Glass Heritage, LLC, is pleased to announce the hiring of James D. "Jimi" Lee to fill the newly createdposition of studiomanager.

Jimi comes to us from Staten Island, New York, where he amassed 15 years of stained glass experience as a hobbyist and while working for Stained Glass Imagery, a studio similar in scope to Glass Heritage.

His historic preservation credits include windows by the renowned stained glass artist David Mailand Armstrong and Nicola D'Ascenzo, the panels in the dome at the U.S. Patent Office, along with other historic stained glass from a wide variety of landmark churches and public buildings in the northeast.

Jimi will be moving to Davenport at the first of the year when he will begin his duties with Glass Heritage, LLC.

The addition of Jimi to our staff allows us to expand our capabilities and adds new dimension and techniques.  His hands-on approach to his work and his experience are a welcome addition to the growth of our company, which is steadily expanding its market area.

Glass Heritage, LLC specializes in the restoration and preservation of historic stained glass as well as custom stained glass and etched glass commissions.  We are a fully accredited studio with the Stained Glass Association of America, as well as members of the Art Glass Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Glass Guild.

Glass Heritage, LLC is located at 234 West 3rd Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801.  We can be reached at 563-324-4300 or www.glassheritage.com

 

GLENDALE, Calif. - December 14, 2009 - IHOP, one of America's favorite restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner, has announced plans to serve millions of free pancakes again next year in celebration of National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.  Planned as a celebration of friends, family and community, IHOP hopes the program will raise $1.75 million for Children's Miracle Network, an international non-profit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals, and other worthy local causes.

2010 will mark IHOP's fifth year celebrating the national event and the company has set an ambitious goal to raise a cumulative $5 million for charity in the first five years of its free flapjack philanthropic effort.  More than 1,400 IHOP restaurants throughout the United States will once again invite guests to enjoy a free short stack of IHOP's signature buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on National Pancake Day.  In return, IHOP guests are asked to donate what they would have paid for the free pancakes, or more, to the Children's Miracle Network hospital in their community, or another designated local cause.

"We are flipping for 'five in five' with our 2010 National Pancake Day campaign, and with our guests' generous support, plan to reach our goal of $5 million in five years," said Carolyn O'Keefe, IHOP's senior vice president, marketing. "IHOP's franchisees and guests have raised more than $3.25 million to support Children's Miracle Network and other local charities since we started our National Pancake Day in 2006.  The day has become a tradition for families and friends who wish to enjoy great food and great service while helping out a great cause."

Children's Miracle Network "Miracle Balloons" will be sold for $1 and $5 each and will be personalized and displayed at participating IHOP restaurants from February 1 through February 23, 2010.  Miracle Balloon sales offer guests another way to show their support of Children's Miracle Network and contribute to the National Pancake Day fundraising effort.

If you're out of school and looking for something to do during your winter break, stop by Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Branch (3000 N. Fairmount Street). The Youth Services Department has planned two fun parties for kids and families.

On Tuesday, December 22, from 2 - 4 p.m., celebrate the holidays at our "Holiday Party." Decorate cookies, create amazing crafts, and meet new friends. Take home all of your creations to give as presents!

On Tuesday, December 29, from 2 - 4 p.m., visit the Fairmount Branch for our first-ever "Snow a Thon!" Come in out of the snow and cold to enjoy hot cocoa and marshmallows while watching movies like "Frosty the Snowman" and making fun winter crafts.

Registration is not required for either event - the more the merrier! For more information, visit www.davenportlibrary.com

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Official University of Iowa FedEx Orange Bowl packages are still available and a limited number of travel packages from Des Moines to Miami are also available.

Hawkeye alumni and fans still have the opportunity to travel on the official University of Iowa FedEx Orange Bowl Tour.  Packages from Des Moines, IA to Miami, FL are limited and running out fast.  Be part of the excitement by booking your spot to see Iowa play Georgia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on January 5, 2010.

"We are excited with the support we have received from Iowa fans," said Vince Nelson, President, of the University of Iowa Alumni Association. "Travel packages departing from Cedar Rapids have already sold out and the travel package departing from Des Moines only has a limited number of seats available."
Deluxe air travel packages are limited and include round-trip charter air service from Des Moines airport departing Sunday, January 3, 2010 and returning Wednesday, January 6th.  Hotel accommodations at either the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Intercontinental Miami Hotel, EPIC Miami Hotel or similar as well as a ticket to the game, admission to the welcome reception at the hotel and UI Alumni Association pre-game tailgate tickets can be added to this package.  There will also be police escorted motorcoach transfers to the pre-game, bowl game, and return trip. Land-only and game-only packages are also available. All packages are subject to availability at the time of booking.

To learn more about the official University of Iowa FedEx Orange Bowl Tour and to reserve packages, visit www.HawkeyeSportsTravel.com or call 1-800-553-5527.

The Quad City Sports Center is proud to be hosting its 2009 Christmas for Kids Holiday Skate in conjunction with the Toys for Tots Toy Drive. From 2-4 pm on Saturday, December 12th you can join us during our public session and bring in a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Toys for Tots. The QCSC will be giving everyone who donates a toy a coupon good for 'buy one get one free' admission. Marines will be on hand during the public session to collect the toys, but you can always drop off a toy before then at the QCSC front desk. Join us as we collect toys to make Christmas special this year for area kids. This event is just one of a number of events the Quad City Sports Center will host in December and January.

December 13th is the Figure Skating Club of the Quad Cities annual Angels on Ice show. Tickets for the door can be purchased at the door.

January 9th is the Quad City Sports Centers 7th Annual Skate-A-Thon fundraiser. This event helps to support skating in the Quad Cities and is a fun day for everyone. Make sure you take some time to come skate with us that day.

A full schedule of events and programs can be found online at http://www.qcscskate.com

or by calling 563-322-5220.

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Thanks to strong community support, Operation Support Our Troops a big success in both cities

Thanks to strong community support in both cities, the Knoxville and Galesburg First Bank offices collected a total of 51 boxes of packaged food and other items as part of the "Illinois Has Not Forgotten" collection drive for Operation Support Our Troops - Illinois, Inc. (OSOT-IL).

First Bank's Knoxville branch collected 31 boxes and raised nearly $1,000 for the troops while the Galesburg offices collected 20 boxes.

More than 272 boxes of food and other items (totaling four tons) were collected from the 61 First Bank locations that served as collection drop off points. In addition, 196 Operation Support Our Troops T-shirts were sold as well as $1,487 in cash donations.

First Bank firstbanks.com helped successfully launch the "Illinois Has Not Forgotten" collection drive for OSOT-IL in early November at the bank's 20 N. Clark St. office in downtown Chicago.

Since its founding in 2003, OSOT-IL has sent out over 25,000 care packages to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and has raised enough money to fund the purchase of two specially equipped vans for wounded soldiers.  They also support Fisher House, which is to Veteran Hospitals what Ronald McDonald House is to Children's Hospitals.  For more information about OSOTIL, go to their website at: www.osotil.org.

First Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country with more than $10.3 billion in assets and 209 locations in Illinois, Missouri, California, Florida and Texas.

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Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) announced today the city of Davenport will receive a $983,300 grant from the Department of Energy for energy efficiency and conservation projects.  This funding is from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which provides grants for projects that reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency across the country.  The grant was awarded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"I'm pleased to announce more than $983,000 to help create jobs and move Iowa towards a stronger energy-efficient future," Braley said.  "During these tough economic times, grants like this will play a critical role in putting Iowans back to work, creating good-paying jobs that can't be outsourced and moving our country away from our addiction to foreign oil."

Activities eligible for EECBG funding include energy audits and building retrofits in the residential and commercial sector, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements.

For more information on Stimulus projects in the First District, please click here.

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Celebrate the joy of the season!  Join us for Rivermont Collegiate's Annual Holiday Open House, to be held this Saturday, December 12th from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.  The Rivermont Collegiate campus is home to the Historic Joseph Bettendorf Mansion, built on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi in 1915.  Featuring Italian marble, painted ceilings, and hand carved woodwork, the Mansion is listed on the National Historic Register.  The Annual Holiday Open House is a chance for the community to view the Mansion in all its splendor, beautifully decorated for the holidays!

Rivermont Collegiate is located at 1821 Sunset Drive in Bettendorf, directly off 18th Street behind K&K Hardware.  Drop in between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. for light refreshments and tours of this local gem!  This event is open to the public and dress is casual - please RSVP to Brittany Marietta at (563) 359-1366 ext. 301 or marietta@rvmt.org.  Rivermont Collegiate is the Quad Cities' only private, independent, nonsectarian college-prep school for PreSchool through twelfth grade - visit us online at www.rivermontcollegiate.org!

For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate, contact Cindy Murray at (563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or murray@rvmt.org.

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Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) announced today that he has secured over $11.5 million in funding for Iowa programs in the 2009 omnibus bill, which pass in the House by a vote of X-X. This bill provides funding for the entire US Government's operations during the 2010 fiscal year.

"The Iowa funding in this bill will help create jobs in Iowa and will directly benefit the people I represent," Braley said. "I'm pleased to have secured funding for these critical Iowa priorities. This funding will help expand access to healthcare, improve Iowa infrastructure, and save and create jobs throughout eastern Iowa."

A list of Braley-secured projects follows:

  • $2 million for Iowa National Guard in Davenport. This project will fund additions and alterations to the Army Aviation Support Facility, providing space needed for all personnel to train to mission standard and to provide maintenance of the assigned aircraft to the facility.

  • $2 million for the city of Parkersburg to improve the intersection of Highways 14 and 57.

  • $1.6 million for projects at the University of Northern Iowa. This includes funding for National Institute for Early Math and Science Education, the Center on Literacy, Language and Disability Studies in Early Childhood Education, the National Ag-Based Lubricants Center and MyEntreNet, a national rural entrepreneurship development system.     

  • $1 million for the I-74 Corridor Construction leading up to the I-74 bridge. This project extends from 53rd Street in Davenport, Iowa to Avenue of the Cities in Moline, Illinois.      

  • $681,800 for the design and construction of a transit maintenance garage in Davenport, as recommended by the 2002 transit study of the Iowa Quad Cities.   

  • $600,000 for St. Ambrose University to construct a Center for Health Sciences Education. The money will also help equip the facility for occupation and physical therapy and nursing programs that will allow for interdisciplinary learning, research and clinical practice.

  • $500,000 to complete the extension of the 10th Avenue South Corridor in Waverly

  • $500,000 to complete the "Rivers to the Sea" museum as part of the National Missisissippi River Museum and Aquarium for the Great Rivers Center in Dubuque. This is one of the top priorities of the City of Dubuque and the number one priority for the Envision 2010 process.

  • $400,000 for Clarke College to transition to a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program, mandated by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing by 2015 for advanced practice nurses.

  • $400,000 for Hawkeye Community College to develop and deliver training to additional instructors, to provide tuition assistance for qualified trainees, to procure training equipment and supplies and for staff development to train and certify through its program. 

  • $400,000 for a Flight Training Device for the University of Dubuque's Aviation Degree program. This will ensure the pilots are provided with sufficient training on the most current technology available.

  • $389,600 for Dubuque's Southwest Arterial. This will help fund the final design and development of final construction documents, complete property acquisition and to complete the archaeological and cultural resource mitigation work. 

  • $340,900 for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank to construct a food warehouse and distribution center to house a regional Food Bank and its multi-county programming efforts. 

  • $250,000 for the Iowa Dental Association's Dental Home Demonstration Project in Scott County.

  • $200,000 for Loras College to strengthen student faculty research by upgrading and equipping the environmental microscopy and human physiology/anatomy research and teaching center in the school's science hall.

  • $194,000 for Homeward, Inc. to expand a construction finance program that has provided low interest loans to communities to encourage development of new housing in rural communities.

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Author Linda Louise Book Signing Event

WHEN: 12/19/09

TIME: 1:30-4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Barnes and Noble, 320 W. Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA   

WHAT: Louise will be available to sign copies of her Christian living book, "Longing for Wholeness."

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