12
Oct
2004
• Xstream Cleanup, a Quad Cities-wide watershed cleanup event on August 28, reported better-than-expected results, with more than 1,300 volunteers cleaning up 27 sites, including creeks, drainage ways, and the Mississippi and Rock rivers. Sites were cleaned in Bettendorf, Davenport, East Moline, LeClaire, Moline, Port Byron, and Rock Island, and volunteers recovered more than 40 tons of debris. This included 1,300 bags of trash, 270 tires, 50 pieces of furniture, 45 bicycles, 40 railroad ties, 30 appliances, and 18 drums. Some of the unique finds include the trunks of two cars, a bumper, shopping carts, vacuum cleaners, an iron bathtub, a potbelly stove, street signs, building materials, and a 90-pound catfish carcass. In conjunction with Xstream Cleanup, Chad Pregracke, president of Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), performed a Mississippi River cleanup near Marquette Street in Davenport that same day. Pregracke said the volunteers for his river cleanup combined with all of the other Xstream Cleanup workers represented the largest cleanup event that LL&W has ever been a part of. For more information about the cleanup and to see photos of the event, look at (http://www.xstreamcleanup.org).
• The Stone Fountain, located at Vander Veer Botanical Park in Davenport, is the star of Fountain of Lights, a public-access program produced by Community Access Television, Incorporated. The program is an artistic look at the fountain from the view of a video-camera lens, in both day- and nighttime settings. The Stone Fountain was a focal point of the park from 1935 to the mid-1970s, when it was shut down. With funding from the City of Davenport, the Riverboat Development Authority, the Scott County Regional Authority, and the Friends of Vander Veer, and donations from private individuals, the fountain has been restored. Fountain of Lights is a half-hour program and can be seen on Mediacom Channel 19 Fridays at 5 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m. through the month of October. For a complete listing of public-access programming on Channel 19, check Community Access Television's new Web site: (http://hometown.aol.com/catiqc).
• Making an appearance at Mojo's in downtown Davenport on October 2, Elizabeth Edwards spoke about the first presidential debate, which took place the night before. Edwards, the wife of Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, said people should vote based on what they see in debates, and not what they hear from the media. She also said that the debate helped Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry change his image overnight, implying that his performance effectively fought against the perception that he's a flip-flopper. She gave her appearance a personal touch by greeting almost each individual at the brief event. - John B. Perreault
• Proposed federal standards for new driver's licenses in an intelligence-reform bill currently moving through Congress would create a national identification card, according to civil-liberties groups on both sides of the aisle. The Senate passed its intelligence-reform bill last week by a 96-2 vote, and the House was expected to vote on the bill soon after. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and one of the sponsors of the driver's license amendment, defended the quietly added provisions. However, he said the proposal still needs work, which could be completed when both bills are hammered out in conference committee. The new standards for driver's licenses would be set by the Homeland Security and Transportation departments, and any cards not conforming would be invalid. For more information, look at (http://www.gunowners.org/a100404.htm).
• If you are a Davenport resident and are unable to get to the library because of advanced age or infirmity, you are invited to sign up for the library's homebound delivery service. You can have books, videos, books on tape, and other library materials regularly delivered to your home by library volunteers. To take advantage of this service, contact Homebound Delivery Service Coordinator Ann Hetzler at (563)326-7893.
• The Bi-State Literacy Council supports and encourages the development of supportive services for people with literacy needs. The Bi-State Literacy Council provides funding within the following considerations: (1) Applications are restricted to not-for-profit programs within Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island counties in Illinois and Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa. (2) Funding requests must be received by the close of business March 31 and October 31 to be considered in each cycle. (3) Requests may range from $100 to $500, with total amount awarded per cycle dependent upon availability of funds and quality of requests. Selection criteria include evidence of need, anticipated benefits, and extent of impact. Contact Roger Fuerstenberg for a funding request form at (563)391-9161 extension 3 or at (fuerstenbergr@davenportschools.org).
• Ant Farm by Quad Cities artist Steve Sinner appears in an exhibit entitled Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, currently at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. The exhibit will travel to the Mobile Museum of Art in 2005 and the Museum of Art & Design in New York City in 2006. Sinner's work is also included in three recently issued books. One is based on the University of Michigan exhibit and carries its title. Other published Sinner works include Sunspots and an untitled work appearing in 500 Wood Bowls, from Lark Books, and Arizona Twilight and Ant Farm III in Beneath the Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning, by Dale Nish and Kip Christiansen. Del Mano Gallery of Los Angeles will include Sinner's art at the Structure Objects & Functional Art show at the Chicago's Navy Pier November 5 through 7.
