The College Hill eNewsletter
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Telling
the story of "A Diverse and Neighborly
Community."
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January 3,
2008
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Dear Reader,
Happy New Year!
We at the College Hill eNewsletter wish our
neighbors a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
What would we like to see in 2008?
- Groundbreaking at Linden Park condominiums.
- New restaurants to complement everyone's College Hill
favorites.
- A bustling busineness district with no vacancies.
- No abandoned or foreclosed houses.
- School improvements continuing and increasing.
- Continued growth and community involvement from churches
and civic groups.
- A skate park, a splash playground, a soft ice cream
stand, and an Aeropostale store (all right, we don't really
want that one - a certain 13-year-old girl put in that
request).
In the meantime, don't miss the College Hill Coffee Co.
& Casual Gourmet's second anniversary celebration next
weekend. You can read the details at our online calendar here.
See you next week!
Gail Finke,
co-editor | |
| Aiken & St. X Students Beautify LaBoiteaux
Woods The Hard Way
 Students
from the Environmental Club at Aiken University High
School have been working on a big service project at LaBoiteaux Woods Nature
Center. So far this fall, students have spent three
evenings of heavy labor breaking and removing old asphalt
paving from the "Indian Dance Circle" used in the 1960s.
The old cracked pavement was an eyesore. With it
removed, the area will be planted or left to return to
nature.
St Xavier's
Environmental Club has also assisted in the project.
 This year,
the students from the two schools have only passed in the
parking lot--as the Aiken workers left and St X arrived--due
to different school hours. The two clubs plan to work together
in the future.
Story and photos contributed by Pat Agnew.
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| A Note from Afar
Last month the eNewsletter got an email post
from Arizona, where a former College Hill resident had
discovered a link to us when looking up her alma mater, Aiken
High School.
"It is exciting to see what's going on in College Hill,"
says Kathy Judd Holland, who grew up on Hillcrest Road and
attended College Hill Elementary School (now College Hill
Fundamental Academy), Aiken High School, and Grace Episcopal
Church.
"I still think of Cincinnati as 'home,'" she says. "I'm
looking forward to hearing news about my hometown. Now my
husband and I are talking about a trip to Cincinnati sometime
in 2008 and planning to stay at Six Acres. What a
beautiful Bed and Breakfast!"
You can send the eNewsletter to your far-flung
family and former neighbors. Just think how nice it will be to
make them as happy as Kathy!
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| Christmas Baskets
 Christmas food has
to be delivered a little early, especially when part of the
meal is a turkey that needs to defrost.
The week before Christmas, young men from Visions for
Youth handed out 164 frozen turkeys at Grace Episcopal Church
to needy College Hill families.
The giveaway was part of Christ's Community in College
Hill's Christmas basket program. Ministers from local churches
led a service, and then participants were given a box of
holiday food, a gift bag, and a ticket for a turkey from the
truck.
The food was colleted by area churches. Deacon Jerry
Dwyer of College Hill Presbyterian Church reminds us that
Christ's Community in College Hill, headquartered on Salvia
Avenue between CHPC and St. Clare Church, accepts donations
for its food pantry throughout the year, not just Christmas
and Thanksgiving.
Story contributed by Linda Crank.
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| College Hill Man Gets Wish
 Thanks
to neighbors, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the United Way,
Chris Sellers of College Hill received a $1,600
motorized scooter this Christmas.
One of the first people featured in the Enquirer's annual
Wish List campaign (administered by the United Way),
Chris needed the scooter to get around, but it was beyond
the budget of his retired parents, who care for him
full-time.
"In less than three weeks," reports Meg Hammond, who sent
us this update, "the checks were delivered personally to the
United Appeal Agency in charge of the Wish List. They were
asked to let Chris' parents know that all the money was
donated by their neighbors right here in College Hill."
You can read about Chris and his parents, Julius and
Paulette, in the original Enquirer profile here.
Photo of Chris and his dad by Leigh Taylor for the
Enquirer. Story contributed by Meg Hammond.
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| Abandoned House Makes Front Page
 This house at the
corner of Cary and North Bend made front page news
recently--but not for anything good.
It was used as an example of foreclosed properties that
have confused ownership. The owner of record, Demetria
Hinkston, says she has not been in the house since 2004, when
her bank foreclosed. But the house's title is still in her
name.
The Enquirer says the house was condemned in September. A
city crew recently cleared the overgrown brush--although weed
trees more than 8 ft. tall are growing out of masonry and
other odd spots.
Reporter Gregory Korte, who grew up in College Hill and
wrote the article, said there is not much that neighbors of
such houses can do. They're newsworthy because they are
problems. He says that the College Hill Forum
is one of the neighborhoods working with the City
about the issues, and suggests that residents talk to Forum
representatives about problem properties. "And I always
encourage people to write letters to the editor, which can
help to move an issue up on the community agenda," he
added.
For an update on the story, click here. |
| Attention CPS Parents: School Rules
Change
 Cincinnati Public Schools
has changed its magnet school requirements. Next year's
enrollment will not take into account student race or gender.
