The Young Emerging Writers will celebrate the release of The Atlas on Friday, August 30. The Atlas is a literary magazine put together by 11 interns, ranging from 15 to 19 years old, that includes poems, short stories, comics, and other writings by the interns and people they asked to submit work. The party will start at 7 p.m. in the third-floor conference room of the Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport. Copies of the issue will be distributed free (while supplies last), and the magazine's contributors will read selections from the issue. This event is part of the Bucktown Final Friday series, which begins at 6 p.m.
The Des Moines Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and prominent leaders in Iowa's health-care, breast-cancer, and women's advocacy circles have called on leaders at every level of government to make breast cancer a higher priority and to increase funding for breast-cancer-screening programs for low-income and uninsured women. Iowa's Care for Yourself screening program provides mammograms and clinical breast exams for uninsured and low-income women. But under current funding levels, the program serves less than 10 percent of eligible women. In the United States, a woman has a 13-percent risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. Low-income women are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer and are three times more likely to die from the disease.
The Friends of the Hennepin Canal will celebrate the canal's centennial fom 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 7 at the Hennepin Canal Visitors Center in Sheffield, Illinois. It was in November 1907 that the first boat made its way down the Hennepin Canal from the Illinois River to the Mississippi River. A century later this state park offers fishing, hiking, biking, boating, horseback riding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and other recreational opportunities. The Hennepin Canal is also part of the 475-mile Grand Illinois Trail and part of the American Discovery Trail that goes from coast to coast. For more information, call (815) 454-2328.
Pam Miner has been named Davenport's new director of community and economic development, City Administrator Craig Malin announced last week. Miner, currently senior planner with Olsson Associates of Edina, Minnesota, will begin September 5. Her starting salary is $98,500. Miner was one of 10 semifinalists and four finalists interviewed by a 12-member panel. Prior to working at Olsson Associates, Miner worked as planning supervisor for the City of Minneapolis from 2003 to 2006 and community-development director for the Western Illinois Regional Council from 1988 to 2002. Miner will succeed Clayton Lloyd, who is retiring after 21 years of service to Davenport.
Bethany Wiese, a 2004 graduate of Davenport Central High School, earlier this month earned second-place honors in the Tuba Artist Division of the 22nd-annual Leonard Falcone International Euphonium & Tuba Festival held at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan. A senior at Lawrence University, Wiese was one of 150 musicians from around the world participating in the competition. She was selected from among 10 semifinalists for the finals, in which she performed French composer Eugene Bozza's Sonatina for Tuba & Wind Ensemble. Wiese received $900 for her silver-medal performance.
Nate Miller of Davenport won second place in the pork category of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation cookout contest during the Iowa State Fair. Miller prepared Pesto Planked Pork Tenderloin with Elderberry Sauce and took home $50 provided by the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Miller represented Scott County Farm Bureau in the August 14 competition.
The Child Abuse Council will mark its 30th anniversary with a reception at the Radisson Quad City Plaza in downtown Davenport on Thursday, September 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. The public is invited to this event. The main speaker is Chief Justice Marsha Ternus of the Iowa Supreme Court. Reservations can be made by calling the Child Abuse Council's office at (309) 764-7017 extension 100.
The Quad City Elder Care Network will be sponsoring a series of training sessions that will lead candidates to achieving the designation of Certified Senior Advisor (CSA). The Society of Certified Senior Advisors provides specialized training in aging and the important issues that affect seniors. CSA candidates must pass a national exam to demonstrate their comprehension of what is taught in the CSA curriculum. Each three-hour session will be held on consecutive Thursday afternoons at the Bettendorf Public Library beginning September 20. For details on this training and grant information, contact Richard Schillig at (563) 332-2200.
The St. Ambrose University Community Symphony Orchestra is holding auditions for the upcoming 2007-8 season. Interested community members high school age or older who play string, percussion, woodwind, or brass instruments are invited to attend an open rehearsal on Wednesday, August 29, from 7 to 9 p.m., in Madsen Hall at the Galvin Fine Arts Center on the St. Ambrose campus. For more information, contact James Fudge at (309) 762-5317 or Gene Bechen at (563) 333-6149.
