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Kroger door greeter Jim Lawson has carts ready for customers at the Burlington Kroger store.
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Northern Kenton County E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, F e b r u a r y 2 4 , 2 0 1 1
Volume 15 Issue 18 © 2011 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Park teaches lesson on art of syrup making By Regan Coomer rcoomer@nky.com
When the temperatures rise, that means one thing in syrup making: the sap’s runnin’ and it’s time for tappin’. Kenton County residents will get the chance to experience all the work involved in homemade maple and hickory syrup at the Second Annual Sugar Camp, hosted by Kenton County Parks and
Pennies count
The students at Fort Wright Elementary are saving their change and leading the charge for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The school is deep into a penny war, where students see who can collect the most of the one cent pieces, while blasting their competition with quarters, nickles and dimes. Read more about the fund raising events. SCHOOLS, A6 REGAN COOMER/STAFF
Lecture
State Historian of Kentucky Dr. James C. Klotter will discuss the role of Kentucky and its citizens in the Civil War during his presentation, “A House Divided: Kentucky and the Civil War” at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 in the Science Lecture Hall in the college’s administration building. Klotter, a Georgetown College professor of history, will explore how people and circumstances in the state were affected by the division caused by the Civil War. This event is free and open to the public. The presentation is sponsored by the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and the History Club. For more information, contact John Cimprich at johncimprich@ thomasmore.edu.
Gift of giving
Rather than receiving gifts this year for his birthday, Jonathan Klein is asking his friend’s to give to others instead. Klein hopes to raise enough money to supply fresh water to developing countries in need. LIFE, B1
To place an ad, call 283-7290.
Sugar maple trees can be tapped for sap water, which runs clear and sweet only for a short time each year. Forty gallons of sap water must be boiled to make just one gallon of pure maple syrup. During Kenton County Park's Sugar Camp in 2010, about 20 trees were tapped for their sap. This year’s sugar camp will begin Feb. 28.
To register for the Kenton County Parks and Recreation’s Sugar Camp, call 525-PLAY (7529). The sugar camp will take place during three time slots throughout the week: 9 to 10:30 a.m., noon to 1:30 p.m. and 2 t0 3:30 p.m. Residents can just show up on Saturday and Sunday meet at Shelterhouse 2 in Middleton Mills Park. Recreation at Middleton Mills Park. The sugar camp, led by Parks Program Coordinator Steve Trauger and Mike Strohm, co-proprietor of Field Programs on Fowler Creek, shows residents how a European pioneer would have made syrup in the mid1800s. The camp will open Feb. 28 and run through Sunday, March 6. “You think about maple syrup being produced up in northern climes like Wisconsin or Vermont,” Trauger said. “But it can be done right here and we’re proving it.” The sugar camp was born last year when Trauger was walking in the park’s forest with Strohm. “He said, ‘You know you’ve probably got 500 sugar maple
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Mike Strohm, co-proprietor of Field Programs on Fowler Creek, portrays Elwood Tapper, a man who would have lived in a frontier backwoods settlement sugar camp in the mid-1800s during last year’s Kenton County Parks Sugar Camp. trees in these woods,’” Trauger said. “And there’s actually a sugar camp road that you pass on the way to Mills (Middleton Mills Park). There may have historically been a backwoods sugar camp there once upon a time.” More than 1,000 people showed up at last year’s sugar camp, where they chopped wood, emptied sap buckets, kept the fires stoked, carved spiles (spouts) for the sap and more, Trauger said. The work (and fun) is starting again, Strohm said. “Kids can taste the maple syrup, gather hickory shags for
the syrup and go in my tent and see how I live there,” said Strohm, who lives at the park during the sugar camp. “I’ll have my desk set up where I’ll be adding up how much we’re producing and we’ll keep an old thermometer in the tent to keep tabs on the temperature outside.” Families can also help tend to donkeys, who will be packing supplies back and forth throughout the camp, Strohm said. “They’re going to help with all the jobs that are part of producing hickory and maple syrup,” he said.
Vehicle sticker fees confusion cleared Jason Brubaker jbrubaker@nky.com
Despite rumors to the contrary, Villa Hills residents are still required to purchase the city’s vehicle sticker by the end of February. At the Feb. 16 council meeting, a resident and several council members told Mayor Mike Martin that rumors have been spreading throughout the city that the vehicle sticker program is no longer being implemented. They also questioned whether those rumors were the result of campaign promises made during the 2010 election. “I recall during your campaign you said you were going to do
away with it, and I just wondered if you were still looking into that,” said resident Jason Crawford. Martin denied that that he’d ever explicitly stated he would do away with the vehicle sticker, which provides close to $200,000 each year to help with road repair and maintenance. “I never said I’d do away with it,” corrected Martin. “I just said we were going to cut spending to see if we could find a way to reduce that. Plus, I don’t even have the authority to eliminate it, because that would have to go through the council.” From conversations with residents, councilman Tim Sogar said many citizens may have the same perception as Crawford, feeling the
vehicle sticker fee would be eliminated when Martin took office. Assistant city clerk Sue Ann Bree said that as of Feb. 16, the city had collected a little over $44,000 from the sticker tax, compared to just under $60,000 at the same time last year. “Whether the actual words were spoken, your statements were misconstrued to say the city tax would disappear,” said councilman Scott Ringo. “And with that, people aren’t paying it because you said it was going away.” Martin said he planned to contribute an article to the next “Voice of Villa Hills,” the city’s monthly newsletter, reminding citizens that the stickers must still be bought
before March 1, when they become delinquent. Stickers purchased after March 1 will include a 10 percent penalty. “We just need to communicate this as best we can to the residents,” said Martin. “If people are under the impression they do not have to pay it, unfortunately that’s wrong.” To help residents purchase the stickers, the city building will extend their hours on Feb. 25 and Feb. 28 until 6 p.m. on both days. Stickers are $40 each and a $20 Homestead Exemption exists for those who qualify. For more information, or to purchase your sticker, visit the city building at 720 Rogers Road or call 341-1515.
Fort Mitchell names Eldridge new police chief Jason Brubaker jbrubaker@nky.com
Jeffrey Eldridge has been announced as the new Fort Mitchell Police Chief. Eldridge is expected to be sworn into the position on March 7. He comes to the city from the Northern Kentucky University Police Department, after having spent most of his career with the Covington Police Department. Mayor Chris Wiest said the city’s personnel committee com-
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pleted a thorough vetting process to identify the best candidates for the position, which has been vacant since former chief Steve Eldridge Hensley left to become the Kenton County Homeland Security director on Dec. 31. Overall, there were close to 50 applicants for the position, and the
top two candidates were interviewed during an executive session at a special council meeting on Feb. 21. “(Eldridge) really impressed everybody with his commitment to community and leadership abilities,” said Wiest. “He’s the total package, and I think he’s going to be a terrific fit for the department.” Wiest also said Eldridge had proven he could make the transition from a larger department in Covington to a smaller one with different demographics at NKU.
Wiest said Eldridge has been at NKU for a little over two years, serving as an administrative captain. “That’s something we really looked at, and he showed he was able to make that jump successfully,” he said. Capt. Scott Nottingham, an 18year veteran of the department, had been serving as acting chief of police since being appointed by Wiest in late January.