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Photo: Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation
Louisville Parks and Recreation is providing four opportunities next week for those seeking a part or full-time job with the city’s largest health club.
“We have some great opportunities available. You might be a college student looking for some experience during the summer, or maybe even looking for a new career. We encourage those who are looking at their employment options to come and check us out,” said Seve Ghose, Director of Parks and Recreation.
Ghose mentioned that the department employs engineers, architects, planners, naturalists, and horticulturalists among other positions. “Some of these positions are a great way to get a foot in the door in the parks and recreation industry and can lead to long-term success in the field,” he said.
Job seekers are encouraged to dress professionally and bring a copy of their resume, if possible.
The job fairs and locations are as follows:
- Portland Community Center, 640 North 27th Street, 40212
Monday, April 2, 1-4 p.m. - Vettiner Maintenance Facility, 7201 Outer Loop, 40228
Tuesday, April 3, 9 a.m. – noon - Iroquois Amphitheater, 1080 Amphitheater Road, 40214
Thursday, April 5, 9 a.m. – noon - Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, 201 Reservoir Avenue, 40206
Friday, April 6, 1-4 p.m.
Mayor Fischer, the Southwest Dream Team and Metro Council members were joined by local business owners and residents to unveil the 2018 edition of the South Points Scenic Area Map. It is the fourth rendition of the map, which has expanded its outreach year over year to include more local businesses and attractions, including this year, Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay.
Also new to this year’s map is an inaugural food district, called “Dine South Points,” which highlights the cultural eateries of the South Points Scenic Area, near Iroquois Park and south to Fairdale. Some new restaurants to be featured in the food district are: Vietnam Kitchen, Binh Phuoc Market, Cocoberry Pops, Shack in the Back BBQ, Golden Wall, La Riviera Maya, Sunergos Coffee and Vietnam Oriental Food Market.
The diverse range of businesses included in the map shines light on the wealth of cultural diversity that lies within the South Points Scenic Area. Louisville Metro and the Southwest Dream Team are proud to support these businesses and invite new businesses to consider participating in next year’s map.
“South and southwest Louisville continues to experience positive economic development, and is a tremendous source of pride for our entire community,” said Fischer. “The number of locally owned businesses and attractions continues to grow, with attractions serving residents and visitors from near and far.”
It is the mission of the Southwest Dream Team to promote economic development in south and southwest Louisville. The South Points Scenic Area was created in 2013 to promote the many tourism-related business and cultural and natural attractions that the area has to offer.
”The Southwest Dream Team is celebrating 10 years of continued efforts to make Southwest Louisville a healthier and more prosperous region of Louisville, and is currently in a strategic planning period,” says Vince Jarboe, President of the Southwest Dream Team. Jarboe also announced their recent hiring of an Executive Director, Charlotte Caldwell, who has extensive experience in nonprofits through her service as an AmeriCorps VISTA and volunteering on several committees for various nonprofits. “The Southwest Dream Team thanks the sponsors and Metro Council members who have been supporting us since the inception of the South Points Scenic Area.”
A mobile version of the map can be viewed at www.southpoints.org, and @SPScenicArea on Facebook and Twitter. For more information and to join the conversation visit www.swdreamteam.org, and follow @SWDT on Twitter to stay updated on the work of the Southwest Dream Team
Mayor Greg Fischer proclaimed that Friday will be Wear Red Day in Louisville to support the Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball team in the Final Four.
The Mayor is asking citizens across the community to wear Cardinal red on Friday, when the team takes on Mississippi State for a spot in the women’s NCAA Tournament championship game. If UofL wins, the Mayor asks that citizens again wear Cardinal red on Sunday to support the team as they play for the national championship.
“What the Cardinals have achieved this season is absolutely extraordinary — an ACC Championship, No. 1 seed in the Big Dance, a first team All-American in Asia Durr, and now a spot in the Final Four,” Mayor Fischer said. “Let’s show UofL women’s basketball that we stand with them and are ready to cheer like crazy this weekend.”
The Cardinals play Mississippi State at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner faces Notre Dame or Connecticut for the National Championship on Sunday.
After an extensive review of city programs and policies, Mayor Greg Fischer announced that Louisville Metro Government (LMG) is expanding its internal policies to better prevent and respond to child abuse in any youth-serving city program.
The Mayor ordered the review last spring, following abuse allegations related to the LMPD Explorer program. Noting at the time that Louisville Metro offers programs and partners with many local agencies on children and youth programming, he said a fresh perspective was important to strengthen city policies to ensure they are as comprehensive as possible.
Metro’s Department of Human Resources hired an outside agency, the McNary Group, to assess current youth-serving program policies in Louisville and to identify best practices.
All city employees are required to adhere to the city’s Code of Ordinances, which states, “Any Louisville Metro employee who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is abused shall immediately cause an oral or written report to be made in compliance with KRS 620.030.”
Some agencies had additional policies or practices based on their own program requirements, accreditation or agency oversight, the review found, but the policies varied, often based on program interactions with other entities, such as Jefferson County Public Schools.
McNary made four recommendations to enhance LMG’s commitment to prevent and appropriately respond to allegations of child abuse within government programs, and noted that the adoption of these recommendations “could set Louisville apart as a model and a leader among other cities.”
The recommendations:
- Create Comprehensive Youth Protection Personnel Policy
- Louisville Metro Government should create a comprehensive and holistic youth protection policy for all employees that includes best practices for employee screening, a code of conduct that elaborates on “duty to report” fundamentals, and explicit reporting procedures.
- Training for All Employees
- All employees should receive youth protection training that communicates a culture of zero tolerance and provides a platform to discuss cultural and systemic barriers to understanding and reporting child abuse. Training should define youth protection and child abuse, provide discussion of healthy boundaries, and reinforce the LMG Personnel Policy.
