Leaf Thursday, February 23, 2023 Vol. 29 No. 8 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com $1.00
MH Board Optimistic With New Director By Amy Patterson amy@karlovecmedia.com
After months of searching, the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services has named a new executive director. Christine Lakomiak, a Geauga County resident, was named to the role at the regular board meeting Feb. 15. “I just wanted to say thank you so much. I’m thrilled to be appointed as the executive director of the Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Services,” she said. “Mental health and recovery is my passion.” Lakomiak thanked the board for the opportunity to take on the new See Director • Page 6
Cardinal School Board Opposes Amendment to Title IX Federal Proposal Would Change How Public Schools Treat Gender Identity By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com Despite objections from four area residents, Cardinal Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Feb. 8 to stand with the State Board of Education against changes in Title IX proposed by the U.S. Board of Education. The amendment, proposed by the Biden administration and currently in the courts, would — some critics say — abridge parental rights as it seeks to address gender identity and sexual orientation issues in public school sports and restrooms across the country. The four speaking against Car-
dinal BOE’s resolution addressed a crowd of about 200 in the Cardinal High School cafeteria who had mostly gathered to hear the board’s decision regarding its previous 3-2 vote to cancel the spring musical — a decision they reversed. The board’s resolution supporting the SBOE resolution was earlier on the agenda. It outlines the problems Cardinal BOE has with the amendment to Title IX. “(T)he proposed regulations pertaining to athletics would require sports teams to be based on gender identity rather than biologiSee Cardinal • Page 5
G-TV
Middlefield Village resident Jeffrey Bell spoke in favor of the Biden administration’s amendment to Title IX during the Cardinal Schools Board of Education meeting Feb. 8.
Auburn Township Seeks Applicants for Fiscal Officer page 7
Middlefield Planning Commission Voices Reservations About Airbnbs page 3
Opinion
Bicyclist Killed After Running Stop Sign
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Sports pages 9-11
Obituaries
Staff Report A bicyclist riding the Maple Highlands Bike Trail in Middlefield Township died Feb. 14 after he failed to stop at the post trail stop sign and was hit by a sport utility vehicle, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Steven Arnold Hirsh, 60, of Middlefield Township, died at University Hospitals Geauga Medica Center in Claridon Township, where he was taken after the 3:18 p.m. crash. Hirsh was riding west on the bike trail when he pedaled through a stop sign at the intersection of state Route 528. He was hit by a southbound 2015 Chevrolet Equinox that 38-year-old Erika Hardee, also of Middlefield Township, was driving on Route 528, the patrol said. Hirsh did not have a helmet on, the patrol added, and alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor in the crash at this time. The crash remains under investigation, the patrol said.
INSIDE
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Sheriff’s Sales & Legal Notices start on page 17
Classifieds ROSE NEMUNAITIS/KMG
Peter and Samantha Hanley, of Newbury Township, are a first-generation maple sugaring family enjoying their first batch this season. They’re pictured with their son, Harper, 7, daughter, Ava, 5, and son, Peter Jr., 1.
Sweetness Starts with 1st-Gen. Maple Sugaring Family
By Rose Nemunaitis editor@karlovecmedia.com Newbury Township’s Peter and Samantha Hanley know something about sweet beginnings. The pair are high school sweethearts, husband and wife, parents of three — Harper, 7, Ava, 5, and
Peter Jr., 1 — and continue to pour the same love and devotion that brought them together at Notre Dame - Cathedral Latin School into first-generation farming and maple sugaring. As you roll down their driveway, dotted with sap buckets and
evergreens, you arrive at Hanley Sugar Camp, 11699 Bell Road in Newbury Township. The farm, officially established in 2015, will be hosting two upcoming open houses in early March. “My dream all started about See Family • Page 4
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