Soapbox

KLH Engineers in Fort Thomas, Ky., has won an Autodesk BIM Experience award for its early adoption of Building Information Modeling for more than 35 new construction and renovation projects representing a total construction value of nearly $400 million.

The Autodesk Award goes to companies and educators internationally that are using innovative design techniques through the company's building information modeling (BIM). BIM is a software-based sustainable design technique that seeks to streamline building processes by more easily linking architects, engineers, construction professionals, facility managers, and owners. The process allows them all to explore the physical and functional characteristics of a building project digitally.

KLH Engineers began using the innovative design program in 2006.

"This is really the future of engineering and design, everything is going this way," said KLH Marketing Manager Cynthia Jackson. "This is 3D designing, and it helps eliminate the errors in the designing process ahead of time, as projects are being designed. It eliminates change orders and speeds up the work process."

KLH, founded in 1955, is a consulting engineering firm offering mechanical, electrical, communication and information technology, lighting design services, commissioning, and energy solutions. The company employs 95, and also has offices in Columbus, Ohio, and Dayton, Ohio.

KLH works in the healthcare, civic, institutional, retail, education and commercial markets and has completed more than 10,000 projects throughout the Tri-State and nationally. Among its projects were the IT design and renovation of the Otto M. Budig Theater at NKU, the mechanical, electrical and lighting systems for the 500,000 sq. ft. Fifth Third Bank call center in Madisonville, and the mechanical and electrical systems for Newport on the Levee.

One of KLH's current projects using BIM is NKU's College of Informatics.

The company also has recently been noted for its innovative approach to design by Building Design + Construction Magazine, which named KLH to their 2009 Giants 300 list and named them as one of the Top 75 Retail Design Firms in the U.S. The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce named KLH Engineers as one of its Emerging 30 firms in 2009.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: KLH Engineers Marketing Manager Cynthia Jackson

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox

Duro Bag expansion continues throughout the United States and some of it is happening right here in Northern Kentucky. After working with the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority to secure up to $1 million in tax incentives, Duro will invest up to $2.5 million in its operations in Florence, Kentucky. The investment allows Duro to add production capacity. Additionally, Duro, which has over 2,500 employees working at 10 manufacturing facilities across the country, plans to add up to 130 employees to the facility in Florence.

Always seeking to serve its existing customers better and to add new ones, Duro continues to develop new high quality products that meet these goals as well as make the company a market leader in the paper bag industry. In addition, Duro, the largest bag manufacturer in the world, has continually strived to improve its operating efficiencies and maintain its position as the lowest cost producer in the market.

Duro is a full-service bag manufacturer producing grocery bags and sacks, handle and merchandise bags, paper lawn and leaf bags, lunch bags, and other.

Founded in 1953 by Mr. S. David Shor, Duro Bag Manufacturing Company continues to be privately owned and by the Shor family. His son, Charles Shor, has been President and Chief Executive Officer since 1987.

Family-owned Smith & Schaefer has been in Cincinnati for 60 years, and the regional healthcare and scientific furnishings dealer has just finished one of its most recent high-profile jobs in Covington.

The company, along with Cleveland based Array Healthcare Facilities Solutions, has just finished a design project for  St. Elizabeth Healthcare's Regional Diabetes Center.

The new Center opened in July and houses the single largest number of diabetes specialists and auxiliary services under one roof. It's largest facility of its type east of the Mississippi, the hospital said.

Smith & Schaefer's project head for the Diabetes Center, Leslie Gray, along with an Array designer worked together on space planning, specifications, finishes and design elements.

"For this facility Smith & Schaefer and Array focused on a modern look with tones that will age well with the facility," said Gray. "We chose a color palette that catered well to the end user groups and furniture that functions well within the space and patient use. Since the space is unique in its size and offerings, we wanted to offer a cohesive design with a separation between the educational and treatment spaces."

The Diabetes Center has 24 exam rooms, nine offices, a reception center, several patient waiting areas and an educational center for group classes and conferences.

Smith & Schaefer is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio with a satellite office in Cleveland and services Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania, and now, West Virginia with resident sales personnel in Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Toledo and Marietta.

