Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township E-mail: clermont@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, A u g u s t 2 7 , 2 0 0 9
Vol. 110 No. 33 © 2009 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Fr. Lou, Rita move
We have again moved some of your favorite features to allow room for our high school sports fall previews. This week, you can find Father Lou Guntzelman’s column on page A6. Rita Heikenfeld’s cooking column is on page A7. The calendar is on B4. All will be back in their usual spot next week.
Election lists
The petitions are in and we have the names of those who will be running for office in November. FULL STORY, A4
Bethel Savings & Loan hosts 10K
More than 130 people raced through the streets of Bethel Saturday, Aug. 8, as part of the Bethel Building & Loan 10K run. The race, which also featured a shorter 5K walk, began at 8 a.m. that morning in Burke Park. It continued to East Fork State Park and finished back at Burke Park. FULL STORY, A2
Cardinal ball to support sports
A new booster club for the Felicity-Franklin Local School District is having their first major fundraiser to support the district’s athletics. FUNd for the KIDS will hold a Cardinal Ball at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, in the Felicity-Franklin Cafetorium, 415 Washington St. FULL STORY, A4 For the Postmaster
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Felicity schools are excellent By Kellie Geist
kgeist@communitypress.com
The Felicity-Franklin Local School District was declared “excellent” for the first time when the Ohio Department of Education state report cards came out Tuesday. In 2007, the district was “effective,” but in 2008, it dropped to “continuous improvement.” The district only met 18 of 30 indicators, but was able to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress. That, combined with the elementary and middle schools’ “excellent” ratings, helped the district earn an “excellent” rating. “That value added piece brought us up to ‘excellent’,” said Felicity-Franklin Superintendent Glenn Moore. “I would have liked to be rated ‘excellent’ based on indicators, but this shows that we’ve had a lot of growth.” AYP is determined by the scores fourth-grade through eighth-grade students in various subgroups earned on reading and math tests, according to the Ohio Department of Education’s Web site. Now that the district has reached “excellent,” Moore said they will be continuing their current efforts to adjust teaching styles to each group of kids, encourage positive behavior supports and have teachers intervene with students who are struggling. “It will be much of the same. We are going to continue to work on what’s got us here,” Moore said. The district staff will be meeting during the first few weeks of school to refine the improvement plan and decide what areas of improvement to focus on next, Moore said.
KELLIE GEIST/STAFF
Felicity-Franklin Elementary School teacher Glenda Hutchison helps her fourth-grade students use the electric pencil sharpener the first day of school Aug. 29. He added the timing of the “excellent” rating was tough for FelicityFranklin because the district just sent out the required public choice letters Moore explaining the district’s “continuous improvement” rating and providing parents with the choice to transfer out of the district. A few miles away, the BethelTate Local School District is not thrilled with the state’s ratings. While Bethel-Tate met 26 of the 30 indicators, the district was rated “effective.” The district was excellent in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The high school held onto an
“excellent” rating for the fifth straight year, but the middle school slipped from excellent with distinction to excellent. Hill Intermediate was rated “effective” and Bick Primary is not eligible for rating because the students do not take the state tests. “For a district that has been rated ‘excellent’ for three years, this is not good news,” said Bethel-Tate Superintendent Jim Smith. “We’re disappointed.” Smith thinks the slip is partially because of changes in the special needs category. “We have a lot of handicapped kids who are pretty intensive in our district. In the past, those kids could take a special, state approved test ... They weren’t allowed to do that this year,” Smith said. Smith also said some of the
lower rating could be because of the value added aspect. Last year, the district led the county in Adequate Yearly Progress, but this year didn’t do as well. The exact numbers weren’t available until Tuesday, after The Bethel Journal’s deadline. Outside the classroom, some of not being rated “excellent” could have been related to the district’s financial woes, Smith said. “Last year was a hard year. There was a lot of stress on the staff with running levies and potential layoffs,” Smith said. Smith added that the community should expect to see BethelTate return to “excellent” in 2010 because of indicators already met (such as graduation rates) and the removal of two social studies test students in the district typically struggle with.
Readers choose favorite businesses By Mary Dannemiller
mdannemiller@communitypress.com
In June, The Community Press presented readers with a ballot of 100 categories so they could choose their favorites ranging from American vehicle to produce to women’s clothing. And readers responded, filling out newspaper and online ballots with their choices. You can find the complete list of Readers’ Choice favorites in today’s special section. We’ve talked with some of our readers’ top choices about how they keep their customers coming back. Randy Bradford, owner of Brad’s Glass, 2164 Ohio Pike, was excited to hear his store was picked as Clermont County’s best glass company. “That’s wonderful to hear,” Bradford said. “We’ve been here for 35 years and we’re a small compa-
ny, but we love it.” Brad’s Glass offers a variety of products from custommade insulated windows to shower doors, patio doors and
mirrors. “We make our own glass right here at the shop so if you bring us a window frame by 10 a.m., we’ll have it done for you by 5 p.m. that day,” Bradford said. Bradford said he was flattered that Clermont County residents thought so highly of Brad’s Glass. “We appreciate it so very much,” he said. “My whole family has worked here and we do most of our work for the people of Clermont County.”
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Brad’s Glass owner Randy Bradford.
MARY DANNEMILLER/STAFF