Leaf Thursday, February 16, 2023 Vol. 29 No. 7 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com $1.00
Fairgrounds Flooding Causes Controversy With School
Mother Nature Puts the Chill on Snowmobiling page 12
By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com Controversy is boiling over flooding of the Geauga County Fairgrounds, which fair board and county officials contend didn’t exist before the construction of the new Berkshire Schools campus. Runoff from the campus and football stadium directed toward a retention pond on the west side of the campus has been invading the north side of the fairgrounds, causing erosion to the race track, according to letters and emails obtained by the Geauga County Maple Leaf through a public records request. The 13-grade school, built at a much higher elevation than the neighboring fairgrounds, replaced woods and fields several years ago. During construction, a drainage system was installed to remove the water from the 30-plus acres Berkshire See Flooding • Page 6
AMY PATTERSON/KMG
John Kloski, a Chardon dispatcher, told Chardon City Council Feb. 9 their decision to close the city’s dispatch center was a result of poor planning and management.
Chardon Council Votes to Close Dispatch Center By Amy Patterson amy@karlovecmedia.com Chardon City Council voted unanimously Feb. 9 to close the city’s police dispatch center — the last to operate independently in the county — and consolidate services with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office dispatch. City Manager Randy Sharpe laid out the reasons behind the move, which were covered extensively during a Jan. 31 Chardon Safety Committee meeting,
“No one feels good about this, no one’s happy about this. This is the situation. We have to make a decision based on what we have right now before us.” — Heather Means The recommendation comes after research by the committee — on which council members Dave Lelko and Heather Means sit — as well as Sharpe and Chardon Police Chief
Scott Niehus. That research showed necessary upgrades to the city’s dispatch equipment could cost up to $1 million and with continuous changes See Dispatch • Page 4
MH Board Committee Meeting Highlights Dysfunction page 8
Berkshire Schools Breaks Up with ESCWR page 11
Opinion page 12
Sports page 14
Obituaries pages 10-11
Act 2: ‘Spelling Bee’ Returns to Cardinal’s Stage By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com
ANN WISHART/KMG
Emma Clinger, a Cardinal Schools freshman who plays a main character in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” spoke in support of the production at the Feb. 8 board of education meeting. The board reversed its decision to cancel the musical before opening the floor to comments.
The show will go on. Cardinal Schools Board of Education reversed its decision to cancel “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at its Feb. 8 board meeting. In front of nearly 200 students, parents and concerned residents in the Cardinal High School cafeteria, board President Linda Smallwood read a brief statement explaining the conditions under which the board had summarily canceled the musical it deemed “not family friendly.” “Cardinal board policy does not require board approval of specific productions chosen by the performing arts department, but the board is, nonetheless, required to uphold
standards set by board policy for the common good of all students in the school district,” Smallwood said. “Cardinal’s chain of communication with the performing arts department is such that the board had no knowledge of the specific, controversial spring musical production chosen by the Cardinal music director until the board received the first complaint about the musical on Jan. 11, 2023. “Initially, the board was informed that the script could not be revised, but that changed when Music Theatre International, the publishing company, contacted the Cardinal theater department to confirm revisions could be made, with the help of their authors,” she continued. “At this time, the board wishes See Musical • Page 7
Sheriff’s Sales & Legal Notices start on page 20
Classifieds page 22
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