College Hill residents and friends deserve a huge pat on the back for job well done at the Great American Clean-Up on April 22. College Hill says "Thank you" to all who came out to help clean and beautify our community.

The day started with beautiful weather and nearly 200 volunteers. Three hours later, a stunning 300 bags of trash, 500 pounds of loose debris and 29 tires had been removed from the streets of College Hill--over 3 tons of trash.

With the guidance of the College Hill Gardeners, the Hamilton Avenue planters and the gardens at the College Hill community sign, Laurelwood Circle, College Hill Recreation Center, and Banning/Belmont triangles were renewed for spring.

In addition to all the volunteers, special thanks for making the event a success go to: Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and the College Hill Forum (event sponsors), Panera Bread, Chiquita, Llanfair Retirement Community, Shaun & Lauren Devane, Doug Carlisle and the College Hill Recreation Center, Mark and Phyllis Schoenberger, Don Baechle, Bob Brewster, Jen & Mark Shuermann, Elizabeth Sherwood, Tina Stoeberl, College Hill Gardeners and Paul Grey.

If you missed this fun-filled event, don’t fret. We will break out the food, fun, trash bags and gloves for Make a Difference Day in College Hill in only six months. Mark your Calendar for October 28, 9:00am to noon. If you know of an area that needs attention during this event, please contact Kathryn Kien (kien@fuse.net, 513-542-4892).

Article contributed by Kathryn Kien.

The College Hill Farm Market will be back next week--on Thursday. From May 4 until October, you can buy produce from local growers, plants from local nurseries, baked goods and other wonderful things at the Llanfair and Hamilton lot from 3 to 7 pm every THURSDAY.

Sponsored by the College Hill Gardeners, the Farm Market is a great place to buy fresh food, support local merchants and enjoy College Hill.

For the first time in over 30 years, voters will use new voting technology to cast their ballots in the Primary Election on Tuesday, May 2.

Most voters will use the eScan paper ballot system. They will "fill in the box" to cast their votes. They will then have a chance to review their choices before their ballot goes through a scanner and into a secured ballot box. For voters with disabilities, an eSlate Disabled Access Unit will be available to provide an electronic alternative.

A recent Enquirer article contains news and memories of Shuller's Restaurant, which is slated for demolition in the next few months.

A short trip over to DeSales Plaza in East Walnut Hills can give you a taste of what the future holds for our own Linden Park development at the corner of North Bend & Hamilton.

DeSales Plaza is a multi-use development, featuring retail on the ground floor and living units upstairs, like that which is planned for Linden Park. The layout is "pedestrian friendly," with parking in the back.

Perhaps the best-known DeSales Plaza occupant is Simone's Café. Owner Roland "Atif" Randolph was a featured speaker at the recent College Hill Business Association Annual Dinner Meeting. In his talk, he recalled how critically important local community support was in getting all the necessary elements to come together to make his move to the Plaza possible.

DeSales Plaza is located at the corner of Woodburn & Madison across the street from St. Francis DeSales Church. The MoCA coffee shop just opened in the Plaza and provides another near-by food source for the residents upstairs.

See more about Simone's here, MoCA here, and the DeSales Plaza development here.

"A Mimosa at Bacalls, the personal service at Schwartz' Jewelry, those greenhouses with all their plants and flowers so close at hand down Gray Road and easy access to downtown via I-74--these are a few of my favorite things in College Hill," reports M.A.

Sarah Mann says her favorite thing is "The young man who practices his violin out on the cupola of his Queen Anne Victorian home on Belmont. On certain evenings you get a private concert that spills out over the quiet rush of the trees and into the valley below."

Click here to send a few of your favorite things about College Hill to the editor.

A team of volunteers from College Hill needs your input to create a shared vision for continuous learning at our College Hill schools. They've created a simple three-question survey that will take just a few minutes to complete.

To learn more and to take the survey, go to 66.49.227.132.

For more information, contact Helen Habbert (HBH@QRC-Associates.com or 513-731-5951).

Ever fantasize about the glamorous life of a pizza delivery person? Driving all over town with the radio playing your favorite songs and the wind is blowing in your hair, the enticing scent of pepperoni filling your nostrils? Well, here’s your opportunity.

People Working Cooperatively's Repair Affair event is fast approaching on Saturday May 13. (People Working Cooperatively is a Greater Cincinnati nonprofit that serves very low-income elderly and disabled homeowners with critical home repairs.) They are in need of people to help deliver lunch to the crews who are working on the houses. Papa John’s Pizza has donated the pizzas. All you have to do is drive. Heck, you might even get a tip.

Amy Finnegan will be coordinating drivers at the College Hill Papa John's. Contact Amy to volunteer (513-977-3108, AFinnegan@SK SINS.com).

You can join Mayor Mallory and Commissioner DeWine in developing a plan to reduce foreclosures and address the problem of vacant, blighted buildings that foreclosures leave behind. Come to Xavier University's Conaton Room on Friday, May 5, from 9:00am to noon.

Hear featured Speaker Bruce A. Gottschall, Executive Director, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Creator of a national model foreclosure prevention and redevelopment program in Chicago. Listen to Panel Discussions: Preventing Foreclosures in Hamilton County and Rebuilding Our Communities – Dealing with the Aftermath of Foreclosures in Hamilton County.

Phyllis Schoenberger will be attending from College Hill. If anyone wants to ride along, let her know (513-542-3498, phylmark@fuse.net). Phyllis says, "This has great implications for College Hill in general, and your street in particular."

