Xstream Cleanup, presented by Riverboat Development Authority, is seeking hundreds of volunteers to clean up 32 waterways in the Quad Cities on Saturday, August 19 from 8:30 a.m. until noon. This annual event is presented in collaboration with nationally-known, Quad City native Chad Pregracke and his Living Lands & Waters team. Cleanups will take place in Bettendorf, Davenport, and LeClaire, Iowa, and East Moline, Milan, Moline, Rock Island, and Taylor Ridge, Illinois. The main focus of Xstream Cleanup 2006 is an illegal dumping site in Bettendorf where Crow Creek drains into the Mississippi River; that site, discovered during last year's Xstream Cleanup, has an estimated 3,000 tires scattered along the creek and will be the primary work site for Pregracke and his crew. Those interested in volunteering should register online at (http://www.xstreamcleanup.org) or call (563) 468-4218. Volunteers receive a free T-shirt and a light breakfast; no previous experience is necessary and supplies will be provided.
The Earthwatch Institute has selected Quad City teen Ryan Croegaert of Davenport North High School as one of 80 high school students from 31 states to join this summer's Student Challenge Awards Program. The research projects which Ryan will participate in - the Riparian and Aquatic Ecosystem Monitoring Projects - will take place on the upper Mississippi River, and along with eight other students, Ryan will join Dr. Sean Jenkins at the Alice L. Kibbe Life Science Station in Hancock County, Illinois, in aiding the long-term understanding and preservation of the Mississippi's imperiled ecosystem. Ryan will aid in extensive field research, including monitoring and compiling inventory on the Mississippi plant life and sampling the native mussel, turtle, fish and ground beetle populations. This expedition is being assisted by Western Illinois University's Department of Biological Science.
A Suriname photo exhibit is on display until August 31 at Davenport's Fairmount Street Public Library. Photographer Shuva Rahim spent two years in Suriname, South America, while serving in the Peace Corps, and her photos provide a rare look into Suriname's diversified people and ecology. During her volunteer service, Rahim helped develop educational materials for students, which are currently being used in an agricultural program in Suriname schools. She also oversaw production of informational signs for tourists at Suriname's Galibi Nature Reserve, a nesting site for endangered leatherback sea turtles. Rahim grew up in Davenport and graduated from Central High School in 1994, received a degree in journalism from Iowa State University, and worked as a newspaper reporter for more than five years in Iowa City, Kansas City, and southeast Ohio. This fall, she will attend the graduate photography program at the Salt Institute of Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. For more information, call (563) 328-6833.
In response to rising summer temperatures, the most vulnerable households in Rock Island, Henry, and Mercer counties can apply for one-time assistance that will help meet their cooling needs. "At-risk" households - those with family members having medical conditions aggravated by extreme heat or those housing the very young, disabled, or elderly - can apply for the LIHEAP Summer Energy Assistance Program at any of the Project NOW Outreach offices. To apply for assistance, residents should schedule an appointment at any one of Project NOW's outreach offices - in Rock Island at 418 19th St. and at the Rock Island County Senior Center, 2221 11 St.; in Moline at 711 4th Ave.; in Kewanee at 405 Tenney St.; and in Aledo at 605 1/2 SW 3rd St. Appointments will be scheduled through August 18, or until funds are exhausted.
The new television series Farmers' Almanac TV debuted on public television stations throughout Iowa on Thursday, July 27, 2006, having previously aired in 13 other states. The magazine-style show, inspired by the trusted and treasured Farmers' Almanac, is sweeping into the hearts and homes of Americans craving time-tested information - delivered in an entertaining manner - about weather, gardening, natural cures, household hints, and more. The series has also featured special footage from Iowa, its "Wind Power" story delivering dramatic images of Iowa's wind farms. For more information on Farmers' Almanac TV, visit (http://www.FarmersAlmanacTV.com).
Ten years ago, Quad Cities hemp activists distributed flyers at the Bix Biderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport, Iowa, that depicted Bix with a horn in one hand and a joint in the other. The flyer also featured quotes from the Bix biography Remembering Bix that found Bix praising the herb and attributing it to his ability to play hot. The Web site "All About Jazz" at (http:www.allaboutjazz.com/reviews/r0403_013.html) now attributes the distribution of this flyer to the discovery of Bix's and Louis Armstrong's "The Cannabis Sessions" recordings from 1927. Activist James Getman sued the city of Davenport - and won his suit - when he was prevented from distributing flyers at the festival. Information on the lawsuit can be found at (http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/censorship/11012prs19990727.html) and a report from the "Bix Smokes" hemp rally can be found at (http://qchemp.tzo.com/qchemp/qchc/quad12%7E1.htm).
