Leaf Thursday, July 10, 2025 Vol. 31 No. 28 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com $1.25
Russell Township
Trustees Vote To Place Additional 2.5-Mill Police Levy on Fall Ballot By Emma MacNiven macniven@karlovecmedia.com Due to budget shortfalls and growing needs, Russell Township Police Department is asking for new levy money to help bridge the gaps, said Police Chief Tom Swaidner July 1. “After the budget workshop meeting, we spoke about some of the shortfalls that our budget is seeing,” he said during the special meeting. “We worked with the fiscal office to crunch numbers and try to project out five years.” See Levy • Page 8
West Geauga Schools
BOE Scrambles As State Budget May Derail Levy Plans By Emma MacNiven macniven@karlovecmedia.com Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made 67 vetoes to the biennium state budget last week, causing West Geauga Schools Board of Education to make provisions in case the state legislature overrides them. Lawmakers set a 40% limit for school district cash balance carryover and disqualified emergency and substitute levies — both of which DeWine vetoed, Treasurer Karen Pavlat said at the July 7 board meeting. “They (the House) are trying to get a number of their legislators to come back to Columbus to do that vote,” she said, referring to the three-fifths majority vote in both See West G • Page 6
Chardon Murder Case Sent To Grand Jury for Review Prosecution to Present Evidence Alleging Premeditation Staff Report Minutes before Steven Kurzinger, the man accused of murdering his ex-wife, was set to appear in person for a preliminary hearing in Chardon Municipal Court July 7, he chose to waive it. “Up until ten minutes before the hearing, we were going to have a hearing,” said Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz. Kurzinger, 36, of Willowick, is facing an unclassified felony murder charge following the death of his former spouse, Alexandra Kurzinger, outside her place of residence in Chardon June 25. He attended his arraignment in front of Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica June 27 and is being held in the Geauga County Safety Center on a $5 million bond. Kurzinger choosing to waive the hearing means it does not need to be conducted to determine probable cause, Stupica explained. See Hearing • Page 3
ALLISON WILSON/KMG
Steven Kurzinger, 36, of Willowick, is escorted from Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica’s courtroom by Chardon police after waiving his preliminary hearing July 7.
Board of Elections Votes to Move 3-1 By Allison Wilson wilson@karlovecmedia.com The Geauga County Board of Elections voted 3-1 July 2 in favor of moving to its new location in the basement of the new county office building, marking the end of a multi-year saga rife with conflict. In 2021, the election board sought outside legal counsel regarding their space in the new county office building on Ravenwood Drive in Claridon Township, which was under construction at the time. The board had a number of issues with the space, including the fact it would lose about 1,600 square feet in the new location compared to its old space at 470 Center St., concerns the new building’s fire suppression system could damage the voting equip-
ALLISON WILSON/KMG
The Geauga County Board of Elections will finally be moving from its current location at the old county offices on Center Street in Chardon, having voted 3-1 in favor of the relocation July 2.
ment were it to ever go off and concerns the space was not large enough to accommodate early voters during elections, causing people to potentially wait in line on the steps.
The election board filed a lawsuit against the Geauga County Commissioners in May 2022, noting an unfit layout for early voting and inadequate storage space. See Office • Page 4
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