- Educational Campaign
- Efforts should be taken to regularly engage employees and to reinforce a policy and culture that will not tolerate child abuse, including an internal communications campaign and sharing of materials generated through a partnership with national or local organizations working to end child abuse.
- Specific and Relevant Departmental Code of Conduct
- LMG should convene a cross-functional team to further enhance program-and department-specific youth protection policies and practices, including accountability measures.
The next step will involve working with the McNary Group to implement their recommendations.
J.P. Hamm, Metro’s director of Human Resources, said work already is underway to establish a more comprehensive code of conduct and build an educational campaign around it.
Mayor Fischer thanked the McNary Group and Metro’s HR staff for its work, adding that while he believes the vast majority of LMG programs operate effectively and safely, implementation of the new policy will further ensure that all employees know what is required, and all children are safe.
“My concern has always been ensuring that children in our care are protected,” the Mayor said. “These additional safeguards should assure the community that we take the welfare of children seriously.”
Mayor Greg Fischer was joined by officials from LMPD, Louisville Free Public Library, the Kentucky Science Center, Louisville Parks and Recreation and Jefferson County Public Schools to encourage local children to take advantage of the dozens of free and low-cost activities offered by those organizations during the upcoming spring break April 2-6.
“We want kids to enjoy the time off with their family and friends, and to come back ready to finish the school year strong,” Fischer said. “If parents and kids are looking to keep their minds and bodies stimulated the week of April 2, we have some great local programming that’s being offered through parks and recreation, the library and JCPS at low or no-cost.”
Those include camps run through parks and recreation community centers, including a free basketball clinic by former University of Louisville basketball player Robbie Valentine on April 4-5 at the South Louisville Community Center; activities that include free movie viewings, STEAM instruction, workshops, classes and more at local Louisville Free Public Library branches; and literacy classes for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders through JCPS.
“We want kids to have fun, stay safe and out of trouble during the break from school,” Fischer said. “There are several opportunities daily for them to remain active and engaged through guided programming. Hopefully the weather’s nice and they’ll be able to spend some time enjoying the outdoors as well.”
Metro Government has created a guide to the assorted spring break activities.
Thunder Over Louisville fans making plans for a place to park their cars or pitch a tent have an option that’s close to the action. Louisville Parks and Recreation is selling passes for Thunder weekend at Eva Bandman Park, 1701 River Road.
Eva Bandman Park is located along the Ohio River near Frankfort Avenue, less than a 10-minute stroll from the eastern edge of Waterfront Park.
- Recreational Vehicles – $200 for Friday and Saturday nights; all parking on the pavement and trailers with up to 40-foot awnings are allowed.
- Tents – Campers bringing tents may stay in Eva Bandman Park on Friday and Saturday nights for $50. This includes space for one car, not necessarily next to your tent. Additional cars are $15 each for both RV’s & Tents.
- Parking – On Saturday, April 21, parking spots at Eva Bandman Park will be available as long as space permits, at a cost of $20 per vehicle. Cash only, paid at time of arrival.
Overnight visitors in tents and RVs can stay through Sunday morning. Metro Parks’ staff will be available around the clock. A reservation form can be found here. After staging their site on Friday, those not wishing to camp overnight may exit the park using their extra vehicle and return on Saturday. Previous parking spaces are not guaranteed. Spaces may become limited as Saturday progresses; no other re-entry is authorized.
Advanced registration is highly recommended as the Louisville Police Department will be organizing street closures in the area.
For more information call 502/574-7275 (PARK).
Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5) will host a special ceremony for the unveiling of an honorary street sign in memory of Officer Nick Rodman who died in the line of duty in 2017.
“We will honor his service and dedication to the people of Metro Louisville with signs at the very place where he served; the LMPD First Division Police Station,” says Hamilton. “We continue to mourn his passing. He left us too soon in life and he was an example for all of us for his dedication to public safety.”
The Councilwoman will be joined by President David James (D-6), Councilman Vitalis Lanshima (D-21), Mayor Greg Fischer and LMPD Police Chief Steve Conrad at the ceremony.
“Our city mourns the loss of Officer Rodman, who gave his life to protect ours, and for that we are all eternally grateful. I ask the citizens of Louisville to take a moment and pause to say a prayer for our police officers as they serve and protect a great city every day,” says President James.
“Every day police officers step out, they understand the dangers and responsibilities of their calling. Officer Nick Rodman understood this, yet he did not hesitate when he heard the call over the radio. He responded with courage in service of this community. He made the ultimate sacrifice – a sacrifice that many of us will never contemplate,” says Councilman Lanshima.
Officer Rodman left behind his wife Ashley, his children Mason and Ellie, his parents George and Linda, his siblings Andy and Carly as many friends and colleagues. He followed in his father and brother’s footsteps by becoming a LMPD officer in 2013.
The ceremony is being on the same date when he lost his life one year ago. He was murdered when the suspect intentionally crashed his vehicle into Officer Rodman’s patrol vehicle as Officer Rodman was trying to pursue him. He was 30 years old at the time of his death.
He was a native of Louisville and an outstanding student and athlete at Holy Cross High School where he graduated with a 4.0 GPA and held the honor of being an All District, All-Region football player and All-Star soccer player. He continued his education and successes at Georgetown College where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology and served as the vice president of his fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha.
Three honorary street signs will be placed in the following locations; the corner of North 29th Street and Griffiths Avenue, the corner of
North 29th Street and Garfield Avenue, and directly in front of the LMPD 1st Division Police Station on 416 North 29th Street.
The signs will be designated as “Officer Nick Rodman Way.”
The unveiling ceremony will take place in front of the LMPD First Division Station on Thursday, March 29th beginning at 4:00pm.