If you don't know what a "down chic" is, you'll have to read Mallori McNeal's book to find out. The first teen author published by Triple Crown Publications, which specializes in urban fiction, Mallori has imagined a dramatic life for her down chic--whose eager fans are begging for more.

A gritty tale about a teen's life in Over-the-Rhine, A Down Chic is the story of a girl who finds love but makes choices with shocking consequences. Urban fiction is not for the squeamish. The book contains graphic language and situations. "People say they can't believe she wrote it," says her mother, Jennifer McNeal, a high school principal. "She's my daughter, and sometimes I can't believe she wrote it." But rest assured, it all came out of Mallori's imagination.

Mallori, who lives on the border of College Hill and Finneytown and attended St. Clare Elementary School, wrote the book at age 14, the summer before starting 9th grade at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. It was published last August, when she was 16.

"I was glued to this book," one reader wrote to Amazon.com. Another wrote: "Yo, this book was mad crazy, I was so into this book that I missed 5 phone calls and my phone was right next to me, no lie.... this book was all that."

Now a senior at Finneytown High School, Mallori is writing another book for Triple Crown and spends some of her time traveling to book signings, most recently appearing in April at the West Chester Barnes & Noble.

Article contributed by Gail Finke.

For the past 15 years, McAuley High School English teacher Pam Vissing has taught Holocaust literature to freshmen and sophomores. Each year, Ms. Vissing’s students read Anton the Dove Fancier, by Bernard Gotfryd. In his book, Gotfryd speaks of his father's special pen, which his father sold in exchange for bread while a prisoner in Auschwitz.

This fall, the students had an idea to send Gotfryd a replica of this fountain pen. He personally contacted the class to thank them writing, “I am touched. This was one of the most symbolic and significant gifts I’ve ever received.”

Ms. Vissing was a board member of the Hebrew Union College Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education and was among the first teachers in Cincinnati to participate in the Hebrew Union College Holocaust Education for Teachers program. She has personally escorted groups of students to European Holocaust memorials and Dachau. She is now helping Dr. Karen Shawn, professor of Holocaust literature at Yeshiva College in New York City, edit a new book for teachers who teach Holocaust literature.

Learn about how to buy and maintain a home through The Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati, and they'll help you arrange a fair loan.

For more than 30 years, the Home Ownership Center has helped people find and buy homes in Greater Cincinnati. Their many programs include the Employer Assisted Housing Program (in partnership with local employers), the Target Block Program (a neighborhood revitalization program) and The Ambassador Downpayment Assistance Program (for first-time homebuyers). Home purchase assistance is available to graduates of the 9-hour Homebuyer Training Class. They can then participate in one-on-one Purchase Readiness Assessments and work with the Center and one of several major banks on affordable mortgages with such features as no closing costs, no down payments, or relaxed credit guidelines. Several sessions of Homebuyer Training Classes will be offered in May and June. All classes are held at the Center's Vernon Place offices. For information about the Home Ownership Center's programs and classes, click here www.hometoday.cc

Home purchase assistance is available to graduates of the 9-hour Homebuyer Training Class. They can then participate in one-on-one Purchase Readiness Assessments and work with the Center and one of several major banks on affordable mortgages with such features as no closing costs, no down payments or relaxed credit guidelines.

Several sessions of Homebuyer Training Classes will be offered in May and June. All classes are held at the Center's Vernon Place offices.

Emmett Jameson is a two year old with a bright smile who struggles every day to do the simplest things. A birth trauma resulting in lack of oxygen to the brain makes life a challenge for Emmett and his parents, James and Dara O'Loughlin of Peaslee Avenue. Emmett also has a 5 month old brother.

Medical bills and specialized therapies are quite costly. To assist the family with these mounting expenses, artist friends of James and Dara staged an art show last year.

This year the Emmett Art Show Benefit will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the York Street Café in Newport, KY. Artists from around the country have contributed works--including Charley Harper, Ali Calis and Joel Blazer--and there will even be some by Emmett himself. Attendees may enjoy wine, hors d’oeuvres by Wild Oats Market and live music. Following the art show, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy will stage an intimate concert for 100 with local bands including Surface and Tristan.

On another note, James and Dara will be losing their mother’s helper in a few weeks. If you know someone, preferably in the neighborhood, who might fill the bill, contact Dara (Dara@Primax.com).

Katherine Herrmann is battling JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis). This year, she is the Honoree for the Greater Cincinnati Area Arthritis Walk. She wants to spread the word about Arthritis and awareness.

Her family has been active in College Hill activities for the past several years. Katherine's Grandmother Jackie Lewis, a member of Grace Episcopal Church, is having a Spaghetti Dinner at Grace Church in honor of Katherine and to raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation.

The dinner is Friday May 5th, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at Grace Episcopal Church. The meal includes LaRosa’s spaghetti, salad, bread and dessert. The donation is $7 for adults and $3 for children. For tickets or for info contact Jackie Lewis ( 513-729-5309).

Future Life Now is sponsoring Emerging, an art exhibit at Feldenkrais Within on Hamilton Avenue in Northside. The exhibit will run from May 5 to August 31.

Ali Hansen, curator (former College Hill resident and co-curator of the YWCA's Women's Art Gallery) asked eight artists to describe the moment of new awakening--the "Aha"--the moment one realizes something is new. The artists all participate in movement classes at Feldenkrais Within and most live or work in College Hill and Northside.

Future Life Now is owned by College Hill Residents Larry Wells and Cynthia Allen. The annual art show is part of a series of awareness-building events about the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (engineer, martial artist, scientist).

For more information contact Cynthia Allen ( 513-541-5720, CMAllenFLN@aol.c om).