The Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival at Town Hall Park provides a day of fun for all ages on Saturday, October 8th from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM.

The College Hill Gardeners have planned a variety of fall-themed activities and games for children, including pony rides and a petting zoo. There'll be an arts & crafts fair and food & entertainment for everyone. See a scarecrow contest and, if you like, use the supplies provided to make your own scarecrow to take home. Farm Market vendors will provide pumpkins, gourds, mums, perennials, fresh produce, goodies and much more.

The Festival is hosted by the College Hill Gardeners with support from the Forum, CHBA, CHCURC, ARCH and CRC. Admission is $3 per child to the children's activities, pony ride & petting zoo, treat bag and mini-pumpkin. $1 for pony ride only.

Contact the College Hill Gardeners at 513-681-1326 for more information.

The Three C's Nursery School Fall Clothing Sale is the same weekend as the Pumpkin Patch Festival. (They plan it that way--it helps make the weekend something for everyone.) The sale is at College Hill Presbyterian Church on Friday, October 7 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM and on Saturday, October 8 from 9:00 AM to noon.

What's for sale? Lots & lots of children's clothing, toys, infant furniture and other items and maternity wear.

This year families from St. Clare School are joining in the sale.

The regular monthly meeting of the College Hill Forum starts at 7:00 PM at the College Hill Recreation Center. After the police and fire reports ....

• Dave Gamstetter, Natural Resource Manager of the Cincinnati Park Board will speak about the deer herd management program
• You'll hear about changes at Aiken High School
• The Josh Weiser Award will be presented for long-time service to the community
• You'll get updates about the College Hill Historical Society, Rhythm Race, Pumpkin Patch, Health Fair, and College Hill Cookbook

Come early to get a good parking place.

The farm vendors at our Tuesday market are staying on through the end of October. Here's a lineup of sellers and products:

• Egbert Farm--mums; apples suitable for sauce and pies at $10 a half-bushel; variety of eating apples (Jonathan, Red Delicious, and Winesaps); all low-spray; unusual squashes, pumpkins, indian corn
• Grandpa's Garden--snap beans, greens, potatoes, turnips
• Staverman Farm--apples, pears, potatoes, onions, pickled beets, chow-chow, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes
• Lazy Acres--tomatoes, swiss chard, rhubarb, herbs, jams, pickled vegetables, fruit and nut breads, pies.
• College Hill Gardeners--Shadeau Breads, honey, salsa, pesto.
• SoyJoy Candles--soy-based candles.

The new Pleasant Hill Academy opens October 3rd, according to John Copenhaver, Principal. The staff and students have long awaited this grand occasion.

On October 20th at 9:30 AM, Superindendent of Schools Rosa Blackwell, CPS Board Members and several city and state officials will join with the Pleasant Hill Academy family in a Grand Opening Ceremony. All are welcome to attend.

We have just received word that the P&G Foundation and the Target Foundation approved grants to the College Hill Rhythm Race.

Kathryn Kien, a College Hill resident, member of the Rhythm Race Committee and a P&G employee, submitted the grant request to P&G. The P&G grant was approved to underwrite the expense of needed equipment for an eligible community event.

Becky Tossey, College Hill resident, Rhythm Race Committee committee member and head of the Kids's Fun Run and children's literacy activities, submitted the grant request to Target. The Target grant was approved specifically for promoting literacy through the Kids' Fun Run and the accompanying reading readiness activities at the after-race party.

Midge Bateman, Recycling Coordinator at Aiken's Traditional and University High Schools reports: For the past two years, I have served as the "Recycling Coordinator" at Aiken, coordinating our student and staff conservation pilot project with the help of Hamilton County Environmental Services and Rumpke Recyclers. This program has been most successful.

Our latest recycling project starting this school year is to work in "THE RECYCLE CHALLENGE" sponsored by Rumpke Recycling and Sea World/Busch Gardens. This is a National Pilot Program for recycling aluminum beverage cans.

The Aiken Leadership Team sponsors and I are asking that students, parents, teachers, and community members work together to collect aluminum beverage cans and bring them to a large recycling bin placed on our campus by Rumpke. The more cans our school recycles, the more money our school will earn towards future environmental projects.

