Home Care In Garrison, IA

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – A Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician is the new U.S. Army Garrison’s senior enlisted leader.

Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin O. Brinkmeyer replaced Command Sgt. Maj. Tamisha A. Love during a change of responsibility ceremony July 27 at the Gregg-Adams Club.

Col. James D. Hoyman, garrison commander, officiated the ceremony that took place in the club’s cavernous main ballroom. More than 100 people were seated for the event to include Maj. Gen. Mark T. Simerly, CASCOM and Fort Gregg-Adams commanding general; Command Sgt. Maj. Marco A. Torres, CASCOM CSM; and G. Scott McConnell, deputy to the CASCOM commanding general.

Also present was Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin King, command sergeant major, Installation Management Command Directorate-Training, USAG’s higher headquarters.

Brinkmeyer arrived here from Fort Liberty, N.C. (formerly Fort Bragg), where he served as battalion CSM for the 192nd Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). He is the first EOD-trained Soldier to occupy a position that has been previously filled by mostly quartermaster non-commissioned officers.

During his remarks, Brinkmeyer thanked the audience for attending, including his parents, John and Maride Brinkmeyer, who drove to the central Virginia installation from Iowa.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without your support and love,” said the Hubbard, Iowa native. “You mean the world to me.”

Brinkmeyer, a husband and father of six, including two Soldiers, who were unable to attend the ceremony, added that his arrival here was marked with kind gestures and goodwill.

“The commitment of this place and the welcome that was given to me and my family…. I’m grateful for all your patience and support and I look forward to being a part of this team.”

Brinkmeyer went on to say he is eager to establish relations with CASCOM, the other installation tenants and the ID-T team in the work of supporting the “best sustainers the Army has to offer.”

He remarked that Love, the outgoing CSM, possessed a presence that would be hard to match.

“CSM Love was never accused of being tall nor was she ever accused of wearing big shoes,” he said, “but she fills large shoes and casts a very giant shadow.”

Hoyman made note of her influence during his introductory remarks, discussing Love’s profound presence. Vivacious and relatable, she seemed to be everywhere all at once – on social media, at official events and community gatherings -- fixing problems, offering solutions and otherwise spreading messages of support.

“She is an amazing person, leader and friend for quite a number of us here,” he remarked. “I think the word that stands out is ‘inspirational.’”

Love took on her responsibilities in April 2021. She became part of a garrison leadership team supporting -- among other challenges – the installation’s response to COVID-19 and the corresponding restrictions facing Soldiers and civilians; Operation Allies Welcome that welcomed and sustained more than 3,000 Afghans for months here; and redesignation, a process overseeing the name change from Fort Lee to Fort Gregg-Adams.

“Her impact cannot be overstated,” said Hoyman, who has partnered with Love since his arrival in August 2022. “It really, really is impressive.”

Love, a native of Alabama, approached the lectern flashing her trademark smile, then quipped about Hoyman’s previous remarks, drawing laughter from the crowd. Turning serious, she thanked the audience for their presence and God “for his amazing grace and mercy.

“He has given me strength to handle everything that comes my way,” she said. “My mom always says, ‘Trust God – He leads you in the best way.’ There’s no doubt that God has led me to this phenomenal team – Team Gregg-Adams.”

Love went on to say the periods leading to the change of responsibility were emotional.

“This has been the hardest week in my military career,” she said. “I’ve been touched by all the well-wishes I received …. but today is my turn to say thanks.”

Love spent a considerable amount of time thanking all who supported her and the garrison during her tenure, many by name.

Additionally, she recounted how the garrison team made an impression on her first day on the job. That day, two housing units caught fire, and a military bus with passengers was involved in an accident.

“I quickly learned I was surrounded by a team of professionals that were subject matter experts and (who) are passionate about serving Soldiers and their families,” she said. “I also learned I cannot apply the typical leadership style for this organization.”

As the garrison CSM, Love was part of an organization with hundreds more civilians than Soldiers. She was responsible for such operations as housing, law enforcement, morale, welfare, recreation and utilities – a far cry than what she was accustomed with the many deployable units she was assigned. Nevertheless, Love said she had grown to understand and appreciate the legions of those not wearing uniforms who are just as passionate about the mission.

With that sentiment, Love said mission accomplishment is rarely completed through individual efforts alone.

“My success in this position has been because of my individual worth or achievements,” she said. “My success has always been because of my family members, friends, teammates, and, of course, Fort Gregg-Adams, which is my family.”

In closing, Love was decidedly sentimental.

“I was once told that the best things are free – hugs, smiles, family, love, laughter, sleep and good memories,” she said. “Fort Gregg-Adams, you have provided all of this to me … (all) but sleep.”

