stateranked Kenston wrestler Sean Doyle had the opportunity to wrestle twice at the championships. He received a bye in the first round, then defeated the Hilltoppers’ Logan Bryant, 1-0, in the semifinals.

In the finals match, Doyle won the 285 pound WRC title with a 10-7 decision over Chris Fero from Mayfield.

“Sean’s been going after it this year,” Deubel said. “He’s wrestled so many ranked opponents, and just keeping down with them, pushing the pace on them, and coming out with victories against them. And hopefully he

keeps up that pace in the next couple weeks during post season and makes it to states.”

Although Doyle has had great individual success on the mat this season, he credited his teammate and training partner Ben Burlinghaus for helping him have great practices, which have led to a successful season.

“The season has been (going) extremely well,” Doyle said. “Pleased with everything that has happened, working in the room, and then going flawlessly out on the mat. I will give that (credit) to my room partner Ben Burlinghaus. You know he gives me good work every single day. So going out there, I can just implement it really.”

Currently Doyle is ranked 18th in the state’s Division II.

Seven additional Bombers also placed: Aidan Baran (113 - 2nd), Leo DiPadova (1202nd), Carmen Fratoe (106 - 3rd), Jacob White (132 - 4th), Aaron Hirt (138 - 4th), AJ Pemberton (144 - 4th) and Ben Burlinghaus (215 - 5th).

Chardon Hilltoppers had a very successful WRC tournament, as well. In fact, Will Vucetic won the 175-pound WRC title.

After a first round bye, Vucetic got a quick pin of his Willoughby South opponent

in the semifinals.

In the finals match, Vucetic pinned his Madison opponent 38 seconds into the first period.

Vucetic is currently ranked 23rd in the state in the 175-pound weight class for Division I.

Chardon saw nine other wrestlers also place at the WRC tournament: Dylan Kick (157- 2nd), Maddex Cincabello (190 - 2nd),

Luke Vecetic (132 - 3rd), Graham Husek (138 - 3rd), Logan Shubert (150 - 3rd), Austin Hardesty (215 - 3rd), Logan Bryant (285 - 3rd), Aidan Croyle (165 - 4th) and Phillip Colucci (120, 6th).

Kenston will return to the mat the week of Feb. 20 for sectionals.

Chardon, meanwhile, completes its regular season Feb. 17 against Orange before moving on to sectionals the week of Feb. 20.

ALAN KORNSPAN/KMG

Kenston’s Aaron Hirt wrestles against Kirtland on the Bombers’ Senior Night Feb. 11. Hirt placed 4th in the Western Reserve Conference at 138 pounds.

Lions Run, Stun to Victory Over Tigers

By AlAn kornsPAn sPorts@kArlovecmediA com

As part of Generation X growing up in Northeast Ohio, one of the most exciting sports teams I grew up watching was the Cleveland State University 1985-86 men’s basketball team.

Led by Coach Kevin Mackey and characterized by the 40-minute “run and stun” full court press, CSU captured the hearts and imagination of sports fans throughout the region with a March Madness run to the Sweet Sixteen.

One of the players on that amazing team was current first-year NDCL Head Coach Pat Vuyancih.

Using the same “run and stun” full court press that Coach Vuyancih learned from Kevin Mackey, the Lions defeated the Chagrin Falls Tigers, 75-43, on Feb. 7.

“They are having so much fun playing this style of play,” Vuyancih said. “It’s the same press that I learned from Coach Mackey at Cleveland State. To be honest with you, I don’t know why more coaches don’t use it. It’s a fun style, it gets a lot of people involved, you score a lot of points. We’ve had a number of games in the high 70s and 80s this year. It’s really transformed the way we play at NDCL. The kids love it. We get after it from baseline to baseline, and it’s fun.”

The contest began with a relatively close first quarter which saw the Lions take a 11-9 lead. NDCL was led by Noah Rodgers, who had four points in the first quarter, while the Tigers were led by James Kosmides, who scored six.

But over the next two quarters, the Lions went on a 46-23 run to seal their victory.

Offensively during these quarters, NDCL was led by Jaxon Mangelluzzi as he poured in 17 points. In fact, nine of Mangelluzzi’s 17 points came on three-pointers. For the game, the Lions drained 10 three pointers in total.

Also contributing greatly to the Lions offense on this dominant run was Brandon Smul, who had 10 points in the second and third quarters and also drained four three-pointers for the game.

After the game, Smul talked about playing the fast-paced full court press.

“He (Coach) told us to play our game,” Smul said. “We’ve been pressing, we always like to run, and it works. Bad teams and good teams struggle to play against it.”

Vuyancih said he was happy about how his players executed the game plan.

“They are playing as a team, with intensity and toughness and all the things that coaches love to see out of their teams,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier for the way we played in all phases tonight.”

As the coach mentioned, this style of play gets a lot of players involved. In fact, the Lions had nine players contribute to the scoring.

Overall for the game NDCL has three players in double figures including Mangelluzzi (20 points), Smul (18) and Evan Dugger (15). Also scoring for the Lions were Rogers

ALAN KORNSPAN/KMG

Chagrin Falls celebrated Senior Night before the game. But it was Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin who celebrated after the jump ball, seen here between NDCL’s Connor Hernan and Chagrin Falls’ James Kosmides. The Lions won the game 75-43 on Feb. 7.

Leading the scoring for the Tigers on Senior Night was senior James Kosmides, who had 18 points. Also contributing for Chagrin Falls were Nick Vinci (7 points), Ryan Curtiss (6), Crandall (3), Neilson (3), Beresford (2), Barr (2) and Anthony Rybak (2).

The Lions finish their regular season Feb. 17 against Lake Catholic and will start the playoffs with a sectional semifinal game against Madison on Feb. 21.

The Tigers will also play their final regular season game Feb. 17, but against Cuyahoga Heights, then host a home playoff game against Wickliffe on Feb. 24.

(6), Connor Hernan (4), Nick Santoro (4), Hayden Dixon (3), Brendan Hernan (3) and Ryan Lipowski (2).

Geauga Public Library

Programs require registration unless otherwise noted. Visit www.geaugalibrary.net.

Winter Reading

Jan. 1 - Feb. 28

The Winter Reading Challenge returns for another snow-filled year. Sign up and complete a reading or activity log each week to be entered into a prize drawing, which will take place at the end of the event.

GCPL Mini-Golf

March 19

Join the 11th annual Family Mini-Golf event for a round of family-friendly mini-golf in between the tables, chairs and shelves of the Bainbridge branch.

The Geauga County Library Foundation and the Geauga County Public Library has expanded the annual family mini-golf event to include an adult-only mini-golf night, complete with adult beverages and minigolf-based contests.

BMR Rotary Hosts 4-Way Test Speech Contest

The Rotary Club of Burton Middlefield (BMR) held its annual Four-Way Test Speech competition on Feb. 8 at the Welshfield Inn in Troy Township. Five local students competed for a $500 first prize, $300 second prize and $200 third prize.

The students were asked to speak about issues of interest and discuss their chosen issue in relation to the application of the Rotary Four-Way Test, which states, “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

They were judged by more than 20 BMR members on public speaking assets such as introduction, development and conclusion

as well as topic importance, delivery and eye contact.

Berkshire School District was represented by India Martin, who spoke about “Teaching Children Safety,” Sophia Laudato, who spoke about “Homophobia,” and Johnathon Murphy, who addressed the topic of “Substance Abuse Amongst High School Students.”

Representing Cardinal Schools were Anna Layman, who spoke about “The Importance of Regulation in the Exotic Animal Trade,” and Fae Wollitz, who spoke about “Online Sexual Harassment.”

First place was awarded to Fae Wollitz, second to Inda Martin and third to Sophia Laudato.

Geauga Park District

For more information and registration, contact the park district at 440-286-9516 or visit www.geaugaparkdistrict.org.

Spring Turkey Hunt

Geauga Park District is offering a turkey hunting opportunity this spring on a park property.

For the option to participate, applicants must complete the form located on the park district’s website and email it to permits@ geaugaparkdistrict.org or drop in the mail.

Applications are due March 27 for the youth hunt taking place April 15 and 16 and are due April 3 for the regular hunt taking place April 29 through May 28.

Hunters will be selected by random drawing and notified via email of their acceptance and hunt location. Permits will also be sent

electronically. Details about submitting an application can be found on the form.

Be On Amphibian Alert

Register to be placed on the park district’s list to witness the natural phenomenon of spring breeding behavior of wood frog, spring peeper and possible large salamanders as they move into The West Woods’ woodland pools on a warm, rainy night.

Text “FROG” to 866-320-2926 to receive a text the day the park district is hosting the annual program.

The notification, which is anticipated between early March through early April, will include instructions to call in and register on a first to call, first-served basis for 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. programs with 60 spots each. A follow-up text will indicate when programs are filled.

Purchase tickets online.

Third Thursday Business Social

Feb. 16, 8:30 a.m. • Geauga West

Join the West Geauga Chamber of Commerce and Ashley Roche, a representative of the West Geauga Schools, for a business networking meetup and knowledge-sharing session with light refreshments.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Feb. 17, 11-11:30 a.m. • Middlefield

Celebrate Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a free program that donates a book a month to any child from birth to age 5, while enjoying a story or two.

