Letters to Editor
Heartfelt Note of Thanks
I would like to send a heartfelt note to thank all the people who helped make our June 2 fundraiser for the Geauga County Dog Shelter and the sheriff’s K-9 Unit such a success.
First, I would like to bring recognition to the Totally Dogs 4H Club. Our fundraiser is unique in that the youth from this 4H Club help prepare and serve the food.
It is really wonderful to see young people involved and working so hard for such worthy causes. It has been a pleasure to co-sponsor this event with them.
Thanks are also in order to the club’s advisors, parents and friends, as well as all of the individuals and businesses who donated items for our silent auction. Your work and your contributions helped us to raise over $5,560 for the dog shelter and $1,000 for the sheriff’s K-9 Unit.
This year we were fortunate to have four sponsors. It was their generous donations that allowed us to raise the most we have ever raised in the seven years that we have been hosting this event. The sponsors were: State Sen. John Eklund; Dennis Wynne, LPA; Dr. Jim Eldridge, Chagrin Animal Clinic; and Burton-Middlefield Rotary.
The money raised this year will again be used for the medical needs and training issues of abandoned and abused dogs, as well as training needs of our K-9 Unit.
We are very fortunate to have a “no-kill” dog shelter in Geauga and your commitment to helping abused and abandoned dogs in our county is sincerely appreciated.
Thanks to everyone who participated.
Sharon C. Gingerich
Geauga County Recorder
Move the ‘Tiller’ Back
Recently, Geauga Park District Commissioners conducted a survey of citizens’ usage and vision for the Geauga County Parks.
The results just released are an affirmation of the charge to preserve, conserve and protect our parks, and a repudiation of the direction pursued by the current Park District Commissioners toward increased recreation and sports usage.
After reading a summary of the findings of the GPD survey, it is striking how far off the course the last 18 months of the Grendell/Shumway leadership has taken the Geauga Park District.
Rather than keeping a steady hand on the tiller of park leadership that was charted by their competent predecessors, the Grendell-Shumway leadership felt compelled to disregard this course and direct the board and park executive away from conservation and transparency. This has included short-sighted decisions such as rolling back a publicly supported and approved levy, and installing and subsequently removing playground equipment due to failure to comply with terms of a grant. This decision alone cost the citizens of Geauga County over $100,000.
We should also not overlook a highly questionable process of conducting a search for the executive director position, receiving over two dozen resumes and then deciding not to interview any of the applicants.
The Geauga Park Board arbitrarily appointed John Oros as executive cirector. His qualifications for this post are “light” and certainly not above those of other applicants. The opportunity cost for failing to hire the most talented staff is a loss to all of Geauga County and a dereliction of the duty of the commissioners.
Geauga Park District is also hampered in its ability to act on land acquisition opportunities in the current adversarial environment. Staff that oversaw the acquisition of park land have either left or have not been replaced. Recently, our park district was unable to respond in a timely manner to three parcels of potential park land that became available.
The morale of the Geauga Park District staff has taken a “beating” over the last 18 months. They have had to watch silently as the legacy of previous Geauga Park District Commissioners and the leadership of Tom Curtin, the previous executive director is systematically shattered.
So, what will the Grendell-Shumway leadership team learn from the survey? What does the “way forward ” look like for the Geauga Park District ?
I truly believe that only the scrutiny of groups such as Protect Geauga Parks, various Geauga county officials charged with fiscal responsibility and just regular Geauga County citizens will be required through the balance of Tim Grendell’s term in office.
Though the recent parks survey would direct the leadership to move the “tiller” back to the compass headings and concepts of the 50-plus-year old charge of the park district, I’m not confident that this will occur without significant public scrutiny and demands for accountability.
Bill Franz
Bainbridge Township
