NNKY’s population and clout are growing. Why are incumbent lawmakers leaving?
orthern Kentucky held nine seats in the state House of Representatives and four seats in the Senate between 2013 and 2022.
Now, the region has 10 House seats – 10% of the 100-seat chamber – and five seats in the Senate. Population growth in NKY’s core counties of Boone, Campbell and Kenton is one reason for the change.
Another is something called partisan redistricting.
Kentucky lawmakers are required under the state constitution to redraw all 138 state legislative districts and U.S. congressional district boundaries every 10 years “as nearly equal in population as may be without dividing any county, except where a county may include more than one district” based on census data.
Unlike constitutions in several other states (including Ohio), though, Kentucky courts
have ruled its constitution doesn’t outright ban partisan gerrymandering – or drawing districts in a way that benefits one party over another party.
With GOP supermajorities in both the Kentucky House and Senate since 2016, Republicans control the redistricting process in the commonwealth – including in Northern Kentucky. They redrew the region’s lines in 2022 by tightening the bounds of some district lines while expanding others.
Moving across the border into all three core NKY counties was House District 78, which now includes all of Pendleton County, southwest Campbell County and parts of southern Kenton County.
Over in the Senate, District 20 – which under the 2013 map included all of Carroll, Henry, Shelby and Trimble counties and the eastern edge of Jefferson County – now includes historically blue (or Democratic) Franklin County, southern Boone County and part of western Kenton County plus all of Carroll, Gallatin and Owen counties. Sen.
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When world events turn local, what’s a city’s role?
By Nathan Granger
Muhammad Ahmad approached the lectern at a March meeting of the Covington City Commission to speak.
“I’ve accepted that you don’t care about human life that is Palestinian,” Ahmad said, addressing Mayor Joe Meyer, “and I question whether you care about any life, for that matter, because you are a moral failure because Palestinians –”
Meyer banged his gavel before Ahmad could finish; supporters of Ahmad in the audience clapped. Ahmad raised his hand, seemingly trying to calm them.
“Personal attacks are inappropriate and out of order,” Meyer said. “No more personal attacks.”
“Cowardice!” someone from the audience shouted.
The exchange was a culmination of a monthslong attempt by Ahmad and others to get the commission to support a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Various forms of ceasefire resolutions have been passed in about 70 cities across the United States as of January. In early March, Cincinnati’s City Council passed a resolution supporting a temporary ceasefire, but only after much debate between council members and the public.
Covington, on the other hand, has not taken up a resolution, and events from that March 26 meeting suggest that it’s unlikely to happen, at least not in the form proposed by Ahmad and his supporters. The situation in Israel and Gaza elicits strong
Continues on page 5
How DesignLAB builds kids’ understanding of trades
Covington likely to close leaking Goebel Park pool p8
CovCath tennis looking ahead, not resting on 2023 success p16
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Gex Williams (R-Verona) is the district’s senator.
Changes were also made to NKY’s congressional 4th District, held by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie. When lawmakers redrew the district back in 2012 (a year earlier than redistricting of state legislative seats in 2013) the 4th District included the eastern edge of Jefferson County – one of only two Kentucky counties President Joe Biden carried in 2020 (the other was Fayette).
Lawmakers cut Jefferson County out of the district in 2022. The district was then redrawn to include northern Nelson County plus northern Carter County and all of Robertson County – both closer to Massie’s home turf in Lewis County.
Now, as state legislative and federal elections loom in 2024, the current state legislative and congressional maps have received a closer look – most notably from the Kentucky Supreme Court. In December, the court upheld current state House and congressional maps that had been challenged in part for “extreme partisan gerrymandering” by the Kentucky Democratic Party and others, including state House Minority Floor Leader Derrick Graham (D-Frankfort).
In short, the court framed redistricting as an “inherently political process” required of the Kentucky General Assembly by the state constitution. The majority did not agree with arguments that the state House and congressional maps went beyond the pale of constitutional partisan gerrymandering.
Graham, House Minority Whip Rachel Roberts (D-Newport), and House Minority Caucus Chair Cherlynn Stevenson (R-Lexington) released a joint statement after the court’s Dec. 14 ruling, calling the 2022 congressional and state House maps “textbook examples of extreme partisan gerrymandering, from how they were drawn in secret to how they effectively decided the outcome of most races by the end of the primary. This entire process should have
been rejected today; instead, we fear it will now become standard procedure.”
When LINK nky asked Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown) about the court challenge last October, he dismissed claims that the 2022 maps were unconstitutional. He also said he doesn’t expect the supermajorities in the House and Senate that led the redistricting process to “go away or even shrink any time in the near future. It’s something I’ve worked toward for a long time,” Thayer said.
He didn’t tell LINK that he wouldn’t run for his seat in the Senate supermajority past 2024. Thayer – a five-term senator who now represents all of Grant and Scott counties plus a large portion of Kenton County (including Independence) and part of northwest Fayette County – announced in December that he will not seek reelection this year. He last ran for his seat in 2020.
“There are exciting private sector opportunities I wish to pursue that will require more of my time and energy, which I am currently not afforded with the great responsibility that comes with being a member of our citizen legislature,” Thayer said in a Dec. 13 release.
He’s not alone in deciding to step away from the General Assembly. Other incumbents in NKY have announced they won’t run again.
NKY incumbents say ‘no’ to reelection
The first NKY incumbent to announce he wouldn’t run for reelection this year was Sen. John Schickel, a Union Republican who represents Senate District 11 in Boone County, including the county’s largest city of Florence.
Schickel dropped the statewide announcement Nov. 14.
The former U.S. marshal and Boone County jailer represented all of Boone County in the state Senate for most of his state legislative career, beginning in 2009. That changed when the Senate created a new district map in 2022 that moved Verona and Walton (in Boone County) and the rest of southern Boone County to Williams’ district. The last time Schickel ran for his seat was in 2020.
Schickel said in his November announcement that he will continue to represent his district – including Florence, Burlington, Union, and points both north and west to the Ohio River – fully until his last day in office in December. Asked why he decided not to run again, Schickel said, “I have always thought citizen legislators should not make a career out of their service because I strongly believe in the founding principles of a government of the people and by the people. For that reason, I will not seek reelection in the coming year.”
The next announcement that a NKY incumbent would not seek reelection came a few days before Christmas, on Dec. 20, from House Minority Whip Rachel Roberts
Continued from page 3
(D-Newport). Roberts – the region’s only Democrat, now in her second term in the General Assembly – represents the historically Democratic stronghold of House District 67, which includes Newport, Bellevue, Wilder and a southward stretch tapering along the Licking River.
Democrats who have served for decades are bowing out, too. Graham (who challenged the 2022 House and congressional district maps) and Lexington Democrat Ruth Ann Palumbo – now in her 17th term (and 34th year) in the Kentucky House –both announced in December that they will not seek reelection this year.
Reboot or move on?
The exodus of three high profile state lawmakers from Northern Kentucky and other prominent state legislators during the 2024 election cycle is intriguing. That’s true both for Republicans, who hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate, and Democrats, who managed to get one of their own reelected as governor in an otherwise deep red state.
None of the incumbents mentioned have cited the state’s 2022 redistricting maps as a reason for their decision not to run again. D. Stephen Voss, associate professor at the University of Kentucky Department of Political Science, tells LINK nky that it’s pretty common for incumbents to decide not to run for reelection after redistricting. That goes for both parties, no matter which is in the majority, he said.
The rapport that incumbents lose with their constituents after districts change is usually a factor, he said.
“This was a redistricting scheme drawn by the Republicans to help Republicans,” he said. “It might make sense to have Democrats quitting, but why the heck would we have Republicans quitting, right?
“Well, change is bad for them,” said Voss.
“Even if they used to have a Republican district and they still have a Republican district, or they had a Democratic district before and after, it’s still change. It still means the territory with which they had a relationship was disrupted. And so they kind of have to start rebuilding those relationships as a representative. It’s a lot of work. If you’ve already done it once and now you’ve been asked to do it again, you may just want to move on rather than reboot,” he said.
Power struggles between parties may also be a factor, Voss told LINK.
