Leaf Thursday, March 16, 2023 Vol. 29 No. 11 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com $1.00
INSIDE
(PHOTO COURTESY OF MEANWHILE, IN GEAUGA COUNTY)
Firefighters combated a blaze at the Mouldings One building on Station Road all night March 9 and 10.
Fire Nearly Guts Moulding Manufacturer By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com
Flames were not apparent when Middlefield Fire Department Lt. Ben Reed arrived at 13813 Station Road in Middlefield Township at about 8:30 p.m. March 9, but there
was plenty of smoke. “Smoke was pushing out of the eves of the building,” Reed said Saturday morning. Mouldings One, a custom wood moulding manufacturer and a division of Hardwood Lumber Company of Middlefield, was full of
wood projects and racks of wooden mouldings, he said. Because of the thick smoke and the building’s location — one side against a hill — the interior was hard to approach, Reed said. “Once we found (the fire), it was difficult to get to,” he said.
Pastor Pleads Not Guilty to Five Felony Sexual Battery Charges Laferty Admitted To Sexual Conduct With Minors, Prosecutor Says
Part II Dave’s Decade in D.C.
‘We Need to Declare War on Fentanyl’ China, Drugs Areas of Concern
By John Karlovec john@karlovecmedia.com Dennis W. Laferty, a pastor at Thompson United Methodist Church in Thompson Township, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Geauga County Common Pleas Court. Laferty, 37, who until early Laferty last week lived in a home Trustees of Thompson Methodist Church own at 6724 Madison Road, was indicted March 10 on multiple felony counts, including sexual battery against one or more minors. A warrant was issued for Laferty’s arrest and he turned himself in March 10 in Crawford County.
As the firefighters worked to save the building, others began to arrive with water tankers from all over Geauga County, as well as from Ashtabula, Portage and Trumbull counties, Reed said. See Fire• Page 9
By Amy Patterson amy@karlovecmedia.com
JOHN KARLOVEC/KMG
Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, standing, details the felony charges against Dennis Laferty, pastor of Thompson United Methodist Church, during Monday’s preliminary hearing and arraignment in Geauga County Common Pleas Court. Laferty appeared via video from the Geauga County Jail. Judge David Ondrey set his bail at $100,000/10% cash or surety.
He waived extradition and was transported to the Geauga County Jail and booked on March 11. The seven-count indictment against Laferty states a county grand jury found between Nov. 30, 2019, and Jan. 30, 2023, Laferty engaged in various acts of
sexual misconduct with one or more minors. Specifically, Laferty was charged with five counts of third-degree felony sexual battery, one count of third-degree felony gross sexual imposition involving a person less than 13 years of age See Pastor • Page 5
Although it’s been a decade since Congressman Dave Joyce ( R - B a i n b r i d ge Township) was first sworn into office in 2013, the nation was fighting the second wave of the opioid epidemic. According to Joyce the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the first wave of the epidemic began in the 1990s, but by 2010, the nation saw a rapid increase in overdose deaths involving heroin. The third wave began in 2013, the CDC said, with significant inSee Joyce • Page 6
GPD Answers To Budget Commission, Public page 8
Foundation for Geauga Parks Welcomes New President page 10
Sports pages 14-15
Obituaries pages 15
Opinion pages 16-17
Sheriff’s Sales & Legal Notices start on page 21
Classifieds start on page 23
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