FAT TUESDAY COOKING B1
Senior Donell Parker fries up crab cakes in Foods II class at Mount Healthy Junior/Senior High School in celebration of Fat Tuesday.
Volume 74 Number 11 © 2011 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Amazing Moms Contest
Nominate the Amazing Mom in your life and she could have the chance to win a $100 gift card to Mitchell’s Salon & Day Spa. To enter, visit the Contests page located on CincinnatiMomsLikeMe.com. Click on the Amazing Moms Contest and upload a photo of your nominee along with a caption of 100 words or less on why this mom is amazing. Deadline to enter is Monday, April 25, at 9 a.m. Winner will be determined by public voting from April 25 through May 2.
Spring stickwork
McAuley’s lacrosse team is a long way to bettering last year’s record. The Mohawks have at goalkeeper Liz Ceddia, last year’s Girls Greater Cincinnati League lacrosse athlete of the year. – SEE STORY, A8
Your Community Press newspaper serving College Hill, Finneytown, Forest Park, Greenhills, Mount Airy, Mount Healthy, North College Hill, Seven Hills, Springfield Township Email: hilltoppress@communitypress.com Website: communitypress.com
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B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
Penmanship as an art form By Heidi Fallon hfallon@communitypress.com
Holly Monroe can make a simple pen stroke a work of art. Monroe is a third generation calligrapher, tutored by her mother in art and her father in calligraphy. She’s merged the two into both a profitable business and a creative outlet all her own. Perched on a stool at the drawing table in her Springfield Township studio, Monroe is surrounded by her vast array of work. Framed biblical phrases, inspirational and whimsical messages, and even coffee cups and T-shirts bear her distinctive flourishes and intricate lettering style. Her work isn’t confined to her Heirloom Artists studio. Examples of her art have been spotted on posters in Turkey and South Africa. “That is still amazing to me,” Monroe said. Closer to home, Monroe’s work can be found at the Riley’s Restaurant in Springdale, at selected art shows and exhibits, and her studio. While undeniably a gifted artist, Monroe said she likes to think of herself as “an illuminator.” Her inspiration, she said, “is to feed the soul by making meaningful words beautiful.” Her work has captured the attention of
Holly Monroe works in her Springfield Township studio creating exquisite calligraphy with flourish and faith.
HEIDI FALLON/STAFF
Magical play
Finneytown High School is presenting a magical performance, “Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” April 29 and 30. The production team has been creative in presenting the play. – SEE STORY, A5
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A butterfly takes wing across one of the pages of a book Holly Monroe is creating for a client employing both gold leaf and gold powder techniques.
individuals who have hired her to design their family trees and wedding invitations, as well as commissions for greeting cards and documents such as the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration, along with the Constitution, are works in progress, as is a 143-page book of quotations. Her client is willing to wait the several years Monroe said it will take her complete his book that will include a variety of intricate artistic techniques. “Given the current economy, it’s a blessing for a calligrapher to be so busy,” she said. “I believe this is God’s plan for me.” Her faith is an integral part of her profes-
HEIDI FALLON/STAFF
sion and, she said, her Bible excerpts are some of her most popular works. Monroe must have needed that heavenly nudge since she didn’t envision the path her life has taken. She majored in physical education at Miami University, with little thought to making living in art. She was a stay-at-home mom when she finally sat down to seriously put pen to paper. She opened her studio in 1980 and has rarely put her pen down since. For more information about Monroe, go to website at hollymonroe.com. For more on your community, visit www.Cincinnati.com.
Mt. Healthy board cuts could hit $2 million By Jennie Key jkey@communitypress.com
The Mount Healthy Board of Education suspended the contracts of 12 teachers at Monday night’s meeting as a “reduction in force for financial reasons.” And the board approved a plan that will make almost $1.5 million in cuts, the first of a two-step action to make up for the loss of operating money for the coming school year. Jennifer Shelton, president of the Mount Healthy Teachers Association, told the board she knew the decision was difficult, and she appreciated the time and work that went into the process. “In my time with the district, we have never had to (cut by reduction in force) this many teachers,” she said. “Seven of these are due
to the loss of the all-day kindergarten program and we lost a few at the high school. And there will likely be more cuts coming. We just Handler hope we can maintain our contract language at this point.” Superintendent Lori Handler said there are more cuts coming. The board approved the phase one budget reduction plan for the 2011-12 school year that include closing Rex Ralph and moving the preschool programs to the district’s two elementary schools, and an increase in pay-to-play fees for student athletes. It’s likely teachers will have to pay a higher percentage into the state retire-
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ment system and the district is also negotiating a salary and step increase freeze with teachers. Additional personnel cuts are expected. The cost for high school athletes for the first two sports increases from $70 per sport, which could be worked off by parents volunteering at the bingo sponsored by the athletic boosters, to $100 per sport. Of the new fee, $50 must be paid in cash, and the remaining $50 can be worked off by volunteering at two concessions or two bingos. Payment and work must be complete before the sport begins. Additional sports under the old and new program are at no charge. The cost for junior high athletes was $70 for all sports. The new fee will be $100 for the first sport, $70 for the second sport.
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Parents will also have the opportunity to work off part of the fees. Handler said the first phase of cuts will slice $1.495 million from the district’s budget. Phase two will cut up to $500,000. Handler said dismantling the all-day kindergarten program she built 10 years ago was difficult, but it was one of the programs that the district could not continue to offer. “We spent a lot of time making sure we did not impact the classrooms any more than we had to,” she said. “It’s been many years since we have had to cut this many teaching positions.” Handler said the district will likely have to make additional cuts in coming weeks. “This is phase one,” she said. The board also passed two res-
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