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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS

Your Community Pressnewspaper servingGoshen Township,Jackson Township,Newtonsville,Owensville, Stonelick Township,Wayne Township

Vol. 34 No. 47© 2015 The Community Press

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COLLECTION TIME

STONELICK TOWNSHIP —Twenty-three carpentry andengineering design studentsfrom Grant Career Centerhave put their stamp on thesoon-to-be-rebuilt Stonelick-Williams Corner CoveredBridge.

The students donatedwooden plaques they’d creat-ed denoting the historic struc-ture’s original constructiondate in 1878. The plaques willhang at each end of ClermontCounty’s only covered bridgeon a public road, and the stu-dents who created them caninclude photos of their handi-work in their portfolios, theirinstructor said.

“When we speak aboutcraftsmanship in the class-room, this is a prime exampleof that,” said Chad Graybill,the junior carpentry teacherat Grant Career Center. “Forthe students to be a part ofsomething like this is fantas-tic. I think for most people whowork in the construction in-dustry, it’s all about seeingwhat you’ve accomplished at

the end of the day.” The one-lane bridge with a

140-foot span is supported by a12-panel Howe Truss. In 1840,Howe patented the trusswhich consists of crossedwooden members with verti-cal iron rods. The barn redbridge was placed on the Na-tional Register of HistoricPlaces in 1974.

“I haven’t seen anythinglike it,” student Nate Lang ofFelicity said. “Seeing it for thefirst time is really cool, espe-cially the way they put all thetrusses and stuff together.”

The bridge collapsed a yearago when crews were rehabili-tating the one-lane structureon Stonelick Williams CornerRoad near US 50. The woodenbridge had been closed to traf-fic since May 2010 when anoverloaded garbage truck ig-nored the three-ton weightlimit and broke the floorbeams.

Graybill recognized thethree students who actuallycreated the signs – NicoleHunter, Alex Boyer and ZackJervis – after engineering stu-dents produced the templates.

Jon Carpenter, Clermont

CINDY SCHROEDER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS

Carpentry and engineering design students at the Grant Career Center recently visited Clermont County’s onlycovered bridge on a public road. The students donated plaques to hang at each end of the historic structure.

Students put their stamp onClermont County’s covered bridgeBy Cindy Schroedercschroeder@communitypress.com

CINDY SCHROEDER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS

Carpentry and engineering designstudents at Grant Career Centercreated plaques to hang at each endof the Stonelick-Williams CornerCovered Bridge when it reopens thisspring. Students signed their nameson the back of the plaques.

See BRIDGE, Page A2

MILFORD — Milford CityCouncil has rejected a zonechange that would have clearedthe way for construction of a $10million apartment complex atthe site of the former MilfordMain Middle School.

A standing room only crowdapplauded Tuesday, Feb. 17, ascouncil voted 6 to 1 to reject azone change that would have al-lowed developer Jim Cohen todemolish the school and buildMilford on Main, a three-storybuilding with 92 apartments tar-geting empty nesters 55 andolder.

Last month, Milford Plan-ning Commission recommend-ed approval of the zone changewith some conditions. However,after consulting with Milford’sfire chief, City Manager JeffWright recently said staff hadstrong concerns about the pro-ject’s impact on safety servicesand the funding for those ser-vices, and he recommendedcouncil reject the requestedzoning district changes.

After council’s vote, city offi-cials pledged to work with Mil-ford Schools, local churches

and others in the community todetermine the best possible useof the high profile site at theFive Points intersection.

“If we can come up with anidea, a concept that everybodygets on board with, I thinkamazing things will happen,”Mayor Laurie Howland said.She personally would like to seepart of the four-acre site be-come a park, with the Methodistchurch taking the other part todevelop a community centerand parking for the two adja-cent churches.

Milford Schools officials hadsaid they could no longer affordto maintain the 103-year-oldbuilding, and the school boardhad agreed to sell it to Cohencontingent on his securing azone change.

Council members who votedagainst rezoning the site frominstitutional to multi-familyapartment complex districtwith a planned developmentoverlay cited a number of rea-sons.

