Category: Uncategorized

Cynthiana Democrat for sale?

What? Is The Cynthiana Democrat for sale? Maybe. At least, the parent company, Landmark Communications, is looking into possibly selling off some of it’s subsidiaries:

Landmark’s CEO, Frank Batten Jr., said in a statement Thursday that the privately held company has retained JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers to help it explore possible sale scenarios.

Landmark’s companies include The Weather Channel, two television stations, a marketing and design firms, a broadband Internet service provider, and a handful of publishing firms; including Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc., which publishes 54 newspapers nationwide (parent company to The Cynthiana Democrat).
While no official word of any interested buyers, or whether Landmark will sell off any portion of it’s interests has been released, the Associated Press has quoted Batten as saying, “At this early stage, we cannot speculate on where this process will lead.” No further comments from Batten have been made. (Landmark, 2008)
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The Cynthiana Democrat has been published since 1868. After numerous sales and acquisitions through the years, The Cynthiana Democrat and Cynthiana Publishing Company were purchased by Landmark Community Newspapers in 1974. (The Cynthiana Democrat, 2008)
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Landmark Communications’ history is rooted in Samuel Slover’s (Batten’s Great-uncle) acquisition of the Newport News-Times Herald, and acquisitions of other newspapers in the Norfolk, VA area which led to the formation of Norfolk Newspapers in 1905. Norfolk was later renamed by Slover’s nephew Frank Batten, Sr. in 1967, shortly after being named successor and chairman of the family business that year. (Hoovers, 2008)
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Online:
Landmark Communications: http://www.landmarkcom.com
Landmark Community Newspapers: http://www.lcni.com
The Cynthiana Democrat: http://www.cynthianademocrat.com
The Weather Channel: http://www.weather.com

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REFERENCES
Hoover’s, Inc. (2008) Landmark Communications, Inc. company history. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from
Jacobs, G. (n.d.) Our History. The Cynthiana Demorcat. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/storyviewnew.cgi?081+section+ServicesAbout

Landmark Communications Explores A Sale (2008) Associated Press. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from

Welcome Back!

From the Harrison County Board of Education:

Welcome back!  We hope everyone had a restful and happy holiday break.  

We had our first full snow day yesterday and had a one hour delay today.  It’s the time of year when the weather can be unpredictable.  If there is inclement weather and you need to find out if school is closed, delayed, or dismissing early, please tune into your local radio station, WCYN 1400, or watch WLEX 18, WKYT 27, WTVQ 36, or WDKY Fox 56.  These stations will provide you with information regarding school closings/delays. 

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 15th at 7:00 pm at the Community Education Center.

The next pay day for Harrison County Schools’ employees is January 15th.   

Schools will be closed January 21st in observance of M. L. King Day. 

National Wear Red Day

From the Harrison County Community Education Center:

NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY

Friday, February 1, 2008

National Wear Red Day is a day when Americans nationwide will wear red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness.  One in four American women dies of heart disease, and most fail to make the connection between risk factors-such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol-and their personal risk of developing heart disease. 

We want to encourage all students and staff to wear red on this date and participate in National Wear Red Day.

Microsoft patents frustration-detecting help system

From ars technica:
A new Microsoft patent could head off computer frustration by using biometric feedback to detect agitation, then ask other Internet users to help the frustrated user with a task. But will people want a biometrically-enhanced Clippy peering at their heart rates?

Read More…

Cynthiana's Top Stories in 2007…

The Cynthiana Democrat published their top-ten stories from 2007. The list, and links follow:
10. Community survey results to help to prepare for future
9. Promised funding is still a dream for MCTC
8. Main Licking tapped as primary water source
7. State pulls plug on new stadium proposal
6. Football Breds have historical success on the field
5. CPD officer numbers on decline
4. Schmidt returns, auditor report released
3. Crime stories captured many headlines in 2007 
2. March trial set for Willis
1. Tragedy strikes when sisters are killed in September wreck

Sperm Powered Nano-bots…

… delivered via rss feed of KNN’s Weird News:

U.S. scientists are examining whether they can capture the energy driving human sperm to propel nanoscale robots to deliver medicine.

By analyzing stages in the biological pathway sperm cells use to generate energy, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine researchers said they hope to recreate that process artificially to deliver medicine to targeted sites in the body, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Interesting…

Post Newspapers Close After 126 Years

Dan Sewell reports for the Associated Press:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i2lCt8WcnQpR4nh8yjcfEmOMJe2gD8TSGA0G1

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Post said goodbye with its final edition Monday — its presses stilled after 126 years.

“_30_”, a symbol traditionally used to signal the end of a dispatch, was the front-page headline in the last Cincinnati edition, about an hour before printing of its sister Kentucky Post marked the final run for the daily newspapers.

