• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has announced a scholarship program for students who have lost a parent to breast cancer. The program will award five scholarships of up to $10,000 annually for up to four years toward the completion of a baccalaureate degree. Eligible applicants must reside Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine, or Scott county in Iowa or Henry, Rock Island, or Whiteside county in Illinois. They must also exhibit financial need and plan to attend a public college in their state of residence. The application deadline is November 14. Students who are eligible for this award may contact Dee Westfall at (563)421-1906 for more information. The application is also available online at (http://www.komen.org/grants).
• On August 8, Colorado author and privacy activist "Boston T. Party" became the 5,000th person to join the Free State Project, an organization working to concentrate 20,000 liberty-minded activists in one state. The group's aim is to help reduce the size and scope of government there, making it a beachhead for individual liberty - the Free State. Having reached the 5,000 mark, the project is now required by charter to select a state. Over the next month, members will vote by mail to choose among ten candidates: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, and Delaware. The winner will likely become their eventual home, although members are officially pledged to move only if their numbers reach 20,000. Ballots are due September 22, and the winning state will be announced on October 1. For more information, point your Web browser at (http://www.freestateproject.org).
• The Senior Computer Center (SCC), located at 729 34th Avenue in Rock Island, will open on September 2. The SCC has nine computer stations, all with access to the Internet. Classes will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m. and Friday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon. Students will be taught word-processing, graphics, spreadsheets, and surfing the Web. The SCC was established to help seniors gain knowledge and confidence in working with computers. The Senior Computer Center is handicapped accessible. For more information or to attend classes, call (309)793-6800 or look at (http://www.wiaaa.org).
• Current and former members of law enforcement have created a new drug-policy reform group called LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is an organization that believes the United States' drug policies have failed. LEAP thinks a system of regulation and control is more effective than one of prohibition. For more information, look at (http://www.leap.cc).
• Owners of motor vehicles in Iowa may now obtain license plates with a pink-ribbon emblem for breast-cancer awareness or a green-ribbon emblem for organ- and tissue-awareness. These are just two of the specialized license plates available to vehicle owners. For a complete list of specialized plates, you can call (515)237-3110 or visit (http://www.dot.state.ia.us/mvd/) and go to "vehicle services." There is an additional fee for specialized license plates, and money raised from the fees will go toward research in each specialized area. You may obtain an order form at your county treasurer's office.
• In a ceremony held on August 16, the Family Museum of Arts & Science dedicated its newest exhibit component, MERNA, or Moon Engineered Robotic Navigational Arm. MERNA was built by participants in the Museum's Girls Get SET program and is a robotic arm that users manipulate with a control pad. Once the user becomes accustomed to moving the arm, he or she can pick up imitation moon rocks and move them around the crater inside which MERNA sits. Inspiration for the Family Museum's Girls Get SET program came from a similar endeavor by the Tufts School of Engineering. The program hopes that by exposing girls at the middle-school level to science and engineering, they will be inspired to continue their studies in these fields. This year's team was commissioned to design and construct a museum exhibit that focuses on a specific scientific or engineering principle. For more information about the museum, call (563)344-4106 or look online at (http://www.familymuseum.org).
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that a synthetic version of the marijuana compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to clinical trial data presented recently at the annual meeting of the International Psychogeriatric Association. Researchers presented data from a retrospective review of 48 patients residing in a dementia unit of an assisted-living facility or nursing home. Patients in the trial received up to 10 milligrams of synthetic THC daily for one month. Thirty-one patients (66 percent) experienced significant improvement in agitation, and 33 (69 percent) experienced observable functional improvements as a result of the treatment, scientists found. In addition, all 48 volunteers gained weight during the trial. Weight loss, a common symptom associated with Alzheimer's disease, is a predictive factor of mortality. No adverse side effects of the THC treatment were reported.
