03 Jun 2013

Joint Information Center Flood Update

By Office of the Governor of Iowa

Branstad declares six new counties disaster areas

 

(DES MOINES) - The office of Gov. Terry  E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD) and other state and federal agencies, are working closely with local emergency management agencies to assist communities in preparing for and responding to flooding.

The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Johnston has been activated to enable agencies to coordinate response activities. A Joint Information Center has been established at the SEOC.

 

Governor Branstad issues disaster proclamation for six counties

Today, Governor Branstad issued a proclamation of disaster emergency for six additional counties in response to the recent storms and flooding.

The Governor declared a disaster in: Buchanan, Clay, Clayton, Greene, Henry and Story counties. In addition, the Governor activated the Iowa Individual Assistance Program for Buchanan, Clay, Henry and Story counties.

The Iowa Individual Assistance Program provides grants up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or a maximum annual income of $39,060, for a family of three.

Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and for the expense of temporary housing. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available at the "Disaster Assistance" link on the Iowa Department of Human Services website: www.dhs.iowa.gov.  Applications must be received within 45 days of the date of proclamation.

Counties that had previously received Governor's proclamations are listed below.

 

State Response Summary

Governor's Office

o   Disaster Emergency Proclamations

  • Benton
  • Black Hawk*
  • Buchanan*
  • Buena Vista*
  • Butler*
  • Cherokee*
  • Clay*
  • Clayton
  • Delaware*
  • Floyd*
  • Greene
  • Grundy*
  • Henry*
  • Ida
  • Iowa*
  • Jasper*
  • Johnson*
  • Linn*
  • Louisa
  • Lyon
  • Mahaska
  • Marshall*
  • Mitchell*
  • Plymouth*
  • Poweshiek*
  • Sioux*
  • Story*
  • Tama*
  • Wapello*
  • Wright*
    * State Individual Assistance Program

 

o   The Office of Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds today launched www.IowaFloodCentral.tumblr.com in conjunction with HSEMD to give Iowans a resource for up-to-date Iowa flood information. This is the first Tumblr established and utilized by the Iowa governor's office. Press releases regarding flood-affected counties will still be posted on the governor's website (governor.iowa.gov) and information regarding disaster readiness and assistance will still be available through HSEMD's website (homelandsecurity.iowa.gov). The Iowa Flood Central page will act as an information aggregator of flood-related content from Iowa state agencies, news reports and eyewitness accounts from Iowans wishing to submit pictures and videos of local flooding.

Homeland Security and Emergency Management

o Deployed pump resources to Benton, Butler, Cherokee, Jasper, Louisa, Mahaska, Marshall and Butler counties. 

o Traffic barricades to Buena Vista, Cherokee and Tama.

o Sandbags and poly to Benton, Louisa and Mitchell.

o Bottled water was delivered to New Sharon in Mahaska County and Galva in Ida County. The Iowa Disaster Human Resource Council coordinated the delivery of water to Galva with the Convoy of Hope.

o Sioux City Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)/Swift Water Rescue team is being staged in the Waterloo area so they are able to quickly respond to any needs in eastern Iowa. The Cedar Rapids USAR/Swift Water Rescue team is also on standby for quick response if needed.

o   To view actions that are being taken by state agencies in impacted counties, visit the HSEMD website at www.homelandsecurity.iowa.gov.

 

Iowa National Guard

o The Iowa National Guard has sent two liaison officers to the Johnson County EOC. 

o   Incident Awareness Assessment teams are being sent to affected river basins in southeast Iowa to increase situational awareness.

 

Department of Transportation

o   Numerous road closures on state and local highways and roads.  For more information on road closures, visit www.511ia.org, or call 5-1-1 or 1-800-288-1047.

The Department is transporting flood-fighting resources to various locations in the state.

o   The Department is providing staging locations for resources.

 

Department of Human Services

o   The Department is administering the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program.  http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/Consumers/Assistance_Programs/CashAssistance/DisasterAssistance/StormHelp.html

Department of Natural Resources

o   Information on private wells during times of flooding can be found at http://www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/RegulatoryWater/PrivateWellProgram.aspx

o   The Department is actively monitoring water treatment and sewage treatment facilities.

o   Field staff is assisting in numerous counties.

Department of Public Health

o   The Department has established a website addressing health issues during flooding at http://www.idph.state.ia.us/EmergencyResponse/Flooding

Department of Corrections

o   The Department has provided inmate sandbagging assistance out of the Iowa Medical Classification Center.

o   Inmates will provide debris removal assistance in the City of Kellogg.

