Wartime letters from the front

Mothers' hearts are the unseen casualties of war. It has been that way as long as there has been war. On May 9 - Mother's Day - the Enquirer would like to publish examples of the letters that servicemen and women have written home to their mothers from wars of the last century and this one, as well as letters mothers have sent to their sons and daughters serving overseas. If you have a letter you are willing to share, contact Howard Wilkinson at hwilkinson@enquirer .com or call 768-8388 or write him at Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati OH 45202. (Please send copies of the correspondence, if possible, and include day and night phone numbers.)

Compost bins for sale Saturday

The Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District will hold a compost bin sale from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the Kroger store in Blue Ash, 4100 Hunt Road and behind the Colerain Township Senior Center at 4200 Springdale Road. Experts from the American Compost Society will be at both locations to answer questions about composting. Home compost bins will be for sale for $25. Information: 946-7734 or visit www .hcdoes.org.

Church giving away electric candles

The First Baptist Church of Glen Este has purchased 4,000 electric candles to give away to the community to "light the way home" for Pfc. Keith Matthew Maupin, who was captured by insurgents in Iraq three weeks ago. With yellow ribbons in lawns and electric candles in windows, much of Clermont County has banded together in prayer during recent weeks for the 20-year-old Glen Este High School graduate, whose image was broadcast around the world a week after his capture.

Senior citizens inducting Dowlin

The senior Hamilton County commissioner will be one of 13 Ohio residents inducted into the state's Senior Citizens Hall of Fame next week. John Dowlin, 74, of Sharonville leaves office in December after 13 years as a commissioner, the Ohio Department of Aging noted in a press release announcing the inductions. Dowlin was mayor of Sharonville for 27 years and a Procter & Gamble Co. executive.