Info On Berry,kentucky? (Lexington, Maysville: crime, house, middle school)

[mcole]

We are looking to relocate within a reasonable distance between Cinti and lexington. Found properties in Berry but no info on the town itself. School system looks impressive according to the website.

[cynthianaslim]

I grew up in Berry, and I'm very glad I did! Berry, itself is a small town (pop 300 or so), but the county seat, Cynthiana, is a little larger (pop 3,000).
The topography of Berry is kinda hilly. The lay of the land starts to flatten out south of cynthiana. We had a major flood in '97 from the Licking River coming up after a hard day's rain. It doesn't normally happen.
As far as schools go, I think Harrison County is a pretty good one. When I went there we had about 1100 kids. I graduated in '98 and really appreciated my time there (and this is coming from someone who was considered a "bad" student!)
When I went to Harrison County High School the studentry scored consistently high on tests, the marching band was real competitive (band director has since gone), the baseball won state three times in the '90's, and the teachers and coaches took an active role in educating and fostering the students that attended. I was friends with people who later attended schools such as the University of Chicago, and Emory University. Harrison County also has a good vocational school. Cynthiana also has a community college. Maysville Community College is based in Maysville, but you can take courses on Cynthiana's campus.
One of the problems you'll face living in Berry is the amount of time your kids will spend on the bus. I generally caught the bus at seven a.m., which made for an hour-long busride. I think Berry is 13 miles north of Cynthiana. Berry is about a half-hour's drive to I 75. It took about an hour to drive to Cincinnati and Lexington.
I love Berry. My childhood consisted of fishing in the numeraous creeks, rivers, and farm ponds that are nearby, working in tobacco and hay on neighbors' farms, and playing baseball in the summer (I was in the rec leagues in Cynthiana, which is a 20 minute drive).
Berry had a high school before Harrison County consolidated all the county schools into Harrison County High. The last time I checked, the old Berry High School had been turned into a video store.
Although most counties in Kentucky are dry, or "moist", meaning that only the county seat sells alcohol, Harrison County was wet through and through. I lived in a rural area that had two bars within a mile of my house. However, in the eighteen years I lived there, I can't recall there being a disproportionate amount of accidents due to the prevalence on bars in the area.
You could list the establishments in Berry on one hand. There is a funeral home, a hardware store, a restaurant that changes ownership every few years, a bait store (due to the Licking River that winds around the town, a habitual retreat for those who like to eat catfish), and a small grocery that, technically isn't in town, but is within a mile of Berry.
There are a few churches in and around Berry, mostly of the Methodist, Baptist, and Christian persuasion. No Catholic or Jewish churches-those are in Cynthiana.
I could go on and on about Berry, its people (rural, hard-working, family-oriented, and genuine), but I'll leave it for you to decide.
Berry, and Harrison County for that matter, slide under the radar a lot, because it's not Northern KY, and it's not central KY either.
An interesting historical sidenote: If you travel out of Berry using Lafferty Pike road you'll pass by an old stone house with an historical marker. This is Stony Castle. It was an old post office that was used by Confederate General, John Hunt Morgan , as a camp for him and his soldiers on their retreat from Cynthiana. As the story goes, Morgan and his men were nice and courteous to the women around the area, which engendered a lot of positive feelings toward the Confederacy in the area. The Union soldiers, having been brash and less respectful, encouraged a lot of resentment. Just a story...
Anyway, hope this is informative. Let me know if you need any specifics, I'll be glad to help.

[Mike2878]

Dont move anywhere near CYNTHIANA. FULL OF CRIME AND ROBBERIES, DRUNK MEXICANS HANGING OUT ON THE CORNER, TEENAGE THUGS RUNNING AROUND, DRUG DEALING ALL OVER THE PLACE. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN NOT EVEN BE STAFFED, THEY HAVE CAPACITY FOR 17 OFFICERS BUT ONLY HAVE 12 RIGHT NOW, THEY HAVE LOST 5 OFFICERS IN THE PAST YR! NO ONE STAYS THERE! YOU LIVE IN BERRY, GOOD LUCK GETTING A COP PUT THERE, SHERIFF DEPUTIES STAY SOUTH OF CYNTHIAN 98% OF TIME AND IF U NEED EMS, HA...PLAN ON WAITING ATLEAST 20 MINUTES FOR THE NO TRAINED KIDS WHO WANNA BE FIREFIGHTERS TO RESPOND!! ANYWHERE BUT HARRISON COUNTY!!

[RuralGuy]

I can't comment on Berry, but CynthianaSlim seems to have covered it pretty well. Also, the city of Cynthiana has always seemed pretty nice to me. Never lived there, but do shop there every now and again.

You might also want to consider Pendleton County, which is just north of Berry and Harrison County (Kentucky: Pendleton County - Welcome).

[cynthianaslim]

Originally Posted by Mike2878

Dont move anywhere near CYNTHIANA. FULL OF CRIME AND ROBBERIES, DRUNK MEXICANS HANGING OUT ON THE CORNER, TEENAGE THUGS RUNNING AROUND, DRUG DEALING ALL OVER THE PLACE. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN NOT EVEN BE STAFFED, THEY HAVE CAPACITY FOR 17 OFFICERS BUT ONLY HAVE 12 RIGHT NOW, THEY HAVE LOST 5 OFFICERS IN THE PAST YR! NO ONE STAYS THERE! YOU LIVE IN BERRY, GOOD LUCK GETTING A COP PUT THERE, SHERIFF DEPUTIES STAY SOUTH OF CYNTHIAN 98% OF TIME AND IF U NEED EMS, HA...PLAN ON WAITING ATLEAST 20 MINUTES FOR THE NO TRAINED KIDS WHO WANNA BE FIREFIGHTERS TO RESPOND!! ANYWHERE BUT HARRISON COUNTY!!

Cynthiana, a town with 3,000, full of crimes and robberies? Now, don't get hysterical, mike2878. Not everyone needs a cop posted on every streetcorner! Cynthiana/Berry is a place where neighbors look after one another.

[Mike2878]

This is the Latest Police Reports from CYNTHIANA in the past week, I have read 3 Robberies in 2 weeks. Pedestrains being beat up and robbed and the bank was just robbed 3 days ago, look for yourself!
Cynthiana Democrat Online (http://www.cynthianademocrat.com/cgi-bin/storyviewnew.cgi?081+section+Record - broken link)

Also, this is the webiste to the local paper that comes out every week, read the how horrible this town is!
WWW.cynthianademocrat.com

Cynthiana is ful of crime and thugs!

[cynthianaslim]

I went to school there, Mike, so i know Cynthiana. I dont need to read the local paper to form my judgement of the town. The comments you are trying to perpetuate are laughable. I bet you've never even been to Cynthiana. From reading your post you make it out like it's Detroit, or South Central LA. Gimme a break! The woman's post I was responding to was two years old, and it was about Berry not Cynthiana. The only place you would be glad to live in is a hospital with an armed guard posted outside your door.

[RuralGuy]

Yeah, I'll never forget that time I got jumped by the Bloods in Save-A-Lot's parking lot.

Seriously Mike, you put too much stock in the number of crime stories your local paper prints. In a small, rural community especially, crime and emergency reports are the only steady sources of material that reporters can count on. Up here in Falmouth, we see the same thing. The front page story is always something that you know started as an emergency call picked up on a scanner (in our case generally car accidents, an unusually high number of which have involved fatalities lately). It's easier to sell more newspapers when you run disturbing stories as opposed to reports on the middle school bake sale, latest happenings at the bingo hall, or similarly stimulating events. I'm a journalist, so trust me on this.

[Mike2878]

Trust me on this, it is better in Falmouth then Cynthiana.

[cynthianaslim]

I've been to Falmouth too! You're not making any sense. Is this about something else?