By Jonathan Turner DAVENPORT — The Pink Panther is missing in Montana. On Saturday morning, June 1, Will Wolf was pedaling his recumbent tricycle through Montana, working his way through a cross-country trek to benefit the Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities. When he was 20 miles west of the north-central Montana town of Havre, he was hit by a car traveling 70 mph. He and the Pink Panther stuffed animal he carried on the trike were flung into the air. EMTs quickly arrived on the scene and rushed Wolf to Northern Montana Hospital in Havre. He then was airlifted to a trauma center in Great Falls, where he spent four days. Wolf, 61, and his wife, Laura, own a home in Davenport, but they live primarily in Minneapolis. He had surgery to repair his neck and left arm June 10 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and and he returned there several times for treatment. Nearly four months after the accident, his arm is still in a mini-cast, but he recently regained motor skills in his left hand. He visited the Creative Arts Academy at 306 W. River Drive for the first time last week. “I happen to love the arts and education," said Wolf, who was between jobs this year. "My wife came up with the idea to do something for a great cause, and this was the greatest cause I could think of.” Formerly chief financial officer for Rock Island-based Barjan LLC, Wolf had a goal of raising $100,000 for the CAA. He began the ride that was designed to draw attention to his fundraising campaign May 16 in Seattle. At the time he was hit, he had gone over 800 miles in just over two weeks, including high-altitude climbs through the Cascades and Rocky Mountain ranges. He mainly stayed at motels along the way. Wolf, who blogged about his journey online, had hoped to reach Davenport by June 22. His ultimate goal was Baltimore, Md., where his mom lives. Wolf said a cross-country ride was always a dream of his, since it would give him a chance “to meet people and learn their stories,” he said. “The theme as I was cycling through the country really became centered around patience and education. Most of the people I met had some tie-in to education for their kids, doing what's right for their kids.” "I felt like I got robbed of learning all those people's stories,” Wolf said of his ride being cut short. “I was really looking forward to that. By the same token, when the rehab started, it opened my eyes to how generous and giving people are.” Before the accident, “I thought, 'I got it made. I got 20 days of nothing but the Plains and Midwest,' " Wolf recalled. “I'm also reflecting on the prior day. Montana's one of those states where they put crosses on the road where people died, and they're metal crosses. You'd notice them.” “These people didn't know they were going to die in the next five seconds, and at that time I was thinking about the roads where I was, such that you couldn't bike on a shoulder,” he said. “I was thinking, fear or faith. If you had fear, you probably wouldn't do the ride, but you have to have faith that everybody's going to move over.” Before the ride, Wolf was more worried about other traffic going through bends in the mountains, not the straight, flat roads. The day he was hit, the CAA put on a benefit talent show, "Applause for a Cause." The students didn't find out about the wreck until the following Monday, after having raised $2,400. Many students took up his ride for him, and with family and friends, they covered over 4,200 miles by riding bikes and horses, walking, and swimming," said Jessica Taylor, CAA coordinator and development specialist. “It was everybody — everybody was banding together," she said. "We called it 'The Will to Finish.' " “That was very inspiring. ... Maybe one day I can try again,” Wolf said. Levia Collman, a CAA seventh-grader, went on bike rides with her family every Sunday over the summer, and they logged their miles to add to the project. Hailey Ross, another seventh-grader, said she thought it was important to support the cause because she loves the arts and sports. "I wanted to do it because I never heard of someone biking across the country for a school," said seventh-grader Trey Gordon. "I thought that was really cool, not just 'cause it was my school, but it would also make the Creative Arts Academy more open to the public."
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The CAA 6th grade music class got to know each other by sharing their talents through a song of their choosing. The CAA 6th grade music class got to know each other by sharing their talents through a song of their choosing. On Friday, September 13, the entire Creative Arts Academy 6th grade class walked to the Davenport Police Station to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This observance of the birthday of “The Star-Spangled Banner” has become a tradition here at the CAA; a tradition started by former CAA faculty member, Mr. Ron May. Francis Scott Key composed the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” on September 14, 1814 after witnessing the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812.
Steve Ahrens, Executive Officer with Davenport Riverfront Improvement Commission, spoke to the 7th grade Integrated Arts class on Thursday.
The class had previously brainstormed ideas to match the theme of the quarter which is “Connections,” and came up with the idea to begin a collaboration using the band shell in LeClaire Park. Mr. Ahrens began by speaking about the history of the Riverfront area, including LeClaire Park and the band shell. He then explained who is in charge of the band shell, as well as some of the uses it has seen over the past many years. He answered the students’ questions and gave them some ideas in which the CAA can become involved with the band shell. The following Tuesday, the class plans to meet Mr. Ahrens at the band shell for a tour, and to further discuss ideas for collaboration. At the end of August, just as school was starting, a fundraiser was held in honor of the Creative Arts Academy. Creative Arts supporter and Central High School '04 alum Tom Taylor (husband of Program Coordinator and Development Specialist for the CAA, Jessica Taylor) chose to celebrate his birthday in a different way this year - by throwing a fundraiser birthday party for the school! "Throughout the last couple of years I've seen the positive impact this magnet school has on public education, through Jessica working as Program & Development Coordinator, through myself teaching summer workshops at the Academy, and through the projects in the community I see the students involved in," Tom said. "This is a celebration on the work being done to advocate for arts in education. This school is at the forefront of improving the Davenport Community School District." At the end of August, just as school was starting, a fundraiser was held in honor of the Creative Arts Academy. Creative Arts supporter and Central High School '04 alum Tom Taylor (husband of Program Coordinator and Development Specialist for the CAA, Jessica Taylor) chose to celebrate his birthday in a different way this year - by throwing a fundraiser birthday party for the school! "Throughout the last couple of years I've seen the positive impact this magnet school has on public education, through Jessica working as Program & Development Coordinator, through myself teaching summer workshops at the Academy, and through the projects in the community I see the students involved in," Tom said. "This is a celebration on the work being done to advocate for arts in education. This school is at the forefront of improving the Davenport Community School District." Tom and Jessica brought together local artists - singers, dancers, poets - to bring an arts feel to the event.
Performers included: Singer/songwriters Rebecca Casad & Alan Morrison (Alan is a guitar teacher for two Academy students,) & Esme Haferbier of the band Bees, Poet and Musician Aubrey Barnes, Dancer Mac DeVille, with a very special surprise performance by CHS '04 Alum Lily Arbisser! It was an incredible night of awareness and much fun was had by all! A special thank you to Crawford Brew Works who hosted the event, and whose owners contributed, Crawford Company, and everyone who attended! If you are still interested in donating to support the Creative Arts Academy, we're keeping our Donation Page going for another month! "Next year will be bigger and better!" |