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B1 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, A u g u s t
5, 2009
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
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Finneytown delays school levy Karen Schmidt loves her Beagles.
Volume 72 Number 27 © 2009 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Results online
If you are looking for how the Winton Woods City School District, Mount Healthy City School District or the Mount Healthy city levies look online at Cincinnati.Com/forestpark (for Winton Woods levy) or Cincinnati.Com/mounthealthy.
By Heidi Fallon hfallon@communitypress.com
Given the economy and the district’s frugal approach, the Finneytown Local School District won’t be seeking an operating levy this year. “Given a firm cash balance as well as our sensitivity to the difficult economic climate, we believe it is the right thing to delay a levy until next year,” said Superintendent Randy Parsons After reviewing input from the administrative team, the community, and the district’s Blue Ribbon Finance Committee, board members concluded that its financial position is strong enough to wait an additional year before seeking additional local tax dollars. District voters approved a 7.95-mill levy in 2004, which was promised to last three years.
Parsons credits an aggressive fiscal responsibility plan for stretching it to six years. He said the district has maintained an average annual expenditure growth of 2.1 yearly since 2004. This year, Parsons said the district “sharpened the penParsons cil” to reduce appropriations for 2009-2010 by 0.15 percent from 2008 expenditures. Parsons also credits the reduction of some 37 jobs and consolidating the elementary schools as helping stave off a levy this year. “I think from the standpoint of the economy and the fact the district is financially sound at this point, we could all feel comfortable waiting,” said Laura Horn, board president. “We looked at every aspect of our district’s funding and concluded we can delay a levy for
a year.” Parsons said while the district is ending its fiscal year with a $2.3 million balance, it is starting to see expenditures outpace revenues. A trend, he said, that will continue. The district is expecting to receive 1 percent less in state funding in 2010 and 2 percent less the following year. That equates to about $60,000 to $70,000 of the total $5.8 million in state funding for next year, according to Dave Oliverio, district treasurer. “The manner in which Ohio schools are funded makes a levy request inevitable,” Parsons said. “There is little provision for inflation in local revenues. “A vibrant levy committee is already in place, whether the decision was 2009 or 2010,” he said. “Successful passage in 2010 will be a must in order to maintain the Finneytown School programs valued by our families.”
Mt. Healthy planning celebration By Heidi Fallon hfallon@communitypress.com
Field Day
A special day for elementary students in the Mount Healthy City School District, Field Day is when students put books aside and participate in outdoor activities such as running, jumping, tug-of-war, cornhole and more. – SEE PHOTOS, B1
Hanging bells
Do you know where this is in the Hilltop area? If not, it’s time to go hunting in the neighborhood to see if you can find it. 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 last week’s correct guessers on B5.
PROVIDED. SEND PHOTOS TO: MEMRAL@COMMUNITYPRESS.COM
Suiting up
Springfield Township Fire Department Lt. Randy Miller helps Allie Hinnenkamp, 8, suit up in firefighter turnout gear. She was one of the township youngsters enrolled in the department’s annual Kids Fire Academy. Other activities in the week included weather safety, basic first aid and CPR and fire extinguisher training.
Forest Park EMS assists national study By Rob Dowdy rdowdy@communitypress.com
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Celebrate Mount Healthy organizers promise a weekend of fun Sept. 12 and 13, at the city park and beyond. The city and the Mount Healthy Business Association are teaming up for the annual event which includes a car show from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. Registration for car owners begins at 11 a.m. Rocky Stellatano, owner of Mount Healthy Auto Body and one of the organizers of the car show, said he’s expecting 100-plus vintage vehicles vying for trophies. The Mount Healthy Historical Society will provide cool and tasty treats with its ice cream social from 3-6 p.m. Sept. 12 at the museum adjacent the park. There will be activities for children, booths staffed by civic groups and live music at the gazebo from 6-9 p.m. The day concludes with fireworks scheduled for 9 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 13, the celebration begins with a pancake breakfast cooked up by the city’s fire and police departments. It will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mount Healthy United Methodist Church, 7612 Perry St. The afternoon will be devoted to cheering on the Bengals in their season opener inside the community building. A big screen TV will be installed for the occasion and a tailgate atmosphere is planned. Fans can take a break and wander over to the gazebo for the beer hall sing-a-long from 3-5 p.m. sponsored by Arlington Memorial Gardens. The city park is at McMakin Avenue and Perry Street adjacent City Hall. For more information call the city at 9318840.
The Forest Park Fire Department is one of numerous departments nationwide involved in a seizure study, but they’ve already made their presence known. The study, which is attempting to find a more effective way to treat a certain type of seizure that can be fatal, is being conducted by the Neurological Emergency Treat-
ment Trials group. Forest Park is just one of six regional EMS teams working on the study, and delivered the first seizure patient from the region and only the third patient nationally to participate in the study. Jason McMullan, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati and medical director for the Forest Park Fire Department, said the study is conducted by EMS teams
who, upon arrival on the scene of a seizure patient, administer both the typical medication used by county EMS teams as well as a new medication being used in the study. However, one will be a placebo and the other will be the actual medication. “This is essentially our standard care,” McMullan said. The typical response from EMS with these seizures requires an IV to give the medication to the
patient. The new medicine would require only a shot, which McMullan said would be much easier to provide someone in the midst of a seizure. Fire Chief Trish Brooks said she is pleased the fire department has been able to quickly assist in the national study, and their participation will help to better serve the community.