Love next assignment will take her to Redstone Arsenal, Ala., where she will take on responsibilities as CSM, Installation Management Command, Sustainment Directorate.

Darla and Jeff Garrison are giving triplet girls care and hope for having happy lives

Racing through the store, picking out new outfits with the money each received as a gift, the three 10-year-old girls still attract attention, just like any set of triplets. No one would ever expect that two of them were once physically attached to one another.

“When they encounter something they can’t do,” says their mom Darla Garrison, “they don t dwell on it too long.”

Indeed, Macey and Mackenzie – formerly conjoined twins who each have one leg – rely on prosthetics, but in every other way keep pace with their triplet sister Madeline.

Born attached at the pelvis with a shared third leg and entwined intestines, Macey and Mackenzie faced hurdles that would have challenged any family. Yet they carried an extra burden: Their birth parents, who had not seen a doctor during the pregnancy, had drug problems and were unable to care for them.

Enter Darla and Jeff Garrison. Over the years Darla, 42, a homemaker, and Jeff, 52, a construction worker, had welcomed several neglected or medically fragile foster children into their home, only to see each one move on. But they’d always wanted girls to expand their biological family of three healthy boys – Tyler, 20; Matt, 17; and Luke, 16.

Two years after doctors at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles separated Macey and Mackenzie in 2003, the Garrisons adopted all three girls and moved from California to a farm in Indianola, Iowa. Their goal, as they told PEOPLE for a 2010 profile, was to create the kind of country childhood Darla and Jeff themselves had known and treasured.

Since then, Macey and Mackenzie have thrived, says Linda Kontis, cofounder of the foster-care agency that placed them.

“When you raise children who are handicapped in any way, when they’re surrounded by people who treat them like regular kids, that becomes how they see themselves,” Kontis says. “It wasn’t just Darla and Jeff, they took in these girls as a family unit. And that’s why they re fabulous kids today.”

Macey and Mackenzie – who each weighed 2.2 pounds at birth – have overcome learning delays to be almost equal with their peers when they enter fifth grade in the fall.

“The girls have succeeded through hard work and the commitment by their family. Their progression is wonderful and inspiring,” says Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Pediatric Surgeon James Stein, who performed the multi-staged separation in 2003.

Macey, the quieter and more girly of the two, enjoys playing inside and coloring, says Darla. The outdoorsy Mackenzie helped a 12-year-old neighbor train for track last spring by running up and down the Garrisons’ driveway.

And along with Madeline, all three girls have embraced household chores, including washing dishes, putting away laundry, feeding the cats and dogs to help out their mom, who was inspired by her experience with the girls to begin studying last year for a degree in physical therapy.

“I see them actually maturing,” says Darla. “Now that I’m in school, I’m not as available, and they’ve really stepped up. They’re pretty proud of that. They do a lot for 10-year-olds, really.”

But 10-year-old girls they still are. “We used to have Bieber fever, but we’ve outgrown it,” says their mom. “We’re loving on Hunter Hayes these days. And also One Direction.”

Macey and Mackenzie’s rapid growth required them to swap out new prostheses three times this past school year.

“We’re not to the point yet where they can just go out and about with their prosthetic legs,” says Darla. “It’s a balance issue. You have to train and train, and that’s what we’re doing with them at school.”

Crutches are a constant, as are the ostomy bags that each of the girls must wear and change frequently – the primary excuse for their occasional down moments.

“Ostomies do upset your daily life,” says Darla. “That’s a lot of responsibility for a kid to make sure everything s intact and they’re not going to run into some trouble when they’re out somewhere. The positive is that modern medicine has allowed them to be alive.”

Darla says that her daughters do everything they can to participate in activities like other kids their age.

“Mackenzie wanted to buy Rollerblades or a skateboard,” says Darla. “I couldn’t let her do it. She was bummed for a little while, but she got over it and found some other interest, and to me that is amazing. We talked about a bike. I’m not sure we sold her on the bike yet.”

Macey speaks up for her sister: “Are you out of your mind?” she says to Darla. “How are we going to ride bikes?”

“It’s possible,” Darla says. “We’re going to make it happen.”

More Heroes Among Us:

• War Veteran Brian Taylor Urruela Starts Sports Leagues for Other Veterans

• Texas Woman Grants Terminally Ill and Disabled Children’s Rodeo Wishes

Know a hero? Send suggestions to [email protected]. For more inspiring stories, read the latest issue of PEOPLE magazine

Guest columnist

In 1972, Gordon Garrison purchased 300 acres of farmland in Emmet County, a rectangle near the Minnesota border one county to the east of the Iowa Great Lakes.

