a Fort Thomas native killed during World War II Graveside services will be conducted by Dobbling Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home in Bellevue was assigned to the 732nd Bombardment Squadron when the B-24H Liberator bomber he was piloting was shot down by enemy aircraft during a mission over Brunswick His remains were recovered from the crash site between 2021 and 2023 and officially identified on June 20 Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch played a key role in the identification process The branch works to locate family members of service members still missing from World War II The identification process involves locating the primary next of kin and requesting a DNA sample for comparison Once identification is confirmed by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner the family is notified and briefed on historical along with burial and benefits information De Jarnette will be laid to rest immediately following the memorial service with full military honors at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Erlanger If you have a veteran story to tell in your community, email homefront@wcpo.com. You also can join the Homefront Facebook group, follow Craig McKee on Facebook and find more Homefront stories here. NKyTribune Andy Beshear has ordered flags at all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset Saturday in honor of an Army pilot from Kentucky who died in World War II but whose remains were only identified last summer U.S. Army Air Force 1st Lt. Joe A. De Jarnette, 24, of Fort Thomas, was a member of the 732nd Bombardment Squadron, 453rd Bombardment Group, 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, in the European Theater. He was killed when his plane was shot down over Germany on April 8, 1944. (See the NKyTribune’s earlier story here.) A memorial service will take place at 11 a.m Thomas with burial following at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Erlanger Flags across the Commonwealth are already at half-staff in honor of Pope Francis whose interment also takes place on Saturday organizations and government agencies to join in this tribute of lowering the flag to honor Jarnette as well Flags should return to full staff at sunset on Saturday Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInFORT THOMAS a Northern Kentucky highway is closed due to a landslide Mary Ingles Highway is blocked by the landslide and a tree at Tower Hill Road until further notice The latest landslide was reported at 2:45 a.m as heavy rain fell across Northern Kentucky A Flood Watch is in effect until Sunday morning tells FOX19 NOW that 100 to 150 feet of mudslide and a tree are blocking both lanes The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says Mary Ingles Highway at Tower Hill Road will be closed for the weekend Silver Grove Dari BarIngles Highway sits along Mary ingles highway Manager Jennifer Hutchinson says the rainy weather is hurting business at Grove Dari Bar there were some road closures because of trees down depending on the location of where that is that could curb transportation from our business,” Hutchinson said Along with fears for a landslide hurting business Hutchinson says she’s also worried about electrical issues and flooding as rains continue to hit the Tri-State Hutchinson says they will do what they can to stay open during the storms “Come down here on a rainy day - you won’t have to wait in a line,” Hutchinson added At least four inches of rain has fallen so far and that could double by Sunday The Mary Ingles Highway reopened less than a year ago after a 2019 landslide shut it down from Tower Hill Road to River Road State transportation officials launched a $9.1 million maintenance repair project they said would stabilize the area Kentucky Transporation Cabinet said the project would “preserve the vital connection between the river cities of Bellevue Dayton and Silver Grove to Fort Thomas and surrounding areas.” adding multiple soil nail walls (retaining walls) to shore up the hillside So if the state spent $9.1 million to improve the area why are landslides still closing the highway “It’s a very hilly area and then you have a maintenance project like we did to shore up the hillside but Mother Nature is going to do what Mother Nature does,” Ryle said “All we can do is try to maintain it as best as we can The project didn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be another landslide especially with the amount of rain we are getting.” a large part of the project was obviously shoring up some of the hillside crews also restored the highway so “it was driveable again” and resurfaced it We are doing the best we can to respond as quickly as we can That’s always been one of those problem spots,” Ryle said