Besides taking final exams this week, Isaiah McKinney, 12, is writing a speech he will deliver on May 31 when the Lincoln and Liberty Monument is rededicated.

        Isaiah, a sixth-grader, is among the students at South Avondale Elementary School who conducted a penny campaign last year to raise funds to help restore the 99-year-old monument at Rockdale and Reading Road, near the school.

        The students raised $1,150 of the $70,000 needed to restore the monument. A host of community organizations and companies funded most of the project.

Quality Masonry Co. of Marion, Ohio, workers Eric Erwin (left) and Craig Gwinner, place a granite wall at the Lincoln statue in Avondale. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        “I plan to talk about the design of the statue and how important it is,” said Isaiah. “I think it is an honor for us to have a statue of Abraham Lincoln in our community because of what he did to free the slaves.”

        Sunny Burnett, 12, and Landon Chambers, 13, share the same respect for the monument, which has stood at the corner since 1902.

        “I am not sure of what I will do in the rededication program, but I will be there,” said Sunny, a seventh-grader.

        She was quick to point out that she knew Mr. Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, and that he freed the slaves.

        Cathy Lutts, principal of South Avondale, said the kids also picked up litter around the statue at least once a week.

        “They were really involved in this project,” Ms. Lutts said.

        The Quality Masonry Co. of Marion, Ohio, is repairing the foundation. The work began about a month ago, but was delayed when workers found it had deteriorated more than expected, said Eric Erwin, project manager.

        “When we finish, another company will work on the statue. There will be benches around the statue so people can sit near it. This will be a nice piece of history to this community,” Mr. Erwin said.

        The 19-foot-high bronze, with a figure of Mr. Lincoln and a female kneeling at the statue, representing liberty, was donated by Civil War veteran Capt. Charles Clinton of Missouri.

        The restoration is sponsored by the Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) and Leadership Cincinnati Class XXIII.

        Beth Sallebarger, executive director of CPA, said major donors included the Ohio Arts Council, city of Cincinnati, the Community Arts Fund of the Fine Arts Council, Procter & Gamble, the John Hauck Foundation and Cincinnati Public Schools.

        “We hope this rededication can also be a time of reconciliation,” Ms. Sallebarger said.

Execution delayed; prison officials stunned
Death-penalty opponents gather
Planned executions spur prayer vigil
Diarro's death stuns school
Gas prices creep near $2 a gallon
Police search for suspect in shootings of four men
Boone County's budget up by 109%
Catch of the day: a friend
County braces for cuts
Fire ravages UK building
Fort Thomas cracks down on animal nuisances
20 graduate from Citizen Police Academy in Fairfield
Group promotes 'smart growth'
Kids give statue life
Mason OKs fire chief deal
Officials: Mental health reports falsified
Ohio court weighs jurisdiction in '63 beating death of teen girl
Openings contrast at porn trial
Paul Harvey in town
Property's value up to jurors
Residents take on Cinergy
School superintendent resigns
Trust led to two deaths, prosecutors say
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report