Hello everyone!  Here are some happenings coming up at PV!

Real World Experience for PV Students

Tuesday, April 14th, 4th grade students will interview for JA BizTown!  As you probably know, at BizTown students build their own city, and do all the jobs that come along with it - banker, postmaster, DJ, restaurant owner, journalist.... You name it!  All students will be bussed to the Junior High for the interviews.  Real life experience for our kids!  You'll see a lot of smiling kiddos!  A great photo/video opportunity.  April 14th, Junior High 3501 Wisconsin Street, LeClaire, from 9 to 12.

Wall of Honor

Wednesday, April 15th, PV will add another distinguished alumnus to our Wall of Honor.  Every year we recognize one PV grad for his or her academic achievements and contributions to society.  Dr. Azeemuddin Ahmed is a 1992 graduate and is a professor of business and medicine at the University of Iowa.  He is also the Medical Director for University of Iowa AirCare and the EMS Learning Resources Center.  He will be visiting all PV schools on Wednesday.  There is also a meet and greet at 3:30 and the ceremony at 7:00 at the High School (it's a part of our academic awards night).  Feel free to join us at any point during the day!

Nomination process info here -- http://www.pleasval.org/wall-of-honor-nominations/

Background info attached!

Golf Outing!

Our Pleasant Valley Educational Foundation is holding its premier fundraising event April 27th.  Golfers will hit the links at 11am at Palmer Hills Golf Course.  This event raises 10s of thousands of dollars for the school's foundation.  This spring the foundation will give out 70 scholarships for graduating seniors.  Each scholarship is at least $1,000!  I'll do the math for you - that's $70,000 in scholarships!  All money raised in PV for PV students.  There are dozens of stories about our scholarships.  In particular, one of our teachers at the Junior High, Jeff Paul, decided to start a scholarship a few years back.  He chooses a student who needs an extra push and gives them an ipad.  If they continue to succeed through High School, they also receive a scholarship.  He funded the scholarship through monies he's won from road races across the country.  Others have heard of this and are also donating money won in road races - people from all over the country!

MOLINE, Ill. - A number of area high school students received recognition and cash prizes for their welding skills at the annual Midwest Technical Institute High School Welding Competition Thursday and Friday at the school's Moline campus.

The two-day competition featured more than 70 participants from 17 QCA high schools and career centers, including Moline High School; Clinton High School; Muscatine High School; Kewanee High School; Davenport West and Davenport Central high schools; Mercer County High School; and Whiteside Area Career Center.

Students were tested on a wide range of welding skills and theories, including live welding challenges as well as classroom-based testing. Ten students were recognized in each day of competition for their work with first place winners receiving cash prizes of $500 - second and third place winners received $250 and $100, respectively, and the top ten finalists were awarded commemorative medals for their efforts.

Thursday's first place honors went to Michael Koster of Whiteside Area Career Center, while Steven Comeaux of Davenport West High School took the top prize at Friday's competition. Thursday's top three finishers also included Drew Burger and Sam Wike, also from Whiteside, while Nate Anderson, of Davenport Central High School, and Victor Mendoza, of Davenport West, rounded out Friday's top three students.

Established in 2007, the competition offers high school students more than an opportunity to simply showcase their welding talents. Participants also had the chance to tour the Moline campus, meet with faculty and staff and receive valuable information on how to turn their passion into a lifelong, lucrative career.

MTI's Director of High School Development Eric Gleason believes the competition provides students with a well-rounded look at the skills and work ethic required to be a professional welder.

"The weld competition is designed to allow area high school students to not only showcase their skillset, but also to get a feel for the MTI environment and experience welding at the next level."

The Moline campus offers MTI's Journeyman Welder I and II Program to train students for employment as professional welders in as little as seven months.

By Jason Alderman

Retirement planning can face derailment after a divorce. Married, two-income couples have the advantage of splitting living expenses and pooling all their investment assets, including retirement accounts. Once the marriage is over, costs for separate households may limit the ability of ex-spouses to keep their retirement on track.

After a divorce, individuals generally walk away with a share of joint retirement assets based on how they negotiate that split. However, returning to singlehood means the end of shared expenses with housing, food, transportation and related expenses now being paid out of one wallet, not two. This can mean considerably less money to direct toward retirement and other savings and investments.

To assure a comfortable retirement, many experts advise individuals to save and invest over time so they can live annually on at least 70 percent of their pre-retirement income. Divorcing couples should retain separate qualified financial experts to assure an equitable split of assets and a continuing plan to build a solid retirement in single life.

Here are a few steps to reset one's retirement goals after divorce.

Gather a personal finance team. It's a good idea to hire a financial professional to offer advice on all relevant financial, investment, tax, estate and retirement details of a divorce negotiation. Afterward, individuals may continue with these advisors or interview new ones. Personal referrals are best, but the following resources may help:

• The Certified Planner Board of Standards
• The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education
• The Financial Planning Association
• Your state CPA society

Budget. Spending priorities can change after a divorce. Newly divorced spouses should track all new spending diligently so they can reset their budget for retirement. (http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/retirementcalc) Qualified financial advisors can help review a divorcing individual's budgeting strategy to make sure as much money goes to savings as possible.