In October, Thayer described to LINK his party’s relationship with Beshear as “a stump we have to plow around” at the same time that Beshear was campaigning on a record of signing “627 bipartisan bills” passed in the GOP-led Senate and House. Thayer – whose district changed when a portion of Fayette County was added to it in 2022 – instead credited Beshear with over 80 vetoes overridden by Kentucky state lawmakers since 2020.
“Odds are it’s just not as fun a place to be,” especially for Democrats in the minority, said Voss.
Unpredictability of voters is another risk after redistricting, according to Voss. Just because one party has won elections in the past and has configured voting districts with the intent of continuing to win elections doesn’t mean it will, he said.
“Voting tends to be less stable than we give it credit for,” Voss told LINK. “In the short term there’s still risk because (the majority party) just reconstituted the terrain that their members need to represent. So, if the Democrats have a good year next year, it would make it harder for Republicans to win even in Republican territory because they don’t have those bonds with those voters.”
Could 2030 bring more change?
It’s also possible that Kentucky’s state legislative, and maybe congressional, district lines could change again after the next census, in 2030.
Back in 2016, the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville projected 15% growth in population in Boone County between 2020 and 2030 (from 139,018, slightly more than the county’s actual recorded population of 135,968 in the 2020 census, to 163,722). It predicted more modest growth of 4% in Kenton County (from 169,386 in 2020, close to the actual recorded population of 169,064 in the 2020 census, to 176,039 in 2030). For Campbell
County, it forecast growth of less than 1%, from 92,898 in 2020 (close to the 93,076 reported in the 2020 census) to 93,473 in 2030.
That growth would coincide with a statewide population increase of roughly 10% over the next 15 years, per the center’s projections. Voss said he expects most of Kentucky’s population growth – through 2030, at least – to happen in what he called the “Golden Triangle” – the area bounded by NKY, Louisville and Lexington. “Other things equal, NKY will see a gain in clout because, with more people comes more representation in the legislature,” Voss told LINK.
At the same time, a shift in population could mean lost districts in other regions, specifically Eastern and Western Kentucky, said Voss. Gains in some counties and losses in others squares with the Kentucky State Data Center’s 2016 projections, per its report: “Of Kentucky’s 120 counties, 79 (66%) are projected to exhibit declines in total population between 2015 and 2040,” according to the report.
Without knowing exactly whom voters will elect in the future, there is a degree of uncertainty as to how much power NKY will ultimately hold. But “other things equal,” to quote Voss, NKY’s standing appears strong.
“Mathematically, yes, NKY is going to be gaining influence,” Voss said.
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opinions from all sides, but Covington’s situation – which dates to November – serves less as a window into what’s going on between Israelis and Palestinians and more as a case study for American debates about the role of local government, the power of city resolutions, freedom of speech and the process of political decision-making, however one feels about its result.
“This is not about Jews versus Arabs. It’s not about Jews versus Muslims,” Ahmad told LINK nky in December, shortly after his first appeals to the commission.
Ahmad is a Palestinian-American originally from Lexington who moved to Covington in September 2022 to be close to his job working as a sports reporter covering the Cincinnati Bengals, a position he said he was laid off from in August.
He has never been to Gaza, but both of his parents are from the West Bank, the Palestinian-governed territory on the east side of Israel. He said he’s traveled there and still has relatives living there. Based on published reports, he believes one of his relatives, Bilal Ibrahim Qadah, was killed by either Israeli settlers or occupation forces while driving to work last July.
Besides having a personal stake in the region, Ahmad argued that the violence committed against Palestinians should not be characterized as a conventional war or conflict, but rather a deliberate and systematic attempt to eradicate the Palestinian people, a view that’s common among pro-Palestinian activists.
“I don’t think this is a conflict at all,” Ahmad said in December. “I think this is just a matter of the occupier enacting collective punishment, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism on the occupied.”
Ahmad’s passion for his cause comes out in his public speaking, and he has no scruples about criticizing people he disagrees with.
Ahmad spoke alone in his first public statement in November, but, in the months that followed, he recruited supporters on social media to come out and advocate for a resolution. Soon, crowds of supporters – some acting as individuals, others representing organizations and holding signs and banners – packed into the commission chambers to speak. Virtually every public comment session at the commission’s meetings from the beginning of December through March has featured multiple speakers on the issue. At times, the issue has taken up the whole 30 minutes allotted
for public comments.
The commission members were hesitant to weigh in on the issue at first. In time, Ahmad met with many of them one-on-one to make his case and try to reach a compromise, as many of the commission members found the language in Ahmad’s initial resolution proposal, which used many of the same arguments he’d expressed to LINK nky, as too pointed, even divisive. Finally, in January, the mayor gave a statement in which he explicitly declined to take up a resolution, characterizing the proposals as one-sided. He added that, as a rule, the commission wasn’t in a position to weigh in on international issues.
It’s a fair question: What can Covington, Kentucky, do about any situation on another continent?
A city resolution is not binding legislation like an ordinance or a municipal order. Instead, it’s a way a local body can express support for a particular policy, often one that’s out of its direct control. As such, even though resolutions are weak compared to other actions a local government can take, they can at times draw large crowds of both members of the public and community leaders looking to weigh in.
The thinking goes that, if a city passes a resolution in support of something, then it can serve as a signal for officials in higher jurisdictions to make policy changes. Thus, for those wanting a ceasefire overseas, getting local elected representatives to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire could signal to federal leaders, who are better positioned diplomatically or militarily to intervene, to take action. Conceivably, this rhetorical effect compounds as the number of local governments who show support increases.
The resolution efforts in Covington mirror similar calls to action across the nation. Israeli, Palestinian and religious advocacy groups have responded to this wave of public interest by reaching out to cities to urge them to pick a side. A Covington city representative told LINK nky that the city had already received between 500 and 600 emails, many of them copied and pasted form letters, from pro-Israeli groups alone. The representative added that commissioners had been fielding phone calls from advocacy groups as well, but he could not
speak to the scale of those calls.
LINK nky reached out to several commissioners for additional comments on their calculus for supporting or opposing resolutions, but they had not responded by the time of this article’s publication.
According to the mayor and some of the commissioners’ accounts, the tenor of conversations with resolution supporters deteriorated over time, arguing that what started as a conversation had transmogrified into bullying, intimidation and unnecessary disruption.
“We have met privately with you several times – if not all of us, most of us more than once, several times – and your appearance and your words have not changed a single mind,” Meyer said at the March meeting. “And what they have done is introduce elements of bullying, name calling, intimidation. You’ve harassed and threatened people. You’ve forced some of our visitors to run a gauntlet to get out of the building during the last meeting. And it’s completely the contrary of the spirit of public comment.”
The “gauntlet” Meyer referred to took place in the lobby of City Hall leading from the commission chambers to the building’s main entrance onto Pike Street. At a previous meeting, the resolution supporters had furnished a very long banner listing the names of Palestinians who have died in Gaza and attempted to lay it on the ground in the front row of seats in the commission chambers. Commissioner Tim Downing expressed concern that the banner might be a fire hazard, given its heft and proximity to the room’s exit, and asked Ahmad to remove it from the chambers. Ahmad acquiesced to this request and moved it out of the room, but not before it got caught in the door.
Supporters then stood outside in the lobby holding the banner. They did not block the main exit, but anyone going in and out of the building would have had to walk past the banner and the people holding it.
Although LINK nky did not witness that alleged gauntlet of intimidation and harassment, there were instances at multiple meetings of shouting and chanting when officials did or said something the activists
Continued from page 5 didn’t like. Shouts of “Shame!” and “Ceasefire now!” were common refrains.
Social media amplified all of this tension. In online posts, pro-resolution activists often derided the mayor and other officials as hypocrites and shills. Likewise, people who opposed the resolution frequently characterized the speakers as either useful idiots playing into the hands of terrorists or outright malign actors.
“This is not a rational social intercourse when they send me emails, calling me a Zionist, a racist, a hypocrite, a liar,” Meyer said.
Meyer showed a postcard, seemingly handwritten by Ahmad, calling him a racist as well as a copy of a critical email Ahmad had written to Tracy Siegman, a Covington pastor, who had spoken out against the resolution at a prior meeting, to LINK nky as examples of some of the personal attacks he’d received. “That’s not conducive to agreement,” Meyer said.
