AmeriCorps is working with the City of Davenport and surrounding communities to restore Nahant March and Credit Island to pre-flood conditions. At Credit Island, the team is in charge of repairs to picnic tables, the golf course, and debris removal. In Nahant Marsh, members are helping remove the old dock and build a new boardwalk once the new dock is installed. Other duties include restoring the trail system that runs through the marsh and removing invasive species. For information about AmeriCorps, call (800) 942-2677 or visit AmeriCorps.gov/nccc.
Area flutists recently formed the Quad City Flute Association, or QCFA. The association will launch its Web site (QCFluteAssociation.com) and begin accepting memberships on January 1. On January 18, guest artist Virgina Broffitt will join the QCFA for a recital and workshop at 2 p.m. at West Music in Moline. For more information, contact Cathi Dorr at (309) 764-9300 or (800) 852-9106.
Iowa will receive more than $125 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for disaster relief through the Community Development Block Grant program. These dollars represent the initial disbursement of funding from the $6.5 billion that Congress approved in September for states affected by natural disasters. Funds can be used for home repairs and buyouts, assistance to businesses, repair of damaged public facilities, economic revitalization, and efforts to reduce damage from future disasters.
The Machine Shed Restaurant will be featured on the Travel Channel's Food Paradise on Wednesday, December 17, at 8 p.m. Central. The Machine Shed was chosen as the "Best Breakfast in America." Guests, staff, managers, and owner Mike Whalen were interviewed for this segment.
The ambulance service at Genesis Medical Center's Illini Campus will be making a special pickup on Saturday, December 6. The ambulance staff will team up with the Illini emergency-department staff for a "Fill the Rig" day to collect items for Winnie's Place, a women's and children's shelter in Moline. The Illini ambulance will be parked from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Silvis Hy-Vee store to collect nonperishable food items, paper products, personal-hygiene items, and cash donations to benefit the shelter.
Former U.S. Army Chief of Staff and retired Army General Gordon Sullivan will present "Leadership in the 21st Century," based in part on his leadership role in transforming the post-Cold War Army. The free presentation will take place Thursday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Ambrose University Rogalski Center, located at the corner of Ripley and Lombard streets. For more information on the presentation, contact the St. Ambrose College for Professional Studies at (563) 441-9500.
Quad City International Airport employees and other tenants employed at the facility contributed 1,000 pounds of food for the Christian Care Food Pantry 2008 Canned Food Drive. In addition to canned food, the employees also contributed 25 coats to Christian Care.
On Saturday, December 6, at 5 p.m., Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities in cooperation with AIDS Project Quad Cities will host an "Uncommon Hope" service of worship at 3019 North Harrison Street in Davenport. For more information, contact the Reverend Rich Hendricks at (563) 324-8281 or Wendy Kelly at (309) 762-5433.
Youth from fifth to eighth grades are invited to join the Rock Island County 4-H Tech Club. This group meets monthly to learn about different technology topics through hands-on activities, including wind energy, robotics, bridge building, and rocketry. Group meetings are free unless the group decides to go on an educational field trip, and parents are welcome to participate with their children. To sign up, visit Extension.UIUC.edu/rockisland. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, December 4, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Rock Island County Extension office, 4550 Kennedy Drive in East Moline. If you have questions or are interested in serving as an expert volunteer to lead a session, contact Jen at (309) 796-0512.
"Waste Reduction: Addressing the Overlooked 'R,'" a one-hour University of Northern Iowa graduate credit course, will be held at the Scott Area Recycling Center in Davenport in January and April of 2009. The Waste Commission of Scott County is providing free registration to kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers. A $50 fee will be charged to those not receiving a free registration. Go to http://www.ceee.uni.edu/wastereduction/workshops.aspx for course details and to register. For more information, contact Susan Salterberg at (319) 337-4816 or salterberg@uni.edu.