Redefining Work & Retirement

Feb. 20, 9:30-11:30 a.m. • Bainbridge

Encore NEO will help adults 50 and older overcome challenges and open their lives to new possibilities.

Internet Basics

Feb. 21, 2-3 p.m. • Chardon

Expand digital literacy and learn how to coast the internet confidently.

Life of Martin Luther King

Feb. 22, 1-2 p.m. • Virtual

Join historical researcher Susan Cannavino on Zoom for a unique study of Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood, relationships, values and career to better understand his life.

Horses Day

Feb. 25, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. • Middlefield

Celebrate all things equine with crafts, games, models, saddles, snacks and more. No registration required.

GPD Program on Coyotes

Feb. 27, 7-8:15 p.m.

During “Coyotes – Our Town & Country Canine,” Geauga Park District will present why these highly adaptable creatures inhabit Geauga County and their ecological role in the region.

Adult Coloring Club

Feb. 27, 7-9 p.m. • Chardon

Experience the benefits of coloring. No registration required.

Plant-Based on a Budget

March 2, 7-8 p.m. • Virtual Dive into plant-based diets and learn how to effectively change one’s diet without breaking the bank.

SUBMITTED

Mike Valentino, president of the Rotary Club of Burton Middlefield, stands with Rotary FourWay Speech Contest participants (l to r) Johnathon Murphy, Fae Wollitz, Anna Layman, Sophia Laudato and India Martin.

Ginn Family Donates to South Newbury Union Chapel

The South Newbury Union Chapel has received a $12,000 donation from the Ginn Family Fund.

The late William “Bill” Ginn, an accomplished lawyer, passionate environmentalist and generous philanthropist, was well-known and is fondly remembered by many in Northeast Ohio.

“Mr. Ginn was a friend to the South Newbury Union Chapel. He attended many board of trustee meetings, generously offering his guidance,” said SNUC Trustee Carole Drabek. “Bill played an active role on the SNUC Advisory Board during the process to successfully nominate the chapel to the National Register of Historic Places.”

In order to preserve the historic “Centennial Oak,” Ginn facilitated creation of a conservancy easement with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy involving two privately-owned properties, Drabek said.

“This was thought, at the time, to be the only such single tree conservancy in the world,” she added.

Davey Tree Company tended to the Centennial Oak for years, pro bono, as a result of Ginn’s lengthy association with the firm. Since 2020, the oak has been monitored and cared for through the generosity of Alan and Lisa Carrelli-Kraus, owners of Independent Tree of Newbury Township.

“Today, the chapel is at risk. The building is in critical need of professional renovation. It will be expensive,” said Drabek, explaining Geauga Park District funded Perspectus Architecture and Barber and Hoffman Consulting Engineers to document the structural challenges.

“GPD staff time was provided to help with emptying the building contents. We are grateful for that support,” she added. “A historic preservationist is working to complete the Historic American Building Survey that is commonly required for grant applications for restoration work. For the first time, we believe, the South Newbury Union Chapel has been closed for safety reasons.”

Efforts are underway to raise the capital funding necessary for historic renovation and preservation.

“The very generous help we have received through the Ginn Family Fund and Independent Tree are extremely beneficial and greatly appreciated,” Drabek said.

With the advent of 2023, SNUC begins its 165th year. Many are aware of the story that resulted in its construction. According to a Jan. 26 press release announcing Ginn’s donation:

“In December 1857, young professor James A. Garfield of the Western Reserve

Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College) and well-known orator was denied access to the South Newbury Brick Church, where his presentations had been scheduled. Turned away, Mr. Garfield instead spoke at the local tavern and at the home of prominent citizen Anson Matthews, who had invited him to town. Garfield documented the large crowds and their enthusiastic response in his personal diary.

“Mr. Matthews did not forget the embarrassing rebuff of Garfield. In January 1858, he donated a small patch of land on the State Road — now state Route 44 — across from the church for construction of a small meeting house. Local citizenry donated time, materials and labor to construct the building.

“In 1865, the aging Mr. Matthews, preparing to move out of the area, formalized his gift, as noted in records located in the Geauga County Recorder’s Office, that while the building may be used by various groups it is not to be ‘...monopolized by one or by one or

more to the exclusion of any one...’

“Mr. Matthews placed the chapel under the care of a succession of three trustees, initially to local citizens Darius M. Allen, a prominent resident, Eleazer Punderson, son of Lemuel Punderson, and Calvin Phelps, veteran of the War of 1812. That succession process remains in place.”

Current trustees of SNUC are Carole A. Drabek, president; William W. Ward III, secretary; and Bari Oyler Stith, Ph.D., treasurer.

Since its inception, SNUC has served many needs, hosting various organizational headquarters, meetings, speakers and events such as the Northern Ohio Health & Dress Reform Association; Ohio Farmers’ Alliance Chapter; Cold Water Army; Women’s Temperance Society; a day of solace following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; several large yearly suffrage conventions beginning in 1873; a polling location, where in 1871 and

See Chapel • Page 21

Geauga County Sheriff’s Report

The following is a sampling of the calls handled by the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Feb. 3-9, 2023.

ANIMAL PROBLEM

Feb. 7

11:52 a.m., Crackel Road, Auburn. Cows 5-10 walking back and forth, in and out of the street. Farm is on the north side of road. Owner notified and she got the cows back to her property. Owner issued another field summons for animals running at large.

CITIZEN ASSIST

Feb. 3

4:31 p.m., South State Street, Middlefield. Caller requesting to speak to a deputy regarding ongoing issue between caller and a male as well as MFPD officers. She is specifically requesting no response from MFPD due to past issues and concerns she has about a possible relationship between one of the officers and male subject. She also states male subject will be at her house to show the deputy proof and states she no longer has protection order against him because she dismissed it this week. Caller also states male has a CCW and has threatened to shoot her. Caller was verbally aggressive on the second call about MFPD being at her house.

Feb. 5

12:44 p.m., Nelson Road, Parkman. Male had some items stolen from him in 2017 on Parkman-Nelson Road that resulted in over $100,000 in monetary value. Male said the court ordered subject to compensate him

and he hasn’t been fully compensated. Male believes some of these items are now on eBay and wants advice how to proceed. Caller said he was never paid restitution from the suspects after their conviction. Caller stated he has no way to 100% confirm the eBay items was his, but will reach out to seller. Advice given.

Feb. 8

8:45 a.m., Leggett Road, Montville. Complainant would like a call about her husband putting GPS tracking devices on her vehicle. Contacted and provided advice.

CITIZEN DISPUTE

Feb. 9

12:52 p.m., Ravenna Road, Chardon. CEI representative states a homeowner is threatening to shoot and assault them. CEI is blocked in the driveway by property owner’s vehicle. Property owner apparently upset about a tree that was trimmed four years ago. Deputies responded to location. Homeowner advised he was unhappy with the last tree trimming and stated, “Those guys should have been shot for hacking my trees.” No direct threats to anyone and advice given to both parties. Complainant advised they will let their company know the homeowner’s attitude and will reevaluate if the property needs trimming this year.

FRAUD

Feb. 8

11:23 a.m., GAR Highway, Hambden. Complainant called Amazon number which he found on the internet, because he was

waiting for a refund from an item he sent back. The male on other end had complainant download an app on his phone. The person was able to get into his stocks and his KeyBank bank account. They were able to gain $3,000 from stocks and took $6,000 from his bank account.

6:08 p.m., Claridon Troy Road, Claridon. Fraud out of my business account, $2,780.75. Received a check from a subject and deposited it into my account. The money then came out of my account immediately. He has now asked for the money to be wired to him.

HARASSMENT

Feb. 9

12:59 p.m., Fowlers Mill Road, Munson. Needs to speak to a deputy regarding harassment and assault. Students from Chardon High School are texting and harassing caller over the phone and Snapchat.

THEFT

Feb. 8

5:19 p.m., Washington Street, Auburn. Someone cut off catalytic converters from caller’s plow truck. Would like it documented.

THEATENING

Feb. 3

9:11 p.m., Messenger Road, Auburn. Caller is receiving threats from his son, who “has a meth addiction.” Threats have been “he’s going to put a bullet in his brother’s brain, he was going to burn the house down,” those set of threats were made two weeks

ago. Tonight’s threats were “you are going to get killed or you are going to end up dead.” Son is making these threats over the phone. See report. Caller declined charged, only requested documentation.

Feb. 7

3:23 p.m., Kinsman Road, Middlefield. Complainant received three text messages from his ex-girlfriend. She was told yesterday to stop calling. Messages were not threatening. Responding deputy observed multiple messages on complainant’s cellphone trying to get back together with her. Complainant advised to block her telephone number and not to send her anymore messages. Complainant also advised about procedure for obtaining a civil protection order.

Feb. 9

7:18 a.m., Sutton Place, Munson. Caller’s son and classmates were threatened over Snapchat. This is in reference to a fight that happened at Chardon High School yesterday. Report to follow.

TRAFFIC OFFENSE

Feb. 5

3:07 p.m., Kinsman Road, Middlefield. Buggy with white house all over road and drinking alcohol. Caller states there are approximately 20 buggies and they are all drinking. All buggies have between 1-5 people inside. Deputy responded. No overfilled buggies located. White horse and buggy had one occupant in buggy and was driving normal. No violations observed.

Pictured left is a photo from the 19th century of band practice at the South Newbury Union Chapel. Right is a modern summer day.

Arts & Entertainment

Fairmount Speaker Series

Feb. 19, 3-4 p.m.

Fairmount Center for the Arts continues its “Pull Back the Curtain” speaker series with “In Conversation: Kari Gunter-Seymour.” Join her for a virtual conversation about Appalachia and being Ohio’s Poet Laureate.

The program is free, but participants need to register in order to receive the link to join the Zoom event.

For questions or to register, call 440-3383171 or visit www.fairmountcenter.org.

Call For Entries

The 31st annual Juried Art Show sponsored by Rabbit Run Community Arts Association (RRCAA) and the Madison Public Library opens April 5, and applications for admission are being accepted through March 13.

The art show runs April 5 to May 3 at the Madison Public Library and is open to all visual artists in Northeast Ohio. Any high school or adult artist may submit up to three works in any two-dimensional medium. Small three-dimensional works may be submitted as well. Cash prizes and ribbons will be awarded for both adults and students.

Applications for entry are available at RRCAA office, 49 Park St., Madison Village, Madison Public Library or by visiting rabbitrun.org. There is a non-refundable entry fee of $25 for adults and $7 for students.

The Art Show Awards reception is April 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Madison Public Library.

Chapel from page 20

1872 small groups of women voted in support of equal suffrage (those votes were destroyed as illegitimate); the January 1874 formation of the Newbury Women’s Suffrage Political Club; lectures by Susan B. Anthony in 1879; a lending library; an early Ohio kindergarten; a one-room school house; Air-Raid Warden meetings in World War II; plays, lectures and band concerts (the bandstand ultimately removed to allow widening of state Route 44); community dinners; ice cream socials; gatherings to knit socks and mittens to send to the troops in World War II; book club meetings; a Girl Scout campout; and much more.

“The over 16 decades of South Newbury Chapel history offers a window into the past that can be learned by reading,” Drabek said. “But it is deeply sensed standing within the walls of that humble chapel.”

She added, “Gaze at the stage where Miss Anthony once stood. Wonder at the wall hangings that surround the room: a formal picture of Ms. Anthony, donated by her family; a portrait of James A. Garfield, donated by his grandson; charters of Temperance organizations from the late 1870s; a photograph of women and children gathered beneath the Centennial Oak in 1919 celebrating the recently ratified 19th Amendment; a charter of the Ohio Farmer’s Alliance from an 1800s agrarian Newbury.”

Donation for the preservation of SNUC (SouthNewburyUnionChapel.org) can be mailed to: South Newbury Union Chapel, P.O. Box 34, Newbury, OH 44065.

SNUC is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been awarded an Ohio History Marker. It is an 501(c)(3) Ohio non-profit corporation.

Scholarships for CHS Graduates

The Melzer Smith Memorial Foundation, established in 2016 in memory of two Chardon High School graduates, is offering six scholarships to students graduating from Chardon High School who are interested in furthering their education in the state of Ohio. Deadline to apply is April 21. For more information and applications, visit melzer-smith.org.

PGP Offers Scholarships

Protect Geauga Parks is offering the sixth annual Bob McCullough Memorial Conser-

Schools

vation Scholarship to assist Geauga County high school seniors interested in pursuing careers in environmental studies or policy. Three scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded. Applications are due by April 16. Visit ProtectGeaugaParks.us for application information and eligibility. Questions? Email info.protectgeaugaparks@gmail.com.

College Information Sessions

The Lake/Geauga Educational Assistance Foundation is holding free virtual information sessions on Google Meets for high school students and their parents.

Bulletin Board

On Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m., “Junior Jumpstart” will address how to get a head start on the college/trade school search, the application process and what juniors need to do to be prepared for senior year.

During the “Making Sense of College Financial Aid Letters” session at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 27, an expert will walk participants through comparing college costs and understanding the terminology of the award letters to see the final costs and be prepared to make decisions.

Register online at www.leaf-ohio.org or call 440-525-7095.

The Maple Leaf Community Bulletin Board is a public service of the Geauga County Maple Leaf. Notices of nonprofit organizations, schools, and churches will be published without charge. The Maple Leaf cannot guarantee publication, and reserves the right to edit, condense, cancel, or refuse any notice at any time. E-mail submissions to: cbb@karlovecmedia.com

Dorothy’s Porch Giveaway

Feb. 16 and 17, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dorothy’s Porch, a free community giveaway of household items, bedding, clothing for the family, holiday items and books and toys, will be held at Celebration Lutheran Church, 10621 Auburn Road in Chardon.

Outreach Spaghetti Dinner

Feb. 16, 6-7 p.m.

Christ Presbyterian Church offers free drive-thru spaghetti and meatball dinners the third Thursday of each month. Salad and dessert are included. The church is located at 12419 Chillicothe Road in Chester Township.

Young of Heart

Feb. 17, 11:30 a.m.

Geauga Young of Heart will meet at St. Anselm Parish Center, 12969 Chillicothe Road in Chester Township. Bring a brown bag lunch. Snacks and beverage are provided. Guest speaker is Chester Fire Chief William Shaw.

Young of Heart is open to Geauga County residents 55 or older. Dues for the year are $25. Come to a meeting to join or call Monica at 216-659-8117.

Farm Bureau Membership Breakfast

Feb. 18, 9-11 a.m.

Join for the member appreciation pancake and sausage breakfast at the Lennah Bond Activity Center at Century Village in Burton to celebrate Farm Bureau membership.

Breakfast is free for Farm Bureau members and $10 for nonmembers.

For more information, call the county Farm Bureau office at 440-426-2195 or email geauga@ofbf.org.

Presidents Day Commemoration

Feb. 20, noon

Geauga County’s third annual Presidents Day commemoration will be held at the Heritage House on Chardon Square. Join to hear selected historic readings from presidential speeches and official documents.

OPERS Retirees Meet

Feb. 22, 11 a.m.

The Geauga County Public Employee

Retirees, Inc. (PERI) will meet in the banquet room at St. Mary Church, 401 North St. in Chardon. Cost is $15, payable at the door.

Guest speaker is Geauga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke.

For information and to RSVP by Feb. 19, call 440-226-4491.

GCP Entrepreneur Success Event

Feb. 23, 5-6:30 p.m.

GCP Entrepreneur Success Event features Det Chansamone, founder of Schoolyard Studio, 14510 N. Cheshire St., Burton. Learn how the business started, the challenges and opportunities presented in the current climate and his plans for the future.

To register, call 440-564-1060 or email info@geaugagrowth.com.

Free Community Dinner

Feb. 24, 5-6:30 p.m.

Mayfield United Methodist Church is hosting a chili dinner along with cake at the church located at 7747 Mayfield Road in Chester Township.

Gardening 101

Feb. 25, 10 a.m. to noon

Geauga County Master Gardner Volunteers’ free, four-part Gardening 101 series being held in the Patterson Center at the Geauga County Extension Office, 14269 Claridon-Troy Road, Burton, opens with “Site Selection and Preparation.” Master gardener Kelly Morgan will discuss the basic considerations of site selection, soil testing and preparation, and common pitfalls to avoid when starting a garden.

Registration is not required but appreciated. Contact Wendy Ward at 440-834-4656 or email ward.714@osu.edu.

St. Mary’s Fish Fry

Fridays in Lent, 4:30-7 p.m.

St. Mary Catholic Church, 401 North St., Chardon, will host its annual fish fry Fridays in Lent, Feb. 24 through March 31.

Pricing for dine-in guests is $17 for adults, $8 for children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Carryout pricing is $15 for adults and $7 for children 6-12. Children 5 and under choose two items free.

All proceeds benefit St. Mary School’s Adopt-a-Student scholarship.

For more information, call Mike Boehnlein at 440-286-8879.

Auburn Pancake Breakfast

Feb. 26, 8 a.m. to noon.

Auburn Boy Scout Troop 101 will host its annual all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast at the Auburn Fire Station, 10950 E. Washington St., Auburn Township. Cost is $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, kids 12 and under, first responders, veterans and active military.

Montville Chili Cook-Off

March 4, 5-7 p.m.

Montville Firefighters’ Association will host a chili cook-off at the Montville Community Center. To enter, leave message at 440-968-3779 or email mrsb53@hotmail. com before Feb. 28. There is no fee to enter. A sample of each entry, crackers, beverage and dessert is $10.

GOP Lincoln Day Dinner

March 11, 5:30 p.m.

The Geauga County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinner will be held at The Tanglewood Club, 8745 Tanglewood Trail, Bainbridge Township. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m.

Keynote speaker will be newly elected Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou. Cost is $75 per person; VIP tickets are $125. Visit www.GeaugaGOP.com/ events to RSVP by Feb. 28. No walk-ins will be admitted. For more information, sponsorship opportunities and program ads, call 440253-9677 or email info@geaugagop.com.