Bring your cans to Aiken and look for the BLUE and YELLOW container that is labeled for "THE RECYCLE CHALLENGE--ALUMINUM CAN RECYCLING PROGRAM." This large bin is located towards the back of our campus behind Building 4 (close to the cafeteria). One can't miss it if he/she follows these directions: Turn onto Aiken's campus off Belmont Avenue. At the first upper campus parking area, turn right and then follow the parking area driveway as it continues through the next two parking areas. The recycling bin is located at the end of the third parking area & is very visible.

Cans should be empty (rinsed if possible) and crushed to reduce the volume. We can handle cans from the entire community each month, if the cans are crushed.

If you have questions, please email me, or call (513) 363-6898 and leave a message.

When the Grace Church Episcopal Church Women (ECW) heard that Raper RV was going to send RV's to New Orleans, they decided to send along a prayer shawl in each RV. Florence Poyer reports that in one week's time, they were able to get 37 shawls together--made with prayer and given with prayers.

The Prayer Shawl ministry was started in 1997 by two women for a friend who was going into chemotherapy. They got together and prayed that the needles and yarn would be blessed. When they finished the shawl, it was blessed in church and given to their friend with a prayer for comfort. There are now groups all over the country participating in this ministry.

Before the recent mayoral primary, the Enquirer's Greg Korte wrote an article portraying College Hill voters as a bellwether for the community. He's now published a follow-up article in which he says, among other things, "College Hill has millions of dollars of city investments in the pipeline, and there's a palpable optimism not seen in other city neighborhoods."

The Wellness Connection at Twin Towers offers its state-of-the-art facility to all adults 50 and over in the College Hill community. This program emphasizes whole-person health and wellness by encouraging participants to develop and balance the six dimensions of wellness: emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational. Amenities include a whirlpool, a 75-foot 4-lane heated pool, strength training and cardiorespiratory fitness equipment, locker rooms and towel service, education and activities room, and massage and reflexology therapy.

The Wellness Connection was named the 2005 NuStep Pinnacle Award winner for being the most innovative and progressive wellness facility in the nation. One of the reasons The Wellness Connection received the award is that all staff are fully trained and available to provide individual instruction and to assist people through their own personal wellness journey.

For more information on The Wellness Connection call 513-853-4100.

Xavier's Community Building Insititute's quarterly Peer Learning Luncheons provide an opportunity for folks involved in local community building to share their own best practices.

• October 14's Peer Learning Lunch is entitled "Valuing Youth Participation." Acknowledging youth as valuable contributors to community life is critical to designing and implementing community building initiatives that achieve success at the grassroots level.
• November 11's Peer Learning Lunch is entitled "Engaging Today’s Tenant." Today’s tenant, while lacking the responsibility of paying property taxes, has a real influence on community life and efforts to enhance it.

Luncheons are at the Schiff Family Conference Center, Xavier University, from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. The cost is $5 To share your stories in advance or if you need directions to the Schiff Family Conference Center, please email Laurel Bauer at Bauer@xavier.edu. Space is limited. Questions? Call 513-745-3348. To reserve your place, mail a check for $5 payable to Xavier University to Trina Jackson, Community Building Institute, 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-5621.

A dog is a man’s best friend. So are cats, birds and rabbits. Every domesticated animal somehow becomes a faithful companion and confidant.

Come join Llanfair Retirement Community at the Second Annual Blessing of the Animals held on October 1st at 2:00 PM. This celebration will bless every beloved animal that is present and, also provide a chance to meet community representatives who work with animals daily. A representative of the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired will show how her dog helps her on a daily basis. The Cincinnati Police Department Mounted and Canine Unit, an SPCA volunteer and the College Hill Pet Clinic will also participate.

The event will be held in the courtyard of the Terrace Living Center. For more information contact the Director of Pastoral Services, Jan Ledford at 513- 591-4526.

The Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District's free household hazardous waste drop-off sites will close for the season on September 30. You still have until Thursday this week to clean out your basement and garage before the program ends.

The average home contains 60-100 pounds of hazardous products under the sink, in the garage or basement. Improper storage and disposal of hazardous products can cause accidental poisonings, contaminate groundwater, injure your waste hauler and interfere with the water treatment process. Now's your chance to rid your home of unnecessary hazards, such as pesticides, fertilizers, cleaners, stains, automotive fluids, solvents, thinners, prescription drugs, pool chemicals, batteries, fire extinguishers, paint, mercury, and propane tanks.

Drop them off at Environmental Enterprises, Inc. 4650 Spring Grove Avenue, on Tuesday between 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM, or on Thursday between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

September 30 is the cutoff date for accepting recipes for the "College Hill Cooks" cookbook.