• Enthusiasts of gardens for physically challenged people will soon have a new one to enjoy at the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island. The garden is funded by a $40,000 grant from the Scott County Regional Authority and in-kind services provided by area businesses. Another grant from Trinity Regional Health System will be used to purchase specialized gardening equipment so that physically challenged people can work in the garden. The garden will be located at the entrance for easy accessibility. It will offer garden beds at varying heights, concrete paths for wheelchairs and walkers, a gazebo, and a water feature. The concrete paths already in place were donated by Cardinal Ready Mix, with labor provided by Russell Construction. The Quad City Homebuilders Association is donating the labor to build the gazebo, and Suburban Landscape Design began working on the raised beds and brick-pavers on May 29.
• The Wapsi River Environmental Education Center is located along the Wapsipinicon River and consists of 225 acres of upland and bottomland forests, grasslands, and wetlands. The Wapsi center along with Sherman Park across the river provide a 432-acre complex offering a wide variety of uses. There are now more than 68 images on the Wapsi Web page featuring education, nature, and facilities. From these topics, you can find links to the various resources at the park. Look at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/conservation/wapsi.html). Keep checking back for more pictures and information about the park, including pictures of groups and activities as well as a map and directions. Walnut Grove Pioneer Village has also had its site recently updated with new photos at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/conservation/walnut.html).
• The City of Davenport Department of Leisure Facilities & Services kicked off its Park Ambassador Program this past Memorial Day weekend. Four seasonal employees and community volunteers will provide information and assistance in the parks daily between 6 p.m. and midnight, seven days a week, including holidays. The idea is to assist park patrons, discourage vandalism by creating an ongoing presence in the parks, and become a friendly contact in the parks. The program will continue through the summer. The ambassadors will drive well-identified city vehicles and will be in contact with emergency personnel. People wishing to volunteer as a park ambassador should call the Department of Leisure Facilities & Services at (563)326-7859. The Park & Recreation Division of Leisure Facilities & Services is partnering with the Americorps program to launch this new initiative.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports that the Justice Department has released a 60-page report that provides fresh insights into its use of the USA PATRIOT Act surveillance powers. The report attempts to play down the government's use of the new powers, while at the same time showing that they have been crucial in disrupting terrorist plots. The report provides some new statistics on the use of delayed-notification searches and seizures under Section 213 of the PATRIOT Act. Additionally, the report provides information on data-mining activities currently underway at the department, and the Department of Justice's assistance in the development of the airline-passenger profiling program. Finally, the Department of Justice classified sections of the report addressing its foreign-intelligence guidelines under Executive Order 12333 and how it conducted three successive "sweeps" of Arab American and South Asian communities since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Justice Department report is available at: (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/may03_report.pdf). You can find out more about the USA PATRIOT Act at EPIC's USA PATRIOT Act Page at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot).
• Bettendorf: The First Century is a hardcover book commissioned to celebrate the city's centennial and is the result of three years of planning, research, and production. The book divides the story of Bettendorf's first 100 years into four sections: pioneer times, the history of Bettendorf Company, early city government, and city institutions such as the fire department, local churches, and education. Copies of the book are $35 each and are available at the Family Museum of Arts & Science, Bettendorf City Hall, the Bettendorf Public Library Information Center, Davenport's Borders, Cumberland Bookshelf, and through several local service groups in Bettendorf.
• A federally financed survey of 76,000 students and 891 schools across the country, conducted by the social scientists at the University of Michigan who do the Monitoring the Future surveys of student drug use, came up with only statistically insignificant differences between schools that subject their students to drug testing and those that don't. Among 12th graders, for example, 37 percent reported having smoked pot at schools that tested, while 36 percent reported doing so at schools that didn't. Similarly, 21 percent reported having used other drugs at schools that tested, while 19 percent reported doing so at schools that didn't. The findings are similar in other grades as well, the researchers reported. The full study, "The Relationship Between Student Illicit Drug Use & School Drug-Testing policies," published in the Journal of School Health, can be found at (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/text/ryldjpom03.pdf).
• With a new era of Quad Cities professional baseball beginning in 2004 with multimillion-dollar renovations to John O'Donnell Stadium, the River Bandits are giving fans a chance to re-name the team. Entry forms will be available at River Bandits home games, in Sunday editions of local papers, and through the Quad City River Bandits Web site at (http://www.riverbandits.com). Entry forms can also be filled out at the Cumulus Broadcasting offices, located at 1229 Brady Street in Davenport. All entries must be received by Friday, June 20. Each fan that submits an entry form will receive two tickets to a 2003 River Bandits game at John O'Donnell Stadium. While fans are allowed to submit multiple ideas, they will be limited to two complimentary tickets. The grand unveiling of the new nickname will occur at the final regular season game at John O'Donnell Stadium, on Monday, September 1. The fan who selects the winning name will receive four season tickets to the 2004 baseball season at the renovated stadium. In the event that more than one entry has the winning name, one entry will be drawn at random to determine who wins the season tickets. All others will receive four single-game tickets to a 2004 game at the renovated facility.
