Rock
Island’s public library was the first in the state of Illinois to open
to the public – on November 25, 1872. Now a national publisher has
recognized it as well. The Rock Island Public Library has won a spot in
Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love, the first book to
sing the praises and show the beauty of America’s beloved public
libraries.
Chosen from hundreds of nominations, the Rock Island Public
Library was noted as a powerful asset in the community. It is one of
the 80 libraries selected that, as a group, display the full range of
the diversity, potential, style, history, and contributions of
libraries in the United States and Canada. Library reference publisher
Berkshire Publishing Group spent four months searching for cherished
examples of community libraries. The full-color coffee-table book will
be published in October 2006. Copies of the 200-page book will be
available at the library and bookstores nationwide.
• Mothers can celebrate their special day with free admission to the Putnam’s IMAX Theatre this Sunday. Bring Mom to any IMAX movie on May 14, and she gets in free with a paid children’s (or accompanying adult) admission. The theatre is presently showing three movies: The Human Body; Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D; and Bugs 3D!: A Rainforest Adventure. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and are limited to 264 seats per show. For more information, call (563)324-1933.
• Trinity Regional Health System and Genesis Health System are providing healthier environments for patients, employees, and visitors by becoming tobacco-free health-care organizations as of May 1. Tobacco is no longer permitted in the buildings or on the grounds of Quad Cities hospitals. The tobacco-free policy also applies to clinics, physician offices, and other properties solely owned by the organizations. Also, all of the Quad Cities YMCA facilities in Davenport, Bettendorf, and Moline are implementing tobacco-free policies. (For more information on the tobacco bans, see the article starting on page 7.) The two Quad Cities health systems discussed a joint tobacco-free initiative for several months before announcing its plan in November. A combined Trinity-Genesis Tobacco-Free Task Force was established to develop, implement, and communicate about the new policy. The task force consists of nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians, and administrators – both smokers and non-smokers – who represent key areas of the health systems. For information on smoking cessation programs at Genesis, call (563)421-3867. For information on smoking cessation programs at Trinity, call (309)779-2000.
• Justin Sawyer of Davenport has been awarded the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Heartland Region Volunteer Excellence Award in the Youth-Young Adult category. Thrivent Financial selected Sawyer for this honor because of his dedication to helping others through volunteering and service in 2005. During the year, he contributed to the community by participating in and organizing Join Hands Day events, Thrivent Night at the Ballpark, Trinity Lutheran Youth Group, West High School Band, West High Drama Club, and Civil Air Patrol. Sawyer is a leader of the West Scott Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which serves the west Scott County area. In addition to receiving this award, $250 will be given to Civil Air Patrol in Sawyer’s name. Sawyer is also automatically included as a nominee for Thrivent Financial’s national Volunteer Excellence Award.
• Callahan Construction has announced plans to initiate the construction of a 47-apartment certified-assisted-living community at 201 East Franklin Street in Eldridge. Construction is scheduled to begin in August. The assisted-living facility under development will feature 47 apartments that will range in size from 572 square feet to 885 square feet. Each unit will have its own bathroom and kitchen area. In addition, meals, laundry, housekeeping, emergency call system, 24-hour security, scheduled transportation, and personal-care services will be available to residents.
• The Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy has received two grants totaling $271,919 to support anti-gang initiatives throughout the state. These funds were made available through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Anti-Gang Initiative. Of the amount, $155,320 was awarded for anti-gang initiatives in Des Moines and Davenport. Each community will use the funding to increase police presence in problematic neighborhoods, provide additional investigative resources for gang-related activity, increase public awareness about gang activity, and support other training and monitoring activities. Additionally, Davenport and Des Moines will use their funding to divert high-risk juveniles and conduct a survey of youth and staff in Davenport’s junior-high and high schools twice per year for three years to measure the level of perceived gang activity. Overtime will also be provided for officers, enabling them to increase proactive surveillance and investigate gang-related crime and activity.
