03 Apr 2012

Smoking-materials fire deaths drop to 30 year low

By Lorraine Carli
Fire-safe cigarette laws show early signs of success

 

April 2, 2012- According to a recent report released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 610 civilian deaths in the United States were attributed to smoking material fires in 2010, a number at or near the all-time-low and well down from the 1980 levels. During 2010 there were an estimated 90,800 smoking material fires resulting in $663 million in direct property damage.

 

Several factors, including a decline in smoking and stricter fire resistant standards on mattresses and upholstered furniture have been credited with the decrease in smoking material fire deaths over the last 30 years. The most recent drops in fatalities and injuries, though, owe much to the "fire-safe" cigarette legislation.

 

In 2003, U.S. states began requiring that all cigarettes sold must be "fire-safe," that is, have sharply reduced ignition strength (ability to start fires), as determined by ASTM Standards. By 2010, fire-safe cigarette legislation was in effect in 47 states. From 2003 to 2010, the number of civilian deaths in smoking-material fires fell by an average of 21 percent.

 

2012 is the first year all 50 state laws are effective, and all inventories of pre-standard cigarettes should have sold out. A projection linking the percentage decline in fire deaths to the percentage of smokers covered suggests that when smoking material fire death numbers are analyzed for the year 2012, the reduction in civilian deaths will reach roughly 30 percent.

 

According to Lorraine Carli, NFPA's vice president of Communications, "The adoption of fire-safe cigarette legislation is proving to be a giant step forward in reducing the leading cause of home fire deaths."

 

"NFPA is very encouraged by these numbers, which show the requirements are having the intended consequences," said Carli. "It is clear that our efforts have already made an impact on public safety and will continue to provide further progress in the years to come."

 

Other key findings in this report show:

  • Older adults are at the highest risk of death or injury from home smoking-material fires, even though they are less likely to smoke than younger adults.
  • One fatal victim in four (24 percent) of home smoking-material fires was not the smoker whose cigarette started the fire.
  • Sleeping is the primary human factor contributing to ignition cited for one-third (32 percent) of home smoking-material fire deaths.

 

As with virtually all types of fires, there are many steps that people can take to prevent smoking-material fires. NFPA has developed the following safety tips focusing on safe storage and disposal of cigarettes:

 

  • Whenever you smoke, use deep, wide, sturdy ashtrays.
  • Ashtrays should be set on something sturdy and hard to ignite, like an end table.
  • Before you throw out butts and ashes, make sure they are out. Dowsing them in water or sand is the best way to do this.
  • Check under furniture cushions and other places people smoke for cigarette butts that may have fallen out of sight.

 

About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. Visit NFPA's website at www.nfpa.org for more information.

03 Apr 2012

Rock Island Library Lines

By R.I. Public Library
Rock Island Library is honoring the youngest victims of the Holocaust as part of a community wide remembrance of Anne Frank and the Holocaust.

 

As part of the art exhibit "A Tribute to Children of the Holocaust: Portrait Collages that Bridge the Gap Between Then and Now," the library will offer two programs on Tuesday, April 10:

4:00 p.m. to 5:30: Art reception and book signing with artist and Holocaust educator Barbara Powers. Powers will explain how the exhibit came about, and answer questions about the children it honors. Art rotunda, 2nd floor.

 

5:30 pm: Discussion of The Promise: The Moving Story of a Family in the Holocaust, co-written by Powers and Eva Schloss, a Holocaust survivor. The children's book is based on Schloss' childhood experiences.family. The portrait exhibit is dedicated to Schloss and her brother, a talented artist who did not survive the Holocaust.

 

A Tribute to Children of the Holocaust will be on exhibit at the Main Library from April 9 to June 8. The exhibit, and four presentations by Barbara Powers at area schools, are provided through grants from the Scott County Regional Authority and the Rock Island Community Foundation (RICF) to the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities.

 

NOTE:  Due to a staff in-service, Rock Island Libraries will close at noon on Thursday, April 5. As a result, the independent movie previously scheduled for that night has been cancelled.