This all seemed to reach its apex at the commission meeting.
The number of people in support of a resolution in the commission chambers had dwindled since the early days, when peo-
ple had to stand in the back of the room for lack of open seats. Just before the meeting officially began, Meyer stated that signs, even the small handheld ones, needed to be removed from the chambers for security reasons. The commission had allowed attendees to hold signs in the past.
After a few moments of silence, one of the resolution supporters quipped, “Looks like I’m doing security.”
A police officer standing by the door said that it was “not a discussion,” and resolution supporters filed out of the chambers with their signs. Some stayed out; others returned empty-handed.
Then, just before the public comments began, the mayor announced that, rather than allowing multiple members of a group who were in agreement on something to speak, as had been the case in the past, the group had to pick a single representative to speak on their behalf. Meyer said he got this idea from observing speaking rules at public hearings for the Brent Spence Bridge corridor project.
Ahmad stepped up and made the remarks that prompted the mayor to bang his gavel. When he’d finished, the mayor invited Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, Lexingon-based chair of the Kentucky Jewish Council and member
of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, to the stand. Litvin had spoken at only one other meeting, on March 12, in opposition to the resolution. Dressed in a green T-shirt emblazoned with the emblem of the Israeli Defense Force, Litvin had characterized the ceasefire efforts as being “not substantive but performative” and trafficking in anti-Semitic tropes, charges Ahmad and his supporters reject.
As Litvin approached the stand, Jordan Smart, a resolution supporter who had signed up to speak directly after Ahmad, stood up, introduced himself, and claimed his right to speak.
“You’re not recognized,” Meyer said.
“I don’t know why the rabbi takes precedence over me,” Smart said. He said he wanted to speak on “local issues,” both on the meeting’s sign-up form and upon standing up.
As Smart came to the lectern, Commissioner Ron Washington spoke up. “I make a motion to have him removed,” said Washington.
Another commission member did not take up the motion, but Smart voluntarily walked toward the exit upon Washington’s statement.
“My local issue is leadership,” Smart said as he left. “Y’all are failures!”
A police officer escorted Smart out.
There was no physical altercation, but the room thrummed with tension. A murmur of chatter arose from the audience, and at least one commissioner, Downing, was visibly perturbed by what had happened. As Litvin made a statement thanking the commission for not supporting the resolution, it wasn’t clear that anyone was truly paying attention to what he was saying.
The meeting proceeded, and the majority of the resolution supporters left the room after the public comments had concluded.
At the end of the meeting, the mayor and commissioners discussed the meeting’s events. “I find that the behavior of standing in the middle of the room, shouting and screaming at your elected officials is not an acceptable way to conduct yourself,” Washington said.
Downing agreed with Washington that the behavior was not “in any way acceptable,” but he explicitly disagreed with the new speaking rule that only one person from a group could address a topic. “Generally speaking, though, I want to make sure that I create an environment that’s going to make sure that all voices are heard,” Downing said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad and his band of supporters gathered on the sidewalk outside, holding signs. When asked if he planned to come back to the commission to speak again, he said, “No, that’s it. There’s really no point.”
In spite of this, he and his supporters stood outside with signs for the remainder of the meeting. A police officer stood at attention nearby.
DesignLAB builds kids’ understanding of trades
By Haley Parnell
DesignLAB helps introduce kids to careers they might not have considered.
The nonprofit organization has close to 200 volunteers that work with students in schools and organizations across Greater Cincinnati. DesignLAB’s mission is to create appreciation, awareness and improvement of the built environment through education. It works to familiarize kids with careers they might not know about in trades, architecture and engineering, with a focus on socially and sustainably responsible building.
“There are all these careers that kids know about, but, if you asked fourth or fifth graders to list every career that they’ve ever heard of, not one of them writes plumber or HVAC or construction worker or engineer,” said Christen Lubbers, DesignLAB’s executive director. “All of the careers that we’re teaching them about are not ones that they think of.”
In Northern Kentucky, DesignLAB works with Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati: Clem & Ann Buenger Club in Newport, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati: Kenton County Club, Moyer and Woodfill Elementary schools in Fort Thomas and St. Augustine School in Covington. They reach over 2,000 students a year in Greater Cincinnati.
“We work with students where they are, and we work with mostly disadvantaged students, so we want to make sure that we are reaching them where they are, not asking them to come to us,” Lubbers said.
The DesignLAB program runs from December to May. In the first eight weeks, students learn foundational basics: They learn about sites and clients and how designers are approached by clients or how they pursue clients. They also learn about plan section elevation, drawings and sustainable building practices.
In the last eight weeks of the program, students switch gears to show what they’ve learned by building models based on an annual theme. This year’s theme is “food for thought,” focusing on creating food spaces. Students will build things like restaurants, food trucks or farm-to-table places.
“We’re really asking them to push the lim-
its of what they think of when it comes to food spaces and to be more thoughtful about where their food comes from and understand that a little bit better,” Lubbers said. “So there’s always a lot of things kind of woven in, but we teach them about those careers by actually giving them the ability to be little builders and little architects and interior designers and engineers and think about how the plumbing would work in their models.”
Grants keep the DesignLAB program free to its students. Teachers sign the students up to participate, and the program lead works with them inside their classroom during the school day. The volunteers who work with the students are from the built environment.
In addition to its grants, Lubber said DesignLAB each year needs about $200,000 to cover expenses. Its annual Dine with Design event is the organization’s biggest fundraiser. The event raises roughly onethird of DesignLAB’s running costs.
This year’s Dine with Design and student exhibit will be at Newport on the Levee. The student exhibit will be on display from May 12 to May 18 in The Gallery on the mezzanine level. Dine with Design is on May 15, starting at 4 p.m., and the happy hour will start at the student exhibit. Tickets can be purchased at designlearnandbuild.org/ store/p/dwdtickets.
“It really just draws everybody in,” said Emily Storm, DesignLAB program manager. “Last year, we were there probably almost every day just checking on things, getting things ready for all of the events we had that week, and almost every day people would stop us and say, ‘What is this? What’s going on? What are all these models about?’”
On the last day of the exhibition, students are thrown a reception and awards ceremony, and their classmates and families can attend to support their work.
Storm encourages the public to check out the student exhibit the week they are on display.
“The students have worked so hard on their presentations and their projects,” Storm said. “We have a people’s choice voting box. So, if they’re not able to come on Saturday but they’re walking around, they’re able to vote for their favorite one.”
DCovington likely to close leaking Goebel Park pool
iscussions from Covington City Commission’s April 2 meeting indicate that the city will likely close Goebel Park Pool for the 2024 season due to costs associated with repairs and operations.
Coupled with the pool’s scheduled permanent closure in 2025 due to its proximity to construction for a new I-71/75 bridge, the discussion effectively signals the pool’s end.
“There’s considerable operating costs associated with the pool,” said Brandon Holmes, Covington’s neighborhood services director. “Given the budget constraints, we thought it’d be prudent to close the pool now.”
The discussion flowed from a proposal to renew the city’s contract with Swimsafe Pool Management Inc. to manage aquatic facilities at Randolph Park Pool and the Covington Water Park in Latonia for the 2024 summer season. Swimsafe provides various services for the city’s aquatic facilities, and the new contract explicitly excises operations for Goebel Park Pool. The renewal was placed on the consent agenda for next week, meaning it will likely pass.
Holmes outlined the pool’s problems to the commissioners – primarily foundation problems and leaks. “So we’re talking about a 450,000-gallon pool, and we’re adding about 50,000 gallons per week” to address the leaks, Holmes said.
As a point of clarity, Mayor Joe Meyer asked, “We would have to invest several hundred thousand dollars into Goebel Pool to keep it open so we can close it in two years?” Holmes said this was correct.
“We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars to that facility this year,” Holmes said.
At the legislative meeting last week, the commission voted to enter into an updated agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet whereby the cabinet would reimburse the city for the loss of the pool
Goebel Park pool may close permanently. File photo | James Robertson for LINK nky and other land in Goebel Park due to Brent Spence construction. The cabinet agreed to give $1.3 million to the city to fund a replacement pool and $100,000 to update the city’s master parks plan.
