08 Apr 2010

Quad City Arts' Arts Dollar$: Community Access to the Arts Awards

By Rick Martin

Since 1979, Quad City Arts' Arts Dollar$: Community Access to the Arts has provided funding for local artists and non-profit organizations to carry out high-quality community-based art projects. Quad City Arts is pleased to announce the regranting of $24,500 to 13 outstanding community arts projects.

 

Garfield Elementary, Davenport

Garfield Elementary students will work with artist Sarah Robb to explore their neighborhood community and tell the story of the relationship among themselves, their school, and their community as they create a permanent mixed media mural.

 

River Music Experience

Kids Dayz will be a monthly program series on the first Saturday of each month, April 2010 through February 2011, featuring a variety of presenters from the community: Terry Hanson, Paul Cioe, Hal Reed, Shellie Moore Guy, Larry Lockwood, and Steve Couch.

 

Jeanne O'Melia

Artists Jeanne O'Melia and Angela Rathman will partner to provide at-risk youth with drama and visual art workshops in conjunction with Thurgood Marshall's year-long green team project to connect students to the environment through the arts and community service.

 

East Moline Park Board

East Moline Music in the Park Summer Concert Series provides five free outdoor music concerts to the general public in June through September, featuring Los Mocambos, Tony Hamilton Orchestra, Ellis Kell Band, Bix Beiderbecke Youth Jazz Band.

 

The Friends of Vander Veer

Storyteller Jessica Sheridan will present literature in the garden, using Eric Carle's children's books, promoting art and horticulture both indoors and outdoors at Vander Veer Botanical Garden all summer.

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley

The "Art Buddies" program will match low-income children who have an interest in the arts with members of the local art community in one-to-one mentoring relationships. BBBSMV will provide these matches with arts-oriented activities throughout the year.

 

JB Young Intermediate

JB Young students meet three days per week with Melanie Holdorf-Prince. The class roster changes quarterly. All students are encouraged to participate in the after-school program, Pathways.

 

Henry County Courthouse

Henry County Artist Lee Kinball will paint a scene depicting or referencing Henry County, which will add to the already historically rich Henry County Courthouse.

 

Moline Public Library / German American Heritage Center

German "Artober" Fest is visual and performing arts partnership between the Moline Public Library and the German American Heritage Center.

 

Midwest Writing Center

The Young Emerging Writers Internship Program provides high school students with skills in writing, publishing, decision making, and project coordination. The program culminates with the production of a literary magazine. Artist Ryan Collins

 

Ballet Quad Cities

In June 2010, Ballet Quad Cities' Production of "Ballet Under the Stars" will feature "The Ugly Duckling: A Message of Acceptance Told in Dance," which will culminate a five-week residency at Rock Island's Longfellow Elementary.

 

Davenport Chordbusters Barbershop Chorus

ACAPPELLOOZA workshop introducing high school males to the joy of harmonizing their voices through a cappella barbershop style singing, culminating in an evening performance featuring the ACAPPELLOOZA participants with the Chordbusters, open to the public

 

Jeff Coussens

The Quad City Playwrights' Festival will select original scripts to be performed as staged readings by Augustana College students for a general audience. Jeff Coussens will produce the festival.

An awards reception will be held at the Quad City Arts Center Gallery on Wednesday, April 14th from 4:00 to 5:00 pm at 1715 2nd Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois.

Arts Dollar$ is made possible by support from the Illinois Arts Council, Doris and Victor Day Foundation, John Deere Foundation, and Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Charitable Trust.


Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development, and celebration of the arts and humanities. All Quad City Arts programs are partially supported by Quad City Arts Festival of Trees; Quad City Arts Partners; and operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

08 Apr 2010

Quad City Arts Metro Arts Summer Youth Employment Program

By Michael Woods, PhD

What: Applications Available for Arts Apprenticeships for Youth Aged 15-21

When: Deadline for Application, April 17; Program Dates June 14 - July 16


Quad City Arts Metro Arts Summer Youth Employment Program brings together artistically talented and interested young adults and provides them with productive, creative, paid apprenticeships in the arts. Metro arts will take place on June 14 - July 16, and applications are open to all Quad City area youth aged 15-21 years old. Applications are available at www.quadcityarts.com or by contacting Jessi Black at 309-793-1213 x103. Applications are being accepted until April 17.


