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Volume 56, No. 20
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
INSIDE
Chester Township Fire Chief Retires
GGeeaauuggaa
NOW!! NOW
Shaw Looks Forward To Pursuing Photography Hobby By Emma MacNiven macniven@karlovecmedia.com After four decades of always preparing for the worst, Chester Township Fire Chief Bill Shaw can’t wait to look for — and capture — the positive in his retirement. While this won’t be Shaw’s Shaw first taste of retirement, he hopes it will be a better experience than the last one. Shaw previously retired as fire chief in Solon in March of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “We were still in the midst of COVID and at that time, retirement See Shaw • Page 5
MARCH 2025
Since 1992
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Kindergarten Registration SUBMITTED
(L to R) Geauga County Dog Warden Matt Granito, Geauga County Auditor Charles Walder, Avery Ruthenburg and her parents, Audrey and Ryan Ruthenberg.
Lindsey Elementary Fifth-Grader Has Geauga County’s #1 Dog Staff Report Lindsey Elementary School fifth-grader Avery Ruthenberg — and her 2-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Roxy — is the winner of the Geauga County Auditor’s Office’s 2025 #1 Dog Essay contest. Geauga County Auditor Charles Walder presented Avery with the #1 Dog tag and certificate. Avery also received several gifts and Walder personally donated $250 to her teacher for a class project.
The auditor’s office received numerous essays — the #1 Dog is determined by a short essay written by any fourth- or fifth-grader in Geauga County — and the judging was not easy, according to a Feb. 10 press release, but Avery’s essay conveyed her true loyalty and love for Roxy. Avery said she knew Roxy was the #1 dog for several reasons. “First, she is so cute and makes people feel better when they are sad. Roxy makes everybody smile
because she is so pretty and what she does is super cute,” Avery wrote in her essay. “Also, she can tell when you are sad because she will come up to you and give you a kiss or lay her head on you. Sometimes she even brings one of her toys over.” Second, Roxy helped Avery’s family make friends with one of their neighbors. “One day we were walking Roxy and there was a puppy out See Dog • Page 3
West Geauga began 202526 school year registration for kindergarten and new students on Feb. 20. Registration is completed online. Visit www.westg. org for information.
Obituaries page 6
Classifieds page 7
West Geauga Middle, High Schools Holds STEM Fair Submitted
SUBMITTED
Students at West Geauga middle and high schools participated in the annual STEM Fair (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sponsored by the West Geauga Kiwanis. The challenge consisted of Junk Box Wars where high school teams were given a box of random materials and a set timeframe to build a mechanism to carry out a specific function. Other activities included individual project research displays, a math competition, and the middle school “How Do I Fare” challenge puzzles. Winners are: High School Individual Projects: Robert Vash, first; Myca Mykhaela and Matilda Tumada, second; and Tristan Morgan, third.
Middle School Individual Projects: Michael Yeager, first; Adleigh Vodika, second; Sam Geraci, third. Elementary school winner, Paul Wright. High School Math Competition: Paul Barras Middle School Math Competition: Kaz Southard How Do I Fare?: Charlie Allin and Robert Meyer, first; Lola Franceschini and Savannah Sinkovec, second; and Lincoln Shirey and Kaz Southard, third. Junk Box Wars: Capri Burch, Gabriella Ohlsen and Isla Yellen, first; Hayden Makuch, Connor Northup and JJ Rubinski, second; Tristan Morgan, Anderson Osolin and Mason Starr, third; and Best Design – Henry Duxbury, Joseph Kreuz and Darren Prince-Wright.
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