Price Hill is on Cincinnati's western edge overlooking the downtown basin. Locals love long-standing family-owned business like Incline Public House, Primavista and Somm Wine Bar. Once home to Pete Rose and the headquarters of Slush Puppies, Price Hill still houses a major food manufacturing plant for hometown-based Kroger. Mt. Echo Park offers sweeping views of the Cincinnati skyline, and Cincinnati Christian University resides along Glenway Avenue, attracting young students from all over the world to this unique and historical area of town. Groups like Price Hill Will and Cincinnati Landmark Productions are helping to revitalize the area with new entertainment options, local businesses and neighborhood restorations.
With the Smale Riverfront Park open and Washington Park debuting July 6, we take a closer look at how the Cincinnati Park Board's oft-overlooked innovations move, and in some cases outright push, the city forward.
Liz Sweet has a plan for this summer: Learn how to read a blueprint, how to work with tools and build a shed so she can help her dad build one in the backyard. Safety goggles firmly affixed and hands steadying the circular saw, Sweet is all business as she slides the power tool along a plank of wood on a warm June afternoon. The rat-a-tat of nearby hammering is her background music. The 12-year-old, who just finished sixth grade at St. Lawrence Elementary School, makes this look easy. Sweet is one of 18 middle-school students from Cincinnati’s West side who are working together in this summer’s Construction Camp at Resurrection School. Her brother, Matthew, 11, is also attending Construction Camp, which is organized by the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board and supported by the Spirit of Construction Fund and the SC Ministry Foundation. This marks its second year. “I heard you get to work with tools and build things,’’ says Sweet. “I like to do more boy things than girl things. I think it’s fun. It’s pretty awesome.” Sweet may not realize it, but the camp is also teaching her and her construction partners – from Midway Elementary, Roberts Academy, Carson Elementary and Resurrection School - how to apply what they have been learning in math and science classes. The three-week camp teaches them job readiness skills, how to work with others and how to learn by doing. In addition, the program gives students a taste of a trade that is hungry for new workers. Construction trade workers, many of whom are baby boomers, are beginning to age out of the workforce, leaving a void of skilled workers, says Anne Mitchell, who organizes the camp and also organizes after-school construction clubs. This year’s project, a 10-foot-by-13-foot garden shed, will be fully equipped: The students will install windows and doors, a sink and a fan in the ceiling and metal roofing. They will also paint the structure – a crowd favorite – and are working with welders to create iron garden ornaments. Just three days in and they had already taken a mountain of lumber and constructed the floor, the framing, the walls and the ceiling. They even used a jigsaw to create some flourishes and flair to the structure. The completed shed will be auctioned in October at the Spirit of Construction’s gala event, which honors the region’s construction titans. A team of skilled craftsmen and women from Associated Builders and Contractors, all of whom volunteer their time, are on site every day working with the kids. Kevin Murray, a volunteer from Cincinnati Building and Contracting, has been on the construction site – which is Resurrection’s parking lot in Price Hill. It is his second year volunteering. “It’s really a lot of fun to see the kids. Look at them,’’ Murray says. “The kids are the ones who really blow me away. It’s really about the satisfaction of watching them enjoy it.” Campers, who attend from noon to 4 p.m. daily through the end of June, also get exercise time, a healthy snack and some craft time inside the school. Amy Beal, a graduate student at Northern Kentucky University, and Jennifer Toebbe, who teaches physical education at Sands Montessori and is working toward her master’s degree in counseling at Xavier University, work with the kids on the “inside projects” and talk with them about career choices. The first few days, each camper drew a blue print of a project they wanted to build from the scrap materials to take home. Some plans included a closet storage system, a bird house and a small box. They will get to take home those projects, a garden ornament that they welded and a tool pouch that includes a hammer, tape measure, carpenter’s pencil, tinted safety goggles and water bottle. Mitchell beams as she discusses the program and the impact it has on the students. This year, four of the students are homeless. One is autistic. But none of that matters. “Most of these kids didn’t know each other before this week. Now they are part of team. They are working together on something.’’ she says. “Many of these kids have challenges. “But they chose to be here. To have an impact on their future.” Do Good: • Follow the construction progress on the group’s blog Building our Future: Construction Camp. • Follow Anne Mitchell on Twittter. • Donate materials or time by emailing Mitchell. Chris Graves is the Assistant Vice President of Digital and Social Media at the Powers Agency. You can follow her on Twitter.
Salon.com writes: A great example of urban entertainment is Cincinnati, where, rather than busting in with relocation plans and a branding scheme, the city has designated five neighborhoods Community Entertainment Districts where aspiring restaurateurs can simply get a liquor license directly from the state for about $1,500, rather than on the open market where they cost up to $30,000. Read the full story here.
Now in its 4th year, Cincinnati Public Schools’ 5th Quarter program targets under-performing, low-income schools with an extended school year and a collective approach to learning, and fun, that's getting national attention.
In the past year and a half, neighborhoods around Cincinnati have found a new tool to help turn empty storefronts into future restaurants and centers of activity with Community Entertainment District designation.
Few urban neighborhoods offer residents a 16-acre nature center and 26 weeks of fresh produce from a community-supported agriculture program. But those are just a few of the perks in Enright Ridge Eco-Village. Nestled in Price Hill, just a few miles from the heart of downtown Cincinnati, the green community offers residents the best of both urban and rural lifestyles.
