17
Feb
2004
· One of the best places to watch eagles in the Quad Cities is getting a new look. The 20th Street Overlook is located at 20th Street and Highway 92, just east of Casino Rock Island. The current facility was built in the early 1970s after the construction of the floodwall and includes a RiverWay kiosk, lots of stone riprap, and numerous concrete planters. The planters will be removed and much of the riprap covered with planting medium. The new facility, funded by River Action, Illinois Scenic Byways, and the City of Rock Island, will feature improved bicycle and pedestrian scale design, including new crossing stripping, benches, and a pavilion. The site will also have decorative landscaping and native plantings. Another highlight will be that the site will be accessible from the Iowa side of the Mississippi, as a new bicycle/pedestrian structure will be constructed in 2004 across the Sylvan Slough.
· Iowa will receive $740,162 in emergency funding under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The decision to release emergency funds was prompted by the increases in home-heating-fuel prices this winter and the colder-than-normal January. LIHEAP provides aid to low-income Iowans with their heating bills this winter. Last year, states served more than 4 million households with LIHEAP assistance, including 75,000 Iowans. The LIHEAP program is administered by local community-action agencies in each county. Information on applying for the LIHEAP program is located online at (http://www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/caa/LIHEAP.html).
· The Family Museum of Arts & Science in Bettendorf is offering educational opportunities for home-schoolers this February and March. For $10.50 per class or $35 for four classes, students can explore their creativity in areas such as drama, pottery, calligraphy, and geology. Students' museum-entrance fee is included. For more information or to register for classes, contact Julie Klein at (563)344-4170.
· Trinity Regional Health System has launched a variety of new interactive health tools and reference materials through its Web site, (http://www.trinityqc.com), to help consumers manage their health and be better prepared for healthcare decisions. For more information, visit Trinity's Web site and click on "Health Information" or contact Trinity's My Nurse at (309)779-2000.
· In an effort to increase the health and safety of Iowa's children, the Iowa Senate has approved a bill to provide ongoing funding for the state's birth-defects-registry and child-abuse-prevention programs. The money will come from the $15 fee collected for the registration of birth certificates. Under the bill, $10 would go toward child-abuse-prevention programs. The remainder of the fee would go toward the state's birth-defects registry. Under the legislation, which now moves to the House for consideration, $240,000 a year would be set aside for child-abuse prevention. The statewide program to prevent child abuse was established by the Iowa Legislature in 1982. In 1983, lawmakers established the Iowa Birth Defects Registry to monitor the number, type, and geographic location of children with birth defects in Iowa. The program provides research, education, and services focused on the prevention and treatment of birth defects. The legislation passed by the Senate would set aside $120,000 for the birth-defects registry for the first two years. When the birth certificate fee increases to $20 in July 2005, the registry would receive $240,000 a year.
· The Humane Society of Scott County is asking the public to keep it in mind when they are thinking of spring planting. The shelter is asking for donations of potted plants, flowers, small shrubs, grasses, annual, perennials, vines, ground covers, etc. The shelter will be hosting its first-ever plant show on Saturday, May 1. This event will kick off "Be Kind to Animals Week" at the facility. The plants will be sold as a fundraising event, with the proceeds to go toward care of animals at the shelter. The shelter will be accepting donated plants a few days before the event. For more information, contact the Humane Society of Scott County at (563)388-6655, or visit it at 5001 Brady Street in Davenport.
· Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities is partnering with the Coalition of Caring to build the 30th Habitat house in the Quad Cities. The Coalition of Caring is a newly formed assemblage that includes St. Paul Lutheran Church, Thrivent Financial, Sieffert Lumber, St. Ambrose University, Adel Plumbing Supplies, Direche's Excavating, Iossi Construction, and Peterson Plumbing. The Coalition has pledged its support to raise the funds for and help build a home for Tamera Stewart and her children. The Stewarts' home will be located at 320 East 12th Street in Davenport. For more information on Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities, visit (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
· The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), representing more than 200 hemp companies in North America, won its two-and-a-half-year-old lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a Ninth Circuit Court decision that permanently blocks DEA regulations that attempted to ban hemp foods such as waffles, bread, cereal, vegetarian burgers, protein powder, salad dressing, and nutrition bars. In the decision, Judge Betty Fletcher wrote, "[T]hey [DEA] cannot regulate naturally occurring THC not contained within or derived from marijuana - i.e. non-psychoactive hemp is not included in Schedule I. The DEA has no authority to regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed procedures required to schedule a substance. The DEA's definition of 'THC' contravenes the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress in the CSA [Controlled Substances Act] and cannot be upheld." For more information, look at the HIA web site at (http://www.thehia.org ) or at the Vote Hemp Web site at (http://www.votehemp.com).