Munson Indoor Flea Market

April 1, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Munson Township’s indoor flea market will be held at the Munson Town Hall and Fire Station Bay, 12210 Auburn Road. The $1 entrance fee for shoppers will go toward the Munson Township Scholarship Fund. Youth 12 and under are free. Contact the township office at 440-286-9255 for more information or to rent a space.

Mentor HS 50th Reunion

July 22, 6 p.m.

Mentor High School Class of 1973 will hold its 50th reunion at Toth’s Place, 6966 Heisley Road in Mentor. Cost is $35 per person; send nonrefundable checks to Mrs. Vickie (Ensign) Kuhn, 6196 Tall Oaks Drive, Mentor, OH 44060. Contact Vickie at 440-477-4784 for information by May 10.

Speech State Qualifier

Chardon High School junior and Ohio Speech and Debate Association competitor Charlotte Jons continues her streak of OSDA excellence, qualifying once again for the state tournament — her third consecutive year to represent CHS speech and debate at the state level. Charlotte, in her sixth year as an OSDA competitor, is a true pioneer as the sole competitor to represent the school district.

Charlotte specializes in the Program Oral Interpretation event wherein she combines prose and poetry around a central theme. Her achievements this year have included consistently placing in the top five in seven tournaments and emerging as POI champion at the Solon tournament on Jan. 29.

Additionally, Charlotte was awarded the National Speech and Debate Association Special Distinction mark, a prestigious ranking that few speech and debate competitors earn in their high school years.

The 2023 OSDA State tournament will be held March 3-4 at Austintown Fitch High School. Approximately 900 students have qualified to compete, with Charlotte among 49 qualifying for the POI event as of the time of this writing.

Auburn Students Shine

Auburn Career Center students earned five of seven Northeastern Region of Ohio SkillsUSA officer positions. The students are: Jack Adkins, of ISTEM Geauga Early College High School, SkillsUSA president; Ava Conroy, of Agape, SkillsUSA vice president; Cameron Musgrave, of Chardon Local Schools; Brycen Perez, of Chardon Local Schools; and David Wachtler, of Kenston Local Schools. Conroy is in Auburn’s Dental Assistant Technology program. The other four students are in Auburn’s Technology Engineering & Design program.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations.

Chardon

Charlotte stated, “I have developed such a love for this activity and adore seeing the success I can reach when I put in the work.

I am so thankful to have such kind friends, family, classmates and staff in my community who encourage me to push myself to that success.”

To learn more about speech and debate at Chardon High School, contact the school principal, Doug Murray, at douglas.murray@ chardonschools.org

CREW Mastering Skill Boss

Chardon High School CREW students have worked hard since the start of the school year to learn about the mechanics of hydraulic equipment, including the understanding and use of tools and reading blueprints, ultimately acquiring a total of 60 essential manufacturing skills utilized in the workplace. Through this work, CREW students reached an exciting milestone — readiness to operate the equipment in the school’s on-site manufacturing lab.

CREW co-navigator Tracey Britt stated, “CREW students have advanced to operations that include creating hydraulic arms, programming the Pegasus robotic arm, filling the hydraulic machine’s hydraulic fluid tank and changing the belt drive on the Skill Boss.”

The Skill Boss is a hands-on learning and assessment system that is integral to students earning Certified Production Technician Plus certification.

Foundation Awards VOX Fiction

Chardon Early Learning Center kindergarten teachers Mrs. Maheu and Mrs. Ridgeway and their students are enjoying the recent expansion of their VOX Books - Books that Talk classroom library. A new fiction set arrived this month, made possible by a grant from Chardon Schools Foundation in 2022. The new books join the classroom’s existing

Auburn Career Center

SUBMITTED

library of non-fiction titles funded by a CSF grant in 2020.

VOX Books - Books that Talk feature builtin readers and are designed to boost student vocabulary while retaining the tactile experience of reading a book.

Mrs. Maheu stated, “Thanks to the generosity of Chardon Schools Foundation. Our kids love being read to every day with this amazing resource.”

Auburn’s Marketing and Business Applications students competed in DECA’s regional competition. Jamie Marlowe, of Cardinal, finished second in Financial Literacy, and Chase Tuller, of Kenston, and

Colleen Albu, of Riverside, finished first in Financial Services.

DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, fi-

nance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.

Auburn Career Center students (l to r) Cameron Musgrave, of Chardon Local Schools; Jack Adkins, of ISTEM Geauga Early College High School; Ava Conroy, of Agape; Brycen Perez, of Chardon Local Schools; and David Wachtler, of Kenston Schools, recently earned Northeastern Region of Ohio SkillsUSA officer positions.

Chardon High School freshman Mitchell Setzer confidently changes the belt drive to a chain drive on the Skill Boss hands-on learning and assessment system in CREW class on Jan. 17.

Jons

Legal Notices

Sheriff’s Sale of Real Estate General Code, Sec. 11661

Revised Code, Sec. 2329.26

Case No. 21-F-000652

The State of Ohio, County of Geauga, ss: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR MORTGAGE ASSETS MANAGEMENT SERIES I TRUST, Plaintiff vs. UNKNOWN ADMINISTRATOR, EXECUTOR OR FIDUCIARY, UNKNOWN HEIRS, NEXT OF KIN, UNKNOWN SPOUSES, DEVISEES, LEGATEES, CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES OF THE ESTATE OF JAMES D. STONEMAN, DECEASED, ET AL., Defendants

In pursuance of an Order of Sale in the above entitled action, I will offer for sale at public auction, at https://geauga.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov/, on Thursday, the 16th day of March, 2023, at 10:00 o’clock A.M., and if the parcel does not receive a sufficient bid, it shall be offered for sale, without regard to the minimum bid requirement, at the same time of day and at the same place of the first sale, on Thursday, the 30th day of March, 2023 the following described real estate, situated in the County of Geauga and State of Ohio, and in the Township of Chardon to wit:

Situated in the Township of Chardon, County of Geauga and State of Ohio:

Being part of Lot No. 27, Tract No. 2, within the said township, and described as follows:

Beginning in the center line of Ravenna Road at a point which is South 21 deg. 22’ East along said center line 307.88 feet from its intersection with the center line of Woodin Road; Thence North 69 deg. 45’ East through an iron pipe 25.0 feet from said place of beginning a total distance of 288.3 feet to an iron pipe; Thence South 14 deg. 08’ East 160.89 feet to an iron pipe; Thence South 69 deg. 45’ West 268.04 feet to the center line of Ravenna Road; and through an iron pipe 30.0 feet therefrom; Thence North 21 deg. 22’ West along said road center line 160.0 feet to the place of beginning, containing 1.021 acres, as surveyed in October, 1958, by T.R. Root, be the same more of less, but subject to all legal highways.

Said Premises Located at: 9895 RAVENNA ROAD, CHARDON TOWNSHIP, OH.

Permanent Parcel Number: 06-050150

DEPOSIT: Pursuant to O.R.C. 2329.211, the required deposit for this offering shall be $10,000.00. Said deposit shall be CASH or CERTIFIED CHECK, payable to the Geauga County Sheriff.

The purchaser shall be responsible for those costs, allowances, and taxes that the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to cover. Said Premises appraised at ($225,000.00) and cannot be sold for less than two-thirds of that amount ($150,000.00). Please note: The appraisals are based on an exterior appraisal of property only, unless otherwise noted.

TERMS OF SALE: The FULL purchase price shall be paid to the Sheriff within thirty (30) days from the date of confirmation of sale, and on failure to do so, the purchaser may be held in contempt of court, the court may forfeit the sale and/or deposit, or the court may issue any other order it sees fit.

SCOTT A. HILDENBRAND, Sheriff Geauga County, Ohio Austin R. Decker, attorney Feb16-23Mar2, 2023

Sheriff’s Sale of Real Estate General Code, Sec. 11661

Revised Code, Sec. 2329.26

Case No. 22-F-000141

The State of Ohio, County of Geauga, ss: THE HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK, Plaintiff vs. SAMIRA SALIM, ET AL., Defendants

In pursuance of an Order of Sale in the above entitled action, I will offer for sale at public auction, at https://geauga.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov/, on Thursday, the 16th day of March, 2023, at 10:00 o’clock A.M., and if the parcel does not receive a sufficient bid, it shall be offered for sale, without regard to the minimum bid requirement, at the same time of day and at the same place of the first sale, on Thursday, the 30th day of March, 2023 the following described real estate, situated in the County of Geauga and State of Ohio, and in the Township of Chester to wit:

A copy of the complete legal description can be found in the Geauga County Recorder’s Office, 231 Main Street, Suite 1-C, Chardon, Ohio 44024, OR Volume 2043, Page

Legal Notices are also posted to www.geaugamapleleaf.com and www.publicnoticesohio.com

required deposit for this offering shall be $10,000.00. Said deposit shall be CASH or CERTIFIED CHECK, payable to the Geauga County Sheriff.

The purchaser shall be responsible for those costs, allowances, and taxes that the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to cover.

Said Premises appraised at ($395,000.00) and cannot be sold for less than two-thirds of that amount ($263,334.00). Please note: The appraisals are based on an exterior appraisal of property only, unless otherwise noted.

