Third baseman wins second straight monthly award; left-hander is first-time Pitcher of the Month

DAVENPORT, Iowa (SEPT. 9, 2013) - Third baseman Rio Ruiz is the Quad Cities River Bandits Player of the Month for August, and left-handed pitcher Brian Holmes is the team's Pitcher of the Month, the Houston Astros announced on Monday.

The Houston Astros Player Development Department named a Pitcher and Player of the Month at each of their eight minor league affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team. Ruiz has won back-to-back Player of the Month awards, joining shortstop Carlos Correa as the only River Bandits with multiple monthly honors.

Ruiz, the Astros' fourth-round pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, improved his batting average each month of the season and had his best month in August. He hit .298 with 31 hits and 19 RBIs in 28 games. His five home runs and .558 slugging percentage were both the highest on the team. The 19-year-old Covina, Calif., native had the team's first walk-off home run of the season Aug. 18 against Burlington to start a stretch of 13 wins in the season's final 16 games. He added his first career grand slam and was a triple shy of the cycle Aug. 27 in Burlington. In a seven-game road trip Aug. 24-30, Ruiz went 13-for-28 (.464) with two home runs and 12 RBIs. In the season's second half, Ruiz hit .297 with nine home runs, 34 extra-base hits and 41 RBIs. Ruiz finished tied for the team lead with 33 doubles and was second with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs.

Holmes, the Astros' 10th-round pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Wake Forest University, returned from a two-month stint on the Quad Cities Disabled List to make his second-half debut Aug. 4 in Cedar Rapids. In four August starts, the Lawrenceville, Ga., native pitched at least 5 1/3 innings while allowing no more than one run in each outing. The 22-year-old had a 2-0 record, 21 strikeouts and just three runs allowed - two earned - in 23 1/3 innings for a 0.77 ERA - best among Quad Cities pitchers with at least 20 innings. Holmes finished the season 5-3 with a 2.49 ERA in 15 appearances, including 10 starts.

Below is a list of the Players and Pitchers of the Month this season for Quad Cities:

Month Player Pitcher

April Teoscar Hernandez Vincent Velasquez

May Carlos Correa Lance McCullers

June Carlos Correa Colton Cain

July Rio Ruiz Jordan Jankowski

August Rio Ruiz Brian Holmes

The River Bandits June Pitcher of the Month, Colton Cain, was named the August Pitcher of the Month for advanced Class-A Lancaster, to which he was transferred Aug. 2. Cain went 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA in five August starts for the JetHawks in the California League. This season, the Astros became the first organization since Pittsburgh in 2003 to have six minor league teams make the playoffs. The minor league affiliates' combined regular-season record of 476-360 for a .569 winning percentage ranked second among all organizations.

UP NEXT: Follow the River Bandits' playoff run at www.riverbandits.com by listening to the live broadcast presented by Mediacom. You can also listen to every game using the TuneIn Radio app on your smartphone. Tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at  563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership is making one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 112 feet over the playing field, is planned for next spring, along with a carousel and other new games and attractions. This season, the team just unveiled a new 300-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. The team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, just saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The playoffs will likely be the last chance for Quad Cities fans to see 2012 No. 1 overall pick Carlos Correa and many other future stars in a River Bandits uniform.

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Rock Island, IL - Rock Island Public Library is pleased to announce the launch of Brainfuse, a new online tutoring service that provides learning tools for learners from kindergarten through college, as well as adult learning tools for career, job searching and skill building.

"Brainfuse is a great new resource that the Rock Island Public Library now offers to the community.  With live tutors helping with homework assignments, papers, and practice tests, students will have a chance to get help outside the classroom.  Adults can use Brainfuse to work on their resumes, interview skills, and practice the GED, GRE, and citizenship tests.  Brainfuse packages a wide variety of services into one website," says Natalie Struecker, Reference and Adult Services Director for the Rock Island Library.

The Brainfuse eLearning suite consists of HelpNow and JobNow modules.  HelpNow offers personalized live homework help aligned with state standards in math, reading, writing, science and social studies. It also includes dozens of practice tests, including the ACT, SAT, ASVAB and more.  HelpNow tutoring covers Kindergarten through 12th Grades, with additional resources for college-age students.  The Adult Learning Center offers resume assistance, career resources, skill-building exercises, and practice for GED and citizenship tests. Also useful to adults will be JobNow module, which offers real-time resume and interview coaching and career service.

