Some veterans will receive special thank-you letters from students at St. Gabriel Consolidated School in Glendale on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

        Jill Johnson, an eighth-grader at the school, came up with the idea.

        She said that after the Sept. 11 attack, students wanted to do something to thank everyone who has given a helping hand to the country.

        “Veterans Day provides the perfect opportunity to send this message,” she said.

        Principal Joseph Epplen said letters will go as far south as Florida, west to California and Washington and as far east as Massachusetts.

        “Jill came to me with the idea,” he said. “I asked parents to help. At last count we have about 180 addressed envelopes that will go out about midweek in time for Veterans Day.

        “They will go to 24 states, including Ohio.”

        The Cincinnati Bengals have 10 outstanding quarterbacks to brag about.

        Not the kind that pass footballs.

        These “quarterbacks” share goodwill by volunteering with United Way agencies.

        The volunteers are headed for the playoffs in the Cincinnati Bengals' local NFL Community Quarterback Award.

        The award is a league-wide volunteer recognition program that will donate nearly $1 million to community organizations.

        The 10 finalists and their United Way agencies are:

        • Nate Arnold, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County.

        • Janice Forte, Starfire Council of Greater Cincinnati.

        • Matt H. Frank Jr., Holly Hill Children's Services.

        • Barbara Gargiulo, Cincinnati Union Bethel, Anna Louise Inn.

        • Jerome Harris, Friars Club.

        • Dorothy Jackson, Brighton Center.

        • Vera Sanker, Jewish Family Service of Greater Cincinnati.

        • Deborah Twedell, Redwood Rehabilitation Center.

        • Robert Watson, Family Nurturing Center.

        • Owen Wrassman, Babies' Milk Fund Pediatric Care.

        “We help the Bengals by sending out the applications to our agencies,” said Shara Clark, coordinator.

        “The Bengals have a panel that selects the finalists. All 31 NFL teams participate.”

        Winners will be announced at a luncheon Nov. 13 in the Touchdown Room at Paul Brown Stadium. The finalists receive $1,000 for the agency where they volunteer.

        Winner of the team quarterback award will have $10,000 donated to the agency. Two runners-up will get $2,500 for their agencies.

        Local winners from each NFL team will compete for the national Community Quarterback Award and $25,000 to be donated to the agency.

        Allen Howard's “Some Good News” column runs Monday-Friday and Sundays. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are committing acts of kindness, let him know at (513) 768-8362; at ahoward@enquirer.com; or by fax at (513) 768-8340.

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