Volume 51, No. 6
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Girl Scouts Not ‘Just Having Fun’ Russell Girl’s Letter on ‘Sexist Comment’ Under National Spotlight By Cassandra Shofar cassandra@geaugamapleleaf.com A 12-year-old Russell Township girl’s recent letter to the editor titled “Sexist Comment” has gone viral, garnering national attention and even brought her to New York City last week for a network television interview. The letter, which appeared in the Geauga County Maple Leaf newspaper July 19, expressed Girl Scout and West Geauga student Julianne Speyer’s disappointment at an announcer’s comment during the Chester Township 4th of July parade. The announcer — on a grandstand located at the north entrance to West Geauga High School and whose identity has not been confirmed as of Aug. 6 — offended Julianne when he labeled the Boy Scouts as “future leaders of America” and then said the Girl Scouts were “just having fun.” “I found this comment very sexist and patronizing,” wrote Julianne, who had been marching with Girl Scout Junior Troop 77192 behind the Boy Scouts in the parade. “I would appreciate it if you would help me to let other people know how much this kind of thing happens and how bad it is. I feel it is an insult to both girls and women of all ages. This kind of thing happens way too See Letter • Page 6
Julianne Speyer’s original letter to the editor (top) sparked a social media frenzy that got picked up by a number of national outlets and celebrities, including George Takai (right). Julianne is pictured at left during a televised interview with CBS News.
Both Russell Park Boards Place Levies on Ballot By Ann Wishart ann@geaugamapleleaf.com After the Russell Township Citizens Park District Commissioners voted unanimously Aug. 2 to place a 0.25-mill, five-year levy on the Nov. 6 ballot, board Chairman Roy Podojil said he hopes township residents won’t be confused when they go to the polls. Another park levy will appear on the same ballot for Russell’s probate-court-appointed Russell Township Park District — also called
the 1545 park district after Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1545 — for 0.5 mills. Both levies are additional, which means they do not exist now and taxpayers will not be eligible for any discounts that would be attached to renewals of older levies. The CPD 0.25-mill levy would yield about $66,430 per year at 100 percent collection and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $8.75 per year, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s office. The 1545 park board’s 0.5-mill
levy would yield about $132,860, if passed, and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $17.50 per year, according to the auditor’s office. The two issues are not so much about the cost to homeowners as much as a referendum on which board residents want controlling their parks, said Podojil. “This would bring the park district back under the control of the people,” he said of the CPD’s levy action during the meeting Thursday. If the CPD does things residents
don’t like, homeowners can vote for a new board of township trustees who can appoint a park board to do what residents want, Podojil said. Geauga County Probate Court Judge Tim Grendell appoints members of the 1545 park district board and he has changed the membership on that board several times since he came into office. The 1545 park board dates back to 1984 under ORC Chapter 1545, which put the county probate judge See Levies • Page 8
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