The company was founded in 1950 as a regional dealer and manufacturer representative for many nationally known companies specializing in furnishings, equipment, and design, for laboratory research, healthcare, governmental and educational environments.

The company has sold over $250 million of laboratory casework, healthcare furniture and equipment.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: The Eisen Agency

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox

If you're looking for Greater Cincinnati's creative class, hop on over to the ongoing Cincinnati Innovates contest where more than 120 people have submitted a wide variety of innovative concepts for businesses, products and nonprofits.

Cincinnati Innovates 2010 is offering Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky entrepreneurs and inventors more chances at start-up prize money this year, with more than $80,000 in awards.

The second annual competition is open to anyone now or originally from the 15-county area of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. It has a broad reach and can include innovative products, devices, business processes and more.  The top prize of $25,000 is sponsored by CincyTech.

This year's competition ups the stakes and opportunities for innovators. There are several new prize categories including a $5,000 web development award sponsored by CoStrategix, a $10,000 award in branding and design services from LPK, and a $10,000 commercialization award to a Kentucky-based company sponsored by The Northern Kentucky eZone, Tri-Ed, Vision 2015, and  Biologic.

Have an idea to add? You can submit them through Sept. 1. Winners of a total of 10 prizes - including a community choice award picked by online voters - will be announced September 22 at the Cincinnati National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Entries will be judged by investors and other industry experts from a wide variety of backgrounds.

So far about 124 entries have been submitted, said Cincinnati Innovates founder and organizer Elizabeth Edwards.

"This is just a bit less than we saw this time last year, but the quality is much better this year.  I think after seeing the caliber of last year's winners, people now know the level of quality the judges are looking for," Edwards said.

Following is just a sampling of this year's ideas in the entrants own words. You can browse through them all and vote for your favorite at the Cincinnati Innovates website.

FRE Snowboarder Protection System: "Fre is a protective system for beginner snowboarders to rent from mountain resorts. This concept uses high-impact, smart materials in areas prone to injury, which are flexible to the touch and harden upon sudden impact. The key areas of protection are the hips, spine and wrists. Combining this with performance textiles creates a protective system in the otherwise male-dominated market of snowboard gear [and] keeps riders both safe and comfortable."

Complete composting portable restroom: "Complete's waste tank is located beneath the floor of the restroom instead of under a bench-style seat. This opens up more room within the restroom, resulting in a more comfortable user experience. Sawdust is dumped into the tank after each use of the restroom. The sawdust primes the waste for composting and minimizes odor within the restroom. Periodically, the waste and sawdust are pumped out of the tank and transported to a municipal composting facility. At the composting facility, the waste can be processed and will eventually yield healthy, sterile, fertile planting soil."

Doggie Discrimination: "a heart-breaking phenomenon has swept through rescue shelters across the nation; it has been labeled the "Black Dog Syndrome." Unfortunately, a fur color bias has been identified in shelter adoptions - meaning that dark colored dogs, especially large black dogs, seem to be the last to be adopted and the first to be euthanized. My idea is to spread the word about the "Black Dog Syndrome". I would like to organize a "Black Dog Walk" for the community, where current owners and local shelters can come out and show off their black beauties!"

Digital Menus: "My device would basically eliminate the middle man (server) and would directly send over the order to the computer screens in the back by the cooks. All the restaurants are going to need is a few food runners to get the food and drinks to the tables. This menu will also have facilities like refills buttons, or a customer assistance button, in case of additional service assistance."

Ergonomic Crutch: "A pateted shock absorption technology device is seamlessly incorporated in the support leg to absorb the weight of the patient and reduce exertion, resulting in decreased impact stress on the supporting shoulders as well as reduced weight load on the injured leg. The end result is a much more comfortable and expedited recovery process and a cost savings of millions of dollars annually to the healthcare providers and insurance companies."

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Elizabeth Edwards, Cincinnati Innovates founder

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox

An iPhone application designed by Northern Kentucky University students is being used by West Coast residents to track emergency activity as it happens in their community.

Students in the Infrastructure Management Institute at NKU's College of Informatics worked on an app for California's San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District over the course of several months, said Chris Rider, senior technology architect for the institute.

