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When the Patriots defense was hit by the opt-out losses of stalwarts Donta Hightower and Patrick Chung, Phillips help fill those voids as well.

Phillips was a new guy to the team, but he played like an old Patriots soul, somebody willing to do whatever was asked to make the team better.

He slipped into a hybrid role, playing linebacker and/or safety depending on the game plan and/or situation.

With six years of experience (all with the Chargers), Phillips was able to adapt and excel in New Englands complicated schemes.

Hes very team-oriented, good communicator, understands concepts and understands multiple positions and roles within the defense and within the special teams units, coach Bill Belichick said in January.

Phillips at times served as an undersized linebacker, planted in the middle of the defense and sticking his nose where no 5-foot-11-inch, 210-pound man has a right to be. Despite giving up a lot of mass, Phillips was able to shed behemoth blockers and find the ball consistently. He collected a team-high (and career-high) 107 total tackles, including seven for losses.

He also possesses the athleticism to play in coverage, picking off a pair of passes. Phillips is on the books for one more season at $3 million, making him one of the best bargains in the NFL.

Im glad we have him and Im excited to continue to work with him, Belichick said. He has helped us a lot this year and I think he will continue to. Hes been really a pleasure to work with.

A look at the current state of the secondary and what predraft moves the Patriots could explore this offseason.

The 2020 Patriots

Safeties: Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger, Terrence Brooks; cornerbacks: Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones, Jason McCourty, Myles Bryant, Joejuan Williams, Michael Jackson, DAngelo Ross, Dee Virgin.

Devin McCourty: The unquestioned player-leader of this team both on the field and in the locker room; few players in any sport wear the captains label better. He has seen it all, can play it all, and still is producing at a high level heading into his 12th season in New England.

Dugger: The clubs top pick flashed plenty of potential during his rookie campaign. Hes a fluid 6-2, 220-pounder who can cover and play near the box. Dugger delivered some teeth-rattling hits.

Brooks: A free agent, he was a valuable kicking-game contributor and depth piece on the back end the last two seasons, but his defensive snaps dwindled in 2020 as Dugger developed.

Gilmore: Put together another tremendous season until suffering a torn quadriceps in Week 15. The narrative that his game slipped is a false one. Hes still among the elite players at his position. Hes due approximately $7 million in salary and bonuses for 2021, and some tinkering with that number seems inevitable. And by tinkering, we mean another bump in pay.

J.C. Jackson: A restricted free agent, he is likely to get slapped with a first-round tender. He is a ball hawk (nine picks in 2020) and few defend the long ball better. An in-season extension is a distinct possibility.

Jones: One of the better slot corners in the league, he gets better every season. Like many on this list, he can shift seamlessly to safety when needed.

Jason McCourty: If he wants to play a 13th season, the Patriots will be interested. Split his snaps between corner and safety in 2020.

Bryant: Brought in to compete at corner, the undrafted rookie quickly showed he could play anywhere in the secondary. His roles will continue to grow.

Williams: Has played corner and safety as a depth piece while contributing mainly on special teams his first two seasons. This will be a critical offseason and season for the 2019 second-rounder.

Michael Jackson: He had a strong camp but was caught in a numbers crunch before being brought back late in the season. Could return and compete for a job.

Ross: With two seasons in the program (the majority on the practice squad), he could be poised for a major jump on the depth chart.

Virgin: An exclusive-rights free agent, he was signed for Week 17 but didnt dress. Hell likely compete for a job in camp.

The opt-out

Chung.

The versatile and valuable veteran has indicated hed like to continue his career. Has more responsibilities, play to play and series to series, than any other Patriot, and getting to work with Dugger will benefit both.

The free agents

Safeties: Harmon, D.J. Swearinger; cornerbacks: Bashaud Breeland, Mike Hilton.

Harmon: Knows the defense and wouldnt break the bank, and New England hasnt seen a closer this good since Jonathan Papelbon.

Swearinger: Another solid veteran who wouldnt command a ridiculous paycheck. Can play in space and close to the line.

