The Voice - May 2020
/City of Newport Update
Submitted by City Manager Tom Fromme
I want to provide a brief update and some insight into city operations during the COVID-19 outbreak.
2021 Budget
Since many businesses have been forced to close, we realize we will have a significant impact to our revenues, particularly a reduction in payroll taxes. Due to the timing of closures, we will not be able to get a clear reading of the impact until well after the current fiscal year which ends on June 30. Since we are currently formulating the 2021 budget (July 1-June 30, 2021), we will have to rely on our best guesstimate moving forward.
City Services
Although City Hall is closed to visitors, we want to assure everyone that city services have been minimally impacted, especially public safety and public works. All other services are also being provided such as code enforcement, permits, licensing, and historic preservation certificates of appropriateness. We are still performing street cleaning services on assigned days, but are not issuing parking tickets if you cannot move your vehicles.
While some public safety calls have decreased, other calls have increased. All city projects are moving forward such as street and sidewalk repairs. We are also readying a drainage project at 16th and Monmouth. For yet-to-be-determined reasons, we have experienced huge increases in broken water mains at several locations. The pedestrian bridges are being set in place, connecting the Levee to the Taylor Southgate Bridge. Monmouth Street sidewalk improvements will soon be starting again.
Comprehensive Plan
Progress continues for our Comprehensive Plan update and we will be transitioning our typical public meetings to virtual platforms, moving forward. The Steering Committee is refining the plan's priority topics, developing goals and objectives, and asking for the first round of community input. The NewportFORWARD public input survey is now open and available, and is also linked to the city’s website and Facebook page. Deadline for input is Monday, May 11.
COVID-19-related Cancellations
Newport in general has responded very well to the inconveniences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without a doubt, closures have greatly reduced potential virus outbreaks. Unfortunately, it will take a while to get back to normal once everything comes back online and at this point, it appears the Veterans pool will not open this year. The Memorial Day Parade has been cancelled and several festivals including Italianfest and Taste of Newport are being postponed and will likely be cancelled for 2020. Once restaurants and other businesses reopen, social distancing will still need to be practiced. Please stay tuned for any additional cancellations or postponements, which will be communicated through our website, email, local media sources, and Facebook sites.
In the end we will come through this period and keep moving forward. When things reopen, it is imperative that we all support our local businesses. The local small businesses are the backbone of our city and will need our patronage.
Census Reminder
In closing, I want to reiterate the need for everyone to complete their census information either online or by mail. We are lagging behind most other local communities by a large margin. This truly has a very negative impact on federal funding for our city. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
As always if you have any questions, email jrovno@newportky.gov or bholiday@newportky.gov.
Take care and thanks for staying healthy at home and practicing social distancing.
Great things are happening in Newport! Thanks for your efforts to continue to make Newport a great place to live, work, shop, and play.
At Home in the East Row with Novelist Jack Kerley
Jack Kerley’s psychological thrillers have been translated into 10 languages and are in 20+ countries.
By Paula Brandon
During the monotony of quarantine, you may be inspired to pick up a book to escape the current boundaries of life. If you are drawn to psychological thrillers, one of Jack Kerley’s acclaimed novels may be just what you need. His work follows fictional characters Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus – Mobile, Alabama, homicide detectives – through a series of 13 books as they track down various deranged killers.
If you believe two hardened detectives slogging through the Alabama swamplands are far removed from life in the East Row, think again. Jack and his wife, Elaine, have been at home here since 1981 when they moved in and became part of our neighborhood’s pioneering force for change. They and other residents formed NEWPAC (Newport Political Action Committee) to push back against inappropriate development, invasive highway ramps and a legacy of Newport crime to lift our historic neighborhood up to its current status. Jack wrote NEWPAC’s fliers. During that time, he was working as an advertising writer and producer, but in the late ‘90s, after 25 years in the business, Elaine urged him to walk away to write the novel he was always talking about, and so he did.