The app, which is called "Fire Department," is free at Apple's App Store. It provides a "virtual window" into the district's 911 dispatch center, according to www.firedepartment.org. iPhone users can see the current response status of the area's dispatched units and are able to "instantly pinpoint incident locations on an interactive map."

Read the entire article here.

Celebrities are drinking it, so are healthy types and even partiers looking for a natural hangover cure.

Americans seems to be going nuts over coconut water, the latest beverage trend. Though its long been a diet staple in Latin America, parts of Asia and the tropics, the low-cal sweet drink is just starting to catch on here and one local company is developing new flavors and concepts just in time for a expected boom in sales.

Wild Flavors company, in Erlanger, has developed and tested a variety of coconut water flavors that include tropical fruits like mango, passion fruit, acai berry, strawberry guava, lime citrus, tropical pineapple and pomegranate berry. The company said it's also developed a young green coconut flavor that makes coconut water "taste like it is fresh from the tree."

The Northern Kentucky company, which manufactures ingredients for the food and beverage industry, has also developed concepts that contain coconut water with added flavors, colors, sweeteners, juices, teas, and/or health and wellness ingredients.

"WILD not only offers unique flavors for coconut water, including the young, green coconut flavor that can help balance out off-tastes that may be associated with coconut water from older coconuts, but also concepts that combine coconut water with other natural, healthy beverages," said Jessica Jones-Dille Wild Flavors' Sr. Manager, Industry Trends and Market Research.

Coconut water appears poised for big growth. Pepsi last year purchased Brazil's biggest coconut water company, and Coke purchased a stake in California-based ZICO beverages, a startup launched in 2004. Coconut water in the U.S has typically been marketed in niche sectors like health stores among yoga groups but is being pushed into to a wider market. It's being marketed as a natural alternative to sports drinks because it is high in potassium, electrolytes and fat-free.

"The trend towards healthy, natural beverages has been developing for several years and coconut water seems to be one of the newest iterations of this trend.  Coconut water is gaining great momentum in the marketplace because it offers consumers a low-calorie, natural alternative to traditional sports drinks, juices, or other beverages," Jones-Dille said.

Writer Feoshia Henderson
Source: Jessica Jones-Dille Wild Flavors' Sr. Manager, Industry Trends and Market Research

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox 

Creation of 404 new jobs and more than $28 million in investments by seven manufacturing companies in Northern Kentucky were heralded Thursday by Gov. Steve Beshear and local officials as Gateway Community and Technical College formally opened its $26 million Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

The 108,000 square-foot building, on Gateway’s campus just off Mount Zion Road, was developed with local manufacturers as a state-of-the- art training center for 21st Century manufacturing skills. The new center among the largest in the Kentucky Community and Technical College system is, expected to train up to 10,000 workers by 2015.

“The center is yet another example of the importance the commonwealth places on advanced manufacturing and related fields,” Beshear said in prepared remarks.

Read the entire article here.

Local attorney Candace Klein launched Bad Girl Ventures in the Spring of 2010 to help fill the gap between small startups looking for loans, and funders who want to invest in local job creation.

She first pitched the well-received idea publically at Ignite Cincinnati, a fast-paced, five-minute pitch event.

"It's really difficult for women-owned startups right now. And Cincinnati is really a philanthropic area. Personally, I've given to so many charities, political causes and organizations.  I thought, 'If there was a way I could give just a portion of that to a startup company that would create jobs, I would,'" said OTR resident Klein during the launch. "I think we're really missing the boat on supporting women-owned startups."

Bad Girl Ventures is based on the micro-financing model of international organizations like Kiva where small loans from individuals are bundled together. Bad Girls is a registered 501(c)3, housed in the Over-the-Rhine Chamber Revitalization Corporation, so contributions are tax deductible. Businesses will soon apply for loans in a competitive application process that will allow them to get their businesses off the ground.

Klein believes BGV is the first of its kind in the nation because it pairs the micro-lending model with a curriculum and a focus on women. Five chosen startups will undergo a six-week entrepreneur curriculum, where they will learn the building blocks to starting a business and be responsible for submitting a business plan, WBE application, etc.  While one of the five entrepreneurs will receive a $25,000 low interest loan from Bad Girl Ventures, other partner banks will be approached to finance the other participants. Another round of financing will follow every six weeks or so.

