Fiscal Court, City Council, Library Board meet
Construction of new expanded library discussed

By Roger McKinney, Reporter

The Pendleton County Fiscal Court, the Falmouth City Council and the Pendleton County Library Board met on September 5, 2007 to discuss the building and location of a new expanded library. Judge/Executive Henry Bertram could not be present at the meeting. Magistrate Stacey Wells conducted the special session. The Library Board presented information concerning the mission and the workings of the library. The board recently initiated a purchase contract to acquire 18 acres outside Falmouth City limits, on the right side of U.S. 27, across and slightly north of Pendleton County High School. Presently geotechnical testing is underway at the site. If the results are positive the Library Board will buy the property. The cost of the land is $110,000.

Library Board Director Janelle Gardner, explained that the purchase did not mean that the new library would necessarily be constructed on that location. Regardless, the purchase was considered a sound investment. And owning the property, she said, did make the winning of grant funding more likely.

Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives Construction Consultant, Chris Bishoff, said the new library should be 13,000 to 14,000 square feet, and its parking lot should be four times that area, in order to accommodate the growing population of the county.

Janelle Gardner said that building the new library in Downtown Falmouth carried with it the problem of flood insurance. Currently the cost is $10,000 per year and that only covers the library's inventory for $500,000. It would cost $2,000,000 to replace what the library owns. Another difficulty was that parking was limited downtown. Dr. William Verax said that once the new Justice Center was in operation on U.S. 27 the library's parking problem would disappear.

Falmouth City Councilman Rick Mineer asked if the Library Board had considered Camp Northward as a building site. Councilman Mineer said the city could bring in fill dirt from the land around the Regional Sewer Plant and build the area up above the flood plain. Director Gardner said Camp Northward was not considered.

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

Union man escapes injury after wreck

Pendleton County Deputy Sheriff Eddie Quinn investigated a single-vehicle, non-injury accident at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, September 9. James Dowdell, 18, Union, operating a 1999 Nissan Altima, was traveling west on KY 1657 when he lost control of his vehicle due to slippery conditions and ran off the left side of the roadway. He struck several trees and overturned in a creek bottom. According to police reports, he was traveling too fast on the wet roadways. Pendleton County Ambulance Service, TransCare and the Falmouth Fire Department assisted at the accident scene. Dowdell was administered first-aid by medics and was fortunate to escape the wreck without any serious injuries. He was taken by family to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Grant County for further observation. Damage to the vehicle was very severe. The wreckage was removed from the scene by Rodney Miles Towing. Article and photo by Jackie Vaughn.

Rep. McKee seeks federal and state help for farmers hard-hit by summer's drought

State Rep. Tom McKee, a Harrison County farmer who also chairs the House of Representatives, Agriculture and Small Business Committee, is asking state and federal officials to do whatever they can to help farmers adversely affected by this summer's drought.

Rep. McKee made the request during the meeting of the General Assembly's Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee, which oversees the state's spending plan for Kentucky's portion of the national tobacco settlement. The committee voted unanimously for the resolution.

"The committee and I are encouraging the state Agricultural Development Board to set aside some of the money it oversees for statewide projects for hay transportation," said Rep. McKee, D-Cynthiana.

"So many of our farmers are just not getting the hay production they normally would, and are having to buy hay at a considerable cost. Because of that, the committee and I think it is very important to offer assistance. Otherwise, we could see the plight of farmers get substantially worse."

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

Keeton earns Advanced Open Water Certification

Kristin Keeton, a junior at Pendleton County High School, spent part of her summer learning some new underwater skills. On a dive trip to Roatan, Honduras, Kristin earned her Advanced Open Water Certification. She did night dives, deep dives, and a shark dive. Kristin will be taking a Rescue Diver course in September and hopes to dive the Galapagos in the future. What an adventure for a high school student.