This change follows a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last
year.
Beyond that, CPS has scrapped its quadrant system
dividing the city into four school areas. For magnet school
assignment, the district is now divided into halves.
College Hill is in the West half, which includes the
following magnet schools: Covedale (grade 4-6 college prep
program), Pleasant Hill Academy (grade 4-6 college prep
program), Dater Montessori, Winton Montessori, College Hill
Fundamental Academy, and Roberts Paideia.
City-wide elementary magnet schools are Clark and West
Side Montessori Schools (grades 7-12), Walnut Hills High
School (grades 7-12), Academy of Multilingual Immersion
Studies, Academy of World Languages, Fairview-Clifton German
Bilingual School, Schiel Primary School for the Arts (K-3) and
the School for Creative and Performing Arts (grades
4-8).
Students can choose between any CPS high
school.
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| Two College Hill Teachers Certified
Two of the six Cincinnati Public Schools teachers who
passed a national certification process teach here in
College Hill.
Elizabeth Bronner teaches at the College Hill Fundamental
Academy, and Samantha Gerwe-Perkins at Aiken University High
School.
"This is more good news to share with the community about
the progress being made at the public schools in College
Hill," writes Helen Habbert. "All four schools were
singled out for some kind of recognition over the past year.
Congrats to both teachers and schools!"
Story
contributed by Helen Habbert.
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| SAY Soccer Signups Begin
Teams are forming for boys and girls ages 3 to 15. Pick
up a registration form at the College Hill library or any
College Hill school, or email for one here.
Interested in volunteering as a coach or serving on the
board? Email Angela Thomas at the above address.
College Hill soccer is fun and competitive--one College
Hill team won the city championships last year! Don't miss the
chance for your children to play this exciting sport.
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McAuley Sophomore to Play in Vienna
 Adrienne Royal of
Carthage will play violin in the Vienna Orchestra this summer.
She is traveling with Altissimo, the Select String Ensemble
based at McAuley High School.
Altissimo is directed by Mary Beth Khamis and includes
students in grades 4-11. Adrienne, who is also in the McAuley
Orchestra, began playing violin as a fifth-grader at St.
Vivian School and practices five days a week with her two
groups.
Photos and story provided by McAuley High
School. |
| Howard Roberts Goes Independent
About a year ago, Howard Roberts chose to move to College
Hill from Atlanta to start an American Family insurance
agency. Since then, he's become part of our community,
meeting people through various community and church
organizations, as well has through his business.
Now, Howard has gone independent, opening the "new"
Howard Roberts Insurance Agency. Howard says that as an
independent agent representing many companies he can
offer a fuller line of insurance products to better meet the
people he's come to know in the community. He can draw
on insurance products from such companies as The Hartford,
Travelers, Grange, MetLife, Safeco and others.
Howard hasn't moved--he's still doing business
at 6240 Hamilton Avenue. You can reach him at
513-542-7700 or howardroberts@zoomtown.com. |
| Aiken Needs Volunteer Artists
Can you draw? Do you enjoy helping others? Do
you have extra time on your hands? Then Aiken College and
Career has just the right program for you.
Aiken teacher Ms. Sheliah is starting a school program
called "Promoting Healing Through The Arts." Ms. Burress's
students will be exposed to different art forms, crafts, etc.
Students will learn how to draw, make masks, sculpt, weave
baskets , design and make doll clothes, and fold origami, just
to name a few.
Ms. Burress likes to have guest artists and crafters come
from time to time and share their talents, or teach students
how to make different crafts. She hopes to start in
January.
Interested? Please call Ms. Burress at 513-363-6783 for
more details. |
| Contemporary Dance Theater Classes Begin Jan.
7
Classes are offered at the CDT headquarters at College
Hill Town Hall, and are designed for teen and adult dancers.
This term's classes include Musical Theater dance, World
Fusion Dance, and Modern Dance.
Several classes are offered for various skill levels,
while others--including World Fusion Dance, "a creative and
sensuous workout combining Spanish Flamenco with traditional
Middle Eastern Belly Dance"--are for all skill levels.
Classes are $10-$12 each, $55 for a six-class pass, or
$85 for all the classes in a session.
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The eNewsletter is published every week or two by
the volunteers listed below. Our purpose is to help make
College Hill an even better place to live, play and do
business by publishing a broad spectrum of news for and about
College Hill, with an emphasis on stories of College Hill
people working together to improve our community.
The eNewsletter is
independently prepared and published by neighborhood
volunteers. It is not affiliated with the College Hill
Forum Community Council.
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of any
College Hill or other organization--or even of the editor. The
inclusion of an article is not necessarily an endorsement. The
fact that something isn't in the eNewsletter is not
necessarily a lack of endorsement--it's most likely because no
one told us about it.
eNewsletter photos are often edited to remove
extraneous material.
Send us news that you think would be interesting to your
College Hill neighbors--and we'll very likely publish it.
- Editors: Ken Lyon and Gail Finke
- Contributing Editor: Sarah Mann Wolf
- Backup Editor: Tom
Strothers
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