BGV has nearly met that $25,000 milestone, raising funds from local business people and entrepreneurs (donation levels start at $25). Eligible businesses must be at least 51 percent women-owned and in the sectors of retail, restaurant or professional services.


Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Candace Klein, founder Bad Girl Ventures

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox

Erlanger-based Mentos has found a new way to engage fans of the quirky brand by creating a hub for creativity with its "Fresh Goes Better" Facebook page, which launched in April.

The chewy mint candy has long inspired creative interpretation and even fascination. The brand's ad campaign in the mid-1990's featured people popping the candy to calm down and find solutions to not-so-serious problems (like ripping a dress or ruining a suit with paint). Then there are the Mentos and soda fountain videos that are popular on YouTube, and even featured on an episode of the Discovery Network's Mythbusters science and experiment show. One of the most famous Mentos commercial interpretations was the Foo Fighter's Big Me video from the '90s.

"Mentos has a very strong heritage of bringing a 'nothing can get me down' attitude to consumers.  This is evident in the historical Freshmaker commercials that showed people solving small problems in a creative way. While the creative execution may change (Facebook), the basic tenants of the brand are still as relevant in 2010 as they were in the 1990's," said Mentos Brand Manager Craig Cuchra.

Amateurs too have taken creative interpretation of the brand. The company's page offers a central place for Mentos-inspired pictures, video and even music.

"The underlying motivation for our Facebook page is to provide a type of curatorship for all things Mentos.  We noticed a lot of user generated content out in all kinds of social media websites that were not initiated by anyone at Perfetti Van Melle (Mento's Italian-based parent company)," Cuchra said.

Fans can upload video, music and art through the Facebook page to be displayed. Like all company Facebook pages, it also creates a way for the company to interact with consumers on a more personal level.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Mentos Brand Manager Craig Cuchra
Photography by Scott Beseler
You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox

Jacobs Automation announced the closing today of a Series A financing led by Blue Chip Venture Company, joined by the Queen City Angels, the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, and the company's founders. Additionally, the company secured a loan from the Kentucky Department of Commercialization and Innovation.

"This financing will fuel our rapid growth, allowing us to capitalize on the numerous opportunities available in the market" said Keith Jacobs, CEO of Jacobs Automation.

Jacobs further notes, "We saw great success in the past year and this financing round will help us continue to innovate and continue our aggressive growth".

About PackTrak:

Jacobs Automation LLC is a leading automation technology provider, developing and manufacturing technology with groundbreaking speed, flexibility, and energy efficiency for the packaging and material handling industries.

The company's PackTrak™ product line saves money and reduces energy consumption by transforming today's hardware laden automation machinery into software-based, highly flexible digital machinery. Using maglev technology (propelling objects using magnetic fields), Packtrak eliminates a significant amount of hardware, the root cause for downtime, inflexibility and maintenance in a machine, replacing it with software-controlled, solid state components.

PackTrak provides independent, software control of multiple movers along a track in a production line, while greatly reducing the number of hardware components. This capability provides for increased flexibility and speed for the movement of products in packaging, converting and material handling processes, saving Jacobs' customers millions of dollars in annual costs.

For more information, visit www.jacobsautomation.com.

Northern Kentucky cities this year could get greener if Congress passes an energy bill that would expand an existing Kentucky program that offers loans for public building energy efficiency upgrades.

Kentucky is the first state in the nation to create a Green Bank, a revolving loan fund offering low-interest loans for energy efficiency projects at state buildings. The $14.4 million fund uses federal stimulus money and is currently limited to publically owned state buildings.

The Green Bank of Kentucky was launched last fall by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear; dollars are awarded through a competitive application process. Loans can be used for energy efficiency upgrades like LEED certified construction projects, energy efficiency upgrades or retrofits that result in reduced energy usage.

"When the governor first came into office, one of his early goals was to create a comprehensive energy proposal. Energy efficiency was going to play a major role in that. We thought before we started asking homeowners and businesses to be more efficient, we should start first," explained Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Jonathan Miller. The cabinet administers the program.