Breeland: Competent veteran backup would add depth and push some of the younger talent on the roster.

Hilton: See Breeland above. Both players come from winning organizations (Kansas City, Pittsburgh), and thats important.

The bottom line

With outstanding depth at safety and corner, the Patriots wont likely be players for some of the big free agents at either position. Affordable depth veterans will be the order of the day. The contract statuses of Gilmore and J.C. Jackson bear watching, because if either or both leave, that changes the free agent philosophy significantly.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.

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Adrian Phillips plugged some holes and was a valuable addition to Patriots secondary - The Boston Globe

TheETHSFoundationwill hold its first-ever virtual fundraising event, moving its annual benefit,WILD FORETHS, online on at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 27. The virtual event will feature personal stories and messages from students, as well as musical performances from students and alumni.

Performers will include Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller 01, educator and performer Matthew Hunter 05, and an exclusive arrangement by Ian Weinberger 05, Musical Director of the Broadway sensationHamilton.

This fundraising event will help create impactful and transformative spaces and support students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Foundationpriorities this year include the Student & Family Response Fund; providing pandemic support, updates to the Girls Locker Room and the creation of an All-Gender Locker Room, an expanded and redesigned Literacy Lab and literacy resources, investment in the STEAM Design Thinking & Innovation course, investment in Geometry in Construction, and an expanded band practice field with the addition of a new conductor tower.

Information about tickets and the fundraiser is available at zheFoundationsWILD FORETHSwebsite.

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ETHS Foundation to Host WILD FOR ETHS Celebration - Evanston RoundTable

Editor's Note: Journalism students at Ursinus College, supported by a grant from Project Pericles, dedicated a semester to interviewing students at Montgomery County public high schools to get their perspective on the impact Pennsylvania's inequitable school funding had on their education.

Pennsylvania is known for having one of the most inequitable public school funding systems in the nation.

Education opportunities and resources often have more to do with a student's zip code than anything resembling equity.

But do students and parents know this?

Journalism students at Ursinus College, supported by a grant from Project Pericles, dedicated a semester to interviewing students at Montgomery County public high schools to find out.

Most of the stories included in this series come from that project, and you can watch a video of students talking about their schools at . These quotes come from interviews with other Montgomery County students and graduates.

* * *

I feel that it's not fair. We wish we had the same items, I feel that [other schools] have a lot of things that we don't. They get a lot more money."

Ariana Torres, senior at Pottstown High School

* * *

There was always this underlying stress. We didnt have enough money to do some things, our textbooks were very old. I just feel like it isnt very, I dont know, it doesnt really get the job done. Talking about history and its so outdated or even science classes there have been new theories you know or whatever.

Emily Weber, Pottstown High School graduate

* * *

We're lucky enough to be in a situation where our school has the money to afford and produce live streams for most of our sports events and we can get a lot of attendance on that from not only parents but students as well who want to spectate the game.

Michael Fath, senior at Wissahickon High School

* * *

As a parent I can see that Pottstown definitely lacks in resources. Compared to surrounding districts I know back in March when we went virtual some school districts already had school-issued laptops or Chromebooks and Pottstown didn't because we couldn't afford it, so we had to find funding really quick and try to get the laptops out.

The kids didn't know how to use them. Parents didn't know how to use them, so it took us longer to switch to that world than other districts because they were already doing it.

Phoebe Kancianic, Pottstown parent

* * *

They just finished a brand new weight room addition to expand the old weight room. It is two floors, with every weight personalized with a Ram and a Spring-Ford logo. They even hired a weight coach. It was insane.

Claire Vance, Spring-Ford High School graduate

* * *

Yes, I do consider myself at a large advantage because my school has the means to offer everyone an opportunity to get involved

Maggie McGovern, senior at Perkiomen Valley High School

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VOICES OF INEQUITY: How unfair school funding looks at the ground level - The Mercury

MONROE, CT Contractors lined up at Town Hall to submit bids to do work on the renovation and addition to the Monroe Volunteer Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Jockey Hollow Road.The bidding process officially closed at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

We had nearly 100 bids, said Terry Rooney, chairman of the building committee. It was great.Were really happy with the response. You dont know what to expect.

