13
Aug
2002
• According to a study published this month in the journal Health Education Research, the nation's three leading student drug-prevention programs are either ineffective or under-evaluated. Programs highlighted in the study include McGruff's Drug Prevention & Child Protection, Here's Looking at You 2000, and DARE. To date, more than 30 studies, including those by the National Academy of Sciences, the University of Illinois, and the University of Kentucky, have called into question DARE's effectiveness. The largest of these, conducted jointly by the U.S. Justice Department and the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, concluded that DARE has a "limited to essentially nonexistent effect" on adolescent drug use. In response to this research, as well as criticism from the Department of Education that the program lacks scientific merit, DARE announced last year that it would be changing its curriculum. The organization is currently conducting a five-year study to evaluate the new curriculum, during which time the program continues to receive funding from the departments of Education, Justice, and Defense. A very brief abstract of the Health Education Research report can be found at online at: (http://her.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/4/461).
• The Quad Cities area was recently selected as a MidWest BEST Community by YouthNet and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. This new initiative for the Quad Cities area is designed to increase young people's access to high-quality youth programs by bringing professional-development opportunities to people who work with youth. Locally, Iowa State University Extension and University of Illinois Extension are the lead agencies for the MidWest BEST Initiative. The first training program for workers in the area is scheduled for August 27 to 29 in Davenport. A $75 registration fee covers meals, breaks, a resource guide, and three days of training. The MidWest BEST training is designed for direct-service workers, especially those serving youth from "high-risk situations." To register or for more information, contact Diane Baker at (309)796-0512 or Julie West at (563)359-7577.
• Federal dollars will be used to construct a bike trail linking Davenport and Bettendorf that is expected to be completed by the summer of 2003. The bike trail between Davenport and Bettendorf will be part of the Mississippi River Trail, which will run from New Orleans to Minnesota. It will intersect with another cross-country bike trail that will span from California to Delaware. Other projects funded by federal money include a bike trail in Eldridge and three gateways in Davenport to welcome visitors to Iowa.
• The Davenport City Council has granted Mediacom Communications Corporation a six-month extension on its franchise with the city. The extension gives Davenport time to explore ways of bringing in competition - with the intent of driving down prices - and gives the cable company time to address criticism that it has not complied with terms of the franchise agreement. According to city officials, Mediacom has violated the agreement by failing to provide a studio for the public to produce local programs, by failing to submit reports on customer surveys and the technical capabilities of the cable system, and by not creating an emergency-warning system that flashes on all channels simultaneously. Besides the extension, the council voted to give the company until September 6 to respond to those complaints.
• Four-lane highways might start to look shaggier if the Iowa Transportation Commission has its way. The commission asked state highway engineers to develop plans to quit mowing some highway medians next summer on a trial basis. The transportation agency has already stopped cutting grass along some roadsides where prairie flowers are planted. Medians within four-lane corridors are still mowed about three times annually, in the interest of preserving a manicured look. Not only will the proposal save money, commissioners argue, it will help the environment.
• It has been announced that $270,000 has been made available by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to boost local efforts to combat West Nile virus in Iowa. Since June, five states have confirmed and reported a total of 113 cases of the mosquito-transmitted West Nile virus. According to the CDC, it is expected that the virus will expand into new areas of the U.S. Dead crows or blue jays killed by the virus have been found in 18 Iowa counties. The funds will be used for bird and mosquito collection and testing, surveillance of humans and horses, and development of education materials.
• The Illinois Quad City area took top honors in 21 of 67 tourism categories, according to a survey of readers of Illinois magazine. In June, the Springfield-based publication asked readers for their favorite regional choices in northern, central, and southern Illinois. For more information on tourism in the Quad Cities, even if you live here, look at the Web site (http://www.visitquadcities.com) or call (800)747-7800.
• The Handicapped Development Center has purchased a state-of-the-art packaging system thanks to a Scott County Regional Authority (HDC) grant. The new equipment seals products in plastic and imprints a bar code on the package, making new types of work possible for the 230 individuals with disabilities who receive job-training and instruction at the HDC's Hickory Grove Road location. For more information on what HDC does, check out its Web site at (http://www.handicappeddevelopment.org/).
