Rock Island, IL: If the high cost of gas lately has you rethinking summer travel plans, Have Book Will Travel is the way to go for family entertainment. The Rock Island Public Library will offer more than 100 free events and summer reading contests for children, teens and adults starting Monday, June 3.

Originally created by libraries to keep children's reading skills current over the summer break, Summer Reading now rewards readers of all ages for reaching set reading goals. Children from pre-school through 6^th grades can pick up Have Book - Will Travel reading logs at any Rock Island Library location and track their reading by time or by titles from June 3 to July 26. Prizes and extra chances to win are awarded at the half-way and completion points of each log. Prize pick-up starts June 17.

Weekly children's events for summer start the week of June 10 with Scrapbooking Mondays for children, Math Club, Storytimes and Legos. The first special performance for summer starts with Niabi Zoo visiting the Main Library at 11:00 am on Thursday, June 13. Among the new events for children and families this year include a Games Around the World night at the 30/31 Branch on June 27, and two new performers, the Serengeti Steve reptile show and Mad Mixtures science experiments in July.

Adults can simply fill out one entry form for every book they complete from June 3 to July 26. Winners will be chosen by random drawing from completed entries, with prizes including a Kindle eReader, Kindle Fire HD and a variety of gift cards. To make a note of the books you'll travel with, visit any Rock Island Library to pick up a free Have Book Will Travel notepad (available on June 3, while supplies last.)  Free events for adults kick off with the "'Have Book Will Travel" travel planning program at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, June 4. . Other new events include guided cemetery tours of Chippiannock and Riverside, Native American history program, and free instructional programs on using an Apple iPad, Android tablet, and downloading music.

Teens ages 12 to 18 can dig into reading with the Beneath the Surface bingo card log, which allows them to fill in squares for reading, attending programs, watching a movie based on a book, writing a book review, or even filling out a program survey.  Ten completed squares qualify teens for prize drawings of gift cards or a Kindle. 25 completed squares qualify teens for an automatic prize.  Free events start June 7, with a Teen Feature movie at 1:00 pm at the Main Library. New events include a library treasure hunt and "zombie night" in June and cake archeology, library mini-golf and candy architecture programs in July.

All events are free and open to the public. The full list of 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, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, call 309-732-7323 (READ) or follow the Rock Island Library on Facebook and Twitter.

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(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad today announced he will sign House File 215, the education reform bill, Monday, June 3, 2013 at 9 a.m. The bill signing will take place at North High School in Des Moines.

Media outlets may arrive for setup beginning at 7:30 a.m. Media is asked to enter through the main doors and check-in as a guest in the main office prior to entering the auditorium. Due to technological restraints, a live stream of the press conference and bill signing will not be available.

The following events are open to the media:

Monday, June 3, 2013

9 a.m. Gov. Branstad signs education reform into law

Des Moines North High School

Auditorium

501 Holcomb Avenue

Des Moines, IA

9:20 a.m. Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold weekly media availability

Des Moines North High School

Auditorium

501 Holcomb Avenue

Des Moines, IA

House File 215: An Act relating to and providing for education reform involving student, teacher, and administrator programs and activities under the purview of the department of education, the state board of education, the college student aid commission, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools; providing for independent private instruction for students; providing for private instruction for students; concerning driver education by a teaching parent; making appropriations and providing for the establishment and retention of certain fees; and including effective date provisions.

Boston.  Sandy Hook.  Aurora.  Columbine.  The list goes on and on.  As the country focuses on gun-control, psychiatrist Gary L. Malone, MD, goes to the heart of the matter.

"As the horror of the Sandy Hook massacre and the Boston Marathon bombings begin to fade, the country and politicians are debating what they feel are the 'real' issues behind this tragedy. Lip service has been given to the lack of mental-health funding, weak mental-health-commitment laws, and battles between liberals and conservatives over gun control vs. second-amendment rights.  Meanwhile, the fixable causes are ignored," says Malone, a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association, and coauthor with his sister Susan Mary Malone of What's Wrong with My Family? And How to Live Your Best Life Anyway (www.whatswrongwithmyfamily.com).

"All the gunmen in the recent shootings had active and untreated psychiatric disorders at the time they committed the acts. Lack of mental-health funding (conservatives) and weak commitment laws (liberals) prevent adequate care. I prematurely released two psychotic, paranoid patients with access to weapons recently for this reason. I could, tragically, do nothing else. It is common sense that some of these people will commit violent crimes. Three decades ago, this would never have happened," Malone says. 
Malone identifies 4 ways to deal with the societal risks:

• Stop the Guns vs. Mental Health Debate. One does not negate the other. Over 300 million firearms exist in the United States alone today, many in the hands of gang bangers, professional criminals and drug cartels. Assault weapons have been sold since the 1960s. It's a fool's errand to think you are going to control them now. This debate is a waste of time and resources.

• Take Charge of Your Family. The best predictor of violence is past violence except in young adult males with a serious psychotic illness. Newtown, Aurora and Arizona all involved such cases. Their families and mental-health professionals all knew of the risks. If your child has such an illness, make sure you educate yourself about it and that he receives adequate care. None of these shooters could have bought guns without family financial support. Learn the mental-health laws in your area and be willing to use them. You have a responsibility to your teenage and adult child and your community to do all you can. (The Malones offer more guidance on this in, What's Wrong with My Family?  And How to Live Your Best Life Anyway.)

• Identify Those at Risk. Sociopaths and hard drug users are traditional criminals and not hard to identify. Psychiatric patients present no greater risks to the general population, with the exception of young adult males with a paranoid psychotic illness. And often, teachers, friends, and neighbors identified these kids as "odd."  These individuals must be assessed by a trained person, preferably a psychiatrist, to determine dangerousness. Of course, access to care and commitment laws are the impediment.

• Restore Funding to Treat Psychiatric Patients. Treating psychiatric patients is utilitarian in saving money now spent on police work and prisons, as well as being the decent path. It would likely prevent some, if not most, of these tragedies. Perhaps it is time to put aside stigma and follow the known science in this field. Let's hope the next White House summit will be on mental health! In the meantime, we can all wait for the next event.

"We can stop the violence now by attending to mental-health issues," Malone says.

About Dr. Gary Malone, M.D. & Susan Mary Malone

Dr. Gary Malone is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern and a teaching analyst at the Dallas Psychoanalytic Institute. He is a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association with board certifications in general and addiction psychiatry. He has worked in hospitals and private practices for more than 30 years. Dr. Malone is director of Adult Chemical Dependency Services at Millwood Hospital in Arlington, Texas.

Award-winning writer and editor Susan Mary Malone is the author of the novel, "By the Book," and three nonfiction books, including "Five Keys for Understanding Men: A Women's Guide." More than 40 of the book projects she has edited were purchased by traditional publishing houses. She is Dr. Malone's sister.