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Info from the Atlantic Animal Shelter.
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Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning reports due to the wind chill factor, the “Rocks” program will now be held at the Atlantic Public Library Community Room at 11AM Thursday, March 21, 2013. The 2013 Oak Strollers Nature Club is sponsored by Cass County Conservation.
Join the Conservation Department for monthly events to guide your family outdoors. Events will be for all ages. Some events may be public Cass County Conservation and some may occur during the day when school is in. The nature club led by Naturalist, Lora Kanning gives parents the comfort of exploring nature in Cass County.
Kanning parents should “Bring your child and plan to have a great time-making a memory.”
The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors, Monday, approved the fees for Summer Recreation Programs, and a local Eagle Scout’s project to improve the Sunnyside Park Disc Golf Course. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring asked for, and the Board approved, no change in rates charged for swimming at the City Pool. Herring says they will also be offering punch cards again this year, which, if you plan to be a frequent user of the Sunnyside Pool, will save you some money in the long run. The punch card allows you to buy 15 punches for $50. That’s a savings of $10 over the daily rate of admission.
Herring says sponsorship rates for the Men’s slow-pitch softball program will also be unchanged from last year. The cost of sponsorships went up last year from $150 per team to $300 to increase revenue and break even expense-wise. An incentive to the sponsors came in the form of a banner, and their sponsorships were tax deductible. Herring says while that resulted in a decrease in the number of teams from 10 to 8, it increased the cost savings to the Parks and Rec Dept. and reduced the amount of red ink in the books.
Atlantic Eagle Scout Nick Podhajsky speaks before the Atlantic Parks & Rec Board. (Ric Hanson/photo)
In other business, the Parks and Rec Board heard from Atlantic Eagle Scout Nick Podhajsky, who proposed a bridge replacement project near hole number 7, for the Sunnyside Park Disc Golf Course. The current bridge was built by course designer and facilitator Frank Saddlemire, and while functional and fits the natural environment, is also a potential liability to the City, because of its undersized main supports…small, and widely spaced decking branches, and single rails on each side.
Podhajsky proposed upgrading the bridge to incorporate: utility poles for the main supports; treated 2×6 lumber for the decking; and treated 4×4 posts to support three rails on each side. It would be very similar to the design used for the bridge near the Sunnyside Schoolhouse. Donations and supplies for the project would come from local groups, companies and individuals, with the labor for construction and installing the bridge to come from the Scout and other volunteers.
The Board gave approval for Podhajsky to proceed with the project, which could be completed by the end of June.
Winter isn’t officially over until Wednesday, but allergy season has already arrived in Iowa as the trees are starting to pollinate. Dr. Jill Poole, an allergist in Omaha/Council Bluffs, says allergy sufferers are beginning to feel the effects. Dr. Poole says, “This is the time of year when the trees start and so this is the exact time for them to get their allergy medications out of the cabinet and start their nose sprays and antihistamines to try to fend off the allergy symptoms before they get behind the eight ball.”
Spring arrives on Wednesday. While everyone’s body is affected a little differently, Poole says tree pollen hits many people in similar ways.
“Sneezing, nasal congestion, itchy nose, itchy, watery eyes are the main symptoms that can be experienced now,” she says. Known as seasonal allergic rhinitis, allergies are reactions of the body’s immune system to a normally harmless substance. Poole says you’ll know it if you have a tree pollen allergy. “If you’re having the classic symptoms of the itchy nose, the sneezing, the itchy, watery eyes that start in March and get real bad in April, that’s really indicative of allergies and you can start taking over-the-counter medications,” she says. “If those don’t hold you or work well for you, that’s the time to get allergy tested.”
Between 20 and 40-percent of Americans suffer from seasonal allergies. Poole offers a few tips on how to lessen the uncomfortable effects of allergies. “Tree pollen is pretty hardy and once it gets in the home, it can be a longer-lasting pollen,” she says. “By closing the windows, that will keep the pollen from being in your bedroom where you’re sleeping and spending a lot of the time. After you’ve been outside, changing your clothes or washing your hands and face can be helpful.”
She also recommends over-the-counter nasal-sinus irrigations and over-the-counter antihistamines that are the non-sedating. Learn more about allergies at the website of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: www.aaaai.org
(Radio Iowa)
Info from the Atlantic Animal Shelter.
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The Vision Iowa Board Wednesday, awarded over one-point-two-five million dollars ($1.25 million) in grants to six projects across the state. Vision Iowa spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says the town of Hancock is receiving an award of $175,000. The grant will help with improvements at the popular Botna Bend Park. The project includes construction of a new restroom, plus enhancements to a water trail and campgrounds.
O’Riley says the largest award of $404,068 is going to the Des Moines Social Club.The organization is acquiring and renovating an old fire station in downtown Des Moines. The $3.3 million project involves the creation of a theater space, classrooms, an art gallery and more. An award of just over 250-thousand dollars ($250,000) will help finance a $1.3 million project in Marion — the construction of a large amphitheater in Lowe Park.
“The Lowe Park project is really impressive,” O’Riley said. “It has a humongous burr oak leaf that forms the canopy to the amphitheater, so it’s an outdoor performing stage. The drawings the board has seen are quite stunning.” The Vision Iowa Board also awarded grant to a library expansion in Waukon and various community projects in Van Horne. O’Riley said both projects have tremendous community support.
“For the town of Waukon, which has just about 4,000 people, they raised $656,000 in private fundraising,” O’Riley said. “In Van Horne, which has (a population of) under 700, they are near $500,000 raised locally.” A project that involves improvements to a riverfront park in Charles City was awarded a grant of just over $36,000.
(Radio Iowa)
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