Ideally, the money could be used to furnish a new aquatic facility of some kind, whether that’s a new pool, splash pad or something similar. Conversations with contractors who specialize in pool construction, however, suggest the $1.3 million would likely not be enough.
An Olympic-sized swimming pool with a depth of 2 meters, or about 7 feet, holds about 660,000 gallons of water, according to World Aquatics, the international sports regulatory federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee. That is larger than Goebel Park’s roughly 450,000 gallons, but it serves as good comparison for gauging costs.
A representative from Brandstetter Carroll, a design and engineering firm that designed Ziegler Park Pool in Cincinnati as well as the Florence Aquatic Center, put the cost range for the design and construction of a public pool with roughly Olympic-sized dimensions at between $3 million and $20 million, depending on its amenities. He said one would be “hard pressed” not to find a project for a full-sized pool that didn’t cost at least $4.5 million.
Brandstetter Carroll is currently designing a pool in Lexington with a price tag of $5.5 million.
A representative from PSS Contractors, a commercial pool contractor in Cincinnati, put the conservative estimate of building a modern public pool at about $4 million. The representative added that PSS had built splash pads for anywhere between $250,000 and $2 million, depending on
their sizes, although he was hesitant to give more precise numbers without knowing the scope of the project.
The commissioners did not discuss the issue in detail during the meeting. They also went straight into executive session after the agenda’s action items had concluded, so they were not free to offer additional comments. Commissioner Ron Washington did say that he may have some comments on the matter in the coming weeks, but he declined to comment on the spot.
The new Brent Spence construction will entail a new parks master planning process, which will feature a period of public comment, during which residents can advocate what they’d like to see the state money spent on. Timelines for that planning process and public comment period have not yet been established.
TBraxton Brewery, Dewey’s Pizza location in Union hinges on concept plan update
he proposed expansion of a new commercial development in Union, which would feature a combination Braxton Brewery and Dewey’s Pizza, hinges on a change to the project’s previously approved concept development plan.
In December 2022, Braxton Brewing Co., one of Northern Kentucky’s most prominent breweries, unveiled plans to build a two-story brewery and taphouse that would also house a Dewey’s Pizza. Additionally, a Graeter’s scoop shop was planned to be constructed across from the brewery. Other amenities include 20,000 square feet of green space between the two buildings.
The development, titled Union Marketplace, is located along U.S. 42 in Union.
According to a Boone County Planning Commission staff report, the last public action on Union Marketplace took place on Feb. 22, 2023, when Union adopted an ordinance that allowed two additional eating and drinking establishments, Braxton and Dewey’s, a central plaza area, and interconnected parking facilities.
Since then, the Graeter’s has been completed and opened, but little progress has been made on the combination brewery and pizza parlor.
Now, the project’s developer has presented a revised version of the development plan to the Boone County Planning Commission – one that includes the addition of a new 2,200-square-foot building, a free-standing monument sign along U.S. 42, and a driveway connection between the site and the neighboring Kroger.
“Essentially, this is the same plan,” Boone County Zoning Director Michael Schwartz said. “It does have the inclusion of a new 2,200-square-foot building. They (Terrace Holdings) are proposing to provide either retail service or an office use in that new building.”
The developer of Union Marketplace is Northern Kentucky-based Terrace Holdings, a company specializing in retail and commercial projects.
During a planning commission public hearing on April 3, Adam Chaney of Terrace Holdings advocated for changing the plan to include the proposed building, signage and other changes.
Chaney compared the proposed development’s scope and feel to one of Terrace Holdings’ existing commercial complexes – The Pointe in Butler's West Chester Township, north of Cincinnati. The Pointe also features a Dewey’s Pizza and Graeter’s Ice Cream. Chaney highlighted Terrace Holdings’ working relationship with Dewey’s and Graeter’s as a reason to favor the
concept plan change.
“The concept is going to be very similar to what we’ve done in West Chester,” Chaney said. “As you can see, this is very well done, and we will do the same with the development in Union.”
Planning Commission board member Randy Bessler turned his attention to the green space between the two buildings, asking Chaney if they planned on adding benches or tables for patrons.
“That nice pergola area between the two buildings – do you plan on putting any tables or benches out there for people who might want to sit down and smell their flowers or drink a cold beverage?”
Chaney responded with “probably not,” citing a potential lack of room.
“Braxton is very particular about focusing the traffic and the seating and all the activities in that circular area, so that will primarily be used for the walkway,” Chaney said. “Honestly, there’s not much room when he put some landscaping between the buildings to offer much more than the sidewalk itself.”
Planning Commission Chairman Charlie Rolfsen told Chaney that Terrace Holdings’ next step is to attend the next commission meeting, scheduled for April 17. After that, the full commission could vote on the concept plan change during the following meeting on May 1.
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Covington mulls allowing alcohol in city parks for select events
Covington commissioners heard a proposal April 2 to allow some consumption of alcohol in public parks.
“I just want to be clear that, if adopted, it wouldn’t be opening up BYOB to the parks or anything of that nature,” said Sheree Weichold of Covington’s Legal Department.
Currently, residents can consume alcohol at festival events in Covington so long as those events take place at Drees Pavilion at the Devou Memorial Overlook, the Devou Park golf course and clubhouse, or the Behringer-Crawford Museum. Drinks also are allowed at the Mainstrasse festival grounds during special events.
The proposal would allow alcohol consumption at any of the city’s public parks, in addition to the facilities already allowed, during events so long as event organizers obtain a special event permit and liquor license. The permit would be obtained through the city manager’s office.
The commission was to hold a first reading of the ordinance amendment at its April 9 meeting.
New officers bring Independence Police back to full strength
Police recruiting has been an issue among Kenton County leaders for some time. Independence Police Chief Ferayorni told LINK nky in February that, on average, between just 25 and 30 people show up for each round of police testing in Independence.
“When I tested, I tested against 100 guys for one position,” Ferayorni said in February.
“With this swearing in, we will be at our full contingency,” said Mayor Chris Reinersman at the council meeting. “That has been a hard road to get to.”
Edgewood council tables discussion of golf cart ordinance
Edgewood City Council at its April 1 meeting debated allowing golf carts on city streets. The discussion has continued at three previous council meetings with no action taken.
State law does not outright ban golf carts on city streets, but there are limitations and guidelines. In addition, some cities have adopted ordinances typically allowing golf cart users a little more leeway. The Edgewood proposal would allow those over the age of 18 with a valid driver’s license to operate a golf cart on city streets within a certain time period, with other limitations.
“Between dawn and dusk, you can drive [a golf cart] on the street according to this ordinance,” City Administrator Brian Dehner said. “Other hours are prohibited from driving. Whereas if they go through the state [a licensed driver] can drive at any hour whatsoever and at [age] 16.”
“You can drive a car,” she said, “but you can’t drive a golf cart? That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Some discussed if the ordinance was needed at all. “It might be best not to do it,” said council member Rob Thelen.
Regardless of what the council decides, residents are still able to get a license on their vehicle and drive it in accordance with state guidelines.
The council moved to table the golf cart ordinance discussion indefinitely.
Independence weighs plan to permit residents to build fences on some lots
Independence residents and council members discussed regulations relating to fences on residential properties at the city’s April 1 city council meeting.
Council member Tom Brinker described the issue as a “uniquely Independence problem,” given the geographical layout of the city.
The topic arose in conjunction with a proposed change to the city ordinances on building fences, the first reading of which was held at the same meeting.
Independence passed an ordinance in 2021 that prohibited fencing in front yards in the city. The April 1 proposal went before the Kenton County Planning Commission in March after conversations with residents who had contacted the city, said City Manager Chris Moriconi. Mariconi attended the planning commission meeting.
Kenton County Planning Services staff members said at the commission meeting that there had been several appeals to the county Board of Adjustments about the issue, which prompted the city to consider changes.
David Riggs, an Independence resident, told the planning commission that he wanted to have about 500 square feet fenced in on his property but was prohibited from doing so by the current regulations. “I’ve got four kids under [age] 6, so I want to make sure they’re safe in the backyard,” Riggs said.
the layout of a given lot. It splits lots into two categories: standard lots, whose rear property lines face the rear property line of another house, and reverse lots, whose rear property lines face the front or side of another house. The proposal would allow front yard fencing on standard lots but not reverse lots.
