Wednesday, October 21, 2020 • Vol. 14 No. 11 • FREE
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Community News from Middlefield, Parkman, Huntsburg and Surrounding Areas
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Middlef ield Huskies Find Motive for Strong Playoff Run By Haley Adams sports@geaugamapleleaf.com
After starting the season 1-3, the Cardinal Huskies won five straight games before dropping a non-conference game, then starting a six-game winning streak. Those wins included a five-set thriller against rival Berkshire, and four of the six included straight set victories. Oct. 12, the Huskies looked to take first place in the Chagrin Valley Conference’s Valley Division against Kirtland. Though they lost 3-1, they perhaps found some motivation for a strong playoff run. Thanks to Hornets’ hitting errors, the Huskies jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the first set, then saw their lead dwindle away. Trailing 14-11, Cardinal was forced to call a timeout, and Kirtland went on a 8-3 run before the Huskies called their second timeout of the set. The Hornets won the first set 25-16 after a couple of hitting errors for the Huskies. To start the second set, Cardinal jumped out to a 5-1 lead as senior Jessie Proch began to get hot on the outside hitter position. Junior setter Haley Domen got an ace for her team, and Proch recorded three more kills before Kirtland called its first timeout at 7-2. As the Hornets began to claw
BILL FUGATE/KMG
Cardinal senior captain Jessie Proch, right, at the net against CVC Valley rival Kirtland.
their way back, the Huskies’ lead was cut to one at 11-10. Cardinal called a timeout to talk things over. Two kills from junior Lindsay Hissa evened things out at 12. But three lead changes later, the Huskies would even the match at 1-1, taking set two 26-24. Kirtland controlled much of the third set after leading 5-2. Cardinal head coach Karisca Chambers and her team called a timeout after trailing 10-4.
After two long rallies that favored the Huskies, with a kill recorded from Hissa and a free ball won from senior libero Alaina Strever, the Huskies trailed 18-14. Strever recorded 23 digs and 15 serve receptions to control much of the back row. Cardinal fought off three set points before the Hornets took set three 25-20. The Huskies were forced to call their first timeout in the fourth set
when they found themselves trailing 8-4. And when Kirtland had their largest lead of the night at 2214, the Huskies did all they could to fight back and keep their chances of first place alive. An ace from sophomore defensive specialist Ronnee Collins cut Kirtland’s lead to just three, but it wasn’t enough — Cardinal again would fight off three match points beSee Volleyball • Page 6
Commissioners OK $1.1M of CARES Act Funds By Ann Wishart ann@geaugamapleleaf.com Geauga County Commissioners held a special meeting Oct. 8 to complete approval to spend more than $1 million of federal CARES Act funds for COVID-19 related items. A total of $1,105,930.13 was approved for the Geauga County Engineer’s Office to purchase four chainsaws, six snow plow trucks, a Ford 550 quad cab mechanics vehicle, a mini excavator and, for the Geauga County Job and Family Services Department, a GMC Acadia SUV. The purchases were requested at the Oct. 6 commissioners meeting, but commissioners chose to delay
the action until they received a letter of verification from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management that the items requested qualify as being needed to avoid spreading the coronavirus among county personnel. “We are thankful for the efforts of commissioners Ralph Spidalieri, Tim Lennon and Jim Dvorak, who continue to provide our county with an admirable and model response to this health crisis,” engineer’s office administrator Frank Antenucci wrote in a press release. “By adding multiple additional snow and ice control emergency response vehicles, the engineer will be able to ensure all first responding emergency snow and ice control management team members will have individual truck assignments, rather than hav-
ing multiple drivers use one truck. Having multiple drivers assigned to one truck would have required each truck to be immediately quarantined for cleaning and thorough sanitization after each use. Such quarantine would have delayed emergency response, creating potentially unsafe and dangerous road conditions during an ongoing emergency.” He credited the work of county Prosecutor Jim Flaiz and Auditor Charles Walder and Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde for CARES Act compliance assistance and expertise. “Of special note, the engineer’s office and Geauga County owe a debt of gratitude to Pamela McMahan, the Geauga County auditor’s fiscal office manager, for her tireless and expert work behind the
scenes to coordinate, facilitate and ensure the acquisition of these assets to Geauga County,” Antenucci wrote. “Pam is one of those humble, unsung heroes of small government, demonstrating selfless and positive actions that benefit so many people. She is a true public servant who cares deeply about ensuring Geauga County continues to be a safe and healthy community for families.” The county recently received an additional $3.3 million from the CARES Act on top of about $1.2 million sent in two previous payments. Funds are going to most government entities to be spent on resources that will help keep COVID-19 from spreading among employees.
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