Those included Milford onMain’s density and size, its im-pact on property values, in-

Milford Councilrejects controversialzone change forsenior apartmentsBy Cindy Schroedercschroeder@communitypress.com

CINDY SCHROEDER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS

About 120 people spilled into the hallway of Milford City Council chambersfor the Feb. 17 vote on the Milford on Main project.

See ZONE, Page A2

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Index

creased traffic, the pro-ject’s non-conformancewith Milford’s land useplan and its impact on pub-lic safety services. How-land said Cohen also sub-mitted applications to thecity’s Board of Zoning Ap-peals and Planning Com-mission that falselyclaimed he had secured aneasement from St. AndrewParish, which was one ofthe conditions for approv-al.

“Without the easement,we are looking at a falseplan, an erroneous plan,”the mayor said. “He put achurch, a school and a par-ish in the center of a con-troversy, which is not fair.”

Cohen declined to com-ment after the vote. Be-fore the vote, Cohen whosecompany built the $12 mil-lion Riverwalk Flats andRowhouses in downtown

Milford, said he is a tax-payer who has supportedcommunity causes, “notthe disconnected outsid-er,” as many have por-trayed him.

Cohen disagreed withMilford Fire Chief JohnCooper’s basing his esti-mates for Milford Main’simpact on public safetyservices on the number ofEMS calls to current as-sisted living and nursinghome facilities “where theresidents are significantlyolder and frailer” than Mil-ford on Main’s residentswould be.

Councilman Jeff Lykinscast the sole vote for thezone change.

“I don’t believe the usesthat are allowed under thecurrent institutional zon-ing would benefit the citylong term,” Lykins said.Those include uses such asahospital, nursing home orchurch.

“The land use plan thateveryone refers to saysthat’s to be transitional,”

Lykins said of the MilfordMain site. “I don’t believethose uses are transitional.I believe that residential ofsome type is transitional.”

After considering anumber of uses for thesite, Cohen proposedbuilding apartments withfeatures that would allowactive seniors to “age inplace.”

Critics responded witha 663-signature petitionand hundreds of T-shirtsand signs urging city offi-cials to Stop Milford onMain. Two seventh-gradepupils at St. AndrewSchool also launched anonline fund drive to raise$1 million to buy the site,demolish Milford Mainand create a communitypark and playground.

As of last week, that ef-fort had raised $1,000.

Want to know what’s happen-ing in Milford Schools? Followme on Twitter @CindyL-Schroeder.

ZoneContinued from Page A1

at Milford High School atleavens_l@milford-schools.org.

Weather spottertraining offeredMarch 3

The Emergency Man-agement Agencies ofClermont and BrownCounties are co-hosting aweather spotter trainingworkshop from 6:30 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday,March 3, at WesternBrown High School, 524W. Main St., Mount Orab.

There is no charge forthe workshop.

Other workshops arebeing held throughout theregion. More informationis here.

To register, call 513-732-7661 or email cler-montema@clermontcoun-tyohio.gov.

Library board meetsagain in March

The Clermont CountyPublic Library Board ofTrustees will meet next at6 p.m. Monday, March 9,at the Union TownshipBranch Library, 4450Glen Este-WithamsvilleRoad. This is the regular-ly scheduled monthlymeeting.

The public is welcome.

New watercolorclass starts March 7in Milford

Row House Gallery &Custom Framing, alongwith gallery artist BobbiThies, announce thespring session of “Water-color Magic.”

The introduction to wa-tercolor class will startMarch 7 and includes sixtwo-hour sessions (March7, 14, 21, 28 and April 4 and18). The class will betaught by Thies and heldat Row House, 211 MainSt., Milford, 45150.

Watercolor Magic willintroduce adult students(age 21and over) to water-color as a painting medi-

Clermont County histo-rian Rick Crawford willshare facts and talesabout Owensville and Sto-nelick Township when hevisits the library March 2.

Did you know Owens-ville used to be known asOld Boston? It also wasone stop on the famousride by Morgan's Raiders.

Crawford will discusshistory from 6:30 p.m. to 8p.m. Monday, March 2, atthe Owensville Branch Li-brary, 2548 U.S. 50. All arewelcome.

