SEE WHO OUR READERS CHOSE PAGE A10
Volume 14 Number 40 © 2009 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Florence E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, J u n e 2 5 , 2 0 0 9
W e b s i t e : N K Y. c o m
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
50¢
Florence City Council budget approved By Justin B. Duke
jbduke@nky.com
Hey kids! Become a Recorder carrier and earn your own spending money and still have time for other fun activities since delivery is just one day a week on Thursday. It’s your own business where your neighbors rely on you to deliver information about their community. You’ll learn valuable business skills and gain experience in customer service and money management. You’ll also be able to earn bonuses, win prizes and participate in special carrier events. Call 781-4421.
RECORDER
Florence City Council approved the city’s $53.5 million budget, but it didn’t come without concern. Before voting on the 20092010 fiscal year budget, Council Member Mike Apgar, in his first year on council, questioned the allotment of $3.1 million for the World of Sports renovation during tough economic times. Of the allotted money, $2.1 million will be carried over from the 2008-2009 fiscal year and an additional $1 million will be added
from the new budget. Over the next fiscal year, the city expects to lose $364,700 through operating World of Sports. The city assumes to lose some money on all its parks and subsidize their availability for Florence residents, Apgar said. “My basic concern is the extent which we subsidize recreational activity,” he said. The coming fiscal year will be an atypical year for the golf course because it will be closed for part of the year to allow for construction, and the city normally subsidizes between $75,000 and $100,000 a year for the course, said Finance
Director Linda Chapman. Over the last year, the city cut costs through laying off employees and eliminating the IT department. “I have a real problem doing these things when we’re subsidizing the golf course,” Apgar said. Before spending the money on the new facility, council will have to have an extensive discussion about whether or not to spend the money, he said. His vote for approving the budget hinged on council agreeing to such a discussion, Apgar said. “If everyone cut out their projects, we should have never put
Relay for Life set for June 26
Collection time
In the next few days your Community Recorder carrier will be stopping by to collect $2.50 for delivery of this month’s Florence Recorder. Your carrier retains half of this amount along with any tip you give to reward good Kemp service. This month we’re featuring Logan Kemp who attends Boone County High School and plays basketball on the Special Olympic team. He likes to play video games with his friends and basketball. He says the best part of delivering papers is meeting his neighbors. For information about our carrier program, call Victoria Martin, 442-3463, or e-mail vmartin@communitypress.com.
By Justin B. Duke jbduke@nky.com
The Florence Woman’s Club presents a new barn quilt during the city’s Memorial Day festivities.
PROVIDED
Quilts become county landmarks By Justin B. Duke jbduke@nky.com
A new set of decorations are popping up across the scenery of Boone County. Since 2006, 37 barn quilts have gone on display all over the county. Joyce Foley heads up the quilts, which are usually made of a custom painted wood frame that can be as large as 64 square feet. Foley, a member of the Florence Woman’s Club, helped convince the club to sponsor the quilt program, said member Betsy Conrad. “That was her pet project,”
Conrad said. When someone wants to make a barn quilt, Foley works with them to make a design that means something to the person to make sure it has a personal touch. “Quilts have long been symbols of comfort, family, heritage and community,” Foley said. Once a design is set, Foley’s husband will make the frame and she usually does the painting, unless someone wants to do it. After completion, the barn quilts are hung in locations through out the county that are easily seen from public property. “I don’t want people to come
tramping onto private property,” Foley said. Because of the size and locations of the barn quilts, they’re becoming a countywide gallery. “We’re giving public art to the community,” Foley said. To help track down the growing number of barn quilts, they’ve been included on the “Tourism and Points of Interest Map” offered by the Boone County Planning Commission. For more information about the barn quilts or how to have one made, contact Foley at 525-2451.
Cooper teacher charged with sexual abuse By Justin B. Duke
LAST CHANCE!
Be sure to vote for your favorite local businesses in the Readers’ Choice Awards Contest either online at communitypress.com or using the ballot on the back page of this section. Deadline for all entries is Tuesday, June 30.
To place an ad, call 283-7290.
out the stimulus,” said Vice Mayor Ted Bushelman. Construction of the new World of Sports will create jobs that can help jump start the economy, Bushelman said. The $3.1 million for the renovations is a place holder, and council will have to have that discussion before it is approved, said Mayor Diane Whalen. “Our budget is a living document,” Whalen said. The budget’s second and final reading was unanimously approved by council.
jbduke@nky.com
A Cooper High School teacher has been arrested for two counts of sexual abuse with a student. Special education teacher Jason Collins-Baker, 31, of Union, was allegedly involved with a 17-yearold 2009 graduate of the school throughout the school year. “Investigators determined the two would meet at Collins-Baker's Union home and that there was no inappropriate behavior on school grounds other than their discreet communications,” said Boone County Sheriff’s Department Spokesman Tom Scheben. The department will know
more about their communications after investigating Collins-Baker’s phone, Scheben said. “We believe they both phoned and texted each other,” he said. If convicted, Collins-Baker faces up to five years in state penitentiary. A former University of Cincinnati football player, Collins-Baker served as the school’s boy’s track coach. The student ran track for the school and the Sheriff’s Department was alerted of the siutation through word of mouth, Scheben said. “Apparentely they weren’t as discrete as they thought they were,” he said.
According to his page on Linkedin.com, he founded a management consulting company in March and was expected to earn his Masters in Special Education from Northern Kentucky University next year. The school district plans to make an announcement about Collins-Baker’s status as more information becomes available, said Schools/Community Relations Coordinator Laurie Walton. “The district will take all appropriate disciplinary action to lead toward termination of employment,” Walton said. Collins-Baker is being held in the Boone County Detention Center without bond.
A group of walkers and runners plan to go all night for a worthy cause. The Boone County Relay for Life serves as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. So far, 54 teams are signed up to take on the Cooper High School track all night long, going from 7 p.m. Friday, June 26, to 7 a.m. S a t u r d a y, June 27. “ C a n c e r It’s not too late never sleeps; neither will to sign up for we,” said the relay. For Chairperson more Shelly Tudor. Through- information, eout the night, mail Shelly different Tudor at activities like shelly.tudor@d a coney eating contest or elta.com. a newlywed game and themed laps like poker or crazy hat laps will keep the teams awake and having fun, Tudor said. This year’s relay brings several new additions. First is the venue. For the last several years, the Boone County Relay for Life has been at Ryle High School, but due to construction on the school’s football stadium and track the facility wasn’t available. “We’ve been very appreciative of their support and involvement over the last seven or eight years,” Tudor said. Following in the footsteps of Ryle’s accommodation, Cooper High School will host the event. In addition to the new location, this year’s relays will add tournaments for flag football, cornhole and volleyball starting at midnight. After midnight, participants can begin to feel the lull, but these games should bring the energy back, Tudor said. It’s not too late to sign up for the relay. For more information, email chairperson Shelly Tudor at shelly.tudor@delta.com.
Go to Cars.com and become a more confident car shopper. Read up on consumer and expert reviews. Research incentives, rebates and find out what you should be paying. You can even find the dealer nearest you. Check out our many research tools all designed to put you in the driver’s seat.