Geauga Maple Leaf 2-9-23

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Vol. 29 No. 6 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com

$1.00

McArthur Appointed to County Election Board

GOP Chair Takes New Role Amid Controversy

By Amy PAtterson Amy@kArlovecmediA com

Nancy McArthur, chair of the Geauga County Republican Party, was sworn in as the newest member of the Geauga County Board of Elections at a ceremony Jan. 25.

SUBMITTED

Auburn Township Fire Department and many others responded to a call at about 4:50 p.m. Feb. 1 for a fire at a home on Lucky Bell Lane.

Residents Escape, Pets Perish in Auburn Fire

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA.com

Cold temperatures did not hamper firefighters’ efforts to save an Auburn Township home Jan. 31.

Auburn Assistant Fire Chief Mike Cardaman said the thermometer was near 15 degrees Fahrenheit around 4:50 p.m., when his department was dispatched to a fire at the home of Christopher Gregory on Lucky Bell Lane.

Gregory, a woman and two juveniles escaped the blaze that apparently started in the kitchen, according to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office report.

Cardaman said the official cause of the fire would be determined by the Geauga County Fire Investigation Unit.

The single-family, 2,710 squarefoot residence on 3.58 acres was about 25% involved when the Auburn fire department arrived, but about 90% of the home was damaged by the time the flames were extinguished, he said.

Both family dogs were recovered from the home, but did not survive, Cardaman said.

Fire departments from Geauga,

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose made the appointment, which was needed to fill the expired term of longtime board of elections member Ed Ryder, who stepped down in December. It followed a recommendation from the GOP Executive Committee, which met Jan. 7 at the Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Center on Cedar Road in Chester Township.

“I want to thank Frank (LaRose) as well for having the faith and belief

See McArthur • Page 4

Fate of ‘Spelling Bee’ Uncertain

Cardinal Leaders Discuss Whether to Flip the Script or Stick to It

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA com

Drama surrounding Cardinal Schools’ proposed production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” took center stage Feb. 1 during an informal but tense discussion among the controversy’s central cast.

Production Director Vanessa Allen, Superintendent Jack Cunningham, board members Wendy Anderson and Katie Thomas, Cardinal Middle School Principal Mike Hall and a teachers’ union representative met to discuss how best to move forward following the board’s Jan. 25 decision to cancel “Spelling Bee” over its PG-13 content.

Among the options discussed was making changes to the production. There are legal limits to doing so — characters and storylines can’t be changed, and any changes must go through the company that holds production rights, Allen said — but it might not be an insurmountable challenge.

Cardinal Schools’ decision to cancel the high school spring play — The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — has received national attention, including from Jesse Tyler Ferguson, an original cast member from the play’s Broadway debut in 2005. The actor took to social media, as pictured right, to share his thoughts, adding the reasons for the cancellation given by the board are, in his mind, “thinly-veiled covers” of their actual motivations.

“Definitely more than one person at this school is gay, or lesbian, or bisexual,” Ferguson said in response to the idea the play may have been cancelled for some slight references to homosexuality. “The message that this sends to them, that that is not family appropriate, or family friendly, rather, is toxic, and harmful, and kind of abusive.”

Local volunteer assistant director Mandi Matchinga verified by phone Feb. 3 the “Spelling Bee” writers are willing to collaborate on a rewrite.

“We did receive an email from Rachel Sheinkin, one of the original writers,” Matchinga said.

Scheinkin offered, if given a specific list of issues, to sit down with

the other writer and make adaptations and modifications to the script to address the board’s concerns and make it appropriate for the Cardinal community, she added.

Concerns about the musical were brought to the board’s attention when a resident sent an email

AMY PATTERSON/KMG

Geauga County Republican Party Chair Nancy McArthur, center, was sworn in to a seat on the county’s Board of Elections Jan. 25. McArthur was joined by about a dozen supporters including her husband, Michael, right, and by 11th District Court of Appeals Judge John Eklund, who administered the oath of office in the historic Chardon courthouse.

Spidalieri Criticizes Courthouse Project

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

Although the joint announcement of $15 million in renovations to the historic courthouse on Chardon Square was met with fanfare last May, some still see the project with skepticism, including Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri, who expressed his doubts Jan. 31.

“The concern is the operation of how things are going to continue to still function every day and what we need to do within our location there and still having construction going, and how that’s all going to mend together,” Spidalieri said in response to a question from Mark Panzica, president of Panzica Construction. “I don’t necessarily support this whole project as far as the dollars and cents that are going into doing this. I feel like we are throwing a lot of money at something that we could have started from the ground up into a whole new facility.”

Commissioners invited three construction companies — Panzica Construction, Infinity

Construction and Independence Construction — to present proposals for the next phase of the courthouse project during their regular meeting last Tuesday. The county’s contribution to the project was hashed out in a settlement last summer after the city filed a lawsuit

in 2020 to keep the courts and the county seat in Chardon.

In that settlement, the county agreed to spend a minimum of $15 million to expand and renovate the courthouse and agreed to ensure Chardon remains the seat of justice in the county.

Representatives of each of the three construction companies made their case as to why they are the best fit for the job.

“The question is who are you most comfortable walking arm and arm with for the next two years,” said Panzica. “It’s a unique project. It has unique elements to it, so you’ve got to have the right people with the right skill sets to put that together, be forward-thinking and be able to assemble it in a way that at the end of the day, we have a great asset for the community.”

Infinity Construction Project Executive Jim Fantozzi said his entire team is from Geauga County and wants to be a part of this project.

See Courthouse • Page 7

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. 14, 7:30 a.m. – Geauga SWCD, Ste. 240, 7:30 a.m. – Planning Commission, Ste. A334, 9:30 a.m. – Geauga County Commissioners; Feb. 15, 6 p.m., Board of Mental Health & Recovery Services, at 13244 Ravenna Road, Munson. 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.

Aquilla Village: Feb. 14, 7 p.m., Village Council. All meetings are held at Village Hall, 65 Turner Drive, unless otherwise noted.

Auburn Township: Feb. 9, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission; Feb. 14, 7 p.m., Board of Zoning Appeals. All meetings are held at the Administration Building, 11010 Washington St., unless otherwise indicated.

Bainbridge Township: Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees; Feb. 16, 7 p.m., Board of Zoning Appeals. All meetings are held at Town Hall, 17826 Chillicothe Road, unless noted.

Burton Township: Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings are held at the Township Administration building, 14821 Rapids Road, unless otherwise noted.

Burton Village: Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Village Council and Board of Public Affairs, joint meeting;

Fire from page 1

Cuyahoga, Trumbull, Portage and Ashtabula counties assisted during the five-hour battle to save the home.

They brought tankers full of water and the Chester Township Fire Department provided its rehab unit with heat and coffee for chilled firefighters, he said.

“That was very helpful to us,” Cardaman said, adding he called in the American Red Cross to help the family.

There were no injuries, no outbuildings were affected and the assistant chief said despite fire, water and smoke damage, the structure may be salvageable.

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

Chardon City: Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m., City Council. All meetings are held at Municipal Center, 111 Water St., unless otherwise noted.

Chardon Township: Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at Township Hall, 9949 Mentor Road, unless otherwise noted.

Chester Township: Feb. 9, 6 p.m., Board of Trustees; Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Board of Zoning Appeals; Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Zoning Commission. All meetings are held at the Township Hall, 12701 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted.

Claridon Township: Feb. 13, 6 p.m., Board of Trustees, special meeting for purpose of considering approval of permanent appropriations and for considering approval of project plans for Taylor Wells road. 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.

Hambden Township: Feb. 14, 6 p.m., Parks & Recreation Board; Feb. 15, 6:30 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at the Town Hall, 13887 GAR Highway, unless otherwise noted.

Middlefield Township: Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All trustees meetings are held

at Township Office, 15228 Madison Road, unless otherwise noted.

Middlefield Village: Feb. 9, 5:30 p.m. – Recreation, 6 p.m. – Finance & Ordinance, 6:30 p.m. – Safety, 7 p.m. – Village Council. All meetings are at the Municipal Center, 14860 N. State Ave.

Munson Township: Feb. 13, 6:15 p.m., Park & Recreation Board; Feb. 14, 6:30 p.m., Board of Trustees; Feb. 15, 6:30 p.m., Board of Zoning Appeals. All meetings are held at Township Hall, 12210 Auburn Road, unless otherwise noted.

Newbury Township: Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings held at the Town Hall, 14899 Auburn Road, unless noted.

Russell Township: Feb. 15, 4 p.m., Citizens’ Park District, Feb. 16, 6 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at Russell Town Hall, 14890 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted.

South Russell Village: Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m., Planning Commission; Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Village Council. All meetings are held at Village Hall, 5205 Chillicothe Road, unless otherwise noted.

Berkshire BOE: Feb. 13, 6 p.m., regular meeting. All meetings held at BOE auditorium, 14155 Claridon Troy Road, Burton, unless otherwise noted.

West Geauga BOE: Feb. 13, 7 p.m., regular meeting. All meetings are held at the BOE Community Room, 8615 Cedar Road, unless otherwise noted.

8389 Mayfield Road, Suite B5

Chesterland, Ohio 44026

Phone 440-729-7667

FAX 440-729-8240

ads@karlovecmedia.com

Phone 440-285-2013

FAX 440-285-2015

editor@karlovecmedia.com

Jeffrey B. Karlovec, Publisher

John D. Karlovec, Editor

Cassandra C. Shofar, News Editor

Jamie A. Ward, Sports Editor

Ann Wishart, Staff Reporter

Amy Patterson, Staff Reporter

Brian Doering, Staff Reporter

Clay Karlovec, Sales Representative

Clinton Sestak, Sales Representative

Gayle Mantush, Sales Representative

Jayne Kracker, Sales Representative

Barb Fontanelle, Sales Representative

Regina Swinerton, Classifieds

Pamela J. Molnar, Production Supervisor

Karen S. Kaplan, Graphic Design

Submissions and Deadlines

• Editorial submissions are printed as space is available, at the publisher’s discretion, and may be edited for length, clarity and grammar. All submissions are due by Monday at noon for consideration for that Thursday’s edition.

• Email all editorial submissions and questions to editor@karlovecmedia.com.

• The space reservation deadline for paid advertisements in that Thursday’s Geauga County Maple Leaf is the preceding Friday by noon. Late ads may be accepted at the discretion of management.

• Email advertising requests and questions to ads@karlovecmedia.com.

Subscription Rates (valid through 12/31/23)

Weekly Issue (in Geauga County)

One year: $50 • Two years: $90

Senior Citizens one year: $45 Single copy: $1 Weekly Issue (outside Geauga County)

One year: $65 • Two years: $120 Weekly Issue (snowbird/seasonal address)

One year: $65

Online Only (No Mailed Copy) $50 NewspaperandOnlineSubscriptions are Non-Refundable. YoucanviewtheRefundPolicybyvisiting: www.geaugamapleleaf.com/refund-policy/ orbyusingthe“More”menuonthewebsite.

•Geauga County Maple Leaf is a newspaper of general circulation published weekly. Contains general, legal, real estate, insurance and commercial news.

•Copyright © 2023 Geauga County Maple Leaf LLC. All rights reserved. Material published in Geauga County Maple Leaf is prepared at substantial expense and is for the sole and exclusive use of the subscriber. It may not be republished, resold, recorded or reused in any manner, in whole or part, without the publisher’s written consent. Any infringement will be subject to legal redress.

•Geauga County Maple Leaf (USPS 011-535) is published weekly by Geauga County Maple Leaf LLC. 101 South Street, Chardon, OH 44024. Periodicals postage paid at Chardon, Ohio 44024. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Geauga County Maple Leaf, P.O. Box 1166, Chardon, OH 44024-5166. Subscribers should notify the publisher in writing of address changes or unsatisfactory delivery.

•Under no circumstances will any record filed in the county be suppressed at any time for anybody, except by order of court.

•Attorneys placing legal advertisements are responsible for payment.

•The publisher is not responsible for errors in advertisements after first publication if not advised by the advertiser.

BRIAN DOERING/KMG

Ralph Spidalieri expressed his criticism of the renovation project for the historic Chardon Courthouse on Jan. 31.

McArthur from page 1

in me that I can carry out these duties,” McArthur told about a dozen supporters at the ceremony. “It’s a big responsibility. I feel up to the challenge and I just want to thank you all for your belief in me and for coming here today.”

The committee also recommended McArthur fill the subsequent four-year term, which begins March 1.

There are four members of the Geauga BOE, a bipartisan board made up of two Democrats — BOE Chair Dennis Pavella and Geauga County Democratic Party Chair Janet Carson — and two Republicans.

McArthur, who was the former mayor of Chardon and previously worked in the elections office, will join fellow Republican Joan Windnagel on the board.

McArthur is familiar with the processes of the elections board, where she worked for two years beginning in early 2019. However, during employee reviews at its 2021 organizational meeting, the board opted not to continue her employment, according to a source familiar with her termination.

