Staff report
Crescent Springs Villa Hills new fire station
Crescent Springs-Villa Hills Fire Department will celebrate the grand opening of its new fire station today from noon to 4 p.m.
All are welcome as the cities show their pride in ensuring the health and safety of their community by providing fire and ambulance services.
Sen. McDaniel celebrates funding with Ion Center
Senate Budget Chair Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, continued his tour of organizations that received transformative funding through the 2024 state budget by visiting the Ion Center for Violence Prevention in Covington.
The Ion Center provides essential support and shelter for families fleeing intimate partner violence and offers a range of services to prevent and address violence in Northern Kentucky.
The legislature designated $12 million in the biennium to better equip the Ion Center and other domestic violence shelters across the state to meet survivors’ needs. The budget also included $7.1 million in one-time funding specifically for domestic violence shelters to offset a federal shortfall in Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding. The legislature also allocated $10.8 million in one-time VOCA support and $15 million across the biennium to support the ongoing operational costs of rape crisis centers and child advocacy centers. The total funding for all three sectors of victims’ advocacy programs was nearly $45 million.
“We are incredibly grateful to Chris McDaniel and the Kentucky General Assembly for recognizing the importance of funding these life-saving services,” said Christy Burch, CEO of the Ion Center for Violence Prevention. “This support allows us to provide 24/7 trauma-informed services to survivors and their children while also implementing groundbreaking prevention work to stop violence before it begins.”
Rep. Dietz get award from Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police
Representative Stephanie Dietz is the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Legislative Service Award from the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Rep. Dietz stood tall for Kentucky law enforcement during the 2024 General Assembly session,” said Kentucky Association Chiefs of Police (KACP) Executive Director Shawn Butler. “She sponsored and expertly shepherded two major law enforcement bills during the session – bills that will make our communities safer while improving the overall efficiency and professionalism of law enforcement in Kentucky. We are honored to recognize her with the KACP 2024 Outstanding Legislative Service Award.”
During the 2024 Regular Session, Dietz sponsored HB 207, legislation that closed a loophole state law that made it difficult to prosecute those charged with sexually abusing minors. The measure made it a crime to own, sell, or offer a child sex doll. Child sex dolls are a relatively new entry into the sex toy business and not covered under current statute.
Dietz was also honored for her work on HB 482, which added positions to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (KLEC), including the director of the Northern Kentucky Police and Sheriff’s Training Center.