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Volume 54, No. 17
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
WG Board Signs Newbury Lease Agreement By Brian Doering brian@karlovecmedia.com After two years of conversations and negotiating a lease agreement for athletic facilities on the former Newbury Schools campus, the West Geauga Schools Board of Education closed the deal Dec. 20. During the special meeting, school board members unanimously approved a resolution for the lease agreement with Newbury Township Trustees for the use of the athletic fields and bus garage. “The lease is the culmination of general conversations that have occurred over the last two years and, specific to the lease, over the last several months,” said Superintendent Richard Markwardt. “I believe that both the West Geauga board of education and the Newbury Township board of trustees see the lease as a good means, whereby West Geauga residents will be able to use the property for community recreational purposes.” Back on Dec. 12, school board members established a deadline of Dec. 19 to enter into an agreement with the trustees. As detailed in the agreement, leased premises include athletic facilities on the property at 14775 Auburn Road, including
ANN WISHART/KMG
Newbury Township Trustee Bill Skomrock signed the lease agreement with West Geauga Schools Board of Education at a special trustees meeting Dec. 16. Trustees voted unanimously to approve the five-year lease that has been under negotiation for months.
grandstands/bleachers, dugouts, scoreboards, playgrounds and equipment. The agreement excludes buildings scheduled for demolition, such as a pavilion, restroom facility, concession stand/ticket booth, as well as a wooden playset. The leased premises also includes
the former bus garage building, except for three contiguous 1,416-squarefoot service bays that West Geauga Schools will have exclusive use of. The lease term is for five years, commencing Jan. 1 of 2023, and expiring Dec. 31 of 2027. Newbury will pay a base rent to West Geauga in the amount of $100
per month for each 12-month period of the lease term. “The board of education has no immediate plans to sell the property or to develop it, so the lease by the township will permit the community to enjoy the athletic fields for years to come,” Markwardt said.
Russell Sunoco Owners Pumped Up About Opening By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com The Sunoco station in the middle of Russell Township supplies fresh sandwiches, Amish fry pies, Mad Batter donuts and select cigars in a tall, glass-fronted humidor. The cozy, clean, modern store has a wide inventory of candy, chips, cookies and pop, but a large section is reserved for a variety of wines. Within a few months, owners Steve and Kristen Gaetjens expect to have a kitchen for preparing breakfasts and lunches that can be taken to-go or, come spring, eaten on the new patio behind the building. They have traveled a long and often rocky road to arrive at this
point in their venture. Back in 2007, the couple leased the gas station on the southwest corner of Chillicothe and Kinsman roads from long-time owner Ann Tanner and family. “(They) ran it for many years as a Shell station,” Kristen said. The couple had a partner and they planned to renovate the building and add indoor plumbing to replace the outdoor job johnny. It took time and money to resolve the well and septic tank problems and that wasn’t all. “We had no heat for a year,” Steve recalled. Fixing up the business that first year was a project, but Kristen said the $8,000 they spent on the interior was worth it. See Sunoco • Page 3
ANN WISHART/KMG
Kristen and Steve Gaetjens, owners of Russell Sunoco station in Russell Township carry a wide selection of wine and cigars, as well as beer, pastries and assorted sundries in their renovated convenience store at Kinsman and Chillicothe roads. Kristen said they also are happy to fill requests for wines.
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