Employment records obtained through a public records request show McArthur received a verbal reprimand in December 2019 for speaking to the media as a representative of the board.

Weeks later, on Jan. 2, 2020, McArthur — who had been serving as GOP chair since 2014 — was issued a written reprimand for circulating candidate petitions, including for state Sen. Jerry Cirino, allegedly in violation of Ohio Secretary of State ethics policy. McArthur refused to sign the reprimand.

Other complaints came from staff who felt McArthur’s demeanor was inappropri-

ate, especially during poll worker training. The board also received written complaints accusing McArthur of actively campaigning against Windnagel’s 2021 appointment to the elections board.

‘Discord and Division’

The Jan. 7 executive committee meeting did not occur without some drama as outside agitators, including Portage County resident Brian Ames, attempted to enter the meeting room, but were rebuffed at the door.

Ames, who has filed previous lawsuits against the Geauga GOP for limiting access to committee meetings, engaged in a brief scuffle with McArthur while attempting to enter the building.

“By choosing to hold their meeting at the Metzenbaum Center, the (executive) committee waived any right to privacy,” Ames said in an email. “It was McArthur, without any right to do so, that denied people access.”

Two videos of the struggle between McArthur and Ames have been shared on social media and are available to view at www. geaugamapelelaf.com. The videos both show Ames approaching the door and McArthur blocking the entrance, arms held wide apart until Ames attempts to move past her.

While McArthur said in a phone interview with the Geauga County Maple Leaf she intended to pursue charges against Ames, he, in turn, sees McArthur as the aggressor.

“The video makes it clear that McArthur was the aggressor. As I tried to avoid her, she pushed me against the door frame and pulled on the hood of my jacket,” Ames said.

Officers from the Chester Township Police Department responded to the scene. Records of the complaint are not yet available, a representative from the police department said, as the case is still open.

NOTICE TO GEAUGA COUNTY TAXPAYERS

Notice is hereby given the Treasurer’s books for the First Half 2022 real property tax collection are now open for payment and will close for the first half on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. In accordance with the Ohio Revised Code, first half taxes paid (or postmarked in the case of mail payments) after February 15, 2023 will accrue a 10% penalty.

Further, it is the property owner’s responsibility to notify this office in writing when an address is changed or when a mortgage is paid or sold to another company in order that the tax bill is sent to the correct address.

Every effort is made to see that you receive your tax bills; however, the Ohio Revised Code provides the property owner is responsible for payments even if you did not receive your bill. Please call us if you have not received a tax bill unless you have made previous arrangements with a financial institution to pay them.

FAILURE TO RECEIVE A TAX BILL WILL NOT AVOID A PENALTY.

Military Reservists and National Guard members who are called to active duty may defer payment of their real estate taxes until six months after their tour of duty ends. Spouses and/or dependent parents may also be eligible for this tax deferment.

Taxes may be paid at the Treasurer’s office located in The Opera House, 211 Main Street, Suite 1A, Chardon, OH 44024. A drop box has also been installed near the entrance for your convenience. Payments placed in the drop box on the last day of collection will be collected and posted the next day. Payments received in the drop box on Thursday, February 16, 2023 will be considered late and penalties will apply.

Regular Office Hours: Monday thru Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Checks should be made payable to: Geauga County Treasurer.

Phone: 440-279-2000

Christopher P. Hitchcock Treasurer, Geauga County

City of Chardon Assistant Police Prosecutor Steve Patton confirmed Feb. 7 the case is still under review and declined further comment.

Although not a resident, Ames has joined a group of those in Geauga who oppose McArthur’s role at the head of the party and have clashed repeatedly with her over what they say is a lack of access for the public and favoritism among committee appointees.

At their meeting Jan. 7, the executive committee was asked to choose between McArthur and Mike Petruziello, a former trustee of Chester Township and current treasurer of the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services. The meeting, which McArthur said lasted around 45 minutes, ended with her receiving 41 votes to Petruziello’s 32.

Last June, McArthur was once again elected chair months after a contentious Republican primary. In the leadup to the Jan. 7 meeting, posts on social media accounts — ranging from the Northeast Ohio Conservative Club to Accountable Geauga to the Ohio MAGA Facebook page — asked “patriots” to show up in support of Petruziello to prevent her from being seated on the board of elections.

In his letter confirming her appointment to the board, LaRose said while no concerns were raised during McArthur’s background check, some anecdotal feedback from Geauga County residents raised concerns about her past professional conduct and temperament as a local political and public official.

“I have concluded that, while some of the information I received is concerning, none of the information provided to me for review violates the legal precedent for competence as a board member,” LaRose said. “However, I ask that you consider the discord and division this appointment has generated within the county and strive to mitigate these challenges as you begin your new duties.”

Ohio’s network of 88 county boards of election serves as the frontline of the state’s democratic process, he said, adding its success requires bipartisan civility and cooperation, along with personal integrity and professional accountability.

“Every elected official who wins an election must immediately confront the reality that not everyone supported that outcome, yet the new officeholder has an obligation to seek unity and build trust,” LaRose said. “The same can be said for a public appointment of this nature. I am confident in your ability to turn this challenge into an opportunity for good.”

Commitment

McArthur’s oath of office was administered in a second-floor courtroom of the historic courthouse on Chardon Square by 11th District Court

of Appeals Judge John Eklund, who, in December, was chosen to serve as that court’s presiding and administrative judge through 2023.

Public service is not easy to do at any level, he said.

“It takes a great deal of commitment to what makes Geauga County and the United States a great place to live and work, and raise a family — and a commitment that not everybody is up to,” said Eklund.

In a speech after being sworn in, McArthur thanked LaRose for having faith in her and for believing she can carry out her duties.

“(The board is) public officials and their boss — our boss — is the secretary of state, but yet the (Geauga County) Commissioners are the ones who provide a facility and a lot of the funding, quite frankly, that goes into the board of elections,” she said.

The BOE has been engaged in a lawsuit against the commissioners since last May, centering on issues related to their eventual occupation of the new county administrative building in Claridon Township.

McArthur said she expects to serve out the remainder of her four-year term working with her peers at the elections board.

“Wherever that may be, here in Chardon or down in Claridon Township, (it) doesn’t really matter,” she said, later extending thanks to commissioners for investing in improvements to the historic Chardon Courthouse.

About a dozen people attended the ceremony, including Russell Township Trustee Matt Rambo, Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak, Flaiz and Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Paschke.

SCREENSHOT

Stills from security camera footage, above, show the moments the morning of Jan. 7 when Portage County resident Brian Ames attempted to enter the Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Center on Cedar Road in Chester Township before a meeting of the Geauga County Republican Party Executive Committee.

“I have concluded that, while some of the information I received is concerning, none of the information provided to me for review violates the legal precedent for competence as a board member. However, I ask that you consider the discord and division this appointment has generated within the county and strive to mitigate these challenges as you begin your new duties.”

– Secretary of State

Frank LaRose

Burton Village

Food Truck Rules on Menu for Planning Commission

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA com

Burton Village Planning Commission chewed on a tasty issue Jan. 31 — what to do about food trucks setting up on public property.

The commission invited food truck owners and local businesspeople to attend the meeting to share their thoughts on a zoning ordinance limiting the times and locations transient vendors can set up in the village so as not to negatively affect businesses and traffic.

Mayor Ruth Spanos said the commission is seeking to restrict when and where food trucks can set up.

“We wanted to get more information before deciding,” she told those in attendance. “We need to find a balance between (vendors and) the brick and mortar restaurants.”

Samantha “Sam” Durman, baker and owner of Sweet Southern Charm Cupcakes, was the only vendor to rise to the occasion. She said she has been building her business for eight years and makes sure she has an agreement with business owners before she

Musical

from page 1

dated Jan. 11 to the board objecting to various facets of “Spelling Bee.” The email read:

“I have heard some rumblings about the content of this year’s musical. I read the script and did find it very troubling for a school performance (sexual and religious references). I also understand that the performance for the middle school will not happen due to the content.

“Also, hearsay from a student in the show is that the musical staff is trying to see how far they can go with it now and in the future. I would appreciate you looking into this and letting us know your thoughts.

“Thank you in advance.”

Cunningham reiterated during the Feb. 1 meeting that several board members were also concerned about crude language in the “Spelling Bee” script and a song about puberty.

Allen explained one student sings she has two dads, but no one professes them to be gay.

Anderson said most people who sent emails just assumed the dads were gay.

Thomas said she saw the production and thought it was very funny.

“Two board members didn’t want to ditch the show. We want to see this show,” she said. “They can make some modifications to the lyrics.”

Lyrics aside, Anderson also said the character biographies are offensive and stereotypical, asserting the term “home-schooled” is used in a derogatory manner.

The union representative countered that most characters in musicals, such as those in “Cinderella,” are stereotypes.

“We make them that way,” the union representative said.

Anderson noted actors are encouraged to ad-lib comments regarding politics and

wheels into place in front of their operations.

“It helps them bring customers in,” she said, adding the response has been positive.

Durman also spoke enthusiastically about communities, such as Howland, that have

religion, and she pressed for the production of a different musical.

“I got the script with a few changes you made. I don’t know why you can’t do something else,” she said.

Timing, Casting Challenge Replacement

Substituting a less contentious musical at a later date was discussed. In fact,

Cunningham opened the meeting by saying the board still wants a musical this spring. However, concerns exist over timing.

“Spelling Bee” was set to be performed in March, and receiving permission to produce a new musical could take weeks — followed by more weeks of practice, the union representative said.

The board agreed to postpone an alternate production until April or May, but appeared to be split on how “Spelling Bee” should proceed.

Allen noted she has only two male actors available and claimed there are not a lot of other high school students with the talent and desire to sing on stage.

“We have issues with numbers. Everybody is having trouble with numbers,” she said. “We are very limited in what we can do. We need kids who can do the parts. This was the only one that was feasible.”

However, another issue brought up with “Spelling Bee” is a requirement that younger students would need permission slips to attend the PG-13 musical.

Anderson said previous shows, such as “The Wizard of Oz,” were G-rated for general audiences, which meant students of any age could attend without permission slips.

“Music is a critical thing in Middlefield. I don’t want it to get exclusive,” she said. “We can’t even let our sixth-graders go see (‘Spelling Bee’).”

Food Truck Friday with live music once a month during the summer. Vendors pay $50 to set up and sell all night.

The organizer sets up the menu so there aren’t too many vendors selling the same thing at the event, she said.

“It’s a really, really awesome time,” Durman said. “Tons of people come out, rain or shine. It’s really cool.”

Some food trucks are permitted at farmers’ markets and other events in various communities, she said.

Spanos said someone would have to take on the organizing of events since the village doesn’t have the staff to do it.

“We’re not the event-planning commission,” she said, adding they are trying to figure out rules that will be fair to local restaurants, as well as the vendors.

“We don’t want to damage your business,” she told Durman.

Commission member Hannah Bomback said they have discussed allowing individual vendors to set up 12 days per year on village property — in the Burton Square Park or along village streets in the business district and in village parking lots.

Durman said permitting a vendor to set

up for 12 days in Burton would be fair even if three or four scheduled days will likely get rained out.

Her purpose is not to compete against local eateries, she said.

For instance, she doesn’t serve coffee with her cupcakes but directs those who ask for it to one of the restaurants that sell beverages.

Getting permission from retail business owners along North Cheshire or elsewhere would make sense, Spanos said.

Anne Layne, owner of Undercover Charm, a home décor and accent store at 14531 North Cheshire St., said Durman has set up in front of her shop four times.

“Her cart attracts tourists and residents. We were really excited to have her,” Layne said. “It was really well received. It’s a great way to showcase Burton Village.”

Spanos recommended getting input from the police department regarding safe locations for food trucks to park and said the regulations should be in place before summer. Businesses in the commercial district will be informed by letter about any new rules the village council adopts per the planning commission’s recommendations, she said.

Threat Deemed Miscommunication

The morning of Feb. 2, Cardinal Schools Superintendent Jack Cunningham requested no additional names be mentioned in the media regarding the “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” controversy due to perceived threats received against a teacher. He reported to law enforcement a threatening phone call was made to the school the morning of Feb. 2.

Middlefield Village Police Chief Joe Tucholski said Thursday afternoon the phone call came into the school district at about 11 a.m. from a person who gave the office his name. By the afternoon, police had checked with the alleged caller, who was at work and denied making the call, the chief said.

Further investigation determined no threats were made over the phone, he said. “There was no actual threat. There was a miscommunication between the office staff and the teacher,” Tucholski said. “Someone did call asking about (a former teacher), but there were no threats or derogatory statements.”

No Precedent for Selecting Productions

All the debate during the Feb. 1 meeting led to discourse about how things got to this point in the first place.

Cunningham told Allen at the meeting the process of choosing a musical was handled poorly.

“You should have brought it to Mike (Hall) or the board or me, rather than finding out along the way,” he said.

As concern over the musical began building within the last few weeks, it appeared the district had no formal approval policy for choosing production material.

Allen noted no precedent has been set.