To keep the cost of the project down, the building committee is bidding every aspect of construction separately. Once all of the bidders are chosen, they will tally the total cost.

That will start a process culminating in a Town Meeting, where residents will vote on the bonding.

Aside from the bonding, the town has a $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant to defray the cost of the project.

Right now, the next step is for the building committee to review the bids and select the vendors. A concerted effort will be made, with all things being equal, to hire local contractors.

Well review all the proposals at the next meeting, Rooney said. This building project is Monroe first. Thats what were going to try to do, within reason, pump the money into the local economy.

He said several Monroe companies placed bids.

Rooney said the building committee meets on the second Tuesday of every month. That would make the next meeting March 9.

The impetus behind the project comes from a feasibility study done years ago, before Ken Kellogg was first selectman. The study, led byJacunski Humes Architects, determined the best project, based on location and affordability, was to renovate the Jockey Hollow firehouse at 54 Jockey Hollow Road.

The EMS Building Committee was created about three years ago and its current members are Rooney, John Brenna, Robert Westlund, Domenic Paniccia, Michael Vitello and John Ostaszewski.

Jacunski Humes Architects, which designed the renovation and addition of the Monroe Police Department several years ago, was hired as the project architect for the EMS headquarters through the bidding process and another bid process resulted in Burlington Construction Co. being hired as project manager.

The project has Inland Wetlands approval and the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a municipal referral from the Town Council.

Facility needs

During a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last year, EMS Chief Donald Smith said the Monroe EMS worked out of the electric room of the police station on Fan Hill Road before moving to Jockey Hollow Firehouse in 2001.

Over the years, Smith said the ambulance service has seen an annual call volume increase, rising from 900 to 1,500 calls.

The EMS, which has between 45 and 50 members, has outgrown its facility. Smith said there is no office space and the classroom, whichdoubles as volunteers dining room, is too small.There is no restroom upstairs and there is an unworkable shower on the lower level, so volunteers have to go home to shower and change, according to Smith.

Rooney said the main issue is that conditions are not suitable for an overnight stay.

The facility has 20 striped parking spaces, which Kellogg said is inadequate. The project would increase the parking lot to 64 spaces.Currently, Kellogg said people are parking on the grass when classes and membership meetings are held, are double parking and parking in front of ambulance bays.

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EMS building project attracts nearly 100 bids - The Monroe Sun

The Gustavus Adolphus College Board of Trustees approved the beginning of construction on an ambitious $60 million expansion and renovation of Lund Center, the Colleges wellness and athletic facility, at the groups winter meeting last week. Gustavus plans to break ground on the project as soon as the soil thaws this spring.

The Lund Center expansion and renovation will give Gustavus one of the top small-college wellness and athletic facilities in the nation and provide a cutting-edge academic home for our Department of Health and Exercise Science and Athletic Training Program, Gustavus President Rebecca Bergman said.

Theres a tremendous sense of excitement among our students, faculty, and staff, Director of Athletics Tom Brown said. We look forward to providing expanded health and wellness facilities for all members of the Gustavus community while also building on the Colleges 120-year tradition of excellence in athletics.

The greenlight to begin construction comes one year after Trustees approved a plan to move forward with the development of construction documents.

The fact that we are able to begin on schedule despite the uncertainty of the last year speaks volumes about the generosity and vision of our donors, the hard work of our planning team, and our valued partnership with BWBR Architects and Kraus-Anderson Construction, Bergman said.

The 12-month Phase I of the expansion and renovation project will focus on a 72,000 square-foot addition that will include fitness facilities utilized by all members of the Gustavus community such as expanded cardio and weight room spaces, locker room renovations, and new office spaces. Phase II is expected to begin immediately afterwards, with the conclusion of the entire project by early 2023. The completed facility will total approximately 330,000 square feet.