 

Department of Public Safety

o   The State Fire Marshal is providing building inspectors in Cherokee.

For more information 

www.IowaFloodCentral.tumblr.com

governor.iowa.gov

www.homelandsecurity.iowa.gov

 

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03 Jun 2013

GRAND VIEW UNIV. SPRING DEAN'S LIST

By Rachelle Mitchell

Des Moines, IA - Recognition for outstanding academic achievement has been given to the following Grand View University students for the 2013 spring semester:

Derek Fulton of Bettendorf, Iowa and Aaron Warlop of Rock Island, Illinois.

The students are named to the Dean's List for earning a grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale while carrying at least 12 hours of classes.

Grand View University, with an enrollment of approximately 2,300 students, is an independent, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

-30-

03 Jun 2013

Local Students Honored at Ottawa University Convocation

By TheLink Delivery Service

Ottawa, Kansas - Kaitlyn Stinson of Davenport was recognized for her achievements during Ottawa University's spring honors convocation on April 18, 2013, in the Fredrikson Chapel.

Kelly was honored for her participation in Champions of Character National Sportsmanship Awards, Women's Soccer.

31 May 2013

Sneaky Pete's reopens kitchen.

By Rick Martin

It's time to dine again at Sneaky Pete's, LeClaire's woodfire grill steakhouse.

Sneaky Pete's closed their kitchen a few weeks ago after a small fire.  Now that all the repairs have been made and all the inspections have been passed, its time to fire up the grill again.

Sneaky Pete's is located at 215 North Cody Road in historic downtown LeClaire.

31 May 2013

Quad City International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) Presents a FREE Seminar on June 17, 2013

By Kat Riley

The Quad City International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) will be presenting a FREE Seminar on Monday, June 17, 2013 at the MRA Administrative Offices located at 3800 Avenue of the Cities - Suite 100 in Moline, Illinois. The speaker will be Marie Herman, CAP-OM, ACS and she will be presenting "Becoming a Dynamo -Developing Charisma & Influencing Skills".

Networking/Gathering begins at 5:30 PM, Dinner at 6:00 PM (reservation is required - meal cost is $8.00) and the speaker will begin at 6:30 PM. Following the presentation, the IAAP Illinois Division President, Marie Herman, CAPOM, ACS will install the 2013-2014 Chapter Board. A short chapter business meeting will be held following the installation.

To register, please contact Stephanie Noyd by 11:00 AM by Friday, May 10, 2013 at (309) 235-5775 or email her at paranoyd5@frontier.com. For more information, go to our website at www.iaap-quadcity.org/quadcity/meetingsevents.

IAAP is the world's largest international association of administrative professionals. IAAP offers professional development, leadership training and networking opportunities for administrative professionals. IAAP is a non-profit, volunteer association.

Joining a professional organization demonstrates your commitment to your career. Work is most rewarding when we do it with enthusiasm and give it our best. Through IAAP you will gain knowledge, confidence and contacts that will help you advance professionally. IAAP works to build a professional image of administrative professionals in the workplace. 

IAAP membership is open to all persons working in the administrative field, along with business educators, students, firms and educational institutions. There is no test of sponsorship required. Through IAAP qualified professionals can test for the certification rating, the benchmark of excellence in the administrative profession. For more information please contact Kathy Riley at (309) 489-6122.

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31 May 2013

AT&T Receives Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's Above and Beyond Award

By Robert Jackson Jr.

Award Recognizes Outstanding Support to Employees Serving in National Guard and Reserves

SPRINGFIELD, IL (05/31/2013)(readMedia)-- The Illinois Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an agency of the Department of Defense, presented AT&T with the ESGR Above and Beyond Award May 30 in recognition of outstanding support to its employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve.

The Above and Beyond Award was created by ESGR to publicly recognize employers providing extraordinary support and cooperation to their employees who have answered the call to serve. The award is given in limited numbers by ESGR state committees to employers who go well above the basic requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, in supporting their Guard and Reserve employees and have had at least one of their supervisors or managers recognized with a Patriot Award. It is the second highest ESGR award given at the state level.

"Supportive civilian employers are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the nation's National Guard and Reserve," said Lt. Col. Tim Franklin, Illinois ESGR Program Director. "A Guardsman or Reservist has to maintain a balance between their military obligations, family life and civilian career. The things AT&T is doing to support your citizen warriors helps make it easier for them to maintain that balance and continue to serve in uniform. This Above and Beyond Award recognizes that support."