· Iowa will receive $740,162 in emergency funding under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The decision to release emergency funds was prompted by the increases in home-heating-fuel prices this winter and the colder-than-normal January. LIHEAP provides aid to low-income Iowans with their heating bills this winter. Last year, states served more than 4 million households with LIHEAP assistance, including 75,000 Iowans. The LIHEAP program is administered by local community-action agencies in each county. Information on applying for the LIHEAP program is located online at (http://www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/caa/LIHEAP.html).
· The Family Museum of Arts & Science in Bettendorf is offering educational opportunities for home-schoolers this February and March. For $10.50 per class or $35 for four classes, students can explore their creativity in areas such as drama, pottery, calligraphy, and geology. Students' museum-entrance fee is included. For more information or to register for classes, contact Julie Klein at (563)344-4170.
· Trinity Regional Health System has launched a variety of new interactive health tools and reference materials through its Web site, (http://www.trinityqc.com), to help consumers manage their health and be better prepared for healthcare decisions. For more information, visit Trinity's Web site and click on "Health Information" or contact Trinity's My Nurse at (309)779-2000.
· In an effort to increase the health and safety of Iowa's children, the Iowa Senate has approved a bill to provide ongoing funding for the state's birth-defects-registry and child-abuse-prevention programs. The money will come from the $15 fee collected for the registration of birth certificates. Under the bill, $10 would go toward child-abuse-prevention programs. The remainder of the fee would go toward the state's birth-defects registry. Under the legislation, which now moves to the House for consideration, $240,000 a year would be set aside for child-abuse prevention. The statewide program to prevent child abuse was established by the Iowa Legislature in 1982. In 1983, lawmakers established the Iowa Birth Defects Registry to monitor the number, type, and geographic location of children with birth defects in Iowa. The program provides research, education, and services focused on the prevention and treatment of birth defects. The legislation passed by the Senate would set aside $120,000 for the birth-defects registry for the first two years. When the birth certificate fee increases to $20 in July 2005, the registry would receive $240,000 a year.
· The Humane Society of Scott County is asking the public to keep it in mind when they are thinking of spring planting. The shelter is asking for donations of potted plants, flowers, small shrubs, grasses, annual, perennials, vines, ground covers, etc. The shelter will be hosting its first-ever plant show on Saturday, May 1. This event will kick off "Be Kind to Animals Week" at the facility. The plants will be sold as a fundraising event, with the proceeds to go toward care of animals at the shelter. The shelter will be accepting donated plants a few days before the event. For more information, contact the Humane Society of Scott County at (563)388-6655, or visit it at 5001 Brady Street in Davenport.
· Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities is partnering with the Coalition of Caring to build the 30th Habitat house in the Quad Cities. The Coalition of Caring is a newly formed assemblage that includes St. Paul Lutheran Church, Thrivent Financial, Sieffert Lumber, St. Ambrose University, Adel Plumbing Supplies, Direche's Excavating, Iossi Construction, and Peterson Plumbing. The Coalition has pledged its support to raise the funds for and help build a home for Tamera Stewart and her children. The Stewarts' home will be located at 320 East 12th Street in Davenport. For more information on Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities, visit (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
· The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), representing more than 200 hemp companies in North America, won its two-and-a-half-year-old lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a Ninth Circuit Court decision that permanently blocks DEA regulations that attempted to ban hemp foods such as waffles, bread, cereal, vegetarian burgers, protein powder, salad dressing, and nutrition bars. In the decision, Judge Betty Fletcher wrote, "[T]hey [DEA] cannot regulate naturally occurring THC not contained within or derived from marijuana - i.e. non-psychoactive hemp is not included in Schedule I. The DEA has no authority to regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed procedures required to schedule a substance. The DEA's definition of 'THC' contravenes the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress in the CSA [Controlled Substances Act] and cannot be upheld." For more information, look at the HIA web site at (http://www.thehia.org ) or at the Vote Hemp Web site at (http://www.votehemp.com).
