HAMILTON - More than 400 Butler County children made art out of garbage, and Thursday some won savings bonds for their efforts.

Thirty-four of the sculptures for the 17th Annual Recycled Sculpture Contest were on display for a Halloween-themed event and final judging at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.

"It was started to encourage bright young minds to think about items that would normally be thrown away in a new way, to think of those items as resources instead of garbage," said Sue Stephenson, director of the county's Recycling and Litter Prevention Program.

At Thursday's event, the program announced the top sculptures: Rachel Harris, a fifth-grader at Hopewell Elementary in the Lakota school district, for the piece "Spirit of Cincinnati"; Tai Enrico, a fourth-grader at Hopewell, for "Turning Trash into Chess"; and Alyssa Discroll, a fourth-grader at Fairfield West Elementary, for "Angels from the Recycled Heavens."

Vance-Patrick Listermann, 12, from Fairfield looks at a riverboat made from recycled trash on display Thursday at the 17th annual Recycled Sculpture Contest. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

Tai picked chess "because it's my favorite thing to do, and lots of people play chess." The 9-year-old used Coca-Cola cans, egg cartons, funnels, paper cups and Pringles cans, working on the project off and on over two weeks.

Another three students received trophies and certificates: Brianna Listermann, a fifth-grader at St. Julie Elementary, for "Piggyback-Pigsty"; Adam Hartman, a fifth-grader at St. Peter Elementary, for "Turtle"; and Katie Metzler, a fifth-grader at Fillmore Elementary in the Hamilton school district, for "Baby Giraffe."

Agency honors leaders

The Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency, which provides social services to 30,000 low-income children and families, will hold is holding its annual meeting today.

At the meeting, the agency will present its annual Bridge Builder Awards.

Winners: Technology Resource Center, which teaches classes on computer repair and programming; the Rev. Michael Mack, pastor of Jerriel Baptist Church; Randal S. Bloch, who has a family law practice and is a former CAA chair; and Henrique Nicolas from the Council on Aging and a Head Start volunteer.

NEW EAGLE SCOUTS

Three recognized

These young men have achieved the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Scout award:

Charles Patrick Coggins of Troop 417, sponsored by the city of Glendale. His Eagle community service project was a finger-printing and identification service for elementary and junior high school students at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. The senior at Cincinnati Hills is the son of Cindy Coggins of Blue Ash and the late John Coggins.

Luke Montag of Troop18, sponsored by St. Saviour Church of Rossmoyne. For his community service project, he and his crew developed a trailhead to the Little Miami River and cleared two campsites. The junior at Milford High School is the son of Patricia and James Montag of Miami Township, Clermont County.

Seth English, of Troop 112, sponsored by Mount Washington Presbyterian Church. For his Eagle service project, he and his crew refurbished the nature trails at Mercer Elementary School. The Turpin High School junior also designed lesson plans to be used at Mercer.

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OUR KIDS

SAT high score

You might say St. Xavier High School senior Kyle Karches doesn't need much to round out his college application. He's president of student council, has the highest cumulative average in his class - a 99.2 percent - plays on the football team and has been named outstanding attorney on the mock trial team three years in a row. But last week, he learned of an unexpected and pleasant addition - a 1600 on his SAT, the highest possible score.

"I was really surprised. At first, I thought someone had played a joke on me. I thought I hadn't done as well as the first time I took it," said Karches, 17, of Delhi Township. He earned a 1510 in his first try.

He wants to be doctor or a lawyer, has applied to the University of Notre Dame and has been ona mission trip to South Dakota where he worked with Indian children. "I learned a lot about personal values, like generosity," he said. "There was a boy who was thrilled he had $1 to buy a drink in the cafeteria, and he wanted to buy me a drink. It was proof that the people who have little, often give more."