BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTB1
COMMUNITY RECORDER
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Covington, Independence, Latonia, Ryland Heights, Taylor Mill Owner Mark Carlotta, shows off the bar area of the All In Cafe.
Volume 15 Issue 9 © 2010 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Collection time
In the next few days your Community Recorder carrier will be stopping by to collect $2.50 for delivery of this month’s Kenton Community Recorder. Your carrier retains half of this James amount long with any tip you give to reward good service. This month we’re featuring James and Kaitlyn Shaw. For more Kaitlyn information about our carrier program contact Melissa Lemming at 859-442-3462.
Casa seeks volunteers
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Kenton County Inc. is seeking volunteers. Informational programs will be 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 18, and Tuesday, Jan. 25, at their office, 303 Court St., Suite 707, Covington. CASA volunteers provide advocacy for abused and neglected children who are living in foster care or a residential facility and are under the jurisdiction of the Kenton County Family Court. For more information e-mail Nicky Jeffries at nicky.casakentonky@live.com, visit http://casakentonky.org or call CASA at 859-392-1791.
E-mail: kynews@communitypress.com T h u r s d a y, D e c e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 0
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Ban vote set for Dec. 21 By Regan Coomer rcoomer@nky.com
After more than two years of debate, the Kenton County Fiscal Court followed Campbell County’s lead and held the first reading of a ban on smoking in public places Dec. 9. Whether or not Kenton officials vote on the ban at a special meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Kenton County Courthouse in Independence could also depend on the Campbell County Fiscal Court, Judge-executive Ralph Drees said. “We’ll watch what Campbell County does. We’re twice the size, but the demographics and everything’s the same,” he said. “I just think we ought to stick together as best we can.” Campbell County was scheduled to vote on their ban ordinance Wednesday, Dec. 15 after The Community Recorder’s deadline. Kenton County leaders heard from 16 business owners, medical professionals, cancer survivors and concerned citizens, eight for, eight against the ban. Commissioner Sara Voelker was not present at the meeting. Covington restaurant owner Chris Penn said his Cincinnati location is hurt by the smoking ban. “We still watch our customers leaving our restaurant and going down to bars and taverns that do not enforce the smoking law and they’re doing a thriving business taking customers away from us,” Penn said. Earl Cox, owner of PeeCox I
See VOTE on page A2
PATRICIA A. SCHEYER/CONTRIBUTOR
Wreaths honor veterans
Cadet Airman Zachary Thurkill presents his holiday wreath to Marine Sgt. Brian Dufresne at Independence Cemetery on Dec. 11. Members of Boone County’s Civil Air Patrol placed wreaths for each branch of service.
Council zones for pawn shop By Regan Coomer rcoomer@nky.com
After an executive session Dec. 6, Independence City Council voted 4-1 to add pawn shops as a use to the Rural Commercial Two (RC-2) zone. The Kenton County Planning Commission (KCPC) members will vote on the text amendment and their recommendation will come back to the city for approval in 60 to 90 days, most likely in February or March 2011, Mayor Chris Moriconi said. City council first considered adding a use of pawn shops to the Neighborhood Commercial zone in May.
However, the motion died for lack of a second. Independence officials are addressing the issue now in order to avoid litigation from the business owner, Larry Hamilton, who originally requested a permitted use for pawn shops in Independence, Moriconi explained. Hamilton has operated six pawn shops in Northern Kentucky. “We have to provide a zone for pawn shops. You cannot exclude them from a zone in your city,” Moriconi said. “You may disagree with the business, but constitutionally they must be allowed to operate in designated zones.” The city-chosen RC-2 zone is
off of Richardson Road near Crowe Road and the newly-constructed Old Richardson Road Bridge, Zoning Administrator Annie Wuestefeld said. The zone allows more than 25 uses, including bakeries, drug stores, hardware stores, post offices, garden supplies, automobile detailing shops, restaurants and shooting ranges. Shooters Supply and Sporting Goods is located off of Richardson Road in the RC-2 zone. “The attorney requested that ‘Hey, before we proceed with litigation we want to see what the city will do to accommodate us,’ and this is what council wanted to do,” Moriconi said.
Former librarian keeps children reading By Regan Coomer rcoomer@nky.com
Rich tradition
Cristo Rey Parish in Erlanger celebrates the values and traditions of Northern Kentucky’s Hispanic community during the holidays. Read more about the variety of traditions in our community in this week’s life cover. LIFE, B1
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During her 27-year career in the Kenton County School District, Independence resident Judy Spegal worked hard to get children to read. Spegal retired in 2008, but her life’s work hasn’t changed. A former librarian and media specialist, she is still inspiring children to read as the author of “Happiness is a Place Called Home: A Fancy Dog Story.” The book tells the story of Fancy the dog and her adventures living on a Kentucky farm. “She just had a character,” Spegal said of the real-life Fancy, who passed away two years ago. “She just had a story to tell and it’ll be fun. Everything in the books are inspired by what she did.” “Happiness is a Place Called Home” is the first of five planned books surrounding the antics of
Fancy, who Spegal described as loving, sneaky and mischievous. The books are geared for children in preschool through fourth grade, but it’s a book for “youngsters and oldsters,” Spegal said. “As soon as the door would open, she would come in and make a bee line to the cat bowl,” Spegal recalled with a laugh. “She had it in her mind that she was going to beat anybody to that cat dish and she slid there and ran there.” Writing a book was something Spegal had wanted to do for a while - her veterinarian gave her the idea to write about one of her pets. When Spegal retired as Ryland Heights Elementary’s librarian, she decided to give it a shot with the encouragement and backing of friends, family and fellow Kentucky author Leigh Anne Florence, who writes about Woody, the Kentucky Weiner. One of the best things about
being a published author is getting to visit students in local schools. Spegal said it’s a good feeling when the kids tell her how much they enjoy her book. “It’s very gratifying and it makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile and I’m still involved with their children and their learning,” Spegal said. Spegal’s life-long friend, Hazel Peebles, is one of the “oldsters” who is a fan of the Fancy books. “I encouraged her when she first told me about it - she’s got a wealth of information about animals on the farm,” said Peebles, an Independence resident. “Judy’s always enthusiastic and always trying to figure out how to get children to read.” Spegal hopes to publish the next Fancy book by next spring. Visit fancytracks.com for more information about ordering Spegal’s books.
PROVIDED
Independence resident Judy Spegal stops by a local school with Fancy the dog. When Spegal visits classrooms, she reads “Happiness is a Place Called Home: A Fancy Dog Story,” before playing Fancy-related games and activities with the children.
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