02
Dec
2003
• The Scott County Board of Supervisors has revised its Tobacco-Free Workplace Policy. The policy applies to all employees, vendors, visitors, and citizens conducting business within county facilities or vehicles. Tobacco use is prohibited within 35 feet of any county facility except in designated areas. "Tobacco-Free Facility & Grounds" signs will be posted at all building entrances and in all vehicles. The previous policy, adopted in 1994, prohibited smoking within county-owned buildings and vehicles but did not place restriction on other forms of tobacco use. In addition, it made no references to tobacco use in only designated areas.
• The Quad City Family Week Coalition has announced that the fifth annual "Celebrate Your Family" calendars are now on sale for $1. The calendars are available at Friendly House, 1221 Myrtle Street in Davenport, and at Churches United, 630 Ninth Street in Moline. All proceeds received from the sale will go directly toward the cost of producing calendar. The 2004 calendar is designed to promote family engagement in activities throughout the year. Each month will highlight six different family activities, an area to record special occasions, and a place to draw a picture of your favorite family activity. For more information, call (563)323-1821.
• You can stop in to Borders bookstore and purchase a book that will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley, Davenport Unit. Customers are encouraged to personalize their gifts by signing their names in the book. Borders will make shopping easier by providing a display of recommended titles to customers. Borders would like to donate 200 new books to children in need in the community.
• St. Ambrose University will celebrate the first National Catholic College Week through December 5 by giving individual tours and waiving the application fee for students in Catholic high schools interested in attending the university. Anyone interested in visiting St. Ambrose during the week is encouraged to call the Admissions Office at (563)333-6300 to talk to an admissions counselor and set up a tour.
• The Rummage Closet is a re-sale shop at 311 East Second Street in Davenport. It serves as a training and assessment site for Vera French Vocational Services. Proceeds from the sale of items are returned to Vera French programs. Donations are always welcome, particularly furniture, appliances, and household items. Call Manager Dave Riley at (563)323-0938 to arrange for pick-up of large donated items. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
• Nominations are now being accepted for the Second Annual Mayor's Christmas Lights Award in East Moline. The three categories are "Most Precious & Colorful," "Largest of Show," and "The Best Neighborhood." Entries from East Moline residents will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, December 26. The winners will be announced on Monday, December 29. To register, call (309)752-1599, fax (309)752-1572, or e-mail (jmoreno@eastmoline.com).
• Wired News reports that Congress has approved a bill that expands the reach of the USA PATRIOT Act. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the FBI can acquire bank records and Internet or phone logs simply by issuing itself a so-called national-security letter saying the records are relevant to an investigation into terrorism. The FBI doesn't need to show probable cause or consult a judge. What's more, the target institution is issued a gag order and kept from revealing the subpoena's existence to anyone, including the subject of the investigation. The new provision in a spending bill re-defines the meaning of "financial institution" and "financial transaction." The wider definition explicitly includes insurance companies, real-estate agents, the U.S. Postal Service, travel agencies, casinos, pawn shops, ISPs, car dealers, and any other business whose "cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax or regulatory matters." The Wired article can be found at (http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,61341,00.html). The FBI provided several organizations with a heavily redacted list when they requested under the Freedom of Information Act documents showing how many times the national-security letters had been used. You can find that document at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/foia/nsl-list.pdf).
• The State Library of Iowa has accredited the Scott County Library System. Achieving the accreditation requires a significant ongoing local commitment to high-quality library services. Of Iowa's 543 libraries, 266, including Scott County Library System, are accredited. The accreditation is valid through June 30, 2006. If you have a bit of free time and an interest in Iowa's libraries, look at the State Library of Iowa Web site at (http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/). If you hadn't heard, the new headquarters of the Scott County Library System and the Eldridge Branch Library are now open at 200 North Sixth Avenue in Eldridge, with expanded weekday hours. You can find out more information at its Web site at (http://www.rbls.lib.il.us/sel/).
• Iowa will be receiving funding for Iowa health-care priority under the 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The Iowa Hospital Association will receive $50,000 for a health-careers scholarship program for high school-students pursuing a degree in health care who commit to remain in Iowa, and the Iowa Office of Healthcare Personnel will receive $775,000 for demonstration projects to recruit and retain health-care providers. Additionally, the office will provide funds for a mentorship program for practicing nurses and the creation of Nurse Aid Advocates to make recommendations on how to improve workplace conditions for health-care professionals. The Underserved Dental Health Demonstration Project will receive $500,000 to provide underserved areas access to dental care. In Iowa, 72 out of 99 counties qualify as a dental-shortage area. The Rural Iowa Preschool Movement Start-up Program will receive $525,000 to help establish a preschool program in rural Iowa to promote physical activity and fight childhood obesity. The funding will also help purchase equipment and curriculum materials designed to implement the movement program in selected rural early-childhood programs with special needs (e.g., Head Start programs).
