05
Jul
2005
• The Iowa Homeland Security & Management Division has received $520,612 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enhance protection efforts at key sites and deter threats of terrorism aimed at those facilities. The funding is under the Fiscal Year 2005 Buffer Zone Protection Program. Buffer Zone Plans developed through this program are intended to help local law enforcement and first responders develop effective preventive measures that make it more difficult for terrorists to plan or launch attacks from the immediate vicinity of high-priority infrastructure targets.
• The Mississippi Valley Sleep Disorder Center in Davenport received program accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) on June 10. To receive a five-year accreditation, a sleep center must meet or exceed all standards for professional-quality health care as designated by the AASM. The accreditation process involves detailed inspection of a center's facility and staff, including an evaluation of testing procedures, patient contacts, and physician training. Additionally, the facility's goals must be clearly stated and include plans for positively affecting the quality of medical care in the community it serves. Currently, the AASM accredits 825 sleep-medicine centers and laboratories across the country.
• The Scott County Housing Council is receiving a $198,400 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The funds will be used to expand affordable-housing opportunities. Specifically, the funds will be used for the construction and rehabilitation of modest-income family-owned housing, as well as support for rental housing and the homeless.
• After more than a year of interactions through workshops, board meetings, and one-on-one consultations with clients, the Bettendorf Chamber of Commerce and SCORE have opted to strengthen their working relationship. For two hours each week beginning on July 6, SCORE will have staff at the Bettendorf Chamber of Commerce who will be available to anyone seeking assistance in developing business plans. The open-door policy at the chamber will be from 10 a.m. to noon each Wednesday. SCORE is a national organization of volunteers trained in business planning and is dedicated to stimulating successful entrepreneurial activity. The local branch has been a particularly well-performing one, with a growing volunteer corps of persons whose training and expertise in fields such as human resources, marketing, and accounting place them in good position to help improve the local economy from the grassroots level. This development is part of a strategic initiative designed to ramp up the chamber's role in helping local business, and to increase the visibility and effectiveness of SCORE.
• The Transportation Security Administration has unveiled a more colorful and user-friendly Web site containing all sorts of information pertinent to people traveling. It can be found at (http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/summerindex.htm).
• The Rock Island Public Library's annual summer reading campaign offers children, teens, and adults plenty of opportunities to continue reading this summer. You must register to win prizes, and the deadline for entries is July 16. The more you read, the more chances you have to win prizes, which include gift certificates and books, and there are no complicated reading logs to keep track of. Summer reading is supported by the Friends of the Rock Island Public Library and the Milan-Blackhawk Area Public Library District. All programs are free. For details, check at any of the three Rock Island library locations.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau is kicking off the Bring Your Meeting Home program. The event will be held at Thursday, July 14, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Fireworks, 2139 16th Street, Moline. Learn how you can bring meetings, conventions, reunions, and events to the Quad Cities just through the people you know, business contacts, and memberships in various organizations. Admission is $5 and includes refreshments and materials. RSVP to Jessica Waytenick at (563)322-3911 extension 103 or (jwaytenick@visitquadcities.com).
• The Wellness Warriors team of the Quad City Health Initiative has produced a revised version of its Speakers Bureau Guide, which is now available to the community free of charge on the program's Web site (http://www.qchealthinitiative.org). The guide includes a list of individuals and organizations that provide wellness education to the community through group presentations. The first version of the guide was released in December 2004. In the initiative's 2002 Community Health Assessment, obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol (all risk factors for cardiovascular disease) emerged as critical issues for the health of our region. Since December 2002, the Wellness Warriors team has been working to reverse these trends by promoting daily exercise, nutrition, and regular screenings for health risk factors. The Wellness Warriors team includes 87 representatives from 59 organizations across the Quad Cities.
• The Illinois Arts Council will celebrate Illinois Arts Week by promoting Illinois arts events that will take place October 16 through 22. Organizations can e-mail their arts events to (ann@arts.state.il.us). The deadline for inclusion is July 18. For more information, contact Ann Ridge at (312)814-6762. The Mississippi Rapids Tourist Information Center on eastbound Interstate 80 near Rapids City will host Illinois arts demonstrations and activities all week. Artists who want to exhibit at the facility should contact Jason Bain at the Western Illinois Tourism Development Office at (309) 837-1834.