See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description The Gila Herald Your trusted source for news of the Gila Valley and more Our valley is beautiful with some wonderful people living and working here people try to be honest and help their neighbors I have reason to believe that not all the people who say they are monetarily blessed are honest people I watch as crimes happen on holiday weekend evenings because these would-be thieves know our police stations are closed Thursday to Monday and the sheriff’s office has nobody to answer the regular office phone lines that aren’t emergency services Our town is basically closed for the weekend The railroad that runs through our valley also has a regular weekly schedule the workers come along and change every railroad tie and replace them with new ones The old ties get neatly stacked along the rail to be picked up at the project end These ties are already sold to a company that refurbishes and resells the good quality ties and chips the mangled and rotten ones for other uses This pile of old ties is owned by someone even though they are sitting by the rails I’ve watched residents of Fort Thomas show up by the piles with forklifts on tractors and horse trailers to get their share of the best ties first I went to the railroad office and asked if I could have a few Those are already sold to the salvage company I can accept that so therefore I go to H&S and pay money and get a receipt when I need railroad ties the ties were again stacked along the lines just as the Christmas season began The season of giving and charity and joy and love These Fort Thomas residents couldn’t wait to get down to the pile of used ties and start raping through it to find the best ones and get them for themselves The pile in Fort Thomas was as tall and long as a semi-trailer and stacked remarkably square and straight The richest residents of Fort Thomas are down there stealing or they would be there in broad daylight on a weekday This is just an observation for the community but maybe the people you trust the most are the biggest criminals in the Gila Valley If you look at the pile of ties across from Meg’s place today and these people are like drug addicts just waiting to gather up the pile for themselves It seems pretty pathetic that every so often and never be held accountable for terrible behavior I love my community but I sure do get embarrassed by the bad behavior out here Some of the residents out here are thieves 2 Lee Haws-coached Fort Thomas Apaches (15-3 seeding 25 Colorado City El Capitan Eagles (5-9 The pairing is for the 1A Play-in Round 6 Eldon Merrell-coached Duncan Wildkats welcome the No also for a Play-in Round pairing on the same date with both games having 7 p.m 15.7871) succumbed 33-41 to 3A No. 4 Show Low (14-5 11 to No. 4 during the first round Fort Thomas defeated Phoenix Valley Lutheran (65-37 7) during the semifinals and Scottsdale Cicero Prep (53-19 8) during the final of the East Region tourney Cicero Prep ousted Duncan (30-24 7) during the other semifinal in Winkelman The other Play-in Round pairings are No 12 California Winterhaven San Pasqual (9-4 The final 1A state-wide Top 24 of 40 team rankings were Joseph City (18-1 seeding 22, Peach Springs Music Mountain (4-10 The final East Region standings were Fort Thomas (27-5 overall 6-1) second, Scottsdale Cicero Prep (15-11, 12-6 Fort Thomas had region wins over Superior (69-10 4); it was Duncan over Cicero Prep (24-23 31); it was Cicero Prep over Valley Lutheran (30-23 31); it was Valley Lutheran over Ray (30-21 21); it was Hayden over San Manuel (31-19 21); it was San Manuel over Ray (31-20 16); and it was Ray over Superior (33-12 2 Fort Thomas Apaches (27-5) 7-0 1A South Region) is averaging a score of 59-35 (1,069-621) per seeding game or a 24-point margin The Lee Haws-coached Apaches have seeding wins over Duncan (55-21 28), Saint Michael (78-23, Feb. 1), and San Manuel (61-48, Feb. 4). The losses were to Many Farms (44-50 the Apaches went 6-1 during the 3-day Round Valley tourney, 4-1 during the 3-day Eastern Arizona Holiday tourney, and 2-0 during the East Region tourney The wins were over Safford (69-42 8) as well as losses to Holbrook (54-63 Dec. 20). Fort Thomas is averaging an overall score of 59-35 (1,893-1,109) per game or a 24-point margin Fort Thomas has a 13-member team of one senior The roster includes senior Adaia Lorenzo (23); juniors Leia Begay (5) Raeleigh Hawkins (15), and Kirah Moses (44); sophomores Kynnedee Bryce (45), Corey Cody (10) Jamie Johnson (14), and Alycia Sanchez (30); and freshmen Carmen Antonio (34), Tyshara Garland (50) The Apaches competed in 8-member 1A East Region with the Cicero Prep Centurians Duncan (21-5 overall, 16-4 seeding, 6-1 1A East Region) is averaging a score of 36-25 (678-464) per seeding game or an 11-point margin The Eldon Merrell-coached Wildkats have seeding wins over Superior (45-7 31). The losses are to Saint David (13-44 the Wildkats went 5-1 during the 2-day Heber Mogollon tourney on Dec Duncan defeated 6A Desert Southwest Region San Luis (34-13 19), 2A North Region Tuba City Greyhills (46-11 The loss was to 1A Central Region host Mogollon (21-44). Overall the Wildkats are averaging an overall score of 35-22 (876-543) per game or a 13-point margin Duncan has a 10-member roster of two seniors The roster includes seniors Emily Kempton (14) and Camille Miller (11); junior Emily Evans (24); sophomores Lily Ford (20) and Paisley Patton (23); and freshmen Haley Bigler (50) and Elvalie Vigil (12).  