FORT THOMAS
RECORDER
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Fort Thomas 75¢
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
GRANDPARENTS DAY B1 Students share what they love about their grandparents
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
School district, city work together to improve traffic, safety issues at Moyer By Amanda Joering ajoering@nky.com
Fort Thomas Independent School administrators and city officials are working together on a project that they hope will improve traffic and safety concerns around Moyer Elementary
School. Plans are in the works for a project to create a student drop off and pick up loop around the school. Superintendent Gene Kirchner said the new loop would take some of the traffic off of Highland Avenue and give parents a
place to drop off and pick up their children behind the school. “The most important thing is to provide a safer situation for the kids,” Kirchner said. “We don’t have the ideal situation right now, so we’re trying to make it better.” City Administrator Donald
Martin said currently, during peak times before and after school, there is a lot of very slow moving traffic near the school on Highland Avenue, causing an unsafe environment for students and making it hard for residents and visitors to get through that area.
With the new loop, parents would turn down the existing driveway on the side of the school closest to North Fort Thomas Avenue, loop around the baseball field behind the school, then come back out James Avenue to See TRAFFIC, Page A2
Events provide for Fort Thomas students By Amanda Joering
ajoering@nky.com
FORT THOMAS — While the Fort Thomas elementary schools’ yearly fundraisers offer family fun for the the whole community, they provide a lot more than fun for students. Each of the school’s events, which include the Big Top Festival at Woodfill, the Hullabaloo at Johnson and the Santa House at Moyer, provide thousands of dollars to each of the school’s Parent Teacher Organizations. Kelly Fraley, who is cochairing this year’s Big Top Festival with Danielle Hartle, said at each of the schools, these big, yearly events make up the majority of the PTO’s funds, which they use to provide students with everything from field trips and cultural arts events to cookouts and classroom supplies. “These events really fund what the PTO is able to do for the kids and families at the schools,” Fraley said. For example this year, money raised from the Big Top Festival is partially going towards building the school a new playground, something that wasn’t in the district’s budget for the newly built school building. Fraley said after saving money from last year, the group is getting pretty close to having enough for the playground, thanks to the dedication of the school’s parents and the support of the community. “Raising this money would not be possible without everyone’s help,” Fraley said.
Crews work on the major renovation of the Newport/Fort Thomas Starbucks. AMANDA JOERING/COMMUNITY RECORDER
Shae Seese from the Cincinnati Circus Company makes a balloon animal during Woodfill Elementary School's annual Big Top festival in 2011. FILE Johnson Elementary School Principal Jon Stratton said the PTO provides a variety of experiences at Johnson and the other schools that students wouldn’t have otherwise, like SMART boards for classrooms and visits from COSI (Center of Science and Industry). “These are things that we don’t have money to pay for from our district budget,” Stratton said. Along with providing funding, the events also provide a sense of community at the schools, Stratton said. Stratton said since so much See EVENTS, Page A2
NO-BAKE DESSERT
Starbucks closes for renovations By Amanda Joering The Newport/Fort Thomas Starbucks on Grand Avenue is closed for renovations, but patrons aren’t being left without a way to get their coffee fix. The store, which has been closed since Sept. 4, is offering its full menu through a walk up window. Store manager Lewis Curd said about every 10 years, Starbucks does a major remodel of its stores. “We’re updating everything that can be seen inside the store,” Curd said. “Because of the major scope of it, we have to close for about three weeks.” The store will be closed during
STUDENTS SKYPE Students spoke via Skype with Eric T. Baumgartner, who helped design the robotic arm in use on NASA’s Mars rover. A7
Rita shares her recipe for no-cook banana pudding. B3
Customer David Thibodeaux stops the Newport/Fort Thomas Starbucks for some coffee while the store is closed for renovations.
ajoering@nky.com
AMANDA JOERING/ COMMUNITY RECORDER
the renovations, which include everything from a new floor and paint to new furniture and art, until Sept. 28. The renovations also include the additional of a new bar area, where customers can sit and
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Vol. 13 No. 18 © 2012 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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watch as drinks are made. Curd said they hope to open the newly remodeled store on Saturday, Sept. 29. In the meantime, the store has
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