Cities weigh harsher penalties for short-term rentals
BY NATHAN GRANGER | LINK nky REPORTER
While an increase in tourism can be a revenue booster, the increase in short-term rentals in the region is raising alarms for officials and rent for residents.
Short-term rental property, in contrast to conventional rental property, is private, non-commercial housing whose owners rent out rooms for short stays, often only a few days. Popular online platforms for facilitating such rentals include websites like Airbnb and Vrbo.
Their presence in a region can attract vacationers, which in turn attracts valuable revenue. However, officials worry that leaving them unregulated poses a safety risk, and leaving them unmonitored could translate into an oversaturated market, removing valuable housing options for permanent residents. Studies also show that the presence of short-term rentals can drive up rent prices, and Northern Kentucky is facing a series of closures of affordable rental properties.
for people traveling to the region for large events across the river, like Cincinnati Bengals games, conventions and concerts.
Kentucky considering regulations for these properties, either.
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The Covington City Commission is considering escalating penalties for short-term rental property owners who have failed to obtain proper licensing from the city. Officials discussed policy changes for shortterm rentals during a caucus meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
City Solicitor David Davidson said the proposed change in ordinance would penalize unlicensed Airbnb or Vrbo property owners with a one-year suspension from applying for a license.
As it stands, Covington ordinance does not allow for unrestricted short-term renting, and it’s illegal to post advertisements online for short-term stays without obtaining proper licenses from the city.
A woman walks by The Kimberly, a short-term rental property in Mainstrasse. Photo by Alecia Ricker
| LINK nky contributor
“It provides that if anyone is currently leasing or engaged in short-term rentals without a license or without proper conditional use permit that they would not be able to apply for a license for a period of a year from the date that they’re notified that they’re operating in violation of the ordinance,” he said.
The commission first began regulating short-term rentals in 2021 in the face of their growing popularity in Covington. The city offers an affordable place to stay
At an emergency meeting in December, the commission declared a freeze on all new licenses to assess if new regulations and enforcement measures were necessary in the face of the seemingly unabated increase of short-term rentals. A quick search of the river district shows more than three dozen short-term rental properties dotting the map, competing for guests with Cincinnati stays.
The consideration at Tuesday’s meeting was the newest penalty that could be leveled against delinquent landlords. Other penalties include fines of up to $1,000 for every day of operating without a license, tax audits and, in extreme cases, the use of property liens and foreclosures.
Covington isn’t the only city in Northern
Last year, the Union City Commission started having conversations about requiring short-term rental owners to obtain a business license. At the time, commissioners were divided on whether the policy was necessary considering there are only a handful of properties available for shortterm rent in Union.
While City Administrator David Plummer, who has since moved on to work for the city of Fort Mitchell, said licensing the properties could net the city revenue, Commissioners John Melford and Jeremy Ramage said they felt a policy would go too far.
“In my opinion, we need to research this very carefully on our own. We should not just pick up what a community like Florence is doing or what Boone County is doing,” Melford said during the May 2021 city commission meeting. “I have a real hard time telling a private homeowner what you can and cannot do on his own property, in his own house. I have a real hard time with that.”
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A line graph provided by the Northern Kentucky Atlas shows that the number of renters paying more than 30% of their monthly income is approaching levels last seen in the Great Recession. Photo provided | Northern Kentucky Atlas
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Ramage said, “it’s almost like an HOA overstepping,” with restrictions on how they want to use their property. The policy was approved in its first reading 3-1, with former Commissioner Eric Dulaney voting no.
Union ultimately decided in January to not adopt a policy for short-term rentals. City Communications Coordinator Amy Safran said the mayor and commissioners decided that because there are so few rentals in the city, creating a policy doesn’t make sense.
“If in the future, short-term rentals become an issue, we would turn them over to the code enforcement officer,” she said.
Cities like Newport and Covington have a higher density of short-term rentals, though.
In Newport, property owners with Airbnb or Vrbo listings are required to obtain a business license, according to city ordinance. City Manager Tom Fromme said the
only ones not required to obtain a license are hotels that file gross receipt occupational taxes.
In Covington, people who wish to rent out their housing for short periods must first obtain a conditional zoning permit from the city’s Board of Architectural Review and Development.
Upon obtaining a permit, the property owner must then apply for a short-term rental license. Licensing fees cost anywhere from $30 to $150, depending on the size of the property, and must be renewed annually. Landlords must also obtain a $50 business license before they can begin renting out space.
Finally, city officials must inspect the property to ensure there aren’t any fire or other safety hazards in the building structure.
While Union officials decided that a policy was unnecessary at this time, the City of Covington believed it was necessary to regulate them in order to ensure they were safe and to avoid a market overrun with vacation stays that take away housing for permanent residents.
At the recent February meeting, Commissioner Ron Washington emphasized the need for proper safety measures.
“It’s a safety issue because basically a short-term rental is a form of hotel,” Washington said. “It’s not like an apartment where people are familiar with the exits and the building.” Accordingly, inspections and other precautions were necessary, he argued.
What’s more, city-issued press releases from last year indicate that the decision to require a zoning permit was instituted to prevent high concentrations of short-term rentals in certain areas. Officials wanted to prevent neighborhoods originally designed and zoned as residential districts from turning into de facto hotel districts through short-term rental websites.