Illinois ESGR Central West Area Chair, Stan Zielinski and volunteer, Allan Woodson, presented AT&T managers Steve Cacciatore and Cararrus Baltimore with the Above and Beyond Award at the company's south Springfield facility. Illinois ESGR selected AT&T to receive the award based on the Patriot Award presented to Baltimore in 2012. Baltimore was nominated for the Patriot Award by AT&T employee and Illinois Army National Guardsman, Chief Warrant Officer David Rogers, to show his appreciation for the support of his service in the Illinois National Guard.

"Mr. Baltimore is highly supportive of my military service and training schedule," said Rodgers in his Patriot Award nomination. "He went to great lengths to help with payroll issues while I was attending training with the Illinois National Guard in Minnesota. He is a great supporter of the military and is always there to assist myself or my family."

"On behalf of Illinois ESGR and our State Chair, Dr. Michael Ayers, I am honored to present you with this Above and Beyond Award," said Zielinski. "I would like to thank AT&T for the outstanding support you have shown Chief Rogers in his service with the military. This award recognizes that AT&T is among those employers across the country that go well 'above and beyond' the basic requirements of USERRA in supporting service in the National Guard and Reserve."

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and to assist in resolving issues arising from an employee's military commitment. ESGR is supported by a network of more than 4,900 volunteers in 54 committees located across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam-CNMI, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nearly 140 Illinois ESGR volunteers across the state work to promote and enhance employer support for military service in the Guard and Reserve.

31 May 2013

Explore Travel Planning, Local History and Movies with June Events for Adults

By Lisa Lockheart
The free Have Book Will Travel presentation features travel agent Marsha Holmes from Gulliver's Travel Agency. She will provide guidelines for planning a trip, whether that journey involves driving or flying, or to destinations in the USA or overseas. Participants are encouraged to bring travel questions.

In other June programs for adults, the Rock Island Library will offer historic tours of Chippiannock and Riverside Cemeteries with local cemetery expert Minda Powers-Douglas. The Chippiannock tour meets at the cemetery's 12th Avenue gate at 7:00 pm on Monday, June 10.  The Riverside tour meets at 7:00 pm on Monday, June 17, at the cemetery's 5th Avenue gate. Both tours are free and open to the public, and will feature highlights of the art and stories behind two of the area's oldest cemeteries. Registration is requested, but not required for the tours. To sign up, call the library at 309-732-7341.

The Rock Island Library will also show free "movie flicks" featuring films based on books during the summer. The first movie, based on the novel  Jaws, by Peter Benchley, starts at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, June 18 in the Main Library, 401 19th Street. Free popcorn will be provided.

All events are free and open to the public. The full list of summer programs is available at http://www.rockislandlibrary.org/page/summer-your-library, as well as in the Summer Events brochure and calendars available at all Rock Island Libraries. For more news about Rock Island Public Library events, call 309-732-7323 (READ) or follow the Rock Island Library on Facebook and Twitter.

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31 May 2013

182nd Airlift Wing Awarded Sixth Outstanding Unit Award

By Illinois National Guard PAO

PEORIA, IL (05/31/2013)(readMedia)-- The 182nd Airlift Wing will be presented the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for exceptionally meritorious service AT 8:15 a.m. June 1 at the Illinois Air National Guard Armory 2416 South Falcon Blvd., in Peoria.

This will mark the sixth time the 182nd has received the award in the last decade.

The 182nd Airlift Wing employs more than 1,100 citizen-Airmen, many from communities throughout the Peoria-metropolitan area. The wing has been proud to call Peoria its home since 1946.

In his citation, Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, applauded the unit for accomplishing its mission with a maximum degree of war readiness during a two-year time period between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2012. The wing was noted specifically for reducing the enemy forces' fighting capability and for actions that saved the lives of coalition forces during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. During this time, the same C-130 Hercules aircraft routinely seen over the skies of Peoria completed more than 3,300 combat missions, all while maintaining an exceptional 94.7 percent mission-capable rate.

According to the Air Force Personnel Center, the Outstanding Unit Award is bestowed to units that display exceptionally meritorious service or outstanding achievement that clearly sets

the unit above and apart. Prerequisites for the award include performance of exceptionally meritorious service, accomplishment of a specific outstanding achievement of national or international significance, combat operations against an armed enemy of the United States, or military operations involving conflict with, or exposure, to hostile actions by an opposing foreign force.