Highlights of the multiphase project include:

The Lund Center improvements come on the heels of the Nobel Hall of Science expansion and renovation project, which concluded in August 2020. Both building projects represent major outcomes of Show the World, the Colleges $225 million comprehensive campaign that was announced in September 2019.

The College has already received over $32 million in gifts and commitments that will underwrite the cost of Phase I of the Lund Center project. Fundraising continues as the College seeks to raise a total of $60 million for the expansion and renovation.

The Lund Center project is a testament to the continued momentum at Gustavus, Vice President for Advancement Thomas W. Young 88 said. In collaboration with Gustavus alumni, family, and friends, we are building an even brighter tomorrow for current and future Gusties. We look forward to continuing these partnerships as we complete our fundraising for Phase II.

For more information about the Lund Center expansion and renovation project, visit the Show the World campaign website.

Link:
Lund Center Project to Break Ground This Spring - Gustavus Adolphus College News

Montgomery County expects to spend more than $1.9 million to add two new seats to the County Council, a structural change that voters approved in Novembers election.

The two positions will begin their term in December 2022, creating an 11-member council. A redistricting commission recently began meeting to discuss the plans for how to divide the county into seven districts from its current five.

The council is currently made up of five district members and four at-large. The new council will have seven district seats and four at-large.

Of the more than $1.9 million, $92,000 is currently being considered as a supplemental appropriation for Council Office Building renovations. The funds would come from general obligations bonds.

The renovations are to make room for the two additional council members in the building. Interior modifications will be made to add two suits and ancillary spaces.

Adding the two members increases renovations costs to about $500,000. A prior appropriation of $408,000 for renovations will cover the remaining costs.

The excess $408,000 is coming from funding for the existing renovation project for the Council Office Building.

Marlene Michaelson, the executive director of the council, wrote in an email that the new renovations will cost more than $500,000 but there is no final number yet.

The design work provided for in the new renovation appropriation will give us a better idea of the costs that will be involved, she wrote.

Currently, an IT upgrade is being made to the third-floor hearing room. The council clerks work station is also being reconfigured.

Because there isnt enough space on the fifth floor to accommodate two additional council members and their staffs, the two offices will be placed on another floor in the building.

The supplemental appropriation, which was introduced on Jan. 26, is scheduled for a public hearing and vote at 1:30 p.m on March 2.

The current salary for council members is $140,142. Each council member receives the same salary with the exception of Council President Tom Hucker, who receives 10% more.

By law, the council is entitled to a Consumer Price Index increase to their salaries , but has declined the raise this year .

This council elected to give back this 1 percent CPI increase during the budget deliberations, Michaelson wrote.

In addition, benefits for council members are approximately $31,000 each.

A budget of $535,000 is provided to each council member for personnel and benefits costs for staff members, as well as operating costs.

Council members can hire as many staff members as they want within that budget. Each of the current members has about four to five full- and part-time employees.

Of the $535,000, $20,000 is used for operating expenses and about $22,000 is used for benefits for each staff member. The benefits can vary between $20,000 and $40,000, depending on the salary, FICA, benefits selected and retirement eligibility, according to Michaelson.

At this time, we arent expecting additional costs beyond the new council positions and the buildings renovations, Michaelson said.

***

Cost of adding two council members

Salaries: $280,284Benefits: $62,000Staff and operating expenses: $1.07 millionCouncil office improvements: $500,000 with more expected

Total: $1.9 million

Briana Adhikusuma can be reached at briana.adhikusuma@bethesdamagazine.com.

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Adding two County Council members will cost more than $1.9M - BethesdaMagazine.com

ESPN is celebrating the five-year anniversary of its weekday NBA show, The Jump on Thursday, February 18, at 3 p.m. ET. The one-hour show, which airs live Monday through Friday afternoons, made its debut on February 18, 2016 and has since aired more than 1,000 episodes.

