SUMMER READING
B1
Cailey Lane is the Kid Grand Prize Winner at the Mount Washington Branch Library.
Volume 50 Number 24 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Art Centers Day
From theater to music to photography, multiple groups will showcase their art form at the Community Arts Centers Day on Sunday, Sept. 12. The Anderson Center is one of 26 venues participating in the citywide event that takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Lisa Kamiki, secretary for the Public Works Department, said the Fine Arts Fund asked Anderson Township to be a part of the event. SEE STORY, A3
Pet photo contest
Submit your best picture of your furry friend and you could have the chance to win a $250 money card. To enter, visit the contests page on CincinnatiMoms LikeMe.com and upload your photo to the “Pet Photo Contest.” Deadline for entries is Monday, Sept. 20.
Voice your opinion
For the 10th consecutive year the Forest Hill Local School District has received a rating of “Excellent” or above on the state report card. Who is most responsible for that success? Let us know by going online and voicing your opinion by typing Cincinnati.com/ andersontownship into your Web browser’s address bar and voting on our poll. We’ll run the results in next week’s edition of the Forest Hills Journal.
Poll results
The results of the Sept. 1 unscientific poll on our Anderson Township community site at Cincinnati.com/ andersontownship asking readers how long will it take for Anderson Township to find another developer for the proposed Anderson Towne Place parking garage and cinema development are: Less than one year: (15) 29% Less than two years: (4) 8% Less than three years: (8) 15% Less than four years: (2) 4% More than five years: (6) 12% Never: (17) 33% Total votes: 52
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Your Community Press newspaper serving Anderson Township, California, Mount Washington, Newtown E-mail: foresthills@communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, S e p t e m b e r
8, 2010
JOURNAL
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A decade of excellence
Forest Hills earns top grade again in state report card
By Forrest Sellers
fsellers@communitypress.com
For the 10th consecutive year the Forest Hill Local School District has received a rating of “Excellent” or above on the state report card. For the 2009-2010 school year, the district was rated “Excellent with Distinction” by the Ohio Department of Education. The district has achieved this particular rank since it was introduced in 2007-2008. What this ranking means for the district, Huebner according to Connie Lippowitsch, director of instructional services, is “acknowledgment and continued recognition of our reputation as a high-performing district.” The district had its highest ranking in 11th grade writing with 98.6 percent of the students scoring at or above the proficient level. The lowest score was in fifth grade mathematics with 84.1 percent scoring at or above the proficient level. The attendance rate for all grades was 96 percent, and the graduation rate for the district was 97.2 percent. Lippowitsch said some
FORREST SELLERS/STAFF
Mari Davin, who is a senior, and her sister, Julie, who is a sophomore, study in the media center at Turpin High School during the first day of the new school year. The Forest Hills Local School District recently received an “Excellent with Distinction” rating on the Ohio Department of Education report card. It is the 10th consecutive year the district has received an “Excellent” or higher rating. improvements could be made in the scores of subgroup populations, which include economically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic groups and students with disabilities. “Medium to large districts sometimes struggle with subgroup performance,” she said. “While we feel our current status is somewhat enviable we are working to
continue to support academic growth.” Peggy Johnson, principal at Turpin High School, credited the work of parents in helping the district achieve this ranking. “Parents give us their children well prepared to succeed and allow us to hold high expectations as educators,” she said. Board of Education President
Tracy Huebner said the teachers and staff play a significant role as well. “A decade of excellence to me is a milestone,” she said. Lippowitsch said the state plans to raise the target range for achieving proficiency this year. “We are going to continue the practices which have proven successful for us,” she said.
Football on proposed mine site? By Lisa Wakeland lwakeland@communitypress.com
Local children could soon play football on a site approved for an underground limestone mine in Anderson Township. The Forest Hills Youth Football & Cheer Association has applied for a conditional-use permit to construct temporary football fields and parking lot on Martin Marietta Materials’ property, near the intersection of Broadwell and Round Bottom roads. The Anderson Township Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances and conditional-use permits for the mine’s operation in June, but the decision is currently being appealed in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Doug Evans, owner of Evans Landscaping, offered the youth sports association the chance to use property he leases from Martin Marietta – across from Riverside Park and Ethel’s Tavern on Round Bottom Road – as both a practice and playing field.
Barry Martin, president of the Forest Hills Youth Football & Cheer Association, said for years the group wanted to build permanent fields to eliminate the rental fees they pay to use other area fields. “We’re a nonprofit, so to play on a field that was free was really hard to pass up,” Martin said. He added that since Martin Marietta owned the property and it was proposed for a mining oper-
ation, the prospect of permanent football fields fizzled out. There were also a number of other zoning hurdles the association would have to clear before building permanent fields, Martin said. Evans approached Martin Marietta about this use and the mining company’s attorney Dick Brahm said they have agreed to allow the temporary use of the leased property as fields, as long as the plans complied with township zoning regulations. Molly McClure, who is helping the youth sports association with the permit application, said the case is currently before the township Board of Zoning Appeals. “It may be a few years before the mining will affect that property,” she said. Martin Marietta will not be compensated for the use of the temporary football fields, should the township Board of Zoning Appeals approve the conditionaluse permits to build in the floodplain, Brahm said.
Hearing
The Forest Hills Youth Football & Cheer Association’s application for a conditional-use permit will be heard by the Anderson Township Board of Zoning Appeals at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at the Anderson Center, 7850 Five Mile Road. The proposed development, near the intersection of Broadwell and Round Bottom roads, includes: • Construction of three football fields, with one primary game field • A parking lot for 236 cars and portable bleacher seating for 180 people • Four 90-gallon roll-away trash can units and four portolets • Portable lights with generated power, approximately 35 feet tall, to be used when necessary. The Forest Hills Youth Football & Cheer Association will play at Kellogg Park and later the new synthetic field at Riverside Park for this season, Martin said. “Being able to have a home field is obviously very important to any organization,” he added.
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