Street Class: Rollergirl on Riverview Avenue

Christina Kuhnhein is a typical Ft. Thomas mom by day. After she leaves her job as a Client Relationship Manager for Paycor, she picks up her children from school, helps with homework, and prepares dinner. By night, she transforms into Ruthless Chris. 

Ruthless Chris is a member of the Cincinnati Rollergirls roller derby team. According to the Rollergirls website, "The Cincinnati Rollergirls, the area’s first all-female, amateur, flat track roller derby team." As of April 2013, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association ranks the Cincinnati Rollergirls 34th out of 155 teams worldwide. 

2013 Rolling Thunder

Tomorrow the Fort Thomas Independent Schools will participate in an event, The 2013 Rolling Thunder, observing war veterans.

Fallen Veteran, Michael Bradford Memorial Info

Michael Bradford and his wife, Sasha. Photo courtesy Facebook. 

The details about Michael's Memorial are starting to come in after news broke last Thursday night about his death in Afghanistan. 

Via his wife, Sasha, "I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be coming home with Michael tomorrow night. His Memorial Service will be Friday May 24th, at the Fort Thomas Mess Hall from 4 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. Following will be a dedication and wake."

Ft. Thomas City Council Notes (How to Handle the Imperial Apartments)

By Pat Lafleur, 

FortThomasMatters City Beat 

This week’s City Council meeting showed the first Ft. Thomas resident to address council since I began covering these meetings months ago:

Mrs. Andrea Patrick, who lives on N. Crescent, addressed council regarding the Imperial Apartments complex located at the intersection of S. Ft. Thomas Ave. and Grand Ave. Mrs. Patrick described a variety of disturbances by tenants of Imperial Apts. she claims have been ongoing for the 4 years she and her family -- a husband and two young sons, all present at the meeting -- has lived in the neighborhood. Mrs. Patrick described the apartment complex and its tenants as a “public nuisance.”

After Council had heard Mrs. Patrick’s testimony, Mayor Mary Brown deferred to FTPD Chief Michael Daly, who confirmed that increased police patrolling has been implemented around the property before, to only temporary effect. According to the Patricks’ count, the FTPD and FTFD have responded to the apartment complex over 200 times in the last four years.

Lovell's LOVE Harwood Flooring

Mama on a Budget here to announce that the Fort Thomas Matters family is expanding!  Wait, what was that husband?  Oh, no… not in that way.  I mean our advertising family (what am I, crazy?).  Lovell’s Hardwood is the latest locally owned and operated business to realize the power of local advertising. 

Now, to introduce them.  Owned and operated by Robert (Bobby) Lovell and family, they are a hardwood flooring specialist located along South Fort Thomas Ave in the Midway District.   Their specialty is hardwood floors but they are also beginning to offer some general contracting and design work for renovations.  They not only lay new flooring but also they repair, sand, and refinish existing flooring including any necessary demolition.   With so many old homes in Fort Thomas with the original (and beautiful) hardwood floors, this is a useful contact to have.   Additionally, they are Better Business Bureau A+ rated and they do all of the work themselves (no sub-contracting, so what you see is what you get).

Their showrooms are open daily by appointment for customers to stop in and check out some of the different flooring types, sizes, colors and finishes or to check out pictures of different projects that they have completed.

Find out more on their website at http://www.lovellshardwood.com/ or by contacting them per the below:

  Office: (859) 240-2611

Showroom: 1029 S. Ft. Thomas Ave. * Ft. Thomas, KY 41075

Email: lovellshardwoodflooring@yahoo.com

Office Hours: Mon. thru Sat. - 9:00AM to 6:00PM

Per Bobby:  “This summer we are offering free DUST FREE SANDING upgrade specials to any customer who mentions any Ft. Thomas Ads (including Ft. Thomas Matters) at the time of their initial quotes. This saves our customers hundreds of dollars!”

So, join me in welcoming Lovell Hardwood to the FTM family and support locally-owned and operated (family) businesses. 