The Wildkats competed in the 8-member 1A East Region with the Cicero Prep Centurians, the Fort Thomas Apaches the Hayden Lobos, the Ray Bearcats, the San Manuel Miners, the Superior Panthers, and the Valley Lutheran Flames a beloved and respected journalist-turned-publicist who built a reputation for integrity and kindness died suddenly at his home in Fort Thomas Saturday morning He spent his last evening with Newport colleagues at a farewell to retiring city manager Tom Fromme — several of whom said he seemed his normal engaged self — and taking his wife where his wife subsequently found him lying on the ground Shayna Nevermann who works at his business Information about the funeral services will be forthcoming Crowley covered nearly 20 regular and special sessions of the Kentucky legislature the 1996 and 2000 Republican and Democratic national conventions — and too many statehouses he defined the best of community journalism honing a keen understanding of the political system appreciating the value of strong communications skills — and having a connection to the community he served He spent most of his career with the Cincinnati Enquirer as head of its NKY and Frankfort bureaus the Register Newspapers of Southeastern Indiana and the Recorder Newspapers of Northern Kentucky He freelanced for a number of national publications and websites and hosted two long-running television shows on Insight Channel ICN6 (now Spectrum) in NKY “He was a good friend — more like a brother — as well as my former business partner at Strategic Advisers,” said Jay Fossett a former reporter at The Kentucky Post who is now City Administrator at Dayton “I am devastated for him and his family.” Others at The Kentucky Post and throughout the journalistic community respected Crowley for his work and his professionalism who covered Frankfort for the Post when Crowley was there for the Enquirer lamented the sad news of his death and remembered him as “a good guy and a good reporter” who was his friend for more then 40 years a marketing and public relations firm in 2009 which he quickly grew into one of the most respected firm in the NKY region “Pat has been part of Newport’s extended family for many years with the professional support he has provided through Strategic Advisors,” said Bev Holiday He and other members of his extended family also own and operate Crowley’s Highland House Café in Mount Adams that has been the family’s business since 1937 “Pat meant so much to so many people in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati,” said Lee Crume president and CEO of BE NKY Growth Partnership “Pat welcomed me when I moved here nearly six years ago and became not only a trusted colleague but a close friend Pat’s legacy will be the positive impact he made on our community children and especially his three grandchildren My heart goes out to them as they come to terms with his sudden loss.” Crowley touched the lives of so many people he played a key role in organizing and promoting the Sunday Morning Club’s 37th annual Free Christmas Dinner and Celebration helping feed over 1500 individuals and families at the NKY Convention Center Even those he covered in the legislature are complimentary of his work — and his character Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement: “I was saddened to hear about the passing of one of Kentucky’s finest political journalists Pat’s work in the Commonwealth drew wide attention and well-earned national acclaim I enjoyed getting to know Pat and reading his characteristically well-reasoned coverage of important news “I’m absolutely devastated to learn of the passing of Patrick Crowley,” said retiring legislator Damon Thayer “We have been friends since shortly after I moved to Kentucky in 1992 He covered my political activities as a reporter at the Kentucky Enquirer with fairness dedication and a journalistic flare specific to him he has become an advocate for better laws regarding crime as a lobbyist for the Kentucky Association of the Chiefs of Police I loved him like a brother and I’m so saddened for his wife Pam and his