• The Wapsi River Environmental Education Center is located along the Wapsipinicon River and consists of 225 acres of upland and bottomland forests, grasslands, and wetlands. The Wapsi center along with Sherman Park across the river provide a 432-acre complex offering a wide variety of uses. There are now more than 68 images on the Wapsi Web page featuring education, nature, and facilities. From these topics, you can find links to the various resources at the park. Look at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/conservation/wapsi.html). Keep checking back for more pictures and information about the park, including pictures of groups and activities as well as a map and directions. Walnut Grove Pioneer Village has also had its site recently updated with new photos at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/conservation/walnut.html).
• The City of Davenport Department of Leisure Facilities & Services kicked off its Park Ambassador Program this past Memorial Day weekend. Four seasonal employees and community volunteers will provide information and assistance in the parks daily between 6 p.m. and midnight, seven days a week, including holidays. The idea is to assist park patrons, discourage vandalism by creating an ongoing presence in the parks, and become a friendly contact in the parks. The program will continue through the summer. The ambassadors will drive well-identified city vehicles and will be in contact with emergency personnel. People wishing to volunteer as a park ambassador should call the Department of Leisure Facilities & Services at (563)326-7859. The Park & Recreation Division of Leisure Facilities & Services is partnering with the Americorps program to launch this new initiative.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports that the Justice Department has released a 60-page report that provides fresh insights into its use of the USA PATRIOT Act surveillance powers. The report attempts to play down the government's use of the new powers, while at the same time showing that they have been crucial in disrupting terrorist plots. The report provides some new statistics on the use of delayed-notification searches and seizures under Section 213 of the PATRIOT Act. Additionally, the report provides information on data-mining activities currently underway at the department, and the Department of Justice's assistance in the development of the airline-passenger profiling program. Finally, the Department of Justice classified sections of the report addressing its foreign-intelligence guidelines under Executive Order 12333 and how it conducted three successive "sweeps" of Arab American and South Asian communities since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Justice Department report is available at: (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/may03_report.pdf). You can find out more about the USA PATRIOT Act at EPIC's USA PATRIOT Act Page at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot).
• Bettendorf: The First Century is a hardcover book commissioned to celebrate the city's centennial and is the result of three years of planning, research, and production. The book divides the story of Bettendorf's first 100 years into four sections: pioneer times, the history of Bettendorf Company, early city government, and city institutions such as the fire department, local churches, and education. Copies of the book are $35 each and are available at the Family Museum of Arts & Science, Bettendorf City Hall, the Bettendorf Public Library Information Center, Davenport's Borders, Cumberland Bookshelf, and through several local service groups in Bettendorf.
• A federally financed survey of 76,000 students and 891 schools across the country, conducted by the social scientists at the University of Michigan who do the Monitoring the Future surveys of student drug use, came up with only statistically insignificant differences between schools that subject their students to drug testing and those that don't. Among 12th graders, for example, 37 percent reported having smoked pot at schools that tested, while 36 percent reported doing so at schools that didn't. Similarly, 21 percent reported having used other drugs at schools that tested, while 19 percent reported doing so at schools that didn't. The findings are similar in other grades as well, the researchers reported. The full study, "The Relationship Between Student Illicit Drug Use & School Drug-Testing policies," published in the Journal of School Health, can be found at (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/text/ryldjpom03.pdf).
• With a new era of Quad Cities professional baseball beginning in 2004 with multimillion-dollar renovations to John O'Donnell Stadium, the River Bandits are giving fans a chance to re-name the team. Entry forms will be available at River Bandits home games, in Sunday editions of local papers, and through the Quad City River Bandits Web site at (http://www.riverbandits.com). Entry forms can also be filled out at the Cumulus Broadcasting offices, located at 1229 Brady Street in Davenport. All entries must be received by Friday, June 20. Each fan that submits an entry form will receive two tickets to a 2003 River Bandits game at John O'Donnell Stadium. While fans are allowed to submit multiple ideas, they will be limited to two complimentary tickets. The grand unveiling of the new nickname will occur at the final regular season game at John O'Donnell Stadium, on Monday, September 1. The fan who selects the winning name will receive four season tickets to the 2004 baseball season at the renovated stadium. In the event that more than one entry has the winning name, one entry will be drawn at random to determine who wins the season tickets. All others will receive four single-game tickets to a 2004 game at the renovated facility.