Riggs’ property is on a reverse lot, so he still would not be able to build his fence under the new ordinance.
The planning commission unanimously voted in favor of the recommendation, which escalated the ordinance to the city council. The council will give the proposal a second reading and vote on it at its next meeting, 7 p.m. May 6 at the Independence City Building on Madison Pike.
Volunteers to plant trees at Life Learning Center, in Latonia neighborhood
Members of the Life Learning Center, a wraparound nonprofit that provides various services, will help the Covington Urban Forestry Board’s spring tree planting initiative, scheduled for Saturday.
The initiative will involve Life Learning Center members planting trees in and around the center’s campus. Meanwhile, community volunteers will plant trees in Latonia. According to the Covington Urban Forestry Board’s Facebook page, community volunteers will plant about 50 trees. Coffee and snacks will be provided.
now fully staffed.
Council members went back and forth on the issue. Council member Darla Kettenacker disagreed with the minimum age.
The proposal submitted to the planning commission would allow fencing based on
Learn more about the event and how to volunteer at https://bit.ly/4agwE8s.
Covington parents face new charges in death of 2-year-old in Jan.
The parents of a 2-year-old boy that was shot and killed in Covington are now facing complicity to murder charges after police said a loaded handgun was left within reach of their two children, resulting in the child’s death.
Tashaun Adams, 21, told police he and his child’s mother, 23-year-old Selena Farrell, were sleeping in their living room Jan. 22 when they woke up to the sound of a gunshot, according to his arrest citation. Adams said he saw his 2-year-old son, Khalil, bleeding and called 911.
Police said Khalil was shot in the chest. Officers who arrived at the scene rendered aid in the middle of Warren Street before paramedics rushed Khalil to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he later died.
According to Adams’ arrest citation, his 3-year-old son told an officer at the scene, “Daddy’s gun is in a drawer.” A forensic in-
terviewer asked the 3-year-old who shot his younger brother, and he responded, “Me.” Adams’ handgun was found discarded in some barbecue on the stove, police said.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said in a January news conference that he believes the shooting can’t be referred to as an accident because he defines accidents as something that cannot be avoided. “This certainly was not a situation where – this was very much avoidable,” Sanders said.
Originally, both Adams and Farrell faced second-degree manslaughter charges. Adams also faced a hindering apprehension charge. Farrell also faced counts of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and abandonment of a minor. A third man, 20-year-old Jeremiah Thomas, was also charged with hindering apprehension in connection with the shooting.
Instead of the manslaughter charges, Farrell and Adams have now been indicted on complicity to murder, a more serious charge, according to the Kenton County Jail. Both are expected in court Monday for arraignment.
Fort Wright police department to implement solar-powered speed radar signs
Fort Wright Police Department has been approved to purchase solar-powered speed radar signs for installation around the city. These will replace some of the current battery-powered speed radar signs. The de-
vices aim to alert drivers to their speed and collect traffic data for the city.
The city of Fort Wright has been using speed radar signs to assess and mitigate traffic issues. Traffic-related complaints from concerned citizens have increased in recent months. Studies from the Federal Highway Administration provide evidence that these signs are effective in decreasing speeding.
The current battery-powered speed radar signs are valuable to the city’s goals but are nearing the end of their usefulness.
“The idea was to have those portable [speed radars] that are battery-operated and try to move them around the city where we can, as demand dictates,” Fort Wright Police Chief Ed Butler said at the April council meeting. “But, what we found is the battery dies fairly quickly and the regular [transportation of the machines] was causing excessive wear and tear.”
The police department compiled a plan to purchase a solar-powered speed trailer and some solar powered speed radar signs. The speed trailer will be easier to move around the city and the speed signs will be “semi-permanent.”
Butler told LINK nky why they opted for solar-powered speed detectors over battery-powered ones.
“Basically, the ones we’re using now, the battery’s charge lasts three or four days,” Butler said. “According to our research, solar-powered ones will last longer and the
battery doesn’t need to be changed as often.”
Additionally, solar-powered devices require a more extensive installation process. As a result, they will remain in one spot for a longer amount of time than battery-powered ones. This eliminates some of that transportation-related wear and tear.
In total, these devices will cost $11,471.
The city did not initially budget for this expense, so it will use part of the money received from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund the purchase. Mayor Dave Hatter reminded the audience that this falls within the scope of those funds’ purpose.
“We received the [American Rescue Plan Act] funds from the federal government for the COVID crisis,” Hatter said. “We are required to spend these funds on certain items and by a certain date.”
Fort Wright considers these devices beneficial not only because they curb speeding but also because they collect data on speed and traffic where stationed. The police department then plans to present that data to council. This will inform their decisions on speed limits, stop signs and other traffic mitigation measures. This will provide an informed perspective on Fort Wright’s current traffic issues and speeding concerns.
Fort Wright City Council unanimously approved the purchase of the solar-powered speed radar signs. Butler said the next step is ordering the devices this week and that they will likely be in place by summer.
Kentucky now allows for Public Notices to be published digitally on LINK nky’s website. You can find public notices for the following organizations on our site at https://linkreader.column.us/search
LEGAL NOTICE
The Boone County Board of Elections or the Central Counting Board will meet to review and process the mail-in absentee ballots cast in the county on the following dates:
Tuesday May 7, 2024 and Tuesday May 14, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Friday May 10, 2024 and Friday May 17, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Election Day May 21, 2024 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM
During the review, processing and counting of the absentee ballots and votes, candidates, or their representatives as well as authorized representatives of the news media shall be permitted to be present to observe. No person shall publicize any tallies or counts of these ballots, or any partial election results until 6:00 p.m. local time, on the day of a primary or an election. KRS 117.087(3)(a)(b)
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April
Comedy @ Commonwealth: Jessica Michelle Singleton, 7-9 p.m., Commonwealth Sanctuary, 522 Fifth Ave., Dayton. Singleton has a unique style delivered in a stream of consciousness flow, combining introspective observations and vulnerable personal stories. Admission $15. Information: commonwealthsanctuary.com.
NKY Chapter of Kentucky Public Retirees meeting, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Golden Corral, 4770 Houston Road, Florence. Retirees from state, local and county governments who receive a pension from KERS or CERS can join and attend meetings, along with spouses. Support staff from state universities, independent school systems and state police also may join and attend.
Campbell County Board of Education meeting, 6-7 p.m., Alexandria Educational Center, 51 Orchard Lane, Alexandria. Information: www. campbell.kyschools.us/ board-of-education.
Edgewood City Council meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Edgewood City Building, 385 Dudley Road, Edgewood. Information: edgewoodky.gov/administration/agendas.
Fort Thomas City Council meeting, 7-8 p.m., Fort Thomas City Building, 130 N. Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas. Information: ftthomas.org/mayorcouncil/ meetings-information.
For more events, scan the QR code or visit: https://linknky.com/events/
Florence City Council caucus meetings, 6-7 p.m., Florence City Building, 8100 Ewing Blvd., Florence. Information: florence-ky. gov/our-government/ minutes-archive.
Covington Commission caucus meeting, 6-7 p.m., Covington City Hall, 20 W. Pike St., Covington. Information: covingtonky.gov.
Highland Heights City Council meeting, 7-8 p.m., Highland Heights City Building, 176 Johns Hill Road, Highland Heights. Information: hhky.com/city-council-minutes.
Campbell County Fiscal Court meeting, 5:306:30 p.m., Campbell County Administration Building, 1098 Monmouth St. Newport. Information: campbellcountyky.gov.
Fort Wright Caucus Meeting, 6-7 p.m., Fort Wright City Building, 409 Kyles Lane, Fort Wright.
Villa Hills City Council meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Villa Hills City Building, 719 Rogers Road, Villa Hills. Information: villahillsky.org.
Southgate City Council meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Southgate City Building, 122 Electric Ave., Southgate. Information: southgateky.org/mayor-city-council.
Boone County Planning Commission meeting, 7-8 p.m., Boone County Fiscal Court, 2950 Washington St., Burlington.
Alexandria City Council meeting, 7-8 p.m., Alexandria City Building, 8236 W. Main St., Alexandria.
urban mixed-use development that sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers in Northern Kentucky. It
a vibrant riverfront destination that bridges the cities in the region, connects residents and the community directly to the rivers, and enables everyone to be transformed by the incredible river views combined with a boardwalk that transcends time and activates all your senses.
