| The College Hill eNewsletter |
Telling
the story of "A Diverse and Neighborly
Community."
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January 30,
2008
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Dear Reader,
The annual College Hill Potluck Dinner has been
scheduled for Feb. 29. Once again, it will be held at the
College Hill Presbyterian Church. More details will be here
next week.
Don't forget to check our online calendar about
this and many other upcoming College Hill happenings. Those
include youth SAY Soccer and College Hill Baseball signups,
both going on now.
The Potluck Dinner will be a great place to talk with
neighbors about Linden Park, the development that will be
coming this fall to the big empty lot where Shullers Wigwam
used to be. Read about it below.
See you next week!
Gail Finke,
Co-Editor
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| EndZone Youth Program Comes to The Rock
Cafe
 A new sports-theme
program to help youth, EndZone Club, started
this fall at The Rock Cafe.
The EndZone Club assists urban young men and women
(nicknamed "running backs") with academics, college
acceptance, character development, diversity training, and job
training. It was started by Mr. Nate Foster (pictured) and his
wife Gwen in the West End and Over-the-Rhine.
For two years the Fosters have been changing the lives of
young people by offering them opportunities to reap the
rewards of "scoring" in life by reviewing their personal "game
plans" and having a team beside them to change those aspects
of life which are not contributing to their success.
The club here is funded through Christ's Community in
College Hill and other contributors to The Rock. It meets
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Since mid-October over 60
different youth from College Hill have participated.
The End Zone brings along a team of tutors from XU and
the UC departments of medicine and pharmacology for academic
assistance. The Rock contributes to the program by providing
an environment for dinners together and computers to work on
academic achievement programs.
This month the EndZone Club will invite the parole board
of Cincinnati to assign youth from College Hill to the program
as a mandatory part of their parole. In two months, organizers
have seen tremendous response from parents and youth to
EndZone. The EndZone Club's goal is a club in every CPS
school by 2009.
Story provided by College Hill Presbyterian
Church. |
| Aiken: Accent on Environmental Science
 Principal Virginia
Rhodes and several members of the school's staff came to the
College Hill Forum meeting last week to update the community
on the school's progress. ( Photo by Sarah
Wolfe.)
In addition to the two-level jump in student test scores
and a huge drop in discipline problems that have been
well reported, the staff said excitement about a new
program in environmental sciences is growing among
Cincinnati students.
The opportunity to work hands-on with volunteer and job
training programs, to take classes for credit with Cincinnati
State, to work at internships and summer jobs in related
fields, and to take higher-level math and science classes
(last year calculus was re-introduced) is preparing area
students for careers that were once
closed to them.
 After-school
activities are growing and thriving, despite a CPS budget cut.
Sports teams, including basketball, football, and baseball are
helping build character -- and winning games!
Students from College Hill and surrounding neighborhoods
are beginning to choose Aiken, Mrs. Rhodes and her staff said.
There are many opportunities for neighborhood residents
to become involved with the school through tutoring,
volunteering, and hiring young workers. The school's job
coordinator promises to knock on doors of area business and
help employers find reliable, hard workers.
For more on the environmental program, see the
Enquirer's coverage of the program here. To learn
more about Aiken University High School, call Virginia Rhodes
at 513-363-6800.
Pictured: Aiken University High School students collect
soil samples for a project at Mt. Airy Forest. Photo by
Gary Landers for the
Enquirer.
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| City Manager to Speak at CHCURC Annual Dinner
Meeting
Just announced: Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dahoney
will speak at the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment
Corporation's annual meeting and dinner March 5 at
Llanfair.
 Marty
Weldishofer, College Hill's Director of Community Development,
is hinting at exciting announcements--but beyond that his lips
are sealed. So mark your calendars for the date and we'll let
you know the details as soon as they're available.
 And don't
forget the College Hill Business Association's annual dinner
April 15 at Llanfair Retirement Community's Campus
Center.
For information email Phyllis Schoenberger here. |
| Linden Park Development in the News
Marty Weldishofer's news (see above) may have something
to do with corner of Hamilton and North Bend and the
long-anticipated Linden Park development.
Monday afternoon, the Cincinnati City Council Finance
Committee voted to recommend that the full Council approve
city funding for the mixed-use project. Al Neyer Inc., signed
the final developer agreement last week. According to the
Cincinnati Business Courier, Neyer has once again reconfigured
the project to include townhomes, as well as condominiums and
retail.
College Hill organizations, businesses, and residents
have supported this development for the five years it has been
in the works. Many are planning to attend the
upcoming Council meeting to show their continuing
support.
We'll let you know how it goes next week.
In the meantime, read about Linden Park--and a surprising
prediction from Marty--in the Business Courier
article here. |
| Concert Raises $$$ for Labor Causes
Wendy and Dave Hawkins hosted a concert at their College
Hill home January 19, raising $1,000 for labor causes.
