06
Dec
2005
• The Cities of Bettendorf and Davenport, together with the Bi-State Regional Commission (BSRC), are conducting two open houses for the Iowa Quad Cities Transit Alternatives Analysis. The open houses will provide citizens an opportunity to identify potential solutions for transportation problems using enhanced transit services. Citizens will be able to provide their thoughts regarding transit investment priorities in the Cities of Bettendorf and Davenport using bus rapid transit or trolley service. The meetings will be held in the Davenport RiverCenter from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14, and at the Bettendorf Library from 3 to 6 on Thursday, December 15; the same information will be available at both locations. For additional information about the Iowa Quad Cities Transit Alternatives Analysis, visit (http://www.bistateonline.org). Bus routing and schedule information for these open houses can be obtained by contacting your local transit provider: Bettendorf Transit at (563) 344-4085 and Davenport CitiBus at (563)888-2151.
• The Nestle Purina PetCare factory is the recipient of a $235,000 CEBA grant from the State of Iowa. The CEBA (Community Economic Betterment Account) grant will help with a $2.23 million project aimed at removing an older, obsolete coal boiler and replacing it with a new, natural gas and fuel-oil boiler which will provide an efficient and reliable source of steam to manufacture pet food. Nestle Purina will be providing $1.695 million for the project. The Davenport facility is the largest pet food plant in the world, employs 368 people, and was the first to produce Purina Dog Chow.
• On Saturday, December 10, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities dedicated the home of Lawanna Robinson and her four sons at 6609 Hoover Rd, Davenport. This is the first Habitat build outside of the urban center, and this is the first home to be influenced by the creativity of the Windmiller Design and Development Co., who provided a large portion of the funding, with additional funds provided through the Scott County Housing Council. For more information on Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities, visit (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
• Eleven Family Museum Dancers, ranging in age from nine to 17, attended the Hollywood Vibe Dance Convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on November 11-13. The dancers attended several jazz, lyrical, tap and hip-hop classes with instructors from the Los Angeles area. Four Family Museum Dancers - Rachel Shipley (17), Bethanie Blake (12), Paige Poelvarde (11), and Olivia Elceser (10) - were semi-finalists in the scholarship audition. The Family Museum offers instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, pilates, pointe, and tumbling for students ages 3 to adult. For more information on the Family Museum Dance Program, please call (563)344-4151, and more information about the Family Museum is available at (http://www.bettendorf.org).
• Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa (PPGI) recently received a $1 million gift from the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation, Inc. The gift was received in support of PPGI's Responsible Choices capital campaign, a 5-year, $9 million campaign to expand and modernize PPGI facilities statewide, including a new PPGI health care center near Drake University. With the Cowles gift, the campaign has now raised $7.7 million. The Cowles family has provided leadership and support to PPGI for more than 70 years; in 1934, Elizabeth Bates Cowles was a founding member and the first president of the Iowa Maternal Health League, Florence Cowles Kruidenier was an early board member, and Kruidenier's daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, currently serves as a PPGI trustee.
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) is registering participants now to begin training for the summer destination triathlons, marathons, and cycling events to be held in locations including Lake Tahoe, San Diego, and Anchorage. Through Team In Training, the world's largest endurance sports training program, participants receive a four-to-five month comprehensive training program, experienced coaching, and travel to major races and accommodations. In return, participants help in the fight against leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma by raising funds to support blood cancer research, education, and services for patients and their families. For more information, including sign-up dates and event schedules, call The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 1-800-482-TEAM, visit (http://www.teamintraining.org/ia), or contact the Iowa Chapter at (319)339-0072.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB) is launching a new program called Neighborhood Network to encourage and assist local residents to hold meetings, conventions, reunions, events, and sporting events here in the Quad Cities area. The program has its own website at (http://www.QCneighborhoodnetwork.com), where local residents can obtain information on lodging, meeting facilities, sporting facilities, QCCVB services, and the benefits of holding an event locally. Commercials about the new program will start running on local radio and TV stations. If your group or business is interested in having a presentation, contact Deanna Jensen at (563)322-3911. x102 or (djensen@visitquadcities.com). To receive information on holding a meeting or convention in the Quad Cities, contact the QCCVB by visiting their new web site or (http://www.visitquadcities.com), or call (563)322-3911.
• The Nestle Purina PetCare factory is the recipient of a $235,000 CEBA grant from the State of Iowa. The CEBA (Community Economic Betterment Account) grant will help with a $2.23 million project aimed at removing an older, obsolete coal boiler and replacing it with a new, natural gas and fuel-oil boiler which will provide an efficient and reliable source of steam to manufacture pet food. Nestle Purina will be providing $1.695 million for the project. The Davenport facility is the largest pet food plant in the world, employs 368 people, and was the first to produce Purina Dog Chow.
• On Saturday, December 10, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities dedicated the home of Lawanna Robinson and her four sons at 6609 Hoover Rd, Davenport. This is the first Habitat build outside of the urban center, and this is the first home to be influenced by the creativity of the Windmiller Design and Development Co., who provided a large portion of the funding, with additional funds provided through the Scott County Housing Council. For more information on Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities, visit (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
• Eleven Family Museum Dancers, ranging in age from nine to 17, attended the Hollywood Vibe Dance Convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on November 11-13. The dancers attended several jazz, lyrical, tap and hip-hop classes with instructors from the Los Angeles area. Four Family Museum Dancers - Rachel Shipley (17), Bethanie Blake (12), Paige Poelvarde (11), and Olivia Elceser (10) - were semi-finalists in the scholarship audition. The Family Museum offers instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, pilates, pointe, and tumbling for students ages 3 to adult. For more information on the Family Museum Dance Program, please call (563)344-4151, and more information about the Family Museum is available at (http://www.bettendorf.org).
• Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa (PPGI) recently received a $1 million gift from the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation, Inc. The gift was received in support of PPGI's Responsible Choices capital campaign, a 5-year, $9 million campaign to expand and modernize PPGI facilities statewide, including a new PPGI health care center near Drake University. With the Cowles gift, the campaign has now raised $7.7 million. The Cowles family has provided leadership and support to PPGI for more than 70 years; in 1934, Elizabeth Bates Cowles was a founding member and the first president of the Iowa Maternal Health League, Florence Cowles Kruidenier was an early board member, and Kruidenier's daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, currently serves as a PPGI trustee.
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) is registering participants now to begin training for the summer destination triathlons, marathons, and cycling events to be held in locations including Lake Tahoe, San Diego, and Anchorage. Through Team In Training, the world's largest endurance sports training program, participants receive a four-to-five month comprehensive training program, experienced coaching, and travel to major races and accommodations. In return, participants help in the fight against leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma by raising funds to support blood cancer research, education, and services for patients and their families. For more information, including sign-up dates and event schedules, call The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 1-800-482-TEAM, visit (http://www.teamintraining.org/ia), or contact the Iowa Chapter at (319)339-0072.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB) is launching a new program called Neighborhood Network to encourage and assist local residents to hold meetings, conventions, reunions, events, and sporting events here in the Quad Cities area. The program has its own website at (http://www.QCneighborhoodnetwork.com), where local residents can obtain information on lodging, meeting facilities, sporting facilities, QCCVB services, and the benefits of holding an event locally. Commercials about the new program will start running on local radio and TV stations. If your group or business is interested in having a presentation, contact Deanna Jensen at (563)322-3911. x102 or (djensen@visitquadcities.com). To receive information on holding a meeting or convention in the Quad Cities, contact the QCCVB by visiting their new web site or (http://www.visitquadcities.com), or call (563)322-3911.
