Around 1 p.m. Friday, the Kenton County Fiscal Court was notified that the radio tower located at Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky (CHNK) in Covington had been compromised.
A representative of Mobilecomm and employees of the Kenton County Dispatch Center discovered that a tree had fallen, damaging the tower’s guide wires and compromising the tower itself.
Structural engineers advised that the tower was not salvageable, based on observable damage and its age.
After reviewing options, Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann ordered that a temporary tower be erected to minimize disruption of 911 radio communications.
Because the existing tower will require demolition and removal, the residents of CHNK will be moved during this process.
The demolition will take place between approximately noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 15th, and will require an evacuated safe zone of 750 to 1000 feet beginning at noon before the controlled blast drops the tower.
Some affected households, including a portion of Rivers Breeze in Ludlow, will need to remain indoors and stay away from windows during the aforementioned time period. These individuals will be contacted directly.
In the interim, both Mobilecomm and O’Rourke, the demolition company retained, recommend maintaining a 450 foot clearance zone around the tower. That radius affects Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky and a small portion of the golf course at Devou Park.
For further questions, please contact Kenton County Administrator Joe Shriver at Joe.Shriver@KentonCounty.org.
The Children’s Home issued the following statement:
On Friday Kenton County’s Homeland Security & Emergency Management department recommended that Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky (CHNK) evacuate its Devou Park campus due to a structurally compromised emergency communications tower located on CHNK’s property and operated by Kenton County.
Upon receiving this guidance, the CHNK treatment team began an emergency evacuation of clients and staff from the campus’s three residential buildings and administration building. Clients and residential treatment team members relocated to CHNK’s Burlington campus; administrative personnel were moved to the agency’s Deaconess Health Check location at 525 W. Fifth Street in downtown Covington. CHNK also canceled a gathering of major donors who were scheduled to come together that evening to celebrate the 199th birthday of CHNK founder Colonel Amos Shinkle.
Simultaneously, CHNK contacted Kentucky’s Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) and all parents and/or legal guardians of current clients to notify them of the situation and to confirm the safety of the youth. Faculty and staff of Covington Independent Public Schools’ Transformational Learning Center, which operates out of CHNK’s Devou Park campus, were also notified in light of the fact that classes resume next week.
“The safety of our residents and staff has been and remains our top concern,” CHNK Chief Executive Officer Rick Wurth said, noting that his team is using trauma-informed tactics to help CHNK’s young clients adjust to the change in routine. “Our youth in treatment struggle with consistency; they’ve often experienced multiple moves from foster placement to foster placement. Ensuring their sense of safety – not just physical but also emotional – is a priority for us at this time.”
Despite the interruption to CHNK’s main campus, all programming and daily operations continue to move forward on its other two campuses, thanks in part to supportive community partners who pivoted quickly to assist the agency with these alternate, temporary accommodations. The timeline for returning to the Devou Park campus is fluid, as it depends on the demolition and removal of the tower. Structural engineers advised that the tower is not salvageable, based on observable damage and the tower’s age. Demolition of the tower is scheduled to take place on Tuesday between approximately noon and 6 p.m.
“CHNK staff members and professionals from the community are prepared to immediately inspect the campus and its facilities following the tower’s demolition, to make certain that children in our care and our staff members are returning to safe conditions,” CHNK Chief Strategy Officer Julie Raia said.
In the meantime, individuals needing to contact CHNK can continue to do so by calling the agency’s main number at 859.261.8768 or by emailing info@chnk.org. Updates about the re-opening of the Devou Park campus will be shared on CHNK’s Facebook page as they become available.
“We are grateful to Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann and his staff, our partners with Homeland Security, and local first responders for the partnership that has been critically important over the last few days,” Wurth said. “Continued partnership and support will be absolutely necessary in the upcoming days as we attempt to bring our children back to their cottages in time for their first day of classes this new school year.”
