MY & MY PET
B1 Your Community Press newspaper serving College Hill, Finneytown, Forest Park, Greenhills, Mount Airy, Mount Healthy, North College Hill, Seven Hills, Springfield Township E-mail: hilltoppress@communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, J u l y 1 5 , 2 0 0 9
Mindy.
Volume 72 Number 24 © 2009 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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West-side residents have made their choice for the very best in The Community Press’ first annual Readers’ Choice Awards. We’re counting thousands of votes and will announce the winners in a special publication in August. Winners of the Kings Island tickets won’t have to wait, however. Those local residents will be announced in next week’s Hilltop Press.
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With 30 years in nursing, it didn’t surprise many that Jane Whalen was rewarded for her accomplishments. – FULL STORY, B1
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Group hikes to improve city By Rob Dowdy rdowdy@communitypress.com
Some residents and city officials In Forest Park are taking to the streets in search of property code violations and other general issues. The community service team, made up of a rotating roster of residents and city officials that periodically walks through a neighborhood to spot issues or code violations, has been operating for about a year and a half. City Manager Ray Hodges said the group walks for about an hour, and various city officials note violations in order to cite residents. Community Traffic Safety Officer Nick Fimiani, who’s main job is to address quality of life issues, said he issues about 50 tickets a month, ranging from sidewalk parking to overgrown lawns. He said the community service team has been instrumental in identifying violations. “You notice a lot of things you may not notice driving through,” Fimiani said. Trisch Reinhardt, property maintenance supervisor, said the team decides on a section of the city to walk and everything from sidewalk repairs to loose dogs are noted by the officials who deal with those situations everyday. She said not only have the walk-throughs helped communication between the city and interested residents, but its also improved the ROB DOWDY/STAFF lines of communication between the separate Forest Park City Manager Ray Hodges (center) leads Forest Park police officer Nick Fimiani and several residents on a walk of a city departments within the city. neighborhood during the community service team’s walk, which is done periodically to spot property code violations and other issues “It really makes a difference,” Reinhardt in various neighborhoods. said.
NCH couple retired, but working hard By Jennie Key jkey@communitypress.com
When Marlene and Dick Sellins retired, there was no thought of sitting back and taking it easy. The North College Hill residents went right back to work, volunteering with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The couple, together, have donated more than 16,859 hours of love, time and hard work to Children’s. While they never collected a paycheck, Dick says he got much more than he gave. The pair were recently honored with a 2009 Jefferson Award. The awards were established in 1972 as part of the American Institute for Public Service, to be a “Nobel Prize” for public and community service. Marlene says the couple supported the hospital financially for a number of years, but after Dick retired at 54, he got a letter back saying thanks for the donation, and that the hospital needed help. Marlene says her husband has been a volunteer for 22 years and he’s worn a number of hats since he began. Colleen Phillips, clinical director, Volunteer Services, at Cincinnati Children’s, said, “Dick knows the titles of hundreds of videos and DVDs, and he can play any
JENNIE KEY/STAFF
North College Hill residents Dick and Marlene Sellins received an award for their work with the Children’s Hospital Medical Center. They have volunteered almost 17,000 hours in 22 years of service. board game as many times as a hospitalized child wants to play.” Dick said he eventually ended up as the Santa’s Helper of Children’s – he cleans and fixes the toys the hospital keeps on hand
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for its patients. Marlene is a whiz in the office and she started her volunteer work in 1995, collating hundreds and thousands of charts, mailings and event brochures.
Phillips said Marlene can fold, label and stuff envelopes faster than the U.S. Postal Service staff. One of Marlene’s projects is collating same day surgery paperwork, which consists of 13 pieces of paper. Her goal is to do at least 400 sets every Wednesday afternoon. “That means in one afternoon, Marlene is moving 5,200 pieces of paper, using 400 paper clips and bundling everything into packs of 50, securing them with a rubber band,” Phillips said. “She is the collating queen.” Marlene says it just feels good to be doing something that really helps other people. The couple has formed lasting friendships with their fellow volunteers. In fact, members of the Wednesday afternoon “lunch bunch,” as they call themselves, visit each other’s homes for dinner and even travel together. The couple, who have been married for 54 years, is also active at Immanuel United Church of Christ on Queen City Avenue. Marlene is also a member at St. Margaret Mary Church. Dick says the volunteer work is something he and his wife can do together in their retirement. “I highly recommend it,” he said. “The kids give me a lot more love than I have ever given them.”
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