David Boyers of Highland Heights found this twenty pound mastodon bone in the South Licking River this past May. The bone is now in the possession of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Highland Heights man makes rare bone discovery in South Licking River

By Jackie Vaughn, Reporter

David Boyers of Highland Heights has been canoeing and fishing the waters of the South Licking River since he was just a little boy. He was only five-years-old when his father started bringing him to this area. They would come here two or three times a year and it became an annual tradition.

Boyers, now 37, still tries to carry on this tradition and makes time to visit whenever he can. His latest trip in May though yielded a rare surprise.

After having Glen Thaxton of Thaxton's Canoe Rentals drop him, his girlfriend Amanda, and her son, Mikel, off upriver on Hayes Station Road, the three embarked on what they thought would be an ordinary, relaxing day on the lazy river.

"We had been on the river about 20 minutes when we stopped to do some fishing," said Boyers. "I was wading around in a two-foot pool of water, which was surrounded by rock islands, when I saw what I thought was an unusual looking, mossy-covered log."

"I jokingly yelled to Amanda and Mikel, 'Look at the size of this dinosaur bone!' I almost threw it back but the more I looked at it, the more it really did look like a large bone. I noticed a spongy material inside of it. I knew there were no animals in this area with bones quite this large so I put it in the canoe and took it home with me."

Boyers kept the find in the back of his truck for several weeks still unsure of whether he had found a bone or just an ordinary tree stump.

"I didn't want to take it somewhere to be looked at and end up being embarrassed," said Boyers. "I was afraid they were going to say that all I had was a log."

Boyers finally took the item to the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington where Archaeologist/anthropologist Jeanine Kreinbrink examined it and then sent him to the paleontologists at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

Rotary Regional Governor honors Falmouth members

Seven Falmouth Rotarians were honored by Rotary Regional Governor Tom Ashford at the club's regular weekly meeting on Thursday, September 6. Mike Flynn, Jimmy Godman, John White, JoEllen Mitchell, Bobby Fogle, Judy Wright, and H. Wayne Keith were named Paul Harris Fellows in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among people of the world. Every Paul Harris Fellow receives a pin, medallion and a certificate when he or she becomes a Fellow. Named for the man who founded Rotary in Chicago in 1905, the Paul Harris Award is one of Rotary's highest honors. It recognizes service to one's community and to Rotary. Pictured above: (l-r) Falmouth Rotary President Mark Aulick, John White, Rotary Regional Governor Tom Ashford, Jimmy Godman, JoEllen Mitchell, H. Wayne Keith, and Bobby Fogle are shown at the Falmouth Rotary Club monument near the beginning of the Charlie Lemmon Walking Trail in the Pendleton Athletic Park. Not pictured: Rotary members Judy Wright, Mike Flynn. Photo by Jackie Vaughn.

Grand Jury Indicts Clyde Fenton, Jr.

The Grand Jury charges that on or about July 15, 2007, Clyde S. Fenton, Jr., DOB: 12/21/45, committed the offense of Assault in the First Degree when, while acting under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person and thereby caused serious physical injury to that person, to-wit: he stabbed David Sester in the neck with a knife. Bail is set at $10,000. Arraignment: 9 a.m. 10/3.

American Legion Fish Fry, Sept. 15

The American Legion Post 109 would like to invite all veterans and families to the annual fish fry. It will be held at the American Legion Post, Second Street, Falmouth, starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, September 15. Please join us. The public is encouraged to attend. All donations are appreciated.

109 Board announces Fall Cleanup

If you are a member of a nonprofit group or organization, mark your calendar for Pendleton County Fall Cleanup.Pendleton County Fiscal Court will pay your group $100 a mile litter pickup.

Registration will begin on September 14 and the cleanup will start September 28 and end November 4. To register you must have an established clean-up date and then be assigned a road by the Solid Waste Coordinator.

For additional information call Fred Edwards, 654-1000.

Additional items this week include:

Pendleton Schools to reset tax rates due to changes in software

Moreland presents plaque to Great Kentucky Seafood Cook Off winner

Restoration work done in Browning Cemetery

Children of take first place

Wildcats win home opener against Holy Cross

Wildcats hold basketball camp for future stars

and more!!