1930s Fort Mitchell home keeps historic features
Address: 34 Fort Mitchell Ave., Fort Mitchell
Price: $650,000
Bedrooms: Three
Bathrooms: Two (plus two half-baths)
Square feet: 2,500
School district: Beechwood Independent
County: Kenton
Special features: This historic home in Olde Fort Mitchell is located near Fort Mitchell Country Club. The home was built in 1931 and still holds tons of character, including the original hardwood floors, which have been refinished. It features three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a finished lower level with a fireplace and NatureStone flooring. The primary bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and an attached office with a second-floor balcony. The backyard offers a stamped concrete patio and a detached garage.
Streetscapes finds hub of good eats along Covington’s MLK Blvd.
By Maria HehmanThis Streetscapes we head to what has become a bustling hub in Covington. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard runs along many businesses, churches, homes and government offices. Whether you’re passing through or renewing your license, here are three businesses that offer a break and a bite to eat.
Olla
Arguably one of the more popular places in the area, Olla is best known for its authentic street food. That’s highlighted by Olla’s famous Birria tacos – slow cooked beef, chopped onions and cilantro, served with a house-made beef consommé for dipping. Although the Birria tacos are its most famous, Olla offers 10 taco options in all, from traditional chicken options to unique offerings of beef tongue or vegan.
Other entree options include familiar favorites of quesadillas and burritos, both customizable by proteins. Other options not found at traditional Mexican joints include Birria Ramen, Guti Nachos and Guti Fries. Guti Nachos and Fries are topped with cilantro, onion, mozzarella and cotija cheeses, housemade spicy mayo and guacamole. These are great shareable dishes to complement any meal.
For refreshments, Olla offers cocktails and beers. It may be tempting to order a traditional margarita, but their Cantarito is a great option for tequila lovers who want something unusual. With tequila, orange juice, grapefruit soda and margarita mix, it’s a great, fresh-tasting alternative for a margarita crave.
A bright colorful interior awaits guests who dine in and a spacious patio adorned with string lights is packed on warmer days. Olla is also open for brunch on the weekends, merging Mexican and American cuisines for savory breakfast options.
Gutierrez Deli
Gutierrez Deli is Olla’s godfather. The family that owns and operates Olla first started serving the Covington community out of Gutierrez Deli nearly a decade before it opened Olla, and many of the delicious dishes that are found at Olla originated at Gutierrez.
Quesadilla, burritos and tacos are available and a great option for grab and go. The grocery store-deli also offers fresh produce and authentic Mexican pantry staples, including items one can’t find in most chain groceries – snacks to sweets to essentials like rice and tortillas for an authentic athome taco Tuesday.
Gutierrez offers daily deals, among them Birria Mondays and Chicharron Tuesdays. The interior is small, so Gutierrez offers outdoor seating in warmer months for those wanting to stay and eat.
Wunderbar!
And now for something completely different, Wunderbar offers traditional German cuisine. The ambiance is of a traditional hometown bar – laid back, eclectic and casual. The interior is on the smaller end, but there’s also outdoor seating that feels more like a friend’s backyard than a bar. The back patio looks like an antique store with metal beer signs hung across the back of the building.
As the name suggests, Wunderbar’s food selection is wonderful and more extensive than one would expect and makes it stand out among bars that typically offer wings and light American bites. The menu rotates to highlight the best seasonal options but is rooted in classic German dishes.
Pretzel and beer cheese along with pierogies are a great way to start out before delving into one of their many homemade sausages. Besides German offerings, there also are burgers and sandwiches, along with plenty of sides (including, of course, braised cabbage). The sandwiches and burgers are so massive they’re served with a knife through the middle to keep the sandwich together.
Nothing pairs better with German cuisine than German beer, and Wunderbar has more than 40 to choose from. Along with ample liquor options, there’s a drink for all palettes.
With live music on the weekends there really is no better spot in the area.
What to Know If You Go
Olla
Location: 302 W. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd., Covington
Hours: Monday, closed; Tuesday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-8:45 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-8:45 p.m.
Website: ollacov.com
Phone: 859-261-6552
Gutierrez Deli
Location: 1131 Lee St., Covington
Hours: Sunday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Phone: 859-431-3354
Wunderbar!
Location: 1132 Lee St., Covington
Hours: Monday, closed; Tuesday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.
Phone: 859-360-3911
CovCath tennis hopes to ‘survive’ 2023 title success
By Ray Schaefer Verboten. Prohibido. Interdit.Whether the language is German, Spanish or French, when it comes to Covington Catholic winning last year’s state tennis title, the Colonels have reduced all talk of it to three syllables and nine letters.
Forbidden.
“It was a milestone for the program,” CovCath coach Al Hertsenberg said. “We’re not allowed to mention it at practice or in matches. I kept telling our guys, we just keep knocking on the door, and hopefully it will open – and that’s what happened last year.”
And what a year 2023 was.
Now-juniors Kalei Christensen and Alex Yeager won the state doubles plaque, and senior Brady Hussey reached his second straight singles semifinals.
CovCath’s team title also ended Louisville St. Xavier’s 22-year winning streak – which Christensen believes is irrelevant to 2024.
“We’re not entitled to anything, and we’re just going to prove to everyone who doesn’t want us to win wrong ’cause we know we have a lot of people who doubt us,” Christensen said.
Hertsenberg, who’s in his 34th season, said Hussey “is a young man of few words.”
“He really is genuinely more concerned about the success of the team than he is his own,” Hertsenberg said.
You may know Hussey better for what he did on the basketball court last season. His 13.6 points a game were third-highest on the team, and he made 51.4% of his shots, including 46.8% of his 3-pointers.
Hussey injured his right ankle during the 2022-23 basketball season, which kept him off the tennis court several months. Hertsenberg said Hussey’s 2024 conditioning is about a month ahead of where he was last year – he’s played only doubles so far.
“We’ve not put him at singles yet ’cause he’s just not ready,” Hertsenberg said.
Hussey would’ve liked to have played bas-
ketball a little longer this season – CovCath won the 35th District and beat Dixie Heights in the 9th Region quarterfinals before falling to Cooper in the semifinals.
“It’s good to get back into tennis and get a little bit of a head start,” Hussey said. “Last year, I had to sit out for about two months after basketball just to get my ankle a little bit better. Definitely I’m very glad to not have anything this year to worry about.”
Hertsenberg said Hussey is learning when to attack and when to stay back and move the opponent around the court to set up easy volleys.
Christensen and Yeager are playing singles for now, but Hertsenberg isn’t ruling out a return to doubles.
“That’s obviously a card we have in our arsenal,” Hertsenberg said. “They’ve been playing singles for us until we get the Husseys (Brady and his freshman brother Blake) back 100%. We have a lot of really good options this year.”
The state tournament returns to the University of Kentucky’s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. There’s also a new format: There will still be a singles and doubles bracket, but a team tournament determines the overall champion.
Hertsenberg liked playing at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville last year because there were no weather delays.
“It’s not a really good place to cheer on your
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team,” he said. “… UK is set up for college tennis, and so when we get to the quarterfinals and the semifinals and the finals, it really is a lot of energy ’cause you have stands, and everybody’s right there cheering on their favorite players.”
What that means for CovCath is that Christensen and Yeager could return to doubles because the Colonels are deep enough in singles after the elder Hussey. Hertsenberg said assistants Jared Haught, Michael Hennigan and Austin Hussey will largely determine who plays where.
“My job is just to make sure whatever decision we have is equitable for all the players,” Hertsenberg said.
Christensen has worked on more than forehands, backhands and serves and has spent more time on the golf course. (He said golf is a hobby.)
“I’ve been making sure to really take care of everything from my eating and my body to my mental health,” he said. “I’ve been focusing less on tennis and focusing my mind on golf.… I was in the gym three times a week at least every week last summer.”
Yeager, meanwhile, spent his summer playing tournaments.
“There’s always improvement with the serve,” Yeager said. “(I’m) trying to hit the forehand harder, go for bigger shots. I try to get to the net a lot.”