Board approval also enables city residents to publicly voice either their approval of or opposition to a potential increase in the number of vacation renters in their neighborhood.
Increasing numbers of short-term rental property has numerous impacts on the local economy as well as the availability of housing.
Studies show short-term rentals have the potential to disincentivize longer-term rentals for local residents by drawing in out-of-towners who are willing to pay high amounts of money for brief stays.
This can in turn drive up rent and push out local, long-term residents over time.
According to a 2020 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the University of Southern California and California State University, which used Airbnb listing data from around the country, determined “a 1% increase in Airbnb listings leads to a 0.018% increase in rents and a 0.026% increase in house prices. Considering the median annual Airbnb growth in each zip code, these results translate to an annual increase of $9 in monthly rent and $1,800 in house prices for the median zip code in our data.”
What’s more, the increase in popularity of short-term rentals happened in tandem with the decline of available housing in Kenton and Campbell counties. According to data from the US Census Bureau,
the number of housing units available for rent in Kenton County declined from 2,399 units to only 848 units from 2010 to 2021.
The Northern Kentucky Atlas, a digital data tool that centralizes information on Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties, shows that an average of 40% of residents in the region are spending more that 30% of their monthly income on rent. That number is as high as 43% in Covington and 50% in Newport – and more short-term rentals are another factor driving up rent as properties for long-term residents become scarce and less affordable.
Overall, the Covington officials believe that landlords are not complying with the new regulations.
According to a Feb. 2 press release from the city, since the introduction of the licensing measures “only 43 short-term rental licenses have been sought and issued.”
To judge the discrepancy between the number of short-term rentals advertised in the city and the number of licenses issued, the city contracted with software company Granicus, whose proprietary software regularly crawls websites sites like Airbnb and Vrbo for current short-term rental ads.
Mayor Joe Meyer reported on Granicus’ findings at the meeting, saying when he checked the numbers, “there were over 400 apartments available … in Covington, almost all of them without a license.”
Granicus’ software updates regularly, so that number could change in the future.
The commission held a first reading of the proposed ordinance at its legislative meeting on Feb. 14. The commission will meet again on Feb. 28 for a final vote.
LINK nky reporters Grace Tierney and Haley Parnell contributed to this report.
4 FEB. 17, 2023
Covington city officials discuss short-term rental policies and penalties during a recent caucus meeting. Photo by Nathan Granger | LINK nky
NKY in 1968: Conflict in Vietnam creates conflict at home
BY RICK ROBINSON | LINK nky GUEST AUTHOR
Rick Robinson is a local author who is writing a book based on life in Northern Kentucky in 1968 and what we can learn now. LINK will publish excerpts from the book regularly in the LINK Reader, as well as on linknky.com
In February 1968, the University of Kentucky was to host on its Lexington campus the “Kentucky Conference on The War/The Draft.”
According to flyers about the conference, it would be “… a place where all of us con-
cerned about the war and the draft can begin to build a state-wide movement against the war and learn the skills to organize and educate others.”
The conference was sponsored by several groups, including Students for a Democratic Society. At the time, the SDS was the leading anti-war movement in America.
The conference caused an uproar in the state legislature, pitting free speech advocates and academics against pro-war legislators. Covington Representative Philip King (D) co-authored a resolution (never formally introduced) in the Kentucky General Assembly to deny the use of university facilities for the conference.
The resolution was cosponsored by other state representatives from the region. It took a long meeting in Frankfort between legislators and University of Kentucky officials for the conference to gain approval.
Kentucky Post and Times Star reporter John Murphy introduced the story as follows: “A small indefinite wedge of caution has been pounded into freedom of expression as the basic right of personal liberty in Kentucky.”
The conference took place on Feb. 10, 1968. Among the speakers featured at the conference was Wendell Berry, then a young English professor from the University of Kentucky. Berry eventually became one of Kentucky’s most prolific writers and his list of literary works and awards are numerous.
The speech he gave at the conference would be included in his first book of nonfiction: a collection of essays titled “The LongLegged House.”
Berry recently wrote, “The first paragraph of that essay will give you a sense of the status, and the stress, of such a protest in Ky. at that time. Remember well my own worries about it, but I don’t remember ‘the controversy surrounding’ it.”
Indeed, the opening of Berry’s speech expressed the concerns of his friends and family about his appearance at the conference. “I have received a dire warning that if I consort with such groups as this, I may be made a tool of ‘the communist conspiracy.’”
But Berry ignored the cautions of those around him and gave a thoughtful and eloquent speech on why he opposed America’s presence in Vietnam. The reasons were very personal and set forth in a manner of personal responsibility not often expressed.
“… I do deplore the wrongs and atrocities committed by the other side. But I am responsible for the wrongs and atrocities committed by our side.”
Berry’s words were not covered in the Ken-
tucky Post and Times Star. Yet, the coverage of Vietnam on Feb. 10, 1968, was clearly aimed at the conference.
The top banner of the day’s edition bore the bold headline “Our Viet Death Toll . . . 51 Men” and the story was a list of those from the region killed in Southeast Asia since 1962.
The bottom fold included a story on the views of 10 Northern Kentuckians regarding Vietnam. Most expressed thoughts supporting the presence of American troops. All believed it should end as soon as possible.