“I’ve always been inspired by large bodies of water,” Jack explains and while Newport is not the setting for any of his literary crime sprees, his walks along the Ohio River provided plenty of time and inspiration for plotting and character development. “My parents had a getaway cottage on Mobile Bay,” he adds. “With wild storms rolling through, plus extreme heat and humidity, the weather became one of the characters in my books.” In addition to the Gulf Coast, Jack, Elaine and their son and daughter, John and Amanda, have enjoyed their Kentucky cabin in the Red River Gorge. In fact, the Gorge became a fictional crime scene in another of his books, Buried Alive.
The Hundredth Man, Jack’s first Carson Ryder novel, was published in 2004 to rave reviews that compared him to Thomas Harris and Patricia Cornwell. Thanks to his internationally connected publisher, HarperCollins UK, his novels are popular around the world and especially in the UK and Australia. He released 13 books spanning 2004-17 and his novels have been translated into 10 languages and are in 20+ countries. In 2010, Jack’s book, The Death Collectors was voted “Best Foreign Mystery of the Decade” in Japan.
Moving to Newport in ’81 was a homecoming. “I grew up here until age 13,” Jack says. “My family lived on Joyce Avenue at the time.” Inspired by books he read during his youth and a lifelong interest in psychology and dysfunctional minds, Jack’s books took shape and spilled out in rapid succession. Certainly, Newport has a rich, notorious history featuring many memorable characters, but none are more interesting than those that have sprung from the keyboard of Jack Kerley.
Newport Census 2020 - Everybody Counts!
Submitted by Assistant City Manager Larisa Sims
Approximately 50% of Newport residents have completed and submitted the Census 2020 questionnaire. This information is critical for Newport, Campbell County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. If you have been affected by COVID-19 and have completed an application for unemployment, SBA loan program, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or the city’s Business Financial Assistance application requesting funding for you or your business, Census 2020 needs your information – NOW!
Federal Fund allocations are based on census information. The questionnaire will take less than 10 minutes to complete. Census 2020 needs your information to continue funding much-needed services in Newport. You are the benefactor! Thanks to everyone who has already responded.
Reminder: For every person missed in the census, the City of Newport and Campbell County lose approximately $2,000, per year for the next 10 years impacting federally funded projects and services. Your response is so important because it directly impacts the City of Newport's access to billions of dollars in federal funds for schools, roads, and other public services.
Completing the census is fast and easy.
Log on to the census website at https://my2020census.gov/
o Click “Start Questionnaire” and answer the questions.
o You will be asked to verify your address.
o You will also be asked if you own or rent your home.
Then, you’ll enter the names, age and race of the people who live in your home.
Hit submit!
You must complete your questionnaire once you begin. If you leave the questionnaire and return later, you will have to start over.
If you do not respond, you will receive a paper survey you can fill out and return by mail. You can also complete your survey by phone.
The Stadium Inn Revealed
By Brian Malone
Most of us in the East Row live in homes that are more than 100 years old. If you’ve researched the history of your home, maybe you’ve uncovered a colorful story or interesting personality. I began digging into the story of our house several years ago with searches of the Williams City Directories and a Newspapers.com search. Pretty quickly I discovered that at least six people have died in our house (see Nov. 2016 Voice article). This isn’t surprising given that our home is 125 years old and contained a rental unit until we purchased it.
The second owners of our house were the Offenbachers. Their unique name turned up often in Google, Facebook and newspaper searches. Through pure coincidence, I discovered that a long-time friend of mine is related to the Offenbacher family. They were able to find some photos that shed light on a strange bit of Newport history, yet perhaps poses more questions.
clockwise from top left, Wilbert and Elsie Offenbacher on the porch of 822 Park Av., July 16, 1928; Inside The Stadium Inn, Eddie and Marie Offenbacher, around 1940; and from left, Eddie, William, Anna, and George Offenbacher in front of 1026 Vine St. in 1918.
the old stadium inn site today.