Evaluate all retirement assets. When divorce is finalized, it is a wise idea to take inventory of all retirement assets to determine whether they still fit investment goals. If one's 401(k) or employer plan administrator does not have a calculator to help estimate how accounts will grow under certain investment scenarios, refer to Bankrate.com's various retirement calculators for help.

Review Social Security benefits. Most experts urge individuals to wait as close to age 70 as possible to start drawing their Social Security benefits. Check the Social Security Administration's Delayed Retirement Benefits page (http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/delayret.htm) for a discussion of how and when to start taking payments. Also keep in mind that retirees married 10 years or longer who have stayed single may be entitled to Social Security benefits on their ex-spouse's record if they meet certain requirements.

Be honest about new financial limitations. If a serious retirement shortfall emerges after divorce, it's important to reset financial priorities. That may mean speaking with family members about necessary cutbacks in certain expenses. It is important to have retirement in the best shape possible to avoid stress on family finances later.

Bottom line: The personal and financial disruption caused by divorce can make it easy for newly single individuals to neglect their retirement planning. It is important to seek advice and take all necessary steps to keep one's retirement on track.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (April 12, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits designated hitter Jacob Nottingham came within a triple of the cycle, and right-hander Austin Chrismon tossed the team's best start of the season with six innings of one-run, two-hit ball in a 7-2 home-opening victory over the Clinton LumberKings in front of 4,139 at Modern Woodmen Park Sunday afternoon.

In front of the team's largest home-opening crowd since 2012, Quad Cities (3-1) won its home opener for the first time in four years. The last home-opening win for the River Bandits came in a 7-4 victory against Beloit on April 8, 2011.

In his Midwest League debut, Chrismon (1-0) allowed a leadoff single to LumberKings left fielder Chantz Mack, followed by a bunt single by second baseman Nelson Ward. On the bunt, third baseman Kristian Trompiz made an errant throw to first base, allowing Mack to reach third base with no outs. Right fielder Alex Jackson then hit a sacrifice fly to right field for a 1-0 Clinton lead. That began a string of 16 consecutive batters retired by Chrismon before a two-out walk to Ward in the sixth inning. Chrismon struck out three batters and was charged with one unearned run in the longest start for a Quad Cities pitcher this season.

Left-hander Patrick Peterson (0-1) held the 1-0 lead for Clinton (2-2) through the first four innings, working around two singles and a walk to strand three baserunners. In the fifth, however, Nottingham led off by swatting his first Midwest League home run out to right field to tie the game, 1-1. Two batters later, shortstop Thomas Lindauer's ground ball eluded third baseman Joe DeCarlo down the third-base line, allowing Lindauer to reach second base. A wild pitch moved Lindauer to third base, and he scored the go-ahead run on center fielder Bobby Boyd's RBI single to left field. Boyd then stole second base, and with two outs, left fielder Derek Fisher singled up the middle to score Boyd and reached second base on the throw home. First baseman Nick Tanielu followed with a single to left field and got all the way to third base on a throwing error by left fielder Chantz Mack. DeCarlo's second fielding error of the inning allowed right fielder Ryan Bottger to reach first base and Tanielu to score the fifth run of the inning.

Patrick Peterson was charged with all five runs - one earned - on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. He made his Midwest League debut in the same game his twin brother, River Bandits right-hander Eric Peterson, also made his Midwest League debut. Eric Peterson followed Chrismon to start the seventh inning with a 6-1 lead, after Nottingham hit a sixth-inning double off right-hander Ramire Cleto and scored on Boyd's sacrifice fly. Eric Peterson allowed a leadoff double by DeCarlo, who scored after a single by catcher Adam Martin and sacrifice fly by first baseman Kristian Brito, cutting the Quad Cities lead to 6-2. Eric Peterson finished two innings, allowing two hits and one earned run with one strikeout.

The River Bandits added their final run in the eighth inning, when catcher Alfredo Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third base on Nottingham's single to center field and scored on a balk by Cleto. The 7-2 lead was upheld by River Bandits right-hander Ryan Thompson in the ninth inning, as he struck out two batters around one hit for his second straight scoreless one-inning finish to a Quad Cities win in the first four games of the season.

The River Bandits continue their series with Clinton at 7 p.m. Moday at Modern Woodmen Park. River Bandits right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn is scheduled to face LumberKings right-hander Lukas Schiraldi.

UP NEXT: The first Military Monday presented by Performance Food Group, 97X, and ESPN 93.5 means all active and retired military personnel may purchase $1 tickets for themselves and up to three guests with a military ID at the box office. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., when the first 1,000 fans receive a Mediacom River Bandits magnet schedule. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop'N Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened.

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