14
Oct
2003
· Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities has broken ground for its 29th home, at 615 Seventh Street in Rock Island. This will be the organization's eighth home in Rock Island. This home is for partner family Amos Sr. and Natoshia Johnson and their children Amos Jr. and Arriaja. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities and how you can help, look on the organization's Web site at (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
· The scholarship selection committee of the Grand Lodge of Iowa has announced that scholarships will be awarded to a number of students who will be graduating this academic year from public high schools within Iowa. It's estimated that approximately 60 scholarships will be awarded of not less than $2,000. Information brochures and applications have recently been sent to the guidance departments of every public high school within the state. Students can obtain these materials from their guidance counselors. You can also look on the Web at (http://showcase.netins.net/web/iowamasons/Scholarship.html) for more information.
· The Iowa State Police Association recently held its annual meeting in Des Moines and honored Representative Jim Van Fossen of Davenport as its "Legislator of the Year." Van Fossen, a retired police officer, was given the award for his support of police-friendly legislation throughout this past session. Key topics the association is concerned with are the solvency of pension programs and the prevention of cuts to public-safety services.
· October 7 brought another depressing election in Davenport. Of the 58,806 registered voters, a mere 7,103 or 12.5 percent bothered to cast votes in the primary to determine who will be facing off in November's mayoral and aldermanic general election. The numbers from this column used to be obtained by trudging down to the county building and asking for paper copies of the number of people who voted. Now they can be obtained by following the links on Scott County's excellent Web site at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com).
· Scott County has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States & Canada for Scott County's current fiscal-year budget. Scott County is one of only two Iowa counties (the other is Linn) to hold the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, and the county has received the award for the past 14 years. To receive the award, Scott County had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. Since the program's inception in 1984, approximately 900 governmental entities have received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award nationwide. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide excellent examples for other governments throughout North America.
· According to its Web site, "the No-State Project is ... designed to do one thing: find a suitable area for liberty-minded people, settle it, and eliminate the state. We don't seek a violent, bloody, and useless revolution. What we do want is to erode the state from within. We will not use the ballot box, like the more famous 'Free State Project,' nor will we blow smoke by not clearly stating our intent." The goal is to start with a single city, eliminate the government, work up to the county level, and then to the state. The Web site continues: "The tools that we will use to accomplish this are: shunning/ignoring the various elements of governmental operations (licenses, permits, etc.); parallel development of private, voluntary replacements for those same elements (fire services, protection, basic services, etc.); education of the existing populace as to the benefits of decentralization and elimination; and invitation of businesses and enterprise to the free area." You can get more information at (http://no-state-project.no-ip.info).
· The Moline Public Library has been selected as a first-round Lupus Foundation of Illinois 30th Anniversary Lupus Resource Collection recipient. This grant of books, pamphlets, and fact sheets include "Coping with Lupus," "The Lupus Book," "New Hope for People with Lupus," and "Taking Charge of Lupus." To reserve these titles, call the library's reference department at (309)736-5737. More information about Lupus can be found at (http://www.lupusil.org).
· The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that administration of the CT-3 cannabinoid significantly reduces chronic pain in humans compared to placebo, according to the results of clinical trial data published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The results of the study indicate that "CT-3 may be an effective analgesic for poorly controlled resistant neuropathic pain," researchers at the Hannover Medical School in Germany concluded. Neuropathic pain is often resistant to standard pain medications, including opioids. Twenty-four patients with chronic neurpoathic pain in places such as the foot, arm, face, and head participated in the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. A limited abstract of the study is available online at http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/13/1757); the whole text of the study requires a password.
· The Gold Coast & Hamburg Historic District Association is seeking donations to assist in repairing the historic Mueller Mansion, which was seriously damaged by a September 24 fire. The Queen Anne home, at 429 West Sixth Street in Davenport, was built near the turn of the 20th Century and was damaged in a fire that started when a roofing company used a torch to seal a roof. The east sides of the third and fourth floors were damaged in the fire, and legal questions are holding up repair work. The association is seeking cash and in-kind donations and has contributed $2,500 to the new Historic Mueller Mansion Fund. Contributions can be sent to the Historic Mueller Mansion Fund; Gold Coast & Hamburg Historic District Association; P.O. Box 4904; Davenport IA 52808-4904. If you want more information or have questions, contact Jack Haberman at (563)326-3290.