Quad City Arts will hire 50 area youth to serve as paid apprentices of professional artists. Apprentices will work in one of four groups: Mural Painting, Public Sculpture, Dance 101: Studio to Stage, and Micro-Fiction. Metro Arts participants learn about the techniques, history and context of their particular area, produce original works of art, and develop valuable professional skills in areas such as problem-solving, communication and accountability.


Metro Arts is made possible by generous support from Bechtel Trusts & Foundation, Riverboat Development Authority, Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, Davenport Noon Optimists, City of Rock Island Gaming Funds, and City of Moline Community Development Block Grant.


Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development, and celebration of the arts and humanities. All Quad City Arts programs are partially supported by Quad City Arts Festival of Trees; Quad City Arts Partners; and operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

08 Apr 2010

PBS 'History Detectives' investigating Rock Island Arsenal painter

By Eric Cramer

ROCK ISLAND, IL - April, 8, 2010 - A crew from the PBS series "History Detectives" will be visiting the Rock Island Arsenal Museum to detail the story behind a watercolor painting of the Battle of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tenn., created by John Gisch during the time he was a Confederate prisoner of war at the Rock Island Barracks.

The watercolor is owned by an individual in Portland, Oregon.

The collection of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum includes a watercolor entitled "Main Avenue Military Prison Rock Island" that was created by John Gisch.

History Detectives will be filming Neil Dahlstrom, author of "Rock Island Prison, 1863-1865, Andersonville of the North Dispelled" (Journal of Illinois History, Winter 2001) at approximately 3:30 p.m. at the Arsenal Museum on April 8.

08 Apr 2010

The Mississippi Valley Country and Western Music Association turns 50

By Ruth Huddletson

East Moline, Ill. (April 6, 2010) -- The Mississippi Valley Country and Western Music Association (MVCWMA) is turning 50 years old, and members will gather for a meal and jam session on Monday, April 26, at the American Legion post in East Moline to celebrate.

Among some out-of-town members expected to return for the celebration are two Tennessee residents and their families. They are singer, songwriter, actor and former Quad-Cities deejay Jack Barlow and singer, songwriter, record producer and former Quad-Cities country bandleader Bobby Fischer.

"There were 52 charter members," according to Ruth Huddleston, who has been involved with the group since 1968 and is in her fifth year as president. "There are still 13 living." She notes that seven or eight of them will attend on April 26, "which I think is fantastic."

Huddleston, a retired bookkeeper, says Eda Berg and her neighbors, who played guitars and sang folk tunes, organized the MVCWMA in June 1960. Don Wachel, who owned The Col Ballroom in Davenport at the time, initially let them meet there and jam.

The group has met monthly at a variety of places since then, Huddleston says, but has been at the East Moline Legion since 1994. The meetings consist of a meal followed by a jam session.

"That goes until about 10:30 or 11 -- until we run out of musicians," says Huddleston.

The MVCWMA has about 180 members, Huddleston says, ranging in age from about 50-90.

In addition to the monthly gatherings, there's an annual picnic and MVCWMA bands play at community events.

"Right now I have seven active bands that I advertise all the time in our newsletter," says Huddleston. Each band is required to have at least one person who is a member of the MVCWMA.

Because the Legion only holds 200 people, there were few non-member tickets available for the upcoming April 26 anniversary celebration, Huddleston says, and they sold out quickly.

Barlow, a former deejay at what then was WQUA-AM, is one of the charter members of the MVCWMA.

Fischer is a lifetime member, Huddleston says, "because of everything he has done over the years for the club. Particularly when he lived in the area, he was very involved with the club to get it started."

Before moving to Nashville to make a career as a country songwriter, Fischer, who grew up in Wilton, Iowa, worked 17 years at International Harvester in East Moline and entertained with his band, Bobby Fischer and the Tunesharks.

Anyone interested in joining the MVCWMA can call Huddleston at (309) 721-3895 for further information.

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08 Apr 2010

Handwriting Analysis at German American Heritage Center & Museum

By Angela Osborn

Handwriting analysis will show what handwriting reveals about the writer and German script at the German American Heritage Center Museum in Davenport on Sunday, April 11 at 2 p.m.


DAVENPORT, IOWA (April 6, 2010) What does your handwriting say about you? Join handwriting analysis Giles Weigandt as he explores how a sample of handwriting reveals more about the writer than just the level of haste in which the writing was done. In addition, German Gothic script will be discussed. This presentation, "What Your Handwriting Reveals About You & A Look at Gothic Script" will be held Sunday, April 11 at 2:00 p.m. The program is free for members and free with museum admission for nonmembers.

In addition to the presentation visitors can explore the museum's 4,000 square feet of permanent and special exhibits. Visitors will enjoy an interactive experience as they learn about immigrants' journey by sea, train and foot, to their final destination at the German American Heritage Center building, which was originally a very busy hotel for thousands of immigrants in the 1860s.


The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sundays from noon - 4 p.m. Admission is as follows: Adults: $5; Seniors: $4; Children: $3 (5 - 17 years old); Family: $12; Free for children under 5; and free for museum members.

Visit the museum's website at www.gahc.org and find them on facebook. The German American Heritage Center is located at the foot of Centennial Bridge at 712 West Second Street, Davenport, Iowa. For more information call 563-322-8844.

-END-

06 Apr 2010

IOWA TO RECEIVE MORE THAN $18 MILLION TO TURN AROUND ITS PERSISTENTLY LOWEST ACHIEVING SCHOOLS

By Sandra Abrevaya
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Iowa will receive more than $18 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"When a school continues to perform in the bottom five percent of the state and isn't showing signs of growth or has graduation rates below 60 percent, something dramatic needs to be done," said Duncan. "Turning around our worst performing schools is difficult for everyone but it is critical that we show the courage to do the right thing by kids."
The $18,710,222 made available to Iowa is being distributed by formula to the state and will then be competed out by the state to school districts. In order for a school district to apply for these funds, it must have a state-identified "persistently lowest achieving" or a Tier III school -- a school that has failed to meet annual yearly progress for two years and is not identified as a persistently lowest achieving school.
However, Tier III schools can only receive funds once all of the state's persistently lowest achieving schools have received funds. Iowa's application, which includes its list of persistently lowest achieving schools, as defined by the state, can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/summary/index.html.
School districts will apply to the state for the funds this spring. When school districts apply, they must indicate that they will implement one of the following four models in their persistently lowest achieving schools:
  • TURNAROUND MODEL: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff, and rehire no more than half the teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.
  • RESTART MODEL: Convert a school or close it and re-open it as a charter school or under an education management organization.
  • SCHOOL CLOSURE: Close the school and send the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.
  • TRANSFORMATION MODEL: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.
Once schools receive SIG funds, they will be able to begin to spend them immediately to turn around schools this fall. States may apply to the Education Department for a waiver to allow them to spend funds over a three-year period. An additional $545,633,000 has been provided for SIG in 2010 and will be awarded to states to fund additional schools in the 2011-12 school year. The department has also made a request for an additional $900 million for the program in the 2011 budget.
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06 Apr 2010

Roosevelt Community Center - Senior Club Membership Drive

By Rick Martin

    Davenport Parks and Recreation Presents:

    Roosevelt Community Center - Senior Club Membership Drive

    Friday, April 9th, 2010

    Davenport, IA, April 6th, 2010: Davenport Parks and Recreation's Roosevelt Community Center- Senior Club would like to invite all seniors and their families to the Roosevelt Center on Friday, April 9th from 5-7 PM for a sloppy joe supper and membership drive.  This event will offer a "taste" of what the center has to offer.  Event includes free tours of the new weight room, programmers that work in the center will be present to talk about their classes, Davenport Parks and Recreation's Mobile Playground will be onsite with activities for all to enjoy, and don't forget to stop by the senior room to participate in a cake walk for $.50.