• Representatives of the Trinity Auxiliary presented a check for $250,000 to the brand new Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences and child-care center located adjacent to Trinity Medical Center's west campus. The money has been earmarked for furnishings and equipment for the college, and playground equipment for the child-care facility. It is the first of two installments of a $500,000 pledge to the facility. Classes at the college are due to begin on August 18.
• On August 8, Colorado author and privacy activist "Boston T. Party" became the 5,000th person to join the Free State Project, an organization working to concentrate 20,000 liberty-minded activists in one state. The group's aim is to help reduce the size and scope of government there, making it a beachhead for individual liberty - the Free State. Having reached the 5,000 mark, the project is now required by charter to select a state. Over the next month, members will vote by mail to choose among ten candidates: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, and Delaware. The winner will likely become their eventual home, although members are officially pledged to move only if their numbers reach 20,000. Ballots are due September 22, and the winning state will be announced on October 1. For more information, point your Web browser at (http://www.freestateproject.org).
• The Senior Computer Center (SCC), located at 729 34th Avenue in Rock Island, will open on September 2. The SCC has nine computer stations, all with access to the Internet. Classes will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m. and Friday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon. Students will be taught word-processing, graphics, spreadsheets, and surfing the Web. The SCC was established to help seniors gain knowledge and confidence in working with computers. The Senior Computer Center is handicapped accessible. For more information or to attend classes, call (309)793-6800 or look at (http://www.wiaaa.org).
• Current and former members of law enforcement have created a new drug-policy reform group called LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is an organization that believes the United States' drug policies have failed. LEAP thinks a system of regulation and control is more effective than one of prohibition. For more information, look at (http://www.leap.cc).
• Owners of motor vehicles in Iowa may now obtain license plates with a pink-ribbon emblem for breast-cancer awareness or a green-ribbon emblem for organ- and tissue-awareness. These are just two of the specialized license plates available to vehicle owners. For a complete list of specialized plates, you can call (515)237-3110 or visit (http://www.dot.state.ia.us/mvd/) and go to "vehicle services." There is an additional fee for specialized license plates, and money raised from the fees will go toward research in each specialized area. You may obtain an order form at your county treasurer's office.
• In a ceremony held on August 16, the Family Museum of Arts & Science dedicated its newest exhibit component, MERNA, or Moon Engineered Robotic Navigational Arm. MERNA was built by participants in the Museum's Girls Get SET program and is a robotic arm that users manipulate with a control pad. Once the user becomes accustomed to moving the arm, he or she can pick up imitation moon rocks and move them around the crater inside which MERNA sits. Inspiration for the Family Museum's Girls Get SET program came from a similar endeavor by the Tufts School of Engineering. The program hopes that by exposing girls at the middle-school level to science and engineering, they will be inspired to continue their studies in these fields. This year's team was commissioned to design and construct a museum exhibit that focuses on a specific scientific or engineering principle. For more information about the museum, call (563)344-4106 or look online at (http://www.familymuseum.org).
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that a synthetic version of the marijuana compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to clinical trial data presented recently at the annual meeting of the International Psychogeriatric Association. Researchers presented data from a retrospective review of 48 patients residing in a dementia unit of an assisted-living facility or nursing home. Patients in the trial received up to 10 milligrams of synthetic THC daily for one month. Thirty-one patients (66 percent) experienced significant improvement in agitation, and 33 (69 percent) experienced observable functional improvements as a result of the treatment, scientists found. In addition, all 48 volunteers gained weight during the trial. Weight loss, a common symptom associated with Alzheimer's disease, is a predictive factor of mortality. No adverse side effects of the THC treatment were reported.
• Representatives of the Trinity Auxiliary presented a check for $250,000 to the brand new Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences and child-care center located adjacent to Trinity Medical Center's west campus. The money has been earmarked for furnishings and equipment for the college, and playground equipment for the child-care facility. It is the first of two installments of a $500,000 pledge to the facility. Classes at the college are due to begin on August 18.
