CATCH A STAR
B1 Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Northern Kenton County E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, J u l y 1 6 , 2 0 0 9
Marty Herbert
RECORDER
W e b s i t e : N K. Y . c o m
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City position still open By Regan Coomer
Volume 13 Number 38 © 2009 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Crestview Hills is on the lookout for a new city administrator. Nine months after hiring former Florence Community Development Director/Assistant City Coordinator Rick Lunnemann, council will have to go back to the drawing board. Lunnemann resigned after Florence Mayor Diane Whalen offered the position of Florence City Coordinator to Lunnemann after current Florence administrator Pat Wingo announced her retirement. Lunnemann’s last day with Crestview Hills will be Aug. 4. Lunnemann, who worked for Florence 17 years, said his heart told him it was the right thing to do. “When Mayor Whalen approached me about returning to Florence as city coordinator I felt like it was an opportunity I just could not say ‘No’ to,” he said. Crestview Hills Mayor Paul Meier said he’s “disappointed” Lunnemann is leaving, but added he and council understand his point of view. “We know that his heart for years has been in Florence,” he said. Several candidates who applied for the position last year have already contacted the mayor expressing interest in the job. Currently, the personnel committee plan to interview the candidates who contacted the mayor and go from there, Sommerkamp said. Other options include going back to the list of 70-80 applicants from last fall as well as starting the search over again. No time table has been set for finding a replacement, Meier said, but Sommerkamp chuckled, saying he’d “like to say tomorrow.” “If we don’t have to go to a complete new search we should hopefully have something between the first and 15 of August,” said vice mayor Frank Sommerkamp.
PATRICIA SCHEYER/CONTRIBUTOR
Summer fun
Three-year-old Tess Lenihan of Edgewood makes a catch at the St Pius Festival Sunday, July 12.
Fort Mitchell receive grants By Jason Brubaker jbrubaker@nky.com
The Fort Mitchell Police Department announced that they have received three grants, including one that will help put more officers on the street to help with DUI enforcement. Police Chief and city administrator Steve Hensley said the $11,613 grant is part of the Traffic Alcohol Enforcement Program through the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet of Kentucky. “That will allow us to have additional officers on the street
monitoring things, at no cost to the city,” said Hensley. He said the Cabinet also issued another $7,500 grant to the city to help pay for newer in-car video cameras for the police cruisers. That grant required a 25 percent match from the city, but will help with the purchase of at least two more cameras, which Hensley said cost around $4,000 each. To help purchase more cameras, the city also received a $3,000 safety grant from the Kentucky League of Cities, which Hensley said will the city matched in order to install more cameras.
He said the department would like to replace at least two cameras each year to keep them up to date, rather than waiting to have one big expense if they all need to be replaced at once. “We want to take a staggered approach to replacing them, because that makes more financial sense in the long run,” he said. “Certainly, getting grants like this helps, and we’re very grateful for them.” The next council meeting is scheduled for July 20 at 7 p.m. For more information, contact the city at 331-1212.
Author uses tragedy to educate, help others By Jason Brubaker jbrubaker@nky.com
A tradition
It is that time of year again, yes the Kenton County Fair takes off July 20-25 with a host of activities for residents to enjoy. Check out the demolition derby, agriculture displays, rides, and other activities. LIFE, B1
To place an ad, call 283-7290.
When Glenna Edwards asked her youngest son about his artwork last year, she never imagined where it would take her. “I noticed Ben was drawing all kinds of rainbows, so I asked him why,” she recalled. “He told me that the rainbows were where his Mamaw was sleeping now, and that’s when this all began.” “This” is the publishing of Edwards’ first book, entitled “Rainbow Bed: A Child’s Perspective on Coping with Grief.” An Edgewood resident, Edwards’ idea for the book came from observing her children, as well as her niece and nephews, following the deaths of her moth-
er and sister-in-law within five weeks of each other last year. “Everyone deals with death in their own way, but there’s not really a whole lot out there about how children go through this process,” she explained. “They grieve a lot differently than adults, so I wanted to really explore that so it could help other parents and children in the future.” Written and illustrated in the style in which a 5-year old might write, Edwards’ book follows a young boy as he watches his grandmother become ill and eventually pass away. The books also details the young boy’s feelings as he watches his grandmother receive care, and then his thoughts after she passes away.
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Edwards, who held a book signing in late June at Borders in Crestview Hills, said the book has received overwhelmingly positive responses. “People were coming up to me and telling me stories that had me in tears,” she said. “To know that maybe this story has helped some families through a tough time is so special to me, and it really has helped me to know that something positive has come out of such a difficult time for my family.” Edwards also said the book process helped her in her own grieving process. “I felt like this was just meant to be- that it was something I had to do,” she said. “I had always dreamed of being an author, so I
think it was very fitting that it was my family who helped me to launch that dream and turn a tough period in my life into something positive.” That something positive doesn’t stop with the book’s powerful message however. Edwards has also announced that half of the book’s proceeds will go toward cancer research. “I want this book to serve as a way of continually giving back,” she said. “This is a way of keeping the memory alive of my mother and sister-in-law, and it’s been really special for me to be able to do that.” The book is available at the Borders store, Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.