Stop the Grendell Robocalls
This letter is being written in response to the juvenile/probate judge of Geauga County’s robocalls. Stop calling me! You have called my home number so many times since you started this practice I lost count.
I am one of your victims, though I cannot say how so at this time or in this way. Why would you think I would want you to call me? Do you even care?
To the public reading this, I have written that Judge Grendell has harmed people in his job. I cannot say how, but I am one of his victims and, yes, I mean victim in the truest sense of the word’s meaning.
Throughout the history of the world there have been leaders who have done wicked things who have also done some good things. I have written in the past in published letters that the judge hides behind the secrecy and confidentiality his position affords him.
I am tired of him calling me, for every time it is a reminder of the pain. Yes, pain.
I am a good and honorable Christian, who strives to live a good life. I don’t have a lot of money to buy prestige and power as he has, but I have some dignity, pride and some privacy in my home.
And, I am already on the “do not call” list.
A Geauga County prefix and a landline is not an invitation for these unwanted and unsolicited calls.
Robin Neff
Chardon
Park District Election Interference
In mid-March, right before the March 17 primary was supposed to take place, every home in Geauga County received a postcard mailer from the Geauga Park District that included a letter from park district Executive Director John Oros.
Among other things, Mr. Oros wrote that the probate court judge does not micromanage park staff and claimed his letter was intended to protect the reputation of the park district and was not an endorsement of any individual.
The park district’s “special” spring postcard mailer was not one of its regular periodic mailers. Based on the content of Mr. Oros’ letter, and the timing of the mailer, which landed in our mailboxes right before March 17, when the primary election was scheduled to take place, there is no question in my mind that the park district spent public money to try to influence the outcome of the primary election.
The suggestion by various members of the community that the probate court judge has micromanaged the parks goes back many years, but, until election time, it never warranted a special mailing by the park district.
This carefully timed special mailer was a thinly veiled attempt to support the reelection of Probate Judge Tim Grendell, made at public expense. There was absolutely no need for Mr. Oros, the park commissioners or the park district itself to spend our public money to protect their reputations at election time . . . unless they also wished to influence the election.
How much of our money did the park district spend? The total cost of the “special” spring postcard mailer was $9,746.67.
Was the special mailer itself an act of micromanagement? I have no way to know.
Was this a proper expenditure of our public money? Please let our state and local officials know if you think it wasn’t.
Shelley Chernin
Russell Township
Clean Up the Mess
I never in my life thought that I would ever vote against a fire levy, but there is no way that Parkman Trustee Mr. Anderson or the current chief Mr. Komandt can justify hiring staff full time with benefits for a small-town, rural fire department that on average runs less than 500 calls per year. For 2019, they only ran 433 calls.
For comparison, the townships of Chardon and Chester have a handful of full-time staff, all other staff are part-time/volunteer, and run well over 1,000 calls per year. Bainbridge Township ran over 2,000 calls in 2019 and has just recently become full time. Before that, they were like Chardon and Chesterland.
If this levy passes, that also means you will be unnecessarily giving the fire department about $8.5 million per year between the two renewal levies and this new levy permanently. That’s a lot of money for a small-town department, especially since there are qualified professionals in and around the township that could and would staff part time and respond to calls voluntarily if the trustees wouldn’t have appointed Mr. Komandt as the chief.
Mike Komandt was made chief about when the station started part-time staffing, which was about when everyone left. And, despite what Mr. Komandt stated in a previous article, the former members took their duties seriously and it was more than a “hobby” to them; it was giving back to their community.
Everyone had to keep up with continuing education for fire and EMS to keep their state certification cards current. They tried to go up their chain of command before then fire chief Wayne Komandt passed away, but the problem was within the chain of command, and that problem was Mike Komandt, and his father wasn’t going to do anything about him, so their only choice was to go to the trustees for help, but that failed them, too.
Mike should be the last person to talk about professionalism, because behind closed doors, he would often belittle those that had to work with or under him. If he was such a great person to work with and for, then so many of the former members wouldn’t have quit, and he wouldn’t have to hire people from so far away such as Akron and Geneva.
Many of the local people know about his reputation. So, are multiple people liars? I highly doubt it. But that’s what Mr. Komandt will try to have you believe.
Evan Stolz
Parkman Township
Request Republican Ballot
Registered voters in Geauga County should be aware that if you have not yet voted in this year’s primary, you may still do so by requesting an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections.
More importantly, after reading the Maple Leaf for the past six months, I have noticed there have been many Geauga County residents who have written to the editor about wanting to make a change in the probate court.
Since there are two Republican candidates up for the court’s judgeship. I want to remind Democratic voters that they must request a Republican ballot in order to vote for the candidate of their choice.
John Alan Lafler
Russell Township