Milford High Schooloffers open swimsession

Milford High School isagain opening its pool tothe community for openswim sessions.

The new session ofadult lap/open swim willbe 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. ev-ery Tuesday and Thurs-day morning through May21.

Open swim won’t be of-fered March 31 and April2 because of spring breakor when school is closedor delayed because of in-clement weather. Eachswimmer must registerand complete a waiver ofliability form beforeswimming and can do soat the pool.

For information, con-tact Lois Leavens, com-munity swim coordinator

Library boardbuilding committeeto meet

The Clermont CountyPublic Library Board ofTrustees’ building com-mittee will meet at 8:30a.m. Monday, March 2, inthe administration build-ing, 326 Broadway St. inBatavia.

The committee willopen the meeting in publicsession, but will move im-mediately into executivesession.

Winter crisisprogram still takingapplications

The Clermont Commu-nity Services in partnerswith Office of CommunityAssistance will continueto accept applications for

the Winter Crisis pro-gram thru March 31.

Income eligible house-holds whose main heatingsource is threatened withdisconnection, has al-ready been disconnectedor have a less than 25 per-cent supply of bulk fuelmay apply for assistance.The HEAP Departmentwill see applicants by ap-pointment only Monday,Wednesday and Friday.Then will see walk-ins onTuesdays and Thursdaysonly first come, firstserved basis.

To schedule an appoint-ment or for more informa-tion please call the HEAPstaff at 513-732-2277 op-tion 3.

Crawford to sharehistorical facts

um, design, sketching, artfundamentals and presen-tation.

Contact Row House at513-831-7230 for more in-formation (including asupplies list) and registra-tion details.

LOOK to Clermontacceptingapplications

LOOK to ClermontYouth Development Pro-gram is accepting appli-cations for 2015-2016.

LOOK to Clermont is a4-H youth developmentprogram, operated byOhio State University Ex-tension Clermont Countyand UC Clermont College,for high school juniorsand seniors. Participantsdevelop personal andteam leadership skills,while earning post-sec-ondary enrollment option(PSEO) credit.

Each month partici-pants meet for a themeday focusing on topicssuch as government, his-tory and safety, all withemphasis on ClermontCounty. Additionally, eachparticipant practicesleadership skills throughgroup projects.

In order to participatein LOOK to Clermont, theparticipant must be a highschool junior or senior go-ing into the 2015-2016school year who resides inClermont County and hasa sincere willingness toserve the community; par-ticipated in school or com-munity activities; mini-mum of 3.0 GPA (juniors)or 3.5 GPA (seniors); pa-rental permission andsupport; a PSEO eligibleclass load; access to his/her own transportation.

If interested, pleasecontact your high schoolguidance counselor. Infor-mation packets have beensent to each high schooland vocational school inthe county. If you are aprivate school or home

school student, pleasecontact Clermont Exten-sion at 513-732-7070. Ap-plications are due by Feb.27. More information canbe found at clermont.o-su.edu.

New scholarshipsoffered at UCClermont

UC Clermont will be-gin awarding Merit Schol-arships and Adult StudentScholarships for the 2015-2016 school year. In addi-tion, the school will con-tinue offering donor-based scholarships.

Merit Scholarshipswill be awarded automat-ically to new first-time,full-time degree-seekingincoming freshmen(minimum 12 credit hoursper semester). Studentsreceiving Merit Scholar-ships must complete theUC Clermont College ad-mission application byFeb. 27 and must confirmtheir admission to UCClermont College byMarch 31. Students whoenroll on a part-time basis(minimum six credithours per semester) willreceive 50 percent of thescholarship amount.

The admission applica-tion is available atwww.ucclermont.edu.

Adult Student Scholar-ships will be awarded tonew or returning degree-seeking students.

For details and to ac-cess the application, visitwww.ucclermont.edu.

Students are eligible toreceive only one scholar-ship from UC Clermont.Awards may be restrictedin individual cases so thattotal gift aid (scholar-ships, tuition remission,VA benefits, etc.) does notexceed the cost of tuition.

For questions regard-ing the scholarship proc-ess, email clermont.schol-arships@uc.edu or call513-558-0087.

