UNION
RECORDER
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
RULING THE MATS A9 Ryle wrestling team succeeding this year with quality depth.
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Resolution opposes bridge toll Commissioner says tolls are taxes By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
UNION — Although the city of Union is, according to Mapquest, some 15 miles away from Covington and the Brent Spence Bridge that spans the Ohio River to Cincinnati, city leaders approved a resolution opposing the use of tolls as a funding mechanism for the reconstruction or replacement of the bridge.
The City Commission voted 3-1 to approve the resolution. As the resolution reads, the city calls on members of the Kentucky General Assembly to “reject efforts to proceed with the placement of tolls for the construction, reconstruction, or replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge.” Additionally, the resolution calls on members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to recognize this as a “high priority corridor” and the project as one of “national significance which would qualify it for funding with 80 percent fed-
eral participation.” The resolution also directs the suspension of budgeted public funds to organizations lobbying or advocating the use of tolls. Commissioner Bryan Miller, the sole incumbent on the newly seated commission, presented the resolution at the Jan. 7 City Commission meeting. “I think the federal government built our highways and bridges and that’s why I’m submitting the resolution for adoption,” Miller said at the meeting. He said he’s “just trying to put pressure on our legislature,
our elected officials to do something.” In a phone conversation, Miller said tolls are taxes. “It’s an additional tax on top of what we already pay on gasoline.” By introducing the resolution to the city, Miller said it shows Union is “in solidarity” with other cities and will tell elected officials they’re “taking a stand. We don’t want to be taxed any more.” New Commissioner Deanna Kline cast the lone “no” vote. Kline said in a follow-up message that supporting the busi-
NEW COMMISSION
ness community of Northern Kentucky is “so vital to our region’s success.” According to Kline, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Ohio, “have indicated that tolls must be part of the solution or the bridge project will not move forward. Therefore, given the importance of the bridge to our local prosperity, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to support a resolution contradicting their conclusions regarding tolls.” See TOLL, Page A2
Theater group is building a stage Group hopes to seat between 120 and 130 By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
Union Commissioners Ken Heil, Bryan Miller, Donna Fryman and Deanna Kline are shown after their first meeting in 2013. STEPHANIE SALMONS/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER
Students discuss solutions to shootings English class reacts to current events, engages in debate
Tanner Wolff, left, and Ryan Brown, seniors at Boone County High School, discuss in their honors English class what schools might do to prevent school shootings.
By William Croyle wcroyle@nky.com
FLORENCE — While debate continues nationwide among politicians, educators and parents about how to handle gun violence in schools, some outside-the-box ideas were conceived and discussed Friday by another concerned group: students. The 15 students in Alice Lambert’s Senior IV English Honors class at Boone County High School tried to find solu-
PHOTOS BY PATRICK REDDY/THE ENQUIRER
tions, no matter how out-ofthe-ordinary, to solve the issue of keeping students safe in case of a possible shooting. The class discussion tapped into the students’ critical
thinking skills and generated debate. They thought of everything from installing impenetrable steel doors in every classroom to having guns inside teachers’
REVISITING HISTORY
DADS AT SCHOOL
Mann Elementary’s Wax Museum offers a look into the past. B1
Yealey has kickoff for its Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program. A4
desk drawers that would open only if an emergency school alarm were triggered. “They’re analyzing and synthesizing information and being creative with it,” Lambert said. “Also, many of them don’t keep up with current events, so hopefully this will encourage them to do that.” The shooting deaths of 26 people, including 20 students, on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., had an impact on the students here at Boone, as it did on students across the country. “It was a very solemn time here. Very sad,” said senior
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UNION — After getting the OK from the city commission, the Union Community Theatre will construct a stationary stage in the Union Community Building. The theater group once held performances at Ryle High School. Since they were no longer able to use the school, they needed a place to have shows, city events coordinator and UCT board member Karen Franxman said. “There’s not a lot of storage at the community building,” she said. “Knowing that, I just thought with the way we use it for events – and we’ve had wedding receptions there – it would make sense to have a sort of stationary stage of a certain size
Vol. 2 No. 9 © 2013 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED