WEBVTT - 11-25-25 Willie with Denise Driehaus

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, Billy cunning in the Great American Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, tomorrow we've scheduled Western Southern CEO John Barrett

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about his race on Thanksgiving morning, and also

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<v Speaker 1>Governor Mike DeWine will be here, I think, expressing regret

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<v Speaker 1>about allowing gambling casino in the state of Ohio and

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<v Speaker 1>sports betting, and also what's happening with marijuana. But until then,

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<v Speaker 1>Denise tree House is head of the Hamley County Commissioners.

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<v Speaker 1>She runs the county with an iron grip. And Denise

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<v Speaker 1>tree House, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And Denise,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm good? Did you just say the governor's coming down

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<v Speaker 2>to run the turkey trot?

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<v Speaker 1>Actually, John Barrett's going to invite him to run with him.

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<v Speaker 1>But if that happens, I want pictures of that.

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<v Speaker 3>Would you agree?

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<v Speaker 2>I do too. I'm coming down if that's the case.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, let's talk about since first I want to

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<v Speaker 1>issue thanks to the Drea House family.

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<v Speaker 3>Are you ready for this?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm with baited.

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<v Speaker 1>Breath because you know, things occur for a reason, I think,

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<v Speaker 1>and there were many years ago you may not recall

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<v Speaker 1>in the late nineteen seventies early nineteen eighties, when I

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<v Speaker 1>was coming into Cincinnati back from Toledo Law School. I

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<v Speaker 1>grew up here, but I got Toledo Law School. I

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<v Speaker 1>had a good time there. I wanted to come back home.

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<v Speaker 1>So I go and B Larson hires me in the

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<v Speaker 1>Hamlet County Public Defender's office to be an assistant public defender.

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<v Speaker 1>And from that I went to see Jerry Springer and

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<v Speaker 1>I said I wanted to get into politics. And at

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<v Speaker 1>that point, Jerry Springer was the mayor for the second Ideation,

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<v Speaker 1>and he said, well, I'll tell you what I'll do.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll call Saco Weathy and let's see if we can

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<v Speaker 1>help you out. So I spoke to Jerry, I met

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<v Speaker 1>Sacho Weeathy, and from that I met Don Dreehouse, and

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<v Speaker 1>I met Carol Grow and I met PAMs and Dusty Rose.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, those are the head Democrats in the county,

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<v Speaker 1>would you agree?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, the old Guard, the old Guard.

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<v Speaker 1>And they put me in the AG's office with Anthony J.

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<v Speaker 1>Celebreezy and then William Brown and I tried cases on

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<v Speaker 1>behalf of the age and from that I ran for

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<v Speaker 1>political office two times, lost each time as a Democrat.

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<v Speaker 1>But when I think about Thanksgiving coming up, I'm thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about your dad. I'm thinking about SOCCO, I'm thinking about Pam,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm thinking about Carol. And now their daughter is

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<v Speaker 1>running Hamley County Commission. So I want to say thank

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<v Speaker 1>you to the Treehouse family. Without all that being involved,

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<v Speaker 1>I would not be here today.

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<v Speaker 2>That is a lovely sentiment. Two things, though, I do

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<v Speaker 2>not run the county on my own, just to be clear,

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<v Speaker 2>there are three of us. And the other thing I'm

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<v Speaker 2>treated about, what did you run for?

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<v Speaker 3>Well?

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<v Speaker 1>I ran for state representative in the House twenty six

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<v Speaker 1>House district and Saco says, look, if I put you

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<v Speaker 1>in the AG's office, we want you to run for something.

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<v Speaker 3>I said, Well, I live in Madeira.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a Democrat in Madeira and at the time that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't the most popular place to be and so I

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<v Speaker 1>ran against Helen Helen Fix. You recall a state rep

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<v Speaker 1>named Helen Fix. She was there for like fifteen or

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<v Speaker 1>twenty years. And I came up with this motto, and

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<v Speaker 1>the motto was the Fix is in, get the Fix out,

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<v Speaker 1>vote the man, vote Cunningham.

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<v Speaker 2>And how did you lose that race?

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<v Speaker 1>I lost like seventy two to twenty eight, and.

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<v Speaker 3>So on that point.

