CATCH A STAR
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The Top Flight Gymnastics team winns a state championship.
Volume 8 Number 18 © 2011 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Burlington and Hebron Email: kynews@communitypress.com Website: communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 2 8 , 2 0 1 1
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Keeping farming ‘alive and well’ Group promotes agritourism
Prom memories last a lifetime
Dancing, beautiful gowns, delicious buffet spreads, cameras and smiles are all part of the prom tradition being experienced in April and May in Boone County. This week we present photos from the Ryle High School and WaltonVerona High School proms. LIFE, B1
By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
When Linda Salsbury and her husband, Greg, started Burlington’s Eagle Bend Alpaca farm, it was a small venture and the only alpaca farm in Northern Kentucky. Having begun with five alpacas, the farm has grown in six years. The couple now has more than 100 alpacas – with more babies expected this spring – some chickens and a “guard llama,” she said. “We’ve worked really hard,” Salsbury said. “The animals are a delight to work with and we try to make ourselves visible in the county because we want to educate the community about alpacas
Mystery Photo
The April 21 photo was Dixie State Bank in Walton. Virginia Smith of Florence was the third person to correctly identify this location and is this week’s winner. This photo was provided by Matt Becher, who is the rural/open space planner at the Boone County Historic Preservation Review Board. A new Mystery Photo will appear on May 5.
Sportsman of Year nominations soon
The third annual Community Recorder Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year contest is approaching. Our readers determine the ballots and winners of each newspaper’s Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year through online nominations and voting. We run stories on the male and female winners for each county in Northern Kentucky in late June. From May 4 to May 16, readers can nominate studentathletes who show the highest quality on and off the field. See the column inside this week’s issue for more details.
Find your community, online
Find your community’s website by visiting NKY.com/local and select your community under “Kentucky Communities.” You’ll find local news, sports, photos and events, tailored to where you live.
To place an ad, call 283-7290.
STEPHANIE SALMONS/STAFF
Linda Salsbury, owner of Eagle Bend Alpcas, cuddles up with one of her alpacas.
and the fleece industry. It’s another source of farming.” However, Salsbury is most excited about a new agritourism board serving Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Pendleton counties. She serves as a director. The Northern Kentucky Agritourism Network formed in February, she said. There are two directors from each county and one atlarge director from Campbell County, she said. While farms in these counties are diminishing, the group is trying to keep the farming experience “alive and well” for the public, she said. “I’m so impressed with the people who set this into play,” Salsbury said. Northern Kentucky is unique in that there is a large “big city” base nearby to draw from, but some areas can still remain rural. There are a number of “mom and pop” farms around the area that offer unique services and products, Salsbury said. “This will connect those dots, making (farming and agriculture) available to the public and bring people into the area to spend money.” The group is currently working on membership. Once that’s established, they’ll put together a brochure of places to visit in Northern Kentucky, she said. “This area has a lot to offer and now it will be out there where people can access it,” Salsbury said. Cherokee Bronk of Union’s Hickory Hollow Farm is Boone County’s second rep on the agri-
STEPHANIE SALMONS/STAFF
An alpaca at Burlington’s Eagle Bend Alpacas. Owner Linda Salsbury serves as a member of the newly formed Northern Kentucky Agritourism Network. tourism board. The network is connecting the consumer with the farmers and vice versa, Bronk said. Tobacco used to be the state’s major cash crop, but since production has dwindled farmers are looking to other options like agritourism, she said. According to Jerry Brown, Boone County extension agent for agriculture and natural resources, networking these local ventures together allows them to draw more people than they could on their own. “If they could come in and spend a day or a few days going to several agritourism ventures, they’re more likely to come,” he said. Networking allows the smaller
ventures to work together on advertising, promotions and even grant applications, Brown said. Not only does agritourism promote locally grown foods, but keeping farms thriving is more important now than it was in the past, he said. “Twenty years ago, almost everyone had a parent or grandparent that had lived on a farm ... (and) knew where their food came from,” Brown said. “Now kids are three or four generations away from the farm. “They have no appreciation or knowledge of where their food comes from. Agritourism locations work on (kids’) education about agriculture.” For more about your community, visit www.nky.com/burlington
Curry leaving Boone County post By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
BURLINGTON - Assistant Boone County Administrator Robin Curry will step down from the post he’s held since 1993. Curry, whose last official day is April 30, said retirement is something he’s been “considering for a while,” but decided to do so after receiving a job offer in the private sector. “I thought it was a good opportunity for me and the county,” Curry said. “I’m 55. I have one more career left.” Curry will be taking a position with the Covington-based Sherill Morgan Agency, an insurance broker. Curry, who said he has worked with three judge-executives and 13 commissioners, works closely with Judge-executive Gary Moore and County Administrator Jeff Earlywine in addition to handling the county’s human resources, he said. Several departments report to Curry and he’s also project manager for county building and side-
walk projects, including the construction of the new justice center, sheriff’s office and jail, he said. He’s most proud not of work he’s done alone, but work he’s done as a team. “It’s always been a team effort and I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of that team,” he said. Curry has been eligible for retirement since before the last election, but didn’t want to do anything during the election. “It’s always been my plan at 55 to get out and do something else,” he said. Now Curry said he’s at a point where he can do that. While he’s excited for the opportunities ahead, Curry said leaving is a “double-edge sword.” “These guys have been good to me and this career has been good to me and my family,” he said. “It almost tears me up to think about leaving all the great people I work for and great people I work with ... but I’m so excited to try something different and I’m looking forward to that.” Moore said Curry’s departure leaves the county with “big shoes
to fill.” Curry began working for the county before Moore was elected. After Moore took office, he began to evaluate the county’s senior staff. “(I) quickly learned that Robin was a talented individual who really cared for the county and did a good job,” Moore said. “I made the determination to keep him as part of our senior staff and it was a great decision. He has been very loyal, always gets the job done and does it well.” Earlywine echoed those sentiments. “Robin has been a great teammate and a great professional colleague. He has been really great to work with,” he said. The county will do an in-house posting for the position first and if there’s a need to “look further,” then the opening will be posted publicly, Moore said. As judge-executive, Moore said he makes the decision in regards to hiring senior staff members. For more about your community, visit www.nky.com/boonecounty
PATRICK REDDY/STAFF
Assistant Boone County Administrator Robin Curry will retire at the end of this month.