• Contained in the federal government's Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill is $1.1 million for the I-74 bridge in Bettendorf. The City of Davenport will receive $1 million for a sewer separation project. (Both sanitary wastewater and stormwater currently use the same sewer system. This system does not meet current environmental standards because during heavy rain events, the water discharges into the river without being treated.) Davenport will also receive $156,000 for flood protection for the water-treatment plant. Scott County Housing Trust Fund will receive $200,000 to support affordable housing. Funds will be used for the construction and rehabilitation of moderate-income family-owned housing as well as support for the homeless. The City of Bettendorf will get $250,000 for the River's Edge Redevelopment Project. Duck Creek will receive $50,000 for ecosystem restoration.
• Bethany for Children & Families' "Ways to Work: A Family Loan Program" was one of only seven programs to win a performance award from Ways to Work, Incorporated, a national organization. This is the second year in a row Bethany has received the award, which also brings a check for $35,714 for achieving performance benchmarks that helped move hundreds of families toward self-sufficiency in 2004. Ways to Work: A Family Loan Program makes loans to low-income families to pay for unexpected expenses that could interfere with their ability to keep a job or stay in school. The program made 68 loans last year to residents of Rock Island and Scott counties. Bethany for Children & Families is a voluntary, not-for-profit, nonsectarian agency that has provided services to children and families in western Illinois and eastern Iowa for more than 105 years.
• Each winter hundreds of American Bald Eagles visit our area. Eagles can be seen at almost any of the lock-and-dam sites along the Mississippi River from November through February. Eagles roost at the dam sites because of the open water from which they can feed on fish and the tall trees that allow them a place to roost. Some eagles have already arrived this year. Because eagles often attract a large number of eagle-watchers, and are easily frightened by people, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have been working together to provide safe roosting areas for the wintering birds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed portions of Thomson's Lock & Dam 13, a popular winter eagle-viewing area, for national-security reasons, but a newly constructed vehicle-access road has been built that allows public access to the visitor overlook building and restrooms. All other recreation areas at Lock & Dam 13 are open to eagle viewing. The Annual Bald Eagle Watch will take place on Saturday, January 8. For further information about the eagle-roosting areas, or eagle-viewing, contact the Thomson Park Rangers at (815)259-3628 or the Fish & Wildlife Service at (815)273-2732.
• November is adoption month, and a record 1,077 children were adopted through Iowa's subsidized adoption program during fiscal year 2004, according to the Department of Human Services. The numbers are up from 1,039 adoptions in fiscal year 2003 and 781 in fiscal year 2002. The record number of adoptions is credited to the state's ability to place children in homes quickly, thereby avoiding uncertainty for children who have been removed from abusive or seriously neglectful situations. A recent review by the federal government found that Iowa far exceeds the national criteria in quickly finding adoptive homes for children who cannot return to their birth homes. Iowans interested in becoming foster or adoptive parents should contact the Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parents Association (IFAPA). The association works with the Department of Human Services to help facilitate adoptions and operates the KidSake program. For more information, as well as photos of children waiting to be placed in families, visit the KidSake website at (http://www.iakids.org).
• Nova Singers has released its newest Christmas CD, There Is No Rose. The CD contains such holiday classics as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," and "Christmas Lullaby," as well as the best of the Renaissance Christmas motets, including Victoria's "O Magnum Mysterium" and "Verbum caro factum est." The set also includes new carols such as Richard Horn's "A Shoot Shall Come Forth" and "Sleep, Holy Child," and Mark Sirett's "Balulalow" and "There Is No Rose." The CD is available for $15 at all Nova concerts or by calling the group's office at (309)335-3330.
• Iowa paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts have contributed recipes and tips to a new cookbook raising money for river-related recreation and conservation projects. Iowa's Rivers Cookbook features a collection of recipes for home and riverside cooking, as well as techniques for preparing food outdoors. All proceeds from sales of the cookbook will be used by Iowa organizations for river-related conservation and recreation projects. To order Iowa's Rivers Cookbook, call (515)256-7026 or send a check or money order payable to the Iowa Whitewater Coalition to P.O. Box 65453; West Des Moines IA 50265. Visit (http://www.iowawhitewater.org) for more information.
• The Dingo, a twice-yearly humor anthology that originates in the Quad Cities, is seeking funny writers and artists from across the nation to contribute short stories, parodies, phony news stories, cartoons, comic strips, Top 10 lists, and more. The magazine, published by Dingobi Productions in trade-paperback format and distributed nationwide by Ingram Books and Amazon.com, debuted in March 2003. Standup comics, sitcom writers, and scribes from across the country have contributed to The Dingo. The most recent issue, the magazine's fourth, featured 21 writers from nine states spread over its 140 pages. All written submissions must be 1,500 words or fewer and must be sent in the body of an e-mail (no attachments) to (dingomag@yahoo.com). All cartoon and art submissions must be mailed to The Dingo; P.O. Box 4533; Rock Island IL 61204-4533. The deadline for submission to the next issue is January 30. For more information, visit (http://www.dingoonline.com).
