When Sue Lowery is able to reach out to an aged person or anyone with a physical handicap and help them to help themselves, it brings a big smile to her face.

She does it with a compassion, and for her dedication and leadership she has won an award from the Arthritis Foundation's Ohio River Valley Chapter.

Ms. Lowery is the aquatics coordinator in the Twin Towers Wellness Connection, College Hill. She lives in Colerain Township and has been an arthritis aquatics instructor for 13 years. She also trains other instructors, and is a certified PACE (People with Arthritis Can Exercise) instructor.

"One of her great strengths is listening to people and the compassion she is able to show to them," said Monica Smith, director of Wellness at Twin Towers. "She is a great instructor."

Ms. Lowery said she wants Twin Towers residents and Wellness Connection members to make use of her programs so they can increase their flexibility and range of motion.

"This will help them to continue with their daily living ability," she said.

Ms. Lowery has been a member of the Wellness Connection Staff at Twin Towers for two years.

Before opening the Wellness Connection, she assisted in the development of programs, policies and procedures at Twin Towers.

Ms. Lowery estimates that about 500 people have participated in her arthritis classes.

This was probably the best play Deer Park Junior and High School football coach Barry Pettyjohn ever called.

Through a letter-writing and card-making campaign he organized, more than 500 letters and cards were mailed to men and women serving in the military during the holidays. The campaign was conducted through all Deer Park schools. Names were collected by parents of children in the armed forces.

Teaching staff and other personnel in the Northwest Local School District have collected 162 children's books for the Grads Program's "Reading for Good Attendance" project and the lending libraries of Head Start at Taylor Elementary and Fairfield North schools and the Janet Clemmons Center.

The Montgomery/Northeast Kiwanis Club was able to provide 625 books to Cincinnati Union Bethel's Head Start Program with the help of Delhi Kiwanis Club, American Legion Post 630 and Montgomery Book Co.

Two sixth-graders, one from Guardian Angels and one from St. Ursula Villa, collected 370 pounds of food during their second annual Neighborhood Luminaria Food Drive.

The students, neighbors in Anderson Township, are Alissa Huston and Abby Gruber. Food was collected in the Berkshire Club and Trailwoods II subdivisions in Anderson Township and Mount Washington.

The food was donated to the FreeStore/FoodBank.

Allen Howard's "Some Good News" column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahoward@enquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.