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Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Florence E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, J a n u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 1
Bill McDowell honored by Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired.
Volume 16 Number 17 © 2011 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Can you guess the Mystery Photo?
This week’s “Mystery Photo” is above. Can you identify the building and community? The first person to identify this location will be mentioned in the Jan. 27 Recorder. E-mail your answer, along with your name and community, to ndaly@nky.com. Please put “Mystery Photo” in the subject line. You may also call 578-1059. LAST WEEK’S WINNER, A3
Adoption Waggin’ makes a difference
The new Adoption Waggin’ purchased by the Boone County Animal Shelter last summer is boosting the number of animals adopted from the shelter. Although the number of dogs and cats fluctuates from month to month and year to year, director Beckey Reiter said she has seen a positive difference. LIFE, B1
Stay on top of Florence news
The Recorder comes out on Thursday, but there are several ways to get your Florence news fix the rest of the week. The community pages on NKY.com are filled with the latest stories by Recorder staff: • nky.com/Florence • nky.com/Union You can also stay up-todate with the latest Boone County news by following the Boone Blog at cincinnati. com/blogs/thebooneblog. Add these pages to your browser’s “favorite places” and dazzle your friends with your knowledge of all things Florence.
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World of Golf opening March 1
By Justin B. Duke jbduke@nky.com
Final touches are coming together for Florence’s World of Golf. Formerly called World of Sports, the $4.8 million facility is aiming for a soft opening March 1. “The place is going to be unbelievable,” said manager Ralph Landrum. The new facility will feature indoor and outdoor driving ranges, a Kentucky themed miniature golf course, a full kitchen for concessions and a simulator that allows golfers to play digital representations of famous courses around the globe. “You’ll be able to come in and play Pebble Beach,” Landrum said. The indoor driving ranges will feature equipment to record golfers’ swings so they can be analyzed and corrected. “You’ll be able to go back and check out your swing and compare it to Tiger Woods,” Landrum said. World of Golf will retain its 18hole course, and the new amenities will allow the facility to be used all year, he said. “They’re going to want to come in where it’s 72 degrees all the time,” Landrum said. Weather may not be friendly for golfers to hit the course in early March, but everything but the outdoor grass driving tees will
The building for the new World of Golf is in place. Crews are now working on filling it with equipment and furniture. be open, he said. “You’ll be able to come out and hit golf balls March 1,” Landrum said. Now that a date is set, things are moving at an “exciting and frantic” pace, he said. “I’ve got a lot of work to get
ready,” he said. With all of the new features, Landrum expects to add 10 more employees to his staff. Landrum plans to hire a fulltime food and beverage manager who will be responsible for creating a new menu, policy and proce-
JUSTIN B. DUKE/STAFF
dures, hiring of new staff, scheduling of staff, inventory controls and all day-to-day operations. World of Golf is located at 7400 Woodspoint Drive in Florence. For more about your community, visit www.nky.com/florence.
Walton: Jobs are No. 1 goal By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
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Boone County Fiscal Court Commissioner Charlie Walton began his first term on the court this month.
Holding public office is nothing new for Boone County Fiscal Court Commissioner Charlie Walton. A state representative for 12 years, Walton is currently the principal at Florence Elementary School. “I’m very excited,” the District 3 commissioner said about beginning his term on Fiscal Court.
“I’ve been in public office before. I’m looking forward to serving the citizens of Boone County and I’m excited about it.” He’s looking forward to working with not only the members of Fiscal Court but the different departments within the county as well. “I think that Boone County is the showcase for the state of Kentucky. We need to keep it that way and we do that with the leadership
that we have,” he said. “We will continue to have quality leadership in every department in Boone County and will continue to get the input of those leaders.” According to Walton, the goal for Boone County is economic development. “Create jobs. Look at ways to collaborate with agencies to reduce costs but improve efficiencies,” he said.
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Despite pleas, Florence leaving chamber By Justin B. Duke jbduke@nky.com
Florence’s decision to leave the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce brought chamber members to City Council asking them to change their minds. “We were a bit disappointed,” said Steve Stevens, chamber president. The decision to not renew the $1,100 membership was a costcutting decision, said City Coordinator Rick Lunnemann. “We applaud that,” Stevens said. The chamber promotes municipalities working hard to find ways to cut costs, but cutting the chamber membership is a shortsighted decision, he said.
“It’s important you take a longer view,” Stevens said. The chamber helps cities and businesses work together to improve the entire region, and allows them to have a unified voice when it comes to lobbying in Frankfort, he said. “Will that same lobbying horsepower still be present?” Stevens asked. The unified voice of Northern Kentucky the chamber provides is one that other regions of the state envy, he said. “More gets done when we join forces,” Stevens said. Leaving the chamber does not mean Florence is opposed to them because there are 277 businesses in Florence that are members, said council member Julie Metzger
Aubuchon. “I hope you don’t think this is an anti-chamber group,” Aubuchon said. The move comes from following the wishes of taxpayers, she said. “We’ve been really scrutinized by taxpayers for every dollar we spend,” Aubuchon said. Not everyone on council is convinced leaving the chamber is the best decision. Because so many businesses in Florence are chamber members and the chamber promotes the region, they will continue these efforts whether Florence is a member or not. By not being members, Florence would be benefiting from their work for free, said Vice
Mayor Mike Apgar. “It’d be very unfair for us to not be members,” Apgar said. Being new to council, Larry Brown wasn’t clear how the decision to leave was made. The city’s department heads made the decision and asked for City Council’s input to make sure they were fine with it, Lunnemann said. Brown was worried the decision was shortsighted. “We couldn’t hire a lobbyist in Frankfort for a day for $1,100,” he said. Council didn’t change the decision, but if members choose to in the future no budget amendment would be required. For more about your community, visit www.nky.com/florence.
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