When Jerome Cook is not supervising employees at the Butler County Clerk of Courts Office, he might be using his flexibility doing the "snake creeps down" movement, or full splits.

The 49-year-old Fairfield Township resident recently won the Hall of Fame International Chinese Martial Arts Tournament in Canton, Ohio.

Cook beat 20 competitors to win a gold medallion in the advanced men's category of Yang Tai Chi Grand Ultimate Fist.

Each person performed a three-minute pattern of movements.

"I think my flexibility of movements impressed the judges," Cook said. "I am able to do full splits both ways."

Hospitals set standard

Thomas S. Urban, president and CEO of Mercy Health Partners, is quick to say that Mercy hospitals set the standard in Greater Cincinnati for state-of-the-art health care.

Two local Mercy hospitals were recognized among the nation's top 100: Mercy Hospital Anderson and Mercy Hospital Clermont.

Urban said the award recognizes hospitals for performance benchmarks in quality of care, operational efficiency, financial performance and adaptation to the environment.

"To have two of our hospitals named to the 100 Top Hospital list proves our efforts are paying off, and that they can be benchmarked at a national level."

Golden Galaxy Finalists

The winners of the annual Golden Galaxy Awards will be announced Wednesday. More than 300 students from 58 high schools were nominated. Good Things Happening is profiling all 55 finalists.

Name: Allison Schottenstein

Age: 17

School: Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy

Community: Indian Hill

Category: Social Science

Parents: Gary and Gail Schottenstein

Allison is a member of the National Honor Society and has held internships at Jewish Family Service and with the Teen Rape Program.

Name: Anne Zelek

Age: 17

School: Indian Hill High School

Community: Kenwood

Category: Social Science

Parents: Tim and Betsy Zelek

Anne is a member of the National Honor Society and a recipient of the National Young Leaders Conference Award and the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Award.

Name: Matthew Robert Borths

Age: 17

School: St. Xavier High School

Community: West Chester

Category: Speech and Drama

Parents: Robert and Julie Borths

Matthew has had appearances with Theatre Xavier and performances with the Cincinnati Young People's Theatre.

Dance scholarship

Anna Counts of Clifton was awarded a scholarship to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem. Previously a student at Walnut Hills High School, Anna will be a junior in the School of Dance.

She has studied with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's Preparatory Dance Department, the Cincinnati Dance Academy and Next Generation Dance Company.

Elmer Graham Scholar

Tom Susman was named the Elmer Graham Scholar for 2003 at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. The scholarship is awarded by the board of trustees to an outstanding student at the end of the junior year to provide a full scholarship for the senior year.

A senior majoring in molecular biology and political science, Susman served as an intern at the State Department in Washington, D.C., this summer. He is a Milford High School graduate and the son of Beverly and Tom Susman of Miami Township, Clermont County

To submit, call 755-4165.