BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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Your Community Press newspaper serving College Hill, Finneytown, Forest Park, Greenhills, Mount Airy, Mount Healthy, North College Hill, Seven Hills, Springfield Township E-mail: hilltoppress@communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, J u l y 2 2 , 2 0 0 9
rdowdy@communitypress.com
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Parents supports levy, involvement By Rob Dowdy
Volume 72 Number 25 © 2009 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
The Warrior Academic Advisory Council is supporting the upcoming Winton Woods City Schools levy, but they also seek changes within the district. The group met July 13 in Springfield Township to discuss both the levy and parent involvement within the district. Parents Katrina Rugless and Kimberly DiStefano led the meeting, and implored the district and the parents in attendance to be more active with children’s education.
Rugless said the district needs “parents to step up and make education a priority,” while DiStefano said the district needs to prioritize education even if the levy doesn’t pass. “If the levy fails, we still need to provide the kids with the level of education they need to compete,” DiStefano said. “We still have to press forward.” Parent and district volunteer Lynard Turner said no matter what problems currently exist within Winton Woods, the levy would be needed. He said the elimination of extracurricular
activities and teaching positions would devastate the district and make the group’s cause a moot point. “We can’t go on and have meetings if there’s no place to meet,” Turner said. Rugless said she’s supporting the levy, but also wants the district to use the possible levy funds in a way that improves education for students. She also said parents need to remain involved and advocate for what they want the district to be. “Like it or not, schools need money,” she said.
Kings Island bound
Readers who won tickets to Kings Island as part of our Readers Choice survey are: • Michael Brunner of Cincinnati • Tara Reese of Hamersville, Ohio • Mark Class of Alexandria, Ky. Watch the newspaper for more Readers Choice announcements in coming weeks.
Batter up
By Jennie Key ROB DOWDY/STAFF
Several local residents and families stopped by the Forest Park Branch Library for the police canine demonstration. Officer Greg Stidd (left) answered questions and showed those in attendance what his partner Dutch has been trained to do in the field.
Forest Park canine unit shows off skills to local residents By Rob Dowdy rdowdy@communitypress.com
“I’m basically doing some kind of canine work about (every) night.”
It’s not often police officers get to show their skills to a group of local children, but that’s exactly what Forest Park police officer Greg Stidd and his partner Dutch recently did. Dutch, a German shepherd, is the department’s canine police officer, and he was showing off his talents during a recent exhibition outside the Forest Park Branch Library. Stidd took his partner through various training exercises as local children watched closely. Dutch retrieved items hidden in a nearby yard, showed his attack skills
Greg Stidd Forest Park police officer
against fellow officer Trevor Jacob and even tracked Jacob as he hid near a neighboring church. Stidd said the dog has been his partner for ROB DOWDY/STAFF three years, and he continues to train Dutch Dutch, the Forest Park Police Department’s canine officer, each week when they attacks officer Trevor Jacob during a recent demonstration outside the Forest Park Branch Libary. are not on patrol. “I’m basically doing some kind of canine work about Dutch, the department’s
only canine officer, must train a mandatory 16 hours a month, but typically gets much more work than that.
Where in the world of Hilltop is this? Bet we got you this week. Send your best guess to hilltoppress@communitypress. com or call 853-6287, along with your name. Deadline to call is noon Friday. If you’re correct, we’ll publish your name in next week’s newspaper along with the correct answer. See who guessed last week’s hunt correctly on B5.
ROB DOWDY/STAFF
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The Warrior Academic Advisory Council will have a community town hall meeting at 7:15 p.m. Monday, July 27, at Winton Woods High School. The meeting is open to parents and the community. School district administration has been invited to attend and will address questions about schools as well as the upcoming 7.95-mill operating levy Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Mt. Healthy levy on Aug. 4 ballot
House completed
The completion of construction of two homes built to serve eight adults with mental and physical disabilities in the Mount Airy and North College Hill were celebrated with a Community Open House July 10. – FULL STORY, B1
What’s next?
Forest Park police officer Greg Stidd calms his partner, Dutch, during a Forest Park Branch Library program teaching children about what the canine unit does.
(every) night,” he said. It took more than three months to train Dutch to be a patrol dog. Stidd said his partner is used in the field on a regular basis, both in Forest Park and in neighboring communities that need canine assistance. Dutch, the department’s only canine officer, must train a mandatory 16 hours a month, but Stidd said he typically gets much more work than that. While Dutch is only a patrol dog now, he could eventually be trained to sniff out drugs as well.
jkey@communitypress.com
Mount Healthy City School Superintendent David Horine says the district’s message about an Aug. 4 levy renewal is short and sweet: It’s a renewal, it’s 1.39 mills and it won’t raise your taxes. The issue Horine was originally passed in 1982, and has been renewed every five years since. It generates $500,000 annually for the district. Mount Healthy Treasurer Rebecca Brooks says the owner of a $100,000 house would continue paying an estimated $40 per year for the levy if it passes. Horine said it’s important for voters to know this is not an additional tax. He said the district included information about the levy in the district newsletter, which was sent to essentially every home in the district. “That was really our main communication to the public,” Horine said. He says a letter will also come out from John Poppe, chairman of Citizens for Healthy Schools, the group campaigning for the levy’s passage, and there will be a phone bank operated by volunteers as the election gets closer. Horine said the district is solvent through the 2009-10 school year, but the loss of $500,000 from the district’s budgets would still make cuts necessary in the spring for the following school year. Meanwhile, he says the district continues to watch for places it can save money. “We are currently spending more than we are taking in, and we cannot continue indefinitely in that situation,” he said. The superintendent says if the levy fails in August, voters will likely see the issue again on the November ballot.