25
Mar
2003
• The Davenport City Council has approved plans for an amusement park with go-carts, bumper boats, and miniature golf in one of the city's busiest and most expensive retail areas. John Colson of Brother Development Partners said Thunder Ridge Adventure Park should open in June. A 12,000-square-foot building will house an indoor arcade, a snack bar, and meeting rooms and will be open by August, Colson said. The $5-million development will be the first of five planned parks in Iowa and Illinois. Davenport was chosen first because some of the partners are originally from the area, and other sites have not been chosen yet. City officials were initially concerned about noise and air pollution coming from the park, which will be located near Trinity at Terrace Park hospital on Utica Ridge near East 46th Street. But developers said the boats will have electric motors, and the go-carts will use low-polluting engines. The developers also promised to have a noise-abatement plan in place and adequate staff to provide security.
• The groundbreaking for the new headquarters facility for the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is scheduled for Thursday, March 27. Located at 55000 Lakeview Parkway, the new facility will be 72,750 square feet and accessible to the interstate network for the center's geographic support area. The new center will also allow for new testing and technological advances in the blood industry. Additional parking spaces and a donor center in the new building will enhance comfort and convenience for the public to donate blood. The new center is expected to open in spring 2004.
• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has been joined by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) in introducing the Family Opportunity Act of 2003 that would allow states to extend Medicaid to working families with a child, or children, with special health needs. Through this legislation, families now forced off Medicaid when parents become employed could pay for benefits on a sliding scale. The bill also establishes family-to-family health-information centers where parents of children with special needs, as well as professionals, would provide information to families trying to arrange health services for their children. The bill has been reported to the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, where it will be considered in coming months.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB) has announced that the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island is now an official Visitors Center for the organization. To see more about the QCCVB and its other four locations, point your Web browser to (http://www.visitquadcities.com) or call (563)322-3911.
• Iowa Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Bettendorf) is proposing that the state merge the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health into one agency. Tinsman has introduced legislation that calls for a planning group to study the issue and submit a merger proposal to the governor and lawmakers by December 15. The group would be composed of state officials, lawmakers, members of the governor's office, and representatives from the private sector in the areas of health, human services, and organization restructuring. While formulating the proposal, the planning group will focus on ways a combined department might lower administrative costs and more efficiently deliver services to better meet Iowans' needs. Tinsman said group members will also look at ways to create more accountability within the combined department.
• Davenport Friendly House will be accepting applications for two scholarships that will be awarded for the fall 2003 school year. The Micka Scholarship is awarded to adults 21 years of age or older who have resided for the past three years in Davenport. The individual must be attending or planning to attend any licensed or accredited trade/vocational school, college, or university. The Ivory Scholarship is awarded to a high-school senior graduating from the Davenport Community School District who wishes to continue his/her education. Applications are available at Friendly House, 1221 Myrtle Street in Davenport. For more information, contact Kathy McCoy at (563)323-1821.
• The Bettendorf High School Class of '73 is taking a stroll down memory lane using the technology of today. In preparation for its 30-year reunion this summer, the class has created a Web site. The site currently includes: a class roster where graduates can leave news of their lives; chat links for "instant message" chats; a page dedicated to classmates who have passed away; "Memories of 1973" by way of song, movies, and television including pictures of classmates; and hundreds of photos from the 20- and 25-year reunions. Classmates can also register and pay online for the reunion festivities, to be held on June 14. For more information, visit (http://www.bhsclassof73.com).
• The City of Davenport has selected James Moore of Cleburne, Texas, to be its next director of human resources. Moore was selected from 167 applications. Pursuant to City Code, City Administrator Craig Malin made the appointment. Moore's starting salary will be $74,000, and he expects to report for work on May 1.
• Noninterventionist.com is a new voice supporting the original American ideal of a noninterventionist foreign policy. The organization believes this policy worked well in the past, helping to foster international goodwill, protecting human freedom, and building economic prosperity through free trade. While the group strongly opposes intervention, it fully supports defending the shores of the United States from foreign attack. The Web site contains links to popular and scholarly articles on the subject and PDF flyers you can print and distribute. Look at (http://www.noninterventionist.com/) for more information.