children and his grandchildren who he talked about every time we were together This one’s going to take a while to get over The Kentucky Press Association named him the state’s top columnist and his 2004 series on casino gambling earned state and national awards The Washington Post selected him as one of the country’s top political reporters and political bloggers Crowley was a sought-after speaker and emcee speaking on issues like crisis management and other PR topics and serving on discussion panels for the many organizations such as the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce I’ve known Pat since we were both in our early thirties May the support of this Community sustain you through your grief the community and everyone who had the privilege of knowing Pat Crowley We will remember Pat and family in our thoughts and prayers Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Flanked by cheerleaders former longtime Fort Thomas High School football coach Wil Hinton cuts the ribbon at the dedication of The Fort’s new artificial turf field as Wil Hinton Field jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com FORT THOMAS – The Fort Thomas Unified School District celebrated the inaugural game on its new artificial turf field on Friday night and dedicated it as Wil Hinton Field after The Fort’s former longtime football coach.  Wil Hinton graduated from Fort Thomas High School and was a football coach at The Fort for 33 years with most of them serving as head coach.    “I cannot express the love and gratitude that I feel because of this honor,” Hinton said “I’m such a blessed person – a blessed soul – to be with you tonight And I could not be here tonight if it was not for you people in the stands.” The artificial turf changeout was made possible by a grant from the Water Conservation Grant Fund of the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) The fund approved $200 million in funding for 189 applications across the state with 42 of those projects being turf removal Four applications worth $2.51 million were awarded for Graham County Greenlee County Supervisor Richard Lunt is one of eight voting members on WIFA’s Board of Directors He was on hand at the field’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday and said the new artificial turf at the high school,l and a field at Fort Thomas Elementary School and Mount Turnbull Elementary’s outdoor amphitheater will save the school district nearly 6 million gallons of water per year I applaud your forward-thinking approach to saving water for your community and the state of Arizona,” Lunt said.  “A program like the water conservation grant only works when we have groups like yours who are willing to work to find innovative ways to save water,” Lunt said you create a beautiful facility that your community will be able to enjoy for years.”   Fort Thomas Superintendent Shane Hawkins – who once was an assistant coach under Hinton – emceed the event and said the school district’s ultimate goal is to create the most successful school on a reservation in the state (While technically Fort Thomas is just east of the San Carlos Apache Reservation the majority of its students are from the reservation.) “We do things to help children,” Hawkins said Fort Thomas School Board Member Chris Duncan also spoke at the event in both the Apache language and English and encouraged the youth to keep the Apache language alive and thriving Coach Wil Hinton thanked all his assistants over the years and named them in his speech which also praised all the parents of student-athletes and their sacrifices “This is just an honor that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Hinton said DUNCAN — The Fort Thomas Apaches and the Hayden Lobos will play in Duncan on Tuesday Initial state-wide rankings released at noon on Jan 14 have 1A East Region members with listings of No Other region pairings for East Region members this week (Jan 14-18) include Valley Lutheran at Hayden on Jan 16; San Manuel at Valley Lutheran and Hayden at Superior on Jan 17; and Cicero Prep at and Ray at Cicero Prep on Jan The non-region parings include Fort Thomas at Dishchii’bikoh and Tucson’s The Gregory School at Cicero Prep on Jan and Salome at Fort Thomas and Cicero Prep at Phoenix Country Day School on Jan Region standings for the 8-team region through Jan region wins have been Fort Thomas over Superior (69-10 2-0 1A East Region) is averaging a score of 62-47 (494-372) per seeding game or a 15-point margin The Matthew Dona-coached Apaches have seeding wins over Many Farms (69-47 11) along with a loss to San Carlos (39-59 the Apaches went 3-4 in the 3-day Round Valley tourney and 2-3 in the 3-day 61st Eastern Arizona Holiday tourney 21) while the losses were to Holbrook (43-45 Fort Thomas is averaging an