Letters to the Editor
Pay a Visit
It’s unfortunate the Geauga County Commissioners don’t realize that Geauga County has a state of the art Historical Society/Century Village.
Numerous buildings are on the grounds.
The Cook House was built in 1806 by Merriman Cook, a soldier of the American Revolution. While the house has various uses and renovation, the main structure is intact. Inside is a display called Field of Fabric that shows how the early settlers made their fabrics. One will see flax to make linen and wool for clothing. There is a display that combines wool with linen to make linsey woolsey. There are the various tools required to make these fabrics.
Attached to the house is the recently completed Leather Shop. Cook was a cobbler; his tools are on display. Because a cobbler has to have leather, there are tools and explanations on tanning.
Merriman’s mother is buried in the Memorial Cemetery in Burton Township. Inside the Cook House is a genealogical chart showing connections to the other houses on the grounds.
Last summer was the opening of the Apothecary Shop. It was Glen Mabin’s grocery store and was located where the Burton post office now stands. It contains Dr. Corey’s artifacts. There is a series of drawers containing information dealing with diseases and treatment. Attached is the Medicine Wagon donated by Rick Roose.
The Law House is an additional structure that is devoted to anything involving fabric. The house is open Friday afternoons from 2-5 p.m. Admission is free.
The only two buildings on the grounds that are original are the Hickox Brick and the White Barn. The White Barn has the Hazen wagon that came in 1827 from North Hero Island, Vt. It also has a display of Native American artifacts.
Louise Jackson is in charge of staging and is working on the Maple Museum of Geauga County, Ohio. The goal for opening is March 2018.
There are weekend tours. Numerous schools and groups bring students to Century Village to further their education.
All Geauga County residents as well as others should pay a visit.
“Teeter” Grosvenor
Claridon Township
Noble Intentions Misguided
Charges of discrimination, inequality and unfairness have been leveled against Chardon City Council recently. With all due respect to the former council member making the accusations, I believe his noble intentions are misguided.
And, though I’m not a resident of Chardon City, the same misunderstanding among political actors on the state and national stage links the issue beyond local residency to the broader purview of citizenry, to which I do belong. This link, I hope, will pardon my intrusion as a non-constituent here.
Back in June, the Council voted to grant a waiver to a group of residents dismissing them from their sidewalk repair program. They’ve given eight conditions that have to be met in order to qualify. I’ll briefly mention two.
One, the street cannot be a through street. Two, every resident on that street has to sign a petition which states the responsibilities and consequences each agrees to shoulder.
Considered in their entirety, the eight conditions presumably remove certain residents from the parameters defining the need for, and justification to impose, sidewalks in the first place.
If this is true, then in this relative respect the two groups of residents cannot be considered equal. The need and justification do not apply to one group, just as they do not to many other Chardon City residents.
Yet, the former member of council sees this waiver as an affront to the egalitarian cause and draws upon lessons of history to make his case. But his case is missing an important nuance: If you trace the cause to its philosophical roots, you’ll inevitably meet the ancient thinker Aristotle, extremely influential to America’s original history makers.
The Greek philosopher noted that justice and equality are inseparable. And that there are types of justice (Nicomachean Ethics, V.3). It’s this latter distinction that makes all the difference.
There’s the type of one-for-one, blanket justice based on fundamental, inherent, essential, absolute equality. The Bill of Rights applies to everyone, across the board, based on this fundamental equality.
In this is rooted the second type, distributive justice, which is proportional. This is based on relative aspects by which people can be considered equal or not.
There’s a nice illustration you can find with a quick internet search. In it, three kids of various height are peering over a fence at a ball game. Well, two are anyway. Each one stands on a crate. The first kid is tall enough that he actually doesn’t need the crate to see. The second kid can see only by standing on the crate. The third is standing on the crate, but still isn’t tall enough to see. Each was treated equally by being given a crate of the same height. But not each was treated justly, according to the more nuanced, distributive justice.
Relative unequals were treated equally when given something, yet they were not all treated justly. And it can work the same way when it comes to taking something away, like money for sidewalks.
Jesse Yates
Hambden Township
Local Businesses Standout
I was hoping to send out a reminder of just how valuable our local businesses are.
In planning our daughter’s wedding this past year, we had been working with downtown businesses, one west side store and three local Chardon establishments. It goes without saying that our local businesses stood out the most as far as good old-fashioned excellent customer service.
