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Volume 52, No. 19
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
Mutual Aid For Road Snow Plowing Proposed By Ann Wishart ann@geaugamapleleaf.com
A couple of nasty snowfalls and COVID-19-related driver shortages this winter have prompted several communities on the west side of Geauga County to consider a mutual aid agreement among road departments. Russell Township Trustee Gary Gabram said during a trustees meeting Jan. 20 there has been talk among officials from Bainbridge and Russell townships and South Russell and Chagrin Falls villages to create a mutual aid pact similar to those fire departments in the area have in place. When township or village plow drivers are sick or quarantined and unable to drive a plow truck to clear the township or village roads, the mutual aid system would provide a way for one department to ask a neighboring department to assist, he said. The current problem arises when the novel coronavirus affects a plow driver, but the mutual aid would not be limited to illness, he said. “There would be mutual aid for anything that could possibly go wrong,” Gabram said. While the Ohio Revised Code allows road departments to share equipment, the concept of sharing personnel is being vetted by the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office, he said. See Plowing • Page 3
BILL FUGATE/KMG
Senior Athena Hocevar drives against Hawken thanks to a screen from Lauren Munko in the Wolverines 57-49 loss to the Hawks. Hocevar scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers. The Wolverines have only played four games to start the week due schedule conflicts and the coronavirus.
Hawken Urgency Stops Wolverines in Overtime
By Rich Kelly
ONLINE VIDEO West G freshman Magdalene Furst
sports@geaugamapleleaf.com
High hopes are in play for each team entering a new season of competition. Things like a virus or injuries can alter expectations quite a bit. But in the hopes for success, you work through whatever happens. West Geauga’s Wolverines girls basketball team has dealt with many of these things, and is finally getting its new season underway, albeit without coach Bob Beutel. They also have a key player currently sidelined, Alexa Hocevar. But others are stepping up finally under interim coach Greg Dugger. When the Wolverines jumped off to a 12-3 lead over the host
Hawken Hawks Saturday afternoon in The Nest, ignited by a 3-pointer from the left wing by Athena Hocevar, it looked like a West G-dominant contest was in the works. The Hawks also have high expectations for this season under coach David Murray, though, and having the benefit of a few games under their belts — whereas this
was just the third game for West Geauga — proved to be just what Hawken needed. The Wolverines maintained a small lead most of the first half, being tied once, at 18-18. But the Hawks’ big plays on both ends of the floor in the second half helped them claim a 57-49 See Basketball • Page 4
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