All of College Hill is having a pot luck, and you’re invited! Drop in at the College Hill Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall anytime between 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm this Friday, February 24, for entertainment, great food and good conversation with your neighbors.

Bring a dish to serve 10-12 people (use disposable containers if possible).

Some Aiken students need your help! Help us fill a huge container with your donations of composition notebooks; sanitary napkins; tampons; deodorant; toothpaste; toothbrushes; soap; dental floss; cotton swabs; underwear for girls in S, M, L, SL, XXL; girl's socks 6-10; boy's socks 13 and up. Also bring anything that could be used as a reward for achievement.

Christ’s Community in College Hill has been an integral part of the community for more than thirty years. During the late 60’s when “white flight” caused many churches to leave the cities and build in the suburbs, five churches in College Hill (Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and the Christian Church) met and decided to create an interdenominational organization to help College Hill become a well- integrated, serving and witnessing community.

Rev. Willie L. Strayhorn was the first paid leader of Christ’s Community. When he retired in 2001, people wondered if the organization could possibly continue without him.

But God sent us another “mighty man of valor,” Rev. Nathl Moore, who not only held the stronghold, but built more avenues into the community and was a gentle Christian presence here. Nathl will leave at the end of this month to serve a church in Lexington, Kentucky.

But God is always faithful. He has called another man to become the Pastor Administrator of Christ’s Community in College Hill, Kevin Ward. Kevin worked in management for several Fortune 500 Corporations before answering God’s call to ministry. He is earning a Masters of Divinity degree at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has served for two years as the student Associate Pastor at a church in Dayton and is an active elder in his home church, Winton Hills Community Presbyterian Church.

Kevin says, “I look forward to working with the local churches, social service agencies and other community organizations. My prayer is that we will continue to serve with innovative programs geared to youth while continuing to provide social awareness, involvement and activity.”

Contributed by Marybelle Chapman.

Dave Hawkins, an eclectic songwriter, crowd- pleasing entertainer and accomplished musician, will appear at the College Hill Coffee Company and Casual Gourmet on Saturday, February 25, from 7:30 pm until 9:30 pm. Dave will sing folk, folk-rock and Celtic songs from his 2002 Grammy-nominated CD, Hotel deVille, and from his newest release, Manchester Mornings.

Join us for dinner and have a front row seat!

Land control was the key focus of the Linden Park Commons development project all last year. A plan is just a plan until land is controlled. The signing of the Sale of Land agreement in early February committed the city to purchase the Shuller and the Masonic Eastern Star sites and transfer them to Al Neyer, Inc., and committed Neyer to purchase the Kroger site and develop all three properties.

Now, College Hill Director of Development Marty Weldishofer is very excited to report that the City of Cincinnati closed on the Shuller property Friday February 10. Leo and Don Shuller were there for the closing while Elizabeth Sherwood, Forum president; Beth McLean, CHCURC Board Trustee; and Marty Weldishofer, CHCURC Director of Development looked on.

The closing of the Shuller property is HUGE for Linden Park Commons. We are turning a significant corner, never to go back. Once money crosses the table, a plan becomes a project.

At the CHCURC Annual Dinner, Gail Paul and Ken Schon, spokespersons for Al Neyer, Inc., announced that the Shuller Wigwam building will come down in late Spring 2006 and the new building on that site would begin to come out of the ground in October.

The Linden Park Commons development is going to create significant value and reward for our community. It will trigger other revitalization which the community will realize for years to come. This year is going to be the Banner Year 2006 in College Hill!

Contributed by Marty Weldishofer, Director of Development, College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation.

During 2005, College Hill’s beautiful new Streetscape was enthusiastically received. (Incidentally the trees which did not survive our summer drought are to be replanted this spring.)

Now, the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) is rolling out two more projects!

• A Façade Improvement Program has been offered to the Business District’s property and business owners. A 50/50 matching grant is available to renovate the fronts of the buildings in our business district along Hamilton Avenue. This program has been spearheaded by the Façade Improvement Committee chaired by Don Cluxton. The other team members are Phyllis Schoenberger, Gary Gaffney, Chuck Darling, Suki Jefferey and Marty Weldishofer. For further information, contact Director of Development Marty Weldishofer at 513-681- 4205.
• A new Gateway project designating the entrance to the north and south ends of our business district is being developed. The CHCURC Board recently approved the recommendation of the Gateway committee to select Architects Plus for the project. We are eager to see what will soon be a tangible symbol of our neighborhood. This committee is also chaired by Don Cluxton and assisted by Juanita Canfield, Cory Copeland, Chuck Darling, Suki Jeffrey, Judy Moyer, Sally Noble, Gerry Trentman & Marty Weldishofer.

You can support CHCURC by joining (membership is only $10 per person per year) and better still by participating in our meetings, held the first Wednesday evening of the month. For further information call 513-681-4205 or visit the website.

Contributed by Carolyn Royalty.

"2006, a Banner Year for College Hill" was the theme of the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) Annual Dinner Meeting held at Twin Towers on Tuesday, February 7th. Presentations to the approximately 200 attendees were given by CHCURC President Carol Lyon, Director of Development Marty Weldishofer, Forum President Elizabeth Sherwood; as well as by Gail Paul and Ken Shon, both representing the Linden Park Commons’ developer Al Neyer, Inc. Lots of good humor and theme music punctuated this event!

Doug Bolton, publisher of the Cincinnati Business Courier, gave the keynote address, in which he emphasized the need for organizations with a story to tell to push their message to the media rather than waiting for the media to pull it out of them. His message was timely for this point in College Hill’s development. With our neighborhood’s tremendous progress over the past several years, and with a number of new projects underway, we now need to really push the local media to report College Hill’s successes as a tool in attracting more business development.

