By Angela T. Koenig
Enquirer contributor

WESTWOOD - Travelers through the Westwood business district might notice about 80 planters along Harrison Avenue, festooned for the holidays.

The decorations are the handiwork of Westwood resident Melva McMickle,who spent many a chilly afternoon adorning the planters with greenery and ornaments.

"It's just something I took on," said the Westwood Civic Association board member and co-founder of the citizen's group Westwood Concern.

The idea, she said, came from business owner Mark Minges, of Neidhard-Minges Funeral Homes.

"It's sometimes the little things that express to the community at large that the business district is alive and well," said Minges, who is also president of the Westwood Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., a nonprofit that focuses on community revitalization.

The planters, Minges said, were installed in 2001. The city donated the first dozen and the rest were purchased by the civic association and individual businesses.

McMickle said the decorations cost about $520. Local tree lots donated the greenery.

The civic association donated $200 and local businesses about $220. McMickle said she'd like to establish a decorating fund.Help is also needed with the hands-on work.

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If interested, call Minges at 661-3022.