• Charlotte Griggs, whose family established Griggs Music a century ago, died at age 87 in 2003. Her will included bequests totaling nearly $80,000 to be divided evenly between Augustana College and public-radio station WVIK. The college will use its portion of the Griggs bequest to fund campus improvements, while WVIK will direct its share of the estate to the station's endowment fund. The college and radio station received their bequests from the Griggs estate last summer.
• The Stone Fountain, located at Vander Veer Botanical Park in Davenport, is the star of Fountain of Lights, a public-access program produced by Community Access Television, Incorporated. The program is an artistic look at the fountain from the view of a video-camera lens, in both day- and nighttime settings. The Stone Fountain was a focal point of the park from 1935 to the mid-1970s, when it was shut down. With funding from the City of Davenport, the Riverboat Development Authority, the Scott County Regional Authority, and the Friends of Vander Veer, and donations from private individuals, the fountain has been restored. Fountain of Lights is a half-hour program and can be seen on Mediacom Channel 19 Fridays at 5 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m. through the month of October. For a complete listing of public-access programming on Channel 19, check Community Access Television's new Web site: (http://hometown.aol.com/catiqc).
• Making an appearance at Mojo's in downtown Davenport on October 2, Elizabeth Edwards spoke about the first presidential debate, which took place the night before. Edwards, the wife of Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, said people should vote based on what they see in debates, and not what they hear from the media. She also said that the debate helped Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry change his image overnight, implying that his performance effectively fought against the perception that he's a flip-flopper. She gave her appearance a personal touch by greeting almost each individual at the brief event. - John B. Perreault
• Proposed federal standards for new driver's licenses in an intelligence-reform bill currently moving through Congress would create a national identification card, according to civil-liberties groups on both sides of the aisle. The Senate passed its intelligence-reform bill last week by a 96-2 vote, and the House was expected to vote on the bill soon after. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and one of the sponsors of the driver's license amendment, defended the quietly added provisions. However, he said the proposal still needs work, which could be completed when both bills are hammered out in conference committee. The new standards for driver's licenses would be set by the Homeland Security and Transportation departments, and any cards not conforming would be invalid. For more information, look at (http://www.gunowners.org/a100404.htm).
• If you are a Davenport resident and are unable to get to the library because of advanced age or infirmity, you are invited to sign up for the library's homebound delivery service. You can have books, videos, books on tape, and other library materials regularly delivered to your home by library volunteers. To take advantage of this service, contact Homebound Delivery Service Coordinator Ann Hetzler at (563)326-7893.
• The Bi-State Literacy Council supports and encourages the development of supportive services for people with literacy needs. The Bi-State Literacy Council provides funding within the following considerations: (1) Applications are restricted to not-for-profit programs within Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island counties in Illinois and Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa. (2) Funding requests must be received by the close of business March 31 and October 31 to be considered in each cycle. (3) Requests may range from $100 to $500, with total amount awarded per cycle dependent upon availability of funds and quality of requests. Selection criteria include evidence of need, anticipated benefits, and extent of impact. Contact Roger Fuerstenberg for a funding request form at (563)391-9161 extension 3 or at (fuerstenbergr@davenportschools.org).
• Ant Farm by Quad Cities artist Steve Sinner appears in an exhibit entitled Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, currently at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. The exhibit will travel to the Mobile Museum of Art in 2005 and the Museum of Art & Design in New York City in 2006. Sinner's work is also included in three recently issued books. One is based on the University of Michigan exhibit and carries its title. Other published Sinner works include Sunspots and an untitled work appearing in 500 Wood Bowls, from Lark Books, and Arizona Twilight and Ant Farm III in Beneath the Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning, by Dale Nish and Kip Christiansen. Del Mano Gallery of Los Angeles will include Sinner's art at the Structure Objects & Functional Art show at the Chicago's Navy Pier November 5 through 7.
• Charlotte Griggs, whose family established Griggs Music a century ago, died at age 87 in 2003. Her will included bequests totaling nearly $80,000 to be divided evenly between Augustana College and public-radio station WVIK. The college will use its portion of the Griggs bequest to fund campus improvements, while WVIK will direct its share of the estate to the station's endowment fund. The college and radio station received their bequests from the Griggs estate last summer.