TERMS OF SALE: The FULL purchase price shall be paid to the Sheriff within thirty (30) days from the date of confirmation of sale, and on failure to do so, the purchaser may be held in contempt of court, the court may forfeit the sale and/or deposit, or the court may issue any other order it sees fit.

SCOTT A. HILDENBRAND, Sheriff Geauga County, Ohio Maureen Zink Delaney, attorney Feb16-23Mar2, 2023

Sheriff’s Sale of Real Estate General Code, Sec. 11661

Revised Code, Sec. 2329.26

Case No. 22-F-000546

The State of Ohio, County of Geauga, ss: THIRD FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND, Plaintiff vs. PATRICIA A. PFEIFFER, ET AL., Defendants

In pursuance of an Order of Sale in the above entitled action, I will offer for sale at public auction, at https://geauga.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov/, on Thursday, the 16th day of March, 2023, at 10:00 o’clock A.M., and if the parcel does not receive a sufficient bid, it shall be offered for sale, without regard to the minimum bid requirement, at the same time of day and at the same place of the first sale, on Thursday, the 30th day of March, 2023 the following described real estate, situated in the County of Geauga and State of Ohio, and in the Township of Chardon to wit:

A copy of the complete legal description can be found in the Geauga County Recorder’s Office, 231 Main Street, Suite 1-C, Chardon, Ohio 44024, OR Volume 1744, Page 1191

SHORT

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: S/L 27^

BERKSHIRE HEIGHTS ESTATES #2

Said Premises Located at: 11025 HENNING DRIVE, CHARDON TOWNSHIP, OH.

Permanent Parcel Number: 03-017600

DEPOSIT: Pursuant to O.R.C. 2329.211, the required deposit for this offering shall be $5,000.00. Said deposit shall be CASH or CERTIFIED CHECK, payable to the Geauga County Sheriff.

The purchaser shall be responsible for those costs, allowances, and taxes that the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to cover.

Said Premises appraised at ($200,000.00) and cannot be sold for less than two-thirds of that amount ($133,334.00). Please note: The appraisals are based on an exterior appraisal of property only, unless otherwise noted.

TERMS OF SALE: The FULL purchase price shall be paid to the Sheriff within thirty (30) days from the date of confirmation of sale, and on failure to do so, the purchaser may be held in contempt of court, the court may forfeit the sale and/or deposit, or the court may issue any other order it sees fit.

SCOTT A. HILDENBRAND, Sheriff Geauga County, Ohio Maureen Zink Delaney, attorney Feb16-23Mar2, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO CASE NO. 22-F-000720 – M2KLB HOLDCO, LLC, Plaintiff vs. 8491 MAYFIELD ACQUISITIONS, LLC, et al., Defendants

To: 8491 Mayfield Acquisitions, LLC you will take notice that on the 12th day of December, 2022, Plaintiff, filed a Complaint for foreclosure in the Geauga County Common Pleas Court, 100 Short Court, Suite 300, Chardon, OH 44024, being Case No. 22-F-000720, alleging that there is due to the Plaintiff the sum of $67,300.00, plus interest at 15.00000% per annum from September 06, 2022, plus late charges and attorney fees applicable to the terms of a Promissory Note secured by a Mortgage on the real property, which has a street address of 8491 Mayfield Rd., Chesterland, OH 44026, being permanent parcel number 11-243420.

Plaintiff further alleges that by reason of a default in payment of said Promissory Note, the conditions of said Mortgage have been broken and the same has become absolute.

Plaintiff prays that the Defendant named above be required to answer and assert any interest in said real property or be forever barred from asserting any interest therein,

NOTICE OF PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW OF ZONING MAP AMENDMENT City of Chardon

Residents of the City of Chardon shall take note that Planning Commission will consider a recommendation to City Council of the City of Chardon in Council Chambers of the Chardon Municipal Center, 111 Water Street, Chardon, Ohio at 6:30 P.M. upon the 28th day of February, 2023.

Said hearing is to provide the public an opportunity to comment regarding a proposed Zoning Map Amendment to the following parcels:

The proposed re-zoning is from “I-WTTO” Industrial – Wireless Telecommunications Overlay District to “C-4” General Commercial District. The properties are located on the northeast side of Center Street starting at the northeast corner the intersection of Center Street, Seventh Avenue, and Meadowlands Drive and extending approximately 1,480’ west.

A copy of the Zoning Map Amendment is on file and available for public inspection in the Community Development Department, weekdays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. All interested persons are invited to attend.

Feb16, 2023

for foreclosure of said mortgage, marshalling of liens, and the sale of said real property, and that the proceeds of said sale be applied according to law.

Said Defendant is required to file an Answer on or before the 16th day of March, 2023.

By Larry Rothenberg Attorney for Plaintiff

M2KLB HOLDCO, LLC, c/o Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., 965 Keynote Circle, Cleveland, OH 44131-1829. Feb2-9-16, 2023

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

PUBLIC NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Chardon Local School District

Sealed bids for The Park Elementary School – Tunnel Project will be received by the District at the Office Building, located at 428 North Street, Chardon, Ohio 44024, until 1:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, Thursday, February 23, 2023 and will be read publicly and recorded immediately thereafter. Office will be open to receive bids between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm.

There will be a pre-bid conference and walkthrough on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 3:00 pm. Please meet at Park Elementary School located at 111 Goodrich Ct., Chardon, Ohio 44024. Bidder’s attendance is strongly recommended to comprehend the extents of the project.

GENERAL CONTRACT – PARK ELEMEN-

TARY SCHOOL TUNNEL PROJECT

OPINION OF PROBABLE CONSTRUCTION

COST: $250,000

The proposed work consists of the furnishing of all labor, materials, and equipment necessary for The Park Elementary School –Tunnel Project.

Proposals shall be addressed to 428 North Street, Chardon, Ohio 44024, The Park Elementary School – Tunnel Project and be clearly marked as BID FOR: The Park Elementary School – Tunnel Project.

The Contract Documents, including copies of the Drawings, Project Manual, Proposal Form, Forms of Contract and Bond, are on file and will be available via the district website at https://www.chardonschools.org/FacilitiesandOperations.aspx. The bidder shall be responsible to check for Addenda and obtain same from the web site.

The Chardon Local School District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids in whole or in part, to waive any informalities or irregularities in the bids received, and to accept any bids which it deems favorable.

No bids may be withdrawn, after the scheduled closing time for the receipt of bids, for at least sixty (60) days.

Feb2-9-16,

Deb Armbruster, Treasurer/CFO

Steven M. Yaney Community Development Administrator

for a minimum of 7 days.

Property may be sold on a provisional sale date should the third party purchaser fail to provide their deposit within the allotted time.

Provisional Sale date: 3/21/2023 at 10:00

AM. Sales subject to cancellation. The deposit required is $5,000 to be paid by wire transfer within 2 hours of the sale ending. No cash is permitted.

Purchaser shall be responsible for those costs, allowances, and taxes that the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to cover. To view all sale details and terms for this property visit www.Auction.com and enter the Search Code 22F000361 into the search bar.

FEB9-16-23, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

2022 FINANCIAL REPORT CHESTER TOWNSHIP

GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Financial Reports for the Chester Township Board of Trustees Geauga County for the year ended December 31, 2022 have been completed and filed with the Auditor of the State of Ohio. The reports are available for public inspection at Chester Town Hall, 12701 Chillicothe Road, Chesterland Ohio 44026 between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm. A copy of the reports can be provided upon request. Please contact the Fiscal Officer Patricia Jarrett by email at pjarrett@ chestertwp.org or by phone at 440-477-5117. Patricia Jarrett, Fiscal Officer Feb16, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO

Case No. 22-F-000728 – First National Bank of Pennsylvania vs. The Estate of Margaret E. Wrightsman, et al.

Defendants Unknown Heirs, Devisees, Legatees, Assignees, Executors, Administrators and/or Assigns of Margaret E. Wrightsman, whose last known address is 15991 Hart Road, Montville, OH 44064; and Unknown Heirs, Devisees, Legatees, Assignees, Executors, Administrators and/or Assigns of Willie Wrightsman, whose last known address is 15991 Hart Road, Montville, OH 44064 will take notice that on December 15, 2022 First National Bank of Pennsylvania filed a Complaint alleging that Margaret E. Wrightsman breached a promissory note and mortgage to Plaintiff First National Bank of Pennsylvania and is in default under the terms of the note and mortgage for the property described as follows:

Property Address: 15991 Hart Road, Montville, OH 44064

Permanent Parcel Number: 20-068600

The above named defendants are hereby notified that they are required to answer the Complaint within 28 days after last publication, which shall be published once a week for three consecutive weeks.

The name and address of the court is: Geauga County Common Pleas Court, 100 Short Court Street, #300, Chardon, OH 44024. By Stephen J. Crawford, Crawford Law LLC, Attorney for Plaintiff First National Bank of Pennsylvania, 127 Public Square, Suite 2825, Cleveland, OH 44114; 855-544-4500. Feb9-16-23, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE

The following matters are the subject of this public notice by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The complete public notice, including any additional instructions for submitting comments, requesting information, a public hearing, filing an appeal, or ADA accommodations may be obtained at: https://epa.ohio.gov/actions or Hearing Clerk, Ohio EPA, 50 W. Town St. P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216. Ph: 614-644-3037 email: HClerk@epa.ohio.gov

Final Issuance of Findings and Orders

Metzenbaum Residence

8200 Cedar Rd, Chesterland, OH 44026

ID #: OH2803812

Date of Action: 02/01/2023

This final action not preceded by proposed action and is appealable to ERAC.

