EGG HUNT PHOTOS
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Your Community newspaper serving Colerain Township, Green Township, Groesbeck, Monfort Heights, Pleasant Run, Seven Hills, White Oak Email: northwestpress@communitypress.com Website: communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 1 1
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4-year-old recognized for 911 response The Drew Campbell Memorial Egg Hunt in Colerain Township
Volume 94 Number 10 © 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 the why this mom is amazing. Deadline to enter is Monday, April 25, 2011 at 9 a.m. Winner will be determined by public voting from April 25 through May 2.
Lighting the way
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FALHABER
By Jennie Key jkey@communitypress.com
Groesbeck resident Robert Taylor was driving to a job site in Hamilton the morning of March 3 and decided to check in with the family. As he traveled state Route 27, he picked up his phone and called home. 4-year-old Vincent answered the phone. “Mommy fell down and she’s shaking …” Vincent said. Robert turned around, heading home as he got details from his son, who was home alone with his mom, Nicole. Dad hung up and called 911. Then he called Nicole’s parents, Mary Jo and Dean Hammersmith, and they headed toward the couple’s house as well. Meanwhile, 911 Dispatcher Tami Gilman called the house to find out what was going on. Vincent answered the phone. As she talked with the boy about his mother, he told Gilman something was wrong with his mom and that she wouldn’t wake up. She sent him to the door to let emergency medical personnel into the house and he immediately complied. Mom’s fine and now she’s proud, too. Vincent’s mom, Nicole Hammersmith, wiped away a stray tear and her eyes glistened with pride and emotion as she listened to a recording of her 4-year-old son talking to Gilman, at the presentation of the Hamilton County Communications Center 911 Hero Award during the Colerain Township Board of Trustees meeting on April 12. Vincent was almost vibrating with excitement as he listened with
a wide grin to the recording and then to the words of praise from Hamilton County Communication Center supervisor Tom Rapp shared as he described the March 3 events. “At the very least, Vince saved you the cost of a new door,” Rapp said, joking, as he presented Vincent with the award during the regular meeting of the Colerain Township Board of Trustees Tuesday night. Vincent loved it. His infectious grin flashed frequently as squirmed and danced in place, taking in the crowd in the Colerain Township Trustee Chamber, eager to receive the goodies he could see lined up waiting for him. He liked the T-shirt and the plaque, and the medal, but he was itching to get his hands on the Cars-themed skateboard that Rapp saved for last. “He did a great job, and he’s one of the youngest children we’ve given this award to,” Rapp said. He also praised dispatcher Tami Gilman for her handling of the situation. “She did every thing right,” he said. “She got control of the situation and at one point, when it sounded like Vince might be starting to get upset, she gave him a job, settled him down and kept things under control.” Gilman said she was shocked when she learned how young Vincent was because he was so calm and handled the situation with such maturity. “No way he sounded like he was 4,” she said. “He did a great job.” Nicole’s mom and dad arrived at the house shortly after the medical personnel. Mary Jo said Vincent reenacted the event for her benefit.
JENNIE KEY/STAFF
Robert Taylor and Nicole Hammersmith with their children, Vincent and Lillian Taylor. Vincent is holding the skateboard he received as part of his Hamilton County Communication Center 911 Hero Award. “He acted the whole thing out for us,” she said. “He had brought her a paper towel because she bit her lip when she fell. He was able to talk to us about it.” Dean says his grandson has taken it all in stride. “He’s back to being Vince,” he said. Nicole said her son sees Colerain Township Police Officer Dale Woods as he drives by the family’s house
and sounds his siren to reply to Vincent’s waves. He nominated Vincnte for the award. “Vincent is very excited about getting this and loves police,” Woods said in an email, adding that Nicole told him the incident renewed her faith in the police department and Colerain Township as a whole. “ That statement should make us all proud.”
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 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 eleHandler mentary 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 retirement 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
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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. 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 resolutions Monday night seeking tax funding from voters. In one motion, the board finalized its request for a 7.65-mill levy to be placed on the Aug. 2 ballot. That
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levy would generate about $2.76 million annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $228 annually. Voters turned down requests for operating levies in November and February. The district passed a bond issue in 2006 to build three new schools, but state law prohibits that money to be used to pay for operations within the district. The school district’s last new operating levy passed in 2003, and administrators said the district has made about $4.4 million in cuts since that levy passed. In a second motion, the board took the first required action to put the levy back in front of voters Nov. 8, should the Aug. 2 request fail. The board was reluctant to pass a motion placing the issue on the November ballot, but Treasurer Rebecca Brooks said the state has tightened the timelines for placing issues on the ballot. The new timeline would require the district to pass a resolution for the November ballot in the midst of the campaign for the August levy. “Our bond counsel suggested we do this now,” Brooks said.
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