• Three Rock Island schools will be sharing a new $315,000 state grant funding after-school programs. Grant Basic Intensive, Hawthorne-Irving, and Lincoln Elementary will be joining the 13 "Lights On" schools in the Illinois Quad Cites by offering after-school activities such as homework help, art and music classes, storytelling, recreation, and accelerated computer-math programs. "Lights On" is a partnership between the Rock Island County Regional Office of Education and local schools.
• The groundbreaking for the new headquarters facility for the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is scheduled for Thursday, March 27. Located at 55000 Lakeview Parkway, the new facility will be 72,750 square feet and accessible to the interstate network for the center's geographic support area. The new center will also allow for new testing and technological advances in the blood industry. Additional parking spaces and a donor center in the new building will enhance comfort and convenience for the public to donate blood. The new center is expected to open in spring 2004.
• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has been joined by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) in introducing the Family Opportunity Act of 2003 that would allow states to extend Medicaid to working families with a child, or children, with special health needs. Through this legislation, families now forced off Medicaid when parents become employed could pay for benefits on a sliding scale. The bill also establishes family-to-family health-information centers where parents of children with special needs, as well as professionals, would provide information to families trying to arrange health services for their children. The bill has been reported to the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, where it will be considered in coming months.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB) has announced that the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island is now an official Visitors Center for the organization. To see more about the QCCVB and its other four locations, point your Web browser to (http://www.visitquadcities.com) or call (563)322-3911.
• Iowa Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Bettendorf) is proposing that the state merge the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health into one agency. Tinsman has introduced legislation that calls for a planning group to study the issue and submit a merger proposal to the governor and lawmakers by December 15. The group would be composed of state officials, lawmakers, members of the governor's office, and representatives from the private sector in the areas of health, human services, and organization restructuring. While formulating the proposal, the planning group will focus on ways a combined department might lower administrative costs and more efficiently deliver services to better meet Iowans' needs. Tinsman said group members will also look at ways to create more accountability within the combined department.
• Davenport Friendly House will be accepting applications for two scholarships that will be awarded for the fall 2003 school year. The Micka Scholarship is awarded to adults 21 years of age or older who have resided for the past three years in Davenport. The individual must be attending or planning to attend any licensed or accredited trade/vocational school, college, or university. The Ivory Scholarship is awarded to a high-school senior graduating from the Davenport Community School District who wishes to continue his/her education. Applications are available at Friendly House, 1221 Myrtle Street in Davenport. For more information, contact Kathy McCoy at (563)323-1821.
• The Bettendorf High School Class of '73 is taking a stroll down memory lane using the technology of today. In preparation for its 30-year reunion this summer, the class has created a Web site. The site currently includes: a class roster where graduates can leave news of their lives; chat links for "instant message" chats; a page dedicated to classmates who have passed away; "Memories of 1973" by way of song, movies, and television including pictures of classmates; and hundreds of photos from the 20- and 25-year reunions. Classmates can also register and pay online for the reunion festivities, to be held on June 14. For more information, visit (http://www.bhsclassof73.com).
• The City of Davenport has selected James Moore of Cleburne, Texas, to be its next director of human resources. Moore was selected from 167 applications. Pursuant to City Code, City Administrator Craig Malin made the appointment. Moore's starting salary will be $74,000, and he expects to report for work on May 1.
• Noninterventionist.com is a new voice supporting the original American ideal of a noninterventionist foreign policy. The organization believes this policy worked well in the past, helping to foster international goodwill, protecting human freedom, and building economic prosperity through free trade. While the group strongly opposes intervention, it fully supports defending the shores of the United States from foreign attack. The Web site contains links to popular and scholarly articles on the subject and PDF flyers you can print and distribute. Look at (http://www.noninterventionist.com/) for more information.
• Three Rock Island schools will be sharing a new $315,000 state grant funding after-school programs. Grant Basic Intensive, Hawthorne-Irving, and Lincoln Elementary will be joining the 13 "Lights On" schools in the Illinois Quad Cites by offering after-school activities such as homework help, art and music classes, storytelling, recreation, and accelerated computer-math programs. "Lights On" is a partnership between the Rock Island County Regional Office of Education and local schools.