Final Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, & Orders were issued for the disapproval of the Hearing Officer’s decision in Ohio EPA Case No. 20-SC-03-1. The case had been in regards to the proposed denial of Metzenbaum Residences’ Public Water System deactivation request. The Orders approve the denial, therefore Metzenbaum Residence will continue to be regulated as a public water system. Feb16, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

Geauga County

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 350, Chardon, Ohio 44024 until 1:45 PM official local time on March 8, 2023 for The Asphalt Resurfacing of Sections A-B of Washington Street, CH-0606 in South Russell Village and Bainbridge Township.

Bids received will be publicly opened and read aloud the same day at 2:10 PM in Room B303. The estimated construction cost for this project is $925,000.00.

Copies of the plans and/or specifications may be obtained digitally online at https://www. geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/online-plans-and-specifications/ or a hardcopy is available at the Geauga County Engineer’s Office, 12665 Merritt Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024.

A copy of this legal notice is posted on the County’s website. Go to https://www.geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/legal-notices/ and click on the project name to view this legal notice.

A bid guaranty in the amount of one hundred (100%) percent of the bid amount or a certified check, cashier’s check or letter of credit pursuant to Chapter 1305 of the Ohio Revised Code in the amount of ten (10%) percent of the total bid amount shall accompany each bid. The bid shall be let upon a unit price basis.

All contractors and subcontractors involved with the project will, to the extent practicable, use Ohio products, materials, services, and labor in the implementation of their project. Bidders must comply with the prevailing wage rates on Public Improvements

LEGAL NOTICE

Geauga County

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 350, Chardon, Ohio 44024 until 1:45 PM official local time on March 8, 2023 for The Asphalt Resurfacing of Sections C-E of Washington Street, CH-0606 in Auburn Township and Bainbridge Township. Bids received will be publicly opened and read aloud the same day at 2:15 PM in Room B303. The estimated construction cost for this project is $1,600,000.

Copies of the plans and/or specifications may be obtained digitally online at https://www. geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/online-plans-and-specifications/ or a hardcopy is available at the Geauga County Engineer’s Office, 12665 Merritt Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024.

A copy of this legal notice is posted on the County’s website. Go to https://www.geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/legal-notices/ and click on the project name to view this legal.

A bid guaranty in the amount of one hundred (100%) percent of the bid amount or a certified check, cashier’s check or letter of credit pursuant to Chapter 1305 of the Ohio Revised Code in the amount of ten (10%) percent of the total bid amount shall accompany each bid. The bid shall be let upon a unit price basis.

All contractors and subcontractors involved with the project will, to the extent practicable, use Ohio products, materials, services, and labor in the implementation of their project. Bidders must comply with the prevailing wage rates on Public Improvements as determined by the Davis Bacon Act WD#OH20220001.

DOMESTIC STEEL USE REQUIREMENTS

AS SPECIFIED IN OHIO REVISED CODE §153.011 APPLY TO THIS PROJECT. COPIES OF §153.011 CAN BE OBTAINED FROM ANY OF THE OFFICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES OR THROUGH http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/153.011.

Bids may be held by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days from the date of opening, for the purpose of reviewing the bids and investigating the qualifications of bidders, prior to awarding the contract.

The Geauga County Board of Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive any informalities or irregularities in the bids received, and to accept any bid or bids which are deemed most favorable to the Board at the time and under conditions stipulated, all in accord with the applicable provisions of laws of the State of Ohio governing the conduct of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners.

BY THE ORDER OF THE GEAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Christine Blair, Clerk Feb9-16, 2023

and all bids or any part thereof, and to purchase only the materials needed. BY ORDER OF THE CHESTER TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Patricia Jarrett, Fiscal Officer Feb2, Feb16, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE Passage of Ordinances & Resolutions City of Chardon Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Chardon, duly passed and/or adopted the following legislation:

RESOLUTION NO. 5-23

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OHIO PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION STATE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT AND/OR LOCAL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM(S) AND TO EXECUTE CONTRACTS AS REQUIRED, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 8th day of February, 2022.

ORDINANCE NO. 3232

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING APPROPRIATIONS IN THE CITY OF CHARDON TREASURY FOR 2023 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 8th day of February, 2022.

The complete text of these ordinances and resolutions may be viewed or obtained at the office of the Clerk of Council, 111 Water Street, Chardon, Ohio, during regular business hours. By order of the Council of the City of Chardon, Ohio. AMY DAY, CLERK OF COUNCIL

Feb16, 2023

In the Matter of Foreclosure of Liens and Forfeiture of Property for Delinquent Land Taxes by Action in Rem.

Christopher P. Hitchcock, Treasurer of Geauga County, Ohio vs. Parcels of Land Encumbered with Delinquent Tax Liens. 23-F-000058

COMMON PLEAS COURT OF GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO

Notice of foreclosure of liens and forfeiture of property for delinquent land taxes, by action in rem by Treasurer of Geauga County, Ohio.

Public Notice is hereby given that on the 24th day of January, 2023, the Treasurer of Geauga County, Ohio, filed a Complaint in the Common Pleas Court of Geauga County, Ohio, at Chardon, for the foreclosure of liens and forfeiture of property for delinquent taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest against certain real property situated in such county, as described in that Complaint in case number 23-F-000058.

The object of the action is to obtain from the court a judgment foreclosing the tax liens against such real estate, forfeiting the property to the state, and ordering the sale of such real estate for the satisfaction of the tax liens on it.

Such action is brought against the real property only and no personal judgment shall be entered in it. However, if, pursuant to the action, the property is sold for an amount that is less than the amount of the delinquent taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest against it, the Court, in a separate order, may enter a deficiency judgment against the owner of record of a parcel for the amount of the difference; if that owner of record is a corporation, the Court may enter the deficiency judgment against the stockholder holding the majority of the corporation’s stock.

The permanent parcel number of each parcel included in such action; the full street address of the parcel, if available; notice of where a complete legal description of the parcel can be obtained; a statement of the amount of the taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest due and unpaid on the parcel; the name and address of the last known owner of the parcel as they appear on the general tax list; and the names and addresses of each lienholder and other person with an interest in the parcel identified in a statutorily required title search relating to the parcel; all as more fully set forth in the Complaint, are as follows:

The last known owner for all of the following parcels is Mary A. Briggs, P.O. Box 910, Lot 1081 Columbus, Ohio 43216:

1. PPN 02-000200: V/L Franklin St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $113.13; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1081.

2. PPN 02-000300: V/L Franklin St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $113.13; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1079.

3. PPN 02-159200: V/L Findlay St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $314.74; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1445, Page 795.

4. PPNs 02-159400 and 02-159500: V/L Findlay St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcels is $314.74 and $314.74, respectively; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1445, Page 795.

5. PPN 02-183100: V/L Findlay St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $314.74; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1083.

6. PPN 02-183200: V/L Findlay St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $314.74; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1085.

7. PPN 02-183300: V/L Findlay St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $314.74; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1089.

8. PPN 02-288700: V/L Huron St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $531.57; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1852, Page 2329.

9. PPN 02-288800: V/L Huron St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $531.57; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1852, Page 2327.

10. PPN 02-419526: V/L Kent St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $113.13; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1852, Page 2325.

11. PPN 02-419527: V/L Kent St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $113.13; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1852, Page 2323.

12. PPNs 02-289800, 02-289900 and 02290000: V/L Geneva St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcels is $531.57, $531.57, and $531.57, respectively; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1445, Page 801.

13. PPNs 02-368900, 02-369000 and 02-369100: V/L Geneva St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcels is $531.57, $531.57, and $531.57, respectively; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1445, Page 798.

14. PPN 02-306800: V/L Akron St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $531.57; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1091.

15. PPN 02-306900: V/L Akron St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $531.57; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1093.

16. PPN 02-307000: V/L Akron St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $531.57; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1087.

17. PPN 02-420358: V/L Country Lane Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $215.09; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2096.

18. PPN 14-024600: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due

Thursday, February 16, 2023 Geauga County Maple Leaf and unpaid on the parcel is $91.37; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2473.

19. PPN 14-028300: V/L Cornelia Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $369.93; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2479.

20. PPN 14-044600: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2493.

21. PPN 14-083800: V/L Cornelia Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2489.

22. PPN 14-017800: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2487.

23. PPN 14-017900: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2485.

24. PPN 14-046100: V/L Cornelia Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2483.

25. PPN 14-046200: V/L Cornelia Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2481.

26. PPN 14-044500: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2477.

27. PPN 14-067700: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2475.

28. PPN 14-083900: V/L Cornelia Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2471.

29. PPN 14-084000: V/L Cornelia Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1749, Page 2469.

30. PPN 14-041100: V/L Goredon Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $326.58; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1095.

31. PPN 14-072800: V/L Goredon Dr., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $326.58; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1397, Page 1077.

32. PPN 23-338000: V/L Idlewood Dr., Newbury, OH 44065; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $386.71; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1268, Page 483.

