The Cities | Davenport's New Fire Chief & Ballet Quad Cities | WQPT

production funding for the cities is provided by a grant from the doris
and victor day foundation
davenport fire crews are ready for the twenty-first century is its central
fire station though
and someone tries to use the ballet for a bad in the cities
will have more on ballet quad cities winter season annaul high-tech ripoff that
was attempted its name that in a moment but first
history being made
it's been three months in davenport new fire chief is take it off as its
chief lynn washburn livingston
she is the quad cities first-ever female fire chief has become one of only a few
women leading municipal fire departments in america in face one agency says that
there were only two dozen female fire chief in two thousand five
but here we are in twenty twelve to talk about more than chief washburn making
history for who she is
but how she'll make history
by what she does
joining me now is the new davenport fire chief lynn washburn livingston thank you
so much for joining time we appreciate your graduation saying well very much is
retiring question at this point
being the first woman who is leading the fire department davenport
it is a tiring question
because it is twenty twelve and it's it's because the department has a
hundred and thirty-nine a members
uh... apartment but
about only a handful of women about five there are five women currently what's
the key to getting more women involved in fire services
it's letting women know that fire fighting is an opportunity for them on my
at the male dominated career girls don't grow up
thinking that they can be firefighters unless they've seen someone
during their their youth
they don't recognize that hey this is a viable opportunity for me
so it's getting out there and being visible and talking and sharing
everything you know about the fire service with those in the community
in how do you plan on doing that
well first of all i can i go to neighborhood meetings to ward meetings
united neighbors
as we move on once i get past this first few months here
you know to be present in the schools to talk to a scott county
scott community college and out their fire service programs and to spread the
word
i'm also sharing with the women that are on the department currently
um... the international association of women in firing emergency services the
information they can provide
and in meeting with the scott county fire chiefs and getting to know the
women that are in the volunteer services in this area to just spread the word
that the opportunity is they are came to cultivate that interest out there among
young women what is interesting is that your interest really
began not so much for the fire department or your father had mentioned
i grew up in the fire department
but it was never a thought because women just didn't do firefighting
when i was younger
and until i went to college and there were some women who have been hired by
the rockford fire department
uh... that my dad suggested it as a viable you know opportunity
how all the same time believing that women didn't belong there
he also felt that
uh... everyone should be given the choice to do what they wanted in life
through a second your father didn't believe that women belong in the
department
not not when they first came on
you know in the early seventies he was in a big fan of it
but then women came on and
here is a very optimistic person you know anything can be possible in life in
when he saw
their performance
and that they were just as good as the men and brought some real value
to the fire service he was totally behind and we're at a point three
your career were so much of what you do is administrative
which is something males and females can do equally well
let's talk about the administrative role that you have right now you've walked into the
davenport fire department in a state time for all-party bargains in this area
goes to the budget process right now you've talked about the called it the
central fire station
old building to say the least
uh... we showed some video of the right now tell me what what it is about this
building
that you didn't even see when you applied for this job
i saw nothing about this building
when i applied for the job
the buildings the structures they have nothing to do
with through the department is and what the department does
i could have been working in a little metal shack and then just as happy
because it's about the service we provide to the community
but we have to recognize that in providing that service we need to be
safe and we need to keep the community safe
now week we recognize it firefighters love tradition in that building being
the oldest functioning firehouse west of the mississippi has such tradition
that we want to maintain
throughout the years the building has been renovated to accommodate the
additional services that we provide it spent upgraded to maintain electrical
and mechanical systems
it's then uh... repaired on the exterior
but we've reached the point where repairer and revision just isn't going
to work anymore
we want to maintain the history
but we recognize that for the safety of our firefighters going out onto the
street and for the efficiency in function that we do with in that
walls of that building
we need more space
does your point is it's more than just morter and brick
but one wonders do you just have envied by looking across the street and seeing
the beautiful police stationed at the city has built
it's more than that
brightest it's more than that we need space we have
he'll four people
working in office that's meant for one person
that doesn't lead to efficiency we need storage space for all the documents and
records that we are mandated to maintain
we don't have space for that when you're storing files in the hallway
but doesn't provide
for security it's also about safety
when that station was built the current bedroom was meant for hay for the
horses
