Wednesday, August 11, 2021 • Vol. 15 No. 7 • FREE
Middlefield Best Funeral Home Opens Woman Rock Creek Location Injured in Fatal Crash
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A Middlefield woman was seriously injured in a two-vehicle fatal crash Aug. 7 in Troy Township. The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on state Route 700 at mile post 4, according to an OSHP media release. The release stated Bonnie Cavanaugh, 63, from Middlefield, was traveling northbound on Route 700 in a 2009 Mercury Sable and a 20-year-old Nathan Allen, from Akron, was driving southbound on Route 700 in a 2009 Chevy Malibu. Allen drove left of center and struck Cavanaugh’s car head on. He suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Cavanaugh suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a Cleveland-area hospital for treatment, the release said. The Troy Township Fire Department, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and OSHP responded to the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
Family-owned Best Funeral Home has expanded with the opening of a second location in Rock Creek. The new funeral home will be located at the former Rock Creek United Methodist Church, 3210 North Main St. An open house will be held Aug. 29, from 12-6 p.m. “We started from scratch and built as business allowed it to grow,” said Gary Best, who with his wife, Tracey, opened their Middlefield location in 2008. “By paying out of pocket with each addition, we were able to keep our overhead low, which in turn, kept our pricing low.” In 2017, they added Noah’s Ark Pet Cremation services to the Middlefield location. “In 2020, between the funeral home and pet crematory, we were honored to have served over 300 families. It was now time to expand to the beautiful community of Rock Creek,” Gary said. Rock Creek is a community familiar to Gary, who was born and raised on a small family farm in Conneaut. For the past 10 years he has been a member of Grand River
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The Best family, from left, Audrey, Noah, Tracey and Gary. (Not pictured is son Brett.)
Chapter 104 Royal Arch Masons, which meets at the local Masonic Lodge, which is directly across from the former church. “I have always admired this
historical building and knew it was the perfect location to be of service,” he explained. “In my opinion it is the one of the icons of Rock See Best • Page 7
A-M Seamless Gutters Built with Room to Grow By Ann Wishart ann@geaugamapleleaf.com Brothers Aden and Ray Miller, Amish Burton area residents, have sailed their business, A-M Seamless Gutters, through some rough waters since Aden bought his first machine in March 2008 and set up shop in a 1,000-square-foot building on Burton Windsor Road. “We thought we had the world by the tail,” Ray said as he was driving a lift along the wall of their new facility while Aden stretched tubing along the ceiling. Business was good 13 years ago, so Ray bought half the business from his brother while maintaining his roofing business. Then the economy crashed and
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Aden and Ray Miller, owners of A-M Seamless Gutters, started their new building on Old State Road north of Middlefield a year ago and moved in March. Besides installing gutters, they manufacture and sell their own patented gutter guard.
they had some serious concerns about their fledgling operation. Fortunately, they connected with a Cleveland roofing company that needed their services.
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“That provided us with a lot of work those first crucial years,” Ray said. By 2014, they had outgrown the building and moved down the street
to one twice as big, thinking about leaf guards. “By 2015, we felt there was a dire need for a good quality leaf guard business,” he said. Not satisfied with the leaf guards on the market, they designed A-M Gutter Guards of aluminum with a bubbled filtration system that allows rainwater to pass through while leaving debris to dry and blow away, according to the A-M Seamless Gutter website amgutterguards.com. The site includes instruction on how to install the guards for the DIY homeowner. Two growing businesses with stock, inventory and machinery under one roof meant another move. “We were busting at the seams. See Gutters • Page 5
Karlovec Media Group is hiring account representatives to sell print and online advertising in and around Geauga County, specifically in the Chesterland and Kirtland areas. We are seeking self-motivated and aggressive salespeople who aren’t afraid of a challenge. Sales areas will include both print and online media. Candidates must be able to manage time wisely, meet deadlines and have reliable transportation. All of our staff must be willing to work in a team environment to help grow our newspapers. The ability to understand and live with a deadline-driven business is a must. The ideal candidate would have at least two years of sales experience. This is an independent contractor (1099) position.
Submit resumes to
editor@geaugamapleleaf.com
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