Only one, a World War II veteran and railroad employee, said, “I don’t think we
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FEB. 17, 2023 5
Cover of Life Magazine on Feb. 9, 1968. On the right, according to a report in the Kentucky Post and Times Star, is Army 2nd Lt. Arthur Dickson, of Covington. Photo provided | Kenton County Library Archives
Reporter John Murphy is seen taking notes on a reporter’s notebook in May 1973. Photo provided | Kenton County Library Archives
should have been there in the first place.”
Inside the same edition, there was an editorial titled “Where Valor Proudly Sleeps,” pondering when Kentucky will start honoring those who had fallen in Vietnam with appropriate memorials.
The coverage of the Kentucky Conference on The War/The Draft occurred just over a week into what has become known as the Tet Offensive. The headlines in the Cincinnati Post and Times Star were all about the deadly battles being waged. And editorially the Cincinnati paper was already concluding victory in Vietnam was a “goal beyond our means.” Still, in his own style, Editor Vance Trimble had dodged the issue of America’s presence in Vietnam and offered a “grief story” and editorial analysis appealing to all readers.
Tet is the annual celebration of the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. The Tet Offensive refers to a series of surprise attacks coordinated by the North Vietnamese to take place simultaneously against multiple South Vietnamese cities, military installations, towns, and villages. North Vietnam’s military leaders believed the offensive would lead to a popular uprising of people against the government of South Vietnam.
The Tet Offensive was deadly for both sides. The losses of northern forces in February were never fully determined, but estimates ranged as high 45,000. The South Vietnamese lost 2,788. U.S. and other allied forces suffered 1,536 casualties, 7,764 wounded, and 11 missing.
The deadliest day of Vietnam occurred in one of the first days of Tet. Early in the Tet Offensive, Marine Lance Cpl. Samuel T.
Marshal ,of Erlanger, was killed in Quang Tri; Marine Lance Cpl. Paul Webb ,of Elsmere, was killed by mortar fire near Da Nang; and Army Specialist 4 Samuel Hurry of Covington died in the hospital from wounds he had received in Saigon.
Retired Northern Kentucky physician Dr. Tom Bunnell went to Vietnam in 1967 and served as a Navy Regimental Surgeon for the Marine 5th Division.
In 1968 he was transferred to a hospital in Chu Lai. He recalled that during the Tet Offensive his hospital was “out in the boondocks, in the hills” and was the only one authorized to take locals. His operating room was very active.
“There were lots of casualties coming in,” Bunnell remembers. “Lots of civilians. We
were operating 24/7.”
One of Dr. Bunnell’s weekly assignments in Vietnam was to make “sick calls” at clinics located in local villages. When the Tet Offensive started, Bunnell skipped visits for about three weeks.
He returned to one about twenty minutes from the hospital, “When I finally went back it was gone. The building was gone. The people were gone. Nobody knew what had happened to them. The North Vietnamese had occupied that area for a while, and everybody was just gone.”
At one point during his tour in Vietnam, Dr. Bunnell was asked to visit a village where gas had allegedly been deployed. A helicopter left him in the village with a couple of Marines to protect him. Bunnell recalled
what happened when 1500 enemy troops surrounded the village:
“While I am standing in the village waiting for the helicopter, all of a sudden there were these explosions all around the edges of the village. And one of the Marines (Fernandes Jennings) says, ‘Oh my God, here come the North Vietnamese. Get in that hole.’ And he points to a trench. So, we’re in this trench and I’m watching all the South Vietnamese Army scatter when Jennings says, ‘we go to go.’ We jumped out of the trench and started running across a rice paddy. A couple of steps in, I fell and dropped all my stuff. I was picking it up when three South Vietnamese soldiers were shot and fell. I ran to the edge of the rice paddy and dived behind the dike. Jennings told me to start digging a hole and get in it. We spent the night there. The next morning the North Vietnamese were gone, and the helicopter came and picked us up. When I arrived at base my commanding officer told us they thought we had been killed. I told him we survived but I would never make another house call.”
During Bunnell’s time in Vietnam, he and his wife Nancy (at home with their oneyear-old son) kept contact by sending tapes back and forth to each other.
“Communication wasn’t great,” she said. “You’re at home and you’re in the dark. There was one point I did not hear from him for a long period of time.”
Nancy kept her sanity via meetings of the Waiting Wives Club, a group of local women whose husbands had been deployed to Vietnam.
Shortly after the Tet Offensive, Bunnell returned home, but initially did not talk much about what he experienced.
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Dr. Tom Bunnell rendering aid in a village somewhere near Chu Lai, South Vietnam. Photo provided | Kenton County Library Archives
“I was really pissed off,” he said. “I felt like they had stolen a year out of my life, and I was angry about it.”
After he returned, Bunnell concluded the war was “a huge mistake and we never had any business being there in the first place. Nothing was accomplished.”
Bunnell eventually made peace over his time in Vietnam, and, in recent years, he gave talks to groups about his time there.
Another important aspect of the Tet Offensive was the news coverage. The Tet Offensive was not only being covered on the front pages of print media, but on television as well.
ABC’s Huntley-Brinkley Report aired a stunning incident showing the harsh realities of war in shocking footage. One of the targets of North Vietnam during the Tet Offensive was the South Vietnam capital of Saigon.
During the attack, the city’s police chief led a captured VC officer to a group of reporters who watched as the prisoner was executed with a single shot to the head at point-blank range. The image remains one of the iconic pictures of the conflict.
Legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite went to Vietnam during the Tet Offensive to film a special report for CBS to be aired near the end of February. The broadcast images of the Vietnam battlefields were brutal and bloody, exposing American viewers to a side of war rarely seen on television.
In concluding the report, Cronkite declared, “It seems now more certain than
ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.”
It was a stunning statement that would eventually lead President Lyndon Johnson to not seek reelection.
And if the Tet Offensive was not necessarily on the minds of Northern Kentuckians, it was certainly on the minds of elected officials in Washington.
In 1968, Northern Kentucky was divided between two Congressional Districts for its representation in Washington. Campbell County and the southern half of Kenton County were in the Sixth District represented by John Watts (D) from Lexington.
The northern half of Kenton County and Boone County were in the Fourth District that ran along the Ohio River to the suburbs of Louisville which was represented by Gene Snyder (R). In the United States Senate, Kentucky had Thurston Morton (R) and John Sherman Cooper (R).
Congressman Snyder was also known for his quarterly newsletters to constituents and annual questionnaires.
The result of the 1967 annual questionnaire was released in February of 1968. While not a scientific poll, the responses Snyder released shows a crack in community support for America’s presence in Vietnam.
The first question on Snyder’s survey was simply stated: “What would you do about the war in Vietnam?” One respondent stated, “Vietnam appears to be the most stupid chapter in American history,” a Fort Thomas woman said. “We can’t win the way it’s going.”
In February 1968, Sen. Thurston Morton
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announced he would not seek reelection. Days later he blasted President Johnson’s handling of Vietnam.
Kentucky made national news in the middle of February when United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) visited eastern Kentucky to hold hearings on the effectiveness of poverty programs in Appalachia. Kennedy was accompanied by Republican Senator John Sherman Cooper. The Kentucky Post and Times Star followed Kennedy’s visit with two editorials – one on the substance of the hearings and the other on the youthful star power of Senator Kennedy.
“The way they (young people) act, you’d think he was going to break out loaves
and fishes,” said a 40-year-old mother of twelve.
The final footnote to February 1968 is a story about the passage of a resolution in the Kentucky House of Representatives highlights the racial divide at the time.
The resolution called on police departments to rid themselves of officers who were members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The resolution passed 24-14.
Sixty members of the Kentucky House of Representatives “took a walk” and did not cast a vote.
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FEB. 17, 2023 7
An archive photo shows Dr. Tom Bunnell after he was named Chief of Staff at Booth Memorial Hospital. Photo provided | Kenton County Library Archives
Thomas More, Erlanger/ Elsmere Independent launching new college prep program
Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School District and Thomas More University are launching a college prep program, which was made official at a signing ceremony on Friday, Feb. 10.
The college prep program encourages high school students to register for college and prepares rising juniors and seniors for dual credit and college-level courses. The Thomas More Dual-Credit program plans to collaborate with other regional high schools following this summer 2023 pilot.
The program offers high school students the opportunity to take college courses at a reduced tuition rate while exposing them to a college setting and Thomas More’s campus culture.
For more information on the dual credit program, go to thomasmore.edu.
Campbell, Kenton counties, join KY Jailers Association in lawsuit against state
The Kentucky Jailers Association, four Kentucky counties, including Campbell and Kenton, and their jailers have joined forces in a complaint/petition against the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
The complaint was filed on Jan. 20 regarding housing state inmates in county facilities, claiming that the state has ignored its statutory responsibilities to care for those inmates.
Plaintiffs named in the complaint are Campbell County and Campbell County Jailer James Daley, Kenton County and Kenton County Jailer Marc Fields, Boyd County and Boyd County Jailer Bill Hensley, Marion County and Marion County Jailer J. Barry Brady, and the Kentucky Jailers Association. The defendants listed are the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Corrections, Cookie Crews, and the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
“The primary theme of the suit is that the state has not fulfilled its statutory responsibilities to provide the appropriate transfer and or compensation to fiscal courts in jails for state inmates,” representation for the plaintiffs, Jeff Mando, said.
Mando said that as a result, the cost of housing the state inmates is borne by the local counties and local taxpayers, who support the fiscal courts and the jails.
“We have engaged in efforts to try and get this resolved,” Mando said. “The state has ignored us. So, we filed suit for declaratory and injunctive relief to compel the state to comply with its statutory responsibilities to care for these inmates. To provide per diems to transfer them when appropriate to pay for the medical care necessary for the state inmates. Instead of placing that responsibility on the local governments.”
Declaratory relief is when the court orders a party to pay monetary damages or take certain action under injunctive relief, which restrains a party from doing certain things or requires them to act in a certain way.
Mando said the state is supposed to classify and transfer the state inmates within 45 days of their final sentencing and are “routinely and habitually” ignoring that statutory mandate.
According to state law:
“State prisoners, excluding the Class D felons and Class C felons qualifying to serve time in jails, shall be transferred to the state institution within 45 days of final sentencing.”
In a statement from the state, they claim that the department of corrections has 90 days to transfer the inmates sentenced to state prison.
Mando said the state left off a “key part” of the language in the bill, which says that state prisoners (excluding Class C and D) “may be transferred to a state institution within 90 days of final sentencing if the county jail does not object to the additional 45 days.” Williams said the DOC has more inmates waiting to be transferred than available beds.
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“Once an individual has been sentenced to serve their sentence at a state prison, DOC must transfer the individual to the state assessment center for intake, booking, and medical evaluation,” Williams said. “DOC has approximately 2,000 inmates waiting to be transferred, and the assessment center has 730 beds.”
The complaint claims that the defendants “routinely fail” to classify inmates within 45 days of final sentencing, leaving state inmates who would otherwise be transferred to a state prison facility sitting in county jails, including those in Campbell, Kenton, Boyd, and Marion counties.
A solution the complaint offers is for the defendants to enter into contracts with county jails (including Campbell, Kenton, Boyd, and Marion Counties) to establish terms and conditions under which each county jail is willing to hold state inmates, allowing county jails to negotiate with the state to recover more of the money they spend on state inmates.
“Defendants, however, refuse to enter into contracts with county jails in connection with the housing of, or provision of medical care to, state inmates,” The complaint said.
This case was filed through the Franklin Circuit Court. A response to the complaint has yet to be filed.
Baker Hunt Art Center to host National Ceramics Conference
Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center, located in Covington, will host three exhibitions for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference from March 13 to March 18.
The conference itself will take place at the Duke Convention Center in Cincinnati, where presentations, training sessions and other events will be held. Ceramic artworks from around the world will be exhibited throughout the week, and Baker Hunt as well as other local arts organizations will be featured on bus tours for attendees.
Local ceramic artists can submit work for exhibition on Baker Hunt’s submission page. Submissions are due March 10 by 6 p.m. Chosen works will be displayed March 13 to March 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A reception with NCECA representatives will
take place on March 16 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The reception is open to the public.
Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center sits on a three-acre campus and hosts classes in drawing, ceramics, painting, multimedia, clothing making and cooking for adults and children.
The NCECA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating and informing the public about ceramic artworks. According to their website, they have members in the both the United States and 20 foreign countries.
To learn more about Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center, visit their website baker hunt.org. To learn more about the event, visit Baker Hunt’s event page.
Kentucky Bourbon Trail attendance reaches record heights
Bourbon tourism reached new heights last year in Kentucky, where visitors flocked to large and small distilleries as the whiskey-making attractions shook off any pandemic-era hangovers.
Attendance at distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail surpassed 2 million in 2022 for the first time ever, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association announced. Venerable bourbon producers and industry newcomers alike benefited from the surge.
Total visits exceeded 2.1 million last year, easily beating the pre-pandemic record of 1.7 million stops in 2019, the distillers’ group said. In the past decade, the “amber adventure” has had a 370% surge in attendance – a boom to the state known around the world for bourbon production, it said.
Total attendance at its 18 participating distilleries nearly reached 1.4 million last year, the group said. Research shows that bourbon tourists tend to be younger, spend between $400 and $1,200 on their trip, travel in large groups, and stay longer than the average visitor to Kentucky, the distillers’ association said.
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Taylor Mill native wins Grammy
Taylor Mill’s very own Carly Pearce won a Grammy Sunday night for the song “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” which she co-wrote and performed with singer Ashley McBryde.
“Wrote a country song with my friend and we won our first Grammy,” Pearce tweeted Sunday evening. “I have no words. Zero. None. More Later. I love you.”
Pearce and McBride took home best country/duo group performance Sunday for the song on Pearce’s album 29: Written in Stone.
Young wrestler wins state tournament
Local wrestler Ezra Yungkau, age 6, recently won first place at the Kentucky Youth Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 5, with his team, The Bandits. Yungkau is a student at Stephens Elementary. Match results show Yungkau earned his first place finish in a sudden victory over Ryan Robinson, of the Conner Cougars. His victory earned his 8-and-under team 22 points in the tournament.
Mulch seeking local gardens for companionship
Holy Cross High School is having its 25th Annual Mulch Sale, selling three kinds of mulch in two cubic foot bags for $4.75 per bag, and Pine Straw for $9.50 per bale. All prices include free delivery and sales tax. HCHS students will deliver mulch to homes, businesses or rental properties anywhere in Kenton, Boone and Campbell counties. The sale starts April 1 and con-
tinues for at least five weeks. All proceeds benefit Holy Cross High School. Order can be placed at hcmulch.com or by calling (859) 392-8999.
Local singer makes national debut
Northern Kentucky singer/songwriter Jasmine Poole, better known as Wonky Tonk, made her national television debut when she recently taped an episode of WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour in Lexington on Monday, Feb. 13. Hosted by folk singer and songwriter Michael Johnathon, WoodSongs airs over public television stations and regional PBS networks nationwide, including KET in Kentucky.
Feb. 17 to Feb. 25
Boone County
Feb. 21: Boone County Fiscal Court Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Boone County Administration Building, 2950 Washington St., Burlington
Feb. 22: Latin Dance Fitness, 6:30 p.m. Boone County Library Main Branch, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington. (For details, go to bcpl.org; registration necessary)
Feb. 22: Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m. Boone County Library Main Branch, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington.
Feb. 23: Throwback Series: Vintage Fashion (presentation), 6:30 p.m. Boone County Library Main Branch, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington.
Florence
Feb. 18: Condor & Crow’s Petrifying Picture Show, 2 p.m., Boone County Library Florence Branch, 7425 U.S. 42, Florence (Registration required; also on Zoom)
Feb. 21: Florence City Council Caucus Meeting, 6 p.m., Florence Government Center, 8100 Ewing Blvd., Florence
StoryPoint residents greet visitors with Bengals pride
Hebron
Feb 18: SWET DanceFit, 9:30 a.m., Boone County Hebron Branch, 1863 North Bend Road, Hebron (For details, go to bcpl.org. Continues Saturdays through Feb. 25)
Union
Feb. 18: Houseplant Swap, 10 a.m. Boone County Library Scheben Branch, 8899 U.S. 42, Union
Feb. 20: Let’s Hear from Frankfort, 6:30 p.m., Boone County Library Scheben Branch, 8899 U.S. 42, Union (Also on Zoom. Hear from elected officials; register at nkyforum.org)
Community Calendar
We love to share events, birthdays, anniversaries, and special announcements. Send items to the Town Crier via email at towncrier@linknky.com.
Note: Many government offices will be closed on Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 20.
Feb. 22: Piecemakers Sit and Sew, 9 a.m., Boone County Library Scheben Branch, 8899 U.S. 42, Union
Feb. 24: Experience T’ai Chi, 10:30 a.m., Boone County Library Scheben Branch, 8899 U.S. 42, Union (For details, go to bcpl. org. Also on Feb. 24.)
10 FEB. 17, 2023
Carly Pearce won a Grammy Sunday night. Photo provided | @carlypearce via Twitter
Ezra Yungkau, center, poses for a photo with his parents Patrisha and David Yungkau. David Yungkau is also a coach for his son’s 8-and-under wrestling team, The Bandits. Photo provided | Patrisha Yungkau
Northern Kentucky-based singer Jasmine Poole, also known as Wonky Tonk. Photo provided | Fred Anderson
town crier
StoryPoint residents Floyd, Barbara, and Betty hold up Who Dey signs at the Cincinnati Union Terminal. Photo provided | StoryPoint Union
Walton
Feb. 23: Book Discussion: Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave, 9 a.m., Boone County Library Walton Branch, 21 S. Main St., Walton (contact Sharon Franklin at sfrank@bcpl. org.
Campbell County
Feb. 21: Campbell County Public Schools Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Alexandria Educational Center, 51 Orchard Lane, Alexandria
Feb. 21: Campbell County Municipal Board of Adjustment Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Campbell County Administration Building, 1098 Monmouth St., Newport
Feb. 22: Skywarn Spotters Webinar, 6 p.m., on Zoom. (National Weather Service class for weather spotters. See Campbell County calendar for link to register and info.)
Alexandria
Feb. 21: Alexandria Planning and Zoning Meeting, 7 p.m., Alexandria City Building, 8236 W. Main St., Alexandria
Bellevue
Feb. 17: Bellevue Planning and Zoning
Meeting, 7 p.m., Bellevue City Building, 616 Poplar St., Bellevue
Feb. 22: Bellevue Independent Schools Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Bellevue High School Library, 201 Center St., Bellevue
Feb. 25: Bellevue Winter Carnival and Chili Cookoff, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Washington Ave. at Fairfield Ave., Bellevue (Note: Fairfield Avenue between Fessler’s and Frame and Hang will be closed to traffic at this time.)
Dayton
Feb. 22: Dayton Independent Schools Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Dayton Independent Schools, 200 Clay St., Dayton
Feb 22: Dayton VFW Post 2899 Bingo Night, 5 p.m., 828 6th Ave., Dayton (every Wednesday)
Feb. 23: Dayton Park Board Meeting, 7 p.m., Dayton Community and Meeting Center, 625 2nd Ave., Dayton
Feb. 25: Dayton Heritage Museum, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 718 6th Ave., Dayton
Fort Thomas
Feb. 21: Fort Thomas City Council Meeting, 7
p.m., Fort Thomas City Building, 130 N. Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas
Feb. 23: Fort Thomas Design Review Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Fort Thomas City Building, 130 N. Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas
Highland Heights
Feb. 21: Highland Heights City Council Meeting, 7 p.m., Highland Heights City Building, 176 Johns Hill Road, Highland Heights
Newport
Feb. 22: Newport Historic Preservation Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Newport City Building, 998 Monmouth St., Newport. (Call 859292-3637 to confirm meeting).
Feb. 22: Newport Independent Schools Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m., 30 W. 8th Street, Newport
Wilder
Feb. 21: Wilder City Council Meeting, 7 p.m., Wilder City Building, 520 Licking Pike, Wilder
Feb. 24: Wilder Fire Dept. Annual Fish Fry, 4 to 8 p.m., Wilder City Building, 520 Licking
Pike, Wilder (dine-in or carryout)
Kenton County
Covington
Feb. 21: Covington Board of Commissioners Caucus Meeting, 6 p.m., Covington City Hall, 20 W. Pike St., Covington (registration required)
Feb. 22: Covington Code Enforcement Hearing Board Meeting, 5 p.m., Covington City Hall, 20 W. Pike St., Covington
Feb. 23: Covington Board of Education Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Covington Board of Education, 25 E. 7th St., Covington
Feb. 25: Covington Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Braxton Brewery, 27 W. 7th St., Covington
Edgewood
Feb: 21: Senior Cards, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Edgewood Senior Center, 550 Freedom Park Drive, Crestview Hills (open to all, card games).
FEB. 17, 2023 11 DO YOU LIKE THIS NEWSPAPER? Subscribe today for only $25 for 50 issues delivered right to your mailbox! SCAN HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW Or call (859) 878-1669 to subscribe today!
LINK Streetscapes: Taylor Mill Road
BY MARIA HEHMAN | LINK nky CONTRIBUTOR
This week Streetscapes goes off the beaten path and down a seemingly never ending road for some classic comfort food in all cuisines. Come to Taylor Mill for trendy, new restaurants and community staples.
Coba Bar and Grill
Weeks after opening, Coba Bar and Grill is already a perfect spot for dinner, drinks and catching a game. Coba’s atmosphere is sports bar meets a trendy cocktail joint. A majority of the food offered is Mexican-style cuisine, and Coba also offers American-style dishes, like boneless wings alongside tacos al pastor.
Those who come for the Tex-Mex will not be disappointed. Guests are greeted with chips and salsa and the margaritas are as big as someone’s head, requiring two hands to hold. The margaritas can be frozen or on the rocks, and are offered in three sizes and in 10 flavors.
For the health conscious, Coba has a large selection of rice bowls as well as tapas. For those pining for classic Mexican cuisine, street-style tacos and quesadillas are on the menu as well. And for those wanting comfort food, burgers and pasta are available.
A popular choice for guests is the chicken avocado bowl, with chicken breast, avocado, black beans, and mango pico de gallo on a bed of cilantro lime rice. The pico added a nice refreshing flavor to the warm dish.
Knuk-N-Futz
Like its name, this quirky restaurant is one of a kind. Best known for its wings, KnukN-Futz has even trademarked the name for the wings on its menu: SchWINGzzz.
With effort like that, one can expect a big personality to go with it. At the center of the dining room is a fireplace original to the building. Around it are license plates,
posters, and enough neon beer signs to make a new wallpaper. The eclectic decor can feel a little hectic, but the food makes it clear that it is the right way to go.
Fried pickles are commonplace in Northern Kentucky restaurants, but at Knuk-NFutz they have pickle spears.
In the world of fried pickles there is a heated debate about spears versus chips, and Knuk N Futz makes a clear case for spears as the winner. Golden crispy breading outside with a large juicy dill pickle on the inside; these are the ideal starter before ordering their schWINGzzz’s.
They offer both bone-in and boneless varieties of their trademarked wings with 14 sauces and four dry rubs to choose from. Servers recommend the house-made bleu cheese with an order of wings, and regulars swear by it as a cooldown to complement Knuk’s spicy wings.
Anyone looking for a cold one to cool off their palate can find at least 16 draft beers on tap at any given time.
Original Wok
Especially in the winter, Chinese food can be the most comforting of cuisines. Original Wok is the place to go for quick carryout, so guests can hurry home and snuggle under a blanket to enjoy the meal.
For now, Original Wok only offers carryout and delivery. On the menu are Americanized Chinese favorites, like orange chicken, fried rice, pot stickers and crab rangoon. Those with a craving will not be let down by the crab rangoon, which offers the perfect mixture of cream cheese with crab meat surrounded by a crunchy, fried wonton.
Have a street, city or business you want me to check out next? Email Maria Hehman at mchehman@gmail.com and it could be featured on the next LINK Streetscapes.
What to know if you go:
Coba Bar and Grill
Location: 5028 Old Taylor Mill Road
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Website: toasttab.com/coba-bar-andgrill
Phone: (859) 415-0030
Knuk-N-Futz
Location: 5468 Taylor Mill Road
Hours: Sundays open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays; Wednesdays and Thursdays open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Website: knuknfutz.com
Phone: (859) 261-9464
Original Wok
Location: 5038 Old Taylor Mill Road
Hours: Sunday through Thursday open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; open 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday; midnight to 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Website: originalwoktaylormill.com
Phone: (859) 431-3000
FEB. 17, 2023 13 features
Margaritas are a must order when having Tex-Mex. Frozen strawberry margarita from Coba. Photo by Maria Hehman | LINK nky contributor
14 FEB. 17, 2023 @peachyandvintage 531 Madison Ave,
KY | Open Tues-Thur 11-6 & Fri-Sat 11-7
Covington
SMALL BUSINESS SELLING THRIFTED AND VINTAGE CLOTHES
Volleyball coach at Brossart
Danielle French, an alum of Bishop Brossart, will be taking over as the Mustangs volleyball coach. French spent the last three years building up the Pendleton County program. Pendleton County finished 55-25 in her three years as head coach, finishing 38th District runner-up to Harrison County all three years. French is a 2003 graduate of Bishop Brossart, lettering in volleyball and softball.
French inherits a program coming off its first-ever 10th Region title and first-ever appearance in the state tournament. The Mustangs will graduate two seniors and return their starting libero, key hitters, and leading setter. Brossart will still be faced with the challenge of advancing out of the rugged 37th District in the fall, which the Mustangs did for the first time since 2018 this past season.
Ryle Girl soccer coach
Former Thomas More assistant Coach Kyle Kosco will become the next Ryle Girl’s soccer coach.
Kosco comes to Ryle with two years of varsity head coaching experience and has been in coaching since the age of 20. Kosco led the Princeton (Ohio) girls’ soccer team in 2017 and the Scott boys in 2021. The Eagles finished 10-8-1 that season for their second 10-win season in three years, tying the most number of wins since they finished state runner-up in 2014.
The Raiders have not had a double-digit win season in the last three years. But after an injury-filled regular and preseason in 2022, Ryle surprised people in the postseason winning the 33rd District championship as the fourth seed before losing to St.
Henry in the region quarterfinals to finish 6-12-2.
The Raiders graduate eight seniors from this past season. Freshman goalkeeper Maleah Lehmkuhl returns after recording 172 saves in 19 games last year. Junior Gracie Carrigan also returns after leading the Raiders with nine goals and tied for a teamhigh four assists.
Ryle is one of many teams in the 9th Region trying to tear down the region wall. Either the Notre Dame Pandas or Highlands Bluebirds have won all 11 region championships in the current format.
Kosco is looking forward to the challenges of playing in the rugged 33rd District and 9th region.
Thomas More inks 32 on Signing Day
As Thomas More University is just about set to make the transition from NAIA to Division II, the football team honed in on recruiting in its backyard and inked 32 players to their 2023 recruiting class.
Coach Chris Norwell estimates the incoming class will be around 50.
The 2023 class so far consists of players from nine different states that includes the tri-state of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana along with players from Georgia, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Saints initially signed six from NKY as they wait on a few others to turn in their letters of intent. The six are Cooper’s Jayce Hotchkiss (S, 6-1, 185), Ryle’s Luke Zimmerman (DL, 6-2, 205), Simon Kenton’s Chase Crone (QB, 6-2, 195), Cooper’s Eli White (RB, 6-0, 193), Highlands’ Sam Robinson
(LB, 5-10, 190) and Covington Catholic’s Broghan Rust (OL, 6-3, 290).
Starting in 2023, the Saints will play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. During the two-year provisional period in making the jump to Division II, they’ll be eligible for conference championships and tournaments beginning in the 2023 season. Following the mandatory two-year transition period, the University would then become eligible for NCAA Championships during the 2025-26 year.
Thomas More finished 5-6 in 2022, going 4-4 in the Mid-South Conference. The GMAC includes Ashland, Ohio Dominican, Findlay, Tiffin, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Northwood, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Walsh.
Scott brings in Owens to lead football program
Jake Owens is set to take over as the head football coach at Scott High School. After coaching for more than 20 years in Florida, Owens is headed north to Taylor Mill. He’ll inherit an Eagles team that went 4-7 in 2022 and graduate 19 seniors.
Owens coached at Palm Bay in Melbourne, FL, the last two seasons, including an 8-4 record last year. He’s also been a head coach at Space Coast High School. has been in coaching for 20 years, he previously coached in Melbourne, Florida. Owens will be taking over for Eric Turner who resigned in December after four years at the helm. Owens plans to implement an up-tempo offense in which the goal is to be set and hike the ball within 12-15 seconds between plays and create havoc defensively by getting after the quarterback and creating turnovers.
Owens plans to continue the offseason
weightlifting program before leading into spring practice and will participate in 7-on7s when that time rolls around in the summer. The first day of the KHSAA football season is typically around July 10.
Notre Dame, Ryle winning regional swimming titles
After Ryle and Dixie Heights claimed the past four region titles, the Pandas ended that streak at the Region 7 swim meet. Notre Dame captured its first team title since 2019 by dethroning three-time defending champion Ryle, 372-353, at Silverlake The Family Place.
The quartet of Claire Monahan, Olivia Wallace, Riley Quinn, and Sadie Hartig finished three-tenths of a second ahead of St. Henry in the 200-yard freestyle relay helping clinch the title. Two-time state champion Lainy Kruger, a Florida-bound senior, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.03 and the 100 breaststrokes in 1:04.23.
On the boys side, the Ryle Raiders defeated Highlands 518-473 to claim their first ever regional title. Freshman Chase Knopf and sophomore Andy Pleiman played large roles in the Raiders’ win. Knopf placed first in the 200 freestyle (1:43.18), and Pleiman won the 50 freestyle (21.84) and 100 freestyle (48.16).
Knopf, Roman Furuta, Garrett Dennis, and Blake Koenigsknecht won the 200 medley relay (1:38.22). A couple of hours later, Furuta, Pleiman, Koenigsknecht, and Zach Stephens won the 200 freestyle relay (1:28.48), and Pleiman, Stephens, Dennis, and Knopf won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:16.55.
Both advance to the KHSAA state swim meet in Lexington starting on February 17.
FEB. 17, 2023 15 sports THE HIGH LIFE. NOT HIGHBROW. with Kentucky flav . FOR A LIFE CLASSICALLY CRAFTED INTRODUCING Luxury retirement living is coming to Northern Kentucky. The Ormsby is an all-new Life Plan Community in Ft. Mitchell that will offer close to 200 modern residences in a vibrant, walkable setting with a full continuum of life care services available at a signifi cant discount to residents. RSVP to an upcoming event. Call 1-859-577-9677 or visit OrmsbyLiving.org.
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