 Dave and labor
singer-songwriter Allen Schwartz of Ripley, Ohio, performed
the fundraising concert for the the Interfaith Workers'
Center. About 25 people attended. Pictured is Don Sherman from
IWC, standing between the two performers.
For more information about Interfaith Workers' Center,
email Steve Schumacher here. |
| Andrea Schwartz in Bacon Hall of Fame
 College Hill
resident Andrea Lemmink Schwartz is one of two alumnae
recently inducted into Roger Bacon High School's Women's Hall
of Fame.
According to a Community Press article, Andrea was a
champion swimmer and volleyball player for Roger Bacon, and
held three school swimming records. She swam for the
University of Missouri, and is now junior varsity volleyball
coach and assistant varsity swimming coach for Roger
Bacon.
Andrea works at Schwartz Jewelers. She and her husband
are expecting a baby, so multiple congratulations are in
order!
Pictured: Roger Bacon Athletic Director Joe Corcoranr;
Andrea Schwartz; Girls Greater Cincinnati League President Kim
Douthit; Roger Bacon President, Rev. Bill Farris; Hall of Fame
inductee Jody Kirch. |
| Foreclosure Story Update: Criminal Charges
Dropped
 The
Enquirer reports that the
City of Cincinnati has dropped criminal charges against a
former College Hill resident.
Demetria Scriber-Hinkston abandoned her home at the
corner of Cary and West North Bend after her bank foreclosed
on her loan. City records showed her as still owning the
title, and the City sued her for failure to maintain the home,
which has been boarded up after several years of neglect.
According to the Enquirer, Scriber-Hinkston is suing the
Everhome Mortgage Co., a Florida-based firm, for taking the
property but failing to file the deed.
Quality of Life Team coordinator Phyllis Schoenberger is
keeping community attention on the house. She reports that
Everhome Mortgage purchased a vacant building license last
week.
 Phyllis recently toured the
property with a city building inspector. "Overall, it is in
pretty good shape," the building inspector says. "A new
kitchen and some new bathroom work would be necessary, as
would a new electrical system." He identified seven items to
correct, including capping drains, cutting out trees from the
foundation, and securing wires, but says the house is
safe. |
Baseball Signups Begin
 College Hill Baseball is now
accepting registrations for the 2008 knothole baseball
season. Boys and girls are eligible for T-Ball if they were born
between 5/1/2001 and 4/30/2003. Baseball starts with
Coaches Pitch (birthdates from 5/1/2000-4/30/2001) and Class
AA (birthdates 5/1/1990 - 4/30/1229). College Hill
Baseball is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Knothole
Baseball Club, a youth baseball league begun by our own Powel
Crosely, Jr. The season begins in April and May. Practices are
in College Hill or North College Hill, and games are played
throughout the area. Fees range from $30 (t-ball) to $60
(Class AA) and include uniform shirts and
pants. Download a registration form for T-Ball here and for baseball
here. For more
information call the College Hill Baseball Hotline
513-929-BALL (513-929-2255), or email here. Coaches and sponsors are
always needed! |
| Wallace Smith's KidQuestUnlimited Makes
Cincinnati Chic
 College Hill
resident LaDonna Wallace Smith and her company, KidQuestUnlimited, were featured
in last week's Cincy Chic, an
online publication about women in Cincinnati.
You can read all about how she started her company, which
provides childcare for events and conferences, her tips on
starting a business, and even her favorite thing to boast
about in the Queen City! See it here.
But you don't have to be at an event to see what KidQuest
Unlimited is all about. LaDonna has teamed up with the College
Hill Recreation Center to offer a Parents Nights Out each
month. Toddlers 18-months and up and children 5-13 can enjoy a
night of supervised age-appropriate activities while parents
shop, have dinner, or just enjoy some peace and quiet.
The next Parents Night Out is Saturday, February 9, and
has a Mardi Gras theme. Advance registration is $20 for the
first child and $15 for each additional child. If you register
online with discount code PNOCH08, you'll get $5 off each
registration.
For information call 885-6935 or email here. To register click here. |
| Gardeners Invite You to Join
 The College Hill
Gardeners wrote to us with this invitation for the
community:
College Hill Gardeners is a volunteer organization
dedicated to improving the livability of our neighborhood and
developing individuals' gardening skills through educational
outreach, garden tours, greenhouse workshops, beautification
projects and community pride building events. All are welcome
to join with a suggested membership contribution of $20.
Members are notified of planned day trips, events,
speakers, workshops, topical meetings and sales. The group
meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm in the
Campus Center Conference Room of Llanfair Retirement Community
(1701 Llanfair).
The February 5th meeting will be a swap of seed catalogs,
books, and gardening magazines. Get your mind and your garden
ready for spring!
The March 4th meeting will be an Open House with speakers
Ron Wilson and Rita Heikenfeld. It will begin early, at 7 pm.
This Open House is the perfect introduction to CHG as it
showcases the ongoing work of lead projects.
Refreshments will be served and door prizes given.
For information on meetings, upcoming events, or CHG in
general, contact Beth McLean at
513-681-1326. | |
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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