Put your hands together in support of police and firefighters. John Eby is passing that message around as he plans for the second year of Hands Across District 3, noon-1 p.m. today.

        The event will start at the Cincinnati Police District 3 headquarters, 3201 Warsaw Ave., Price Hill. Clusters of people holding hands will be stationed along the five miles reaching to Westwood Elementary School, 2981 Montana Ave., Westwood.

        “This demonstration is designed to show how we support our police and firefighters who put their lives on the line daily for us,” Mr. Eby said. “If your neighborhood is not working with your police and fire departments, it could deteriorate.”

        He said the event is a chance for police, firefighters, civic and business community to come together.

        “We have to work together for the good of the neighborhood,” said Mr. Eby of Westwood. He is an electrical engineer at Thermaltech Engineering Inc. in Fairfax.

        “I want to emphasize that this is a chance to just say thank you to our firefighters and police,” he said

        Mr. Eby said the response has been great, with residents from Westwood and Price Hill, Boy Scouts, the Mercy Girls and several neighborhood groups taking part.

        “We expect at least 1,500 people,” he said.

        A recent study of injuries among African-American children has found a 100 percent increase in the use of safety belts among kids 8 and younger.

        Also, the number of children riding totally unrestrained decreased from 36 percent to 10 percent.

        The program is called Youth Injury Prevention, a partnership between Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and 29 African-American churches. It began a year ago.

        YIP hosted its first fund drive at 6 p.m. Friday at Xavier University's Schiff Family Conference Center.

        The program is the brainchild of Dr. Victor Garcia, a pediatric surgeon and director of Trauma Service at Children's Medical Center.

        Genia Goodin, executive secretary of Trauma Service, said the program has also increased use of seat belts from 58.3 percent to 74.4 percent among drivers.

        Adult passengers' use of seal belts increased from 48 percent to 71 percent.

        This week was special for Jennie A Gilbert. Friends and relatives made sure she had a special hairdo, a new dress, and nails spruced up.

        All the preparation was for the celebration of her 100th birthday from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday in the Fellowship Hall at Zion Baptist Church, 630 Glenwood Ave., Avondale, where she has been a member for 40 years.

        “I am really looking forward to this,” Mrs. Gilbert told her niece, Doris Jackson, director of academic advising at Xavier University.

        Mrs. Gilbert lives at Zion Nursing Home, next door to the church.

        Allen Howard's “Some Good News” column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahowardenquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.

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