BRIEFLY

County’s bridge inspectorand the man who’s super-vised the reconstructionof the covered bridge,said 57 percent of thebridge’s timbers were sal-vaged. Although the coun-ty’s re-using as many ofthe original materials aspossible, safety will be apriority, Clermont CountyEngineer Pat Mangersaid.

“Essentially, it’s thesame bridge, but we’vefortified it several differ-ent ways,” Manger said.

The new bridge sharesthe same design as the oldone, but it will have athicker floor, additionalbracing, a guardrail and alarger weight limit. It alsowill have lighting andvideo surveillance. Dam-aged wood that had rottedand iron rods that hadcompletely rusted outwere replaced.

Weather permitting,the project is expected to

be completed in March. “If you’re building

something to last 20 to 30years, it’s a differentmindset than if you’rebuilding something to last140 years,” Graybill said.“Hopefully, this projectthat the students have puttheir stamp on will bearound for many years tocome.”

Want to know what’s happen-ing in Stonelick Township?Follow me on Twitter @Cin-dyLSchroeder.

BridgeContinued from Page A1

VIEWPOINTSVIEWPOINTSEDITORIALS | LETTERS | COLUMNS | CH@TROOM CommunityPress.com

COMMUNITYPRESSEditor: Richard Maloney, rmaloney@communitypress.com, 248-7134

A6 • COMMUNITY JOURNAL NORTH CLERMONT • FEBRUARY 25, 2015

COMMUNITYJOURNALNORTH

CLERMONT

Community Journal EditorRichard Maloneyrmaloney@communitypress.com, 248-7134 Office hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-FridaySee page A2 for additional contact information.

394 Wards Corner RoadLoveland, Ohio 45140phone: 248-8600email: clermont@communitypress.comweb site: www.communitypress.com

A publication of

ABOUT LETTERS AND COLUMNS

We welcome your comments on editorials, columns, stories orother topics. Include your name, address, cell and home phone num-bers so we may verify your letter or guest column.

Letters may be no more than 200 words and columns must be 400to 500 words.

Please include a color headshot with guest columns. All submis-sions will be edited for length, accuracy and clarity. Deadline: Noon ThursdayE-mail: espangler@community press.com. Fax: 248-1938. U.S. mail: Milford-Miami Advertiser, 394 Wards Corner Road, Suite170, Loveland, OH 45140.

Letters, columns and articles submitted to The Milford-MiamiAdvertiser may be published or distributed in print, electronic orother forms.

Feb. 18 questionThe Ohio House recently

passed House Bill 7, which pro-hibits schools from using testscores from state assessmentswhen determining a student’sadvancement to the next gradelevel and granting of coursecredit. The bill also states thatschools are not permitted toshare individual student testscores to outside sources with-out consent from either the stu-dent or his or her parents. Is thisgood legislation? Why or whynot?

“It is outstanding legisla-tion. It strikes at the heart ofthe central government con-trol of our education in thiscountry. Eliminating the Fed-eral access to the kinds of in-formation requested in Com-mon Core testing affirms thatthe education of children be-longs in the hands of the par-ents, who have choice in whattheir children are taught. Weused to have what were calledstates rights that determinedthe education, taxation and lo-cal regulation. People oftenchose to migrate to thosestates that they felt offeredthe kind of opportunities theywanted for themselves andtheir children.’

D.B.

“Is this a good or bad bill? Idon't know, probably. What Ido know is that ever since wehave put so much emphasis on‘the test scores’ the overalleducation level has decreased.We are forcing our teachers toteach to the test and ignore ac-tually teaching our kids how tolearn or even just to have a de-sire to learn. All they get nowis how to memorize for theshort term. If we ever hope totruly compete on the interna-tional stage, we may need totake a step or two back to thebefore-the-test time of teach-ing.”

M. J. F.

Feb. 11 questionShould parents have the

right to decide whether to havetheir school-age children vacci-

nated, and if they decide not to,should the children be permit-ted to attend school? Why orwhy not?

“Normally, I am not a pro-ponent of allowing the govern-ment to control so much of ourdaily lives, however with theissue around stupid peoplepurposely deciding to not havetheir children immunized, Ihave to make a large excep-tion.

