MasonBuzz.com

Cliff Peale reports:

Posted in: News, Weather |

Tags: Tags: christmas, cloudy skies, national weather service, rain, snow, weather

Cliff Peale reports:

A chance of rain Christmas Eve morning could give way to some snow later in the week.

Holiday travelers should be in the clear for Christmas Day, but a mix of rain and snow is on the way Wednesday.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Wednesday, with accumulations of up to an inch expected in most of southwest Ohio.

Accumulations of four inches or more are expected along Interstate 70 to the north, while those in northern Ohio and Indiana could see even more.

In our region, it’s raining this morning but with a temperature at 7 a.m. of 34 degrees and a high today in the low 40s, there’s little chance of snow today.

After a partly cloudy Christmas Day with a high in the low 40s, a mix of snow and rain should start late Tuesday night. Any snow probably won’t start until later in the day Wednesday.

• Get the latest weather conditions and forecast

Posted in: News, Weather |

Tags: Tags: christmas, holiday, national weather service, rain, showers, snow, weather

Alex Pendergrass, left, and Steffon Scott, both inmates at Lebanon Correctional Institution (LeCI) pack boxes with new toys that were donated to the United State Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Inmates at the prison raised over $5,200 through fundraisers at the prison. The staff bought toys ranging from dolls to bikes. The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Steven Chorvas regrets not being there on Christmas morning for his own children and grandchildren.

But now Chorvas, an inmate at the Lebanon Correctional Institution, is hoping to make Christmas brighter for other needy children.

Chorvas is one of dozens of inmates who’ve helped to raise more than $5,200 to benefit the Butler-Warren County Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots. The toys were officially given to the Marines on Wednesday.

“It’s a way of stepping up and taking some responsibility for somebody’s kid out there,” said Chorvas, a former Marine now serving 23 years to life for murder. “Every person out there needs somebody to think about them and look out for them even if they don’t know them.”

This is the sixth year for the partnership, which is spearheaded and organized by prison military veterans groups with assistance from prison staff. The first year in 2007, only employees donated.

Inmates organize year round within prison walls to hold fundraising events, such as selling pizza or doughnuts, or by offering inmates the chance to take a photo of themselves to send home to family and friends.

Prisoners pay out of their limited commissary funds and money earned on work details. Their efforts raise between $5,000-$7,000 a year, which staff then use to purchase toys.

“From a prison management perspective and as a warden, you’re constantly striving to get inmates to do positive things,” said Warden Ernie Moore. “They’re getting together and talking about ways they can raise money to give to a bunch of needy kids in the community. That’s a win-win.”

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Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: charity, christmas, ernie moore, lebanon, lebanon correctional institute, prison, steven chorvas, toy drive, toys for tots, warren county

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports:

Colder weather and a bit of snow is coming to Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

High temperatures will hover in the 40s today and push into the 50s Wednesday and Thursday before a strong cold front comes in from the west, driving the mercury down dramatically, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

A slight chance of rain and snow showers could develop before 9 p.m. Thursday night. Just a scant amount of snow – less than a tenth of an inch – is possible, said meteorologist Steve Rhebenach.

It will be cloudy with a low of 26.

Friday will be mostly sunny but cold with the high temperature only reaching 32 – nearly 10 degrees below normal for this time of year, Rhebenach said.

The overnight low will plunge into the low 20s.

This weekend will remain sunny, but it will be brisk with temperatures struggling to reach the upper 30s and overnight lows remaining in the 20s.

It should be dry early next week through Christmas Day.

Posted in: News, Weather |

Tags: Tags: christmas, cold, national weather service, rain, snow, weather

Posted in: Photos |

Tags: Tags: christmas, elf on a shelf, photos

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports:

In the past 140 years in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, the high temperature for mid-December has pushed into the 60s just five to 10 times.

This weekend will be one of those rare occasions.

After highs in the low 50s today and Saturday, a near record high of 62 degrees is expected on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

That’s just five degrees below the record high for Dec. 16, set on that date in 1984.

Typically this time of year, the mercury only makes it to 42 degrees with overnight lows in the upper 20s, said meteorologist Mike Kurz.

But a burst of warm air from the south Sunday combined with a high pressure system will have it feeling more like Easter than nearly Christmas.

The warm air will come with a bit of rain. There’s a 70 percent chance for precipitation starting by 1 p.m. Saturday and lasting through early next week.

