Name: United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati Inc. (UCP)

History: In 1949, a group of parents of children with cerebral palsy began the program to find an alternative to institutionalization for their children.

Where: The Alfred J. Rendigs Memorial Center at 3601 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, and the Aaron W. Perlman Center inside Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Mission: To advance the independence of people with disabilities.

What others say: Cern Basher of Westwood: "As a parent with a child with special needs, it's such a daunting task to find out what services are available. (UCP) has been a tremendous resource. They've been wonderful in working with him and developing a personal plan for him."

Information: UCP's Development Department at 221-4606.

4th-grader wins contest

Little Flower fourth-grader Zoe Widmer and her classmates in Desiree Matheny's class at the Mount Airy school made Halloween safety illustrations. Matheny then submitted them to Halloween PEARade Art Contest, and Widmer won.

The USA Pears, a Biggs-sponsored national contest, is designed to teach kids about healthy treats.

Widmer won a gift certificate, and the class received school supply money.

ACADEMIC ALL-STARS

OSU grad with honors

Shona Patel earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and graduated summa cum laude with distinction from the Ohio State University. She received the Undergraduate Award for Research Excellence for her senior research project.

The Lakota West High School graduate is attending Princeton University, N.J., on a fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. She is the daughter of Chiman and Shobha Patel of West Chester Township.

Scholarships awarded

Scholarships, based on academics, community service, teacher references and an essay, were awarded by orthodontist James Thacker to these students:

Daniel Brown, a McNicholas High School graduate planning to study medicine; Craig Fansler, a Milford High School graduate studying economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Turpin High School senior Brittany Finn.

To submit an item, call 755-4165.

OUR KIDS

Cub Scouts from St. Ignatius Pack 850 have received verification that their pack now holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for having the most lit candles on a cake - 12,432.

On May 9, the Scouts passed the former record of 4,127 set in Zanesville in 2002. The Scouts' cake, which weighed 98 pounds, was 6 feet long and took six hours to construct and decorate. It had an Ohio bicentennial theme.

Ten-year-old Chris Schuetz of Monfort Heights was one of the pack members on hand.

"It was big. It was really fun, and it was a real big flame," he said.

More like a bonfire - but the cake was still edible (one of the Guinness rules) and Chris said he enjoyed a piece.