• On April 27, Wells Fargo in Davenport presented five local agencies with $25,000. Each agency was nominated by an employee of Wells Fargo, and a panel of employees narrowed the choices down to the following five: Churches United of the Quad City Area, March of Dimes, Child Abuse Council, Shelter & Transitional Housing Council, and the Scott County Family Y.
• Mothers can celebrate their special day with free admission to the Putnam’s IMAX Theatre this Sunday. Bring Mom to any IMAX movie on May 14, and she gets in free with a paid children’s (or accompanying adult) admission. The theatre is presently showing three movies: The Human Body; Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D; and Bugs 3D!: A Rainforest Adventure. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and are limited to 264 seats per show. For more information, call (563)324-1933.
• Trinity Regional Health System and Genesis Health System are providing healthier environments for patients, employees, and visitors by becoming tobacco-free health-care organizations as of May 1. Tobacco is no longer permitted in the buildings or on the grounds of Quad Cities hospitals. The tobacco-free policy also applies to clinics, physician offices, and other properties solely owned by the organizations. Also, all of the Quad Cities YMCA facilities in Davenport, Bettendorf, and Moline are implementing tobacco-free policies. (For more information on the tobacco bans, see the article starting on page 7.) The two Quad Cities health systems discussed a joint tobacco-free initiative for several months before announcing its plan in November. A combined Trinity-Genesis Tobacco-Free Task Force was established to develop, implement, and communicate about the new policy. The task force consists of nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians, and administrators – both smokers and non-smokers – who represent key areas of the health systems. For information on smoking cessation programs at Genesis, call (563)421-3867. For information on smoking cessation programs at Trinity, call (309)779-2000.
• Justin Sawyer of Davenport has been awarded the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Heartland Region Volunteer Excellence Award in the Youth-Young Adult category. Thrivent Financial selected Sawyer for this honor because of his dedication to helping others through volunteering and service in 2005. During the year, he contributed to the community by participating in and organizing Join Hands Day events, Thrivent Night at the Ballpark, Trinity Lutheran Youth Group, West High School Band, West High Drama Club, and Civil Air Patrol. Sawyer is a leader of the West Scott Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which serves the west Scott County area. In addition to receiving this award, $250 will be given to Civil Air Patrol in Sawyer’s name. Sawyer is also automatically included as a nominee for Thrivent Financial’s national Volunteer Excellence Award.
• Callahan Construction has announced plans to initiate the construction of a 47-apartment certified-assisted-living community at 201 East Franklin Street in Eldridge. Construction is scheduled to begin in August. The assisted-living facility under development will feature 47 apartments that will range in size from 572 square feet to 885 square feet. Each unit will have its own bathroom and kitchen area. In addition, meals, laundry, housekeeping, emergency call system, 24-hour security, scheduled transportation, and personal-care services will be available to residents.
• The Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy has received two grants totaling $271,919 to support anti-gang initiatives throughout the state. These funds were made available through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Anti-Gang Initiative. Of the amount, $155,320 was awarded for anti-gang initiatives in Des Moines and Davenport. Each community will use the funding to increase police presence in problematic neighborhoods, provide additional investigative resources for gang-related activity, increase public awareness about gang activity, and support other training and monitoring activities. Additionally, Davenport and Des Moines will use their funding to divert high-risk juveniles and conduct a survey of youth and staff in Davenport’s junior-high and high schools twice per year for three years to measure the level of perceived gang activity. Overtime will also be provided for officers, enabling them to increase proactive surveillance and investigate gang-related crime and activity.
• On April 27, Wells Fargo in Davenport presented five local agencies with $25,000. Each agency was nominated by an employee of Wells Fargo, and a panel of employees narrowed the choices down to the following five: Churches United of the Quad City Area, March of Dimes, Child Abuse Council, Shelter & Transitional Housing Council, and the Scott County Family Y.
