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District Number 5630 |
Hastings, Nebraska |
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Hastings Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting Synopsis
 Paul Harris Fellows PAST MEETING SYNOPSIS (or as some members say, “A Trip Down Memory Lane”!)
Reminder! District Governor Is Coming! June 10, 2008 - Kevin Wycoff gave his own program on “End of Life Issues”. He stated that there are a lot of misunderstandings regarding dying which leads to unnecessary suffering, guilt, and cost. “Life should be about quality rather than quantity.” Efforts to prolong life often result in prolonging death, which extends the suffering. Living wills do not necessarily prevent resuscitation, which can create difficult family decisions. There is a lot of gray area which can be prevented by using the PULSE system which is a very specific list of procedures. This is available from Kevin and/or Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital. June 3, 2008 - Steve Wolford gave his own “Non-Program”, asking the members to tell about their upcoming summer trips or ones in their recent past. The trips ranged from Alaskan cruises, to attending the Olympics in China. Other trips included following the children’s baseball team, participating in a mission trip, visiting colleges, elk hunting, and going to Sturgis, SD, Bike Rally. May 27, 2008 - No meeting due to Memorial Day May 20, 2008 - Hillary Water introduced a former student Bryce Wiebe who is now part owner of the Back Alley Bakery. He stated that becoming a baker made a major change in his life style from sleeping in as a student to getting up at 4:00 AM to bake bread! The bakery makes all of its bread from sour dough, which is a three day process. The current starter has been going for 30 years! The bread is baked in a wood fired oven that is fired up at 9:00 PM the night previous to baking. To find the bakery, go out the back door of the Blue Moon and turn left! May 6, 2008 - Mark Swanson introduced John Wischmeier, the System Administrator of Hastings State Bank who talked about computer security and gave many tips. He encouraged all to avoid peer-to-peer types of programs such as LiveWire and Warez (popular with teenagers). Be careful of e-mail attachments, even from people you know. Phishing and pharming asks for information under the guise of legitimate sites, looking innocent. Active-X programs are usually OK, but be careful! Instant messaging can be dangerous with strangers. Businesses should be careful regarding employees adding extra programs, as unintended programs can “ride along”. Use anti-virus programs and keep them updated. Netsafe.org is a good site for tips. Use long passwords with special characters, case changes, and numbers for maximum security. April 29, 2008 - Gregg Smith introduced Ron Seymour, Adams County Extension Agent who spoke on residential trees and tree care. Since Nebraska has difficult climatic conditions for trees, one must be careful in his choices. Some recommended trees in this area are sugar and Autumn blaze maples; Burr oak for a native oak, red oak for fall color, but avoid pin oaks due to soil type; cardinals like protective trees such as Concolor firs; and the newest crabapple trees keep their apples on the tree for winter wildlife food. Scotch pines have developed disease problems and ash trees have an insect problem. April 22, 2008 - Chuck Johnson introduced two guests, Dan Rutt and Ken Pitz of the Horizon Recovery and Counseling Center. The current center was started four years ago from a prayer group that felt that God was leading them to purchase the existing Horizon Recovery and Counseling Center, whose previous manager was retiring. The facility currently has three “Unity Houses” with the purpose of drug rehabilitation. The center offers six week programs plus after care. April 15, 2008 - Jerry Seiler introduced Kevin Bredenkamp, the Trauma Coordinator at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital. Trauma is defined as any type of injury to the body that requires hospital care. The most common type of trauma is from falls, but the most deaths come from motor vehicle accidents. Nebraska is in the process of developing a state wide trauma system as is common on the east and west coasts. Studies show that such systems cut deaths from previous levels of 20-30% to 2-9%.