now we have firefighters in there who have two ways down to the main floor to
respond they can go down a poll which has
it's a great exciting thing to go down a polling your firefighter that there's
some safety hazards with it
why they have to go
down several hallways around several corners to a stairway that's very steep
and winds around three times to get to the floor so it's it's safety it
efficiency
we could increase our response times if we didn't have to
wander down hallways to get to where we're going so
city is making a decision of course on on how you pay for any type of
renovation what would you like to see as far as the schedule
would be a timeline
for perhaps uh... major renovation or construction project
in the department staff is one big team and we're working together
to put together what we feel is going to be the best process
the most important thing is to provide space for apparatus response
that's a safer environment for that
personnel in the station as well as the citizens coming down fourth st
so we want to create first of all
uh... space for apparatus in living quarters for the crew members and we
would move those out in in phase one possibly
and then phase two would be to renegades
on the old existing structure to repair it took updated
and to provide
space for the administrative offices
and then the third would be to renovate the current second floor which is where
everyone is located right now
to provide storage spaces training spaces classroom spaces that were
sticking out terribly lacking right now
we are talking a lot about a building on apologize because i like you said i mean
the fire departments known for its personnel you come from uh... rockford
illinois
um... and you have a department in rockford that is roughly twice the size
of davenport even though rockford is about fifty percent more populations
uh... do you know with some inconsistencies as far as you don't have
enough people in davenport when you compare to rockford or
reason they're going while rockford might've been little fat and we're
just about lean
there's a big difference in the services that are provided and and when you
compare side by side
they really are providing about the same services with almost the same number of
people
rockford has three additional pieces of fire apparatus that their staffing
they also have five ambulances is the face staff everyday
and they also have
foreperson rigs instead of three the davenport has
that doesn't mean that it's better to have four or three forgiving community
while studies in research show that for as much safer
we have to set rigs according to available in the community and
the funding that we have
rockford is certainly run with three people on a rig many times it during
training that can work
so it's really comparable it's not as much differences you would think
really the biggest changes that they have ten people on ambulances
twelve people on three additional rigs
so i get that adds the numbers so you've been here three months
you try to talk to every single of firefighter fire uh... department
personnel that you can
how's that going so far i mean what what feedback have you gotten a month ago i
had talked
personally met shook the hand of every single firefighter on this department
and sat down and that was damp and i can tell you the names of every single one
of them
i have no problem with who each one of them is doing a little bit about each
one of them
and that's been very well-received
i want to make
them understand that we are a team
while i might be up in the corner office we are team and we're doing this
together
and i can't do my job
unless they're with me and they can do their job unless time with them
so i stop in the stations i just
poppin i popped in last night around dinner time
you're surprised to see me but i wanted to feel comfortable that i'm coming in
there
and meeting them that we are all
uh... one big group and i want them to be able to talk to me
to share their concerns with meanwhile i do you have to make the decisions
ultimately
i want them to understand that i'm concerned about their concerns and we
will talk about things will share
and move this department forward
together
and how do you see that when when when you talk to them in you've gotten
feedback you've got reactions moving forward what area
seems to be of greatest concern where where is morale perhaps not as strong as
you'd like to see and
wetting the morale is very good they're very excited
actually to have a change
um... and the challenges that this new change will bring in their appreciating
the opportunity to
to talk about what's important to them
uh... some areas that they are consistently talked about our deployment
of our rescue raid
that we uh... team through grant funding and have it staff and we have
personal trains to respond on that right
though i know let's make use of the why we making use of it so we put a lot of
timing
into getting that read ready to go and getting those people more energized that
we are going to use that we are going to dispatch that we are going to make it
work so
the dip that deployment
on the continuing via messages are we going to continue to provide first
responder are we going to continue to train the way they do and absolutely as
of the all vital service at community it we will continue to do that and we will
continue
to strengthen our relationship with medic make that relationship work
it's doing very very well and we want to enhance that for the community
another is are we going to lose personnel are we going to be able to
build the new stations
you know i i'd take those concerns and we talk about them and and we move
forward
and what do you see is the future
at least for the next year
uh... your
your priority obviously is to meet people who get to know the department get to
know the city
and get this uh... central fire station renovation underway are there any other
priorities that you see just high
but that's you know i'd say i'm late for any of the priority is to provide
