A2
Kenton Recorder
News
April 1, 2010
Literacy award recipient keeps region reading By Regan Coomer rcoomer@nky.com
The Kenton County Public Library wants the community to stand up for the people who promote literacy every day. The Mary Ann Mongan Literacy Award is given each year to the person who has shown outstanding service in literacy in Northern Kentucky. This is the second year for the award. Last year’s recipient was
State Librarian and Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Wayne Onkst, former director of the Kenton County Public Library. “I was incredibly honored,” said Onkst of the award. “I worked with Mary Ann Mongan for a long time and I have such huge respect for her and what she did as director of the Kenton County Library for 40 years.” While library staff chose Onkst for the recognition in 2009, in
2010 the library has opened up the award to nominations from Northern Kentucky residents, who can go online to kentonlibrary.org to fill out a nomination form. “The award demonstrates to the community that literacy is important,” Onkst said. “It’s also important for people to know that their contributions are recognized and valued.” Current Library Director Dave Schroeder encourages residents to nominate because “there’s proba-
bly a lot of people out there we’re not aware of doing wonderful work with literacy efforts. Opening it up to the public seemed the best way to go.” Schroeder said the honoree doesn’t necessarily have to be involved in the library or education – anyone who promotes literacy in any way is eligible. “A really broad spectrum of people could be nominated,” he said. The online nomination form is
easy, Schroeder said. Once submitted, Schroeder, two foundation board members and two staff members will review nominations to choose the winner. “Literacy is so important to the success of everyone. You see more and more adults who are unable to read. It’s such a hardship on people and it affects every aspect of your life,” he said. For more information about the Mary Ann Mongan Literacy Award, call 962-4060.
Class takes on polling through social media By Amanda Joering Alley ajoering@nky.com
Students at Northern Kentucky University are working on a study to test the usefulness of social media Web site Facebook when it comes to a public opinion poll. Students in a Topics in American Politics: Public Opinion class this semester are polling people throughout Campbell, Boone and Kenton counties using two
different methods. One method is traditional, mailing polls to randomly selected registered voters, and the other is online through Facebook. “The goal is to see if Facebook can compete,” said Dr. Shauna Reilly, professor of the class. “I thought this would be a great opportunity to expand the class beyond book learning.” Reilly said this study will give students a chance to
Index Calendar ......................................B2 Classifieds.....................................C Food.............................................B4 Obituaries....................................B8
Police.........................................B10 Schools........................................A6 Sports ..........................................A8 Viewpoints ................................A10
compare and contrast the social media method with the standard method and see if Web sites like Facebook can produce similar results. Along with picking the topics for the poll, which include smoking regulations, funding for regional services and the 2010 Senate race, students also completed a lot of the leg work for the project, including stuffing and mailing 1,500 polls.
Student Keshia Theobald said she is amazed at how much work has gone into the project. “We all collaborated together, and we all put in extra time to do this,” Theobald said. While the class is divided on what the results say, Theobald said she is looking forward to seeing the results of the study. “There hasn’t been a lot of studies on this,” Theobald said. “It will be
neat to have some empirical evidence.” The study is being funded by NKU’s Scripps Howards Center for Civic Engagement and is part of the American Democracy Project’s e-Citizenship Initiative, which is meant to expand civic engagement. To see of take part in the poll, search for Northern Kentucky Poll at www.facebook.com.
Candidate forums set in 3 counties Staff report Candidate forums for county commission races
and debates for judge-executive hopefuls in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties will be held in April. The forums are sponsored by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Legacy, The Kentucky Enquirer and NKY.com. The commission portion of the events will introduce the candidates and give them an opportunity to speak. The judge-executive portion will be moderated debates for candidates with primary opposition. Those without opposition will also be given time to speak. The times and places of the events are: • Boone County: April 7 at the Boone County Library, 1786 Burlington Pike, in Burlington. Com-
mission forum is 6 to 7 p.m. and the judge-executive debate is 7 to 8 p.m. • Kenton County: April 14 at the Kenton County Library, 401 Kenton Lands Road in Erlanger. Commission forum, 6 to 7 p.m.; judge-executive debate, 7 to 8 p.m. • Campbell County: April 28 at the Southgate Community Center, 301 W. Walnut St. in Southgate. Commission forum, 6 to 7 p.m.; judge-executive debate, 7 to 8 p.m. There is no admission charge for the events. For more information, call Jane Moore, the chamber's coordinator of business and government advocacy, at 859-578-6391 or go to nkychamber.com.