• The Quad City Family Week Coalition has announced that the fifth annual "Celebrate Your Family" calendars are now on sale for $1. The calendars are available at Friendly House, 1221 Myrtle Street in Davenport, and at Churches United, 630 Ninth Street in Moline. All proceeds received from the sale will go directly toward the cost of producing calendar. The 2004 calendar is designed to promote family engagement in activities throughout the year. Each month will highlight six different family activities, an area to record special occasions, and a place to draw a picture of your favorite family activity. For more information, call (563)323-1821.
• You can stop in to Borders bookstore and purchase a book that will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley, Davenport Unit. Customers are encouraged to personalize their gifts by signing their names in the book. Borders will make shopping easier by providing a display of recommended titles to customers. Borders would like to donate 200 new books to children in need in the community.
• St. Ambrose University will celebrate the first National Catholic College Week through December 5 by giving individual tours and waiving the application fee for students in Catholic high schools interested in attending the university. Anyone interested in visiting St. Ambrose during the week is encouraged to call the Admissions Office at (563)333-6300 to talk to an admissions counselor and set up a tour.
• The Rummage Closet is a re-sale shop at 311 East Second Street in Davenport. It serves as a training and assessment site for Vera French Vocational Services. Proceeds from the sale of items are returned to Vera French programs. Donations are always welcome, particularly furniture, appliances, and household items. Call Manager Dave Riley at (563)323-0938 to arrange for pick-up of large donated items. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
• Nominations are now being accepted for the Second Annual Mayor's Christmas Lights Award in East Moline. The three categories are "Most Precious & Colorful," "Largest of Show," and "The Best Neighborhood." Entries from East Moline residents will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, December 26. The winners will be announced on Monday, December 29. To register, call (309)752-1599, fax (309)752-1572, or e-mail (jmoreno@eastmoline.com).
• Wired News reports that Congress has approved a bill that expands the reach of the USA PATRIOT Act. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the FBI can acquire bank records and Internet or phone logs simply by issuing itself a so-called national-security letter saying the records are relevant to an investigation into terrorism. The FBI doesn't need to show probable cause or consult a judge. What's more, the target institution is issued a gag order and kept from revealing the subpoena's existence to anyone, including the subject of the investigation. The new provision in a spending bill re-defines the meaning of "financial institution" and "financial transaction." The wider definition explicitly includes insurance companies, real-estate agents, the U.S. Postal Service, travel agencies, casinos, pawn shops, ISPs, car dealers, and any other business whose "cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax or regulatory matters." The Wired article can be found at (http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,61341,00.html). The FBI provided several organizations with a heavily redacted list when they requested under the Freedom of Information Act documents showing how many times the national-security letters had been used. You can find that document at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/foia/nsl-list.pdf).
• The State Library of Iowa has accredited the Scott County Library System. Achieving the accreditation requires a significant ongoing local commitment to high-quality library services. Of Iowa's 543 libraries, 266, including Scott County Library System, are accredited. The accreditation is valid through June 30, 2006. If you have a bit of free time and an interest in Iowa's libraries, look at the State Library of Iowa Web site at (http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/). If you hadn't heard, the new headquarters of the Scott County Library System and the Eldridge Branch Library are now open at 200 North Sixth Avenue in Eldridge, with expanded weekday hours. You can find out more information at its Web site at (http://www.rbls.lib.il.us/sel/).
• Iowa will be receiving funding for Iowa health-care priority under the 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The Iowa Hospital Association will receive $50,000 for a health-careers scholarship program for high school-students pursuing a degree in health care who commit to remain in Iowa, and the Iowa Office of Healthcare Personnel will receive $775,000 for demonstration projects to recruit and retain health-care providers. Additionally, the office will provide funds for a mentorship program for practicing nurses and the creation of Nurse Aid Advocates to make recommendations on how to improve workplace conditions for health-care professionals. The Underserved Dental Health Demonstration Project will receive $500,000 to provide underserved areas access to dental care. In Iowa, 72 out of 99 counties qualify as a dental-shortage area. The Rural Iowa Preschool Movement Start-up Program will receive $525,000 to help establish a preschool program in rural Iowa to promote physical activity and fight childhood obesity. The funding will also help purchase equipment and curriculum materials designed to implement the movement program in selected rural early-childhood programs with special needs (e.g., Head Start programs).