Both of the high schools in College Hill volunteered help for the event. McAuley High School Orchestra and Chorus provided music before and during dinner. Students from Aiken University High School assisted in serving and bussing the tables.

Contributed by Carolyn Royalty.

The speaker at the College Hill Urban Redevelopment Corporation annual meeting, the Business Courier's Doug Bolton, invites all College Hill eNewsletter readers to sign up for a four-week FREE trial subscription to the Business Courier and the Courier’s FREE weekday Daily Edition. Interested? Send an email to Doug at dbolton@bizjournals.com, or call Joe Hoffecker, Business Courier marketing and subscriber services director, at 513- 337-9465.

As you've probably heard, the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) made some changes to the "Neighborhood Officer" program. On February 8, Captain Tom Johns explained the changes to members of the multi-neighborhood District Five Resource Committee and others at the College Hill Recreation Center. College Hill was represented by the Forum President, as well as College Hill’s COP, CPOP and Court Watch coordinators.

For years, the Cincinnati Police Department has planned to eventually integrate all officers into the community, as the neighborhood officers have done. With the proliferation of CPOP (Community Problem Oriented Policing) teams in so many communities, it was decided to implement that plan now. Increasing community involvement of officers also falls within the CERT (Code Enforcement Response Teams) goals planned for the city.

How will it affect College Hill? Officer Herb Noble remains as a neighborhood officer for College Hill and will work first shift. We will be assigned additional neighborhood officers for second and third shifts. Thus, there will be three neighborhood officers for each community instead of just one. Officer Noble believes the addition of neighborhood officers will help both the community and the police. The new neighborhood officers are well-trained and look forward to working with our community. I hope everyone in the College Hill community will welcome the new officers and get to know them.

The changes in the Neighborhood Officer program will be explained at next week's Forum meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7:00 pm at the College Hill Recreation Center. Please plan to attend and support our District 5 officers.

Elizabeth Sherwood, Forum President

The College Hill Forum meeting next week should be quite interesting. In addition discussing the changes to the Neighborhood Officer program, three awards will be presented to exceptional community members.

The Forum will present the Kevin Crayon Award to a police officer and the Oscar Armstrong Award to a firefighter. These awards are named after two dedicated public servants who lost their lives in the line of duty. Recipients of these awards are chosen by their peers. Christ’s Community in College Hill will present an award named after the Reverend Martin Luther King.

The Forum meets Tuesday, February 28 at 7:00 pm at the Recreation Center. Come early if you want to park close by.

Registration for the 2006 College Hill Baseball season is underway now. CHB offers T-ball for children ages 5 through 7 and baseball for children 7 through 18. The season for T-ball begins in May and runs until early July; the season for baseball begins in late April and ends in early July.

Registration ended February 19 for baseball (but call to see if you can still get in). Registration ends March 31 for T-ball.

College Hill Baseball is also looking for coaches, managers, and umpires. Pay is provided for umpires age 13 and up.

For more information on the program, playing or working with a team, and sponsorship opportunities, call 513-929-BALL (2255) or visit the web site.

Construction on the Glenview upgrade project should start in second half of 2006 and will likely be complete in first half of 2007. The work will include pavement rehabilitation, some guardrail improvements and landslide correction on Glenview from Belmont to Kirby.

Our Project Manager is Andrew Carter, P.E. (Andy). He can be reached at 513-352-5272. Let me know if you have any questions.

Joe Vogel, City of Cincinnati Principal Transportation Design Engineer, 513-352-1523.

From a letter from Bishop Kenneth Price of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio to Forum President Elizabeth Sherwood.

“Thank you for your letter and for your indication of support for Grace Church. As you are aware, this congregation is going through a rough period, but both the people there and the Diocese are committed to working for renewal and a return to strength. There are no plans to close the church.

"A congregational meeting last Sunday elected new wardens and vestry, and plans are in motion to move ahead. For the present time, there will not be a rector, however, the Rev. David Howard will be serving as a regular Sunday supply and Canon Walter Mycoff, from my office, will be working with the vestry.”

Enjoy a traditional, family-style German dinner featuring sauerkraut, sausage, and spaetzle at the First United Church of Christ on Tuesday, February 28. In addition to dinner, there will be a bake sale and raffle. Dinner is served at 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm. The cost is $8.50 for adults, $4 for children. For reservations call Janet Copenhaver at 741-7516.

People Working Cooperatively is hosting Cincinnati's only official Oscar Night gala for the ninth consecutive year, 5:30 pm to midnight, Sunday, March 5. Oscar Night America "Hollywood Superheroes and Archvillains" is being held at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. Last year PWC's Oscar Night gala raised more than $72,000 for its programs and services.

College Hill resident Amy Finnegan tells us, “As you may or may not know, I have been a nine-year supporter of People Working Cooperatively, a 30-year nonprofit organization who helps to keep elderly and disabled homeowners in their homes by providing necessary repairs and updates. As part of the Oscar Night event I am selling raffle tickets for $25 for a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000, second prize Gotham City (aka New York weekend) and third prize, the Cincinnati Superhero Weekend. Please let me know at afinnegan@SKSINS.com if you would like to buy one. I will have them at Friday’s College Hill Community Pot Luck as well.”

Contact PWC at 513-351-7921 or www.pwchomerepairs.org for more information on the event or their services.

As part of the national hunger relief program, "Souper Bowl of Caring," First United Church of Christ in College Hill hosted the second annual local Souper Bowl of Caring Party.