Online petition set up in support of Terry Swails
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By David Heitz | Thursday, January 17, 2008 |
Q: I am very concerned after reading Monday’s Ask the Times. Although you stated that Terry Swails still is employed as chief meteorologist for KWQC-TV, I can’t help but think the whole thing sounds fishy. Is anyone out there circulating a petition in support of Swails?
— Quad-Citian
A: The rumor mill regarding Swails is swirling on several local blogs, and one blog even has been set up to support him. Fans can go to isupportswails.blogspot.com to sign an online petition supporting Swails, who has been a Quad-City television staple for more than two decades.
Q: What is Davenport’s total bonded debt, and what is
Bettendorf’s?
— Davenport resident
A: Total bonded debt for the City of Davenport as of June 30, 2007, is $138,825,000. Davenport is at 56.2 percent of its legal debt limit, according to city Finance Director Alan Guard.
Bettendorf’s total bonded debt as of the same date totals $60,205,000, or 51 percent of its legal debt limit, city Finance Director Carol Barnes said.
Q: Why don’t the Davenport garbage collectors carry garbage stickers with them in their trucks? I went to two nearby stores in an attempt to get stickers for my additional holiday waste, but they were all out. My husband watched patiently for the garbage truck to come, but he did not have any for us to purchase in the truck.
— Ann, Davenport
A: Extra Davenport garbage stickers are available at 13 locations around the city, including grocery stores, City Hall and the Public Works Center. You can also purchase garbage stickers through the mail by visiting cityofdavenportiowa.com/solidwaste and printing an order form. “We feel this is the best way to ensure stickers are available to our residents,” said Tom Bylund, Davenport solid waste superintendent. “If drivers carried stickers in their trucks, it would create several problems that would be impossible to control.”
Q: During the barge season, the Quad-City Times reports on tonnage and products passing through the locks. At the end of this summary is a category named “paying passengers.” How do you get to be a paying passenger? I think this might be a fun way to see the Mississippi from St. Paul to St. Louis.
— Dennis, LeClaire, Iowa
A: Justine Barati of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said a paying passenger is not, in fact, riding a barge up or down the river. It turns out that the “paying passengers” category refers to people traveling on cruise ships such as the Celebration Belle or the Delta Queen.
Q: Why doesn’t the Quad-City Times have more outdoors coverage?
— Jerry, Davenport
A: The Times provides readers with some sort of outdoors coverage every Thursday, but assistant managing editor for sports Don Doxsie said he is very receptive to ideas for improving and expanding what we do now.
As it is, we provide a weekly hunting and fishing column by Chris Bates, a weekly fishing report by Dave Carlson during the spring and summer months and news items on upcoming events and seasons. And the monthly On the River section features outdoor activities centered on the Mississippi River.
Like many newspapers, the Times no longer runs many photos of fish and animals that have been caught, killed or trapped by local outdoorsmen.
Doxsie said he would love to take more of a “news you can use’’ approach to outdoors coverage, reporting on issues and trends and providing hunters and fishermen with information that will allow them to enjoy their outdoor experience even more than they do now.
He would welcome input on how we can better do that. Feel free to send your ideas to Doxsie at ddoxsie@qctimes.com or call him at (563) 383-2280.
Quad-City Times News Assistant Sarah Bicknell contributed research for this column
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