Thomas, who has experience with high school productions, said in a phone conversation Feb. 2 she supports the production of “Spelling Bee” and some alterations of the

script and song lyrics to bring the rating closer to PG.

She also said the vast majority of musicals have at least one sexually suggestive scene. “Theater is meant to be a little bit edgy,” she said.

Ultimately, during the Feb. 1 meeting, Thomas urged the administration and all board members to work together for a solution.

Cunningham said his goal is to have a musical and urged Allen to attend the Feb. 8 school board meeting.

“I’m trying to make sure we are moving forward and the kids have something to perform,” he said.

ANN WISHART/KMG

Sam Durman, owner of Sweet Southern Charm Cupcakes in Burton Village, and her husband, Ed, spoke to Burton Village Planning Commission Jan. 31 about the commission’s plan to regulate food truck vendors.

Kenston Intermediate School Clears the Air

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA.com

Fifth-graders and staff were finally allowed to reenter Kenston Intermediate School Feb. 6 after its air quality test results indicated it was safe to return.

Kenston Schools Superintendent Steve Sayers initially said in a Jan. 31 letter to parents the air-quality test results for fifthgrade classrooms had not been received, so fifth-grade students would return to Kenston Middle School for classes for the remainder of the week.

However, air quality tests returned safe levels that same day, clearing a path for stu-

dents to return on Monday.

Sayers’s announcement came as contractors and district staff finalized repairs to damaged areas of the fifth-grade hallway and classrooms. Those portions of the school were damaged over the winter holiday as frozen pipes burst, causing previously embedded asbestos to be exposed.

The fifth-grade hallway has since been remodeled with new ceiling tiles, carpeting, lighting, fans and freshly sanitized and painted walls.

In a separate letter to parents Feb. 1, Sayers thanked those involved in assisting the students’ return.

“I want to express my gratitude to our

fourth- and fifth-grade students. You have been outstanding, flexible and resilient,” Sayers said. “These qualities are taught by adversity and will serve you well into the future.”

Sayers thanked KIS families and district community for its support and patience, as well as the KIS staff for their leadership.

“To our Timmons Elementary and Kenston Middle School students and staff, you have genuinely welcomed and shared your space with your fellow students and coworkers, embodying what it means to be a Kenston Bomber,” Sayers said. “To our parent teacher organizations, your support of our students and staff is appreciated.”

Sayers also thanked the district’s maintenance, technology and custodial staff, as well as ServPro and other outside vendors for their efforts to get everything back to normal.

“To our transportation department, your ability to adjust is admired and appreciated. To the administrative team, your commitment to Kenston, creativity, take-charge attitude and partnership are commendable and sincerely appreciated,” Sayers said. “Again, I cannot thank you enough for your support and patience. I appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we have had to adjust plans to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”

Geauga Lake Developer Looks for Tax Arrangement

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

Bainbridge Township Trustees wasted no time delving into next steps for the Geauga Lake property redevelopment program during a special meeting Feb. 6.

Trustees discussed stormwater management options and a tax incremental financing arrangement with Industrial Commercial Properties Geauga Lake, LLC.

“They want to get a deal done with the Kenston school district and have the school district comfortable with the TIF arrangement so that they can finalize a TIF resolution with the township,” said Trustee Jeff Markley in an interview prior to the meeting. “Then, with the school board’s sign-off, they’ll be able to take the next steps into financing the project’s improvements.”

Markley said ICP has been working with Kenston Schools to redefine the TIF to allow for a 30-year instead of a 10-year TIF agreement and would have to have the school district’s permission to extend it.

“In doing so, they get a better bite at the apple,” Markley said. “They get to figure out a way to make it more financially appealing to them. It’s my understanding that those conversations are largely concluded, and the developer has enough information to share with the township.”

Markley said ICP can only seek bonds to help pay for improvements to the property once they have an agreement to keep the development going.

“Their intention is to get this deal done,

to get the school to sign off, get the township to sign off, proceed with whatever funding mechanisms, whether it’s a bond or loans or whatever they’re choosing to use and then continue to work through that project,” Markley said.

He added during the meeting the trustees will be looking at three new TIF resolutions that will need to be put together.

“We have one TIF resolution for this entire area that we kind of refer to as the triangle — the mixed-use district, which incorporates a piece of the Geauga Lake property or a good part of it. Now, we’re going to take that original TIF resolution and amend it or scrap it, and then create a new TIF resolution to restructure some of those things that are going on within the Geauga Lake property,” Markley said. “Specifically, like the commercial properties, and then also create a resi-

BRIAN DOERING/KMG

dential TIF and then a remainder TIF for all the other parcels not associated with Geauga Lake.”

Kenston Superintendent Steve Sayers said in a follow-up interview Kenston Schools has had positive and productive conversations with ICP and Bainbridge Township regarding a TIF agreement.

“At this point in time, we don’t have a written proposal to present to the (Kenston Schools) Board of Education for their consideration,” said Sayers. “Once a TIF agreement is in place, we can discuss how it will impact the district.”

Markley said ICP has hired Davey Resource Group to initiate a hydrologic study to see what can be done to utilize the lake for stormwater storage.

“ICP has commissioned Davey resources to kind of take a holistic look at the lake

and the big wetland area over there as a way of utilizing those resources for stormwater management and to prevent the multitude of basins that could proliferate this site if we left it to current consent judgment entry standards,” Markley said, adding stormwater management is very important because projects have been held up as a result of a lack of understanding for what stormwater requirements will be.

The developers are having a hard time complying with higher-than-usual stormwater standards placed by the township and the ability to use the lake as a repository for stormwater might be the solution, he said.

“It’s a more regional solution, too, because when you think of stormwater and you think of all those little basins all over the place, somebody’s got to inspect them. Somebody’s got to maintain them. Somebody’s got to ensure that they’re doing their job for stormwater,” Markley said. “All these things are pieces of development that have largely gone unaddressed. We’re trying to get those things wrapped up. These are all details in the development process.”

Markley added he would like to have the trustees on the same page and understand the results of the negotiations with the school, as well as the hydrologic study.

“We get a good understanding of what that means to the planning and then the approval process the township undertakes,” Markley said. “Then, it’s the ability to continue with the redevelopment of that property. Effectively being able to move it forward, instead of just talking about it.”

Commissioners Appoint Temporary Archives Director

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

The Geauga County Archives and Records Center will be seeing a familiar face after Geauga County Commissioners approved the appointment of Linda Burhenne

as temporary director during their Jan. 31 meeting.

Commissioners Ralph Spidalieri and Jim Dvorak approved Burhenne’s appointment to the position after coming out of an executive session. Commissioner Tim Lennon was ab-

sent for that portion of the meeting.

“The archives and records (department) has been trying for a few years to get caught up on their storage of items that are required for permanent retention,” said County Administrator Gerry Morgan in a follow-up interview. “Basically, hard/paper copies of documents are scanned and then micro-filmed for permanent retention, which is maintained offsite, while the scans are maintained locally for immediate viewing if necessary.”

Burhenne previously served as director of the archives department from 2008 to 2014, after which she was promoted to director of administrative services for the county. She retired in 2018 after 12 years with the county.

Morgan said a few departments in the county are behind schedule with scanning

items for permanent retention, so the county is still storing hard copies of those documents.

Burhenne will enter the role effective Feb. 6 at an hourly rate of $35 and is contracted not to exceed 25 hours per week.

In addition to overseeing the scanning project, Burhenne will be responsible for setting up a structure for maintaining the storage going forward, Morgan said.

“Linda was proposed as a candidate for this position during a discussion between commissioners, the prosecutor and auditor, both members of the county’s records commission, during an executive session a few weeks back,” Morgan said. “The commissioners and I are extremely confident that Linda will be able to do what is necessary to get the necessary work done.”

Bainbridge Trustees Kristina O’Brien, Jeff Markley and Michael Bates discuss stormwater management options and a TIF arrangement with ICP Geauga Lake, LLC on Feb. 6.

Zoning Change Possible for Kinsman Road Properties

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA com

Newbury Township Trustees and zoning commission members discussed Feb. 1 the possibility of changing zoning at several locations along Kinsman Road from professional office to commercial use.

About 20 parcels, including the deserted Sports Haven property, are zoned professional office and some of them are already being used for businesses of one kind or another, said Newbury Township Zoning Commission member Steve Boughner.

Commission members want to make sure the neighbors of these properties have a chance to talk to them and let their concerns about rezoning be known, he said, adding they have been in touch with the Geauga County Planning Commission about the effort, which has to approve any rezoning of property.

“We want to get all our ducks in a row so we don’t get in trouble with anyone,” Boughner said.

He provided a draft of a letter the township zoning commission intends to send to those residents who have property abutting the parcels being considered

In it, the commission explains the rezoning will accommodate a growing residential population and encourage new businesses to move into the township.

“Every property affected will be considered individually and be assigned a proposed new zoning district classification most appropriate for each parcel,” the draft read.

Classifications include residential, commercial/business and industrial.

Neighbors of those properties that may be rezoned would be invited to zoning commission meetings.

“Our goal is to meet with a couple at a time, go through what we would like to do and get their opinions before we vote on anything,” Boughner said.

Only a few individuals per meeting would be placed on the agenda for the discussion to avoid having dozens of people involved in the

Courthouse

from page 3

“A big part of what we would like to do is we’d like to involve the community. We want the workers from around here,” said Fantozzi. “It’s nice to hear that the people are from this community and help build this building in this community.”

Independence Construction Project Principal Don Dreier said he has been a resident of Geauga County for over 40 years and is proud to be able to build within the community he lives in.

“We did $20 million worth of work at the libraries and did approximately $30 million of work on the (new county administration) building that we are in, and we are proud of that,” said Dreier. “We are going to bring the ability to reduce your risk by the processes that we have in place and allow you to do what you do best — run the county.”

Spidalieri told Panzica there are a lot of hurdles to overcome to make the project come out right.

“I think that just adds to a lot of the challenges of what you are going to have to deal with,” he said, adding there will be a lot of additional costs to the project.

discussion, but the meetings, on the fourth Wednesday of each month, would be open to the public, said Trustee Bill Skomrock in a phone conversation Feb. 5.

“They can’t do it all at once — it would be too many people,” he said, noting Newbury doesn’t have a place where large crowds can meet. The town hall occupancy limit is posted at 48 individuals permitted at one time.

The process would take time, Boughner said in the Feb. 1 meeting.

“It’s going to be real, real time consuming, but we would like to get a general opinion from at least a majority (of residents affected), if (trustees) are okay with us going through this,” he said, asking trustees to let the commission know if the board considers it a good idea.

Zoning commission Chair Jerry Hudak said the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office told him it is okay to hold an open meeting and still limit the number of individuals addressing the commission.

Trustee Glen Quigley said he is okay with the meetings as long as they are open to the public and the commission can limit who speaks at a meeting.

“I’m skeptical about inviting a handful of people in to have a discussion about anything,” he said. “I don’t want anything coming back on us.”

Quigley also said people purchase their residential property knowing adjacent parcels are zoned a certain way and should be protected as such.

Boughner said most of the properties on Kinsman east and west of Munnberry Oval already are zoned commercial.

“It’s an issue of practicality,” he said, adding the zoning as it stands is stifling growth.

Skomrock agreed.

“We need to work together. Newbury has been stagnant a long time,” he said.

“I’m all for change if there is a good plan,” Quigley added.

Historically, township officials believed zoning properties along Kinsman as professional office would attract a different kind of

“I understand it’s already in motion and that ship somewhat sailed of us being able to start out fresh,” he added.

Spidalieri said he always had concerns about the square, along with traffic issues, which he said have increased as the city has continued to grow.

“If we were in the 1920s with a couple of horses and buggies going around, it might’ve been good,” he said. “Parking is always a challenge and I think this is only going to add that much more to it. You’ve only got so much space to work with.”

Spidalieri added there was a lot of emotion, rather than sense, that went into the decision.

The county would probably have been better off looking at its options to build on other properties it owns, he said.

“(It would have been better) to be able to have set this project up so that a hundred years from now, people would look back and say we made a good decision,” Spidalieri said. “Not something that we just basically took emotional positioning on. I’m going to go along with this because I get that this is what the road of movement is towards. But if I had to give you my honest opinion, I think that we are making a mistake.”

Commissioners are expected to make a decision on a company within the next couple of weeks.

construction and use, but that has not come to pass. Skomrock said it’s a case of “build it and they will come” not working out.

The commission is looking at about 20 parcels at six locations.

The majority are situated at the intersection of Sperry and Kinsman roads. During a phone call Feb. 6, Hudak estimated there are five parcels on the southwest corner, four on the northwest corner and three on the northeast corner of the intersection being considered for change to commercial zoning.

Zoned for professional office use, the brick building on the northwest corner of Munnberry and Kinsman was built and abandoned by All Erect Crane and has been empty for years. Recently, the 6-acre parcel was bought by AB Dragon and the Chardon business may use it to raise live insects to sell to owners of bearded dragons and other reptiles, Skomrock said Feb. 5.