· The scholarship selection committee of the Grand Lodge of Iowa has announced that scholarships will be awarded to a number of students who will be graduating this academic year from public high schools within Iowa. It's estimated that approximately 60 scholarships will be awarded of not less than $2,000. Information brochures and applications have recently been sent to the guidance departments of every public high school within the state. Students can obtain these materials from their guidance counselors. You can also look on the Web at (http://showcase.netins.net/web/iowamasons/Scholarship.html) for more information.
· The Iowa State Police Association recently held its annual meeting in Des Moines and honored Representative Jim Van Fossen of Davenport as its "Legislator of the Year." Van Fossen, a retired police officer, was given the award for his support of police-friendly legislation throughout this past session. Key topics the association is concerned with are the solvency of pension programs and the prevention of cuts to public-safety services.
· October 7 brought another depressing election in Davenport. Of the 58,806 registered voters, a mere 7,103 or 12.5 percent bothered to cast votes in the primary to determine who will be facing off in November's mayoral and aldermanic general election. The numbers from this column used to be obtained by trudging down to the county building and asking for paper copies of the number of people who voted. Now they can be obtained by following the links on Scott County's excellent Web site at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com).
· Scott County has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States & Canada for Scott County's current fiscal-year budget. Scott County is one of only two Iowa counties (the other is Linn) to hold the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, and the county has received the award for the past 14 years. To receive the award, Scott County had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. Since the program's inception in 1984, approximately 900 governmental entities have received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award nationwide. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide excellent examples for other governments throughout North America.
· According to its Web site, "the No-State Project is ... designed to do one thing: find a suitable area for liberty-minded people, settle it, and eliminate the state. We don't seek a violent, bloody, and useless revolution. What we do want is to erode the state from within. We will not use the ballot box, like the more famous 'Free State Project,' nor will we blow smoke by not clearly stating our intent." The goal is to start with a single city, eliminate the government, work up to the county level, and then to the state. The Web site continues: "The tools that we will use to accomplish this are: shunning/ignoring the various elements of governmental operations (licenses, permits, etc.); parallel development of private, voluntary replacements for those same elements (fire services, protection, basic services, etc.); education of the existing populace as to the benefits of decentralization and elimination; and invitation of businesses and enterprise to the free area." You can get more information at (http://no-state-project.no-ip.info).
· The Moline Public Library has been selected as a first-round Lupus Foundation of Illinois 30th Anniversary Lupus Resource Collection recipient. This grant of books, pamphlets, and fact sheets include "Coping with Lupus," "The Lupus Book," "New Hope for People with Lupus," and "Taking Charge of Lupus." To reserve these titles, call the library's reference department at (309)736-5737. More information about Lupus can be found at (http://www.lupusil.org).
· The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that administration of the CT-3 cannabinoid significantly reduces chronic pain in humans compared to placebo, according to the results of clinical trial data published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The results of the study indicate that "CT-3 may be an effective analgesic for poorly controlled resistant neuropathic pain," researchers at the Hannover Medical School in Germany concluded. Neuropathic pain is often resistant to standard pain medications, including opioids. Twenty-four patients with chronic neurpoathic pain in places such as the foot, arm, face, and head participated in the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. A limited abstract of the study is available online at http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/13/1757); the whole text of the study requires a password.
· The Gold Coast & Hamburg Historic District Association is seeking donations to assist in repairing the historic Mueller Mansion, which was seriously damaged by a September 24 fire. The Queen Anne home, at 429 West Sixth Street in Davenport, was built near the turn of the 20th Century and was damaged in a fire that started when a roofing company used a torch to seal a roof. The east sides of the third and fourth floors were damaged in the fire, and legal questions are holding up repair work. The association is seeking cash and in-kind donations and has contributed $2,500 to the new Historic Mueller Mansion Fund. Contributions can be sent to the Historic Mueller Mansion Fund; Gold Coast & Hamburg Historic District Association; P.O. Box 4904; Davenport IA 52808-4904. If you want more information or have questions, contact Jack Haberman at (563)326-3290.
