The first 2,000 fans through the gates at Modern Woodmen Park, 209 S Gaines St, Davenport, will receive a Bobble Parrot on Jimmy Buffett Night!  Also, stick around after the game for a lively post-game concert with the Fry Daddies!

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. (July 17, 2009) - Local non-profit organizations are invited to participate in a unique fundraising opportunity with their local Younkers store. Younkers announced today that it will continue its successful Community Day event to be held on Saturday, November 14, 2009. Non-profit Organizations can sign-up now at communitydayevent.com. This event provides an opportunity for local organizations to gather the donations needed to support their missions, especially at a time when many non-profits have limited resources and more requests than they can accommodate.

On August 2, 2009, local participating nonprofit groups will begin selling $5 Younkers discount savings booklets to support their organization. Each booklet contains coupons and offers for a savings of over $60. Non-profit groups selling the booklets keep 100% of the $5 booklet price.

"This is the tenth consecutive year our Company has brought this fundraising event to local non-profit groups," said Bud Bergren, president and chief executive officer of The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. "We know how important it is to give back to the community, especially when many groups and community organizations need our help more than ever."

Organizations can sign up to participate in Community Day by logging onto http://www.communitydayevent.com, and submitting a registration form. The website provides details of the event. Qualifying Community Day organizations include local 501C-3 nonprofit organizations, churches and schools.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. operates 280 stores, including 12 furniture galleries, in 23 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Carson Pirie Scott, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates and, in the Detroit, Michigan area, under the Parisian nameplate. The stores offer a broad assortment of brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men and children, as well as cosmetics and home furnishings.

 

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In June 2008, Arnold's Body Shop in Davenport became the first collision repair business in Iowa ? and one of the first in the Midwest ? to switch from solvent-based base coatings to water-borne base coatings. On Wednesday, July 29, 2009, Governor Chet Culver will honor the business for the results of its efforts with the 2008 Governor's Iowa Environmental Excellence Award at a ceremony in the State Capitol in Des Moines.

Arnold's is being recognized in the Air Quality category because the switch has cut its volatile organic compound (VOC) content by 54 percent and reduced its hazardous air pollutant (HAP) levels by 91 percent. These pollutants contribute to the formation of harmful ground-level ozone.

"Taking an environmentally friendly approach to business is one way our family of 23 employees can pay back our customer's families and the community for 40 years of support," said John Arnold, CEO. "Plus, our commitment to preserving air quality and reducing waste is our social responsibility to the next generation."

Arnold said that the business invested approximately $60,000 in water-based paint and air handling systems so it could exceed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards beyond 2011, when more stringent air quality laws go into effect. The changes at Arnold's Body Shop have not only reduced emissions, but also save energy by reducing the heat-drying process necessary for petroleum-based paint.

"In this industry, it's important to take responsibility for the waste we produce, so Arnold's does everything possible to reduce waste. It's the most socially responsible route," Arnold said.

As education chair of the Iowa Collision Repair Association (ICRA), Arnold is taking action to help other collision repair shops understand the laws that affect the industry and the environment. He has committed to helping educate body shop owners statewide through a series of seminars sponsored by the ICRA, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Waste Reduction Center. The seminars begin this fall.

"For the sake of Iowa's citizens ? and the planet ? we are going to do what we can to get auto body shops in compliance with the new standards by 2011," Arnold said.

The goal of the Environmental Excellence Awards is to recognize Iowa organizations, businesses and individuals who have excelled in providing leadership, innovation and  education in the protection of the state's water, land and air. At the ceremony on July 29 in the State Capitol, Des Moines, Governor Chet Culver will present awards in the areas of water quality, air quality, energy efficiency, habitat restoration/development, waste management, environmental education and disaster recovery.

Arnold's Body Shop has served Davenport, Iowa, and the greater Quad Cities community with comprehensive collision repair since 1969. It became Iowa's first body shop to adopt environmentally friendly water-borne refinishing system in 2008. It is a member of the Automotive Service Association and the Better Business Bureau. See www.arnoldsbodyshop.com for details.

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MADISON, Wis. - When diabetes educator Eva Marie Vivian sees overweight minority children, she sees a generational tragedy unfolding.

Type 2 diabetes was virtually unheard of in children a generation ago, but now as many as 3,700 young people were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in a single year ? a diagnosis much more common among Native American, Hispanic or African American children. At current rates, it is estimated that one in three children born in the year 2000 will eventually develop diabetes. And it's not just the diabetes -- cardiovascular disease, kidney and eye damage, and other complications can follow uncontrolled diabetes.

"A 12-year-old with Type 2 diabetes may develop coronary artery disease by age 35,'' said Vivian, associate clinical professor in the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy. "We're talking about a generation of children that might not outlive their parents."

Vivian says that some heavily Hispanic zip codes in Los Angeles have rates of childhood obesity approaching 90 percent. And her recent research in Madison, Wis., shows that things aren't much better in the Midwest. She recently screened 86 children (63 percent African-American, 34 percent Latino, 3 percent white) in community settings such as churches and food pantries. She found that 54 percent were overweight or obese, conditions that can set them up for developing Type 2 diabetes, in which the body becomes resistant to insulin.

"While more than half of the children were overweight, it's interesting that only 10 percent of parents reported that they thought their children were overweight,' Vivian said. "It may be because many of the parents are overweight themselves."

So, is this merely a case of children inheriting bad genes? No.

"Genes may load the gun, but your environment and lifestyle pull the trigger,'' Vivian said.

As part of her screening, she queried parents about the factors causing children to gain weight. What she learned is startling:

• · About 31 percent of the children consume fast food more than twice a week
• · 86 percent watch more than two hours of television.
• · Among the obese and overweight children, television watching was more than three hours a day.
• · The parents themselves reported being too busy with work to prepare home-cooked meals.

Vivian's research is aimed at identifying factors that people can change to lose weight and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Her work is funded by the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), part of a national effort to get medical research more quickly from the laboratories into the community.

She has just received a second grant to create a community-based intervention program that will go into the neighborhood centers with programs for children and parents. While the children would be in exercise classes led by trained instructors from the UW School of Kinesiology and formerly overweight teenagers who have successfully changed their own lifestyles, parents would be learning about healthy shopping, cooking and family lifestyle changes.

"One problem is that some parents also eat unhealthy foods, and the children follow their parents,'' Vivian said. "The good news is that when you ask adults to change their lifestyle, they're more likely to be receptive if it involves helping their children."

Is Your Child At Risk For Diabetes?

1. Is your children African-American/black, Latino/Hispanic, Native American or Asian/Pacific Islander?

2. Does your child have a sister or brother with diabetes?

3. Does your child have a parent or grandparent with diabetes?

4. Has a health care provider told you your child is overweight or do you feel your child is overweight?

5. Does your child (between ages 10 and 19) get little or no exercise?

6. Does your child have a dark skin patch around the neck or in the armpits?

7. Has a doctor said your child has high blood pressure?

8. Has a doctor said your child has high cholesterol?

9. Has your daughter had irregular periods, excess facial hair or unusual weight gain?

If you answered yes to two or more questions, your child may be at risk for having or developing diabetes. You should talk to a health care provider.