Phoenix Suns superstar Chris Paul, who also appeared on the first show in 2016, will join host and journalist Rachel Nichols for a special interview. As part of the interview, Paul will discuss his latest project as an executive producer, Why Not Us: North Carolina Central University Mens Basketball an all-access documentary series streaming exclusively on ESPN+. For more information, visit ESPN Press Room.

Additionally, ESPN NBA analyst Richard Jefferson and senior writer Brian Windhorst a mainstay of The Jump since its debut are scheduled to appear on set. The anniversary episode will also include a look back at highlights from the shows five-year history.

The Jump has since extended its presence to serve as an on-site show at the NBAs highest-profile events, including the NBA Finals, the conference finals, the NBA Playoffs, NBA All-Star, the NBA Draft and the NBA Draft Lottery. The Jump podcast is also available everywhere podcasts are available.

In addition to her role as host, Nichols serves as sideline reporter for ESPN and ABCs marquee NBA game broadcasts, including for its NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC series and for its NBA Finals and conference finals coverage. The February 18, 2016 debut of The Jump marked Nichols return to ESPN after three years. She previously served as an ESPN reporter from 2004 to 2013.

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ESPN Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary of The Jump on February 18 - ESPN Press Room

Big Hit Entertainment is leaving no stone unturned to promote BTS's upcoming studio album, BE (Essential Edition). They have shared pictures, videos and notes by individual band members too. And now, they have been sharing the curated room for ARMY by the BTS boys. After, RM, Suga, Jungkook, Jimin and V, it's time for J-Hope's version. J-Hope adds bottles of scent and a rug into the room. The rug has hearts on it. Explaining his idea, J-Hope said, "I think the best thing for ARMY's room in the winter cold is a rug that can make each moment your feet touch the floor nice and warm. I think an ordinary rug might not be enough to express the warmth I want to send your way, so I put down a rug with hearts all over it to show my love for you. I personally prefer to sit on the floor than on the sofa. I think there might be ARMY out there like me. In that case, a rug is a must, right? I wanted to make sure in ARMY's room a rug that can embrace you full of love and warm like I can." Also Read - BTS: Jin turns a 'professional photobomber' for J-Hope and it's the funniest thing on the net

"I think a scent is the strongest memory that lingers between a person and another. A pleasant memory might fade over time, but a whiff of scent from way back then brings it back like it was yesterday. So, I put in perfume that will make beautiful memories of BTS and ARMY together come alive again. One is for us, one is for ARMY. What's their scent like? Different for each memory with us that you recall in your mind, of course," J-Hope added explaining the presence of scent bottles.

Hey there! BollywoodLife.Com Awards 2021 are back and Nominations Are Now Open!Click Here to Nominate Your Favourites and Stand a Chance to WIN Exciting Prizes.

Read more from the original source:
BTS: After V and Jimin, J-Hope's heartening addition to ARMY room makes excitement for BE (Essential Edition) - Bollywood Life

'Aidan Avocado' has a new 'pit.'

Feb. 5 was a day of firsts for Aidan Moles.

The 2-year-old had spent all of his 946 days of existence that's two birthdays, three Thanksgivings and three Christmases within the groundsof the University of Iowa's Stead Family Children's Hospital in Iowa City, where he had undergone more than 70 COVID-19 tests, 16 operating room visits, 306 radiologic procedures and one long-awaited kidney transplant.

Typical childhood experiences such as trips to the supermarket, outdoor adventures and day care had been replaced by play mats in his room and stroller rides and gait trainer walksthrough the hospital corridors.His only views of the world outside had been what he could see from the hospital's campus.

But on Feb. 5, Aidan ventured out of the hospital and, for the first time in his life, felt the chilly winter air on his cheeks before takinghis firstcar ride, during which he watched the passing landscape from his car seatbefore dozing off to sleep.

About an hour and a half after leaving the hospital, his mother, Aron Donaldson, was finally able to introduce her sonto their Fort Madison home.

"At first, he was a little apprehensive," Donaldson told The Hawk Eye as Aidanpracticed pulling himself up on living room furniture. "He kind of had a little spot in the living room; he didn't venture far from there."