Taken Too Early

A military convoy was the target of a suicide bomber in the Afghan capital of Kabul yesterday.  The blast resulted in the death of two US soldiers, four civilian contractors, and nine Afghan civilians (including two children).  An Islamic militant group, Hezb-e-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack.

This tragic event directly affects Fort Thomas.  A Highlands High School graduate was one of the US soldiers who lost their lives. 

Brandon Phillips Moving to Fort Thomas

@DatDudeBP is Brandon Phillips Twitter handle. To see my "interview" with @DatDudeBP, follow me @MLorenCollier

VAN DAMME IT'S FRIDAY!

- Well, it's already updated on the Ft. Thomas, Ky Wikipedia page, so it has to be true. Cincinnati Reds Second Basemen, Brandon Phillips, is moving to Fort Thomas. 

I hinted to the news last Wednesday and had heard before that that Phillips was interested in a Ft. Thomas home. Professional athletes generally try to stay in short-term leases. It's simply a reality of their business that they change addresses and cities more than most. 

Phillips signed a 6-year deal with the Reds last April, which allowed him to settle down a bit. 

I'm trying to throw him a "Welcome to the City" Party, which I'll make sure to let everyone know about. I've got a call into a mutual friend to gauge his interest. Something tells me that his gregarious nature will have him there. 

I did speak with a person in the Reds Public Relations Department about the party to see if they could help facilitate it. He basically told me not to do it.  If Brandon makes it a go, it's going to happen. 

- Our friends at Tom + Chee are pitching their restaurant as a potential chain restaurant to the sharks on ABC's Shark Tank tonight at 9:00 on ABC. 

The Grilled Cheese Donut Challenge was the 2nd Episode of Mark vs. Food. Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward were awesome to us then and I hope they get the funds from the sharks to keep spreading the grilled cheese love. 

Here's a clip from Mark vs. Food at Tom + Chee with ESPN's Mo Egger. 

- Don't forget, the 2nd Farmer's Market at The Fort Thomas Plaza is today from 3-7. I talked with Emmett Wright of Morning View, Kentucky, who has a vendor stand at both of the Farmer's Market locations in Fort Thomas. 

Breezy Acres has farm fresh poultry, chicken, beef, cheese, dairy and produce. Of the Plaza market, Wright said, "I was glad Ft. Thomas set up another Farmer's Market. We did well at (The Midway) market. (The Plaza) market lets people get on and off the highway pretty easily for those who can't get down (to the Midway)."

He was disappointed to see that DEPs had left the Plaza. "DEP's offered us to set up in their new parking lot because customers who came to the Farmer's Market, ended up at DEPs. Or vice versa," he said. "But with no traffic light at that intersection, city officials thought (the Plaza) still made the most sense." 

Wright estimated that even with the two markets in Fort Thomas working together last year, Breezy Acres only profited a little more than the previous year with just one Farmer's Market open in The Midway District.

- In regards to City Beat Writer, Pat Lafleur's article yesterday about people slashing tires: what would you do if you caught someone red-handed doing that to your property? Take it a step further: what about so called "harmless mischief" (eggs, toliet paper, soap, etc).

S. Ft. Thomas Ave Tire Slasher Just Random Mischief-Maker

By Pat LaFleur

FortThomasMatters City Beat

 

FTM received a report from a Ft. Thomas resident this past weekend that their and 5 of their neighbors car tires had been slashed at some point over Saturday night/Sunday morning. A call to FTPD Lt. Richard Whitford confirmed that a total of 5 cars’ tires had been slashed along S. Ft. Thomas Ave.

 

There is no evidence to suggest that this was a pre-meditated or organized in any fashion, and no motive has been identified, Lt. Whitford reported. “Sometimes we’re able to learn that these sort of things are done out of malice or because of a grudge between neighbors, but this seems to have been someone just walking down the street, slashing tires.” The vandalism is being regarded as a random act of community mischief.