On SALE NOW at the iWireless Center

Moline, IL, 9/12/14 - Rev up for non-stop fun with four of your favorite Disney stories when Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt comes to your hometown!  This one-of-a-kind production visits Moline from Thursday, Dec. 4 to Sunday, Dec 7 for seven performances at the iWireless Center. Tickets are on sale now and are available at the iWireless Box Office.

Thrill to high-speed stunts as Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney*Pixar's Cars race across the ice. Dive into The Little Mermaid's enchanting undersea kingdom and enter the mystical world of Pixie Hollow with Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies as they reveal the magic that lies within! The toys are back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, and the Toy Story gang escape from the rambunctious tots of Sunnyside Daycare and race for home, in their most daring adventure ever!

From wheels to waves, playtime to pixie dust, your family's favorite Disney moments come to life at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy with dazzling skating, special effects and beloved characters certain to create a lifetime of memories.

Tickets for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy start at the iWireless Center, located at 1201 River Drive in Moline. Tickets are $17.00, $23.00, 36.00 VIP or 53.00 Ice Side. For ticket information please see iwirelesscenter.com or  ticketmaster.com. For group rates and information,call Lindsey at 309.277.1356 or email llobur@iwirelesscenter.com.

Worlds of Fantasy: Performance Schedule:

*No Discounts on VIP or Ice Side Seating

*All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at the iWireless Center box office, and by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

To learn more about Disney On Ice Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt, log on to www.disneyonice.com, or visit us on Facebook and YouTube.

###

About Feld Entertainment:

Feld Entertainment is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that lift the human spirit and create indelible memories, with 30 million people in attendance at its shows each year. Feld Entertainment's productions have appeared in more than 75 countries and on six continents to date and include Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, NuclearCowboyz®, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt, Disney Live! Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurtand Marvel Universe LIVE! More information on Feld Entertainment is available online at www.feldentertainment.com.

Bipartisan, Bicameral Agreement Reached to Reform Child Care & Development Block Grant Program

WASHINGTON, D.C.–A bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders today announced a legislative agreement to improve and reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Negotiated by Representatives John Kline (R-MN), George Miller (D-CA), Todd Rokita (R-IN), David Loebsack (D-IA), and Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Richard Burr (R-NC), the agreement will enhance transparency, strengthen health and safety protections, and improve the quality of care.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act provides funds to states to help low-income families pay for child care while a parent works or is in an educational or job training program. The law has not been reauthorized since 1996. Today's bipartisan, bicameral agreement is based upon legislation introduced in 2013 by Senators Mikulski and Burr that passed the Senate earlier this year.

"The Child Care and Development Block Grant program is a vital lifeline for countless Americans," said Rep. Kline, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "Working moms and dads have pursued a career, earned a degree, or acquired new skills and training because of the support available through this program. The commonsense ideas included in this bipartisan, bicameral agreement will only strengthen our support of these working families. I want to thank my House and Senate colleagues for working together to forge this bipartisan agreement."

"For working families in Iowa and around the country, access to safe and affordable child care is essential," said Senator Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. "This bipartisan bill will help to ensure working parents have access to quality, affordable child care and provide rich early-learning opportunities for children, including infants and toddlers and children with disabilities. This bill is a strong example of what Congress can achieve by working together. I am encouraged by the HELP Committee's growing record of bipartisan accomplishments and look forward to the President signing this critical bill into law."

"Every parent, regardless of their income level, deserves to know that their child is well cared-for," said Rep. Miller, senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "This bipartisan, bicameral bill improves child care access, makes critical new investments, and helps to ensure children are safe and are receiving quality care. Reliable care sets children on the path toward success in school and in the rest of their lives. While helping to prepare the next generation, good child care also supports working parents to promote greater workforce stability. These updates to CCDBG are vital for our children, our families, and our nation's future."

"This bill helps a working Tennessee mother be able to pay for child care while she earns a degree so she can pay for it herself," said Sen. Alexander, the senior Republican on the Senate HELP Committee. "Every month, an average of 39,000 Tennessee children get childcare through this program while their parents earn an education or build a career. Today's agreement will continue success stories like the Memphis mother whose infant received care through this program while she earned a business degree and rose to assistant manager at a Walmart, enabling her to pay for the care of her second child at the same childcare center."

"For families struggling to make ends meet, quality child care is a necessity," said Rep. Rokita. "This significant agreement strengthens a child care program that has been untouched for nearly two decades. It does so by preserving provider choice, improving transparency, and most importantly, child safety. This bill could truly save lives, and I look forward to its passage."

"Every working parent with children no matter their income level worries about child care," said Sen. Mikulski. "What's affordable? What's accessible? Will my child be safe? Where can I get the very best care for my kid? It is not enough to simply ensure that kids have someplace to go. We must also ensure that they go someplace that is safe, that nurtures their development, that challenges their mind, and that prepares them for school," Senator Mikulski said. "I am so pleased that the Senate and House have come together on a bipartisan basis to revitalize, refresh, and reform this vitally important program to support child care providers, give parents peace of mind, and better prepare our children for the future. It's time to get this done for children, parents, and providers alike!"

