Richard Hafner, 81, of Delhi Township never attended Elder High School, but recently the World War II Marine Corps veteran received a diploma.

"I did it for my children. I have three boys and two grandsons. It's a great school," Hafner said. "I did it to honor them. I'm glad I did it."

High schools have been awarding veterans with honorary diplomas since Congress made it possible in 2001.

In most cases, men and women who left school to fight for their country received their diplomas from the school where they began. But that wasn't the case for all 34 men who received their Elder diplomas, eight posthumously.

"Each of them had a special connection to Elder, through their children, family or friends," said Sean Kelley, who coordinated the graduation ceremony.

Fred Bloemker, 82, of Westwood attended Elder from 1935-1938, but left to get a job when his parents became ill. Then he enlisted in the Army and served 31/2 years.

"I thought I'd never get it. Now, I'm an alumni," he said.

Service honored

More than 100 people were honored by their neighbors through the Northside Peace Makers awards on Oct. 26.

The community banquet honored all nominees, children to seniors, for work for such things as neighborhood cleanup and volunteering at the food pantry.

"It was really an uplifting, positive event," said Mimi Chamberlin, co-chairman of the event and executive director of Churches Active In Northside, known as CAIN.

The event was co-chaired by Steve Sunderland of Peace Village.

Qwest for coats

The Princeton High School Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates ninth-grade program is hosting a coat drive to help the homeless stay warm during the winter.

The Coat Drive ends Thursday. Coats of all sizes in good condition may be dropped off in room 405 at the high school.

For more information, contact Rhonda Summerlin at 552-8200.

Giving back

Center honors volunteers

Hoxworth Blood Center honored volunteers with special awards during National Volunteer Week. East-side recipients were:

Amberley Village: Harold Pockrose (1,500 hours); Anderson Township: David Axt (200) and Dessie McInnis (400); Avondale: Robert Hogan (600); Batavia: Samuel Klein (2,300); Blue Ash: Francis Schwegmann (500); Deer Park: Evelyn Hoffmeister (1,400), Hannah Hattenbach (1,200) and Marlys Lane (600); Hyde Park: David Lowry (1,200) and Alex Murdoch (500); Madeira: Dorcas Gleaves (200); Milford: Angel Clinton (1,200), James Hamilton (100) and Clarence Wallace (300); Montgomery: Lewis Grimes (1,000); Mount Washington: Ivan Ludwig, deceased (1,200), and Richard Shipp (500); Sharonville: Shirley Falick (300), Ann Harrigan (1,900), Robert Juenke (300), Audrey Koch (1,200) and David Kuntz (200); and Symmes Township: Stewart McHugh (800).

To submit an item, call 755-4165.

Our kids

Boys collect for district

Three Terrace Park Elementary third-graders took matters into their own hands when they heard their school district was in financial trouble.

Having overheard their parents talking about a pending 5.5 mill-operating levy, Peter Laug, Asher Koreman and Nolan Frey collected money daily, put it in a container and buried it on school grounds.

The boys' parents said they didn't know anything about the collection until the three presented $80 in a plastic bag to principal Bob Denny. About 15 children were involved in the effort, Denny said.

After the levy passed, the boys presented the money to Residents for Continued Excellence, the grass-roots levy committee, at last week's PTO meeting.