The Iowa State University agricultural engineering graduate began raising sheep and crops. He also set about working to restore the “prairie pothole” ecology of shallow wetlands that was common in northwestern Iowa when white settlers began arriving 175 years ago.

Garrison built a house on his land in 1999. He still lives there, although his quality of life has taken a troubling turn since he put down roots there.

Life for Garrison and his neighbors changed significantly in December 2015 when New Fashion Pork LLP built a CAFO, or a confined animal feeding operation, uphill from and adjacent to Garrison’s property. The confinement building — which the state allows to house 4,400 to 8,800 hogs, depending on their size — is about a half mile from Garrison’s property.

A subsidiary of New Fashion Pork owns more agricultural land adjacent to Garrison’s property. That land is used for disposal of hog manure.

More:Suing hog confinements for pollution, odor just became harder with Iowa Supreme Court ruling

More:Factory farms provide abundant food, but environment suffers

It is important to remember that Gordon Garrison and his family arrived and built their home before the hog confinement entered the picture. It is important to remember that he was there before the Legislature passed the “right-to-farm” law in 2020 that provides livestock producers with broad immunity from lawsuits as long as they comply with state and federal regulations.

This isn’t a matter of a family moving to an agricultural area and then being surprised to find there are unpleasant odors associated with livestock. Nevertheless, the Iowa law says animal-feeding operations “shall not be found to interfere with another person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or property.”

Garrison’s comfortable use and enjoyment of his property changed after the CAFO was built. He experienced nausea and dizziness from the odor and said it was sometimes so intense he could not work outside. Nearby landowners corroborated his complaints.

That’s what brought Garrison before the Iowa Supreme Court. But in the topsy-turvy world in which we live these days in Iowa, the justices last month sided with New Fashion Pork in Garrison’s lawsuit against the CAFO over its noxious odors and manure pollution reaching onto his land.

The 4-3 decision also threw out the Supreme Court’s own legal test that has guided the courts of Iowa for 18 years in deciding questions of whether a CAFO is operating as a public nuisance. The court’s decision said, “CAFOs are controversial, but it is not our role to second-guess the Legislature’s policy choices.”

The three justices who sided with Garrison — Brent Appel, Christopher McDonald and Dana Oxley — delivered an important lesson on Iowans’ inalienable rights, which stand above laws the Legislature enacts. But the four-justice majority wasn’t buying the analysis.

Appel wrote in his dissent, “We must never forget that the Iowa founders presented a rights-based constitution to the voters of Iowa. And the rights provided in the Iowa Constitution are superior and above the vicissitudes of politics.”

He continued: “The first article in the Iowa Constitution is the Iowa Bill of Rights, and the first section of the first article is what has been called the inalienable rights or the natural rights clause. ‘All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights — among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.’”

More:Commission rejects request to tighten rules for Iowa livestock operations in sensitive areas

More:Editorial: Manure from ag operations ruins waterways. When will Iowans get their fill of filthy water?

In the understatement of the day, he added, “The founders were well aware of the capability of special interests to dominate the halls of government. … The Iowa Bill of Rights is a shield that protects the people’s rights from the political process.”

As you read Appel’s lesson on the history of special interests in Iowa government, circa 1857, you can easily jump forward to today and think of “agricultural interests” and state political leaders’ lack of concern about the growing water quality problems across Iowa and the quality-of-life concerns arising from the hog confinements like the one sending odors over the home of Gordon Garrison and funneling manure onto his property.

Appel wrote, “The central issue in this case is this: Can the government, consistent with article I, section 1 of the Iowa Constitution, enact a statute that authorizes a landowner to appropriate or take for the landowner’s benefit the property interest of a neighboring landowner, without any compensation or benefit to the other owner?”

He added, “In other words, are we telling the existing property owners that they are required to ‘take one for the team’ as the private owners next door emit nuisance odors under a scheme of statutory immunity?”

McDonald was equally blunt:

“The Iowa Constitution affords strong protection for private property. These interrelated constitutional provisions preclude the government from immunizing private nuisancers from having to pay full compensation for depriving another of the right to use and enjoy property. At least they did until today. The majority overturns well-supported and well-established case law and eviscerates the right to possess, use, enjoy, and protect property.”

Randy Evans, a retired Iowa journalist, can be reached at [email protected].

The Kirksville Arts Association is offering an exhibit called “Seeing the World Through Art” by David Garrison of Burlington, Iowa. The show is running at the Sue Ross Arts Center at 215 S. Franklin Street in Kirksville. The show opened last Tuesday and will run through April 9.