Seniors Jacob Brown and Owen Erpenbeck, sophomore Max Robbins and freshmen Will Tribble and Jacob Kramer fill out the rest of the roster.
The Colonels received their state championship rings in December. Hertsenberg wore his until practices started (it’s somewhere on a shelf at home now), and Hussey keeps his in the family trophy case.
“We’re not defending anything, we’re not resting on anything,” Hertsenberg said. “We’re chasing this year. I want to make sure we survive our success. That’s our goal.”
Fortunately for Dixie Heights, the senior center fielder didn’t see one in the seventh inning of the March 29 game against Ryle. He deposited AJ Curry’s first-pitch fastball into center field, which scored Luke Abeling and sent the Colonels home happy with a 10-9 win.
“It was a fastball low,” Cullen said. “… I knew we had the top of the lineup up. We were going to get one.”
Dixie Heights had 13 hits, which made up for four Colonel errors. Sean Mitchell had two doubles (he was 2-for-4 with a walk), Cullen was 3-for-5, Brach Rice was 2-for4 and Will Steczynski was 2-for-4 with a walk.
“Going into this game, my confidence was a little low, so I was hoping for a spark of something,” Mitchell said. “I haven’t been hitting too well recently; I needed this for sure.”
Consider Mitchell’s confidence boosted – his fifth-inning double scored Carter Schroer, whose double scored Braden Shinkle, and Steczynski. The result: Dixie Heights, 8-6.
The Colonels were down to their last out when Mitchell faced Curry – Schroer grounded out to first, and Steczynski was thrown out at the plate. It was no problem
because he doubled and scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
“I felt a little pressure going into that atbat, went down 0-and-2 real early,” Mitchell said. “I had to do something to keep this inning going.”
Ryle coach Joe Aylor said Friday was the newest example of a wide-open 9th Region. “We have to come ready every day, and we need to figure that out pretty quickly,” Aylor said.
RYLE 410 103 0 – 9 6 4
DIXIE HEIGHTS 302 030 2 – 10 13 4
Sanders, Ashcraft (4), Curry (7) and Morris, Caudill (3); Rice, Staton (5) and Shinkle. WP-Staton. LP-Curry. HR-Curry (R). 2B-Mann (R), Eppley (R), Mitchell (DH) 2, Schroer (DH). Records: R 4-3, DH 6-3.
Cooper softball explodes for 14 in non-region win
The March 27 game stayed tight through the first three innings with host Scott softball holding a slim 2-1 lead.
The tide turned quickly in the fourth inning, when Cooper found an offensive rhythm, exploding for 13 runs over the next two innings on the way to a 14-4, five-inning run-ruling. Cooper has won 11 in a row against Scott dating back to Scott’s lone win in the series, 8-4 on April 27, 2009.
Scott starting pitcher Emma Scribner (2-1) allowed just one batter to reach in the first three innings, but Cooper figured things out in the second round through the line-
up. The Jaguars took the lead for good with seven runs in the top of the fourth to go up 8-2.
“They’re changing the culture here at Scott. They came in extremely competitive. We knew we were in a dogfight early,” Cooper head coach Rusty Scott said. “(Scribner) hit her spots, made it tough on us, made us look bad. It’s not on us. It’s on her. Then we settled in the box, got a little more aggressive and started barreling a couple up.”
Grace Cline and Kat Furnish led off the fourth with singles, and Kailey Milburn doubled them in. Milburn then took third when Sadie James flied out to left and Ainsley Scroggie landed a bunt single to score Milburn to make it 4-2 Jaguars. Cooper had three of the team’s four doubles in that inning. Ava Scott finished the rally with a double to center, scoring Kaylee Stone and Emery Sullivan.
Cooper outhit Scott, 12-7, scoring six runs off five Scott errors while allowing just one unearned run off one error. Furnish, Ava Scott, Scroggie and Stone had two hits each. Scroggie led the Jaguars with three runs batted in with Ava Scott and Milburn driving in two each. Furnish, Stone, Ava Scott and Milburn all had doubles.
“I’ve always been told hits are contagious, and I truly believe that, when the other end of the dugout got hyped, we were just locked in,” Stone said. “We were just ready to put up a fight against them. (Coach Scott) always tells us we have to get 1% better every day. We’re ready to go this year.”
Ten different Jaguars scored runs. Milburn led the way with three runs with Sullivan and Ava Scott scoring two each.
Taylor Nevels (2-0) started and overcame seven walks to earn the win for Cooper. Nevels pitched into the fourth inning before Lily Spraker finished the game after Nevels walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth and limited the damage to just two runs before Cooper scored six in the top of the fifth to make the final score.
“We don’t have a lot of room for error like we may have had in the past, so we have to
play pretty tight defense,” Scott said. “We have to make the plays we can. We have to take advantage of those opportunities. Pitchers have to hit spots. When we do that, we’re fine. But if we get away from that, we’ll find ourselves in trouble.”
No policy violation, but women’s coach, Norse to part ways
Northern Kentucky University announced April 5 that it is parting ways with women’s basketball coach Camryn Volz. The university said in a release the two sides “amicably agreed” Volz would not return next season.
“Coach Volz has been – and still is – appreciated throughout Norse Nation,” NKU said in the release, “and we wish Camryn and her family the best in coming years, both on and off the court.”
The news comes after sources confirmed earlier this month that Volz was under investigation. NKU did not comment on the focus of the investigation. In announcing Volz’s departure, NKU said it had determined Volz did not violate any employment policies, but “we agreed it is appropriate for a change in leadership.”
In 2019, a then-senior on the university's team accused Volz of “bullying and emotionally abusing” some players on the team. A subsequent external review cleared Volz.
In eight seasons at NKU, Volz amassed a 95-106 record.
Each week, LINK nky publishes a profile of one of our local legislators so that Northern Kentuckians can get to know the people representing them at the state level.
Rep. Steven Doan is in his first term in the Kentucky House. But he’s not new to the state budget process that will take much of his time during the 2024 regular legislative session.
The Erlanger attorney was general counsel for the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy during the administration of Gov. Matt Bevin. That agency – now called the Kentucky Office of Agricultural Policy – provides administrative support to the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, which administers the state Agricultural Development Fund, a grant and loan fund established by the 2000 Kentucky General Assembly to diversify the state’s farm economy.
Doan “oversaw a multimillion-dollar grant fund and a revolving loan fund in excess of $80 million” as general counsel for the state agency, according to his biography.
Now when Doan is in Frankfort, he spends his time as one of 100 members of the Kentucky House of Representatives, where a multibillion-dollar state budget originates every two years. Reduced spending and lower taxes are two of his goals for the next budget cycle, Doan told LINK nky.
“Hopefully, we can reduce our spending and figure out how we’re going to move forward with lowering our tax income despite the CFG (Consensus Forecasting Group) saying we haven’t met certain benchmarks to see how we can get a conservative budget that still cuts taxes,” he said. Lawmakers base state revenue estimates each budget cycle on projections issued by the independent economists who make up the forecasting group.
Additionally, Doan said he plans to work on expanding access to affordable housing. He told LINK that he has a “unique perspective
Meet Rep. Steve Doan
Rep. Steven Doan, R-Erlanger, waits to file his bills with the House clerk. Photo provided | Legislative Research Commission on affordable housing here in Northern Kentucky and the lack thereof” as a member of the board of directors of the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky.
Doan filed a bill this session titled the Home Act. Its purpose is to increase access to affordable housing by reducing the regulatory burden on builders.
“The price to build a new home is so high that it’s almost impossible to construct affordable housing, and I would call that something in the $165,000 to $175,000 range. That’s probably something a family could afford or a young couple could afford. The Home Act would allow state guidance and allow people to build smaller homes under the law. We can change burdens on home builders to reduce costs for more affordable housing,” Doan told LINK.
Another priority for the freshman lawmaker includes advancing school choice legislation to expand access to public funds for elementary and secondary education. It’s an issue that gained momentum this session after the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a state school choice law in 2022. A constitutional amendment will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, letting voters decide how they want their money spent.
There are transportation issues, too. Doan said his district is “landlocked” when it comes to economic development. Completion of the Ky. 536 east-west connectivity project would help, he said. So would construction of a beltway that extends in the southern part of the region, he added.
