Attention, all you young baseball fans - you can add to your baseball card collection courtesy of the Racine Police Department.

Last week, officers started distributing Milwaukee Brewer trading cards while on patrol. The cards feature your favorite Brewers players on the front and an important message about school, safety and responsibility on the back. Cards will be distributed while supplies last. Collect all 30 during the summer.

At the parade

Parade entry No. 139 isn't the usual Fourth Fest Parade entry. No. 139 is Red Apple School's Green Apple Project - a schoolwide recycling effort. On Friday, they'll expand their horizons - so to speak - to clean up behind parade-goers. The parade group consists of 30 to 35 families and staff from the school, said Jeff Ruggaber, the school's art specialist.

"We have a truck and a trailer, and as we walk in the parade, we're going to be picking up cans and bottles. We will be at the end of the parade," Ruggaber said. "The kids will be dressed as clowns to go along with the parade's theme. We'll be playing some of our environmental music along with some circus music."

This is the first year Red Apple is participating in the parade. Red Apple is proud of its effort this year with the Green Apple Project, Ruggaber said.

"The students have recycled more than 1,000 pounds of plastic and aluminum. Most of that represents tens of thousands of lunch trays over the year," Ruggaber said. "During the parade, entry No. 139, the Green Apple Project, will be collecting cans and bottles for recycling. So if the good people of Racine can look for us in the parade, and have their cans and plastic bottles smashed and ready, we'll have them recycled. At Red Apple School we believe a Green Racine is a good thing," Ruggaber said.

A first step

The Ophelia Project of Southeast Wisconsin, with support from the Racine Running Club, announces its first 5K Fun Run/Walk, "Single Steps … World of Difference." The run is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 16 along the shores of Lake Michigan. The event will raise awareness of The Ophelia Project's mission and raise funds to continue its after-school programming, said Jane Finkenbine, project director.

The event will begin at North Beach, 100 Kewaunee St., with a Kids Dash for children ages 11 and younger. Walkers and runners will follow different paths along Lake Michigan, ending up near North Beach, with a family celebration at the North Beach Oasis. Hand-designed awards by artist Bill Reid will be given to first-place finishers in all age categories, with special plaques awarded to family, business and community teams, Finkenbine said.

Bill Reid awards also will be given to the individual raising the most pledges. Unique to this event are awards for family teams with the highest combined total age walkers or runners and largest community team. A complete list of awards will be available on The Ophelia Project 5K Fun Run/Walk Web site. All registered runners and walkers will receive an event T-shirt.

The Ophelia Project is dedicated to helping youth form healthy peer relationships while creating safe social climates for all young people, Finkenbine said. During the 2007-08 school year, more than 2,000 children in Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee and Walworth counties participated in OP programs and workshops. OP is a grass-roots, volunteer-based organization, housed at the Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

"We serve as a catalyst for schools and community organizations to help them create safer social climates for the children they serve," Finkenbine said. "Every day, in the United States alone, more than 160,000 children miss school for fear of being tormented by their peers. OP offers comprehensive tools, strategies and solutions to children and adults affected by relational and other non-physical forms of aggression. We believe every child has the right to feel safe at school and in the after-school programs they attend."

This event is more than a 5K run/walk, Finkenbine said. It's about bringing together families, community and business teams to support the Ophelia Project belief that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and civility and that everyone is responsible when peer aggression happens - meaning we all protect each other, Finkenbine said.

"Bullying and relational aggression thrive on secrecy. We help shine the light on those negative actions and words," Finkenbine said.

To request registration materials or volunteer to help for the Run/Walk, call Finkenbine at (262) 595-2620. Volunteers will drop off team registration materials to any Kenosha or Racine area business or organization. Registration also is available online at http://www.active.com. The event ID number is 1595872.

Phyllis Sides is a reporter for The Journal Times. This column, about the good stories of good people in Racine County, appears each week. She can be reached at (262) 631-1714 or by e-mail at

psides@journaltimes.com