33. PPN 14-084400: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2108.

34. PPN 14-084300: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2106.

35. PPN 14-070600: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, as-

sessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2104.

36. PPN 14-070700: V/L Aquilla Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2102.

37. PPN 14-043400: V/L Cuyahoga Blvd., Chardon, Ohio 44024; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $43.46; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2100.

38. PPN 23-204100: V/L Main St., Newbury, Ohio 44065; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $621.83; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1852, Page 2321.

39. PPN 23-385525: V/L Main St., Newbury, Ohio 44065; amount of taxes, assessments, charges, penalties and interest due and unpaid on the parcel is $370.19; legal description can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder in the deed recorded at Vol. 1777, Page 2110.

Any person owning or claiming any right, title, or interest in, or lien upon, any parcel of real property above listed may file an answer in such action setting forth the nature and amount of interest owned or claimed and any defense or objection to the foreclosure and forfeiture. Such answer shall be filed in the office of the undersigned clerk of court, and a copy of the answer shall be served on the prosecuting attorney, on or before the 30th day of March, 2023 (twenty-eight days after the date of final publication of this notice).

If no answer is filed with respect to a parcel listed in the complaint, on or before the date specified as the last day for filing an answer, a judgment of foreclosure and forfeiture will be taken by default as to that parcel. Any parcel as to which a foreclosure and forfeiture is taken by default shall be sold for the satisfaction of the taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest, and the costs incurred in the foreclosure and forfeiture proceeding, which are due and unpaid.

At any time prior to the filing of an entry of confirmation of sale, any owner or lienholder of, or other person with an interest in, a parcel listed in the complaint may redeem the parcel by tendering to the treasurer the amount of the taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest due and unpaid on the parcel, together with all costs incurred in the proceeding instituted against the parcel under section 5721.14 of the Revised Code.

Upon the filing of any entry of confirmation of sale, there shall be no further equity of redemption. After the filing of any such entry, any person claiming any right, title, or interest in, or lien upon, any parcel shall be forever barred and foreclosed of any such right, title, or interest in, lien upon, and any equity of redemption in, such parcel.

Sheila M. Bevington, Clerk of Courts Court of Common Pleas Geauga County, OH Feb16-23 Mar2, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Newbury Township

Notice is hereby given that the Newbury Board of Zoning Appeals will conduct a public hearing on an application, identified as number CU 23-001, for a Conditional Zoning Certificate on the 7th of March, 2023. The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm, at the Newbury Township Town Hall, 14899 Auburn Road, Newbury, OH.

The application, submitted by Mirenda MJM, LLC, D.B.A. Lake County Concrete, LLC, is requesting that an addition, and the renewal of a conditional use, be granted for the property located at 10076 Kinsman Road in Novelty, OH 44072. Lorraine Sevich, Secretary Feb16, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

City of Chardon

The City of Chardon Planning Commission will hold a Public Hearing to consider the applications described below on Tuesday February 28, 2023, at 6:30 PM. in Council Chambers at the Municipal Center, 111 Water St, Chardon OH 44024. The meeting is subject to adjournment or recess to a later date without another Notice of Public Hearing. Arrangements can be made to review the plans upon request via email at syaney@ chardon.cc or by calling 440-286-2654.

PC Case #23-009/010/011/012: Applicant

– Vaughn Benson (FMS Architects) on behalf of JP Morgan Chase Bank is requesting

concept plan and architectural review approval to allow for a new 3,810 sq. ft. bank. In addition, the applicant is requesting two (2) variances as follows: 1) Variance from Section 1155.09(c)(2) – To allow 35 parking spaces which is 19 more than is permitted.

2) Variance from Section 1155.25 (e) – To allow a parking space less than the required 10’ setback from building wall with doors or windows. The property is located on the south side of Fifth Avenue at the southwest corner of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Center Street. The address of the property is 501 Fifth Avenue, Chardon, OH 44024, with Parcel ID# 10-165641. Property owner is Premier Forbes LLC.

Steven M. Yaney, Community Development Administrator Feb16, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING City of Chardon

The City of Chardon Planning Commission will hold a Public Hearing to consider the applications described below on Tuesday February 28, 2023, at 6:30 PM. in Council Chambers at the Municipal Center, 111 Water St, Chardon OH 44024. The meeting is subject to adjournment or recess to a later date without another Notice of Public Hearing. Arrangements can be made to review the plans upon request via email at syaney@ chardon.cc or by calling 440-286-2654.

PC Case #22-220 & 23-019: Applicant –Robert Landies III (310 Park Inc.) is requesting architectural review approval to allow for a new ~35,000 sq. ft. industrial building. In addition, the applicant is requesting one variance as follows: Variance from Section 1141.19 Design Standards – To allow a façade that faces a street to have less than 90% be glass, brick, cut stone, cast stone or wood and allow a wall without window openings to face a street. The property is located on the west side of Park Drive at the southwest corner of the intersection of Park Drive and Seventh Avenue. The address of the property is 310 Park Drive, Chardon, OH 44024, with Parcel ID# 10-137700. Property owner is 310 Park Inc.

Steven M. Yaney, Community Development Administrator Feb16, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING City of Chardon

The City of Chardon Planning Commission will hold a Public Hearing to consider the applications described below on Tuesday February 28, 2023, at 6:30 PM. in Council Chambers at the Municipal Center, 111 Water St, Chardon OH 44024. The meeting is subject to adjournment or recess to a later date without another Notice of Public Hearing. Arrangements can be made to review the plans upon request via email at syaney@ chardon.cc or by calling 440-286-2654.

PC Case #23-017/018: Applicant – Dale Markowitz (Thrasher Dinsmore Dolan) on behalf of the owners is requesting Concept Plan approval for a lot consolidation and lot split. The proposed consolidation would take six existing parcels and consolidate them into three new parcels that are 1.219 acres, 22.646 acres and 26.265 acres. In addition to the concept plan approval the applicants are requesting three variances: 1.) 1150.37(i) - Isolated parcels shall not be accepted unless they become a component of, and conform to a plan for, public or common lands. 2.) 1150.43(a) - No person shall create by division of property, a lot that does not possess the minimum lot width, as required in the Planning and Zoning Code, fronting and abutting a duly dedicated and accepted public thoroughfare, street or highway, without having first secured approval of the required variance 3.) 1150.43(b)(2) The City Planning Commission may grant approval of division of property pursuant to subsection (a) herein and may require any of the following conditions: (2) That the newly created parcel of land have access for ingress and egress to a duly dedicated and accepted public thoroughfare, street or highway with a minimum width of said access way of sixty feet and located thereon a concrete or asphalt pavement a minimum width of twenty feet which shall run and connect to the parcel newly created or to any improvement thereon The properties are located on the south side of Park Avenue approximately 886’ east of the intersection of Wilson Mills Road and Park Avenue. The address of the properties are 367 Park Avenue, Chardon, OH 44024, with Parcel IDs# 10-129680, 10-129600, 10-129200, 10-129300, 10-129400, and 10137900. The properties are owned by Wilson & Marilou Smith, Kimberly Phillips, and Bridle Downs LLC.

Steven M. Yaney, Community Development Administrator Feb16, 2023

BID NOTICE

ROAD MAINTENANCE MATERIALS

Bainbridge Township

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received by the Bainbridge Township Board of Trustees at the office of the undersigned until 10:00 A.M., March 3, 2023 for furnishing township road maintenance materials. Quantities given are approximate, and the Trustees retain the option of ordering larger or lesser quantities at bid prices as required.

Bidders are required to use Township Bid form obtained from the office of the Fiscal Officer or on the Township’s website at www. Bainbridgetwp.com. All Bids shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope marked “Sealed Bids for Road Maintenance Materials.” Proposals for the above shall not be combined with any other Bid(s). Bidder may elect to bid on all items listed or any portion thereof. The Township Trustees reserve the right to reject any, or all, bids to accept a primary and an alternate supplier or suppliers and to wave any irregularities. Proposals must be valid for 20 days. Bids will be opened at 10:05 A.M. on March 3, 2023 at the Bainbridge Town Hall.

Janice Sugarman, Fiscal Officer Feb16, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VARIANCE TO THE CHARDON TOWNSHIP ZONING RESOLUTION

Notice is hereby given that the Chardon Township Board of Zoning Appeals will conduct a public hearing for a variance to the Chardon Township Zoning Resolution on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 7:00 o’clock p.m. at the Town Hall, 9949 Mentor Road, Chardon, Ohio.

CASE 2023-2 – William & Kim Hupp, 10562 Chardon Road, Chardon, Ohio requests to construct an accessory building on the property located at 10562 Chardon Road, Chardon, Ohio. The proposed accessory building would be located eighty (80) feet from the front setback line and twenty (20) feet from the right-side lot line. Section 500.03 Minimum Yards of the Chardon Township Zoning Resolution requires a minimum of one hundred (100) feet from the front setback line and fifty (50) feet from the right-side lot line in the R-1 Residential District.