According to Linda Treasure, president of the Kirksville Arts Association Board, Garrison has about 45 paintings on display at the exhibit, using oils, pastels and conte-crayon. Garrison’s work captures scenes from France, Arizona and the Midwest.

“He has some beautiful, beautiful work and we’re really excited to have him here,” Treasure said, noting that Garrison has won many awards in the U.S. and France and has had his work shown in a number of galleries in France, the United States, China and Russia. This is Garrison’s first show in Kirksville.

Last Thursday, a reception was held at the Arts Center with Garrison in attendance, where he was said to have been captivating and well-received by locals.

Garrison said that the exhibit is a collection of the many travels he has embarked on over a 50-year professional career, including scenes from Paris and Normandy, France, where he lived for three years; Chicago, a favorite city of his where he graduated from the American Academy of Art as well as taught art; the Southwestern desert as well as the Midwest, where he likes to capture the lifestyle of the Amish people. Some of his work is based on sketches he has made, others from photos he has taken, and still others, scenes he captured on location, such as the painting of the Louvre in Paris and the bridge that spans the water that runs alongside the famed museum.

“Each of these paintings I have on display is from different places I’ve lived,” Garrison said, noting that his paintings of the Louvre and the Chicago River were a mixture of oils while the exhibit’s framed paintings were pastels. “I have a big variety of subject matter with each medium and then I have a few of the conte-crayon… and that's sort of like a pastel but it is a limited a color range — so I added some acrylic paint to that — it would liven it up.”

Garrison arrived late to the reception due to an emergency that occurred with his grandson, who turned out to be ok. He said he was impressed with the layout of the paintings in the gallery.

“The show is looking good,” he said, praising the art center’s director. “They really did a tremendous job of hanging things in a beautiful way.”

He said he hoped to hold another reception in Kirksville before the current exhibit run ends in April, and invite special guests to have an opportunity to meet with him and view the gallery.

According to his website (david-garrison.com), Garrison is an internationally recognized pastelist and is the only American to ever be awarded the Lead Crystal award for "art excellence" in the exhibition of contemporary artists sponsored by the City of Bueil, France. He was also awarded the "Master of Light" and "Master Pastelist" titles by the Societe Pastellistes de France (Pastel Society of France).

His murals are currently displayed in hotels along the eastern seaboard as well as the Midwest. Some of Garrison's murals adorn public welcome centers around Iowa. His work can also be found in private collections and have been bought by classical entertainers and collectors of fine art on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Treasure, the Kirksville Arts Association board president, spoke positively about Garrison’s aptitude and creativity, encouraging locals to visit the exhibit, which is free to the public and open to children.

“It’s very impressive and he’s very talented and very, very dedicated to his art,” she said.

Garrison said that those that appreciate art most may want to visit the Kirksville exhibit due to his having a variety of ways he has expressed his imaginativeness on canvas.

“I have such a variety of medium and because of the interest I’ve had in different parts of our country, and the interest I’ve had living in France, I think they would enjoy scenes of this country and also French country through the eyes of an artist, me, and how I view a country in different forms, whether it be in Chicago or whether it would be in Paris, France, or our own Midwest with its Amish people…,” he said.

The Kirksville Arts Association was founded in1974 with a small arts and crafts festival at the Red Barn on the campus of Truman State University and has since then grown into a community arts organization, a not-for-profit institution bringing art to the community through exhibits, workshops and fundraisers.

“We try to improve the quality of life for people in Kirksville — give people something enjoyable to come and visit — to come and see,” Treasure said. “It’s good for your soul to see something beautiful. It puts you in a good place — you can look at it and reflect on it and getting to see something beautiful, especially in the days we’ve had recently, it’s a nice diversion and I think it makes us feel real, real good.”

To view Garrison’s work, gallery hours for the Sue Ross Arts Center are Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Garrison, 131 W. 2^nd St., Davenport, in the historic Redstone Building, is the newest high-end, sophisticated bar and restaurant in the Quad Cities.

The Quad Cities Chamber held a ribbon-cutting for the new business (formerly occupied by tacobar) in the 1892 home of Common Chord and Zeke’s Island Café at 2nd and Main streets.

Opening formally on Saturday, Oct. 14, The Garrison hours are Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.), with the posh, private Speakeasy (in the back of the building) open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday to Saturday.

Kyle Carter, executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, said they were standing at the city’s “ground zero,” the birthplace “of the modern renaissance of downtown Davenport.”

In 2000, “this community had the guts to pass its largest referendum in the city’s history, River Renaissance, it literally created and renovated the building we’re standing in,” he said of the former River Music Experience, which opened in 2004.

