Leaf Thursday, June 13, 2024 Vol. 30 No. 24 • Chardon, Ohio www.geaugamapleleaf.com $1.25
Paul Harris, Beloved Leader Of County Fair, Dies at 57 By Amy Patterson amy@karlovecmedia.com
Friends, loved ones and community members continue to reel from the unexpected loss of longtime Geauga County Fair Board Secretary Paul Harris, who died suddenly June 4 at the age of 57. A dedicated local dairy farmer, maple producer and owner/operator of Howard’s Apples Farm Market in Chagrin Falls, Harris became a Geauga County Agricultural Society See Harris • Page 4
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A preliminary drawing of a proposed Chipotle submitted to the city of Chardon last week. The Chipotle would occupy the old Burger King at 414 Water Street.
Chipotle Looks to Bite Into Chardon Economy
By Jamie Ward jamie@karlovecmedia.com
The rumors may finally be true. Chipotle, the international Mexican fast food chain, has taken a first official step toward opening a Chardon location, eyeing a former fast food site on Water Street. “I have received the digital paperwork from Chipotle to renovate the old Burger King,” wrote
Chardon Community Development Administrator Steve Yaney in an email to Chardon City Council June 5. A 13-page preliminary site improvement plan was then sent to Yaney for the 414 Water Street location that included detailed drawings for the lot. Because the approval process is still in the beginning stages, city council members and officials did
not want to comment on the Chipotle potential. One council member cited the long process it took for Starbucks to open a location in Chardon and how that process almost derailed before opening in October of 2021. The news was met with positive and negative comments on the newspaper's Facebook page when announced last week. See Chipotle • Page 6
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Paul Harris
Iacampo Judge Limits Expert Testimony Pre-Trial Hearing Set for June 24 By Amy Patterson amy@karlovecmedia.com A hearing to review two motions to drop sexual battery charges against former Chester Police Officer Nick Iacampo stretched into a fourth session June 10, with testimony from a final expert witness for the defense. Kobie Flowers, a Washington, D.C. civil rights lawyer who previously See Iacampo • Page 3
AMY PATTERSON/KMG
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown addresses a crowd of volunteers at a June 9 training event held at Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Center in Chester Township.
Brown Brings Senate Battle to Geauga By Amy Patterson amy@karlovecmedia.com
In five months, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a democrat, will face an election-day battle against his opponent, Republican Bernie Moreno. But on June 9, Democratic party volunteers from five counties gathered at the Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Center in Chester
Township to learn how they could help him win. “We win these races, we fight back because of you,” Brown told the crowd. Geauga Democratic Party President Janet Carson said the training event, which was attended by 264 volunteers from Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull counties, was the first of its kind. But, after seeing its success,
Carson said in her role as Ohio Democratic County Chairs Association Chair, she expects to repeat the training session in other multi-county areas around the state. In his remarks to a room full of enthusiastic volunteers who had just been briefed on tips for successful door-to-door visits with voters, Brown said while his campaign is raising a lot of money, See Brown • Page 7
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