Linda Kerry, Secretary Feb16, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

Geauga County

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 350, Chardon, Ohio 44024 until 1:45 PM official local time on March 8, 2023 for The Asphalt Resurfacing of Section A of Old State Road, CH-0006 and Sections A-C of Farmington Road, CH-0018. Bids received will be publicly opened and read aloud the same day at 2:05 PM in room B303. The estimated construction cost for this project is $1,200,000.00.

Copies of the plans and/or specifications may be obtained digitally online at https://www. geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/online-plans-and-specifications/ or a hardcopy is available at the Geauga County Engineer’s Office, 12665 Merritt Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024.

A copy of this legal notice is posted on the County’s website. Go to https://www.geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/legal-notices/ and click on the project name to view this legal.

A bid guaranty in the amount of one hundred (100%) percent of the bid amount or a certified check, cashier’s check, or letter of credit pursuant to Chapter 1305 of the Ohio Revised Code in the amount of ten (10%) percent of the total bid amount shall accompany each bid. The bid shall be let upon a unit price basis.

Bids may be held by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days from the date of opening, for the purpose of reviewing the bids and investigating the qualifications of bidders, prior to awarding the contract.

The Geauga County Board of Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive any informalities or irregularities in the bids received, and to accept any bid or bids which are deemed most favorable to the Board at the time and under conditions stipulated, all in accord with the applicable provisions of laws of the State of Ohio governing the conduct of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners.

BY THE ORDER OF THE GEAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Christine Blair, Clerk Feb16, 2023

AUTOS & PARTS

For Sale: 1998 Harley Softail Custom, low miles, built motor, not running, needs assembly, all parts included. $3,200. 440-313-1178.

FOR RENT

Chardon: Ranch Home, 3/bd, 1/bath, 2-1/2 car garage, newly renovated, walk to Square, $1400/m + Security and Background Check. 440-478-2408.

Room for Let, $600, Russell. Call for details 440-3385201.

Auburn Twp: Studio Apt. No Smoking. No Pets. Heat, trash, lawn, snow-removal included. Quiet Country Setting, Kenston Schools. $750/Month. 440-336-3537

EVENTS

An Al-Anon meeting is held at 10:15am Wednesdays at St. Martin’s Church, 6295 River Rd, Chagrin Falls, OH.

FOR SALE

Ford 9N, not running $1,000. 1974 Sportster Basketcase $1,500. Team bio-harness, lightly used $1,500. All OBO. Text 440-591-9554.

Tires: (2) LT225/65R17, (2) LT245/75R16, good tread, like new; $60/each. 440-545-5731.

NEW Panasonic cordless phone, still in box, 2 additional handsets, can expand. White w/blue trim. 440-2239471. Also Wanted: Level/Transit.

Industrial Sewing Machine: with table, Kwonglam model KL-303, excellent condition, heavy duty machine, can handle canvas, jeans, leather; $1,200. 440-834-8943. Couch w/matching love seat. Old table. Bench. Cedar chest. Cabinet. Wall plate rack. Window mirror. 440632-9675.

Antique clocks, many. Oak crank wall-phone $369. Humpback chest $79. Wooden rocking horse $79. Kids spring rocking horse $49. 440-338-3563.

ALPACA FIBER for hand-spinners, crafters. Natural colors. Grades 3-5, mixed. Huacaya. 1.5” to 3” staple. Call/ Text 216-403-2312 for price.

Kayak: Tungo140/14ft, like new $500. Windsor roadbike $500. Horse-drawn sleigh $500. Western saddle $500. Honda push-mower $300. (8)Fishing poles $200/for all. 440-987-0079.

FREE storm windows with metal frames: (8) 56.5” x48.5”. (4) 59” x48”. FREE ping-pong table 54” x120”. 440-488-2851.

HELP WANTED

Veterinary Assistant Position available at West Geauga Veterinary Hospital. 440-729-9584. Full or part-time experience helpful, but not required.

Mom with 9 year-old looking for teenager or adult to help with babysitting, cooking, cleaning and homework. Pay negotiable. 801-463-1668.

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE

Geauga County

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 350, Chardon, Ohio 44024 until 1:45 PM official local time on March 8, 2023 for The Asphalt Resurfacing of Section A of Morgan Road, CH-0026, and Sections D-E of Leggett Road, CH-0033. Bids received will be publicly opened and read aloud the same day at 2:00 PM in room B303. The estimated construction cost for this project is $1,330,000.00.

Copies of the plans and/or specifications may be obtained digitally online at https://www. geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/online-plans-and-specifications/ or a hardcopy is available at the Geauga County Engineer’s Office, 12665 Merritt Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024.

A copy of this legal notice is posted on the County’s website. Go to https://www.geaugacountyengineer.org/projects-bids/legal-notices/ and click on the project name to view this legal.

A bid guaranty in the amount of one hun-

dred (100%) percent of the bid amount or a certified check, cashier’s check, or letter of credit pursuant to Chapter 1305 of the Ohio Revised Code in the amount of ten (10%) percent of the total bid amount shall accompany each bid. The bid shall be let upon a unit price basis.

Bids may be held by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days from the date of opening, for the purpose of reviewing the bids and investigating the qualifications of bidders, prior to awarding the contract.

The Geauga County Board of Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive any informalities or irregularities in the bids received, and to accept any bid or bids which are deemed most favorable to the Board at the time and under conditions stipulated, all in accord with the applicable provisions of laws of the State of Ohio governing the conduct of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners.

BY THE ORDER OF THE GEAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Christine Blair, Clerk Feb16, 2023

PETS & ANIMALS

Lilly: 9-10yo lap cat, spayed, vaxxed, feleuk/FIV negative. She loves to cuddle! But she doesn’t like other cats. Rebecca 440-321-2485.

For Sale: 9-week old mini-poodle males. Tucker: black w/brown spots. Bandit: white w/brown mask. Samson: all white. Shots UTD, house training stated. $900/each. 440-635-6607.

REAL ESTATE

We buy Houses and Land. Any condition or situation. Fast, friendly, local. Westwind Property Solutions. Text/ call Wayne today at 330-269-9595.

SERVICES

Offering special discounts for interior and exterior painting and staining. 20+ years experience. Professional and insured. Call Dan 440-342-4552.

Sewing Repairs, Alterations & Custom Manufacturing: Snaps, Velcro, Zippers. Cloth, vinyl, nylon, leather up to ¾” thick. Leather sheaths, holsters, belts, pouches. Retail/Wholesale. 440-632-1505.

Joe Eicher doing roofing, siding, remodeling, cleanout houses, we do most anything. Call between 8a-4p, 440813-4272. No answer, leave message.

WANTED TO BUY

Buying all Stanley Bailey planes and machinist tools. Call Karl at 440-812-3392.

4-wheelers, 3-wheelers, dirt bikes, mini-bikes, go-carts, golf carts, gators, farm tractors/equipment, trailers, riding mowers, snowplows. Paying cash. 440-413-3119.

Old fishing tackle wanted: fishing lures (wood or plastic), mouse to bear traps, wooden duck decoys. Call Lee 440313-8331.

Will pay cash for sports cards & collectibles. Entire collections or individual cards. Organized or unorganized. Call or text Rich at 440-552-0691.

Real Estate Transfers

Following is a list of real estate transfers for the week ending Feb. 3, 2023, provided as a public service by the Geauga County Auditor’s Office. Transfers may involve the sale of land only.

AUBURN TOWNSHIP

The Drees Company, 18120 Sedge Court, to Matthew A. and Samantha C. Smearcheck (co-trustees), $729,600. (3.47 acres)

Kevin M. and Stefanie C. Labate, 19180 Sanctuary Drive, to Hammer Down Holdings LLC, $480,000. (2.79 acres)

CHESTER TOWNSHIP

Mike Paoletto, 12630 Valley View Drive, to Victoria Ann Paoletto, $167,000. (1.00 acres)

HAMBDEN TOWNSHIP

Patrick C. and Felice A. Willis, 9765 Bascom Road, to Edith Pauline Ross and Ernest Robert Sr., $390,000. (3.52 acres)

MIDDLEFIELD TOWNSHIP

Dan E. and Anna W. Miller, 13550 Bundysburg Road, to Daniel D. and Mary M. Miller, $200,000. (4.31 acres)

Geauga County Maple Leaf

440-285-2013

Ann Czuprun, 14860 Dunlin Court, to Ann Therese Bullard, $180,000. (0.00 acres)

MUNSON TOWNSHIP

Geraldine M. Steckley (TOD), 9725 Sylvanhurst Drive, to Stefanie Gierke, $270,000. (1.85 acres)

Raymond A. Occhionero Sr. (trustee), 12190 Nantucket Drive, to James E. Bennington Jr., $515,000. (4.86 acres)

Cornelius P. and Doris E. Mallon, 12268 Valleyvista Drive, to Doris E. Mallon and Meredith Mallon Jeffrey, $96,150. (1.81 acres)

NEWBURY TOWNSHIP

Abraham Labadie, 15407 Auburn Road, to Jessica Greenhaw, $135,200. (1.50 acres)

James Bennington, 14719 Munnberry Oval, to Charles S. III and Shelly L. Milvet, $397,000. (2.08 acres)

SOUTH RUSSELL VILLAGE

David W. York, 1101 Bell Road, to Tiffany Sinclair, $219,200. (1.85 acres)