As such, the property qualifies for an agricultural exemption and zoning would not apply, he said.

Hudak said there are four parcels on the northeast corner of Kinsman and Munnberry that could be changed to commercial use.

There are also two parcels on the west side of Auburn Road across from the former Newbury Schools property that are still zoned professional office and could be rezoned commercial, Hudak said.

When the lengthy process of meeting with adjacent property owners is completed, the commission will submit its plan to the Geauga County Planning Commission, which will critique it and make recommendations, he said.

A public hearing will be held by the commission, which may choose to abide by those recommendations, and a resolution will be voted upon, Hudak said.

The resolution will be sent on to the trustees, who will hold a public hearing on the resolution and then vote on it, he said.

The next zoning commission meeting is Feb. 22 unless otherwise advertised.

ANN WISHART/KMG

The former Sports Haven driving range at Kinsman and Sperry roads may be rezoned to commercial later this year.

Chardon Schools to Honor Lunchroom Heroes

By Amy PAtterson Amy@kArlovecmediA com

Chardon Schools plans to honor Park Elementary School cafeteria monitor Kristy Holbert for her lifesaving actions in the lunchroom Jan. 24.

A student began showing signs of distress while eating their lunch, when Holbert’s emergency training kicked in.

“Kristy responded to the student swiftly and professionally, administering the Heimlich maneuver with complete success,” Superintendent Mike Hanlon said in a statement. “Her confident and responsive application of departmental emergency training made an invaluable difference in this student’s life that day.”

Holbert, who has worked in the Chardon Schools food service department for four years, will be honored at the Feb. 21 Chardon Schools Board of Education meeting, Hanlon said.

Park Elementary third-grader James Ghobrial also took quick action in alerting Holbert the student was possibly choking.

“For James’ excellence in response time and seeking help from a staff member, he, too, will be recognized at the Feb. 21 board meeting,” Hanlon said.

Emergency response training for food service staff is organized by Josephine Culliton, the district food service director, and

Viewpoint

Chardon Dispatchers are Lifeline of Police, Residents,Visitors and Businesses

By tim snyder Burton toWnshiP

I attended the City of Chardon Safety Committee meeting on Jan. 31, 2023, at which City Manager Randy Sharpe and Police Chief Scott Niehus recommended the closing of the Chardon Police Dispatch.

I have been a Chardon Police Officer for 32 years and I offer the following thoughts.

SUBMITTED

Park Elementary School cafeteria monitor

Kristy Holbert, left, and third-grader James Ghobrial will be honored by the Chardon Schools Board of Education at their regular meeting Feb. 21 for intervening when a student showed signs of choking Jan. 24. Ghobrial alerted Holbert, who successfully administered the Heimlich maneuver.

conducted onsite by University Hospitals.

The department’s next UH emergency response training is scheduled for Feb. 17, according to the district.

“I commend (Holbert) for her excellence and courage, demonstrating a commitment to our highest priority – the safety and wellness of Hilltoppers,” Hanlon said.

Claridon Township Estimate for Taylor Wells Paving Up $300k Over 2022

By Ann WishArt Ann@kArlovecmediA com

Claridon Township Trustee

Jonathan

Tiber said he was shocked to learn the estimate for paving Taylor Wells Road increased since 2022 from about $1 million to $1.4 million.

Even with the Ohio Public Works Commission grant of $300,000, trustees would have to come up with about $975,000 if the bids are that high, he said during the trustees meeting Feb. 6, adding the engineer’s office is confirming final details.

A small part of the road is in Hambden Township and the estimate for the work on that stretch is about $110,000, which won’t reduce the $975,000 Claridon may have to pay, Tiber said in a later conversation.

Trustee Roger Miller said he recently received the estimate from the Geauga County Engineer’s Office and was also dismayed at the increase.

“In the last year, it went up $200,000,” he said, attributing it to the rising cost of materials and labor.

For several years, the township has prepared to widen the four-mile-long road by six inches on each side. The township contracted to move ditches and driveway culverts back, replace cross culverts and widen the berms.

The plan was to repave Taylor Wells in 2022, but almost a year ago, Miller learned the engineer’s office would not design the final paving until the township had its OPWC funds in hand and the funds were not going to be dispersed by the state until

July, causing the project to be delayed until spring of 2023.

Some of the road’s 70-plus residents protested the delay at a meeting a year ago.

At Monday’s meeting, Fiscal Officer Paula Hietanen said the estimate in 2022 went up to $1 million from the year before, when it was $900,000.

“We have to pay – we don’t have a choice,” she said. “I can only approve $750,000. We literally have nothing left in the road and bridge (fund).”

Hietanen said she expected $300,000 from the OPWC and the township’s share would have been $700,000 per last year’s budget.

Tiber said the purchase of an excavator may have to wait.

After the meeting, he said the engineer’s office traditionally estimates projects on the high side and the bids may not come in that high.

“It’s too early to panic,” he said. “If it actually comes in at $1.3 million, we promised the residents we would do it. We have to. Other things have to suffer.”

Any additional expense for Taylor Wells may have to come out of the general fund since the township voters have not passed a road levy in 30 years, Tiber said.

“Roads and bridges are just sucking us dry. There’s nothing left to cut,” he said.

Township officials are planning to put the paving project out to bid as soon as possible, hoping the paving companies are especially competitive in the early part of the year, Tiber said.

Bid opening is set for March 10, he said.

Their recommendation lacked any concern for Chardon Police officers. Dispatch is the police officer’s lifeline. With all due respect to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center, Chardon will not receive the same efficient and effective dispatching service from the GCSO.

The failure of City Manager Sharpe and Chief Niehus to even mention the impact on road officers of the Chardon Police tells you where the concerns are. Cost matters, safety of officers does not.

The Chief, City Manager and Committee Chair Heather Means stated they met with other departments who had closed their own dispatch. No police chief would publicly denounce a major operational change his bosses had implemented. A chief would never say, ‘yes, our service to the public has suffered greatly since we closed our dispatch.’ Giving significant credence to interviews with other chiefs lacks critical analysis.

The Chief and City Manager also astonishingly failed to mention the impact on the public. Again, cost was their only concern. There is a high price on public safety, but the Chief and Manager think the cost of safety is too high.

The Chief and Manager compared Chardon to Bainbridge and Chester. There is only one city in Geauga County; Chardon is unique and its residents, businesses and visitors deserve the best services. No honest analysis will conclude that outside dispatching is as good as our own dispatching.

Chair Means stated there were no detrimental impacts reported by citizens. How would citizens know the difference? Was any actual research done? Anecdotal research is flawed.

The Chardon Dispatch Center is effective because of the ties the dispatchers have to our community and the personal experience the dispatchers have with officers. The citizens of Chardon will not receive the same attention from GCSO Dispatch.

The GCSO dispatches for eight police departments plus Geauga Parks and sometimes for the Holden Arboretum. GCSO also dispatches for 14 fire departments as well as attending to the jail. I am not saying they cannot handle it, but where will you receive the best care? This is life and death care, do you want what is good or what is best?

Councilman Lelko rightfully called out the City Manager, who failed to know what new costs would be generated. A fair, well-reasoned discussion should include all costs, not ‘let’s get rid of dispatch and then we will figure it out.’ Once dispatch is gone, it will never return. This is a decision that will impact safety in the City of Chardon, forever.

The anticipated growth of the City of Chardon makes the entire discussion of eliminating dispatch quizzical. The City Manager and Chief are basing this decision on current

calls for service, yet, if we were talking about the state of the city it would describe anticipated growth. I heard no discussion of how the growth of the city would impact calls for service and the need for dispatch services.

The Meadowlands and Fifth Avenue commercial areas have plenty of room for economic growth. The former county offices and De Nora Tech properties are prime for redevelopment. The Redwood and Thistle Creek developments are bringing hundreds more residents.

The Chief and City Manager mentioned staffing difficulties as a reason to close dispatch. Every industry is having difficulties with staffing right now. I would love to have a job where, if I was having difficulty with one aspect of my job, I could just eliminate it. If staffing is a problem, it is the job of management to find a solution. If that ‘solution’ is to eliminate dispatch and cost is the big issue, I would expect that the City Manager and Chief of Police will accept decreases in pay because they no longer oversee Chardon Dispatch.

The job of management is to provide employees with the tools necessary to perform their jobs to the highest level. Having our own dispatch allows Chardon Police officers to perform at our best.

One of the most frustrating experiences of a road officer is to have an emergency and have to wait because others are using the channel. Twenty-four other agencies will simultaneously serve the public through GCSO dispatch. I have, on rare occasion, experienced this frustration working for Chardon PD and we have a dedicated dispatch and channel. This frustration will greatly increase if dispatch services are from the GCSO; my main concern is safety of the public, not my frustration.

Chardon City Council should not approve this change without a written commitment from Sheriff Hildenbrand that CPD will have its own dedicated channel. Otherwise, Council is turning its back on the members of the Chardon Police Department and the Chardon community.

Prior discussions against closing the Chardon Dispatch Center included being the back-up for GCSO Dispatch. Sheriff Hildenbrand stated he cannot currently use Chardon Dispatch as a back-up because of outdated equipment. Sheriff Hildenbrand stated he would again use Chardon Dispatch as back-up if the dispatch center was up to standards. I believe Sheriff Hildenbrand would prefer Chardon PD as his dispatch back-up rather than Lake County, but that would require a firm commitment by the City of Chardon to maintain a properly equipped and functioning dispatch center.

One of my proudest moments as a Chardon Police officer was a couple of years ago during the Chardon High School Football/Blue Line Flag incident. The outpouring of support for law enforcement was an experience I will never forget. For years I have told people that “Chardon loves its police officers.”

At the Chardon City Council meeting on Feb. 9, I hope that love extends to the Chardon Dispatchers, who are not only the lifeline of police officers, but also the lifeline of Chardon residents, visitors, businesses and hub for all city services.

Liang Shares Plans for International School in Thompson

By BriAn doering BriAn@kArlovecmediA com

Plans for the old Ledgemont Schools property were revealed during the Geauga Growth Partnership, Kent State University – Geauga and Leadership Geauga “State of the County” breakfast Feb. 3 at Berkshire Schools’ campus in Burton.

Over breakfast, Lucie Liang, representing Global Connections Academy, filled local business and community members in on plans for the former Ledgemont Elementary School building, which she purchased at auction in 2021.

“Fast-forward and we are establishing a new school at the same location under the name Global Connection Academy,” Liang said. “Also at the same time, we are renaming the building Geauga Innovation Center.”

Plans include a K-12 private school offering immersive global exchange experiences for both local and international students, as well as a daycare for ages 3 to 5 that focuses on “unplugged play” to foster critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills at a young age.

There are also plans for adult learning, Liang said, as well as business incubators.

“The ultimate goal of education is to inspire students to find their intrinsic motivations and help them turn their passion into decisive life advantages,” she said.

Liang, originally from China, touted her heritage as a key to her ability to recruit and house international students. In her previous corporate work, Liang said she worked in global sourcing.

“I worked with suppliers all over the world. Even though I might be new in the realm of education, I do see a certain part of my skills can be transferable as a supply chain person,” she said. “If we run a good school, I hope that appeal will be there for all students looking for a quality American education.”

Liang said with tuition coming from international students, her hopes are the school will make education accessible and affordable to local students with a goal to keep tuition for area students under $5,000 per year.

“Einstein said imagination is more powerful, more important than knowledge,” Liang said. “We want to make it affordable to local students.”

Letters to the Editor

Inappropriate Production

I read the script to “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Mandi Matchinga is reportedly confused about what exactly is inappropriate about the show. $1700 worth of taxpayers’ money could have gone to a play with a story line, character development and something to think about.

Instead, this play appears to be a platform for showcasing, as evidenced from quotes from the play:

“Miss Logainne . . . is head of the Gay-Straight Alliance at her elementary school.”

“It will ruin your complexion all because of my unfortunate erection.”

“That’s so retarded.”

“We hate losers which is why we discipline. God hates losers because losers do not know how to win.”

“Jesus Christ, what about me?”

Carl Dad and Dan Dad, the gay parents of Schwarzy: “I’m so stressed by my stress, I just want to up and vomit.”

Jesus appears on the stage of this spelling bee: “Dear Jesus.” “Praise Jesus.” Commentary on Pope Benedict, and finally, to top the references and appearance of Jesus, a reference to our country: “I hope you still love me, America. America, I gave it my best try. But if you still don’t love me, America, I understand why. You hate losers. So do I. I’m a loser, so goodbye.”

Nice take on America, Mandi. Maybe Ms. Allen and Ms. Matchinga should search for a play that features Allah or Mohammed, but maybe not on taxpayers’ dime and maybe because the consequences would much harsher than just disappointed students.

Elizabeth Moll Hambden Township

She said the school will be launching a few programs. — including an automotive program and book club — and people are excited and already asking when the program will begin.

“We are going to convert a bus garage into an automotive workshop,” Liang said. “The pressure is on me because our bus garage is full. I need to leave it empty.”

