07
Jun
2005
• The Blue Grass Fire Department is among the busiest all-volunteer units in Scott County. Last year, Blue Grass firefighters answered a record 247 calls for service. They've already answered 114 calls through April of this year. But functioning around the fire station has become increasingly difficult for members of the fire department. The fire house was built in the 1950s and added onto several times through the '80s. The bays are barely large enough to handle today's larger fire apparatus, there's no space for an additional pumper needed to handle a growing fire district, and the department's more than 30 members will no longer fit into a small room designated for meetings and training sessions. So the department is planning to build a new fire station that is larger and more modern than the present facility. Blue Grass Trust & Savings Bank has donated 2.8 acres for it on West Mayne Street. What is needed now is the money to build it, an estimated $1.5 million. The department hopes to raise that money and build the station within two years.
• Enter the alley between Watermark Corners and Model Printers on 15th Street in Moline and embark on a hunt for six mosaics created by arts apprentices in the 2003 Quad City Arts Metro Arts program. During their five-week program, 19 teen arts apprentices researched the history, technique, and design methods necessary to create the iconographic illustrations of Quad Cities area landmarks, flora, and fauna. Lead artist Gloria Burlingame taught the arts apprentices the job skills necessary for working in public art by requiring them to create initial designs, make presentations to staff for input, re-work the designs, and go through a final selection process that determined which mosaic design they would make in the concrete forms. This project was made possible by a grant to Quad City Arts Metro Arts from the Moline Foundation and was installed in partnership with Moline Centre Partners and the City of Moline.
• Bethany is seeking nominations of families and companies for its "Family of the Year" award. Winners will be honored at a Family Awards luncheon on November 17 at the Isle of Capri Convention Center in Bettendorf. Families may be described in many ways: two-parent, single-parent, step-, multi-generational, foster, and adoptive. Nominees should be families who support one another with love, nurturing, mutual respect, and caring at home and in the community. Companies should offer "family friendly" policies that support families in balancing their work and home lives. For more information, or to obtain a nomination form, contact Gary Rowe at (growe@bethany-qc.com) or (309)797-2514 extension 303.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that it would expand the use of new X-ray machines to general air passengers traveling at 16 select airports throughout the U.S. TSA said it believes that use of the machines to search air travelers is less invasive than pat-down searches. However, some people claim the use of these machines, which show images of a person's naked body, can pose a risk to the privacy rights of air travelers. Although this type of X-ray is said to be harmless, it can move through materials such as clothing. A passenger is scanned by moving a single high-energy X-ray beam rapidly over his or her body. The signal strength of detected backscattered X-rays from a known position then allows a highly realistic image to be reconstructed, and the image is of the passenger's nude form. Some legal experts believe that the use of the device by government agencies could be an impermissible search under both the U.S. Constitution and European privacy law. For more information, look at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/) and (http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/).
• Construction will start soon on Voss Brothers Lofts, located at 2125 Third Avenue in Rock Island. The $5.5-million project will add 35 loft warehouse apartments to the downtown housing mix. The renovation will convert the warehouse into two studio, 11 one-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom, and seven three-bedroom units. Common areas will include a community room, exercise room, computer room, and tenant storage. The building includes the original four-story section built in 1924 and a three-story section added in 1947. The Rock Island Housing Authority purchased the building in 2001, and its offices are located on the first floor. Nine of the units will be market-rate apartments, with the remaining available as affordable units. Monthly rents will range from $256 to $615.
• The Bettendorf Public Library has added an online subscription to SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series). The database is available in the library or from home or office computers. Use a Bettendorf Public Library card number to access the database remotely. SIRS Researcher is a general reference database containing thousands of full-text articles exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political, and global issues. Articles and graphics are carefully selected from 1,500 domestic and international publications according to strict criteria regarding content and age appropriateness. SIRS is funded by the Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library. The library has been a subscriber for many years, but the old edition was a CD-ROM version that was only accessible in the library.
• Enter the alley between Watermark Corners and Model Printers on 15th Street in Moline and embark on a hunt for six mosaics created by arts apprentices in the 2003 Quad City Arts Metro Arts program. During their five-week program, 19 teen arts apprentices researched the history, technique, and design methods necessary to create the iconographic illustrations of Quad Cities area landmarks, flora, and fauna. Lead artist Gloria Burlingame taught the arts apprentices the job skills necessary for working in public art by requiring them to create initial designs, make presentations to staff for input, re-work the designs, and go through a final selection process that determined which mosaic design they would make in the concrete forms. This project was made possible by a grant to Quad City Arts Metro Arts from the Moline Foundation and was installed in partnership with Moline Centre Partners and the City of Moline.
• Bethany is seeking nominations of families and companies for its "Family of the Year" award. Winners will be honored at a Family Awards luncheon on November 17 at the Isle of Capri Convention Center in Bettendorf. Families may be described in many ways: two-parent, single-parent, step-, multi-generational, foster, and adoptive. Nominees should be families who support one another with love, nurturing, mutual respect, and caring at home and in the community. Companies should offer "family friendly" policies that support families in balancing their work and home lives. For more information, or to obtain a nomination form, contact Gary Rowe at (growe@bethany-qc.com) or (309)797-2514 extension 303.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that it would expand the use of new X-ray machines to general air passengers traveling at 16 select airports throughout the U.S. TSA said it believes that use of the machines to search air travelers is less invasive than pat-down searches. However, some people claim the use of these machines, which show images of a person's naked body, can pose a risk to the privacy rights of air travelers. Although this type of X-ray is said to be harmless, it can move through materials such as clothing. A passenger is scanned by moving a single high-energy X-ray beam rapidly over his or her body. The signal strength of detected backscattered X-rays from a known position then allows a highly realistic image to be reconstructed, and the image is of the passenger's nude form. Some legal experts believe that the use of the device by government agencies could be an impermissible search under both the U.S. Constitution and European privacy law. For more information, look at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/) and (http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/).
• Construction will start soon on Voss Brothers Lofts, located at 2125 Third Avenue in Rock Island. The $5.5-million project will add 35 loft warehouse apartments to the downtown housing mix. The renovation will convert the warehouse into two studio, 11 one-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom, and seven three-bedroom units. Common areas will include a community room, exercise room, computer room, and tenant storage. The building includes the original four-story section built in 1924 and a three-story section added in 1947. The Rock Island Housing Authority purchased the building in 2001, and its offices are located on the first floor. Nine of the units will be market-rate apartments, with the remaining available as affordable units. Monthly rents will range from $256 to $615.
• The Bettendorf Public Library has added an online subscription to SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series). The database is available in the library or from home or office computers. Use a Bettendorf Public Library card number to access the database remotely. SIRS Researcher is a general reference database containing thousands of full-text articles exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political, and global issues. Articles and graphics are carefully selected from 1,500 domestic and international publications according to strict criteria regarding content and age appropriateness. SIRS is funded by the Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library. The library has been a subscriber for many years, but the old edition was a CD-ROM version that was only accessible in the library.