• Bethany for Children & Families' "Ways to Work: A Family Loan Program" was one of only seven programs to win a performance award from Ways to Work, Incorporated, a national organization. This is the second year in a row Bethany has received the award, which also brings a check for $35,714 for achieving performance benchmarks that helped move hundreds of families toward self-sufficiency in 2004. Ways to Work: A Family Loan Program makes loans to low-income families to pay for unexpected expenses that could interfere with their ability to keep a job or stay in school. The program made 68 loans last year to residents of Rock Island and Scott counties. Bethany for Children & Families is a voluntary, not-for-profit, nonsectarian agency that has provided services to children and families in western Illinois and eastern Iowa for more than 105 years.
• Each winter hundreds of American Bald Eagles visit our area. Eagles can be seen at almost any of the lock-and-dam sites along the Mississippi River from November through February. Eagles roost at the dam sites because of the open water from which they can feed on fish and the tall trees that allow them a place to roost. Some eagles have already arrived this year. Because eagles often attract a large number of eagle-watchers, and are easily frightened by people, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have been working together to provide safe roosting areas for the wintering birds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed portions of Thomson's Lock & Dam 13, a popular winter eagle-viewing area, for national-security reasons, but a newly constructed vehicle-access road has been built that allows public access to the visitor overlook building and restrooms. All other recreation areas at Lock & Dam 13 are open to eagle viewing. The Annual Bald Eagle Watch will take place on Saturday, January 8. For further information about the eagle-roosting areas, or eagle-viewing, contact the Thomson Park Rangers at (815)259-3628 or the Fish & Wildlife Service at (815)273-2732.
• November is adoption month, and a record 1,077 children were adopted through Iowa's subsidized adoption program during fiscal year 2004, according to the Department of Human Services. The numbers are up from 1,039 adoptions in fiscal year 2003 and 781 in fiscal year 2002. The record number of adoptions is credited to the state's ability to place children in homes quickly, thereby avoiding uncertainty for children who have been removed from abusive or seriously neglectful situations. A recent review by the federal government found that Iowa far exceeds the national criteria in quickly finding adoptive homes for children who cannot return to their birth homes. Iowans interested in becoming foster or adoptive parents should contact the Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parents Association (IFAPA). The association works with the Department of Human Services to help facilitate adoptions and operates the KidSake program. For more information, as well as photos of children waiting to be placed in families, visit the KidSake website at (http://www.iakids.org).
• Nova Singers has released its newest Christmas CD, There Is No Rose. The CD contains such holiday classics as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," and "Christmas Lullaby," as well as the best of the Renaissance Christmas motets, including Victoria's "O Magnum Mysterium" and "Verbum caro factum est." The set also includes new carols such as Richard Horn's "A Shoot Shall Come Forth" and "Sleep, Holy Child," and Mark Sirett's "Balulalow" and "There Is No Rose." The CD is available for $15 at all Nova concerts or by calling the group's office at (309)335-3330.
• Iowa paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts have contributed recipes and tips to a new cookbook raising money for river-related recreation and conservation projects. Iowa's Rivers Cookbook features a collection of recipes for home and riverside cooking, as well as techniques for preparing food outdoors. All proceeds from sales of the cookbook will be used by Iowa organizations for river-related conservation and recreation projects. To order Iowa's Rivers Cookbook, call (515)256-7026 or send a check or money order payable to the Iowa Whitewater Coalition to P.O. Box 65453; West Des Moines IA 50265. Visit (http://www.iowawhitewater.org) for more information.
• The Dingo, a twice-yearly humor anthology that originates in the Quad Cities, is seeking funny writers and artists from across the nation to contribute short stories, parodies, phony news stories, cartoons, comic strips, Top 10 lists, and more. The magazine, published by Dingobi Productions in trade-paperback format and distributed nationwide by Ingram Books and Amazon.com, debuted in March 2003. Standup comics, sitcom writers, and scribes from across the country have contributed to The Dingo. The most recent issue, the magazine's fourth, featured 21 writers from nine states spread over its 140 pages. All written submissions must be 1,500 words or fewer and must be sent in the body of an e-mail (no attachments) to (dingomag@yahoo.com). All cartoon and art submissions must be mailed to The Dingo; P.O. Box 4533; Rock Island IL 61204-4533. The deadline for submission to the next issue is January 30. For more information, visit (http://www.dingoonline.com).