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<v Speaker 1>Years decades go by, about five or six years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I had a hard Voul replaced by Carriacus

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<v Speaker 1>at Christ and so he changed offices on the second

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<v Speaker 1>floor the building there, and so I go up there

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm looking for Dean Carriacus's new office on the

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<v Speaker 1>second floor of the Christ Hospital building. And I walk

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<v Speaker 1>up to the to the administration desk. This little woman

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<v Speaker 1>is sitting there. She had to be in the nineties.

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<v Speaker 1>And I said, ma'am, can you tell me where doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Dean carry Outs's new offices. She looked up and said,

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<v Speaker 1>the fix is in, get the fix out. Both the

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<v Speaker 1>man Voth Cunningham and I looked it and I said, amazing,

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<v Speaker 1>I said, are you Helen, Yes, I am, he said.

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<v Speaker 3>She said that had that slogan.

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<v Speaker 2>Go oh my gosh, that's amazing like her that, I said.

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<v Speaker 3>I said, this is wonderful. What have you been doing well?

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<v Speaker 1>I retired and then I ran for the County Commission

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<v Speaker 1>and I didn't do well, and so I just went

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<v Speaker 1>into I voluntary. I said, can I get a picture

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<v Speaker 1>taken with you? She said, I would love it, So

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<v Speaker 1>I I got, I run around the desk, put my

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<v Speaker 1>my phone up, got a picture of me and Helen Fix,

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<v Speaker 1>and sadly she died about two years later. So then

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<v Speaker 1>I get a call from Bill Site. You know Bill

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<v Speaker 1>Sites stay represented.

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<v Speaker 2>But this is what politics does, right, It's just I

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<v Speaker 2>got to tell you it brings people together.

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<v Speaker 1>Go ahead.

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<v Speaker 3>So I get a call from him.

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<v Speaker 1>But two or three years ago, said did you run

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<v Speaker 1>against Helen Fix in like nineteen seventy eight? I said, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>I said, how I did? She said, well, he said, well,

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<v Speaker 1>she died and I have to do a remembrance on

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<v Speaker 1>the floor of the House in Columbus about Helen Fix.

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<v Speaker 1>And I gave him some you know some things I did.

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<v Speaker 1>And and you talk about how secute his life is

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<v Speaker 1>that there's Helen Fix, the fixes in, get the Fix out,

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<v Speaker 1>vote the man, vote Countingham.

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<v Speaker 3>Do you remember?

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<v Speaker 2>Think that's a pretty clever slogan. I think that's very clever.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure it would work today, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, you know, I'll play the gender card a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit. You know, women in seventy eight weren't exactly.

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<v Speaker 3>Like today. You ladies control everything, the county cap I.

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<v Speaker 2>Can't condone that I mean, Lily, if you were sexispect,

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<v Speaker 2>then you know I can't. But here we are, here,

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<v Speaker 2>we are in a new day.

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<v Speaker 1>You're telling me. I mean, men, we had our time,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's over. And whenever I think about you, I

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<v Speaker 1>think about don I think about Socco and Pam, I

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<v Speaker 1>think about Dusty and anyway, let's go on to current events,

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<v Speaker 1>so to speak.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh but listen, they were such a tight knit group

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<v Speaker 2>and they loved what they did. They just they were

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<v Speaker 2>at the Board of Elections making sure everybody got to vote,

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<v Speaker 2>and they just were so committed to what they were doing.

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<v Speaker 2>That was really those were good days for the Democrats,

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<v Speaker 2>and now they're better.

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<v Speaker 1>But you were just a little girl then, weren't you,

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<v Speaker 1>Like you were like five or ten years old.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, when my dad ran in sixty eight,

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<v Speaker 2>I was five and so but I remember that campaign.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, we drove around the neighborhood with a bullhorn

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<v Speaker 2>on the top of the station wagon and we sang

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<v Speaker 2>songs treehouse songs to German music. I mean, it was crazy,

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<v Speaker 2>and we all dressed up in red, white and blue

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<v Speaker 2>and took photos with styrochrome you know, hats on and

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<v Speaker 2>with the bumper stickers on the front. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>we love that stuff and we still love it. I

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<v Speaker 2>mean it's it's in our blood. And we do really

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<v Speaker 2>enjoy getting out and meeting people and campaigning. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>it's it's fun.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I like to think you're the old guard, but not really,

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<v Speaker 1>but not compared to getting there.

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<v Speaker 3>You're getting there.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm getting there.