The Offenbachers moved to our address, 822 Park Av. from 1026 Vine St. around 1923. Parents William and Anna owned the house and son Edwin (Eddie), his wife Marie, and their children Wilbert, Elsie, and Shirley rented. Eddie's family moved around 1938 to 538 Linden and opened a bar/restaurant called the Stadium Inn at 901 E. 6th at the northeast corner of Oak and 6th, where the Campbell County Library now stands. In true Newport fashion for the era, the Stadium Inn had a slot machine even though Eddie was a former police officer. The establishment operated from 1939 to around 1959 when the building was sold, demolished and the land developed to build an A&P grocery. That building later became the I-471 Antique Mall and was razed in 2003 for the new library construction.
Here’s where things get weird… Several folks remember the nooses being on display in the Inn from the executions of Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling for the murder of Pearl Bryan in 1896. If you're not familiar with this creepy bit of Newport history, it was one of the biggest stories of the era and led to the executions (the last in Campbell County) of Jackson and Walling by hanging, behind the Newport Courthouse. There is documentation that the nooses (which were color coded) had been on display in the basement of the Campbell County Courthouse in the 1910s along with other artifacts from the trial and execution. Eddie Offenbacher was chief of the Campbell County Police from 1934-1938 so it would stand to reason that he might have had access to these artifacts. Stranger still is the fact that both Eddie and his father eventually took their own lives by hanging. The whereabouts of the nooses are unknown today.
This slightly macabre story highlights the rich history of our neighborhood and our own homes. The Offenbachers were just one of many families to reside here before us and their lives are part of the fabric of Newport to this day. What stories will your house tell?
Emergency Business Assistance
The Newport Board of Commissioners approved the implementation of an Emergency Business Assistance Program in response to small businesses impacted during the COVID-19 crisis. The City of Newport’s Emergency Business Assistance Program is offering incentives of up to $500 a month that small business owners and operators can use for rent, lease or mortgage payments during the business closures ordered due to the virus. In anticipation of necessary approvals, and to streamline applications as much as possible, the city has been accepting pre-applications for the program. Learn more about the program’s details. To view the Special Call meeting that was held on April 27 visit the city’s Facebook page. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 22.
Dog Park Update
The Dog Park Committee would like to thank the volunteers who have come out to help lay 4x4s and spread a massive amount of mulch throughout the property, as well as those who have provided other support to the project. Tim Appleton, Bill Mackison, and Corey Siddall were recently spotted driving bobcats at the site. If you haven’t walked past lately, enjoy a sidewalk stroll around the new dog park located right behind the library!
Stay tuned for more opportunities to get involved. Please purchase your BRICK today! It’s a great way to have your family name, business or pet represented at the beautiful entrance of the park.
Find more details on the Newport East Row Dog Park Facebook page.
Amnesty for All! Fines and Fees Waived at Your Local Public Library
The boards of trustees of all four Northern Kentucky public libraries -- Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties -- voted at their April board meetings to provide “Amnesty for All” and waive all fines and fees for all library patrons. This amnesty offer includes charges for lost or damaged items assessed prior to March 14, 2020 when area libraries closed to protect the health and safety of staff and patrons. Patrons do not need to come to the library to clear their accounts.
Dave Schroeder, director of the Kenton County Public Library, said waiving fines and fees allows people to use all of the library’s services at a time when they need the library the most. Items currently checked out are expected to be returned to the respective libraries so that others may use the materials. Overdue fees for returned items will not be charged until the libraries fully reopen.
“People have been through a lot and we want to make it as easy as possible for our patrons to use their library again,” said JC Morgan, director of the Campbell County Public Library. “Amnesty for All wipes the slate clean and provides a fresh start. This is especially important for people who have suffered through this pandemic.”
The Voice
Editor: Paula Brandon
Send articles to voice@eastrow.org. The editor reserves the right to edit or reject submissions due to length or content.