quality service
to the community
in every area at the fire department touches miss misconception that when
we say the fire department or firefighters that that's all we do know
and we are so much more than that we are all hazards response personnel
so whether it's a car accident or you
fallen white-out shoveling snow
or whether you've had a heart attack or whether you've got a fire or whether
you've got a water leak in your basement where you've got an electrical problem
what ever it is
the fire department can respond to that can take care of it in addition
we're doing public education or in the schools or in the senior citizen
uh... residences and and their facilities talking with them
we're doing
business inspections are pre planning a businesses and in
so that we know what's in those buildings if we need to respond we're
assisting in other
areas of the city as needed so weed you much more than just firefighting our
personnel are busy
from the time they come in at six forty five in the morning until five o'clock
at night
when i left central station today i had not seen two of the companies that are
on duty today
because they were responding to emergencies or at training activities
or doing the pre-planned inspection community work that we do still it is a
busy day i would assume that one of the nicer moments if you do get is the
time that you get to spend
with children modernism the preventive services that you have
uh... you've been out in the community so far i know that your welcoming
comments from from others what have you heard out of the community
well i just received a phone call me prior to leaving come to come here
that the gentleman had been at the ward meeting last night with his alderman and
you've gotten some information and had questions and i welcome
the questions or the emails um... and we had a long talk and we're setting up the
tour for him at central station to come down
and have his questions he answered
i've email back and forth with citizens about their questions
to really them
fires services of public service
and that the public buildings and we welcome
the community inside our places we want them to know us
on and non-emergency basis who we are what we do that we want you integral
part of their day-to-day life
not just there
when they need ask for an emergency
welcome to the quad city and we hope you enjoy your first few months and you get
to enjoy some of whitey's
ice cream in bags are talking about chief elin washburn livingston thank you
so much for joining us
wqpt is starting a new local programming march featuring artists from
throughout the area this show is called a artists in profile
our premier program will feature the buck town review featuring a quad city
ensemble and its group of musicians known as the barley house band here's a
preview from our first artists and profile
that's the barley house band part of the buck town review which you'll see in
march and on wqpt's arts and entertainment program called
artist profile
or getting through the month of january with little snow and none of the bitter
temperatures we've seen in the past so
you might want to add to your outdoor as well as your indoor plants here in the
quad cities here is lora adams going out and about
it's cold outside but not as cold as it used to be for the art to bear checkout
nature and see what's happening to the ones casey domain of the polar bear hi
i'm lora adams
and coming to the galvin fine arts center rioult a modern dance troupe
with a reputation for creating and presenting exquisitely musical works of
passed out real the augustana jazz ensemble presents its winter concert
featuring a jazz big band repertoire and centennial hall is also will location
cantilen augustan, wennerberg's men's chours jenn lind
vocal ensemble and ascension singers
performing their winter concert sprinkled on magic indoors when you can
at riverside park in mali participants will use a variety of plants stones and
magical items to create a fairy garden that will enchant throughout the winter
and the adler theater is the place to see the color purple a soul stirring
musical based on the classic pulitzer prize winning novel by alice walker and
the moving film by steven spielberg
and the steven sondheim's musical company opens with brian tank in the role of
bobby at the district theater in downtown rock island while bad habits a
compilation of one-act plays written by area playwrights runs through february
fifth that new ground theater in the village of east davenport for
information on these and other events in and around the plant cities log-on to
wqpt dot o_ r_ g_
thanks lora it was in a case of someone trying to get money out of their
nigerian bank accounts instead people got
this email sent to them supposedly by the executive director ballet quad cities
asking for help
you see jody cook was in london and had been margin
she needed thousands of dollars to pay the ballot troops european expenses
to get back home but
none of that was true
inface such as scam could shock even the best dancer in the midst of a to
reject a
joining executive director of ballet quad city judy cook did you like that
i love that that was too much about just about every just blow cornell tours of
today
is a leap
a hundred eighty degrees and you land on the ops at fort imai dot correct you are
correct uart good thank god for google i'm going to offer you a contract
relatively insights so we've got to tell me what happened but you have to agree
we've got this email says i'm writing this with tears in my eyes we came here
came to england on a short vacation
i got my big gun point last night
what has been the response to this scam
that came from somewhere
right it's really its been amazing because i looked at it and laughed
walked into my office
monday morning straight from the gym to have your crew meeting me at the door
and i said
gosh kirk what are you doing here i think the central press release and he said
