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FLORENCE RECORDER

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016

SPORTS 1B Conner boys claim elusive district title

BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS

Presidential caucus creates voter confusion Chris Mayhew cmayhew@communitypress.com

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St. Timothy preschool class celebrate the Reds baseball season with their annual Reds parade. St. Timothy will be opening a K-8 school in 2017.

St. Tim’s will open K-8 school in 2017 Sarah Brookbank sbrookbank@communitypress.com

UNION – A new school is coming to Boone County, and this time, not through the public school system. St. Timothy Catholic Church in Union will open a school in fall 2017, which will teach kindergarten through eighth grade. Its first-grade class will begin fall 2016. St. Timothy’s pastor, the Rev. Richard Bolte, said the area and the parish are growing quickly. He also said St. Timothy has found a Catholic education is the best way to teach children about faith. The new school opening will be breaking a national trend. According to a study by the National Catholic Educational Association, since 2005 a total of 1,648 Catholic elementary schools were closed or consolidated while 336 opened. “We have a lot of children in our parish who would like to go to a Catholic school, but don’t find the other Catholic schools in the

area very convenient,” Bolte said. Transportation can be an issue for families in the area who are looking to send their children to Catholic schools, he said, and the new school’s location might be more easily accessible. Currently, there are no plans for student transportation. Bolte said Boone County has limited buses, but he believes the district will help as much as its can. The school will be located further down Frogtown Road than the church which sits on the corner of U.S. 42 and Frogtown Road. It will be built on the top the hill behind the church, in what is currently an empty field. This initial building will hold approximately 250 students, for one class of each grade. Bolte said the new building will cost anywhere from $5.5 million to $6 million to construct. The ultimate plan for the school will be to expand that building in the future. Bolte said the parish would like to have two classSee SCHOOL, Page 2A

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Northern Kentucky county clerks are being inundated with calls they can’t answer about Kentucky’s March 5 Republican presidential caucus. People are angry and confused about why the caucus is happening at all and why there is only one location to vote in each county, said Campbell County Clerk Jim Luersen. County clerk offices in Kentucky run all elections, but not political party caucuses. For 2016, the Republican Party of Kentucky (RPK) chose to have a caucus in lieu of the traditional presidential primary. The Democratic presidential hopefuls, however, are on the ballot for the May 17 primary election, as are non-presidential GOP and Democratic races. Luersen’s staff tells voters to call an RPK caucus hotline at 502-607-8970 or visit its website rpk.org. “People are upset,” Luersen said. “All we’re doing is listening to them complain and giving them the phone number. It’s frustrating.” Luersen said he doesn’t mind answering questions, and most people are understanding when they learn government has nothing to do with the caucus. RPK is a private political party. Republican Kentucky’s presidential caucus will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 5. Registered Republicans will vote for their choice of a presidential nominee. Five candidates remain from the original field of 11: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and businessman Donald Trump. Trump will visit Louisville Tuesday. Kentucky Republicans have never had a presidential caucus. “This is uncharted territory here, so I can’t blame them,” Luersen said. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul initiated having a caucus last summer. Paul, who has since dropped out of the presidential race, convinced Kentucky Republican

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leaders to switch to an early caucus instead of a May 17 primary election. Paul wanted to run for both president and reelection to the U.S. Senate. State law forbids a candidate from being on the same election ballot for two different offices. Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown said his office has been receiving lots of calls from people confused about the caucus and seeking more information. Brown said other aspects of a caucus could surprise people. While Kentucky election laws forbid campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place, it will be different on Saturday. People can campaign outside a caucus as voters are walking in, he said. “Throw out Kentucky’s election laws,” Brown said. Mike Biagi, executive director for RPK, said caucus results will be posted only on rpk.org. Results will not be available before 7 p.m. Biagi said his goal is for all results to be posted not long after 7 p.m. If any counties have not reported when results are first released, they will be noted, Biagi said. Having a caucus months earlier than a primary election gives Republican voters a stronger voice in picking a presidential candidate, Biagi said. Reliable predictions for Kentucky’s voter turnout in the caucus are not available, said Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky. Yet Voss said turnout is expected to be low. Low turnout can also be the case for a primary election. Voter turnout across Kentucky for the May 2012 primary election, the last time for a presidential primary, drew 13.9 percent of all registered voters to the polls. Lots of Republicans are complaining about ill-informed voters, Voss said. Having one place to vote in each county and more limited voting hours than a typical 12-hour primary election day can bring out fewer voters who are more informed. At least people have the See CAUCUS, Page 2A

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