Donaldson had spent the months preceding Aidan's homecoming preparing his nautical-themed bedroom, but due to the toddler's health conditions, the mother and son have set up camp in the living room.

"I'm worried I'm not going to hear everything" if we're in different rooms," Donaldson said.

The living room and the nest of blankets Donaldson had laid out for him theresuitAidan just fine.He is, after all, used to one-room living. He has yet to venture into other parts of his home, thoughhe has been eyeing the kitchen.

"He kind of kept his little nest and, slowly, he just kind of spread his wings and now he's trying to get into everything," Donaldson said with a laugh.

"He's eating my furniture," she said. "He's wanting to go in the kitchen, but he hasn't really gone out of the living room yet, but he is acting like a toddler for sure."

In addition to testing out his new environment, Aidan's favorite pastimes include watching videos "They finally had to limit his screen time," Donaldson said with a laughof the staff at the children's hospital who have become like family to herand Aidan over the past 2 years as well as being read toand playing with toys, especially his avocado guitar.

Donaldson gave Aidan the guitar as a Christmas gift while he was still in the hospital. He loved it so much thatshe and music therapistKirsten Nelson began to come up with a song. Nelson passed it along to children's songwriterAlastair Moock, who polished it up and added to the lyrics to compose "Aidan Avocado."

"It's about Aidan needing a pit, meaning kidney. When Aidan started getting mobile, he alligator-rolled all the time," Donaldson explained. "It's about living on an island in the sea, rolling around and not a care in the world."

When Aidan's medical team threw him a going-away partyearlier this month, Moock appeared via Zoom to play and sing the song for Aidan, but with a twist.

Moock "sang it for him, but he changed the words around a little bit saying, 'Now he has his pit,'" Donaldson said.

Aidan was born seven weeks ahead of schedule, on July 5, 2018, weighing just 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Neither of his kidneys was working, and he was in end-stage renal disease, requiring dialysis at birth.

"He was born with what's called dysplastic kidneys, so the kidneys just didn't work well early on," said Dr. Lyndsay Harshman,director of the hospital's pediatric kidney transplant program.

Aidan's kidneys hadn't formed properly as babies grow in utero, their kidneys help to form the amniotic fluid that helps to form their lungs, "so it's pretty common that babies with neonatal kidney disease also have cardiac and lung issues," Harshman said.

Thatwas true for Aidan. In addition to renal disease, the newborn also suffered from pulmonary hypertension, meaning the blood vessels coming off his heart toward his lungs were constricted to the point they did not allow adequate blood flow and circulation of oxygen, meaning Aidan also needed long-term support from a ventilator and long-term medications to help decrease the pressure in his heart and lungs.

"Aidan is one of the most complicated kids we've had in a while here because of the cardiac concerns and the ventilator requirements and things," Harshman said.

He spent most of the first year of his life in intensive care, on a ventilator and sedated for several months.

Donaldson, who is Aidan's biological grandmother, was there at every turn, spending any time off from her job at International Eyecare with Aidan while working with the Department of Human Services to adopt him after it became clear his biologicalparents were not prepared to care for him.

"I think he needed me, I needed him, and we just had a good bond, and I knew that I just wanted to take care of him," Donaldson said. "He's such a fighter."

Aidan's condition gradually improved to the point where his heart and lung status were better controlled, as was his dialysis. Then it was on to the inpatient floor.

"Once we were able to get him out of the ICU literally after a year of his life and up to the inpatient floors, that's wherehe started to begin to have more developmental progress," Harshman said. "Because when kids are sick their whole first year of life, they forgo those baby milestones, so he had a lot of catching up to do: learning how to roll over, how to sitall of those things."

Once Aidan's medical team felt his heart and lungs were strong and stable enough to undergo a kidney transplant, he was put on the transplant donor list.

The lifesaving kidney came in November from a deceased donor.

Donaldson had been told to expect Aidan to flourish after his transplant, but she was surprised by how quickly his development took off.