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<v Speaker 1>The Democratic Party used to be in the Veneyards, You're

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<v Speaker 1>now you're in the mansion House. And and now now

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<v Speaker 1>the Republicans. The Republicans are on your lips. Yeah, let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about issues number one. What happened Friday night was

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<v Speaker 1>just unbelievable between you were there and I think, what

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<v Speaker 1>can we do that more often? And you know, my

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<v Speaker 1>running mate Rocky Boyman controls high school sports with an

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<v Speaker 1>iron grip. We do the games here at thirteen sixty.

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<v Speaker 1>If there could be some union or some understanding that

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<v Speaker 1>contact high school sports with as Rocky been in touch

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<v Speaker 1>with you about it, making this an annual event.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've talked to Rocky and that's the expectation is

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<v Speaker 2>that Friday will serve as a model for what we

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<v Speaker 2>can do next year in years beyond. Katie Blackburn was

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<v Speaker 2>down there as well, and so I've touch based with

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<v Speaker 2>her also and said, you know, that was just such

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<v Speaker 2>a great night for this community. The kids were fired up,

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<v Speaker 2>the adults were fired up. I mean, it was just

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<v Speaker 2>a great night. And it was terrible weather by the way,

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<v Speaker 2>but but boy did they put a show on with

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<v Speaker 2>the jumbo tron and the ticker tape with Saint X

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<v Speaker 2>and Elder on it. So I'm super excited that we

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<v Speaker 2>could get that done. And a lot of credit goes

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<v Speaker 2>to the Bengals for reaching out the OHSAA and making

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<v Speaker 2>sure that they were on board and then getting everybody

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<v Speaker 2>down there. Willie. It's a huge operation when you think

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<v Speaker 2>about the concessions and the parking and the security and

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<v Speaker 2>all the things, and all those people down there working

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<v Speaker 2>on that Friday night. It was just amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>Why did come together so quickly? Because and I guess

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<v Speaker 1>why why didn't OHSA think about it ahead of time?

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<v Speaker 1>And why because when I spoke to you on Monday,

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<v Speaker 1>you and Katie got it done like Tuesday morning, right,

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<v Speaker 1>it was done.

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<v Speaker 2>It was quick, and I and credit where credits do?

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<v Speaker 2>You're the one that brought it to my attention, So

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<v Speaker 2>I'm grateful for that. And then I brought it to

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<v Speaker 2>Katie's attention and then we all work together to get

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<v Speaker 2>it done.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, well, I'm making a nanda.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure Elder's ever going to be undefeated, untied,

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<v Speaker 1>unscored on ever again at that point, and say next

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<v Speaker 1>is always going to be there. But I bet there's

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<v Speaker 1>always going to be a GCL school. I almost bet

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<v Speaker 1>you that, or maybe Lakota West, Lakota East something, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>Cole Raine will arrive again. Unlikely, but nonetheless, thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>And you have more control over the stadium now than

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<v Speaker 1>you had before. Correct, after the new lease was signed.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, that's right, yeah, and it's all part of the

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<v Speaker 2>new lease where we said we want to use the

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<v Speaker 2>county asset, which belongs to the taxpayers, for more than

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<v Speaker 2>just football games for the Bengals, and so these high

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<v Speaker 2>school football games are part of it. Concerts are part

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<v Speaker 2>of it. You know, there's a lot that we've been

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<v Speaker 2>thinking through, but one other thing related to football. So

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I was contacted then after we got this

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<v Speaker 2>all worked out, then the folks from Anderson were contacting

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<v Speaker 2>my office. Let me take like a hundred an eighty

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<v Speaker 2>email because they wanted their game to be played at

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<v Speaker 2>pay Corps, and it was too late to get that done.

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<v Speaker 2>But we need to think next year about teams that

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<v Speaker 2>you know, are from all over the county, from every community,

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<v Speaker 2>having an opportunity to play there. And so maybe you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a Saturday with more than one game, the logistics

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<v Speaker 2>would be a little bit easier in that case. Or

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we got to we got to think more

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<v Speaker 2>broadly than just you know, I was thrilled that Division

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<v Speaker 2>one was there, uh and the champion, you know, the

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<v Speaker 2>regional championships were played there. But we're going to have

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<v Speaker 2>to make sure that others have an opportunity to So

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<v Speaker 2>I'm super excited about next year and years beyond.

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<v Speaker 1>Could you imagine starting like at one o'clock and having

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<v Speaker 1>having four games. I got a hold of Beechwood and Covcat.