Liang added the school’s pre-kindergarten program is already up and running.

“We are thinking that the focus will be building (kindergarten to grade) two first because now we can ensure those young children have a place to move up to,” she said. “We can ensure that continuity.”

Liang said she has been humbled and overwhelmed to see the school receive so

much support and help from the community.

“We’re so grateful,” she said, adding she hopes the school will bring people together.

“This is a place for each of us to discover what we have inside — because that’s where the real wealth is located,” Liang said.

The breakfast featured a period for networking and included short talks from other Geauga business owners, including Bob Rogish, of Rogish Farm in Chester Township; Michelle Maneage, program director at Doors of Hope Geauga; Jennifer Jones, of the Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District; Jake Kouwe, leader of the nationally known Chardon Polka Band and owner of Chip’s Clubhouse; Felicia Timas, owner of His Daughter retail shop and Candice Zinner, owner of Salty-Salt Cave in Chardon.

BRIAN DOERING/KMG

Lucie Liang, of Global Connections Academy, shared plans for the former Ledgemont Elementary School property during a “State of the County” breakfast Feb. 3 at the new all-grade Berkshire Schools campus in Burton.

Chardon Bakery Brings

Creative Twist to Desserts

By Allison Wilson editor@kArlovecmediA com

While Chardon boasts several mom-andpop businesses and continues to grow its local base, it has been missing one key ingredient — a proper bakery.

But Kevin Keough aimed to change that, recently opening Kevin is Always Mixing on Cherry Avenue, which sells traditional baked goods, such as pies, muffins and cookies; as well as popular signature artisan dessert jars, Keough’s main staple.

The jars are glass, come in two sizes — 8 and 16 ounces — and offer a variety of fillings and flavors, the ingredients of which Keough emphasized are fresh.

“It’s not your typical graham cracker cheesecake type of a deal. We mix it up,” Keough said, explaining what goes into the jars. Each contains a pie, cake or cheesecake mousse filling, along with freshly-made whipped cream and a crust made from sweet ingredients like Oreos or animal crackers.

Some of Keough’s creations are showcased on the bakery’s website, displaying flavors such as peanut butter pie, peach mousse, pineapple upside-down cake and pumpkin cheesecake mousse.

“I started doing traditional desserts years ago,” he said. “And one night, for whatever reason, it popped in my head, ‘What if we put this in a glass jar and made the serving easy.’”

He found the alteration aided in both the serving and storing of his desserts.

Keough’s motivation for using glass jars was environmental sustainability.

“My daughter and wife pushed for it,” he said. “They said, ‘If we’re gonna do this, we’re doing recyclable glass, we’re not doing plastic jars.’ So we’ve stayed true to that commitment.”

Keough’s wife, Stephanie, and daughter, Hannah, both work in the shop, his wife joining him on weekends and his daughter when she is home from college.

“It’s my creation, but it came to be because of them, too,” Keough said.

Hailing from the Burton area, Keough ended up opening a bakery in Chardon primarily by chance. After multiple years of catering, enough demand grew to warrant having a physical location, he said, adding a bakery requires a commercial kitchen and there was a spot in Chardon that matched his needs.

Keough, whose day job is in sales, was a hobby baker for many years before entering the profession.

“If I went to a bakery and it wasn’t good, I was so disappointed,” he recalled. “So, I just decided to kind of figure out my own. And then I liked it and could eat it, and that’s how it got to be. And so for years, we just tried to perfect a few things and here we are.”

The bakery, which held its grand opening Nov. 10, currently offers 30 flavors, with seasonal ones rotated out about every six weeks. Keough describes the process of coming up with new flavors as a matter of suggestion, trial and error.

“It’s conversations with people,” Keough said. “(They) talk about, ‘why don’t you think about doing this,’ or ‘what about a white chocolate called snowball silk,’ stuff like that, and then all of a sudden a couple of days later, it just pops.”

For Keough, baking taps into his creative mind.

“You can do whatever you want. It’s like art,” he said. “You come in and throw paint on the wall and see if it looks good.”

Even with the bakery open, Keough is still doing catering and special orders, and welcomes people to reach out to him for events.

Kevin is Always Mixing, at 106 Cherry Ave., is currently open Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., though they are looking to expand to more days in the future.

Their menu is available on the business’s Facebook page and they can be contacted via their website, www.kevinisalwaysmixing. com.

SUBMITTED

Kevin is Always Mixing recently held a ribbon cutting for its grand opening on Cherry Street in Chardon. Pictured, from left, are Chardon City Council members Kyle Martin and Heather Means; Mayor Chris Grau; Stephanie Keough; council member Dave Lelko; owner Kevin Keough; Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce board member Ryan Kalcher and Chardon City Manager Randy Sharpe.

S P O R T S

Hilltoppers Seniors Speed Past Rebels, Win 6

By AlAn kornsPAn sPorts@kArlovecmediA com

In this era of sport specialization, it is refreshing to see athletes play multiple sports.

Three of Chardon’s multiple sport athletes — seniors Trey Liebhardt, Ethan Faber and Noah Gerlica — led the Chardon boy’s basketball team to a victory Feb. 3 over Willoughby South, 62-48.

Liebhardt, fresh off committing to play football at Central Michigan University next fall, led the Hilltoppers with 21 points, while fellow seniors Ethan Faber and Noah Gerlica chipped in 11 each.

“It was a hard-fought game. They’re a good team,” Liebhardt said. “When they get hot, they get going. But, you know, we just played really good basketball, and I think they just couldn’t keep up with us for four quarters. That’s credit to our conditioning.”

Added Faber, “We just played really hard defensively.”

For the Hilltoppers, speed and endurance is the name of the game, and it starts with Liebhardt and Faber.

This is not surprising, since Liebhardt is a two-time state champion football player who played defensive back and wide receiver, and Faber was a centerfielder for the Hilltoppers 2022 state championship baseball team.

“Our offense has to be built on driving (to the hoop),” Faber said.

The speed and agility Liebhardt and Faber possess from training in multiple sports for many years allows them to make quick penetrating drives to the hoop and keep their opponents off balance.

In addition, as the defense tries to keep them from getting to the rim, they are excellent at kicking the ball out to teammates for open 3-point shot attempts.

“We’ve got three great shooters in Trey, Noah and Sammy,” Faber said. “We just drive, kick (the basketball outside), and it works out fine.

“The thing about our team (is) all five of our starters can go and score, and tonight Trey put up big numbers and he helped us out to get the win.”

In leading the Hilltoppers to victory, Li-

ebhardt, like the rest of his team, displayed excellent shooting from the field and at the free throw line. Seven 3-pointers were made, including three by Liebhardt, and were nine of 10 from the line.

Liebhardt led the way in the first quarter as he drained two, three-pointers.

After the Rebels took a 13-11 lead to start the game, Chardon outscored the Rebels 1715 in the second quarter.

With a 30-28 lead at halftime, coach Murawski told his team to keep using its speed and quickness to gain an advantage. He also told his Toppers to stay focused on rebounding and to play their game.

“We played hard, and we played well,” Murawski said. “We just needed to keep pushing the pace, keep rebounding, keep executing on offense.”

After halftime, both teams started slowly as Chardon went up, 35-32, midway through the third quarter.

However, the Hilltoppers kicked up the intensity in the final four minutes of the third quarter to go on a 14-4 run. Liebhardt scored 10 and Gerlica scored seven in the third to take a 49-36 lead into the fourth.

In addition to excellent offensive play, coach Murawski also attributed the team’s success to its great defensive effort.

“Our defensive effort really got after it, and I am proud of them,” Murawski said. “Our defensive effort was there, and that translated to offensive success for us.”

Also contributing to Chardon’s scoring were Sammy Sulka and Andrew Bruce with eight points each and Dylan Fletcher with three points.

With the win, their sixth in a row, the Hilltoppers moved to 12-4 on the season, and would go for seven in a row Feb. 7 against Eastlake North.

ALAN KORNSPAN/KMG

Trey Liebhardt scored a game-high 21 points as Chardon beat South, 62-48. Liebhardt has committed to playing football at Central Michigan next fall. With the win, their sixth in a row, the Hilltoppers moved to 12-4 on the season.

Hilltoppers Ride to The Finish with Noerr

By hAley AdAms sPorts@kArlovecmediA com

Chardon came into the Feb. 1 game having won six of its last seven, including three conference opponents who took their first contests against the Hilltoppers.

The Hilltoppers and Rangers first met Dec. 21, when Eastlake North’s senior point guard Kailey Minch recorded 31 points. The Rangers defense shut down leading Chardon scorer Emily Noerr and came away victorious, 66-62.

But this time would be different, as Chardon picked up its sixth conference win on the season, 69-63.

“Throughout the season we have gotten better at passing the ball, and being patient on offense,” said senior forward Anna Landies. “We came into the game in second gear; we wanted to get them.”

Rangers freshman Kaitlin Dobida got things started with a three at the top of the perimeter, giving the first points of the game to the visitors. Then Chardon senior guard Julianne Sweet got the home team on the

board with an easy layup under the basket one minute into the contest.

Shortly after Sweet’s layup, Noerr jumped the passing lane and scored her first points of the game. Minch would find sophomore Alex Hamilton down low, retaking the lead.

The teams were so evenly matched coming into the contest, one game separating their standings in the Western Reserve Conference. At the end of the first quarter, the Rangers held a four-point lead, 16-12.

“Before the game, we talked about how every possession matters, and to beat a team like Eastlake, we have to play four quarters and not take a quarter off,” Chardon Head

See Noerr • Page 14

BILL FUGATE/KMG

Sweet Revenge. Emily Noerr claps in the fourth quarter. Her 35 points lifted the Hilltoppers over rival North 69-63. Chardon had lost to North earlier in the season. The win marks the sixth straight Western Reserve Conference victory for the Hilltoppers.

Huskies Put Bite on Red Devils in CVC Action

By rich kelly sPorts@kArlovecmediA com

As cold as Northeast Ohio was on Friday night, Cardinal Huskies post player Paul Gall applied a huge amount of heat to anything the Crestwood Red Devils tried to get done near the basket, thwarting several scoring chances.

His efforts of blocking and rebounding sparked the Huskies’ early lead, which they never gave up, winning 57-48 in Chagrin Valley Conference action.

After Dekota Johnson took a fast pass from Augie Schweickert for the game’s first points, with just under two minutes off the clock, a Gall put-back tied the score and ignited a 16-0 run for the Huskies. It was not the most artistic of point splurges, but still efficient, establishing a lead that looked rock solid in the moment.

A Charlie Schweickert 3-pointer and a bucket and free throw from Johnson closed out the first quarter for Crestwood to momentarily stop the bleeding.

But with Gall shutting down the inside attempts to score, and his teammates scoring just enough to keep the lead, which reached double digits at halftime, Cardinal withstood a late fourth-period rally that cut their lead to 51-47 with just three minutes to play.

Then Gall again took over the boards, and teammate Ethan Detweiler hit some clutch free throws to seal the verdict.

“We just lost a double-overtime game a couple nights ago to Kirtland,” Gall said. “That was a really tough loss to take. We played very hard and should really have won that game, but we made a couple big mistakes at the wrong times.

“Tonight we played really hard again, which we need to do in every game. We play the same way all the time: as hard as we can.

It’s just a matter of taking it one game at a time instead of looking too far ahead, but we play in a tough conference.”

Gall recorded 15 points to go with 17 rebounds, including six offensive. Three ended in put-back baskets, and as the Red Devils attacked to get back in the game, Gall seemed to be in the way most of the night as well. He blocked four shots, and his presence altered the shot selections of several Crestwood athletes.

Cardinal’s Jake Bean scored six in a hurry in that early spurt on his way to a 14-point, nine-rebound evening, while Detweiler added 10 points, including a six-of-six effort from the

charity stripe. Those hoops were of the clutch variety as well; two came with 45 ticks left in the third period to push the Cardinal lead back to 42-33, and another pair came with just under a minute left in the game as the Huskies (10-8, 7-2 in CVC) closed out strong.

“We didn’t play our best game tonight,”

Cardinal Head Coach Jon Cummins said. “We had some issues with Kirtland because they really put pressure on you all night long. Crestwood did the same tonight after we got that big lead early. They made us start to think a little too much about what we wanted to do.

At halftime, a couple of the kids suggested we

just try to pound the ball inside to Paul more often, and in the fourth period we finally were able to get it done. They gave us some different wrinkles to deal with, but we made adjustments as we needed to to get the win.”

Though it wasn’t pretty, Gall’s efficiency controlling the paint, Bean’s baskets and boards, and Detweiler’s late free-throw shooting prevented the Huskies from enduring another tough loss. A 39-18 edge on the boards shows how much control Cardinal had when they needed it, and a determined group of Red Devils made sure the Huskies knew they needed to take control.

Lions’ Wheatley Closing in on 100 Victories, Ranked 7th in State

By AlAn kornsPAn sPorts@kArlovecmediA com

Bryce Wheatley finished last year with a great run that took him to the OHSAA state wrestling tournament.