A wider travel loop would mean more economic development, said Doan.
“We really need to find a way to look south as a Northern Kentucky caucus and to see, how do we develop southern portions of Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, and how do we bring in those other two counties (Grant and Pendleton) to the south of us?” he said. “That’s where the jobs that my people in my district are going to desperately need, that’s where they are going to be.”
Rep. Steven Doan (R-Erlanger) represents House District 69, which includes part of eastern Boone County and part of western Kenton County. Doan is a member of the House Local Government Committee and the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government. He is also a member of several legislative caucuses.
There is a ton going on in Northern Kentucky – so much so that LINK can’t keep up with all of it. That’s why we created our news release portal, where members of the community can upload a news release that we will review and post on our site.
Find the latest news releases at linknky. com/releases. To submit a release, go to linknky.com/press-releases-form
Here is a sampling of press releases that have come in over the last week:
Perfetti Van Melle sets GHG emissions reduction targets for 2030, approved by the science based targets initiative
Perfetti Van Melle, a world leader in the confectionery industry, announces that its near-term science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets (incl. FLAG) have been evaluated and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
The approval confirms that Perfetti Van Melle’s near-term targets for 2030 are in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures, as set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“According to the United Nations, limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C is still possible, but we are dangerously close to that threshold. That’s why businesses must act with urgency to reduce carbon emissions at scale. I’m proud that Perfetti Van Melle is playing its part in setting nearterm company-wide targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which have been evaluated and approved by the SBTi. A significant step in demonstrating our commitment to social and environmental responsibility,” said Andrew Boyd, Chief Sustainability Officer at Perfetti Van Melle.
The new absolute science-based targets will see Perfetti Van Melle reducing, under scope 1 and scope 2, GHG emissions by 42% by 2030, from a 2021 base year. This includes emissions from its own operations, such as industrial and non-industrial sites. Perfetti Van Melle will also reduce emissions by 25% under scope 3 from purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, business travel, waste generated in operations, and end of life treatment of sold products within the same timeframe.
As part of the confectionery industry, Perfetti Van Melle has also had its Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) targets evaluated and approved by the SBTi. FLAG targets are specific to companies in land-intensive sectors and include land-based emissions reductions (e.g. from land conversion) and carbon removals (e.g. agroforestry). This absolute target will see Perfetti Van Melle reducing FLAG GHG emissions by 30.3% under scope 3 by 2030, from a 2021 base year.
For media inquiries please contact Debbie de Wagenaar, Group Communications Director, debbie.de.wagenaar@perfettivanmelle.com, +31 6 2515 7442.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP welcomes Brad Steffen to Covington
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is pleased to announce the arrival of Bradley Steffen to the Firm’s Covington, Ky. and Cincinnati, Ohio offices.
Brad is an experienced trial lawyer representing clients in complex civil litigation and white collar criminal offenses before federal and state courts.
Before getting into private practice, Brad served as a prosecutor and defense attorney in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps.
Brad prides himself in being an advocate to the local veteran community and serves as the Director of Salmon P. Chase College of Law’s Veterans Discharge Upgrade Review Clinic. In this role, Brad works with law students to assist veterans seeking an upgrade to their negative discharge characterization from the military.
Brad holds a Bachelor of Science from Northern Kentucky University and earned his J.D. from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law.
Northern Kentucky Water District Reactivates Granular Activated Carbon – Maintains Commitment to Safe Drinking Water With Advanced Treatment
The Northern Kentucky Water District (NKWD) recently completed reactivation of granular activated carbon (GAC), a component of their advanced treatment processes, at their Fort Thomas Treatment Plant.
GAC traps chemicals and other soluble materials that may be present in the water. To reactivate carbon, it is removed from the treatment plants and shipped by tractor trailers to a facility where it is heated in a kiln to very high temperatures that destroy materials trapped inside the GAC. The reactivated GAC is then shipped back to the facility
and placed into a contactor, which is a 10-12 feet concrete cell filled with GAC, and then returned to service.
NKWD uses a multi-barrier approach for water treatment that also includes conventional settling and filtration processes along with chlorine disinfection. GAC and ultraviolet disinfection, which are used by NKWD, are considered advanced water treatment. NKWD installed GAC in 2012.
“Granular activated carbon has been deemed by the Environmental Protection Agency as one of the best-available technologies for removing several chemical compounds, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals,” said Lindsey Rechtin, President/CEO of NKWD. “GAC helps strip soluble materials that can’t be filtered from water by other treatment processes, which makes it safer and cleaner for our customers.”
For more information about NKWD, visit the website at www.nkywater.org or call (859) 578-9898.
FTEF conducts annual grant patrol surprising teachers around the district with grants totaling over $72,000
FTIS: FTIS teachers Beth Brubaker and Lindsey Reckers, along with FTIS students, accepting their “big check” for photography equipment.
The FTEF (Fort Thomas Education Foundation) conducted their annual Grant Patrol Monday, March 25, and Tuesday March 26. This fun tradition gives the FTEF the opportunity to surprise Fort Thomas Independent Schools (FTIS) teachers who have submitted a FTEF Grant Request with the news that their request has been funded.
This year, the FTEF funded over $72,000 in teacher grants. This is all thanks to the generous donations from families and community partners. Over the course of its 20 years history, the FTEF has funded over
$1M in teacher grants. Teachers and administrators will coordinate with the FTEF to make their purchases during the summer so the students can begin using it at the beginning of next school year.
This year’s grant recipients are:
• The HHS Film and Broadcasting Department – A new anchor desk
• Highlands High School – Photography equipment and new stings instruments
• Highlands Middle School – Flight Simulator
• Johnson Elementary – Sensory Room Materials
• Moyer Elementary – Preschool Books
• Woodfill Elementary –Robots upgrades for student classrooms and a grant towards turf for their new inclusive playground
“Each year, because of the generous support and donations from our community, we have the privilege of awarding teacher grants to the staff at FTIS. These grants make our schools stand out among other schools. I’m blessed to be a part of an organization that fully dedicates its resources to giving back to the kids of our Fort Thomas community. We are proud to continue our efforts in supporting our District in any way that we can. I can’t say enough about our amazing and enthusiastic staff and dedicated board members, and I look forward to seeing all that this year’s grants will provide to the students, “said Frank Twehues, FTEF Board President.
Beth Brubaker, teacher at Highlands High School, who was a recipient of the photography equipment said, “Thank you so much to FTEF for this grant. We are forever grateful for the investment in our programs. You allow our students to dream the seemingly impossible and make it a reality.”
The FTEF is a non-profit organization that is committed to enhancing the educational excellence in our public schools. Through our public-private partnership, the FTEF is proud to have impacted the school over $14 million to FTIS schools.
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WHILE SPRING BRINGS US WARMER WEATHER, BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS, AND SUNSHINE, IT ALSO COMES WITH SEASONAL ALLERGIES.
If spring cleaning is on your to-do list, don’t forget about your HVAC system and indoor air quality (IAQ).
Here are some tips on how to prepare for spring and improve your IAQ:
• Check the temperature setting on your thermostat, then turn on your AC.
Make sure cool air is coming from the vents once your unit is running.
• Be sure your system isn’t working harder than it needs to with a dirty air filter.
This will also help ensure the air circulating throughout your home is clean.
• As the weather warms up, use the switch on your ceiling fan to change the direction of the blade rotation. You’ll want to create a downdraft for the spring and summer. And while you’re at it, wipe the dust off the blades.
• Replace batteries in your smoke & carbon monoxide detectors.
We recommend replacing your batteries every six months. The seasons and time changes in spring and fall are great times to replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Help remove viruses, allergens, dust, and pollen from the air in your home with our indoor air quality solutions. A whole house air filtration system could be right for you! Visit our website to learn more.
• It’s recommended to schedule AC maintenance in the spring so any issues can be fixed before you’re desperate for relief from the summer heat.
• Sign up for our Preventative Maintenance Plan and enjoy regularly scheduled maintenance on your home’s heating and cooling system. Proper maintenance is proven to increase equipment life span while improving system efficiency. Give us a call today to learn more.
Spring into savings with our offers below. If you need any HVAC repairs, maintenance, or replacements, contact us to breathe easy and stay cool all spring and summer.