"It was within days," Donaldson said. "It was amazing."

Even Aidan's medical team was surprised by Aidan's progress.

"None of us really expected it, and all of us were cautiously concerned that he would have a rocky course post-transplant and he surprised all of us," Harshman said. "After his transplant, it was really just unbelievable. The kid was standing up more in the crib in the ICU after his transplant within days, and we were like, 'Excuse me? Who is this child?'"

Within a week of getting his transplant, his need for a ventilator, which he was still using at night and occasionally during the day, dropped significantly. Within a month, he no longer needed it at all.

Three months later, he was ready to go home.

"When a family is going through such sadness from losing a loved one and they make that decision to donate their loved one's organs or honor that loved one's decision to donate organs, the impact it has can't even be quantified, especially for kids, because they get a chance at life that they wouldn't have had otherwise," Harshman said.

The next six months will be especially critical for Aidan due to the risks that his body might rejecthis new kidney, as well as an increased risk of infection caused by his anti-rejection medications. Harshman hopes his new kidney will last for at least the next 20 years.

"A transplant's not a cure,"she said."It's the bridge to the next transplant."

In the meantime, Donaldson says she's looking forward to warmer weather, so that she and Aidan will be able to enjoy more firsts, including those that can take place only outside, like afirst stroller ride through the park.

You can register to become an organ, eye and tissue donor at the Iowa Donor Network website.

Youalso can mark "yes" authorizing organ donationwhen you get your drivers license renewed or whengetting a hunting, fishing or fur-harvesting license.

By registering, you authorize your organs, eyesand tissues to be donated at the time of your death. If a donated organ, eyeor tissue cannot be used for transplant, an effort will be made to use the donation for research, the website says.

The website saysthe Iowa organ waiting list as of Dec. 1 had485 Iowansawaiting kidneys;heart, 24; lungs, 10; liver, 40; andkidney/pancreas, 6.

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Fort Madison toddler was hospitalized the first 946 days of his life. Then a kidney transplant opened his world. - Burlington Hawk Eye

Spencer Durham|The Daily Telegram

ADRIAN A 2,500-square-foot addition to the Salvation Army's thrift store in Adrian will allow for all donations to be stored safely inside.

Construction began late last summer on a storage and receiving facility. It is attached to the back of the thrift store. The space allows for storing and sorting donations. There's also enough room for the Salvation Army to keep its emergency disaster vehicle inside, safe from the elements.

Salvation Army staff, the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce and community members were on hand Wednesday morning for a brief dedication ceremony.

"We have been eagerly awaiting this property," said Capt. Jacob Tripp.

Tripp and his wife, Melinda, lead the local Salvation Army, acting as both pastors and administrators. They started this past July.

Additional space had been discussed for years. Longtime volunteers remember when they first heard about the idea years ago.

Tripp said they finally received enough community support and funding to build the $750,000 addition.

"In the long run, it's going to change how the store can operate," he said.

The addition comes at a good time. Despite thrift store sales being down, donations have remained steady. The Salvation Army is now accepting furniture, which will require more space.

The organization is already making use of its new addition, storing bales of clothes. Gone are the days of bales of clothes wrapped in blue tarps were stored outside. This would inevitably lead to some clothes being ruined.

"We can make sure everything can be saved," Tripp said. "This space is really going to help us."

The organization has a machine that packs clothes not sold in the store into large bales. These are then sold to other organizations and developing countries. A semitruck load can fetch $12,000.

"We have been selling good products on the floor and back here," said Tim Schroeder, store consultant.

More storage space for more donations means more revenue for the Salvation Army.

"This is a way to help us do what we do and help us do more in the community," Tripp said.

Donations can be made between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.Monday through Friday at the thrift store, 247 W. Church St., Adrian.

The store accepts a wide range of items, including clothes, belts, furniture and hats. Items must still be useable.

For more information, call 517-263-3650.

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Adrian Salvation Army adds storage space to thrift store - The Daily Telegram