“Absolutely no, parentsshould not have the right tochoose whether or not theirschool-age children are vacci-nated and a resounding yes,the government should not al-low unvaccinated children toattend school, in fact, theyshouldn't be allowed outsidetheir homes.

“This is an over-reactiveview of course, but I find itpreposterous that we are evenhaving a discussion about thecauses of a resurgence oferadicated diseases in 2015. Itamazes and frightens me thatsuch a large portion of theAmerican public have as truththe myth of any connection be-tween vaccinations and au-tism simply because it wasdiscussed on ‘The View.’ Thismyth was created in 1998 by aBritish researcher who waspaid $675,000 from a lawyerwho was hoping to sue vaccinemanufacturers. It has beenproven to be wrong science,yet people still to this day be-lieve there is a link betweenvaccines and autism. They arewrong and we are currentlyseeing the very negative ef-fects of that misinformation.”

M.F.

CH@TROOM

THIS WEEK’SQUESTIONWhat is your ideal place orway to escape the winterweather?

Every week we ask readers aquestion they can reply to via email.Send your answers tormaloney@community press.comwith Ch@troom in the subject line.

It is ironic that in the middleof Black History Month, anapology for the Ku Klux Klanin Clermont County is pub-lished in the Community Jour-nal (”Klan’s history in Cler-mont brief, uneventful” Feb.11).

The Klan is the most violent,terroristic organization in thehistory of the US. Its core mis-sion was to terrorize minor-ities to keep them “in theirplace.” And yet, the carefullyselected quotes present theKlan in a positive, benign lightwith as if one would congrat-ulate the Nazis for running thetrains on time:

“The Clermont Klan…wasn’t the violently racist ter-ror organization…(but) morelike a social club.”

“…(G)ood order” was main-tained at Klan meetings…”

“(The)…burning cross‘…lighted the whole hillsideand made a very beautifulsight.’” (Emphasis added.)

“There were no reportsmade of racial violence in Cler-mont County.”

Ignored are the well-knowngoals of the Klan as a white-supremacist terrorist organi-zation. Their common methodsinclude night-rider strikesagainst black families: burningcrosses on their front lawn,burning their churches, bomb-ing their homes, lynching theirmales. It is shameful to por-tray it as a “social club.”

The quote of “no reports…of violence” hardly absolves

the ClermontKlan of itsmalignantcreed of anti-black, anti-Catholic,anti-Jew andanti-immi-grant. A Goo-gle search of“lynching”images fromAmericanhistory shows

countless horrific examplesof night-rider vigilante vio-lence against blacks. Thereis a well-documented imageof a Tristate lynching beingcelebrated in Marion, Indi-ana, Aug. 7, 1930. We maynot want to see these im-ages, but we cannot denythat they are part of ourhistory.

Quotes from local (white-owned) newspapers suggestthat Clermont’s Klan was abenign “social club.” Pre-suming these quotes aretrue, they raise the questionof the objectivity and integ-rity of the local press in themilieu of powerful, racistsocial structure and power.

They portray the Klan as“America first, enforcementof laws, protection of wom-en.” It should be noted thatthis “protection of women”obsessively focused onwhite women who “needed”to be defended against theimagined threat of blackmen.

The article presents,without perceptive analysis,the employment of the Klanby Clermont police to per-form a vigilante-like attackon a “drinking and card par-ty.” Such night-rider-styleraids are iconic of Klan ac-tions. Yet the Klan raid isportrayed as a mere exten-sion of enforcement of “lawand order.”

The lack of critical analy-sis in this apology for Cler-mont’s Klan is disappoint-ing. The author must beaware that the violence car-ried out by the Klan, wasoften planned, coordinatedand led by police officerswho also served as Klanofficials. These lawless ac-tions inflicted purposeful,terroristic arson and beat-ings of Freedom Rides, andother members of the civilrights movement.

This op-ed article, em-phasizing the “patrioticfunction” of the Klan, couldhave been reprinted from1960s Alabama. Is there noawareness of how minoritymembers of our Clermontcommunity might view it?