The award ceremony will commence at 8:15 a.m. Media should confirm attendance prior to the event by contacting Maj. Bill Soddy at 309-633-5253 or William.Soddy@ang.af.mil. Attending media should plan to arrive at 7:45 a.m.

31 May 2013

Loebsack Announces More Than $70,000 for Davenport Homeless Veterans

By Vonnie Hampel

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack today announced that the Davenport Housing Commission, in partnership with the Iowa City VA Medical Center, received $70,666 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through their HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program.  The funding will be used to offer supporting housing to homeless Veterans, many of whom are living with chronic disabling conditions.

"Far too many Veterans and Veteran families are facing homelessness within our communities," said Loebsack.  "We have a moral responsibility to serve those who have worn our country's uniform with the same dignity and honor with which they have served our nation.  This funding will help provide our veterans the support they need to get back on their feet and provide for their families.  I am pleased that the Davenport Housing Commission in partnership with the Iowa City VA Medical Center has received this funding to expand their services to Iowa's veterans."

The HUD-VASH program combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by VA.  Since 2008, 42,557 formerly homeless Veterans are currently in homes because of HUD-VASH.

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31 May 2013

Preventing Skin Cancer By Barbara Grassley

By Grassley Press

With Memorial Day over and temperatures climbing, summer is just about upon us.   The season is a good reminder of the need to focus on sun safety and skin cancer prevention.  Like most ways to reduce your risk for cancer, the preventive steps may be easy but committing to them isn't.  It may be difficult to make the right choices, especially for teen-agers and young adults, because the risks and consequences seem remote and improbable.  However, the facts tell us otherwise.

Skin cancer is on the rise among young people between 18 and 39; the Skin Cancer Foundation says the rates of skin cancer have grown by 800 percent among young women and 400 percent among young men over the past 40 years, despite an increase in knowledge.  Why?  Perhaps looking good now triumphs protecting oneself to be healthy later in life. Too many people who spend time outdoors still fail to regularly and properly apply sunscreen. Whether you seek a tan inside or outside, tanning is dangerous.  In the last decade, tanning salons have become popular, especially among teens. The ads from tanning salons appear around this time of year and offer student discounts. Tanning may seem like just another example of typical teen-age vanity, but this behavior is dangerous.

People who begin indoor tanning at a younger age have a 75 percent higher risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.  "Tanning bed use during high school and college conferred a higher risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) than did tanning bed use between ages 25 and 35," said Dr. Mingfeng Zhang, a research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  In fact, just one indoor tanning session a year while the subjects were in high school or college boosted their risk of developing BCC by 10 percent, and those who tanned indoors more than six times a year had an 82 percent higher risk of developing BCC than non-tanners.   It is estimated that 2.3 million teens visit a tanning salon at least once a year.

Regardless of age, we all must be more vigilant.  Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States; indeed, it is the fastest-growing cancer, affecting more than two million people each year.  One person dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form of the disease, and an estimated 8,790 people will die from it this year in the United States.  In Iowa alone, 980 new cases of skin cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year.  To reduce your risk of skin cancer, follow these sun safety tips:

·         Regularly apply sunscreen.  Use sunscreen and lip balm with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 or higher, and remember to reapply.  Sunscreen should be reapplied at least every two hours and after swimming or sweating.  Make sure to use an ounce - two tablespoons -- of sunscreen on your face and enough to generously cover your body.  If one bottle lasts you all summer, then you're not applying enough!

·         Although you can get sunburned at any time of day, the sun's rays are strongest between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.  Stay out of the sun during these hours!

·         Don't forget to slip on your shades!  Wear sunglasses with 100 percent ultraviolet ray absorption to protect your eyes and their surrounding skin.

Even when you're serious about protecting your skin, you may sometimes want the glow of a tan. Luckily, many bronzers and sunless tanning products are widely available on the market from high end retailers to local pharmacies.

And parents, you are wise to protect your children early on and teach them safety habits as they grow more independent.  They may fight you now, but when they are in their 30s and 40s and beyond, they will love you for it.  For those of us who are older, it's never too late to start making the right choices.  Start each day with a moisturizer with sunscreen and get your children and grandchildren in the habit, too. Be sure to follow these tips every day and have a wonderfully safe summer!

Barbara Grassley is a member of the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention program of the Prevent Cancer Foundation and the spouse of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley.

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