    The Senior Club meets at Davenport Parks and Recreation's Roosevelt Community Center:

    The cost for the supper is $3 and will include a sloppy joe or hot dog, chips, veggie and dip and a drink. All additional activities are FREE!

    Mondays and Fridays from 9-10am

    Tuesdays/ Wednesdays/ Thursdays from 9am - Noon.

    The seniors enjoy daily exercise activities, guest speakers, games, environmental programming, tours and social time.  Join us Friday to learn more!!!

06 Apr 2010

Trivia Night at Camp Courageous - April 17th

By Jared Johnson
In 1979, the game Trivial Pursuit was created by Canadian Scott Abbott, a sports editor for The Canadian Press, and Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette. They created the game when they could not find all the pieces to their Scrabble game. Trivial Pursuit was released in 1982 and has been popular ever since.

This is a good example of trivia. Trivia can be defined as information of little importance. However, to those who enjoy trivia, it can be an exciting, fun, and competitive cranial exercise.

On Saturday, April 17th beginning at 7pm, Camp Courageous will host its 3rd Annual Trivia Night. The event will be held at the comfortable and atmospheric top floor of the Sill Barn at the camp located at 12007 190th St., Monticello, IA 52310. Participants can come as a group of 5-8 participants or come solo and join a group when you arrive. The cost of $10 per person is a donation to the non-profit, year round camp for people of all ages with disabilities.

Prizes will be given for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams. Door prizes and other games will also be played. Snacks will be available or you can bring  your own.

To reserve a table for a team or find out more contact Amatullah Richard, 319-465-5916 or amatullahrichard@yahoo.com. There is a limited amount of space so please RSVP.

Camp Courageous is an alcohol and tobacco-fee environment.
06 Apr 2010

Grassley fights Medicare fraud, questions HHS Secretary about agency disregarding phantom pharmacy information

By Sen. Charles Grassley

Monday, April 5, 2010

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley is asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services to account for the fact that the agency that runs Medicare failed to respond for over a year to credible information about fraudulent pharmacies bilking Medicare.

The pharmacies in question included empty store fronts that successfully billed millions of dollars to private insurers, where they were identified, yet Medicare officials completely ignored the warnings, despite repeated warnings.

"Every Medicare dollar that's lost to fraud is a tax dollar wasted and a dollar that doesn't go to serve Medicare beneficiaries, as intended," Grassley said.

Here is Grassley's letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This information comes on top of Inspector General reports last year about the Department's repeated failure to respond to formal reports about programmatic flaws that led to Medicare fraud, waste and abuse.

Conservative estimates say that at least $60 billion in Medicare dollars are lost every year to fraud, waste and abuse.  Earlier this year, Grassley introduced a comprehensive bill, the Strengthening Program Integrity and Accountability in Health Care Act, to combat this loss in federal health programs including Medicare.  It includes better screening requirements to keep fraudulent providers out of Medicare, as well as a stop-gap to prevent the federal government from paying first and asking questions later about whether claims for payment are legitimate.

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06 Apr 2010

Harkin Applauds the USDA for Releasing Over $2.7 Million in Grants and $18.9 Million in Loans for Areas Affected by 2008's Storms and Floods

By Sen. Tom Harkin
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) decision to award $2,712,118 in disaster relief funds to Iowa, and to provide an $18.9 million loan to construct a 19-bed critical access hospital in Clarinda.  The funding was competitively awarded through the USDA's Rural Development Community Facilities Program, and goes to parts of the state that have been declared national disaster areas by President Obama.  As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations committee, Harkin worked to help appropriate these funds.

"2008 is still fresh in the minds of thousands of Iowans whose communities were damaged by floods and storms," Harkin said. "These funds will help communities recover, increase disaster readiness and improve medical care.  I congratulate those who went through the competitive application process to receive these funds, and hope this gives our rural areas some much needed relief."

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