Brainfuse is available to Rock Island Library cardholders from the public computers at three Rock Island Library locations, or from any computer with an Internet connection. Live online tutors are available 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm, Sunday through Saturday. The free service started Sept. 3, and requires a Rock Island Library card. To use Brainfuse, go to www.rockislandlibrary.org, select Online Tools, and click either the HelpNow or JobNow logos.

When using the program for the first time, users will want to create an account to save and use many of the features in the HelpNow and JobNow modules.

For information about getting or renewing a Rock Island Library card, Rock Island and Milan-area residents should call the library at 309-732-7323.

HelpNow™

HelpNow™ provides differentiated learning solutions for users of diverse needs and background.  Students communicate with live tutors using an interactive whiteboard to chat, write, draw, copy/paste text or images and graph homework problems.  HelpNow offers live tutor access for homework help, skills building and test preparation where after taking a quiz; the user can connect directly to a live tutor from the test center without having to return to the main page. Because HelpNow is personalized, both the student and the tutor can access quiz questions to do an intensive test prep which may include loading lessons on the whiteboard. All live sessions are saved and can be replayed as well as shared with friends and teachers by email.

The Writing Lab and the 24/7 Center options give users the freedom to receive assistance at any time of the day without connecting with a live tutor.  Users can submit papers through the Writing Lab for a detailed feedback.  24/7 Center is for non-writing assignments such as math or science.  All reviews and comments from our tutors are found and stored in the Message Center which is found on the student homepage. For students who prefer to work independently and form their own online study group, HelpNow offers a set of collaborative tools - Meet and Brainwave. Meet allows students to schedule their own online sessions using the Brainfuse Meet whiteboard which is specifically designed for a group setting.  Brainwave is a recordable whiteboard where students can draw, write on the whiteboard and chat then save and email it to others for feedback.

Adult Learning Center

Adult Learning Center is the adult learners' version of HelpNow™ where patrons can access GED prep, U.S citizenship test prep, resume assistance, Microsoft Office support, and Career Resources which lists popular job search links.  Microsoft Office support allows patrons to ask questions about Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Writing Lab, 24/7 Center and the Skills Building are also included in the Adult Learning Center suite.

JobNow™

JobNow™ provides library patrons with help in every step of the job search process.  Job coaches are available to help patrons with job search related questions.  In addition to helping beginning job seekers pinpoint their desired career field, coaches can also provide constructive suggestions on resumes, help write a professional cover letter, and give live interview practice and feedback.  If you do not have time for a live session, simply submit your resume at any time of day through the Resume Lab and a job coach will send it back to you within 1 business day with detailed feedback and suggestions for improvement.  The JobNow™ service also comes with an extensive collection of resources, including resume/cover letter templates, interview tips, sample interview questions, industry-specific sample interview questions, and a diverse array of online resources and links.

About Brainfuse™

Brainfuse is one of the nation's leading online tutoring providers, serving a diversified client base of libraries, school districts and colleges/universities. Brainfuse patrons receive one-to-one tutoring via a versatile and user friendly online classroom. Brainfuse clients include school districts, colleges, and library systems throughout the country including Dallas, Seattle, MELSA, Suffolk, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Sacramento, and San Diego. For more information about Brainfuse services, contact info@brainfuse.com.

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, IL (09/09/2013)(readMedia)-- A permanent memorial was dedicated in memory of Sgt. Shawna Morrison, a fallen Illinois National Guardsman, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sept. 8.

Morrison enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1996 at age 17 and was a member of the 1544th Transportation Company (TC) in Paris, Ill, and was a member of the University's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). While deployed with the 1544th to Iraq she was killed Sept. 5, 2004 by a mortar attack.

Hundreds of friends, family and fellow servicemembers gathered for the ceremony to include her company commander Maj. Brandon Tackett, the former 1544th TC commander. Tackett is with the Ohio Army National Guard and flew from Kuwait to be part of the ceremony. The entire 1544th along with the 144th Army Band and the University's ROTC program marched from the University of Illinois Armory to Lincoln Hall where the dedication was held.