03 Apr 2012

Local Companies Help Renovate Homeless Shelter

By Holly Nomura
FIND OUT EVEN MORE on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 2pm at the Family Service Center, 301 W. 6th Street, Davenport

QUAD CITIES, USA - When The Salvation Army unveiled their Adopt An Apartment Program, a community resident, Kathy Rhinehart, knew how she could share her talents and connections. Over the last 8 months, Kathy has donated hundreds of hours to The Salvation Army by creating beautiful window coverings on every floor of the Family Service Center.

"It's not about me," said Kathy, "It's about the businesses that donate their fabrics and the community organizations that build the boards. Since I only work part-time now, the curtains are actually a great way to keep myself busy. Most of all, it's about the families who live at the shelter."

Kathy also designs and sews all the curtains for the Habitat for Humanity homes in the Quad Cities.

Knilans Furniture and State Street Interiors are the generous businesses that have donated the fabric.

Eldridge Methodist Church supplies the lining, and Eldridge Lions Club builds and donates all the wooden boards and rods.

A tour of The Salvation Army Family Service Center is offered to the public and media on April 4, 2012, 2pm to see all the great improvements.

There are still 18 apartments left to be adopted and renovated. Please call Holly Nomura at 563-271-7933 to find out more about this life changing program.

About the Family Service Center

The Family Service Center, the only family shelter in the Quad Cities area, 301 W. 6th Street, Davenport, provides housing and meals to over 100 people every night. Right now, there are 55 children living at the Center. Over a year's time, more than 40,000 meals will be served along with more than 19,000 nights of shelter.

####
03 Apr 2012

Q&A on Beef

By Grassley Press

with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Q:        How do you see the recent attention given to lean finely textured beef?

A:        I enjoy and appreciate beef in a meal as often as possible, and I have confidence in this meat product, which comes from a process that separates fatty pieces from beef trimmings to reduce the overall fat content.  There's nothing wrong with using all of the edible trimmings of an animal.  Lean finely textured beef is beef, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects and regulates all beef products.  It has approved this product for ground beef since 1993.

 

Q:        What about the processing of this beef?

A:        The technology used for lean finely textured beef makes it possible to use beef that could not have been captured by hand trimming.  The edible trimmings left after other cuts of meat, including steaks and roasts, are removed from an animal and processed to separate the lean meat from the fat.  Then, an antimicrobial treatment is used to make sure the resulting lean beef product is safe to eat.

 

Q:        Is the antimicrobial treatment safe?

A:        Ammonium hydroxide - or ammonium combined with water - is used in food processing, including baked goods, cheeses, caramel, puddings and meat products.  The Food and Drug Administration determined that ammonium hydroxide was "Generally Recognized As Safe," or GRAS, in 1974.  The World Health Organization has listed hundreds of food products that can be processed using ammonium hydroxide in accordance with good manufacturing practices.  In the case of lean finely textured beef, an ammonium hydroxide gas controls dangerous forms of pathogens like E. coli.

 

Q:        What else is relevant to food safety?

A:        I'm committed to sound science practices that separate fact from fiction in food safety.  Consumers deserve it, and the consequences of misinformation and hype in March over lean finely textured beef were the layoffs of hundreds of people working for the company that produces most of this beef, including workers in Waterloo and Sioux City.  Without lean finely textured beef, as many as 1.5 million additional head of cattle could be needed to replace it in the meat supply, and the cost of ground beef for consumers would be higher.

 

April 2, 2012

03 Apr 2012

SUMMER EVENTS AT THE FIELD MUSEUM

By Rita Bellouze
03 Apr 2012

MAY EVENTS AT THE FIELD MUSEUM

By Rita Bellouze
03 Apr 2012

Governor Quinn Honors Uniting America Volunteers in Memory of Cesar Chavez

By Nafia Khan

Calls for All to Honor Hispanic Civil Rights Leader's
Legacy Through Service

 

CHICAGO - April 2, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today joined leaders from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) to commemorate the birth of America's greatest Hispanic civil rights leader by honoring the volunteers of the Uniting America service initiative. Volunteers performed thousands of hours of community service since the program's launch last summer. Today Governor Quinn called for all residents to honor the legacy of Cesar Chavez by recommitting themselves to community service.