"As the son of a single mother, I know how important quality, affordable child care is for working families," said Rep. Loebsack. "The Child Care Development Block Grant provides a critical lifeline to families and allows them to work or attend school with the peace of mind knowing their children are safe and well cared for. This bipartisan agreement makes long needed updates and improvements to CCDBG that will promote healthy child development and enhance quality and safety. I am pleased that both Republicans and Democrats from both the House and Senate came together to improve the lives of working families."

"Over three years ago Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and I made a commitment to reauthorizing the Child Care and Development Block Grant program so that kids could have safer environments in which to stay while their parents worked and taxpayers did not continue to subsidize providers who created unsafe settings and threatened their well-being. It has been a long time coming, but I'm proud we have reached this point," said Senator Richard Burr. "I am thankful for the work of my colleagues in the Senate and the House who stood together to ensure the passage of this legislation. This legislation will positively impact the lives of millions of children and their parents."

The bipartisan, bicameral agreement includes reforms to:

ü  Enhance parental choice by providing information about available care options from all providers, including faith-based and community-based providers, and allowing parents to choose the child care provider that best suits their family's needs.

ü  Strengthen safety in child care settings by requiring all providers to comply with state health, safety, and fire standards and undergo annual inspections.

ü  Promote high quality child care by reserving funds at the state level to improve the quality of care provided to children, enhancing states' ability to train providers and develop safer and more effective child care services.

The text of the bill is available here.

EAST PEORIA, IL (09/12/2014)(readMedia)-- Freshmen students in the GM-ASEP program at Illinois Central College are preparing for the first of four internships they will complete as part of their training. Local students include :

• Charles Cain of East Moline
• Austin Brimberg of Moline

GM-ASEP is a two-year automotive program designed to educate and train students for careers as automotive service technicians for GM dealers and AC Delco professional service centers. The program alternates classroom and laboratory work on campus with four internships with GM dealers or AC Delco service centers during which students are able to apply concepts learned in a real-world setting. Those completing the program earn an associate in applied science degree and are encouraged to take the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) exams, an evaluation program that qualifies the student as a technician nationwide.

For more information on the GM-ASEP program at Illinois Central College, contact the ICC Agricultural & Industrial Technologies Department at (309) 694-5192.

Located in East Peoria, Ill., Illinois Central College is a two-year community college that provides a high quality, affordable education to prepare students to enter the workforce or to transfer to a four-year college or university. For more information on ICC, visit www.icc.edu.

WASHINGTON, D.C.- (09/12/2014)(readMedia)-- The Illinois Army National Guard's 108th Special Troops Battalion based in Chicago received a national-level Army Award for Excellence in Maintenance (AAME) Sept. 10 during the 10th Annual United States Army Combined Logistics Excellence Award ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The 108th STB, which deployed to Kuwait in January under the 108th Sustainment Brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, placed first in the large-unit category in the 2013 AAME competition. This is the second year since 2011 the unit has received the award.

"The AAME gives recognition and improves overall readiness," said Col. Drew Dukett of Roodhouse, Illinois, the 108th Sust. Bde. commander. "When you have a checklist of what needs to be done per the regulation you have to maintain a high level of readiness and maintenance."

This competition maintains the efforts and progress the 108th has already made in its stride toward efficiency, said Dukett.

"Especially in tough fiscal times, maintenance is vitally important. It preserves our ability to conduct military operations and saves the taxpayer the cost of having to replace Army equipment," said Dukett. "My Soldiers understand this and it has shown in their work. I'm proud of them and their dedication. The AAME award is a reflection of their efforts."

AAME evaluators from Fort Lee, Virgina, conducted onsite inspections in the final phase of the competition earlier this year. Evaluators visited the 108th STB's facilities in both North Riverside and the Northwest Armory near Humboldt Park.

The competition involves a thorough inspection in different areas of the unit including maintenance, supply, training and overall unit readiness. The AAME competition is divided into different phases spanning several months. The 108th STB won maintenance competitions at the state, regional and National Guard Bureau levels.

Competition categories are determined by the number of personnel assigned to a unit or command. Units with 300 or more personnel compete in the large category.

The 20-page nomination packet, required to enter the AAME competition, illustrated the unit's maintenance programs and Soldier readiness. The 108th STB is the first unit in the Illinois National Guard to win in the large category since the 232nd Combat Support Battalion out of Springfield in 2001.

The 108th SB as a whole is no stranger to logistical excellence awards. Units and Solders within the brigade have received awards and citations for excellence in supply, maintenance and combat support operations in recent years.

Capt. Alison Jacobs of Rochester, Illinois, the logistics officer with the 108th STB said the unit's success in the competition reflects the unit's overall dedication to mission readiness and support in Illinois and abroad.

"A major part of the AAME program revolves around units displaying that they are prepared for their mission for internal and external support," Jacobs said. "Being mission ready is especially critical for logistical support units."

Jacobs said it was the team effort that made the 108th STB successful in the AAME competition.

"Success doesn't come from the efforts of one person," said Jacobs. "It's a team dynamic, drawing support throughout the unit, from the leadership to Soldiers in the motor pool. It's not just about reaching the standard, but exceeding it and continuing to maintain that level."