Coal Valley, IL- June 2, 2012 - Niabi Zoo is extremely happy to announce the birth of its second male giraffe calf on Friday, June 1, at 2:59 am. This is the fourth giraffe born at Niabi Zoo since 2007.

The baby giraffe, which has not yet been named, was born to Twiga, Niabi Zoo's 6 year old female. This is Twiga's second baby. Zuri, a female, was born in April of 2010. The father is Kenya, a 6 year old male. The baby weighed 152 pounds and stands about 6 feet tall.

"Twiga and her new son are doing very well," says Interim Zoo Director Marc Heinzman. "We're all very excited to have our fourth giraffe born here in only five years. We had been waiting for a long time for Twiga to have her baby, so it's great to have him here finally."

Twiga and her son will be kept off display for a few days to allow the two giraffes time to bond in a quiet setting. Later this week she will be out for public viewing.

The giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis, is the world's tallest mammal. Average height for an adult giraffe is 14-19 feet and the average weight is 1,800 - 3,000 pounds. They are herbivores, using their 18 inch tongues to help pull leaves from the branches of tall trees. Although their necks are unusually long, they have only seven neck vertebrae, just like humans.

After a gestation of approximately 14 months, giraffes give birth standing up. The calf drops five to six feet to the ground. This fall helps the calf take its first breath. Calves can stand usually within a few hours and run with their mothers within ten hours. Six feet tall a birth, calves normally weigh 100 - 150 pounds and can grow as much as one inch per day.

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ROCK ISLAND, IL (06/01/2012)(readMedia)-- Donald Morrison, Rock Island, Ill., was honored by Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., at the college's annual alumni association awards banquet on May 19, 2012.

Morrison received the Honorary Alumni Award. The Honorary Alumni Award is presented to friends of Augustana who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the college. Recipients are considered honorary alumni of Augustana and members of the Alumni Association. This is not an honorary degree.

Morrison, director of the Augustana Choir from 1966-1993, taught choir members about music and about life. In rehearsals, he introduced different music styles and composers, as he shaped the group into a unified choral ensemble. He shared the history and contexts in which pieces were written, as he helped students to discover the relevance of the pieces in their own lives. Morrison also allowed choir members to experience the unexpected emotional and spiritual elements that could bring them to tears in their performances. And whether they were music majors, business majors or biology majors, Morrison taught everyone that each of them had a voice-and their voice mattered.

When the choir stepped on the risers for a performance, whether in a rural church in Iowa or on the stage of Chicago's Orchestra Hall, the students were poised, polished and professional. When they went on tour and performed the same program for several weeks in a row, Morrison would remind his vocalists that "this" performance was the only one that "this" audience would hear, so the choir owed their guests its best effort. He taught students the invaluable lesson of striving for excellence in all they did, whether it was for themselves or others.

Morrison received his B.M. degree from Drake University in 1953 and an M.S.M. degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1957. He also studied at the University of Southern California, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Oakbrook University. He received the Phi Mu Alpha Sinphonia Fraternity Orpheus Award in 1993.

Augustana honors Morrison for his extraordinary achievements and national recognition in choral conducting and his role as a 27-year ambassador for the college.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers nearly 90 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 182 full-time faculty and has a student-faculty ratio of 12:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

Instances of child abuse increase during the summer, with some shelters and child advocacy centers actually doubling their caseloads, according to anecdotal reports.

While these tragedies include everything from neglect to beatings, child advocate  Michelle Bellon, author of The Complexity of a Soldier (www.MichelleBellon.com), says parents and caregivers should be especially alert to one of the most easily hidden and underreported crimes: child sexual abuse. Her novel centers on this epidemic, and aims to raise awareness about it.

"Children may be less supervised during the summer, or they may be in the care of extended family members so their parents can save money on child care," she says. "Both situations put children at risk; the former for obvious reasons and the latter because 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims know the offender."

Child predators are terrorists, Bellon says. Like the terrorists we deploy armies to battle overseas, they prey on innocents and subject them to physical and emotional torture. The consequences can be devastating and lifelong, including post-traumatic stress disorder and separation anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association reports.

"Does this sound like anything else we have heard about since 9/11? To me, it is very similar to what victims of terrorism face, and what soldiers face after fighting wars," Bellon says. "I think child predators should be called what they are - domestic terrorists."

Bellon shares these guidelines from a number of sources, including the Centers for Disease Control, to keep children safe this summer.

• When choosing a summer program, ask about employee (and volunteer) screening and how interactions are monitored. A criminal background check is not sufficient to ferret out sexual abusers, since many have never been charged or convicted. Instead the program should look for warning signs in written applications and interviews. For instance, some predator adults spend all of their time with children and have no significant adult relationships. Policies on interactions between adults and children should include examples of appropriate and inappropriate conduct, and definitive steps for both monitoring and addressing concerns and complaints.

• Ask about the training. Staff and even temporary volunteers should undergo training to recognize signs of sexual abuse and to learn when it's appropriate to report concerns. There should be a designated person to handle reports. Training should be required for staff and volunteers who come on board midway through the summer. Policies should include procedures for handling not just potential abuse, but also violations of the code of conduct for interactions.

• Ask about interactions between older and younger children. Some programs allow older children to serve as "junior counselors" or activity assistants. Ask about the guidelines for these situations, including whether and how long children may be unsupervised by an adult.

• Make sure children understand "personal boundaries." Teach children the importance of recognizing and respecting the invisible barriers that separate them from other people. They should be able to recognize their comfort zone - and that of others! - and know that they can and should speak up about setting limits. Start at home by respecting a child's right to say "no" to physical contact, such as tickling and hugs. Never force a child to kiss a relative.

• Recognize signs of a problem. Children often won't or can't tell you what's happening, but there are signs to watch for, including changes in behavior such as withdrawal or unprovoked crying, night terrors, bedwetting, eating problems, unexplained injuries, suddenly avoiding a particular person, and unusual interest in or knowledge of sexual matters.

About Michelle Bellon

Michelle Bellon earned her associate degree in nursing, and lives with her husband and four children in Olympia, Wash. She is the author of four novels, including "The Complexity of a Soldier," which deals with the issue of child sexual abuse.

The Child Care Business Expo offers child care businesses the opportunity to gain critical information about the  industry and meet with government officials, financial advisors, child care related companies, vendors and industry experts. The Women's Business Development Center provides programs and services to support and accelerate women's business ownership, strengthening the impact of women on the economy.

EVENT: Women's Business Development Center's annual Child Care Business Expo

DATE: Saturday, June 2

TIME: 8:10 a.m.

LOCATION: University of Illinois Chicago Forum, 725 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago

NOTE: Simon will speak at 8:10 a.m., present awards at 9:15 a.m. and cut a ribbon to officially open the Expo's exhibition at 10 a.m.

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