• Almost $1.2 million was awarded under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to provide relief to Iowans suffering because of recent hot weather. LIHEAP helps more than 75,000 Iowans deal with high energy costs related to extreme heat or cold. The funds are part of $100 million being released to the 33 states most affected by the extreme heat, based on the severity of the heat wave and the number of low-income households in the state.
• The Quad Cities area was recently selected as a MidWest BEST Community by YouthNet and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. This new initiative for the Quad Cities area is designed to increase young people's access to high-quality youth programs by bringing professional-development opportunities to people who work with youth. Locally, Iowa State University Extension and University of Illinois Extension are the lead agencies for the MidWest BEST Initiative. The first training program for workers in the area is scheduled for August 27 to 29 in Davenport. A $75 registration fee covers meals, breaks, a resource guide, and three days of training. The MidWest BEST training is designed for direct-service workers, especially those serving youth from "high-risk situations." To register or for more information, contact Diane Baker at (309)796-0512 or Julie West at (563)359-7577.
• Federal dollars will be used to construct a bike trail linking Davenport and Bettendorf that is expected to be completed by the summer of 2003. The bike trail between Davenport and Bettendorf will be part of the Mississippi River Trail, which will run from New Orleans to Minnesota. It will intersect with another cross-country bike trail that will span from California to Delaware. Other projects funded by federal money include a bike trail in Eldridge and three gateways in Davenport to welcome visitors to Iowa.
• The Davenport City Council has granted Mediacom Communications Corporation a six-month extension on its franchise with the city. The extension gives Davenport time to explore ways of bringing in competition - with the intent of driving down prices - and gives the cable company time to address criticism that it has not complied with terms of the franchise agreement. According to city officials, Mediacom has violated the agreement by failing to provide a studio for the public to produce local programs, by failing to submit reports on customer surveys and the technical capabilities of the cable system, and by not creating an emergency-warning system that flashes on all channels simultaneously. Besides the extension, the council voted to give the company until September 6 to respond to those complaints.
• Four-lane highways might start to look shaggier if the Iowa Transportation Commission has its way. The commission asked state highway engineers to develop plans to quit mowing some highway medians next summer on a trial basis. The transportation agency has already stopped cutting grass along some roadsides where prairie flowers are planted. Medians within four-lane corridors are still mowed about three times annually, in the interest of preserving a manicured look. Not only will the proposal save money, commissioners argue, it will help the environment.
• It has been announced that $270,000 has been made available by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to boost local efforts to combat West Nile virus in Iowa. Since June, five states have confirmed and reported a total of 113 cases of the mosquito-transmitted West Nile virus. According to the CDC, it is expected that the virus will expand into new areas of the U.S. Dead crows or blue jays killed by the virus have been found in 18 Iowa counties. The funds will be used for bird and mosquito collection and testing, surveillance of humans and horses, and development of education materials.
• The Illinois Quad City area took top honors in 21 of 67 tourism categories, according to a survey of readers of Illinois magazine. In June, the Springfield-based publication asked readers for their favorite regional choices in northern, central, and southern Illinois. For more information on tourism in the Quad Cities, even if you live here, look at the Web site (http://www.visitquadcities.com) or call (800)747-7800.
• The Handicapped Development Center has purchased a state-of-the-art packaging system thanks to a Scott County Regional Authority (HDC) grant. The new equipment seals products in plastic and imprints a bar code on the package, making new types of work possible for the 230 individuals with disabilities who receive job-training and instruction at the HDC's Hickory Grove Road location. For more information on what HDC does, check out its Web site at (http://www.handicappeddevelopment.org/).
• Almost $1.2 million was awarded under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to provide relief to Iowans suffering because of recent hot weather. LIHEAP helps more than 75,000 Iowans deal with high energy costs related to extreme heat or cold. The funds are part of $100 million being released to the 33 states most affected by the extreme heat, based on the severity of the heat wave and the number of low-income households in the state.