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<v Speaker 1>They would love to play at pay Course Stadium. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>not forget one third of the market. I would think

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<v Speaker 1>one third of the business to the Bengals come from

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<v Speaker 1>northern Kentucky. And why not have a Kentucky game, an

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<v Speaker 1>Indiana game, and two Ohio games or three Ohio games

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<v Speaker 1>in one Kentucky game. Rob Sanders and that group would

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<v Speaker 1>love to play at pay court. And let's face the

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<v Speaker 1>sales tax revenues generated from Northern Kentuckians as millions of

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<v Speaker 1>dollars every year. They want to be invested. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>even though it's not direct. Would you be open to

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<v Speaker 1>the idea of love allowing one game to be played

0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:19.400
<v Speaker 1>by maybe Cuvkath against speech Wood something like that.

0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.320
<v Speaker 2>Well, at this point, I'm open to all ideas, but

0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.200
<v Speaker 2>I to be clear, my focus, of course is going

0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:28.440
<v Speaker 2>to be a Hamilton County and making sure Hamilton County

0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.520
<v Speaker 2>teams get I mean, yeah it is. It is their

0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.640
<v Speaker 2>stadium after all. But you know, open to anything. I mean,

0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:35.680
<v Speaker 2>it could be more than one weekend. I mean, we

0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.880
<v Speaker 2>need to think through this and figure out what we

0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:42.360
<v Speaker 2>can do by way of Bengal schedule, concert schedules and

0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.439
<v Speaker 2>high school football games because when people think about that stadium,

0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:49.600
<v Speaker 2>they want high school football games played in that stadium

0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:51.679
<v Speaker 2>and so and we wrote it into the least for

0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:53.600
<v Speaker 2>a reason, right, and so now we're this is our

0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.600
<v Speaker 2>response so far, but we need to use this as

0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:59.320
<v Speaker 2>a model moving forward, and the Bengals are obviously open

0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.760
<v Speaker 2>to it. So it's a new day when it comes

0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.239
<v Speaker 2>to some of these different kind of events down the stadium.

0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:08.880
<v Speaker 1>Now, there's several big plots between pay Corps and the

0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.800
<v Speaker 1>Great American Ballpark that are vacant and open. I've seen

0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:15.560
<v Speaker 1>the inchoir, the city in the county go back and forth.

0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:18.640
<v Speaker 1>Can you tell us the status of those large plots

0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.720
<v Speaker 1>between the two stadiums that are at this point vacant

0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:22.520
<v Speaker 1>and what is your plan?

0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:27.840
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So the Urban Design Review Committee presented to both

0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:30.640
<v Speaker 2>the county and the city last week to give us

0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:33.839
<v Speaker 2>their best ideas. And this is a group that's city,

0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.160
<v Speaker 2>the county or at the table the Bengals, the Red

0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:39.840
<v Speaker 2>but we have the other retailers down there weighing in

0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:43.200
<v Speaker 2>music venues, some of the retailers the Freedom Center, and

0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:46.520
<v Speaker 2>so we need to take a look at this. It

0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:49.680
<v Speaker 2>was our first time seeing it. So it's got a

0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.479
<v Speaker 2>lot of residential in it. It's got some retail, commercial,

0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:55.960
<v Speaker 2>it's got a hotel which I thought was interesting on it.

0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:57.720
<v Speaker 2>It's got a little bit of office which I'm not

0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:00.280
<v Speaker 2>sure that comes to fruition. But anyway, we've got a

0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:02.880
<v Speaker 2>plan in front of us now, and so it's exciting.

0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.920
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I'm anxious to get this done right, to

0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:08.559
<v Speaker 2>finish out the banks. So Lot twenty four, the biggest,

0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.559
<v Speaker 2>has the infrastructure already built. So this is the infrastructure

0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:15.400
<v Speaker 2>that lifts it out of the floodplain and creates that

0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.680
<v Speaker 2>parking underneath. And then we need to do similar to

0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:22.440
<v Speaker 2>the other lots that are still vacant, do that under

0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.599
<v Speaker 2>build and then make sure that we've got some appropriate

0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:26.360
<v Speaker 2>development on top.

0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:29.600
<v Speaker 1>What is a brand new twenty thousand seat arena fit

0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.199
<v Speaker 1>in that plan? Does it fit more at TQL or

0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:35.840
<v Speaker 1>does it fit more on the riverfront which already has

0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:36.720
<v Speaker 1>the infrastructure.

