CATCH A STAR
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Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Fort Thomas E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, J u l y 2 3 , 2 0 0 9
RECORDER W e b s i t e : N K Y. c o m
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
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Shelter a last chance for pets
Sophia McIntosh
Volume 10, Number 9 © 2009 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
By Chris Mayhew
Of the 76 dogs brought to the shelter in June, 27 were adopted and 24 were returned to the owners. There were 25 dogs euthanized.
cmayhew@nky.com
$1,500 cash giveaway
Through July 24, you can win daily cash prizes and get entered for a $500 jackpot from CincyMomsLikeMe.com. Go to MomsLikeMe.com/cincy contests for all the info.
Kings Island bound Readers who won tickets to Kings Island as part of our Readers Choice survey are: • Mark Class of Alexandria • Michael Brunner of Cincinnati • Tara Reese of Hamersville • Darla Hartmann of Cleves Watch the newspaper for more Readers Choice announcements in coming weeks.
AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
Summer fun
Frankie Willis, 3, above, plays with a train set at the Fort Thomas branch of the Campbell County Public Library. Below, Nina Willis, 10, plays a game of Uno at the library.
Magic’s in the air
The midnight release of “Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince,” the movie adaptation of a book by J.K. Rowling of the same title, brought young and old dressed as as wizards and other creatures from the novel to AMC Newport 20 Theatres July 14. “It’s magic,” Brian Becker od Wilder said of the Harry Potter books and movies. “It takes you out of this world to some fantastic place where anything is possible.” LIFE, B1
Fort Thomas Junior Olympic sign ups
Sign up at practices held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at Tower Park for the Fort Thomas Junior Olympics Track & Field team. Events are for ages 5-18 and free to all. The meeet will be held at Newport Stadium, Sunday, Aug. 2, at 4 p.m. For information call 859781-5075 or e-mail: tt7vt@fuse.net
To place an ad, call 283-7290.
AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
The staff at the Campbell County Animal Shelter want people to think of them as a last resort. As adoptions have dipped dramatically since the economy has worsened, people losing their When it comes to euthanizahouses and jobs have increased the number of animals being tion of animals, some of which are brought to the shelter, said Lisa brought in with health problems to be put down humanely, the Bowman, the shelter’s director. Bowman suggests that the numbers tell the story. Of the 76 dogs brought to the people think twice before bringing shelter in June, 27 were adopted an animal to the shelter about other options for finding a suitable and 24 were returned to the owners. There were 25 dogs euthahome. “They’re giving us their throw- nized, and eight of those were at aways, but they’re not the ones the owner’s request. The shelter took in 249 cats or that get called animal killers,” she kittens in June. Of those, sadly said. only 60 of them were adopted by The odds of people or rescats and kittens cues, and one being adopted cat owner came are especially Homes for pets back to pick his low, while dogs The Campbell County Animal cat back up, have a better Shelter staff updates daily the list of all she said. chance at surthe cats and dogs available for “And the vival, said adoption and uploads photos of them worst thing is to www.petfinder.com. Bowman. that 188 of The shelter is located at 1898 Bowman, them were Poplar Ridge Road, Alexandria. For who has euthanized,” information call 635-2819 or visit the worked with Web site Bowman said. animals for 20 www.campbellcounty.ky.gov/countyser Spaying and years, said she vices/animalshelter. neutering prohates to euthaDiscout $25 voucher programs for grams have nize animals. spaying or neutering pets are available helped decrease Having to through U-can by calling 513-721the stray dog euthanize an 7387 or visit the Web site population, but animal is www.ucancincinnati.org. have not depressing, and helped as much without several no-kill animal rescue groups that with the stray cat population, work with the shelter, the eutha- Bowman said. The shelter can often connect nization rate would be even highpeople with groups that provide a er, she said. Bowman said the shelter is a $25 discount for the cost of spayviable alternative for a humane ing or neutering, Bowman said. solution to a cat overpopulation Summer is the shelter’s busiest problem. Shelters in some nearby time because when the weather is rural counties don’t accept cats warm people want to let their animals run loose, she said. and kittens, she said.
Uganda Children’s Choir to perform in Fort Thomas By Amanda Joering Alley ajoering@nky.com Fort Thomas’s Highland United Methodist Church is again hosting a performance by the Uganda Children’s Choir this summer. The 22 children, ages 5 to 11, leave their school, Humble United Methodist School in East Africa, to spend their summers touring the country, raising money. The longest stop on their tour this year will be in Fort Thomas from Wednesday, Aug. 19 until Friday, Sept. 4, said Wynne Philippe, a member of the church. “This tour helps the children raise money for their school, where they also live,” Philippe said. Philippe said representatives from the school, started by the United Methodist Church in East Africa, go to the many displaced people camps in Africa and find kids who can sing and dance, and also those who need help the most. “A lot of the kids there have lost one or both parents to disease or to the violence that goes on there,” Philippe said. “By going to
PROVIDED.
Wynne Philippe, a member of Highland United Methodist Church, gets a hug from the members of the Uganda Children's Choir, who will be coming to Fort Thomas in August. the school and being in the choir, these kids are given a chance for a new life.” The choir members, who will stay with church members during their time in Fort Thomas, came
for the first time last year. “We just developed such a bond with the kids, we wanted to continue to support them,” Philippe said. In November, church members
went to Uganda to donate their time and talents to the children. Since then, the church has done a project to collect new clothes for the children, who have almost nothing, Philippe said. “People in Fort Thomas are so generous and so involved with these kids,” Philippe said. “There really is a community connection that has been developed with the kids.” While the choir usually doesn’t go to the same places on their yearly tour, Philippe said she hopes they will make Fort Thomas a yearly stop. “Regardless, we plan to keep in touch with them and keep supporting them any way we can,” Philippe said. The choir is performing at 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 30 at Highlands High School’s Performing Arts Center. A reception will follow on the church’s plaza across the street. For more information about the choir and to donate, contact hopeforafrica@insightbb.com or visit www.hopeforafricachildrenschoir.org.