So far the Green Bank has announced one loan, $1.3 million to the Kentucky Department of Education which will use the funds for projects at the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville and other department buildings. Several other applications are under review, but none in Northern Kentucky so far.

Though the current Green Bank program is limited to state buildings, local cities and counties could be included if a provision to create a national Green Bank in the current federal Clean Energy Bill passes this year, Miller said.

Though some parts of the bill are very controversial including the so-called cap-and trade proposal, the idea of a national Green Bank fund has much wider support, Miller added.

"A national Green Bank has national support, and if it does pass we feel pretty confident (we could use federal funds) for the state Green Bank. We could loan that to city and county facilities so that folks on the local level can become more energy efficient," he said.

Several other states already are looking to model Kentucky's innovative program, including Delaware and South Carolina. Officials there have been talking to Kentucky officials in an effort to launch their own Green Banks, Miller said.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Jonathan Miller, Secretary of the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet

You can follow Feoshia on twitter here.

Garden Grove Organics is a business devoted to a better way to grow plants and produce--sans chemicals. After tinkering with hydroponics, no-soil organic, and traditional gardening since 1997, Casey Fraser and his wife, Heather, opened Garden Grove three years ago. Fraser takes a scientist's pleasure in finding solutions to gardening challenges.

Casey Fraser was first inspired by his grandparents' love of growing things. He grew up in Eastern Kentucky and earned a degree in Communications and Electronic Media from Morehead State University. He started out in garden supply retail, and later traveled the country as a sales rep for a wholesale supplier - all the while pursuing gardening as a weekend passion.

"While shopping locally, I noticed a lack of specific, scientific garden supplies," said Fraser. "I also noticed that my own gardening knowledge often surpassed that of the sales staff." By then he'd met Heather, whose accounting degree from NKU could hold up the paperwork side of a small business. It was time to grow their own enterprise.
 
After falling in love with downtowns on both sides of the river, Fraser found his perfect urban location the old-fashioned way - on foot. East Seventh Street in Covington is near City Hall, the Mad Hatter, and the Madison Theater.

The Frasers believe detailed knowledge of hydroponics, grow lights, and organic gardening is their most valuable currency. They're often invited to speak at local gardening classes, and recently began selling organic gardening supplies at the Farmers Market in Covington. Casey, Heather, and one additional employee man the store six days a week.
 
Writer: Elena Stevenson
Source: Casey Fraser, co-owner, Garden Grove Organics

Months after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the poor, island nation of Haiti, hundreds of thousands of families remain homeless without the basic necessities and safety that we take for granted.

But Northern Kentucky University Construction Management students are among those working to help some Haitians build a brighter, more sustainable future through an innovative housing initiative. The undergraduate students in Dr. Sean Foley's construction management class are working on a plan to provide permanent and reliable housing for nearly 500 people.

The project, which was presented May 3, is one of three capstone projects for the university's construction management classes. The other projects are a proposed renovation of NKU’s baseball complex and a renovation of the Winton Hills Medical Center in Cincinnati for a new dental office.

The Haiti project would provide housing for about $400 per person and was completed with input from Hearts and Hands for Haiti (or HHH), a ministry-based, non-profit that provides housing and other necessities for Haitians. Students worked with HHH board member Harry Lyness.

"Mr. Lyness has worked to guide us through some of the more uncertain areas in the process," Ohlhaut said. "With the help of experienced mentors like Mr. Lyness and the NKU faculty and some diligent work on the parts of our group members, we will have a proposal that provides comfortable housing, shower and bathroom facilities and a sanitary water supply for 480 of the western hemispheres most impoverished people," said student Patrick Ohlhaut.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Northern Kentucky University Communications

You can follow Feoshia on twitter here.

Three years after moving around Ohio and Kentucky, the 9th Annual Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences (or OVALS) Conference will return to Cincinnati in 2011.

OVALS launched in 2002 at the University of Cincinnati to connect the region's major research and medical universities. It started with just a few partners and has grown over the years to include the Air Force Research Laboratory, CincyTechUSA and Ohio University.

