BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT B1
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Fort Thomas Email: kynews@communitypress.com Website: NKY.com
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T h u r s d a y, M a y 2 6 , 2 0 1 1
RECORDER
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
Rotary seeks new members
Volume 12, Number 1 © 2011 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Hitting the road
Federal assessors are still visiting county-maintained roads to tally the cost of repairs for damages by landslides from wet weather. Damage to all the roads in the county, including statemaintained roads, was taken into account to reach the minimum damage amount of $295,000 to qualify for federal disaster money. NEWS, A3
By Chris Mayhew cmayhew@nky.com
AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
From left: Scott King, Bill Underwood, Anthony Bell, Phil Douglas, Jeff Petrey and Lena Isaacs enjoy some drinks on the Olde Fort Pub’s new sundeck before heading to the wedding of Bell and Mollie Wolking Saturday, May 21.
Olde Fort Pub opens sundeck Ready to read
Due to an increased effort to encourage and reward students for participating in the Accelerated Reader program at Woodfill Elementary, the school has seen a large increase in participation the past two years. Accelerated Reader is a program where students read books and take tests to earn points based on how much of the book they can recall. SCHOOLS, A7
Time to vote
Ballots are now posted for the Community Press and Community Recorder thirdannual Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year online contest. Voting will be online through midnight Monday, June 6.
Send us your graduation photos
It’s graduation season again, and we want you to send us your photos, and we’ll feature them on NKY.com Send photos by attaching them to an email and send them to mshaw@nky.com. Please make your photos no smaller than 640x480 pixels, and no larger than 100KB. Be sure to include the names of those in the picture..
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By Amanda Joering Alley ajoering@nky.com
FORT THOMAS - Now that warmer weather is here, patrons of the Olde Fort Pub in Fort Thomas have some different options for their dining experience. The pub has opened a sundeck off the back of the business for those who want to enjoy outside dining. “We’ve always wanted to have an outdoor place,” said Owner Bob Arnzen. “We have the small sidewalk patio in front that did pretty good when we opened it last year, but we wanted to give customers another option.” The sundeck, since it’s located at the back of the building, is further away from where bands play at the bar, giving those who want to enjoy a meal and conversation and qui-
“It just seems like the outdoor dining really attracts people in the community. We’re hoping for good weather this year so our customers can enjoy it.” Bob Arnzen Owner, Oldd Fort Pub eter place to do so, Arnzen said. Like the front patio, the sundeck also offers an escape from the cigarette smoke in the bar. Fort Thomas resident Patrick Down, who tried out the sundeck for the first time recently, said he was just looking for a nice place to sit outside, eat and enjoy the weather. “Generally I don’t like smoking venues, but they are OK if they have a nice place where I can sit outside,” Down said.
Arnzen said they have been working on the deck since last year, when the space wasn’t really being used for anything. “It just seems like the outdoor dining really attracts people in the community,” Arnzen said. “We’re hoping for good weather this year so our customers can enjoy it.” Arnzen said the pub has umbrellas for warmer days and heaters for colder days. The sundeck will be open all year, weather permitting. Regardless of whether customers choose to dine on the front patio, inside or on the sundeck, the pub’s full menu is available. Arnzen said the kitchen is run by Danny Krebs, who was the owner of the former Fort Thomas restaurant Pergola, and the menu features a good variety of items at reasonable prices. For more about your community, visit www.nky.com/fortthomas
Principal to retire after 13 years By Amanda Joering Alley ajoering@nky.com
Woodfill Elementary School Principal Diana Stratton will retire this summer after serving as principal at the school for 13 years. Stratton’s last official day will be Thursday, June 30. “I just somehow felt like the time had come for me to retire,” Stratton said. “I tossed the idea back and forth all year, and it was a very hard decision.” Stratton announced her retirement plans earlier this month at a staff meeting. “A lot of tears were shed those first couple days,” Stratton said. “Saying goodbye and making that break is going to be hard.” Stratton said she has loved working with the staff and seeing the students grow, both physically and academically, and is going to miss seeing everyone at the school.
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“I feel the faculty and I worked wonderfully together and made a great team,” Stratton said. “I love all the kids here, and I will Stratton continue to visit and watch for them to do great things in the future.” Her retirement comes at a time when the school is already going through a good deal of change with the construction of a new building, scheduled to be complete by the start of the next school year. Stratton said she feels leaving now and letting someone else take over is fitting. “This new building is the start of a new era and the school needs someone new to lead them through the next phase,” Stratton said. The school’s Site-Based Council
is in the process of hiring a new principal and is currently accepting applications. Superintendent John Williamson said Stratton has done a great job at the school over the years and will be missed. From bringing up the school’s test scores to leading the school overall, Stratton has made a big difference, Williamson said. “(Stratton) really did a great job of setting a vision and path for the school,” Williamson said. Williamson said selecting a new principal is a critical task that the council is taking very seriously. While he is not part of the council, he said they have asked him to be part of the interview process. The council has set a target date of June 10 to announce Stratton’s replacement. For more about your community, visit www.nky.com/fortthomas
FORT THOMAS - Campbell County's Rotary chapter is seeking to bolster its membership ranks and increase the amount of service the group provides locally and internationally. "I would say it is the best networking organization that you can join," said Arne J. Almquist, president of the Cincinnati Rotary chapter during his guest speech to an open meeting of the Campbell County chapter in Fort Thomas May 11. Almquist is also the director of Northern Kentucky University's Steely Library. Rotary's motto of "service above self" is what the organization is about and what members often enjoy most, Almquist said. "You come for the networking, but you stay for the service," he said. Almquist said he enjoys talking and learning from other Rotarians in different professions and finding out what they're concerned about. Rotary is an organization that is life-changing for people by providing members with chances to meet other Rotarians from around the world, take-on leadership roles, and by assisting others, Almquist said. "It's an exciting opportunity to be the most they can be," he said. Typically people are invited to join Rotary via person-to-person contacts, but the chapter wants to reach out more directly now to increase active membership, said Arnd Rehfus of Alexandria, president-elect of the Campbell County chapter. "Normally you're inviting people to join, but I guess in our case right now we're just looking for people who are interested in serving their community, and interested in doing good," Rehfus said. Both international and local causes are targeted by Rotary, he said. Internationally, Rotary has been successfully working to eradicate the disease Polio, Rehfus said. The goal of eliminating Polio is 95 percent complete, and the only reason it's not already gone is because some areas of the world are extremely difficult to get the medical supplies and vaccinations in, but that Rotary is steadily making progress, he said. Rotary also helps with projects around the world to provide clean or purified drinking water, he said. Procter & Gamble has recently embarked on a partnership with Rotary International to provide clean drinking water in the
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See ROTARY on page A2