KIDS

Young leader Amy Dunham of Blanchester was selected to participate in the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington in April. She and other students interacted with personnel in the three branches of government, the news media and the international community. Amy attends Clinton-Massie High School. New Eagle Scout Kevin Stone, a member of Troop 791 sponsored by Trinity United Church of Christ in Dillonvale, has achieved the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America: the Eagle Scout award. For his community service project, he and his crew built a floral and rock garden at the entrance of Trinity's Fellowship Hall. A senior at Deer Park High School, Kevin is the son of Linda and Lonnie Stone of Sycamore Township. Writing awards bestowed Bryan Clark, a junior at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, recently won two awards for articles written in the Columbia Missourian, a daily newspaper in Columbia, Mo. He placed second in the Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors News Writing Contest in the sports feature category, and won a certificate of special merit for excellence in sports writing in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Articles for both awards came from his series chronicling the first season of the Mid-Missouri Mavericks, a Frontier League baseball team. Clark, a graduate of Lakota East High School, was the chief editor of the school newsmagazine, Spark, and a Hemingway Award winner. He is the son of Sharon and Dick Clark of West Chester Township. To submit an item, call 755-4165.

Spring in full swing brings on that outdoor - or even indoor - gardening urge.

The public libraries are a good place to get started learning how to plant and plan, whether working on a flower pot or landscaping your yard, said Richard Helmes, public information officer at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County downtown. "The public library has thousands of books, resources and programs that will help," Helmes said.

A wealth of information can be found in the magazines and newspapers Department, and gardeners should check out the "Sites by Subject - Home & Garden" section on the library Web site, www.cincinnatilibrary.org.

Jeff Webeler, president of the White Oak Garden Center, is organizing his staff for a series of lectures at the Monfort Heights Library branch, 3825 West Fork Road.

"We give lectures on just about every facet of gardening: landscaping, flower and vegetable gardening, greenhouse and organic gardening and many other topic," Webeler said.

Surprise for 99th

It's pretty tough to surprise someone who's been around for 99 years. But friends surprised Julius Price on Saturday at Maple Knoll Village, where he lives.

His friends gave him a party for his 99th birthday in the Bodman Pavilion's continuing education room.

Price worked as a laborer for General Motors for 37 years and served as a union representative.

He has been active in civil rights, attending the Million Man March in Washington, in 1995, and has been the Woodlawn Civic Club representative at council meetings for 10 years.

Star-Spangled Celebration

Charles and Barbara Boersig of the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church have a suggestion if you want to start the summer off feeling good about yourself: Attend the Star-Spangled Celebration at 4 p.m. June 6 at the church, 1345 Grace Ave., Hyde Park.

"It is a time to feel good about ourselves, our families, our town and the good old U.S.A.," said Charles Boersig.

The church's Cathedral and Wesley Choirs and the Sunshine Singers will perform.