• The Mississippi Valley Sleep Disorder Center in Davenport received program accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) on June 10. To receive a five-year accreditation, a sleep center must meet or exceed all standards for professional-quality health care as designated by the AASM. The accreditation process involves detailed inspection of a center's facility and staff, including an evaluation of testing procedures, patient contacts, and physician training. Additionally, the facility's goals must be clearly stated and include plans for positively affecting the quality of medical care in the community it serves. Currently, the AASM accredits 825 sleep-medicine centers and laboratories across the country.
• The Scott County Housing Council is receiving a $198,400 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The funds will be used to expand affordable-housing opportunities. Specifically, the funds will be used for the construction and rehabilitation of modest-income family-owned housing, as well as support for rental housing and the homeless.
• After more than a year of interactions through workshops, board meetings, and one-on-one consultations with clients, the Bettendorf Chamber of Commerce and SCORE have opted to strengthen their working relationship. For two hours each week beginning on July 6, SCORE will have staff at the Bettendorf Chamber of Commerce who will be available to anyone seeking assistance in developing business plans. The open-door policy at the chamber will be from 10 a.m. to noon each Wednesday. SCORE is a national organization of volunteers trained in business planning and is dedicated to stimulating successful entrepreneurial activity. The local branch has been a particularly well-performing one, with a growing volunteer corps of persons whose training and expertise in fields such as human resources, marketing, and accounting place them in good position to help improve the local economy from the grassroots level. This development is part of a strategic initiative designed to ramp up the chamber's role in helping local business, and to increase the visibility and effectiveness of SCORE.
• The Transportation Security Administration has unveiled a more colorful and user-friendly Web site containing all sorts of information pertinent to people traveling. It can be found at (http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/summerindex.htm).
• The Rock Island Public Library's annual summer reading campaign offers children, teens, and adults plenty of opportunities to continue reading this summer. You must register to win prizes, and the deadline for entries is July 16. The more you read, the more chances you have to win prizes, which include gift certificates and books, and there are no complicated reading logs to keep track of. Summer reading is supported by the Friends of the Rock Island Public Library and the Milan-Blackhawk Area Public Library District. All programs are free. For details, check at any of the three Rock Island library locations.
• The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau is kicking off the Bring Your Meeting Home program. The event will be held at Thursday, July 14, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Fireworks, 2139 16th Street, Moline. Learn how you can bring meetings, conventions, reunions, and events to the Quad Cities just through the people you know, business contacts, and memberships in various organizations. Admission is $5 and includes refreshments and materials. RSVP to Jessica Waytenick at (563)322-3911 extension 103 or (jwaytenick@visitquadcities.com).
• The Wellness Warriors team of the Quad City Health Initiative has produced a revised version of its Speakers Bureau Guide, which is now available to the community free of charge on the program's Web site (http://www.qchealthinitiative.org). The guide includes a list of individuals and organizations that provide wellness education to the community through group presentations. The first version of the guide was released in December 2004. In the initiative's 2002 Community Health Assessment, obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol (all risk factors for cardiovascular disease) emerged as critical issues for the health of our region. Since December 2002, the Wellness Warriors team has been working to reverse these trends by promoting daily exercise, nutrition, and regular screenings for health risk factors. The Wellness Warriors team includes 87 representatives from 59 organizations across the Quad Cities.
• The Illinois Arts Council will celebrate Illinois Arts Week by promoting Illinois arts events that will take place October 16 through 22. Organizations can e-mail their arts events to (ann@arts.state.il.us). The deadline for inclusion is July 18. For more information, contact Ann Ridge at (312)814-6762. The Mississippi Rapids Tourist Information Center on eastbound Interstate 80 near Rapids City will host Illinois arts demonstrations and activities all week. Artists who want to exhibit at the facility should contact Jason Bain at the Western Illinois Tourism Development Office at (309) 837-1834.
