B OONE COMMUNITY RECORDER
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Burlington and Hebron
FIELD HONORS A6 Two Cougars in spotlight
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Dads going back to school with their children By Melissa Stewart mstewart@nky.com
Boone County Public Library’s first librarian Jane Smith retired after 40 years on Dec. 31. STEPHANIE SALMONS/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER
Boone’s first librarian retires after 40 years By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
Jane Smith said she has been with the Boone County Public Library since “before the beginning.” That’s before the library opened in an old Florence feed store, before the library’s first permanent location was built, and before the library expanded to include a main branch in Burlington and five branches
in the county. Smith, 63, of Union, was the first librarian and library director hired by the newly formed library system in 1974. She retired Dec. 31. Originally from Western Kentucky, Smith’s husband, William A. (Bill) Smith, is a Boone County native whose family had been here for generations. “He made an off-hand comment that Boone County was
working on a property tax, trying to pass a tax to get a library,” she said, “and I thought, ‘oh, that sounds interesting.’” At the time, Smith, who was just 22, was working on her master’s in library science at the University of Kentucky. She applied for the job, was interviewed, and “basically the rest is history.” See LIBRARIAN, Page A2
UNION — Once a month at New Haven Elementary School, dad becomes a rock star. “The kids absolutely love it when dad comes to school,” Tiger Dads organizer Bryan Cobb of Union said. “We’re kind of like the rock stars.” Cobb organized the father’s group last year with the hope to get them more involved in their children’s education. “Statistics show positive results when dads are involved in school,” Cobb said. “Dads do want to be involved in their kids’ school, they just need an avenue to do so, as well as making it OK to step into the mom’s world at the school.” Every other month the Tiger Dads have breakfast at the school. Once a year, the dads visit the classrooms and participate in other activities, like a Florence Freedom game or Ryle football tailgate. In February the dads are planning a math and science night with take-home math games and science experiments. Tiger Dads has also opened up many volunteer opportunities for Cobb and other dads in the group. Cobb said the reaction from
Bill Brassine and his son Will Brassine at the New Haven Tiger Dads Florence Freedom baseball game last May. THANKS TO BRYAN COBB
the students has been positive. His two children, first- and fourth-graders, enjoy the time he spends with them at school. “It’s a special thing for the kids,” Cobb said. “There’s usually a glow on their faces when they walk in to the cafeteria for breakfast. “For me, being a dad is everything. My whole life now is my kids from reading to them at night to helping them with their homework. I feel giving my child a more rounded view of education is important.” See DADS, Page A2
Shelter accepting help after fire By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
BURLINGTON — Despite a New Year’s Eve fire that destroyed a dryer and caused smoke damage at the Boone County Animal Shelter, director BeckeyReiter says they are feeling very fortunate. “This was the best possible scenario if it had to happen,” she said. According to Reiter, a fire broke out in the shelter’s industrial clothes dryer around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31. Animal control officers Dustin Brown, a volunteer firefighter with
DIFFERENCE MAKER Interact Club open to teens
the Falmouth Fire Department, and Alex Reisenbeck, a full-time firefighter with the Hebron Fire Protection District, were both on duty and acted quickly to contain the fire. “We were actually very fortunate that it occurred while staff was here,” Reiter said. In a Dec. 31 post on the shelter’s Facebook page, Reiter says the staff’s quick response “not only minimized damage, their action saved lives.” “How fortunate,” Reiter said. “The first firefighters I ever had on staff and both happened to be on duty at the time.”
“You plan and you drill and you practice for emergency responses and it’s not until something happens that you know how effective your plan is,” said Reiter. “This could have been such a devastating situation.” She said the fire was contained to the dryer; the replacement cost is $5,000 to $6,000. While no animals seemed to be in distress Dec. 31, Reiter said on Jan. 2 two cats were showing signs of respiratory distress and were sent to the Greater Cincinnati Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services in Wilder.
See story, A3
RITA’S KITCHEN Use greens for healthier pizza See story, B3
“We’re just hand cleaning the entire shelter,” said Reiter. “Now it’s just a lot of smoke damage. Boone County Administrator Jeff Earlywine said the county was pleased to learn there were no injuries, human or animal, and the fire caused no significant property damage. “I think the employees, from all reports, acted quickly and decisively which played a part in minimizing property damage,” he said. According to Earlywine, the county is self-insured for the first $20,000 See SHELTER, Page A2
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A New Year’s Eve Fire destroyed the Boone County Animal Shelter’s industrial dryer and caused smoke damage. PROVIDED
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