Kentucky Post folds, then is reincarnated as KyPost.com

My northern Kentucky friends and family lament the loss of the Kentucky Post which ceased publication on the 31st. The Post traditionally was thought to be better focused on northern Kentucky than was the rival Enquirer. Now comes some cause for hope.

This from WebProNews:

Despite industry reports that print is alive and well, The Kentucky Post and sister publication The Cincinnati Post, both over a century old, were closed down by EW Scripps, only to be resurrected online as KyPost.com this week.

The website, like its print predecessor, will focus on news and issues affecting Northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and will be hosted by Scripps-owned WCPO-TV.

Should Northern Kentucky University change its name?

NKU President James Votruba raised that possibility at a campus convocation of students, faculty and staff Wednesday.

Votruba said several community leaders - whom he didn't name - have told him they think the university needs a new name.

"They said we ought to re-brand the university and disconnect it from what they refer to as the directional universities - the easterns, westerns, northerns, southerns - and create a unique niche for the university," he said.

This from the Kentucky Post.

NKU opens door to high school students

Northern Kentucky University has launched a special scholarship program intended to make it financially possible for virtually all graduates of Newport and Holmes high schools to attend NKU.

The new Holmes/Newport scholarships of up to $3,000 a year, when combined with federal and state grants, should cover the cost of NKU's annual $5,900 tuition in almost all cases, NKU officials said.

this from The Kentucky Post.

Kentucky Education Commissioner finalists

I spent most of yesterday researching the public comments of the three candidates for Kentucky Education Commissioner. My tentative findings will follow in 3 separate posts.

The finalists for the job are Mitchell Chester, an official with the Ohio Department of Education; Barbara Erwin, a superintendent in Illinois; and Richard LaPointe, a deputy assistant secretary from the U.S. Department of Education.

This from the Kentucky Post.

HS Students have debate questions for Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates

High school students are getting involved in a big way in the Democratic gubernatorial debate next week at Campbell County High School.

Five of the questions the seven candidates will answer at the 6 p.m. April 12 event are to be submitted by high school students.

And, high school student journalists and photographers are being invited to cover the debate.
"We want to get young people interested in candidates and elected officials as early as possible," said debate chairman Paul L. Whalen of Fort Thomas, an attorney and a member of the executive committee of the Campbell County Democratic Party.

This from the Kentucky Post.

New Ft. thomas Superintendent announces new plan called Vision 2020. Now where have I heard that before.

When a committee formed to find the next superintendent for the Fort Thomas Independent Schools interviewed candidates, only John Williamson had a plan to take the district to "the next level," board member Brad Fennell said.

That made Williamson, who has served for eight years as the district's assistant superintendent, a logical choice to replace departing Superintendent Larry Stinson.

"I truly believe he's the only one who could," Fennell said Wednesday, after the board unanimously voted to hire Williamson at a salary of $122,000 a year.

Williamson's plan has a name: "Vision 2020," in honor of when next year's first-graders will graduate. But he wouldn't reveal any details on Wednesday.

This from the Kentucky Post.

State lags in technology efforts

Kentucky ranks 47th among U.S. states in its per-capita number of working scientists and engineers. That's the "good" news.

The state ranks even worse - 49th - in the number of science and engineering degrees conferred by its universities. That must improve, or, as the technology-driven global economy continues to emerge, India and China are going to eat our lunch.

Read the story from the Kentucky Post.

Two Northern KY School Districts Screen Campuses for Sex Offenders

The Kentucky Post reports that two Northern Kentucky school districts are screening campus visitors to see if they're on a national sex-offender list.

"Erlanger-Elsmere and Walton-Verona have installed a computer-based security system in some schools to scan a visitor's driver's license and match it with the same national database that police departments across the nation use to monitor the offender registry."

June Trial Date for Grant Co Bus Driver

Angelynna Young, 28, faces a 25-count indictment, including charges of assault and wanton endangerment, from a Jan. 18 school bus wreck in Grant County that injured 17 students. Court records show that Young, the driver, took blood tests after the crash which indicated she had several drugs, including cocaine, in her system. One student remains hospitalized from the incident. The full story from the Kentucky Post.

Campbell Co cuts 13 jobs to afford mandated raises

The Kentucky Post reports that according to Superintendent Anthony Strong, "the district will need to cut $1.2 million from the budget this year and next year to stave off a deficit." The budget cuts are the result of legislative action last year.