ME AND MY PET
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William Cole and his dog Bert
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving all of Campbell County
COUNTY RECORDER
E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com Volume 32, Number 40 © 2010 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Charity outreach
For the last six years, the Wilder location of Cash Express has organized the local charity outreach that places collection boxes from Newport and Alexandria. Donations received from this year’s collection will go to Action Ministries, a community grocery and pantry for Northern Kentucky based in Covington. NEWS, A2
Stewards of Children
According to the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, there are approximately 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse living in America today. Knowing these odds may not be good for children, the Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center is offering a class called Stewards of Children to help members of the community prevent child abuse and react responsibly when they recognize abuse. NEWS, A4
T h u r s d a y, N o v e m b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 0
Web site: NKY.com
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
Smoking ban talk takes on urgency
By Chris Mayhew cmayhew@nky.com
Campbell County leaders are still talking about pursuing an indoor smoking ban with Judgeexecutive Steve Pendery indicating a potential ordinance be made public this month. The election of Republicans Pete Garrett and Brian Painter as commissioners, who both have said they oppose the ban, leaves Pendery as the lone voice of support for a smoking ordinance once the two new commissioners take over in 2011. Incumbent Commissiner Ken Rechtin, who did not have an opponent in the election, has also
opposed a full indoor smoking ban. Multiple debaters on both sides of the issue of smoking inside businesses including restaurants and bars spoke at length on the issue at the Nov. 3 Fiscal Court meeting in Alexandria despite the issue of smoking not being on the agenda for the night. Pendery announced the intention to have a first reading of an ordinance after eight people urged a ban of some type and five people spoke against the idea of the ban. People who spoke against the ban included three bar business owners in the county, and proponents of the ban included a medical doctor who practices in
Bellevue. Dr. Jeremy Engle, who said he’s been practicing in Bellevue for 10 years, said he’s helped smokers kick the habit, but that as a whole doctors and people who allow second-hand smoke to happen indoors aren’t doing their jobs. “Businesses have to take care of business, but legislators have to take care of people,” Engle said. Lois Miller, owner of Miller’s Fill In in Bellevue, said cabs do drop off smokers at her bar’s door who are coming from Ohio, and a ban will hurt her business. Miller asked the Fiscal Court to allow business owners to continue to
C.E. McCormick Area Technology Center in Alexandria offers its students a chance to earn credits not only for high school graduation, but also up to nine college credits in eight different areas of study from health science to welding and information technology. The curriculum has been aligned to encourage tech students not just to get a job out of school, but to pursue some type of advanc ed degree. SCHOOLS, A5
By Chris Mayhew cmayhew@nky.com
Letters to Santa
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make their own decisions about smoking. “I want the right to put a sign up outside my door to say ‘smoking permitted,’” she said. After the meeting, Pendery said an ordinance will “probably” be on the agenda for the second regular meeting of the month Wednesday, Nov. 17. Campbell County Administrator Robert Horine said it’s too early to tell how the process of receiving public comment will take shape, and not even unveiling an ordinance at the Nov. 17 meeting is definite. “We are awaiting further direction from Judge Pendery on that regard,” Horine said.
Hitting the trails this fall
Higher learning
Hey kids! It’s time to start writing your letters to Santa and send them in to the Community Recorder where they will be published Thursday, Nov. 25. Please send your brief letter to Santa to Melissa Hayden, Santa’s Helper, 394 Wards Corner Road, Loveland, OH 45140 or e-mail mhayden@ communitypress.com. Be sure to include your name, age, the community you live in and the Community Recorder paper you read, as well as a telephone number we can use to contact you if we require additional information. You may also include a nonreturnable photograph (or email a JPG image) that may appear with your letter. Letters and photos are due no later than Friday, Nov. 12.
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AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
Heather Averbeck from Notre Dame High School and Hiromi Holt from Villa Madonna High School work with Bryce Staverman during practice.
‘Dolphins’ take to the pool By Amanda Joering Alley ajoering@nky.com
Having special needs isn’t stopping the Northern Kentucky Dolphins from being trained athletes. The Dolphins, the area’s Special Olympics swim team, are gearing up for another season of practices and swim meets. The 44-member team of people with disabilities made up of a variety of ages 8 and older recently began holding practices at the pool at Northern Kentucky University. Debbie Ogden, who coaches the team with Paul and Paula Kirn, said the group includes those with all kinds of disabilities from spina bifida to autism. “This team offers them exercise and socialization,” said Ogden, whose son who had special needs
and passed away five years ago. “They work hard and are really true athletes.” The team, which is part of the Kentucky Special Olympics, is coached and run by volunteers who help teach the team members a variety of different strokes. In competition, the members are judged on USA swimming rules. Coach Paul Kirn, who has a special needs daughter who is very involved in swimming, said the team is important because it gives special needs people something to do. “I always say, the worst thing that could happen is that they’ll learn how to swim,” Kirn said. Kirn said it’s great to see kids from local high schools like Notre Dame, Covington Catholic and Campbell County come out and volunteer to work with the team.
“It’s not always easy, every day is a new day for them so sometimes you can teach them something one week and have to do it again the next week,” Kirn said. The team is very rewarding for the participants, who all come away with ribbons or metals at the various swim meets and state competition, said Ogden. Ogden said helping with team when the former coach could no longer do it was an easy choice, knowing how much her son loved to swim. “This is just my way to give back,” Ogden said. The team is still accepting new members and those interested can e-mail Ogden at swimmom@ fuse.net. For more information about the Special Olympics of Northern Kentucky, visit www.sonky.org.
People interested in taking a fall nature hike don’t have to travel far with a staffed environmental education and nature center next to A.J. Jolly Park. The Campbell County Environmental Education Center has weekly and daily programs happening in the remainder of October and November. The center is situated on 50 acres and features walking trails open for self-guided tours in addition to the guided nature hikes. There is a daily interpretive hike at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and an additional 9 a.m. hike for birding at on weekends. Fall is when the center typically receives its biggest influx of visitors, said Elizabeth Clay, education assistant at the center. Here’s a list of upcoming-guided activities planned at the center. • 10 a.m. Nov. 13 – Scavenger Hunt: Participants will learn how to identify plants, animal tracks and more, and then go on a scavenger hunt to test their knowledge. Good hiking shoes are recommended. Pre-registration is required, and the target audience is all ages. Children younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult. • 10 a.m. Nov. 20 – Fall Crafts: After a hike of the main trail identifying possible materials, participants will return to the center to make one of a variety of crafts. All materials will be provided. Pre-registration is required, and the target audience is adults. To register for any of the courses visit the website ces.ca.uky.edu/Campbell or call 859-572-2600. The center is located at 1261 Race Track Road, Alexandria. For information call the center at 694-1666.
CreativeLiving This Week!