At the 175-pound mark last season, Wheatley was the first NDCL wrestler to qualify for the state tournament since 2010.

Now Wheatley looks to return to states this year in the 190-pound weight class, and is currently ranked seventh in the state with a 33-3 record this year.

Wheatley continued his great season, and reached 33-3, Feb. 2 in a tri-match with Central Catholic and Geneva.

In his first match against Cleveland Central Catholic, Wheatley obtained a forfeit. In his second bout against Geneva, Wheatley got a first-period pin.

Wheatley was on the offensive from the start of the match, looking to end it quickly.

“My whole game plan coming in was to be on offense, and it ended up working out,” he said. “I ended up taking him down, got behind him, and then was looking to turn him.”

Wheatley ended the match on a Blair ride move: he pinned the opponent facing the opposite direction of the opponent while on his stomach and holding both of his opponents’ elbows to the mat with a double-arm bar.

With his opposite hand, Wheatley held down the opponent’s foot.

It was an amazing pin to view from one of

the state’s best wrestlers.

“I wasn’t able to turn him the first time I wanted to,” Wheatley said. “And then ended up getting him in my Blair ride, and I was able to run my Blair ride over — went to double elbows, and from there I was able to sit through and stick him.”

NDCL Head Wrestling Coach Michael Fleeman discussed about the excellent match against Geneva.

“Bryce had the right mindset today,” he

ALAN KORNSPAN/KMG

said. “He wrestled smart, he wrestled hard, and he ended up catching the kid and picked up the pin there in the first.”

And as Wheatley continues to rack up the victories, he is also approaching a major milestone: “that big 100-win mark,” as his coach called it.

“That will definitely be a milestone especially as a junior achieving that,” Fleeman said. “If everything goes right, he is going to hit that one right before sectionals. We’re re-

ally excited about it.”

In addition to Wheatley obtaining victory in the tri-match, other winning matches for the Lions included Greg Bores, Tucker Pason, Ryan Reginelli and Andreas Reider. Reider talked about his performance during his final bout of the tri-match.

“We started off a little slow on my second match,” he said. “He took me down, I ended up rolling him over, and ended up getting him in a headlock, and then I pinned him.

“Overall, I am really happy with what I did today.”

The Lions would return to the mat next Feb. 9 with a tri-match against Independence and St. Ignatius.

BILL FUGATE/KMG

Cardinal’s Paul Gall grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 15 points against the Crestwood Red Devils.

NDCL’s Ryan Reginelli wins his match against Cleveland Central Catholic. Reginelli also won his match against Geneva in the tri-match at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.

Noerr

from page 12

Coach Erik Hoenigman said.

Thanks to a big-time three by Abby Zeiger, Chardon created a 9-0 run from the end of the first quarter to the start of the second, and led 16-15. Minch dished out another assist to junior Cami Welty after she went to the line for an and-one opportunity. It was a missed free throw, but the Rangers had taken back the lead, 18-15.

Coaches Hoenigman and Paul Force, in his 15th year, corralled their teams and adjusted their game plans when players got into foul trouble. Back and forth the two teams would go, walking 84 feet to the free throw line. A five-point lead for the visiting Rangers would have the Hilltoppers scratching their heads to come up with some adjustments.

Out of halftime, junior Nicole Krakora knocked down a three out of the half, pulling the Hilltoppers within one. An answer from Minch, and the lead would extend back to four. Another three from Noerr, and the Hilltoppers were within one point.

“Personally for me, I like to drive the ball,” said Noerr on her team’s second-half adjustments. “I knew the first half, my shots weren’t falling, but in the second half my shot selection was better, and I kept taking it to the hoop. As they started collapsing, I tried to get the ball to Nicole. She’s a great threepoint shooter.”

With five minutes remaining in the quarter, as his team’s lead vanished to just three, Hoenigman called a timeout.

But by the end of the third quarter, 13 points by Noerr, including two threes, had extended her team’s lead to seven.

In fact, in the third, the Hilltoppers outscored their opponents 22-12.

“Emily played a great game,” Hoenigman said. “She involved her teammates and made the right basketball play over and over, and was clearly the best player on the floor that night. Emily turned up her defense and continued to bring the pressure we have been waiting for, since she is finally making it back from a tough season of injuries. Our team fed off of her, and she kept everyone in the game

Geauga Sheriff’s Report

The following is a sampling of the calls handled by the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2023.

CITIZEN ASSIST

Jan. 31

1:49 p.m., Sherman Road, Munson. Caller is requesting a phone call about gun usage and archery usage on a property he is looking to buy in Munson. Caller has not moved out here yet but is curious about the laws within the township. Advice given.

Feb. 2

7:19 a.m., Leggett Road, Montville. Would like to speak about possible extra patrol so his soon-to-be ex-wife and her new boyfriend do not go to the residence. He thinks they might try and break in. They are meth users. Caller had questions regarding firearm possession with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Advice given to handle property disputes in divorce court.

FRAUD

Feb. 1

and kept the composure needed to close that game out.”

On the season, Noerr is averaging just under 17 points per game. She also leads her team in assists and steals on the season.

In both contests this season against the Rangers, the Hilltoppers had entered the fourth quarter ahead. What would Coach Hoenigman’s team need to do to close out Wednesday’s game?

Take care of the basketball and close out the game with foul shots, and the Hilltoppers did just that.

As Chardon avenged its early-season loss, Noerr scored a game-high 35 points, while Krakora added 17. Zeiger added six, while Sweet and freshman Cami Gerlica added five and four, respectively.

Underclassmen such as Zeiger and Gerlica have been asked to step into big roles since the team lost senior guard Kayla Oriani to a season-ending injury.

“We had no choice but to bring on the freshmen and sophomores and throw them into the fire,” Hoenigman said. “What a great job they have done trying to adjust to the game at the varsity level and the speed of the game.

“Cami has great court awareness and is a competitor. She is fearless. Lilli Dillworth has been asked to play defense and is really beginning to understand the speed of the game. She just has the ability to always be around the ball whether it’s a rebound or a steal or a loose ball. If there is a pile of players on the floor, you will most likely find her there somehow with the ball in her hands.

“Payton Platz, Ava McDevitt, and Abby Zeiger and Lauren Jackson have demonstrated that they will be ready to help the team next year. They play hard and do whatever it takes to help the team. They all have a lot of varsity minutes and have been in many tough situations that will only get them ready for next season.”

Chardon would close out conference play Feb. 8 with a game at Mayfield, facing off against previous Head Coach Cullen Harris. The Hilltoppers took game one, 57-34. Then they close out the regular season Feb. 11 against Walsh-Jesuit.

5:35 p.m., GAR Highway, Hambden. Contact was made with complainant who advised when her accountant went to file her taxes they were alerted that someone had already filed her taxes. Complainant requested a report for documentation in order to file her taxes and send the report number to the IRS. Report number provided along with advice to utilize credit check websites for alerts on her Social Security Number.

HARASSMENT

Jan. 28

9:27 a.m., Woodin Road, Hambden. Ex-boyfriend out of Lake County is sending people explicit photos and videos of caller. Caller just got out of an abusive relationship with this male. See report. Statement given to complainant to be completed in the day.

5:37 p.m., Madison Road, Middlefield. Female would like to make a report due to being harassed. Caller states gas station clerk accused her of theft and they are telling her she is not allowed there anymore. Caller is upset the clerk accused her of stealing in front of her family. Advice given to avoid going to the gas station to avoid further issues.

LITTERING

Feb. 1

7:30 a.m., Mentor Road,, Chardon. Township service director has video of someone illegally dumping carpet rolls into township recycling bins. Summons issued to suspect’s wife. Male was not at home but was on the phone with wife when summons was issued.

SUSPICIOUS

Jan. 30

5:22 p.m., Stone Road, Newbury. There is an estate, person past, his girlfriend was living at the home and there are weapons missing. Caller believes there are six guns missing. Caller in lobby. Report taken.

Feb. 2

2:07 p.m., Kinsman Road, Newbury. This morning while trying to set up some kind of sale, caller found drug paraphernalia sewn into the airbags of his 2015 Chevy 2500. Caller hesitant to provide details; he was also paranoid. Caller called back and requested the deputy who responds not be wearing a uniform. Caller had work completed on his truck in Streetsboro and believes the mechanic put “something” in his truck. Male referred to Streetsboro PD since incident occurred in their jurisdiction.

THEFT

Jan. 29

9:43 a.m., Greentree Lane, Troy. Theft of black 2021 Karavan utility trailer with Arizona plate from Troy Oaks overflow parking lot. Report taken.

Feb. 1

10:17 p.m., South Springdale Avenue, Middlefield. Male ran out of the store with a cart full of merchandise. White male with black Carhart jacket with a hat. The first male ran to the car, unknown vehicle or description. No further information available at this time.

THEATENING

Jan. 31

8:25 a.m., Leggett Road, Montville. Caller states another male is texting his wife and threatening his wife. Caller states his wife is scared about these texts and he’s worried it may escalate. Caller states the male lives in Madison and has a record. Caller wants it documented in case the male comes to their home. Caller did not know what the threats were yet. Caller advised to call when he gets home if they want to pursue incident further. Caller also given advice on obtaining a civil protection order.

Feb. 2

Threatening message received at Cardinal Schools regarding a play that was going to be canceled by the school board. High school staff already has contacted Middlefield Police Department to report incident. Complainant has not received any threatening messages herself and does not know who would have made the telephone call to the school. Complainant would like extra patrol at her residence and will contact GCSO if anyone shows up at her residence that was not invited. Deputy gave his business card and advised complainant to contact him if she has anymore problems. Complainant advised extra patrol would be given to her residence.

5:10 p.m., Dianne Drive, Newbury. Threatening/hate crimes, racial. Deputy advised. Complainant advised her daughter was being threatened by other children at West Geauga Middle School via Snapchat. Upon investigation it was determined the event is an ongoing issue with one of the boys involved. West G school resource officer will be notified and advice given to block the boys’ Snapchat. See additional report.

BILL FUGATE/KMG

Chardon sophomore Payton Platz, left, is part of the Hilltoppers future, joined by seniors Nicole Krakora, Anna Landies and Julianne Sweet in the team’s win over North.

Savilla Young

Savilla “Elaine”

Young (nee Glessner) died Feb. 1, 2023, in Chardon Township.

She was born in Berlin, Pa., on Nov. 3, 1934, where Elaine and her sister, Yolanda, lived with their grandparents, Savilla and Garnet Hillegas, growing up.

As a young girl, Elaine took tap dance lessons at the Gene Kelly Studio of Dance in Johnstown, Pa., and Elaine and Yolanda lived in South Fork, Pa., during the school year.

In the summer, the family lived in Berlin, Pa., at their summer home (the camp), where cousins, aunts and uncles spent time, also. On the Fourth of July, for many years, there was a picnic with relatives attending from many states. Elaine had a painted horse named Nick.

When Elaine and Yolanda reached high school age, there were two local high schools from which to choose. Elaine chose Adams-Township High School, where she served as class vice-president and head majorette. Her sister, Yolanda, chose South Fork-Croyle High School, where she, too, was head majorette. Elaine graduated in 1952 and worked as a bank teller for two years.

She began dating the “boy next door,” William “Joe” Young, and they married in early 1954, in Ohio. Joe and Elaine raised five children. She returned to banking at Security Federal in Chardon as a teller, and later rose to a loan officer, retiring in 1983.

Elaine and her friend Dee opened “Corner Crafts” on Main Street in Chardon, for five years, where craft supplies could be purchased, and painting lessons were given.

Elaine always loved to sew and read. One of Elaine’s most enjoyed games was Pinochle. She played Pinochle with a group of friends for 40 years! After the card club ended, Elaine played Pinochle with her niece Shelly and cousins Edna and Kim.

Elaine was a Cleveland sports fan, watching the Guardians, Cavs and Browns. She and her son-in-law Chuck would do a review of the games afterwards.

For the last 13 years, Elaine has been a member of “In Stiches.” This is a wonderful group of women who meet on Thursdays at Chardon United Methodist Church to sew, knit, quilt and have fellowship while creating baby hats, teddy bears, lap quilts, walker bags, scarves, dresses and shorts as a church mission project.

The latest project completed over 100 pairs of shorts and 100 dresses for an orphanage in Africa. The shorts and dresses will be hand delivered in February. Elaine enjoyed and looked forward to Thursdays with these talented ladies.

She surprised her grandchildren with hand-sewn quilts and her children with quilted Christmas tree skirts.

Elaine was most proud of her five children and 10 grandchildren. She always said how lucky she was. She and Joe were married for 56 years, prior to his death. She was the loving mother of Holly (Chuck) Boros, Michael (Cindy) Young, Eric (Carla) Young, Carol (Ken) Pritt and Wendy (Doug) Daugherty.

