Letters to the Editor
Dwindling Wild Spaces
What a pleasure it was to read your story about Geauga Park District’s celebrations of Earth Day.
Indeed, these celebrations honored the original charter and purpose of the Geauga Park District: to preserve and protect our wild spaces for the enjoyment and education of current and future nature lovers.
We are so fortunate in Geauga County to have this wonderful resource, reminding us of how we as humans are nourished by the wild places and of our responsibility to cherish and defend the beautiful complexity of Earth’s ecosystems.
Thanks to the many people who have given time, money and land to this effort to preserve open space here in our county. I urge the park district board and its leadership, as well as the county commissioners, to continue to respect this purpose in the future.
We can find other places for recreation parks, playgrounds, softball diamonds, off road vehicles, etc. We will never have another chance to protect our precious and dwindling wild spaces.
Caroline A Kovac
Chardon Township
Russell Park Levy
We, the People of Russell, passed a levy in 2011 by a margin of 2-1, “for the purpose of acquiring land in Russell Township for conservation and for the preservation of water quality, wildlife habitats and woodlands.”
I am deeply disappointed that the two newly appointed Russell Township Park District commissioners, Linda O’Brien and Charlie Butters, have failed to use the land acquisition fund created with our tax money to purchase Modroo Farm on Hemlock Road.
Modroo Farm is a gem, one of the last, if not the last, large parcels left in Russell. What a great opportunity we have to purchase this historic farm and to turn it into protected parkland that all Russell residents can enjoy.
It’s easy to picture a wheelchair-accessible asphalt trail around the perimeter of the farm, a memorial tree park, benches where we could watch the ground-nesting birds. How fitting such a park would be for our unique semi-rural community, with its long history of devotion to protecting and preserving green space.
Using the funds in the Park District’s land acquisition account (which consists of money obtained through our tax levy) to purchase Modroo Farm is exactly what the taxpayers of Russell authorized the park commissioners to do.
We did not authorize them to use this money for any other purpose — not for development of currently owned property, not for operating funds and certainly not to hire lawyers to find ways to circumvent the levy language that we voted for, which limits the use of our money to land acquisition.
I hope that it is not too late for our Russell Park District commissioners to stop treating our land acquisition fund as if it’s within their discretion to spend it any way that they like.
I hope it’s not too late for them to change their minds, perform their duty as public officials and vote to authorize the purchase of Modroo in accordance with the wishes of the majority of Russell residents and with the founding principles of Russell Township.
Shelley Chernin
Russell Township