overall score of 59-51 (1,189-1,022) per seeding game or an 8-point margin Fort Thomas has a 13-member team of three seniors The roster includes seniors Allen Gilbert (10) and Orion Titla (14); juniors Damarae Dosela (31) and Channing Wilson (11); sophomore Brian Sign (50); and freshmen Amare Ethalbah (15) and Malachi Johnson (35) The Apaches are competing in the 8-member 1A East Region with the Cicero Prep Centurians 1-1 1A East Region) averages a score of 56-40 (518-362) per seeding game or a 16-point margin The Ramon Gonzalez-coached Lobos have seeding wins over Kearny Ray (55-45 the Lobos went 3-3 in the 2-day Globe tourney and 0-5 in the 3-day 61st Eastern Arizona Holiday tourney The wins were over Tuba City Greyhills (41-28 14) while the losses were to San Carlos (56-65 Hayden is averaging an overall score of 51-45 (1,020-900) per game or a 6-point margin The Lobos have a 13-member team of five seniors The roster includes seniors Junior Contreras (10) and Jordan Rodriguez (2); juniors Anjelo Castillo (44) and Kino Lorona (11); sophomore Lucas Gonzalez (23) and Jando Waddell (140); and freshman Marcos Hong (13) Superior is competing in the 8-member 1A East Region with the Duncan Wildkats 1-2 1A East Region) averages a score of 40-47 (436-515) per seeding game or a 7-point deficit The Brad Roof-coached Wildkats have seeding wins over San Manuel (41-29 the Wildkats went 0-4 during the 3-day Round Valley tourney The Wildkats are averaging an overall score of 39-52 (587-773) per game or a 14-point deficit The roster includes senior Isaac Harris (12) sophomores Joseph Nandino (34) and Aaron Zamora (30) The Wildkats are competing in the 8-member 1A East Region with the Cicero Prep Centurians Isaac Harris broke a 7-7 early tie on an Isaiah Sumner assist and the Wildkats never relinquished the lead thereafter Duncan went on runs of 13-3 to finish out the first quarter and 19-2 to take a 39-12 advantage into the midgame break The teams both had different rosters from the initial meeting The Wildkats had a 47-point turnaround against the visiting Panthers 7 compared to a 15-point loss during the Nov Duncan connected on 26 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 8-16 free throws compared to 13 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 3-11 free throws by Superior Taygan Jensen and Isaiah Sumner tallied 20 points apiece on nine field goals (two 3-pointers) and eight field goals plus 4-6 free throws sophomore Noah Jimenez scored 14 points on six field goals (two 3-pointers) and sophomores Caleb Lopez and Adam Sandoval two FORT THOMAS — In a twist that can only be described as alarming and enlightening a woman turned an evening of experimental tea into a potential case study on using magic (psilocybin) mushrooms According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report the night began innocuously enough on New Year’s Day when a woman visiting her boyfriend at his mother’s home on N decided to pair her evening marijuana session with a cup of mushroom tea what was meant to be a chill night took a turn for the psychedelic when the woman started feeling less like Alice in Wonderland and more like Alice in Panicland First responders from Fort Thomas Rescue were dispatched at about 9:30 p.m EMS decided the woman could sleep off her ordeal at home although she was offered (and declined) a ride to the hospital This decision was quickly reversed when her symptoms didn’t subside leading her boyfriend to call back for help only to learn that their friendly neighborhood officer couldn’t moonlight as an Uber The couple was advised they could request medical transport (an ambulance) or arrange a ride through a local ride service such as Gila Valley Rides The couple advised they would call dispatch and request medical transport to the hospital while this story might sound like a cautionary tale about the dangers of home-brewed psychedelics it inadvertently shines a light on the growing body of research suggesting potential mental health benefits from psilocybin the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms.  While this woman’s night was more of a “what-not-to-do” guide it inadvertently sparked a conversation about the potential of psychedelics in clinical settings this comes with a hefty disclaimer: consuming mushrooms in an uncontrolled environment is not the way to explore these benefits The incident ended calmly after the woman was transported to the hospital for a check-up ensuring her safe and sound return to reality This tale from Fort Thomas reminds us that while magic mushrooms might offer profound mental health benefits they should be approached with caution and respect and under clinical supervision rather than through homemade tea perhaps this couple will stick to herbal teas without a side of existential crisis