WESTERN HILLS PRESS
Your Community Press newspaper serving Addyston, Bridgetown, Cheviot, Cleves, Covedale, Dent, Green Township, 75¢ Mack, Miami Township, North Bend, Westwood
WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012
YELLOWJACKETS GRADUATE B1 Taylor High School presented its 2012 graduating class
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Men planning wardrobe for Skirt Game Annual game starts with tailgate party Aug. 2; ‘dudes in dresses’ play Aug. 3 By Monica Boylson mboylson@communitypress.com
The Delhi Skirt Game will celebrate 35 years of giving back to the community on Friday, Aug. 3, at Delhi Park. “It’s dudes in dresses,” Delhi Skirt Game co-chairman Clyde Kober said. “It’s all for a good cause.” Each year, some proceeds from the skirt game are donated to help a family in need. The festivities actually start Thursday, Aug. 2, with the Skirt Game tailgate party from 6 to 10
p.m. at the Delhi Skirt Game tailgate party in the Remke/Biggs parking lot on Delhi Road. The Delhi Rising Star finals will begin at 7 p.m. Four contestants remain and one will be chosen to sing at the skirt game. Kober said everyone is invited to attend and people can vote for their favorite singer by purchasing tickets, five for $1. The singer with the most tickets wins. There will also be a raffle for a scooter. All proceeds from the event will go to the Delhi Skirt Game fund to help others in need. The Skirth Game festivities the next night, Aug. 3, begin at 5 p.m. There will be food, beer and games provided by the Delhi Skirt Game Committee, LaRosa’s and donations from Remke/ Biggs. See SKIRT, Page A2
Richard Stewart, manager of Carriage House Farm in North Bend, is the sixth-generation farmer of the family-owned farm that has been in operation since 1855. The farm recently won a 2012 American Treasures Award for culinary excellence. KURT BACKSCHEIDER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
North Bend farm wins culinary award Named American Treasures winner
By Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
Richard Stewart never planned on being a farmer. Growing up in North Bend, he said he viewed going to his family’s farm on Miami View Road as a punishment that kept him from hanging out with his friends. Instead of playing football with the guys, his weekends and summers were spent helping his father on the farm. “Farming was the last thing I wanted to do,” Stewart said. Now it’s his livelihood, and he’s come to love being a farmer. Stewart, a Miami Township resident, is the sixth-generation farmer of Carriage House Farm. The 300-acre North Bend farm has been owned and operated by his family since 1855. A registered Ohio Century Farm, Carriage House recently won a prestigious 2012 American Treasures Award for culinary excellence. The annual award recognizes individuals and small producers who make significant contributions to preserving and fostering the AllAmerican craft and tradition of farming. “It was awesome,” Stewart
FREE MUSIC Miami Township is hosting two free concerts. See story, A3
said of winning the award. “We were surrounded by some of the greats in artisan food production in the U.S.” Honoring his family’s heritage, his goal for Carriage House is to help lead the way to a new food culture in Greater Cincinnati. Stewart has been managing the farm for about 15 years. A graduate of University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, he worked for several years in the package design field. Around the time his father was getting ready to retire from farming, Stewart said his company laid him off. He found himself back at the farm helping his father and he’s been there ever since. “This is a really neat place,” he said. While the farm does produce commodity crops – corn and soybean – he said for the past six years they’ve been focusing more on growing small specialty grains and fresh produce, and farming based on sustainability. They grow a variety of greens, herbs and root crops to supply area restaurants, retailers and farmers’ markets, including Local 127, The Bistro,
Nicholson’s, Whole Foods, Remke/Biggs, Orchids at the Hilton and Bridgetown Finer Meats. They also mill their own grains to produce whole wheat flour and cornmeal, and they have 85 beehives to produce quality honey. “We’re doing everything on a small scale, but we’re selling it,” Stewart said. “People want to buy their food locally.” And they also want to buy food they can trust, which is why Carriage House does not spray chemicals or pesticides on any of its food crops. “One of the cool things about the farm is that we’re almost completely sustainable,” Stewart said. “A lot of what we’re doing is what earned us the American Treasures Award.” He said the fun part is that they’re using some of the same farming techniques his ancestors did in the 1900s. “It’s nice to see Cincinnati and the Ohio Valley is starting to reclaim its signature food culture,” he said. For more information, visit www.carriagehousefarmllc. com.
RITA’S KITCHEN Tips for drying your herbs. See story, B3
WKRC-TV Local 12’s Bob Herzog will be at this year’s Delhi Skirt Game. Last year, he greets Joan Moritz of Westwood and her friend, Dottie Garrett of Delhi Township. FILE PHOTO
Montana Ave. work nears completion Next project is Harrison Road upgrades By Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
The Montana Avenue improvement project in Westwood is entering its final stages. Andréa Henderson, a project engineer with Cincinnati’s transportation and engineering department, said steps to finish the project are scheduled to begin the week of July 23. Those steps include grinding the existing pavement, resurfacing and installing new pavement markings and signs. “The project began in the third quarter of 2011 and will be
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substantially complete by midAugust,” she said. Henderson stopped by the Westwood Civic Association meeting Tuesday, July 17, to give residents an update on the construction work. Joel Kimmet, president of the civic association, said the group has worked closely with the city throughout the project and many members have been interested in how the work is progressing along the heavily-traveled road. Henderson said the Montana Avenue project encompasses a two-mile stretch from Boudinot Avenue to Farrell Drive. The work is intended to improve safety and reduce rear-end accidents, sideswipe accidents and fixed object accidents, she said. See WORK, Page A2 Vol. 84 No. 36 © 2012 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED