theRISING SUNrecorder & theOHIO COUNTYnews
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Issue No. 27
Thursday, July 2, 2015
BOB MATTINGLY PHOTOS
Ellie Geiger, Cincinnati, a volunteer at the Red Wolf Sanctuary near Rising Sun, watches as wolf puppies Dale, left, and Elu give wolf kisses to Red Wolf employee Justin Miniard, Cincinnati. Geiger has been accepted into veterinary school.
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Red Wolf Sanctuary co-owner Paul Strasser holds its two newest residents, bobcat kittens born in captivity. The blue-eyed babies are named Zuni and Mingo and are about four weeks old.
Red Wolf gets pups & kitties on the wild side
BY CHANDRA L. MATTINGLY Staff Reporter It's puppy and kitten time at the Red Wolf Sanctuary just outside Rising Sun. But don't look for domestic varieties. The newest residents are gray wolf puppies and bobcat kittens. The sanctuary lost both its wild felines to old age in the past year or two, so the 'cat house' had no feline occupants, said sanctuary co-owner Paul Strasser. A sanctuary supporter known as 'the crazy cat lady' decided to donate two bobcats, both born in captivity. They were acquired from a Minnesota facility at about 3 weeks old. “We've never raised kittens before. We always got them after they'd been confiscated” as older animals, said Strasser. The two bobcat kittens, named Zuni and Mingo, are being handled and fed by hand, in an attempt to raise them to be somewhat acclimated to people, if not exactly domesticated. “These little guys bite and they claw. … These cats, they are pretty voracious. … This is kind of un-
See WILD, Page 8
Wolf puppies Dale, Elu and Euclaire explore in their first day in an outdoor pen. The trio are some of a dozen gray wolves at the sanctuary.
Fireworks moved from river Staff Report
Due to an unfavorable Ohio River forecast, the Saturday, July 4, 2015 Rising Sun Fireworks event has been moved to the Rising Sun Soccer Fields at Shiner Park. “As of Monday, the river was expected to go up to 37 feet on Wednesday,” said city marketing coordinator Bryce Kendrick. “Thursday was our drop dead date to get on the riverbank to prep the launch area for the fireworks. There is no chance of that happening based on the forecast and additional rainfall expected this week.” Kendrick also said shooting the fireworks at street level on the river was not possible. “We have to meet safety standards from the state fire marshal’s office and the insurance company,” Kendrick noted. “We lose the buffer of the riverbank wall and additional footage at street level and, as a result, we are too close to neighboring structures.” The new launch site will be familiar to those who have watched past fireworks shows in Rising Sun. The
launch area will be located in the youth soccer fields behind left field of the high school baseball diamond. Despite the change in venue, music and food are still planned from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. prior to the event. A local four-piece band, The Side Effects, will perform a mix of crowd favorites and the Rising Sun Lions Club will serve hot food and cold drinks. “Last year, people really enjoyed the music and the food,” recalled Kendrick. “Even though the site has been moved, we hope people will still come early to enjoy some awesome music and good grub!” The logistics of where the band will be performing and where the food will be served had not been finalized as of Monday's deadline. Those details will be available online Thursday, July 2, at CityofRisingSun.com and on the city’s Facebook page. “It’s disappointing we had to move the event after such a great response from being on the river last year,” added Kendrick. “We hope to be back on the river for the show in 2016.”
Fair kicks off with royalty choices BY SHANNON CHIPMAN Ohio County 4-H Educator
County 4-H Fairgrounds in Rising Sun. Preliminary fair activities kicked 4-H Fair season is upon us and off Tuesday, June 23, with the royalty Ohio County 4-H has some outstand- contest. The 4-H Fair princess coming youth who will be representing petition drew five young ladies to vie as the 4-H Fair Royalty Court dur- for the opportunity to represent Ohio ing the county fair Friday, June 26, through Friday, July 3, at the Ohio See FAIR, Page 8
Kiowa, who came to the sanctuary last May as a puppy, remains friendly and still has her striking black color.
No golf carts on highways
Council meets early today
Summertime is here and with the warmer weather, more golf cart owners are taking advantage of using their carts to get around town, running errands or just for an evening cruise. Since its inception of the “Golf Cart Ordinance”, the City of Rising Sun has issued nearly 100 cart permits in the last couple of years. The city welcomes folks to use their permitted carts and enjoy them, but we’d like to take a moment and remind the owners of the golf carts of a few rules and regulations. The motorized carts can only be used on streets under the jurisdiction of the city. That means the carts CANNOT be driven on the portions of Main, High and Walnut Streets that are designated as State Highway, so no driving them on SR262 or SR56 please. The carts are also not allowed to operate on sidewalks or in the city parks, except in areas recognized as parking or traffic areas. We’d also like to remind the cart owners that no one under the age of 15 can operate the carts on any public street within the city limits and that the city’s ordinance does not allow for the use of ATV’s, UTV’s, “side by sides” and other similar off-road vehicles. If anyone has questions about the motorized cart ordinance, copies are available at city hall or feel free to contact the police department at 812438-3737.
Rising Sun City Council will meet earlier in the day than usual this month, said city officials. The meeting will begin in downstairs council chambers at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2, in the Rising Sun City Hall, 200 N. Walnut St. In addition to committee and department reports, the agenda includes: •Consideration of an amendment to the personnel policy regarding public service hours; •A request from Rising Sun Ohio County Schools Superintendent Branden Roeder regarding approving the school endowment use agreement in June/July instead of December, for school budgeting purposes, and discussing the December transfer of funds; •Consideration of a contract for a comprehensive plan grant with Southeast Indiana Regional Plan Commission; •Review of an Aug. 5, 2015, contract expiration with Blue Bridge Digital-Visit Apps; •First reading of a Title VI policy/plan resolution; •Discussion of a memorial donation for Helen Fletcher from the City of Rising Sun and Rising Sun Municipal Utilities to the Honored/Memorial Endowment Fund of the Ohio County Community Foundation; and •Petitions or comments from citizens. A transfer resolution, claims and docket approval will follow.
Preschool teacher hired Lauramary Padgett was hired for the preschool teaching position at Rising Sun Ohio County Community Schools Friday morning, June 26. The school board also addressed a policy change and extended administrative contracts by a year, “just basically rolled them over,” said RSOCCS Superintendent Branden Roeder. His is a three-year contract; the others are two-year contracts.
See TEACHER, Page 4
Staff Report
WEATHER TODAY Scattered Thumderstorms HIGH .....79 LOW.....61 Friday PM Thunderstorms HIGH .....80 LOW....63 Saturday Scattered Thumderstorms HIGH .....82 LOW....64 Sunday Scattered Thumderstorms HIGH .....82 LOW....67 Monday PM Thunderstorms HIGH .....84 LOW....69
INSIDE today COMMUNITY OBITS/LEGALS SPORTS
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Copyright Register Publications, 2015
182nd Year, No 27
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