CATCH A STAR
B1
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Fort Thomas E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, S e p t e m b e r
3, 2009
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
50¢
Jenny Yee Greber
Volume 10, Number 15 © 2009 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Labor Day fireworks
AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
Fireworks watchers have numerous options for viewing the WEBN/Cincinnati Bell Labor Day Fireworks Sunday, Sept. 6, from braving the crowds at Riverfest to enjoying the view from the top at Newport Central Catholic’s annual Family Fireworks Fest. The fireworks, which bring thousands of people to the banks of the Ohio River each year, are a Labor Day tradition for many. For more information on viewing the fireworks see inside. LIFE, B1
Crews work in the Fort Thomas Midway District.
Midway District streetscape under way in Ft. Thomas Show time
AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
The Hope for Africa Children’s Choir performs at Johnson Elementary School Thursday, Aug. 27. The children, ages 5-11, travel the country doing performances to raise money for their school in Uganda.
Inside the lines
When art and photography teacher Brian Harmon wanted to teach his students about lines this year, he used a ball of string. Instead of having his students draw lines, Harmon forced them to think about intersecting lines by having a class of Art I students crisscross lines of purple and gold string across each other across the school’s outdoor courtyard to create a piece of Installation art that had to be viewed by walking around or through it. SCHOOLS, A7
Share your vacation photos
Whether you’re headed to the beach or the mountains this summer, we want to publish your vacation photos. To get started, go to NKY.com/Share and follow the steps there to send your photos to us. Be sure to identify everyone in the photo and which community they live in. Photos will appear on your community page and may even make it into your local newspaper, so start sharing today!
To place an ad, call 283-7290.
AMANDA JOERING ALLEY/STAFF
By Amanda Joering Alley ajoering@nky.com
For the past couple months crews have been hard at work along South Fort Thomas Avenue. As part of the Midway Streetscape project, city employees and contractor workers are currently working to move, and in most cases bury, the utility lines that run along the street. City Administrator Donald Martin said hiding the utility lines, like the city did in the Central Business District streetscape project, improves the appearance of the area. Once the lines are hidden, the next step of the $1.3 million first phase of the project is to begin the actual streetscape, Martin
said, which includes new sidewalks, benches and lighting fixtures. The entire first phase is scheduled to be complete before the end of the year, Martin said. “The goal is to improve the appearance of the area to attract more patrons to the businesses and make it a more viable district,” Martin said. When funding becomes available, which Martin said likely won’t occur for at least three years, the city hopes to continue with the second phase of the project, which would extend the streetscape down South Fort Thomas Avenue towards the Campbell County YMCA. While crews are working in the area, drivers should expect possible delays.
County planning action about KACo By Chris Mayhew cmayhew@nky.com
Campbell County Fiscal Court Commissioner Ken Rechtin is pushing for the county to take a public action or stance in reference to two groups that service counties and cities in Kentucky. The Lexington Herald-Leader has published a series of stories about the spending of both the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) and the Kentucky League of Cities. Both KACo and the League of Cities are being investigated by State Auditor Crit Luallen. “The way KACo has been run, and the way the Kentucky League of Cities has been run is pathetic,” Rechtin said. Rechtin said he thought it was telling that the taxpayer-funded entity like KACo did not disclose members of its executive board on its own web site. In today’s age, transparency is an expectation of any entity that
The county and KACo The Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) primarily provides Campbell County Fiscal Court with insurance, legal service for legal cost claims, and workers’ compensation coverage, said Campbell County Fiscal Director Jim Seibert. The group also lobbies for state measures that can help the county and provides educational seminars for government officials. The county is spending $595,800 this year with KACo including $2,300 in dues, $343,600 for property and liability takes tax dollars, he said. “I think we need to do something,” Rechtin said. “I think we need to contemplate what is the appropriate response and do something.” Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery agreed that the Fiscal Court should look into what the appropriate response is after Rechtin, D-Newport, brought up the issue at the Aug. 19 meeting
insurance, and $249,900 in workers’ compensation insurance. There was especially a time before KACo that insurance was difficult to obtain for county governments, said Campbell County Administrator Robert Horine. KACo’s insurance policies with the county have been significantly lower than what the county has been able to find elsewhere in the market, Horine said. “We have benefited greatly from the ability to insure ourselves in this manner,” he said. in Newport. According to the HeraldLeader, KACo credit cards have been charged at least twice for an escort service, and that the county group’s top five officials spent almost $600,000 on travel, meals and other expenses in two years. The League of Cities was found to have spent about $300,000 on entertainment, travel and meals including a charge in 2006 at Las
QUIT HAPPENS START BUILDING
Vegas strip club. KLC’s Executive Director Sylvia Lovely, announced Aug. 26 that she will step down, effective Jan. 1, 2010. The City of Fort Mitchell approved a resolution at the end of July asking the league’s spending be posted online for accountability’s sake and for the group’s board to follow any recommendations the state auditor makes. Commissioner Mark Hayden, R-Wilder, said at the Aug. 19 meeting that he thought the county should contemplate what the reaction should be so as to take a measured action. During the discussion, Commissioner Dave Otto, D-Fort Thomas, said nobody in the news media ever talks about people who did not abuse the system who are following the rules. County Administrator Robert Horine said the county needs to investigate what other counties are doing to respond to the situation.
© 2009 CareerBuilder, LLC. All rights reserved.