 

"Service to others is the rent we pay for our place on Earth," Governor Quinn said. "We are all called to serve. Cesar Chavez spent his life working to improve the lives of others and our Uniting America volunteers live his legacy every day by going out into their communities to make a difference."

 

Uniting America is a volunteer program made possible through a strong partnership between the Governor's Office of New Americans (GONA) and ICIRR. It places Americorps volunteers within communities throughout the state to work on a wide variety of service projects that include park and school clean-ups, fundraising drives and citizenship workshops in immigrant communities.

 

"Having served in the Peace Corps after college, I understand how vital volunteerism is to bridging and creating healthy communities," said Lawrence Benito, executive director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "Through our Uniting America program, our fellows are immersed in communities working to build bridges and create healthy dialogues between immigrant and native born communities."

 

Uniting America has embarked on an ambitious 2012 agenda, with more than 100 community service and unity events planned. It hopes to recruit and train more than 8,000 additional volunteers to work on programs and activities that unite immigrants like citizenship workshops, immigrant civic engagement and community building. ICIRR has hosted nearly 1,200 volunteer-driven citizenship workshops in the past seven years, with volunteers performing more than 100,000 hours of outreach, legal assistance and tutoring.

 

In 2010, Governor Quinn signed an executive order reestablishing the Governor's Office of New Americans (GONA). The office builds upon the strength of immigrants, their families and their institutions and assists them in their journey towards self-sufficiency. About 20 percent of Illinois' population are immigrants or the children of immigrants. For more information about the Governor's Office of New Americans and the Uniting America initiative, visit http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/newamericans and www.ICIRR.org or contact GONA Director Denise Martinez at 312-814-6686.

 

 

###
03 Apr 2012

Whitey's Ice Cream introduces new flavors

By Jon Tunberg

In addition to introducing a new small shake to our lineup this spring, Whitey's Ice Cream is announcing four new flavors for the season. Along with our usual spring flavors of Fresh Banana and Lemon Custard, the new flavors available by Wednesday are as follows:

Fiesta Chocolate- A new chocolate flavored ice cream with cinnamon swirled throughout.

Red Velvet Cake- White chocolate flavored ice cream with cream cheese frosted homemade Red Velvet cake.

Super Blueberry Cheesecake- A "Super" Blueberry Cheesecake flavored ice cream with additional blueberry swirled throughout.

And finally, our most exciting flavor:

Kid Crunch- This is for kids from 2 to 92. In keeping with the tradition of Sgt. Camo, ALL profits from the sale of this flavor will be donated to children's charities!  Kid Crunch is made with locally supplied honey from the Illinois Beekeepers Association and includes five different ingredients to give it that "crunchy" taste. Included with the light honey ice cream are: Pecans, Almonds, Toffee, Chocolate Flakes, and Cookie pieces.

Any questions feel free to contact the Whitey's corporate offices at: (309) 762-2175

Thank you-
02 Apr 2012

Traffic Safety Coalition Announces Traffic Fatalities in Iowa on the Decline

By Justin Richards
CHICAGO - The latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show the number of fatalities on Iowa's roadways declined 11 percent, including a 28 percent reduction in pedestrian fatalities, from 2006 to 2010. Iowa roads are getting safer with increased seat belt usage, improved air bag technology, safer driving habits and local police departments taking advantage of new technology to hold lawbreakers accountable through the use of live-saving enforcement tools such as red light cameras. 

According to NHTSA data, there were 390 fatalities on Iowa roads in 2010, down from 439 in 2006.  Pedestrian fatalities were also reduced from 25 in 2006 to 18 in 2010. 

One contributing factor to this reduction has been the increased use of traffic safety cameras.  Data across the country shows cameras change driver behavior, deter drivers from breaking the law, reduce crashes and save lives.  This has been the case in communities across Iowa:

• Council Bluffs, Iowa - Red light running crashes were reduced in Council Bluffs by 90 percent at intersections with safety cameras (Iowa Department of Transportation).

• Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Red light running was reduced by 49 percent after the installation of traffic safety cameras at Cedar Rapids intersections (Iowa State University Institute for Transportation).

