Volume 51, No. 16
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
Russell’s Shell Station Converting To Sunoco By Ann Wishart ann@geaugamapleleaf.com Russell Township Board of Zoning Appeals decided during a hearing Jan. 6 Steve Gaetjens doesn’t need a conditional use permit to expand his retail sales into the two bays of the Shell gas station at state routes 306 and 87. However, there was an hourlong discussion about lighting for the station, which is being rebranded by Gaetjens from Shell to Sunoco. Julie Fetchik, director of property management for Willoughby Hills Development and Distribution Sunoco Brand Distributors, presented plans for the new pumps and lighting of the canopy. Fetchik said the adjustment to the signage would make it fresher, more modern and sleek. The yellow letters on the canopy will be backlit on a blue background. The overhead lights will be turned off when the station is closed, she said. The board was also concerned the lighting around the canopy not shine away from the pumps. “It’s important, in this location, that the light stays on the property,” said board Chairman Steve Gokorsch. The existing lights will be repaired and focused on the pumps, not the road, using LED lights, Fetchik said. See Russell • Page 9
Controversial Elementary Grade-Leveling OK’d By Diane Ryder editor@geaugamapleleaf.com By a unanimous 4-0 vote Jan. 6, the West Geauga Schools Board of Education passed a resolution to make Westwood Elementary School a kindergarten-through-second-grade building and Lindsey Elementary School, a third-throughfifth-grade building beginning in the 2020-2021 school year. Currently, both buildings serve kindergarten through fifth grade. Board members have been considering the reconfiguration for more than a year, and the proposal met with strong opposition at a commu-
AMY PATTERSON/KMG
Westwood Elementary School on Caves Road in Russell Township is slated to become a kindergarten-through-second-grade building beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.
nity meeting held Dec. 11. Many of the 75 people in attendance at that meeting told school officials they opposed the change, primarily
because they believe it will cause transportation and scheduling problems. See West G Schools • Page 4
Still No I.D. on Chester Fire Victim Staff Report The remains of a man and his dog were found inside a fire-ravaged home on the 13100 block of Westchester Trail in Chester Township Jan. 5. Ten fire crews from Lake, Cuyahoga and Geauga counties responded to a house fire around 11 p.m. Chester Township crews did not leave the scene until 5 a.m. Monday, according to the Chester Township Fire Department. Chief John Wargelin said crews from Munson and Russell townships, Kirtland, Chardon, Newbury Township, Mayfield Village, Gates Milles, Willoughby Hills, and Bainbridge and Hambden townships See Fire • Page 3
CHESTER TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT VIA FACEBOOK
Ten area fire departments provided mutual aid to the Chester Township Fire Department on the scene of a fire late in the night of Jan. 5. The bodies of a man, still unidentified, and a dog were found inside the structure.
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