Despite an occasional glance at the videographer, the children focus intently on their music. With a good tempo and an intermittent squeak, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy flows from young hands holding the bows of violas, cellos and violins. Price Hill’s newest orchestra is bringing classics to kids in a way that may build a whole new outlook and vision for the community’s future. Music for Youth in Cincinnati (MYCincinnati) is the reason these Price Hill children gather daily after school to study a musical instrument and play in an orchestra. Led by classically-trained cellist Laura Jekel, the program follows the model of El Sistema, an internationally renowned system of building youth orchestras to transform the lives of underserved children through music. Three elements define the El Sistema program. “First, it’s free and located in an area that may have access barriers in studying classical music,” says Jekel. It is also a great commitment of time and energy. Children study two hours a day under both Jekel and musician Eddy Kwon. Finally, the orchestra is at the core of the students’ learning development. Following the students’ first day, which was an introduction to the instruments, “the second day was in orchestra,” Jekel says, and it has been that way ever since. Why offer an orchestra experience over the usual private lessons and individual practicing? “Musically, it creates a different kind of musician, one that is not focused just on themselves but on the group,” says Jekel. “Although all ages [7- 13-year-olds] are playing together, all at different levels, the levels are still all progressing ,and the group sound gives the kids confidence.” That focus on the group dynamic is why a community development organization like Price Hill Will was interested in supporting this youth music program. “The community wanted us to work with youth,” says Matt Strauss, director of marketing and neighborhood promotion at Price Hill Will, but “our goal isn’t just to teach kids to play classical instruments. The program is vigorous and kids have to work as a team and be dedicated.” Despite a wide mix of racial and economic backgrounds, “these kids work together beautifully.” Do Good: • Watch: a performance of youth orchestra. • Participate: Do you know a child who may be interested in this program? Would you like to volunteer or make an in-kind donate ? Contact Laura Jekel, 513-251-3800 (106). • Find out: about other programs Price Hill Will supports. By Becky Johnson
The Western Wildlife Corridor has turned a passion for nature into a crusade for a more beautiful Ohio River Valley. Stretching from Mill Creek near downtown Cincinnati to the Great Miami River bordering Indiana, the WWC’s work seeks to enhance the quality of life for Cincinnatians by removing pollutants from the air and water, eradicating invasive plant species and helping boost the values of properties along the river. As stated on its website, the organization’s mission is “to protect the scenic beauty and natural resources of the Ohio River Valley through direct land protection and through the promotion of responsible land use.” One of the ways the WWC accomplishes this is by obtaining protective easements or purchasing properties in need of habitat restoration. “Raising enough money to purchase these properties is probably one of our biggest challenges,” says Tim Sisson, WWC president. According to Sisson, the WWC has agreements to protect properties in both Miami and Delhi Townships. In terms of the condition of the land itself, Sisson says that one of the biggest problems facing the Ohio River Valley is the prevalence of invasive plant species. “Species like Amur honeysuckle and garlic mustard kill other plants, trees and bushes,” says Sisson. “Once brought in as ornamental, these species are now threatening the indigenous plant life in the Ohio Valley.” Although the organization conducts habitat restoration year round, springtime is its busiest season – and just a few weeks away. The WWC relies entirely on volunteers to do everything from manually removing the smaller invasive plants from the riverbanks to performing administrative duties such as bulk mailings, website maintenance and newsletter coordination and editing. “Volunteerism with the WWC represents the opportunity to protect something important,” says Sisson. This fall, the WWC celebrates its 20th anniversary. Throughout 2012, the WWC will host many events providing opportunities for the community to become aware and involved. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the WWC will host its annual meeting at the College of Mount St. Joseph. Open to the public, the meeting will include a presentation on the ecology and geology of the hillside. “Now is the time to protect the beautiful natural environment of the Ohio River Valley for future generations.” Sisson says. Do Good: • Donate: funds to help purchase a property in need of natural restoration. • Volunteer: your time to “clean up” the Ohio River banks. • Become: a member of the Western Wildlife Corridor. By Deidra Wiley Necco
From the cresting mountain ridges of Appalachia to the rolling hills of Cincinnati, the story of one small community’s fight against big coal corporations resonates with a message of environmental justice. That story will be told during a screening of the documentary, “The Last Mountain,” and a panel discussion afterward, moderated by the executive director of the Urban Appalachian Council, Greg Howard. The free public events kick off the Passport to the World Series Appalachian Culturefest at the Cincinnati Museum Center. The panel includes University of Cincinnati biological sciences professor Eric Maurer; Shanon Rice, photographer and curator of “A Coal Story,” a photographic exhibit now at the Museum Center that delves into the lives of coal miners; coal miner Claude Stamper; Richard Durtsche, Northern Kentucky University biology professor; and associate journalism professor (and SoapboxMedia managing editor) Elissa Yancey. The documentary “Last Mountain” takes an intense look at how the townspeople of Coal River Valley, W.Va., battled to protect a mountaintop from destruction at the hands of big coal corporations. Many Cincinnatians have deep family roots in Appalachia, which led to the formation of the Urban Appalachian Council in the early 1970s. UAC is a service and advocacy organization working to improve the quality of life for urban Appalachians in the Greater Cincinnati area. Families who migrated to Cincinnati generations ago note interesting parallels between what’s taking place in Coal River Valley and the streets of the Queen City. The close-knit Appalachian culture, where complaints are few and publicity shied away from, does not make advocacy a natural path for them. The results have not served the people, or the land upon which they depend, well. In many ways, Coal River Valley sets out a new vision for Appalachians willing to stand up for their own health and well-being, for their own futures. Do Good: • See the movie; hear the panel. The Insights Lecture series event will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Click here for more information. • Like the Urban Appalachian Council on Facebook. • Make a donation to support the work of this local nonprofit.
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