• Davenport, Iowa - Red light running crashes were reduced by 40 percent in Davenport where traffic safety cameras were present (Iowa Department of Transportation).

In February, the Iowa State Senate voted unanimously to pass Kadyn's Law, legislation to increase penalties for drivers who ignore stop signs extended from school buses.  The legislation further required a study on the effects of using traffic safety cameras on school bus stop arms to catch and hold accountable drivers who ignore school bus safety laws.

###

About the Traffic Safety Coalition:
The Traffic Safety Coalition is a not-for-profit, grassroots organization comprised of concerned citizens, traffic safety experts, law enforcement, public officials, victim's advocates, health care professionals, and industry leaders who are committed to working together to make our roads safer for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.  We work with our partners throughout the country to promote technology and education that save lives and keep our roads safe.

The Traffic Safety Coalition received the 2011 Peter K. O'Rourke Special Achievement Award from the Governors Highway Safety Association for outstanding achievements in highway safety. 
For more information about traffic safety issues, visit www.trafficsafetycoalition.com or connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/trafficsafetycoalition and Twitter: www.twitter.com/TrafficSafetyCn






02 Apr 2012

Celebrate National Volunteer Week by Donating Blood

By Ben Corey
This National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, the American Red Cross
encourages eligible blood donors to make an appointment to donate and
help save lives. Approximately every two seconds a patient in the United
States needs a blood transfusion. Thanks to volunteer blood donors, the
Red Cross is able to provide needed blood products to local hospitals and
more than 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers around the country.

In the hour it takes to donate blood, donors can help save the lives of more
than one patient. Only 3 percent of the U.S. population currently donates
blood. Become a Red Cross volunteer donor and join a family of blood
donors across the nation in a lifesaving cause.

How to Donate Blood
Simply call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org
to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are
needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or
driver's license, or two other forms of identification are required at check-
in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), weigh at
least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school
students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and
weight requirements.

About the American Red Cross
Governed by volunteers and supported by giving individuals and communities, the American
Red Cross is the single largest supplier of blood products to hospitals throughout the United
States. While local hospital needs are always met first, the Red Cross also helps ensure no
patient goes without blood no matter where or when they need it. In addition to providing
nearly half of the nation's blood supply, the Red Cross provides relief to victims of disaster,
trains millions in lifesaving skills, serves as a communication link between U.S. military
members and their families, and assists victims of international disasters or conflicts.

Blood Donation Opportunities

CARROLL COUNTY
4/27/2012, 1:00 pm- 6:00 pm, Carroll County Farm Bureau, 811 S. Clay Street, Mount Carroll

CLINTON COUNTY
4/19/2012, 10:00 am- 4:00 pm, Lyondell Chemical Company, 3400 Anamosa Road, Clinton

HENRY COUNTY
4/17/2012, 10:30 am- 5:30 pm, Kewanee Hospital, 1051 W. South St., Kewanee

4/25/2012, 2:00 pm- 6:00 pm, First Christian Church, 105 Dwight St., Kewanee

MERCER COUNTY
4/17/2012, 12:00 pm- 6:00 pm, VFW Hall, 106 SW 3rd Ave., Aledo

SCOTT COUNTY
4/27/2012, 10:00 am- 1:00 pm, Hy-Vee, 4064 E. 53rd St., Davenport

WHITESIDE COUNTY
4/17/2012, 1:00 pm- 5:15 pm, Old Fulton Fire Station, 912 4th Street, Fulton

4/18/2012, 2:00 pm- 6:00 pm, Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St., Rock Falls

4/20/2012, 9:00 am- 2:00 pm, Fulton High School, 1207 12th Street, Fulton

4/20/2012, 10:00 am- 2:00 pm, Halo Branded Solutions, 1980 Industrial Drive, Sterling

4/24/2012, 1:00 pm- 5:15 pm, Old Fulton Fire Station, 912 4th Street, Fulton

4/25/2012, 10:00 am- 2:00 pm, Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St., Rock Falls

4/26/2012, 4:00 pm- 7:00 pm, Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St., Rock Falls

4/28/2012, 6:30 am-11:00 am, CGH Medical Center, 100 E. LeFevre Road, Sterling

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