She was a loving grandmother to Linda (Charlie) Kroger, Michelle (Frank) Rihtar, Michael Paul Young, Kyle Young, Megan (Josh) Cassidy, Brad Young, Nicholas (Jessica) Giardina, Matthew (Jessica) Giardina, Danielle

Obituaries

(Bryan) Briggs, Katie (Sean) Redinger; and great-grandchildren, Emily, Daphne, Ben, Bennett, Lauryn, and Olivia.

Elaine is survived by her sister, Yolanda (Richard) Dunmire; nieces, Shelly (Ray) Yeager, Renna (Bill) Cargo; nephew, Robert Dunmire; and great-nieces and great-nephews. She also leaves her cousins Wayne, Sally, Kenny, and Gene; and her lifelong friend of 70 years, Pat Pfouts.

Elaine was preceded in death by her grandparents, Savilla and Garnet Hillegas; parents, Hazel Simmons and Clarence Glessner; husband, Joe; and oldest son Michael.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, from 4-7 p.m., at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon, followed by a memorial service at 7 p.m., at the funeral home. A private family burial will be at Hambden Cemetery at a later date.

The family suggests donations to “In Stitches,” c/o Chardon United Methodist Church, 515 North St., Chardon, OH 44024; or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 17876 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, OH 44410.

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

John Phillip Grantham II

John Phillip Grantham II, age 65, of Huntsburg Township, died Feb. 5, 2023, peacefully surrounded by his loving family.

Born in Cleveland on Sept. 16, 1957, to John P. and Norma J. (nee Sopko) Grantham, he was a lifelong area resident.

John graduated from Chardon High School and the University of Wisconsin.

He retired as Chief of Park Operations for Lake Metroparks after 30 years with the park system.

John was an avid hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman. He loved trips to his cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, along with spending time with his grandchildren and his beloved dogs.

He is survived by his wife, Carrie (nee Pomeroy) Grantham; children, Emily (Jean Pitts) Grantham, of Hambden Township, Andy (Kalle) Grantham, of Hambden, and stepson, Tyler McCord, of Cleveland; grandchildren, Eva, Beau, Hudson and Bryce; siblings, Mike Grantham, of Leroy Township, Teresa (Dave) Grabel, of Madison, Lori (Dan) Combs, of Chardon Township, Jeff (Sherri) Grantham, of Munson Township, Matt (Tracy) Grantham, of Hambden; as well as a large extended family.

John was preceded in death by his parents.

The family will host a gathering receiving friends on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St., Chardon.

A private family burial will be held at a later date in Larned Cemetery, Chardon Township.

The family suggests donations to The Ruffed Grouse Society, www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

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

Richard Charles Harrington

Richard Charles Harrington, age 93, of Middlefield, passed away Sunday night at the Briar Cliff Assisted Living.

“Rich,” as he was known to most, was born May 18, 1929, in Chardon. His parents were Lena (nee Hofstetter) and Charles Harrington.

Rich was raised and spent his entire life in Middlefield. He graduated in 1947 from Middlefield High School and also attended Kent State University.

Rich married the love of his life, the beautiful Helen Hills, in 1950.

As a young man Rich accomplish some things not common today. He had a valid driver’s license at the age of 11 and a pilot’s license at the age of 16. His business career centered around The Middlefield Hardware . . . The Tractor Barn . . . and Harrington Square with his son, David.

He was an entrepreneur, with various real estate holdings as well.

Richard was a past member of the First Methodist Church. A Masonic Lodge member #274 in Burton, the Knights of Pythias and the Shriners.

Throughout his life, he had a love of cars, collected many and even restored a few.

He will be forever loved and missed by his wife, Helen, and their family, daughters, Paula Freitag, Ruth Ann (husband George Womack) and Vicki (husband Jerry McCalmont), and son, David (wife Becky Harrington); sister Barbra Goff; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by sister Charlene Gibbs.

Calling hours will be Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Sly Family Funeral Home, 15670 W. High St., Middlefield, from 1 p.m. until the time of a Masonic Service at 3 p.m., followed by a time of sharing by family and friends.

Memories and Condolences can be shared with the family at www.slyffh.com.

Sandra L. Wilkes

Sandra L. Wilkes, age 85, of Newbury Township, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Feb. 3, 2023.

She was born Sept. 14, 1937, to Manuel and Lucille (nee Harrod) Newsom, in Dade City, Fla. Sandra married Paul Wilkes on Jan. 18, 1957, and was a 50-plus year Newbury resident.

She loved working in the family businesses.

Most of all, Sandra enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her children, David (Tammy) Wilkes, of Newbury, and Mona (Rick) Oetting, of Boomer, N.C.; grandchildren, Brandon (Brandon Helms) Wilkes, of Fort Myers, Fla., David (Maggie Ross) Wilkes Jr., of Russell Township, and Caitlin (Jeremy) Stewart, of Newbury; and great-grandchildren, Carmen, Brantley, Kylie and Mason.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband; grandson Shawn Wilkes; and brothers, James and Donald Smith.

There will be a private burial at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery per Sandra’s request.

The family suggest donations to Cleveland City Mission, 5310 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, OH 44103.

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

Notices should be sent in writing by the funeral directors and memorial societies to: Geauga County Maple Leaf, P.O. Box 1166, Chardon, OH, 44024-5166, faxed to 440-285-2015 or emailed to editor@karlovecmedia.com. The Maple Leaf charges a flat fee of $100 per obituary or notice, including a photograph.

St. Helen

Catholic Schools Week

St. Helen School participated in Catholic Schools Week the week of Jan. 30 with several exciting events to celebrate the excellence of academics and faith that permeates throughout the school and community. Catholic Schools Week is a national celebration of Catholic education and an opportunity to reflect and celebrate all who make the schools great.

Each day had a theme and event. Sunday was the annual open house, where the parish family and greater community were invited to see all the amazing learning that has been happening at St. Helen School. Monday was student day. The students enjoyed a day in comfortable pajamas, a special movie together and no homework.

On Tuesday, the students took time to thank their community helpers. In the afternoon, they enjoyed a special visit from Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, with Sgt. Don and his team, which included some four-legged friends who help as service work dogs.

Wednesday was “Hat’s Off to Our Parents” with crazy hat or hair day. The students took time to thank their parents for the opportunity to learn and grow at St. Helen. They enjoyed an all-school game of bingo together.

NDCL

Coyote Comes Home

Wildlife expert and adventurer Coyote Peterson ‘00, host of Animal Planet’s “Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild” series and YouTube’s Brave Wilderness channel, returned to NDCL for a special Spirit Week assembly for the entire sophomore class on Jan. 30.

Science teacher Melissa Parey invited Coyote to return to his alma mater. Known as Nate Hahn at the time, Coyote was a student in Miss Parey’s environmental science class in 1998-1999.

Miss Parey originally asked Coyote to be a Zoom guest for the Animal Defenders Club that she advises. When he proposed an in-person visit to his alma mater, she jumped at the chance for him to speak to the 177 sophomores.

SUBMITTED Science teacher Melissa Parey joins former student and YouTube sensation Coyote Peterson ‘00 on the stage of the O’Brien Center during school assembly on Jan. 30.

SUBMITTED

St. Helen School students enjoy a game of bingo during Catholic Schools Week.

On Thursday the students took time to learn about various vocations and thanked the Sisters of Notre Dame for their help and example of living a consecrated life. The students gathered in the gym for line dancing in the afternoon.

The school and staff had a wonderful time celebrating St. Helen Catholic School.

Notre Dame

Coyote regaled the students with stories of his up-close and often intense interactions

with wildlife around the globe. Students lined up to ask him questions about his adventures and YouTube celebrity status.

West Geauga

SUBMITTED

Seventh-graders (l to r) Holden Lewis, Arthur Alt, Zoe Damberger and Addyson Niksa display their poster during on a math class on compound probability.

Learning About Compound Probability

Students in Mrs. O’Brien’s seventh-grade math class are learning about compound probability. Students played a game by spinning two mystery spinners. They collected data and then calculated the probability of the outcomes with theoretical probability before playing the game and experimental

probability after playing the game.

Students were then shown the real spinners and had to adjust their theoretical probability based off what the spinners really looked like. Students then had to conclude about the fairness of the game based on the outcomes of each probability. Students worked in their groups to organize and display their results on posters to share with other groups.

SUBMITTED

Students in Mrs. Frazier’s homeroom were rewarded with a special doughnut treat for being the top collectors in the West Geauga Middle School Student Council gently used-book drive.

WGHS STEM Fair

The West Geauga Science Department hosted a STEM Fair that included competitions for students to showcase their science, technology, engineering and math talents.

Individual project winners are: Grant Congdon, first place; Bryn Morgan, second place; and Will Northup, third place.

Junk Box Wars winners are: Bryn Morgan, Grant Congdon and Aidan Dondero, first place; Zack Zebrowski, Parker Ohlsen and Colin Janson, second place; Aiste Berzinskas, Samantha Arrigo and Nicole Ferrando, third place; and Aidyn Koshar, Josh Nemunaitis and John Patton, design.

Math competition winners are: Megan McGinnis, first place; Reilly Lewis, second place; and Aidan Dondero, third place.

WGMS Book Drive

The West Geauga Middle School Student Council sponsored a gently used-book drive,

in which all homerooms competed to be the top-collecting class. The event brought in 1,038 books to share with Women United of the United Way of Geauga County. Thank you to the Student Council for organizing a great event.

WG District Power of the Pen

West Geauga was among 35 middle schools that attended the district Power of the Pen competition held at University School. Representing the district were Isla Yellen, Capri Burch, Caroline Yeager, Gabby Ohlsen, Lena Wright, Janna Winningham and Aurora Pavick. The students spent the day writing stories in three timed sessions responding to creative prompts.

While West Geauga eagerly awaits the full results to learn who will move forward to the regional tournament in March, already qualifying was seventh-grader Aurora Pavick, who placed ninth overall at the competition.

The

NEOCAG Meeting

Feb. 11, 9:15 a.m.

The NorthEast Ohio Computer-Aided Genealogy Society will hold its monthly meeting online via Zoom. The meeting opens at 9:15 a.m., with the presentation beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Association of Professional Genealogists speaker Lauren Kuntzman will present “Introduction of Geneanet.”

For more information and to register, visit neocag.net or email webmaster@neocag.net.

Chardon VFW Pancake Breakfasts

Sundays, 8 a.m. to noon

Chardon VFW Post 6519 will be serving its annual pancake breakfasts every Sunday through April 2 at the post located at 752 Water St. in Chardon. Breakfast features three flavors of pancakes, French toast, eggs made to order, bacon, sausage, ham, home fries, toast and beverages. Call 440285-3699 for takeout orders.

American Legion Pancakes

Sundays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Atwood-Mauck American Legion Post 459 is serving its annual all-you-can-eat pancake, sausage and scrambled eggs breakfasts every Sunday through April 16, except for Easter, at the post located at 14052 Goodwin St. in Burton. Eat in or take out. For information, call Skip at 440-313-2095.

Genealogical Society Meets

Feb. 14, 7-9 p.m.

Genealogical researcher Susan Hill will present “Timelines” at the next meeting of the Geauga County Genealogical Society at Chardon Public Library. Join in person or on Zoom for a detailed program explaining the importance of timelines and how they are crucial for bringing order to a family’s history

Registration is required. Visit gcgsoh. org and click on Programs and Links.

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.

Farm Bureau Scholarships Available Bulletin Board

cbb@karlovecmedia.com

Chardon Toastmasters Open House

Feb. 16, 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Chardon Toastmasters will host a Valentine’s Day themed open house in the Chardon community room located at 107 South St., Suite 6. Come experience a regular Thursday night meeting and learn how to build better speaking and presentation skills.

Contact Nancy Temple at nancytemple17@gmail.com for information. A Zoom option is available.

CV Herb Society Meets

Feb. 17, 12:30 p.m.

The Chagrin Valley Herb Society will be meeting on, February 17, 2023, at the Bainbridge Branch of the Geauga County Library, 17222 Snyder Road. After a time to socialize and a snack with Louise Reiling from Auburn Pointe Greenhouse will talk about the care of houseplants and succulents.

Please consider donating, we need your contributions to complete the new garden.

Prospective members can learn about the organization at chagrinvalleyherbsociety.org or on Facebook. To make a reservation contact, chagrinvalleyherbsociety@ gmail.com.

Dog Training

Feb. 18, noon

Are you sick of your dog running away from you? We get how stressful and scary that can be! Let’s get your dog to come to you. Attend this event with local dog trainer Johanna Teresi with Four Legged Scholars LLC. Burton Library. Humans only. Register: bit.ly/burtoncome

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. Attendees may sign up for membership at the event. Visit the membership table for information on helping with the volunteer membership campaign.

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

Maple Leaf Hosts Day at Races

Feb. 19, 1 p.m.

Maple Leaf Community Residences will host A Day at the Races in the banquet hall of Church of St. Mary, 401 North St., Chardon.

Tickets are $30 per person and include lunch, unlimited betting, sideboards, 50/50 raffle and more.

For more information, visit MLCR.org or call 440-279-4444. Proceeds will benefit the Raise the Roof Fund for the continuing needs of maintaining MLCR homes.