The Party Loft, which so joyfully helped us put together some ‘thank you’ packages to SerendipiTea, for a beautiful and delicious wedding morning breakfast spread and, last but absolutely not least, to Sweet Grace Anne’s, which went above and beyond in creating beautiful and tasty desserts for our gluten-free friends to a beautiful vegan cake that was hand-delivered to the downtown venue at no additional cost.
Working with these local owners couldn’t have made for a more polar opposite experience from the downtown wedding planning.
So, for all of us “Amazon primers” — and I am one of them — let’s remember to keep a balance when looking for a purchase or an experience.
Marybeth Wantz
Chardon Township
Thanks for Caring
I’d like to thank Ron Wiech for voting against the sewer and water increase. I’m long retired and on a very small fixed income. An increase in my water and sewer rates would have a devastating impact on my life.
Many of us in Middlefield are in the same boat and, with the increase coming next year on the property taxes for the schools, it’s going to be tough to pay our bills.
Again, Ron, thanks for caring about the seniors and the retired residents.
Barbara Mazzone
Middlefield Village
Time to Plan for Future
Newbury School . . . “Small but mighty.”
Newbury school is small, 398 students (K through 12) last year and down to 382 students this year, a downward trend that Newbury has been experiencing for many years.
The next smallest district is Cardinal with 1,190 students last year; three times the size of Newbury.
Big isn’t always better, but maintaining a school district with approximately 30 students per grade level is not cost effective. The claim that small classes translates to more individualized attention, thereby facilitating learning, is touted as one of Newbury’s strengths. However, the recent state report card results don’t reflect this.
Newbury received 3 D’s, 1 F and no rating for K-3 literacies because the sample size was too small. Our overall performance rating was 88.8 compared to 98.6 for Kenston, 100.9 for Chardon and 101.6 for West Geauga — the three largest school districts in the county.
Newbury’s graduation rate of 87.8 is also the lowest in the county.
Bigger may not always be better, but it’s a definite improvement over what we currently have considering we pay more per student than any other school district in the county. As with any report of this magnitude, there are inherent flaws, but it is a rating that all Ohio public schools must deal with.
Besides dealing with the current status quo, the current board members are faced with the deterioration of our facilities. Since our football bleachers have been condemned and are unsafe, the board has appropriated $10,000 for plans for plans for building new sports facilities.
Since the cost of the plans for a project usually comprises 5 percent of the total cost, the new bleachers price tag will be at least $200,000.
In addition, the windows in the 90-year-old main building leak and need to be replaced for a cost (according to one board member) of $1 million; that is, if no black mold is found within the walls.
Since Newbury’s current building operation expenditure per pupil is $3,813.00 (the next highest in the county being Cardinal at $2,809), is it worth taxpayer’s money to maintain the deteriorating facilities?
The facts are in and obvious to anyone who doesn’t have their head in the sand; Newbury School cannot maintain the status quo. Our students deserve better and our community deserves better. It’s time to plan for the future.
Terry L. Sedivy
Newbury Township
New Leadership Needed
As a longtime Newbury resident, I am voting for the slate of Maggie Evans-Zock, Terry Sedivy and Kimya Matthews for the Newbury school board and encourage my neighbors to do the same.
Why? This new leadership will bring us better educational opportunities for our children, higher property values for our property owners, and lower taxes for our residents.
I have long supported the Newbury Schools and educational and extracurricular opportunities for our children.
In the past, I have helped elect school board members and pass levies all in support of our schools and our children.
At this point in time, our schools have deteriorated to such an extent that our children have diminished opportunities.
Our schools are so poorly regarded that our property values are declining; young families don’t want to live here.
Meanwhile, our costs skyrocket out of control with and we pay more in taxes than other neighboring districts and for the inferior product, the diminished opportunities for our children.
Our school board needs to consider any and all alternatives. The current school board has failed and must be replaced with new leadership.
I am voting for Maggie Evans-Zock, Terry Sedivy and Kimya Matthews as, in my opinion by doing so, we all win, win and win, with more educational opportunities, higher property values and lower taxes.
Please join me.
Ben Calkins
Newbury Township
Languishing Death
Newbury residents have a momentous decision to make in the upcoming election regarding the future of its school district.