“We built the Figge Art Museum, we built the Skybridge, we built two parking ramps and the New Ventures Center,” Carter said. “All of that began here in the building we’re standing in.”

“It’s very full circle to me to stand here in 2023, in a beautifully renovated space, and it is spectacular to see this level of commitment from all of you,” he said. “We have had so much success in development that we’re rebuilding things that we rebuilt. That is exactly what we should be doing; that’s the sign of a healthy community. I’m deeply proud to be part of this event.”

“I’m thankful for the city for being such good partners,” Carter said. “It takes a village.”

“If 2^nd and Main Street ain’t healthy, then Davenport ain’t healthy,” he added. “This real estate where we’re standing must succeed and I can’t imagine it won’t when it looks like this.”

Jonathan Newman, The Garrison executive chef, is a 2002 Davenport North alum, who worked in other cities 14 years, including in Europe, and restaurants up and the East Coast. He worked at Alinea in Chicago, and last opened Tattersall in Minneapolis, an 89,000-square-foot restaurant and distillery.

“I got to come home, my whole family is here,” Newman said. “Downtown Davenport is gorgeous, and coming home, Brandon gave me a great opportunity. Working together, it’s been great. We were both on the same page.”

“We are a 1920s, aged steakhouse, but we’re also a fusion restaurant,” he said. “We’ve got sweet beet mashed potatoes with pork chop, fried kale – we’re a lot of fusion-based food. It’s lot of sweetness of Asia, mixed with European food and American stuff. The bar is amazing.”

The restaurant website says: “With an unwavering commitment to excellence, his team consistently pushes the boundaries of the culinary world and elevates the Quad Cities’ foodie landscape to new heights.

“Everything is top-notch,” Newman said.

The Garrison co-owner Brandon Albertson also co-owns Brandon’s Pub & Grille at 3008 7^th Ave., Rock Island.

The name of the new restaurant honors the Army garrison at Rock Island Arsenal, protecting patrons’ right to eat and drink during Prohibition (the place’s theme) and Albertson’s father served in the Army 23 years.

Most of Brandon’s experience is in marketing and advertising, and he wanted to get into restaurants. He opened the Rock Island pub business in 2019.

“It’s been a nice run. I’m a quick study,” Albertson said. “I like the chaos of it; that sounds pretty sick. But it’s nice chaos, which is the best way to put it. I like the challenge of it. It’s like when we get to launch something of this magnitude.

“I like to wake up every day, knowing I’m gonna have something big in front of me to try and tackle,” he said. The renovations took nine months (done by Estes Construction, also based in the building), after the space was purchased a year ago.

“Here’s what we are good at it – we’re good at operating and logistics,” Albertson said of he and his partner. Why can’t we execute at the highest level, so that’s where we’re at. Let’s challenge ourselves.”

The Garrison has about 90 employees, including six bakers, who make bread fresh every morning, he said. “This place smells like a fresh bakery when you walk in. Everything is made from scratch — to include the bread your burgers come on, to your handhelds, to all your Parker rolls that get served to you for your dinner, they’re all made homemade.

“All of your desserts are homemade; all your sauces are homemade,” Albertson said. “That was all by design. My partners and I, we’re all foodies. We love food. If we wouldn’t serve it to our families, we wouldn’t serve it to yours. That’s our mantra.”

He wants the place to be the destination for people before and after shows like at the Redstone Room in the building, or nearby restored Capitol Theatre. The Speakeasy (which requires a password for entrance, and will be posted on The Garrison social media) has a book-lined wall that leads to restrooms in the common area of Common Chord (the speakeasy entrance itself is off the cleaned alley from the parking garage next to the Skybridge).

“This as you come in the door and see the atmosphere is special,” Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said Friday of The Garrison. “It’s just another great thing that Davenport and the Quad Cities is doing, to expand and quite frankly, explode the excitement that’s going on.”

In the last two years alone, Davenport has seen over 400 new business licenses, including over 75 in the downtown, Matson said. “It’s exciting. It’s the momentum and positive things that are happening…I love the word ‘garrison’; I am a military person. It’s inviting, bringing folks around here, to enjoy a drink, enjoy a meal in an environment that’s so inviting.”

“We’re excited to have more activity in the Redstone Building with the new restaurant and bar, joining Zeke’s Island Cafe, Common Chord programs, and the other building tenants,” said Tyson Danner, executive director of Common Chord.

“The Garrison’s investment in creating another high-quality amenity in the core of downtown will continue to advance the progress that has been made in the heart of downtown Davenport at the Redstone Building,” he said. “The renovations in The Garrison are looking top-notch, and we’re looking forward to their opening day.”

For the menu and more information, visit The Garrison website HERE.