"She had an infectious personality and energy to match her work ethic," said Tackett. "She was a special person, a person willing to leave the safe confines of the University and fight for other people's freedom in a far and distant dangerous land."

Morrison was the first female from the Illinois National Guard killed while serving in Iraq. She was also the first Illinois student actively enrolled in college to die in combat operations.

"She was a member of the Illinois family," said Phyllis M. Wise, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chancellor. "Her service and commitment will touch all those who are at Illinois now and forever in the future. With this memorial marker, she will always have a place...in the heart of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign."

Morrison was enrolled at the University of Illinois as a psychology major and intended to commission as an Army officer after graduation to continue a career in the military.

"As students, teachers and parents walk past Shawna's memorial in this place of continuing pride, continuing purpose and continuing mission, someone will ask 'Who was Sergeant Shawna Morrison?' and someone will know and someone will remember," said Brig. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei, the Illinois National Guard Adjutant General. "Someone will tell them she was a part of latest greatest generation. Shawna Morrison was a citizen. Shawna Morrison was a Soldier."

In addition to the memorial, Sept. 8, 2013 is now known as Sgt. Shawna Morrison Day in Illinois "in honor and observance of this heroic Soldier whose service and sacrifice is an inspiration to citizens of the land of Lincoln," stated the proclamation signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

Since the economic collapse in 2008, American households haven't been alone in feeling the pain of budget cuts. Cities and counties have been working with shrinking budgets, often leading to layoffs and reductions in services.

But since many services communities provide are vital - from education to paramedics and firefighters to law enforcement - community leaders across the country are getting creative and innovative.

"Throughout the United States, slimmer budgets are resulting in two outcomes: 1) killing jobs and services, and 2) coming up with ways to sustain programs and even improve them with brilliant ideas," says Dion Nugent, a volunteer firefighter and CEO for a software development company that works closely with paramedics, emergency medical technicians and fire fighters throughout the country.

"I prefer the latter. One blessing of troubled times is that they inspire inventive responses, which can revolutionize an industry. We're seeing that every day at the local government level."

Nugent cites several examples leadership devising ways to do more with less:

• Consolidation and multi-purposing in Texas' Grapevine-Colleyville school district. The district's superintendent never thought he'd have to focus on creative financing, but that has been necessary to keep his schools running. Parking lots formerly used only during Friday night football games are now rented out on weekdays to a company in need of overflow parking. The district's printing press is being put to extra use churning out city documents -- for which the schools are paid, and school buses are selling ad space on their sides. All these efforts are chipping away at a $5 million budget deficit.

• Using technology to streamline first-response data on Captiva Island, Fla. Captiva Fire Department first-responders used to spend hours on paper work and sometimes risked misspelling critical information such as patient medication. The department has bought time, and greater efficiency, with new software from Forté Holdings, Inc. Called iPCR, (www.ipcrems.com), it takes electronic patient-care reporting to new levels of portability and affordability. The software utilizes iPads, which are much lighter and significantly less expensive than the Toughbooks laptops many stations now use. The innovation has allowed the department to not only maximize its first-responders' time, it has improved response times.

• The Civic Protection Institute - a nationwide effort. Several studies find that what reduces crime most effectively is to have law enforcement visible in the public. However, there are a number of functions police officers have served that do not directly affect crime. The Civic Protection Institute (www.civicprotectioninstitute.org) is a private, not-for-profit organization that enlists capable citizens to shoulder many of these extracurricular services, including "a pool of competent private sector agencies, vetted and certified to high quality standards, for public sector services," according to the website.

About Dion Nugent

Dion Nugent is a volunteer firefighter and CEO of Forté Holdings, a leading provider of health-care software solutions in the United States. For 30 years, the company has combined technological expertise with input from medical workers to develop software that supports and improves patient care and administrative processes within the health-care industry. The company's flagship products - iPCR (patient-care reporting) and the Forte8000 line of billing and EHR - address the needs of specific medical workers, from first responders to private practitioners. iPCR is designed for the iPad and is Gold-certified by the National Emergency Medical Services Information System.