Last year, due to grant funding, the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (AEA) was able to pilot technology which enhanced language to hearing impaired students. The pilot was such a success the Mississippi Bend AEA has decided to expand this technology to all preschool aged identified hearing impaired students (ages 1-6) who have hearing aids or cochlear implants. A grant in the amount of $14,256, from the Scott County Regional Authority, will help do this. The grant will assist seven deaf and hard of hearing students at home and in the classroom - helping to close the achievement gap between them and normal hearing students.  This grant in combination with last year's grant and additional department funds will reach a total of 19 deaf and hard of hearing students with FM technology.

When hearing impaired students are fitted with either hearing aids or cochlear implants, they typically do not have access to additional technology to support their hearing needs. Parents usually cannot afford to purchase this equipment and educational institutions do not allow this technology to leave the buildings. The Mississippi Bend AEA will use the grant money to purchase equipment to be used in connection with hearing aids and cochlear implants, which will increase their access to devices such as; computers, cell phones, iPods/iPads and other technology which normal hearing students do not have difficulty with.  Most classrooms have background noise that competes with the teacher or device (i.e. others talking, paper shuffling, other electronics, ventilation systems, outside traffic or construction, and hallway noise). This background noise can make hearing very challenging for people with hearing aids or cochlear implants. The technology being purchased will allow sound to be transmitted directly to the hearing aid or cochlear implant so the background noise is less prominent.

Introduction of language is critical in the early preschool years and is the key to all academic success. Without the technology to access language, preschools and parents are constantly playing catch up with their deaf and hard of hearing children. Having the opportunity to expand this project will forever change the lives of these young children.

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The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency is one of nine AEAs across the state of Iowa created by the 1974 Iowa Legislature. It provides educational services, media services and special education services to approximately 50,000 students in twenty-two public school districts and twenty-two approved non-public schools in Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott Counties.

The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender identity, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, socio economic status, or disability in its educational programs, services or employment practices. Inquiries concerning this statement should be addressed to Dr. Edward Gronlund, Equity Coordinator, at 563-344-6315.

OMAHA, NEB.- (01/23/2012)(readMedia)-- The following students from your area were named to the fall Dean's List at Creighton University for the fall semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.

Nathan Horst of Blairstown, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Michael Barnes of Bettendorf, a junior College of Arts and Sciences student

Adam Dilla of Bettendorf, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Emily Stensrud of Bettendorf, a third year School of Pharmacy and Health Professions student

Elizabeth Hines of Davenport, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Alexandria Clark of Rock Island, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

John Philibert of Rock Island, a junior College of Arts and Sciences student

Kailee Steger of Milan, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Full-time students who earn a 3.5 grade-point average or better on a 4.0 scale are eligible for the Dean's Honor Roll.

About Creighton University: Creighton University, a Catholic, Jesuit institution located in Omaha, Neb., enrolls more than 4,200 undergraduate and 3,500 professional school and graduate students. Nationally recognized for providing a balanced educational experience, the University offers a rigorous academic agenda with a broad range of disciplines, providing undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs that emphasize educating the whole person: academically, socially and spiritually. Creighton has been a top-ranked Midwestern university in the college edition of U.S. News & World Report magazine for more than 20 years. For more information, visit our website at: www.creighton.edu.

"I was surprised to hear that Senator Kirk suffered a stroke this weekend.  Carolyn and I have Mark in our thoughts and prayers.  We hope his recovery is swift and he can return to service in the US Senate soon."

Q:      Why are recess appointments in the news?

A.     On Jan. 4, President Obama bypassed the Senate and appointed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three members of the National Labor Relations Board.  His move is highly controversial over whether he exceeded his constitutional power to make appointments during a Senate recess and so exceeded the power of his office.

Q.        What's at stake when the President circumvents the Senate with nominations?

A.        Our constitutionally outlined system of checks and balances among the three branches of our government is undermined when the President ignores the Constitution in making appointments.  The Constitution expressly assigns the Senate an advice and consent role in presidential nominations.   The President nominates, the Senate acts to confirm or disprove the nomination.  The Constitution says each house of Congress makes its own rules of proceeding.  The Administration argues the Senate was in recess during the President's appointments, but that's a red herring.  In effect, the Senate is in session when it says it's in session, not when the President says the Senate is in session.  And, according to its own rules, the Senate was not in an extended recess during the President's action.  The Constitution does provide for the President to make appointments when the Senate is in a prolonged recess, but there are restrictions on those powers.  And in addition to constitutional limitations, practice, tradition, and legal opinions all have influenced the process.  If constitutional constructions are flouted, the President could choose to make all of his own appointments and skip the Senate's advice and consent role.  Similarly, if the Senate were to declare the law of the land without seeking a presidential signature or veto, that would be a clear violation of constitutional strictures.   The White House would protest, just as the Senate is protesting now.  The Constitution works to keep any one branch of the government from getting too powerful.  It's what keeps our country a republic, not a monarchy, the form of government our founders fled, fought, and rejected.

Q:        Why are you unconvinced by the Justice Department's opinion about the ability of the President to make recess appointments in certain circumstances?

A:        The conclusion of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel is at odds with the text of the U.S. Constitution and the administration's own previous statements.  It fundamentally alters the careful separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches that the framers crafted in the Constitution.  It relies on no Supreme Court decision for its conclusion that the Constitution allows the President to make these appointments.  In fact, many of the Administration's conclusions are unsupported in law or the Constitution.  The Justice Department recognizes that the courts might well disagree.  And the action flies in the face of more than 90 years of historical practice.  Taken together with a laundry list of other assertions of the power to act without Congress, this clearly is an escalation in a pattern of contempt for the elected representatives of the American people.  The Senate will need to take action to check and balance President Obama's blatant attempt to circumvent the Senate and the Constitution, a claim of presidential power that the Bush Administration refused to make.  No president since Theodore Roosevelt has tested the limitations on a president's power to make recess appointments as President Obama has.   It was seen as a blatant power grab when Theodore Roosevelt did it, and it strikes many of us the same way from President Obama.

Monday, January 23, 2012