All the Newbury BOE candidates are passionate about their positions. The education of current and future Newbury students hangs in the balance. I urge all Newbury voters to “come and reason together” as they decide how to vote.
School enrollments throughout Northeast Ohio are declining, especially in Geauga County. Current Newbury school enrollment has sunk into the 300s – a huge drop from when our children went there (enrollment was close to 1,000 at that time).
Newbury’s younger school building stands empty, except for the library station.
Newbury’s dismal state report card could not even assess the reading literacy of our K-3 (average class size too small for statistical evaluation).
The almost 100 year-old main building is in need of significant and costly repairs.
More and more Newbury students opt for open enrollment — the school census is in a downward spiral.
The Newbury school board seemed aware of these issues and, in 2014, promoted a large 8-mill tax levy with the published argument that it would insure the possibility of merger or consolidation. The levy passed. But the Newbury BOE ended consolidation/merger talks with Berkshire and West Geauga, despite the fact that both districts still want to continue discussions with us.
Now the Newbury BOE members running for re-election have decided to remain an independent district at all costs. And those costs to Newbury residents are high: Our per-pupil-expenditure is the highest in Geauga County and the seventh highest in the entire state of Ohio.
Newbury needs a school board that is willing to look at the distressing facts – facts that point to an uncertain future for Newbury Schools.
Newbury needs a school board willing to grapple with painful issues and pursue all possible solutions. We need to do this now – while the district is not in debt and has access to helpful state funding.
We should not wait until Newbury’s enrollment sinks into the 200s. We should not risk a state take-over like Ledgemont. We must not let Newbury Schools die a languishing death in the next five years.
I urge you to visit the “It’s Time” website (www.itstime.info/) to learn more. I urge you to vote for their endorsed BOE candidates: Matthews, Sedivy, and Zock — for the sake of all Newbury students.
Rose Breckenridge
Newbury Township
Tropf Not Stuck in Newbury’s Past
Newbury Township currently has an unspent balance on hand of over $2 million. This is a fact that can be verified by the township fiscal officer.
When the money is already available to fund much needed road repair and contracts have been cancelled, and when headstones in our township cemetery are crumbling and drastically in need of repair, the question “Why?” begs an answer.
When the number of empty buildings along Route 87 grows because businesses continue to pull up stakes and leave town, the same question needs to be asked, “Why?”
When the Veteran’s Memorial Park at the center of town languishes still incomplete after four years “under construction,” the same question — “Why?” — needs to be asked.
These shortcomings are each a symptom of stagnation. Stagnation resulting from a dearth of new ideas and a lack of vision for the future coming from elected officials — officials who have occupied their office for too long a time.
Newbury needs new people with fresh ideas. Greg Tropf is running for Newbury Trustee. Greg is not a career politician. He is not stuck in Newbury’s past.
Please join me on Nov. 7 in electing Greg Tropf for Newbury Trustee.
Denver Sallee
Newbury Township
Unable to Withstand $1 Million Loss
Nearly six years ago, Chardon Schools were experiencing a financial crisis. Cuts to our state funding had resulted in cost-cutting measures that were impacting educational programs and students across the district. Art, music, gifted and business programs saw reductions or were gone altogether. High school students had few options and sat in study halls. In late 2013, we were able to pass a levy.
With the last levy, the board had to compromise between what was needed for the future and what we felt would be acceptable to the taxpayer. This gave us the ability to restore some educational programs but with very limited cost increases.
We have restored many programs and now our high school students do not sit in study halls. We have updated curricula and purchased new educational materials to replace those that were many years out of date.
But the state has now cut nearly $1 million from our funding due to loss of the Tangible Personal Property tax.
In addition, charter school enrollment continues to impact our budget, with an estimated annual cost of $600,000.
This is why I ask you to support Issue 26. We are asking for only what is necessary to keep the district whole for state reductions along with a minimal increase in additional operating millage. This will allow us to stretch our resources without significant disruption to programs and services.
My focus is on not returning to the days when we eliminated educational opportunities for our students. We are unable to withstand a $1 million reduction in state funding.
If we fail to get local support, then in December of 2017 we will have to begin to plan cuts for implementation starting in the 2018-19 school year. These will likely include reductions in programs, services and personnel.
Guy Wilson, Member
Chardon Schools Board of Education