0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.160
<v Speaker 2>Well, I have said all along that if we're going

0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:45.480
<v Speaker 2>to build a new arena, we should take advantage of

0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:48.480
<v Speaker 2>our built infrastructure, and so that is parking, and that

0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.560
<v Speaker 2>is other assets that belong to the taxpayers, to the public.

0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:56.560
<v Speaker 2>And so obviously the location down on the riverfront allows

0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:58.760
<v Speaker 2>for us to use all the parking that's already built

0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:00.800
<v Speaker 2>down there. I mean it's being used now by the arena,

0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:04.040
<v Speaker 2>so we know it can accommodate that. And I've seen

0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.880
<v Speaker 2>some renderings where they have taken down the old arena

0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:11.000
<v Speaker 2>and then built new on that same footprint. It moves

0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.120
<v Speaker 2>a little bit and expands a little bit, but it's

0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:16.400
<v Speaker 2>down in that area. And then, of course the other

0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:19.960
<v Speaker 2>two options are the space up by the Convention Center

0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:22.840
<v Speaker 2>that will be made available through the reconfiguration of the

0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.800
<v Speaker 2>Brent Spence Bridge. There's about eight acres to the west

0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:27.680
<v Speaker 2>of the Convention Center that's going to be freed up,

0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:29.760
<v Speaker 2>so that's something to think about. And then the other

0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:32.640
<v Speaker 2>location is up by FC in the west end.

0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.400
<v Speaker 1>And who's going to make that decision at the arena?

0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:38.680
<v Speaker 1>Because I call them the masters of the universe. On

0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.360
<v Speaker 1>one hand, you got John Barrett, You've got Casteline, you

0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:43.440
<v Speaker 1>got the Brown Family, you have the banks. On the

0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:47.200
<v Speaker 1>other hand, you have Carl Linder, you have the farmers,

0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:51.840
<v Speaker 1>you have Jeff Birding, you have TQL the masters of

0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:52.480
<v Speaker 1>the universe.

0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:54.400
<v Speaker 3>Are those two going to fight with each other?

0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.320
<v Speaker 2>Well, I hope not. I mean I hope that we

0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:01.120
<v Speaker 2>can come together. And then the other you know, you

0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:05.280
<v Speaker 2>left out the taxpayers. I mean, I know what you're saying,

0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:07.880
<v Speaker 2>but the public, you know, should have a say in

0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.280
<v Speaker 2>this too as to what they think. And then the

0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.240
<v Speaker 2>other piece of this, by the way, is that we

0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.520
<v Speaker 2>have not figured out a financial stack for this. I mean,

0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:17.360
<v Speaker 2>you know, in the end we need to have the

0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:22.640
<v Speaker 2>financing together. We are nowhere near having that completed. And so,

0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.360
<v Speaker 2>you know, while I think it's important to talk about

0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.360
<v Speaker 2>the sighting of a new arena, I think it's secondary

0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:29.680
<v Speaker 2>to who's going to pay for it.

0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.640
<v Speaker 1>So if somebody with deep pockets walks up and says,

0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:36.200
<v Speaker 1>if it's seven eight hundred million, I'll put in five

0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:40.080
<v Speaker 1>hundred million. Whoever pays for the band calls the music.

0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.280
<v Speaker 2>Oh well, that would that would be something to think about.

0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:48.840
<v Speaker 2>That has not happened. But but you know, we we

0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.080
<v Speaker 2>need to bring all the partners together for sure, and

0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.680
<v Speaker 2>I've talked to both you know, Phil Castellini and Jeff

0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:59.640
<v Speaker 2>Birding about these locations, and so there is a desire

0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:02.640
<v Speaker 2>to do this together. And so I don't know that

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.160
<v Speaker 2>people will be antagonistic about it. I think we need

0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:08.880
<v Speaker 2>to sort it out. But there are real positives and

0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:10.880
<v Speaker 2>negatives to all of these sites, and we need to

0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:11.960
<v Speaker 2>think it through as a community.

0:16:12.120 --> 0:16:14.200
<v Speaker 1>You know, Charlie Lucan told me at the time that

0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:18.360
<v Speaker 1>we ought to cover the Fort Washington way, we should

0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.200
<v Speaker 1>cover that in seventy one that would gather ten to

0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:22.040
<v Speaker 1>twenty acres.