we're here to talk about your letter
and i started laughing at that he was kidding
we wanna do a story about that letter
we we've heard these things about you know the nigerian
bank see ads and things like that
but what's so by incredible about this site email that we were talking about is
that it's a request for money looks very legitimate given unusual spelling of
your first name and it is spelled correctly in the right now
and you've gotten responses from people taking it very seriously i have
responses from all over the country and
in people either text me they call me they'd be mailed in a
may start out by saying they know it a scam but in the end they say
will let us know that you're okay and it's the spelling of my name
i had down one gentleman who told me he called me all-day even called me on my
cell phone he couldn't get me so he called in london
and dot which is rather scams and so it's gotten very very
silly alright i gotta tell you talk to a lot of people looks right back to the
camera once a time all day
i'm ok and fine camera by so we'll move on from that
next saturday ballet quad cities host bowling that banish bullying
a lot of people the others and they become a major issue for ballet quad
cities and for good reason we were talking earlier studies to be all i
really gets bullied whatever but you take it very seriously
well we take it very seriously and is so does almost everybody in the country now
um... our program the ugly duckling near its perfectly to a national program
called over a s so we're able to go into the schools we bring um... educator
guide sweeping prep programs we bring music the dancers we talk
we talked to the kids about their feelings how to react when somebody is
on kind to them
and um... it's really
it's resonating in part of the reason we think it is resonating is because
they're first-graders our characters are animals and their able to sound funny
but they're able to really relate to the sadness and the hurt feelings of these
animal characters because children they love animals why think it's
interesting though that you are going to see some sixteen hundred kids
picked first-graders
you know we have done we have been programming in the schools for years and
years and years and through
research and
taking a lot of time at the end of every season to evaluate everything we've
done what we have found is the earlier that we can get and and work with
children the better off our programs are received t_v_ going into the schools in
the middle of february but before that you have to be
big
bowling fundraiser that's in the end up uh... the lanes at blackhawk hotel one
which is kinda cool now bowling to banish bullying
and the great thing about this fundraiswer that it's a hundred percent paid
for
and so we had sponsors and are that is paid for so when you bowl that money
really does go straight into the school believe that's coming up next saturday
next saturday night and um... that you could still how much is it again it's
forty dollars a person
uh... visit our web site and that the registration form on our website and
then
right after that on the seventh eighth and ninth that's when we will be the
main
i think we are up to forty eight first-grade classes in three days
he also brought this chance i have no idea why why do we have this chalice
here not this is what i drink my water out out of that
this against
start next fundraiser was not to fabulous
wind
tu tu faboulas this is our wine tasting event 0:23:27.670,0:23:32.420 and down the dancers will be dancing we have handpainted wine glasses to pretty
there were adding fashion this year player adding charm so the dancers
be modeling some spring fashion will be dancing will be eating drinking and
having way tu tu much fun so anyhow that's coming up in march
well we did in back once again no different as your winter season kicks
off next month with love stories love on the run the that a lot of pune city
ballet cody's i discussed
so but
about what i do about said
the well of star is a direct strapped that we do every year so we'll have six
choreographers and they're just they're trying to build
vignettes
uh... thanks to natalie portman we will be bringing our blacks swan to our
audience that will be doing the blacks swan pada tha
time romeo and juliet and they tell them how did ur
and then just a lot of fun etc lactic
kind of pedestrian tight pieces that people just enjoy sure
jazz as
with contemporary and um... it's it's really it's our favorite
performance that we ever do in this you're gonna do it wallenberg hall
so we don't have drop since that's so everybody is up close and personal
three hundred people in a horseshoe
susan relented
variant and like you said that that that everyone can relate to it
yes and music and dance yet lifeblood of art
love on the run i mean really what's that all about
well that's just for a whole nother shown it is
jodi thanks for joining us
thank you for being good well and safe in america
is that
you know what's in their is still time actually to take part
in the ballet quad cities bowling to banish bullying fundraiser next saturday
at the bowling lanes inside the hotel blackhawk once forty dollars per
person
two hundred forty dollars per team and ten bucks to watch plus
promises it'll be way to to much fun
she wrote it by did not now we also hope that you will consider getting involved
in some the decision making here
had wqpt
the stations community advisory board meeting periodically to talk about
what's going on with your quad cities public television station
the next meeting is next monday that's february sixth in a john deere room of
western illinois university is sixtieth street campus in moline
it's just one way w q p_t_ reaches out to the community it serves and we hope
you
just might show up
course were always happy show upbeat thursday and sunday night at this time
for the cities
production funding for the cities is provided by a grant from the doris
victor day foundation