College Information Session

Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m.

Lake/Geauga Educational Assistance Foundation (LEAF) will hold a free virtual information session, “Junior Jumpstart,” for current juniors and their families on a Google Meet.

Learn how to get a head start on the college/trade school search, the application process and what they need to do to be prepared for senior year.

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

Woodland Wednesdays

Feb. 22, 6 p.m.

Woodland Wednesdays workshops return with “Does Money Grow on Your Trees?” at Maplewood Career Center, 7075 State Route 88, Ravenna. Featured speakers will discuss some of the many factors that contribute to the economic value of woodlots. Learn about the benefits of participating in the CAUV tax reduction program along with federal financial assistance programs such as EQIP and CSP.

Collaborators include Soil and Water Conservation Districts, ODNR Division of Forestry, Holden Forests & Gardens, Ohio Farm Bureau and USDA-NRCS.

The program is free, but registration is required by emailing alerch@portageswcd. com or calling 330-235-6811.

Gardening 101

Feb. 25, 10 a.m. to noon

Geauga County Master Gardner Volunteers is offering a free, four-part Gardening 101 series for those interested in vegetable and fruit gardening and looking for new ideas to improve their gardening experience. The classes will be held in the Patterson Center at the Geauga County Extension Office, 14269 Claridon-Troy Road, Burton.

The series 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.

Attend one class or all four sessions. Future dates are March 25, April 22 and May 20. Each at no cost. Registration is not required but appreciated. Contact Wendy Ward at 440-834-4656 or email ward.714@ osu.edu.

The Geauga County Farm Bureau is offering scholarship opportunities to students pursuing post-high school education. The scholarship amount is determined by the number of acceptable qualifying applications. Applicants or parents/legal guardians must be current Geauga County Farm Bureau members at the time of application and scholarship payout. They must be a part-time or full-time enrollee of an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or technical school.

First-year applicants must prove enrollment or admission status. Prior recipients may reapply.

Recipients of a scholarship or a representative must attend the

Farm Bureau annual meeting held in September.

The fillable form is available online on the farm bureau’s website www.geaugafb.org or by emailing geauga@ofbf.org. No handwritten forms will be accepted Applications must be submitted by March 31.

For more information, call 440-426-2195.

Geauga Park District

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

Inclusive At Observatory Park

Feb. 16, 10-11:30 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m. Geauga Park District will host “Inclusive Exploring: Planetarium Show & Planetary Trail Walk” for adults in the developmental disability community at Observatory Park in Montville Township.

The indoor planetarium presentation by astronomy naturalist Chris Mentrek will be followed by a short walk to look at the Planetary Trail, weather permitting, touring a cool, scaled-down version of the solar system. Registration is required.

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:

Legal Notices

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

22-F-000566 – Christopher P. Hitchcock, Treasurer of Geauga County, Ohio, Plaintiff vs. James A. Doric, et al., Defendants. James A. Doric, Unknown Spouse, if any, of James A. Doric, Unknown Spouse, if any, of Charles P. Sabatos, whose last known address is 15416 Valentine Road, Thompson, OH 44086, and present address is unknown, and cannot, with reasonable diligence, be ascertained shall take notice; and, if deceased, their unknown heirs, devises, legatees, administrators, executors and assigns will take notice that on the 29th day of September, 2022, the Treasurer Of Geauga County, filed a Complaint in the Court of Common Pleas, Geauga County, Ohio, located at 100 Short Court Street, Chardon, Ohio 44024, entitled Christopher P. Hitchcock, Treasurer of Geauga County vs. James A. Doric, et al., Case No: 22-F-000566, against the above-named parties, praying that the premises hereinafter described be sold for the collection of delinquent real estate taxes, owed and unpaid, is $6,209.42 together with accruing taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and charges; as well as court costs. Said premises is described as permanent parcel number(s) 30-063020. A complete legal description of the parcel(s) can be obtained from the Geauga County Recorder’s Office. The volume and page number for the parcel(s) can be obtained from the Geauga County Auditor’s Office. The object of the action is to obtain from the Court a judgment foreclosing the tax liens against such real estate and ordering the sale of such real estate for the satisfaction of delinquent taxes. 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 a majority of the corporation’s stock.

The above-named parties are required to answer on or before 28 days after the last date of publication. Such answer must be filed with the Clerk of Courts, and a copy must be served on the Prosecuting Attorney.

By Kristen Rine, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Attorney for Plaintiff. Jan26 Feb2-9,

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, 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

GEAUGA COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

LEGAL NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received by the Geauga County Board of Commissioners, and will receive bids in person or by mail at the location of 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite #350, Chardon, Ohio 44024 until 1:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 and will be opened and read aloud at 2:00 p.m. in Room #B303, Third Floor at the Commissioners’ Office at 12611 Ravenwood Drive.

Bids will be received for the installation of security cameras and associated hardware and software at the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and throughout the Geauga County Safety Center Each bid must be accompanied by a certified or cashier’s check or an irrevocable letter of credit pursuant to Chapter 1305 of the Ohio Revised Code, in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the amount bid, or a bid guaranty in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the bid amount, such check or bid guaranty to be made in favor of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and shall be held as a guarantee that in the event the bid is accepted and a contract awarded

to the Bidder, the contract will be duly executed and its performance properly secured. Envelope containing the bid and other required documents should be sealed and clearly marked - “GEAUGA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SECURITY CAMERAS”, Attn: Clerk, Office of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite #350, Chardon, Ohio 44024.”

The successful bidder is required to furnish a bond for the faithful performance of the contract in a sum of not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the total bid price for the complete work, said bond to be that of an approved surety company authorized to transact business in the State of Ohio meeting the requirements of the O.R.C. Section 153.54. There will be a mandatory contractor walk through of the site at 1:00 p.m. February 27, 2023 at 12450 Merritt Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024. Contact: Erik Wright (440) 279-2087, Zach Hupp (440) 279-2060.

Specifications may be obtained at the Geauga County Maintenance Office, 470 Center Street Building 1-B, Chardon, Ohio, 44024, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A copy of this legal notice will be published in the Maple Leaf and posted on the county’s internet site on the world wide web. Go to co.geauga. oh.us/Notices/Bids

The Geauga County Board of Commissioners reserves the right to waive any formalities, irregularities, or to reject any or all bids.

BY ORDER OF THE GEAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Christine Blair, Clerk Feb2-9, 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 Friday, February 10, 2023 at 10:00 am. 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 ELEMENTA-

RY 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.

Deb Armbruster, Treasurer/CFO Feb2-9-16, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE

Sale of Real Estate

GEAUGA County Foreclosure Auction

Case# 22-F-000361 – U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION vs JEFFREY SLATER, et al.

The description of the property to be sold is as

follows:

Property Address: 137 FERRIS AVE, CHAR-

DON, GEAUGA, Ohio, 44024;

Legal Description: Full Legal Listed on Public Website; Parcel Number: 10-004500

Bidding will be available only on www.Auction. com opening on 3/7/2023 at 10:00 AM 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

al Financial Report for Montville Township is complete and available for public inspection at the Montville Community Center, 9755 Madison Road, Montville, Ohio by calling 440-9683784 for an appointment.

Feb9, 2023

Karen Hawkins, Fiscal Officer

LEGAL

NOTICE

2022 FINANCIAL REPORT THOMPSON TOWNSHIP

GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO

Notice is hereby given that the 2022 Annual Financial Report for Thompson Township is complete and available for viewing. Please call 440-298-9813 for arrangements to view.

Feb9, 2023

Cindy Lausin, Fiscal Officer

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 Approval of Plans and Specifications

Tanglewood Lake Water Co 17400 Haskins Rd, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023

Facility Description: Community Water System ID #: 3000177

Date of Action: 01/27/2023

This final action not preceded by proposed action and is appealable to ERAC. Detail Plans for PWSID:OH2802512 Plan:3000177 Regarding New Well Site. Feb9, 2023

CRUSHED LIMESTONE BID NOTICE

CHARDON TOWSHIP

Sealed bids will be received by the Board of Chardon Township Trustees at the regular township meeting on March 1, 2023, at the Chardon Township Town Hall, 9949 Mentor Road, Chardon, OH 44024 until 7:00 PM at which time the bids will be opened and read aloud. Bids shall be submitted on blank forms provided for the purpose by calling 440.285.9002. Bids shall be accompanied by a bid bond, certified check, or cashier’s check in the amount of One Hundred Dollars ($100), guaranteeing that a contract will be entered into if accepted. Envelope shall be clearly marked “CRUSHED LIMESTONE BID” and mailed to Ilona Daw-Krizman, Fiscal Officer, 9949 Mentor Road, Chardon OH 44024.

The Board of Chardon Township Trustees reserves the right to accept or reject all bids or any part thereof or waive any informalities. CHARDON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Feb9, 2023

licly 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 as determined by the Davis Bacon Act WD#OH20220001.

DOMESTIC STEEL USE REQUIREMENTS AS SPECIFIED IN SECTION 153.011 OF THE OHIO

REVISED CODE APPLIES TO THIS PROJECT.

COPIES OF SECTION 153.011 OF THE REVISED CODE CAN BE OBTAINED FROM ANY OF THE OFFICES OF THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.

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

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.

Ilona-Daw Krizman, Fiscal Officer

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 pub-

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

Real Estate Transfers

Following is a list of real estate transfers for the week ending Jan. 27, 2023, provided as a public service by the Geauga County Auditor’s Office. Transfers may involve the sale of land only.

AQUILLA VILLAGE

Wanda Yost, Berkshire Drive (s/l 58 C- 59 C) and Cornelia Drive (s/l 86 C- 89 C), to Eric Yost, $55,000. (0.42 acres)

AUBURN TOWNSHIP

Auburn Management LLC, 17111 Munn Road, to Christopher James Morley, $290,000. (0.00 acres)

BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP

Lorraine C. Barbagallo, 8205 Knolls Way, to Ann J. Bowdish (trustee), $410,000. (0.00 acres)

Thomas R. Scherr Jr. (trustee), 17421 Hawksview Lane, to Danielle and Bryon Szorady, $567,000. (0.76 acres)

CHARDON TOWNSHIP

Thomas M. and Antoinette Schoonover, 11944 Woodin Road, to Dillon Strauser, $225,000. (1.95 acres)

Allan W. and M. Joanna Day (trustees), Thwing Road, to K and J Land LLC, $850,000. (55.66 acres)

CHESTER TOWNSHIP

Joseph and Carol Zuzak, 12971 Sperry

Road, to William and Nancy Riebe, $400,000. (5.68 acres)

CLARIDON TOWNSHIP

Empire Real Estate LLC, 12797 Mayfield Road, to H and H Property Group LLC, $450,000. (2.01 acres)

HAMBDEN TOWNSHIP

Caroline Slapnik, 9570 Brakeman Road, to Francis R. Janek Jr., $123,500. (10.78 acres)

NEWBURY TOWNSHIP

All Erection and Crane Rental Co., 14800 Munnberry Lane, to Roach Realty LLC, $475,000. (6.36 acres)

Most Reverend Edward C. Malesic (trustee), 11745 Pekin Road, to Jeremy J. Schlenvogt and Robert A. Kaschalk, $145,000. (2.30 acres)

THOMPSON TOWNSHIP

Tri County Properties and Maintenance

LLC, 6043 Clay St., to Eric A. Ovacek, $108,800. (1.00 acres)

TROY TOWNSHIP

KCZ Enterprises Ltd., Main Market Road, to Preston Real Estate Holdings LLC, $250,000. (1.42 acres)

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

Burton Ranch Condo: 2/BR, 2/Bath, AC, laundry, 2-car attached garage. No pets/smoking. $1,600/month. Includes snow plowing, lawn, trash. 440-221-0649. Room for Let, $600, Russell. Call for details 440-3385201.

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.

FOR SALE

Antique clocks, many. Oak crank wall-phone $369. Humpback chest $79. Wooden rocking horse $79. Kids spring rocking horse $49. 440-338-3563.

ATI Cavalry 20 gauge over under shotgun, like new condition, $450. 440-321-8152

Ford 9N, not running $1,000. 1974 Sportster Basketcase $1,500. Team bio-harness, lightly used $1,500. All OBO. Text 440-591-9554.

NEW Panasonic cordless phone, still in box, 2 additional handsets, can expand. White w/blue trim. 440-2239471. Also Wanted: Level/Transit.

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.

Classifieds

PETS & ANIMALS

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.

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.

Jack Russell Puppies: born Nov 8th, 1 male, 2 female, $250/OBO. 440-834-8579.

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.

Joe Eicher doing roofing, siding, remodeling, cleanout houses, we do most anything. Call between 8a-4p, 440-813-4272. No answer, leave message.

WANTED TO BUY

Will pay cash for sports cards & collectibles. Entire collections or individual cards. Organized or unorganized. Call or text Rich at 440-552-0691.

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 440-313-8331.

Buying all Stanley Bailey planes and machinist tools. Call Karl at 440-812-3392.