This defense of a terror-ist organization is at bestinsensitive. Instead, we owean apology to the minoritymembers of our community.

David Fankhauser is a professor ofbiology and chemistry at UC Cler-mont College.

No way to sugar coat Klan’sexistence, purpose

DavidFankhauser COMMUNITYPRESS GUESTCOLUMNIST

‘Tis the season - tax sea-son, that is. Fraud targetingtaxpayers continues to runrampant nationwide. TheInternal Revenue Servicehas issued strong warningsto guard against sophisti-cated and aggressive phonescams targeting taxpayer-s:“These scams won’t likelyend with the filing season sothe IRS urges everyone toremain on guard.”

Two tax crimes are themost common: tax identitytheft and the IRS imposterscam. In tax identify theft,you may be told you are due arefund in an attempt to trickyou into releasing your per-sonal information. Know thatscammers are out to get yourpersonal information withthe intent of causing yousignificant financial harm.

The American Associationfor Retired Persons sharesthat scammers use the in-formation for: filing a taxreturn using your Social Se-curity number, claimingsomeone else’s children asdependents, or claiming a taxrefund using a deceased tax-payer’s information.

Many seniors are not evenrequired to submit tax in-formation, but scammerswill call and convince seniorsthey quality for a reimburse-ment through the AmericanOpportunity Tax Credit. Ac-cording to the AARP, “TheAOTC allows people paying

for college toreduce theirtaxable in-come by asmuch as$2,500. Mostseniors do noteven meet therequirementto be current-ly enrolled inan institute ofhigher educa-

tion. However, scammers lie,explaining that benefits canbe collected, even if theywent to school many yearsago.”

Con artists will use fakenames and IRS identificationbadge numbers. The callerclaims to be an IRS employ-ee, often knowing a lot ofinformation about the target-ed person, making it thatmuch more believable. Vic-tims are told they owe moneyto the IRS, and it must bepaid promptly with a pre-loaded debit card or wiretransfer. If the person re-fuses to cooperate, they arethreatened with arrest orsuspension of a driver’s li-cense. In most cases, thecaller is threatening andhostile.

To avoid tax identity theft:» do mail tax returns as

early in the tax season aspossible before the cons beatyou to it;

» don’t give out personalinformation unless you know

who’s asking for it and whythey need it;

» do shred personal andfinancial documents;

» do know your tax prepar-er; and

» do check the status ofyour refund after filing atirs.gov/Refunds.

Finally, know that the IRSdoes not call to demand im-mediate payment about taxesowed without first sendingyou a notification by mail;ask for credit or debit cardnumbers over the phone; and,Never threaten to bring inlocal law enforcement toarrest you for nonpayment.

So, what do you do? TheAttorney General Office-Cincinnati Region (852-3497)advises you to call 1-800-282-0515, the Attorney GeneralOffice-Consumer Protectionin Columbus. Make the re-port. The report will be as-signed to a local Cincinnatiagent. You should hear some-thing from the assignedagent within 10 workingdays.

First and foremost, Nevergive any personal or finan-cial information over thephone to anyone. Simplyhang up.

Cindy Gramke is the executivedirector/CEO of Clermont SeniorServices. Ideas and comments canbe directed to Cindy atcgramke@clermontseniors.com orcontact the agency at 724-1255.

It’s tax season, which alsomeans beware of scams

Cindy Gramke COMMUNITY PRESSGUEST COLUMNIST

“When we speak aboutcraftsmanship in the class-room, this is a prime exampleof that. For the students to be apart of something like this isfantastic.”

Chad Graybill, junior carpentryteacher at Grant Career Center, on

students creating and donatingwood plaques for the rebuiltStonelick Township covered

bridge. See Story, A1.“Without the easement, we

are looking at a false plan, anerroneous plan. He put achurch, a school and a parishin the center of a controversy,which is not fair.”

Milford Mayor Laurie Howland,saying Milford on Main developer

Jim Cohen also submittedapplications to the city’s Board of

Zoning Appeals and PlanningCommission that falsely claimed

he had secured an easement fromSt. Andrew Parish. See Story, A1.

QUOTEBOOK