0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:23.920
<v Speaker 3>Is that in your plan too, to put.

0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.760
<v Speaker 1>A cover on the top of that, which would recover

0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:28.800
<v Speaker 1>a bunch of acreage.

0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.440
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. So those are called the Fort Washington Waite Caps.

0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:34.640
<v Speaker 2>That's been on the drawing board for a while. I

0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:38.000
<v Speaker 2>remember coming here when I did in twenty seventeen, and

0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:41.440
<v Speaker 2>Fortune was talking about it back then. It's expensive, but

0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:44.160
<v Speaker 2>it has been built to do it, so all the

0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.040
<v Speaker 2>infrastructure is there. We just need the money to do

0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.480
<v Speaker 2>the caps themselves. And so in the last couple of years,

0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:52.920
<v Speaker 2>the Chamber of Commerce, the city, and the county have

0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.080
<v Speaker 2>all advocated to the federal government to say, hey, this

0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.920
<v Speaker 2>would be a real benefit to the businesses that are

0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.640
<v Speaker 2>already there, and we eate more energy down there, and

0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:05.280
<v Speaker 2>we asked them to help pay for that that I

0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:07.119
<v Speaker 2>can't remember. I think it was a Tiger Fund. I

0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:10.960
<v Speaker 2>can't remember exactly, but we did not win that bid.

0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.680
<v Speaker 2>But we continue to advocate to the Fed to help

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:15.199
<v Speaker 2>us pay for those caps.

0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:17.439
<v Speaker 1>Oh and I got JD. Vance and we have Bernie

0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:19.919
<v Speaker 1>Marina who we got John Houston. How about how about that?

0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.280
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, No, you know, we've we've reached out and we've

0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:27.960
<v Speaker 2>we've advocated for this. You know, it's hard, Willie, because

0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.600
<v Speaker 2>there's so many things going on right now that are

0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:33.240
<v Speaker 2>really exciting by way of economic development. But you know,

0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.600
<v Speaker 2>the one we just completed is the Convention Center, and

0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.080
<v Speaker 2>that was the city county collaboration. And now we've got

0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:42.240
<v Speaker 2>a headquarter hotel going in across the street to the south.

0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:44.399
<v Speaker 2>And I don't know if you've seen the site to

0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.760
<v Speaker 2>the east where the Millennium used to stand, but man,

0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:53.200
<v Speaker 2>oh man, it is amazing. The landscaping is beautiful. They've

0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:55.119
<v Speaker 2>got an ice rink down there right now, there's a

0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:58.200
<v Speaker 2>dog park, so it's going to be active year round.

0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:01.479
<v Speaker 2>But it is just amazing some of the investments that

0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.480
<v Speaker 2>have been made very recently by the city in the

0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.679
<v Speaker 2>county to bring economic development to this region. So you know,

0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:10.720
<v Speaker 2>we can't do it all at once because we don't

0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.080
<v Speaker 2>have the revenue to do that. But I do think

0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.960
<v Speaker 2>we're forging forward in a way that we haven't, you know,

0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.440
<v Speaker 2>in the last maybe decade or so, with the city

0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:20.480
<v Speaker 2>and the county in lockstep.

0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:21.719
<v Speaker 3>Anise tree house. Thank you.

0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.159
<v Speaker 1>Maybe one day I'll be a Democrat again. With Soacco

0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:28.760
<v Speaker 1>and Pam and Carroll and Don and Jerry and Dusty Rhodes,

0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:30.280
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't that be something?

0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:35.480
<v Speaker 2>It was fun with their love for what they were

0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:38.720
<v Speaker 2>doing really translated out right, and you knew they loved

0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:40.800
<v Speaker 2>what they were doing, and we all love that they

0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:42.360
<v Speaker 2>loved doing it right. They were great for this.

0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:43.760
<v Speaker 3>Community, wonderful people.

0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.119
<v Speaker 1>All right, Denise tree House, thanks for coming on the

0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:48.080
<v Speaker 1>Bill Cunningham Show. We'll do it again and thank you.

0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 2>All right.

0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:50.639
<v Speaker 3>Thanks Willy, God bless you.

0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:54.359
<v Speaker 1>Let's continue with more memories like the Corners of My mind.

0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:57.159
<v Speaker 1>A News Radio seven hundred WLW