The Post and its sister Kentucky Post edition have struggled for decades, like other afternoon newspapers, in a climate that has challenged even the nation’s most storied dailies. E.W. Scripps Co., based in Cincinnati, decided in July to close The Post newspapers when a joint operating agreement with Gannett Co. expired. Joint operating agreements allow newspapers to combine business operations when one faces financial ruin.

Loyal readers in Cincinnati and the nearby northern Kentucky communities The Post had served lamented its passing.

“A piece of history has gone. Obviously a voice has gone,” said Alicia Reece, an Ohio tourism official and former Post intern who served on the Cincinnati City Council. “On the other hand, they were a foundation for a lot of writers and other people who moved into higher positions. So the legacy lives on.”

However, The Kentucky Post has not completely died. Scripps has launched a revamped kypost.com which will continue to bring news to the northern Kentucky area. As the lead story on the site currently reads,

Welcome to Kypost.com, your place for “News in the (859),” plus a whole lot more. Following in the proud tradition of The Kentucky Post newspaper, kypost.com is focused on and dedicated to Northern Kentucky.

I read the post on occasion, and am saddened to see it’s passing, but am excited to see the tradition continue on the Internet.

saying goodbye to 2007…

So, 2007 is winding down to a close–tonight is the last night of the year, and midnight will bring the dawn of the new year. I’m curious what this new year will bring. I am also curious as to what the old year will have left us.
On Wednesday night, The Cynthiana Democrat will have published and distributed the first of 2008’s fifty-two papers, and in the new year edition, they will review the top ten stories of 2007. I’m curious as to what the staff at the Democrat will say was big in ’07. Rick Chasteen will have Becky Barnes and Donald Richie on Thursday’s broadcast of Coffeebreak, and they will be discussing those stories.

One story on 2007 was published last week in the Democrat, where Donald spoke with Harrison County Judge-Executive Alex Barnett about the accomplishments that have been made during the first year of his term. In the article, advancements in joint government ventures were mentioned, as well as many cost reductions balanced with larger number of projects in the county’s road department were mentioned. The only negative report mentioned in the article was the acknowledgment of an issue with the employability of some Harrisonians:

Looking at the numbers, Barnett said while Harrison County’s unemployment rate is low – its citizens’ employability can be a problem.

The issue: drugs.

Barnett said there is a growing problem locally where employers have trouble finding help because job applicants cannot pass pre-employment drug tests.

“We need to work with addicts to treat them for their problem instead of locking them up and putting them back out” he said. “We need to work hard and treat them and help them return to being a viable part of the workforce.”

For that, Barnett has helped establish a task force on drug issues which is in its infancy. Although Barnett admits the drug problem has no easy solution, he hopes the efforts which have been started will continue past his administration and results will be seen down the road.

“I look for big things out of it,” he said. (Richie, 2007)

I expect this issue, and issues related to other criminal activity to be mentioned in the upcoming edition of the Democrat. Crime has seemingly been growing in Cynthiana, and Harrison County throughout this now passing year. Rick Chasteen noted on his radio program last Friday that there have been a growing number of domestic disputes in Cynthiana, and referenced one that took place earlier this year, behind Thrift Food Mart, that ended up in the murder of one person.
Other events that took place this year (that I recall) which may or may not be news-worthy are:

  • the newly built Wal-Mart Super Center, and demolition of the original Wal-Mart structure
  • the grand re-opening of The Rohs Opera House
  • the audit of former Harrison County High School Principal Robert Barr, and findings thereof
  • the tragic death of high school sisters, Sarah and Jennifer Riggs
  • the accomplishments of the Harrison County Thorobreds Football Team
  • the revocation of the Cynthiana Police Department’s home fleet program, and sale of half the fleet
  • the progress of the project to replace the viaduct on US 27 North
  • the planned removal of Ingles Stadium, which then became halted by the Kentucky Department of Education
  • the decrease in officers working for the Cynthiana Police Department
  • the opening of the new addition to Harrison Memorial Hospital, and HMH’s 100th Anniversary
  • the Harrison County Tomorrow Survey

I’m sure there are many other stories that could be covered, but those are the only topics that come to mind at this time. I’m sure if I did some digging, and looked back through the archive of posts here I would uncover other stories that have some importance to the community, and how 2007 and the future of Cynthiana, Harrison County, and our citizenry have been affected.
REFERENCES
Richie, D. (2007) Judge reflects on first-year accomplishments. Retrieved December 31, 2007 from

neat tool for YIM…

I’ve been playing around with Yahoo! Messenger recently, and ran into the need to clear out my status history in order to allow a different status changing plugin to work properly. And, since I had a hard time finding this tool, I thought I should post an entry for it.

WackyB.co.nz Instant Messenger Help and Support – Clear/Edit YahooMessenger Status History

The tool worked like a charm. Just click the check by the name, hit edit, and clear checked. Simple as that.