NEWS ROUND-UP -- CHRISTMAS EVE

by Michael Monks 
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CHRISTMAS EVE

Hope you're finished shopping and are able to relax on this special weekend. Happy Holidays!

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NO NEW INFORMATION RELEASED ON TUESDAY NIGHT MURDER

Covington Police did not return calls seeking an update on the investigation into the Tuesday evening shooting death of 18-year old Brett Thornberry. A 15-year old was taken into custody Wednesday night and was charged with murder and complicity to robbery. The complicity charge indicates that at least one more suspect is being sought or is in custody now. The River City News will continue to follow.

SEE ALSO: 15-Year Old Charged With Murder of 18-Year Old 

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RISING STAR HOLY CROSS POINT GUARD KICKED OFF TEAM

He has been mentioned on various sports blogs as a potential Division I recruit, but sophomore Jalen Avery has been dismissed from Holy Cross's basketball team. The news came earlier this week and Avery has missed games Wednesday and Friday nights:

Playing without sophomore starting point guard Jalen Avery, who was dismissed from the team earlier this week for unspecified reasons, Holy Cross used its superior depth to roll past Newport, 89-65, in the second game of a girls’/boys’ varsity doubleheader in Latonia for its sixth straight win.

The Indians rolled to victory in both games, clobbering Newport Central Catholic and last night, Newport, during the school's alumni celebration.
Cincinnati Enquirer/Richard Skinner  
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HERE'S VIDEO OF AVERY PRODUCED BY A NATIONAL RECRUITING SITE:

SEE ALSO: You can vote for some of Holy Cross's football players to be named among the Tri-State's best. Click Here
NOTE: I hate the term "Tri-State", but since it's in the name of the above-linked website...
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THANK GOD WE'RE NOT VILLA HILLS, PART 603
The hot mess that is the City Council in Villa Hills continues to boil:

“When we found out two or three months ago that she did not have (the insurance) and the mayor had not enforced it, I said it was putting the city at liability,” Ringo said. “The mayor said: ‘I’ll do a new contract.’ And now, to the best of our knowledge, no new contact has been executed.” Schaber (a former city councilwoman -The RC News edit) is a $47.50 an hour contractual employee who was hired soon after Martin took office. Martin said she’s “an accountant by trade” who helps the city of Villa Hills with its monthly financial statements. The mayor said Schaber also helped the city investigate and acquire more than $35,000 in unbilled back taxes, or tangible property taxes from utilities that had not been billed by the city.

Christmas may not be so merry on the other side of Devou Park.
Cincinnati Enquirer/Cindy Schroeder  
SEE ALSO: More from the Enquirer on the "marathon meeting" that lasted till after 1:00AM here.
NOTE: Anybody else notice a guy named "Richard Gere" doing a lot of commenting on NKY stories at nky.com? No matter what you try, you'll never be able to rid yourself of all the trolls.
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COVINGTON GROUP GATHERS GIFTS FOR INMATES
A great story that captures the spirit of the season in the most unlikely of places: a Covington recycling building.
The RC News: Gifts, Hope for Local Inmates

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NEW CINCINNATI LAGER HOUSE BOASTS GREAT VIEW OF COVINGTON
Despite the troubles the RiverCenter towers have had this year, it's still nice to know that when someone refers to NKY's skyline, they're not (necessarily) talking about chili:

Much remains to be done before the place opens – we didn’t see any restaurant equipment on site, much less interior furnishings – but the floor-to-ceiling glass walls gave us a clear look at the surrounding park (also under construction), the nearby Roebling Suspension Bridge and the Northern Kentucky skyline. The second-floor dining area also will feature a wrap-around deck on the south and west sides.

Business Courier/Jon Newberry  
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OUR CHICKEN GIVES YOU DIABETES AND OUR ORGANS GIVE YOU... HEP C?
Kentucky's health reputation continues to decline:

Organs and tissue from a Kentucky donor apparently have caused three patients to test positive for hepatitis C virus infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.Two of the patients received kidney transplants at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, and a child in Massachusetts received tissue. Hepatitis C, transmitted by blood and body fluids, can result in liver failure and liver cancer.

Herald-Leader  
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PARK HILLS COFFEE SHOP OWNERS FEATURED ON ABC'S 'SUPERNANNY'
They run a wonderful business, but it appears that Traci and Bill Gregg need some help calming down their kids. So, naturally, they've called in the Supernanny:

With the parents working split shifts to tend to their growing business, “the business of running the household has been left to the children,” Lifetime says. “As a result, there’s a strained marriage and a house of havoc. Hot-tempered triplets run in every direction, a neglected four year-old acts out for attention, and one year-old Scarlet is already following in her brothers’ wayward footsteps. ”

Cincinnati Enquirer/John Kiesewetter  
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KY LANDS $17 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR EDUCATION
The Commonwealth lands a windfall consolation prize after being passed over for the larger Race To The Top funds:

The state is one of seven that will share a total of $200 million from the program, which challenged states to compete for the money by submitting detailed school improvement and reform plans, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We are thrilled to be able to invest in Kentucky,” Duncan said in an interview Thursday with The Courier-Journal on the eve of the official announcement. “We believe Kentucky has a chance to leave a very strong mark in national reform.”

Courier-Journal   
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SEND SOME OF THAT $ UP HERE AS COV SCHOOLS LAG IN COLLEGE RATES
Holmes High School ranks last in the region for college-bound students:

Among the 22 high school’s in Northern Kentucky’s 18 public school districts, Beechwood High School had the highest rate at 86.5 percent, while Holmes High School in Covington had the lowest at 47.9 percent. Thirteen of the 22 schools had rates higher than 63 percent.

Cincinnati Enquirer  
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ARE YOU STUCK OR CONTENT IN THE CINCINNATI AREA?
A local woman writes for The Atlantic Cities:

Fifteen years later I’m still in Cincinnati, which has one of the highest rates of native-born residents in any urban area of the U.S. So many Cincinnatians were born here that when people ask you where you went to school, they’re referring to high school, not college. And in my years here, I’ve begun to understand why so many natives stay put, or leave the area for just a few years and then return.
They’re not stuck. They're content.

Very nice piece. Read it all.
The Atlantic Cities via Urban Cincy 
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LOUISVILLE MAY BE TASTIEST TOWN IN THE SOUTH
Finger lickin' good!

“Us even being in the top ten really reflects what we’ve known in Louisville for awhile,” he said. “We’ve got great restaurants, great food, we’ve got a growing local food culture with our farmers’ markets, with the restaurants which are now focusing on local food, food within 100 miles of Louisville. So it’s really nice to be recognized by a national publication for that.”
In the blurb about Louisville on the magazine’s website, Southern Living touts neighborhoods like Crescent Hill, NuLu and the Highlands. It praises chefs like 610 Magnolia’s Edward Lee for “preserving the region’s iconic flavors while subtly redefining Southern cuisine.”

Click the link for more and how to vote at Southern Living's contest.
WFPL  
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CONGRATULATIONS DAN CARROLL!
This guy got a raw deal at FOX 19 (like so many others) where I worked alongside him as a producer for several years and then again on the local TV special series Cincinnality. Glad he's got a full-time gig again (and that he gets to stay in the area and continue his work on 700 WLW where he was gracious enough to bring me on as a guest to talk about Covington).
Cincinnati Enquirer/John Kiesewetter
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE RIVER CITY NEWS
I hope you enjoy this weekend with your family -- and we'll be back at it again on Monday! This season, remember how fortunate we all are to live in such a wonderful place.