By Monday, the warm snap will vanish, replaced by normal daytime temperatures in the upper 40s. Overnight lows will be in the 30s and upper 20s.

Posted in: News, Weather |

Tags: Tags: christmas, december, national weather service, rain, showers, warm air, weather

We want to see how your pets celebrate the season / Thomas E. Smith

Whether they sport a colorful sweater or a festive collar, we want to see how your pets celebrate the season. E-mail photos of your pets in their holiday garb to photos@cincinnati.com. We’ll feature them online and select some for the newspaper.

Be sure to include both your name and the name of your pet, as well as the community you live in, along with full caption information.

The deadline to submit is Dec. 18.

Posted in: Community, Photos |

Tags: Tags: cats, christmas, dogs, holiday, pets, photos

The city of Mason will dress up its downtown business district and celebrate the holiday season during its annual Christmas in Mason event from 6-9 p.m. Friday.

Activities take place on Main Street and Reading Road between Mason-Montgomery Road and Second Avenue. This area will be closed to traffic from 4:30 p.m. until midnight.

• Photos: 2011 Christmas in Mason

A parade of canine escorts dressed up in holiday finery will lead Santa Claus into the festivities at 6 p.m. when the Santa Paws parade gets under way.  The parade kicks off this year at the corner of Main Street and Mason-Montgomery Road and proceeds down Main to the Plaza.

After the parade, a tree lighting ceremony takes place on the Plaza.  Santa will also be available for pictures for the rest of the evening.  A full line-up of live entertainment takes place on the Main Stage throughout the evening.

Other activities include horse-drawn carriage rides, story times at the Mason Public Library, caricature and balloon artists, strolling carrollers and ice and wood carvers. “Stocking Stops” scattered throughout the downtown area will welcome visitors.

Shuttle buses will run from St. Susanna Church at 616 Reading Road and Grace Baptist Church at 5595 Mason Road.

For more information, go to www.festivalsofmason.org or call 513-229-8534.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: christmas, christmas in mason, christmas tree, city of mason, demonstrations, downtown, entertainment, food, free, parade, santa claus, tree lighting

Paul McKibben reports:

Some 200,000 people are expected to descend on downtown Lebanon Saturday for the Warren County seat’s biggest event of the year.

For merchants, the 24th Annual Lebanon Carriage Parade & Christmas Festival is more than a holiday tradition. It’s an important tool to attract customers to a city that prides itself on its small-town charm.

For visitors, the event offers a chance to escape to a walkable business district covering several blocks that is nearly void of chain stores. It’s a place where one can eat and stay at Ohio’s oldest hotel – the Golden Lamb, where Charles Dickens, Ronald Reagan and other luminaries have visited. The hotel and restaurant opened in 1803, the same year Ohio joined the Union.

Lebanon resident Mike McMurray, 67, who will ride with Santa Claus this year, said the parade is “everything” to the community. “There are people who don’t feel that the Christmas season actually starts until we have that Christmas festival and the two parades,” he said.

Business owner Jo Wise, who is executive director of Historic Downtown Lebanon Inc., said the parade is vital for downtown businesses. She said merchants live off of their holiday sales for months. At the Golden Lamb, it’s the busiest day of the year, according to assistant general manager De-De Bailey.

Interviews with more than two dozen business owners, officials, development experts and others indicate that downtown Lebanon is thriving despite a lingering national recession, high gas prices and consumers who are reluctant to spend. “We’re very blessed because there are many small towns that are ghost towns,” said Minnie LeForce, owner of Ambassador’s Antiques & Fine Linens, which she has owned nearly 20 years.

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Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: christmas, historic downtown lebanon inc, lebanon, lebanon carriage parade & christmas festival, warren county

Toys for Tots volunteers will be in Deerfield Township Saturday to collect donations of new, unwrapped toys.

The local Marine Corps League, Chosin Reservoir Detachment 968, and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve will collection donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 5303 Bowen Drive.

The event includes military fanfare, with the Mason Brass Ensemble playing holiday and patriotic tunes in the afternoon, flags, USMC give-away items and the chance to meet veterans.

For more information, contact the Chosin Reservoir Detachment via its website at www.chosinreservoirdet968.org.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: charity, christmas, deerfield township, donations, drive, marines, toys for tots, wal-mart