The founding partner universities, in Ohio and Kentucky, attract and expend approximately $650 million per year on basic and applied research, which generates over 240 intellectual property disclosures per year, according to OVALS.

"We started this as an opportunity to pull together some of the research universities in our region. It’s a way to create a larger, critical mass of activity. On an individual level it's harder for us to compete with the east and west coasts," said Dorothy Air, OVALS chair and associate vice president for entrepreneurial affairs at UC.

The conference is the organization's signature event and brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators. It also includes the Universities of Kentucky and Louisville and Bluegrass Business Development Partnership.

When the conference returns to the Queen City, even more university partners could be involved, Air said. At least three universities that conduct research but aren't traditionally known as research or medical universities have expressed interest and may join the affiliates by next year, she said.

In addition to gathering for the annual event, OVALS These affiliates share resources and equipment that make the Ohio and Kentucky life sciences community stronger, Air added.

"We all exist in a small area, and are within two hours of each other. That actually is an important part of how we pull this together. We wanted the kind of partnerships that help us to grow as a bio science and life science community," Air said.

Among the projects OVALS has helped bring to the area was the recent national Small Business Innovation Research conference that came to Kentucky.

"To attract a national conference to a region you have to show you have local support in terms of organizing it, and that 500 or 600 people will come to it. (SBIR) put out a call for proposals. Kentucky led that and OVALS supported it," Air said.

Two-state organizations like OVALs are rare, and garner interest outside the region.

"A lot of people are quite taken with idea that we have two states working together and multiple organizations working with it. It's a little different model than what goes on in some areas. Because this is affiliation and not an official or government entity, it's pretty amazing that we pull together to get things done," Air said.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Dorothy Air, OVALS Chair

You can follow Feoshia on twitter here.

Any baseball fan knows Cincinnati's Pete Rose, but a new generation of fans are losing sight of "Charlie Hustle," the nickname Rose earned as baseball's record-breaking, bowl-cut icon. A new film by Covington-based Barking Fish Entertainment plans to change that.

Producers hope the film will remind fans of the Rose who finished his playing days with three World Series rings and a slew of records. The feature-length documentary, "4,192: The Crowning of the Hit King," is scheduled to premiere in Los Angeles on July 9 and Cincinnati soon after, during baseball's All-Star break. 
    
Rose's early life, growing up on Cincinnati's West Side, as well as his 23-year playing career are highlighted, from an early-career spring training game in which Yankees legend Whitey Ford gave Rose the "Charlie Hustle" moniker - some say derisively - to the September night 25 years ago when Rose slapped a single (the titular 4,192nd hit of his career) to become the sport's all-time hits leader, surpassing the legendary Ty Cobb. 
    
The anniversary of that occasion was, in part, inspiration for the project, said Barking Fish partner Aymie Majerski. 
    
"My business partner, Terry Lukemire, is a huge baseball fan and, of course, he's from this area, so it was important to him," Majerski explained. "There really hasn't been a documentary on Pete Rose, especially one that focuses on his playing career. That's what we were most interested in, because people have forgotten the kind of player Pete was." 
    
The first hurdle was getting Rose's permission. Though he had declined many offers over the years, Rose quickly signed off on the project and Barking Fish started work last July, Majerski said. Rose contemporaries and baseball Hall of Famers' Marty Brennaman, Tony Perez and Mike Schmidt also quickly signed on, and contribute interviews, she adds.

Work continues on the film, leading up to the July premiere in LA, where Majerski says they'll strike a deal for theatrical circulation and possible broadcast rights. A DVD release in planned for September. 

Barking Fish, based in Covington's arts district, was formed five years ago by Lukemire, and Majerski, who is originally from Los Angeles. The partnership has been prolific, working on projects for BET, Showtime, Sony Music and other corporate customers. Their latest work, "Rebound: A Basketball Story," chronicles Simon Kenton High School's 1981 state basketball title after a massive gas explosion that severely damaged the school, injured many and resulted in one death. Narrated by Nick Clooney, it will air on Kentucky Educational Television in June. 

Writer: Dave Malaska
Source: Barking Fish partner Aymie Majerski