BRIEFS Funds raised
An eat-out night at Skyline Chili for the Independence Senior Center March 17 generated more than $200 for the seniors’ programming fund. Each fundraiser asks residents to eat at a particular restaurant on a certain day and tell the staff they’re eating for the seniors. A portion of the proceeds is then donated to the senior center. The next night will take place April 15 at the Independence Buffalo Wild Wings. Call Dave Millward at 3566264 for details.
Digging in the dirt
The Behringer Crawford Museum in Devou Park will hold two Spring Break camps for students ages 8 to 12. The first will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 6 and 7 and the second Spring Break Camp will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 13 and 14. The students will learn about archaeology and participate in a real dig. Cost is $50 for museum members and $75 for nonmembers. Call 491-4003 for more information.
Shelter hosts dinner
The Emergency Cold Shelter of Northern Kentucky will host a Donor and Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at 6 p.m. Tuesday April 13 at Mother of God Church in Covington, 119 W. Sixth Street. The shelter is asking attendees to RSVP by April 9 by e-mailing nkecs@yahoo. com. For information, go to nkycoldshelter.blogspot.com.
More funding for Edison redevelopment By Scott Wartman swartman@nky.com
The developer that will convert the former Thomas Edison Elementary into apartments has secured more funding for the project. The City Commission this month approved using the city's federal Community Development Block Grant money to lend $200,000 to Lexington-based developer AU Associates. The Thomas Edison project had been one of several
vying for the $200,000 available in the city's CDBG funds. Thomas Edison Elementary closed in May 2009. "I'm glad to see it happen," said City Manager Larry Klein. "I think it is going to be a quality development in the neighborhood. They have done good work elsewhere. We are happy to have an experienced developer that is experienced in rehabbing school buildings." AU Associates will spend $4.3 million to convert the school into 26 apartments.
COMMUNITY RECORDER
Find news and information from your community on the Web Covington – nky.com/covington Independence – nky.com/independence Taylor Mill – nky.com/taylormill
News
CE-0000388722.INDD
Brian Mains | Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578-1062 | bmains@nky.com Jason Brubaker | Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578-1060 | jbrubaker@nky.com Regan Coomer | Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578-1061 | rcoomer@nky.com Melanie Laughman | Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . 513-248-7573 | mlaughman@nky.com James Weber | Sports Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . 578-1054 | jweber@nky.com Advertising Debbie Maggard | Advertising Manager. . . . . . 578-5501 | dmaggard@nky.com Deb Kaya | Account Rep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578-5507 | dkaya@nky.com Josh Bishop | Account Rep. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578-5506 | jbishop@nky.com Delivery For customer service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781-4421 Sharon Schachleiter | Circulation Manager . . 442-3464 | sschachleiter@nky.com Melissa Lemming | District Manager. . . . . . . . . 442-3462 | mlemming@nky.com Classified To place a Classified ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283-7290 | www.communityclassified.com To place an ad in Community Classified, call 283-7290.
The developer will also use historic tax credits and affordable housing tax credits to fund the project. The 71-year-old elementary school building on Scott Boulevard was put on the National Register by the National Park Service in February and is now eligible for historic tax credits. The start of the development, however, hinges on the government approving AU Associates for affordable housing tax credits, which will fund about 60 percent of the project, said Johan Graham, financial manager for AU Associates. They will apply by April 1 and learn if they get the affordable housing tax credits within three months, he said. If they don't, they will have to wait a year to apply again, he said. AU Associates has funded similar apartment complexes across the state the same way, he said. About half of their projects have gotten affordable housing tax credits on the first attempt, he said. "We are very persistent, but it is always possible not to be funded on the first go around," Graham said. If the project gets funded, AU Associates would start construction this summer, he said.