KENWOOD - Nurses at Jewish Hospital in Kenwood did something fishy with a serious purpose behind it Friday.

Nurses dressed up as fish for Halloween to put on an event called "Freaky Fish Friday" to promote the staff's new work attitude - the Fish philosophy of best-selling author Harry Paul.

"The philosophy is important because you come in with a positive attitude, you have fun at work. It's infectious; it's better for the patient," said Nancy Wolpert of Fairfield, the nurse manager in the cardiac step-down unit at Jewish.

Four principles are at the heart of the Fish philosophy, based on the success of Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market. They include having fun at work, making someone's day, being there in each task performed and choosing an attitude.

"It's funny because you get patients and staff and doctors interested," Wolpert said. "They see you in the fish costume, and they smile."

Teachers hit 30th

Kayla Collier, Janey Shestina and Kathy Whitt each retired this year from the Clermont County Educational Service Center after 30 years of service as speech-language pathologists for schools in the county.

Mary Kamphaus, a teacher assistant with the center, was also recently recognized for her 27 years of service.

Whitt, 52, of New Richmond, said it was the students who made the years worth it.

"The kids were wonderful, and being able to help them, seeing the little steps, was rewarding," she said.

Like Whitt, Tom Clark, a school psychologist with the Goshen Local School District, reached his 30-year milestone as well and continues his work.

Academic all-stars

Scholarships awarded

Advocates for Youth Education Inc., an organization of 26 professional African-American women, has awarded scholarships to these high school graduates:

Finneytown High School - Karla Ball, a chemistry major at Xavier University; and Elena Lebasie, a pre-dentistry major at Xavier.

Mount Healthy High School - Patrick Hines, music performance (horn) at DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind., and Voke Uwamu, marketing at Kent State University.

Northwest High School - Kaylen Marshall, film studies/forensic science at the University of Pittsburgh.

Princeton High School - Reva Dumas, chemistry/pre-med at Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.; Melva Holland, biology/neuroscience at Xavier University, New Orleans, and Michael Wofford, mechanical engineering at Ohio State University.

Walnut Hills High School - Tisha Davis, pre-law at Wilmington College, Ohio; Jane Harris, international business/Spanish at Wellesley College, Mass., and Sara Strickland, economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Woodward High School - La'Shelbrin Peake, engineering at Alabama State University, Montgomery.

To submit an item, call 755-4165.

OUR KIDS

Jonathan Vogt, 18, of Anderson Township, as a college freshman got more than just a lead role in a major play - he got to meet the playwright.

Vogt, a 2003 graduate of Seven Hills Upper School, intends to be a theater arts major at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. He was cast in the role of Charlie, an elderly man, in Edward Albee's Seascapes.

"I was just hoping I could get a part. I didn't expect to get such a main role in the main stage production," Vogt said. "This is the biggest role I've ever played."

Meeting Albee, who was on campus for a lecture series, was an unexpected treat. The two talked about the meaning of the play, which is about evolution and the meaning of life.