Congratulations Ed! April 8, 2008 - Doug Schwenke introduced Katherine (Wilke) Brockmeyer of the Hastings Library. Katherine is in charge of the library’s outreach to the Spanish speaking population of the community. Libraries are not common in Spanish speaking countries, so it is a challenge to get the Mexican population accustomed to coming to the library. However, about 50% of the Hastings Hispanic community now has library cards! April 1, 2008 - Dale Schultz invited Ulysses Carlini, the general manager of KHAS-TV to speak regarding the upcoming switch to digital broadcasting, taking place February 17, 2009. If one receives his TV signal through the air, one will need to have a digital converter box to continue to receive the signal via an analog TV receiver. Other alternatives are to purchase a digital TV set or to subscribe to cable or satellite TV service. The benefits will be better pictures, better sound, and more programming options. This conversion is costing KHAS-TV $1.5 million! Individuals can get $40 coupons online to help offset the expense of the converter boxes. Unfortunately, they will require a separate remote control! Hint – for the very best HD reception, get the signal off of the air as opposed to cable or satellite! March 25, 2008 - Justin Wenberg invited District 33 candidate Chuck Shoemaker to express his platform to the club. March 18, 2008 - Doug Saathoff invited District 33 candidate Dennis Utter candidate to speak to the club regarding his platform. March 11, 2008 - Tim Redline introduced Donna Hastings who is the new Executive Director of the Cottonwood Festival. She expressed the concern regarding the dwindling sales of fine arts and the regarding problem of how to deal with the situation. The first solution is in the introduction of a wine tasting event. Other new events will be theatrical groups performing on stage, an antiques road show, a polka afternoon, and an afternoon when dogs are encouraged to attend in conjunction with the Heartland Pet Connection. March 4, 2008 - I missed the meeting, thus no report. There will be several absences by me in March! February 26, 2008 - Kim Nikkel introduced Mark Sandeen of AGP whose main topic regarded Vistive Oil. This oil is derived from Vistive soybeans, a new variety that farmers contract with AGP to produce. Vistive soybeans are used to produce Vistive oil which is low in transfats, which are very much in today’s consumers’ minds. Today’s farmers can get a $.60 per bushel premium by producing this type of soybean. There will be lots of other genetic medications to soybeans coming down the road. February 19, 2008 - Jerry Munsell introduced District Judge Steve Illingsworth, who is the new coach for the Hastings American League baseball team. Judge Illingsworth has been a pitching coach for nineteen years, most recently for his home town of Holdrege for six years. He expressed his excitement over the fantastic facilities at Champions and his optimism over a whole new, revamped program with greater emphasis on pitching and defense. His goal is to put Hastings baseball back on the map. With the state renowned Duncan field, he mentioned the upcoming capital campaign to renovate the field. February 12, 2008 - With the absence of a speaker, vocational talks were given by two of our newer members, Chuck Johnson and Doug Saathoff. Chuck is in his second career as a pastor, being the Director of Spiritual Ministries at the Good Samaritan Village. His former life was that of an owner of a small grocery store in a small town in North Dakota. His wife is also a pastor in rural Lutheran churches in the area. They have been here about a year. Doug farms in the Trumbull area with his brother, raising corn and soybeans, and producing Pioneer seed corn. He started farming in 1996 and is finally enjoying some good prices! Doug keeps busy being the president of the Adams County Farm Bureau and has two children, ages 4 and 1. Welcome to both of you!! February 5, 2008 - Dixie Zoucha, as the Coordinator for the South Heartland Public Health District, spoke on Safe Routes to School. Studies show that 85% of today’s children are taken to school rather than walking, which is contributing to a high rate of adolescent obesity. Hastings has received a public awareness grant which will help implement the Safe Routes to School project. The goasl of the project are to: 1) fund projects to make communities more walker/biker friendly; 2) educate teachers, students, parents, and communities on safe walking and biking; and 3) encourage kids to walk or bike to and from school. January 29, 2008 - Michael Krings, as the new Executive Director of the YMCA, gave his own program on the organization. The YMCA is still in the midst of the $3.9 million capital campaign, but is about 70% complete, with the change of leadership slowing its progress. Current goals include: 1) Becoming fiscally stable; 2) Informing stake holders of current situation; 3) Developing a strong vision; 4) Conducting a foundation campaign, and 5) Resuming the community campaign. Consultants state that the Champions facility is a unique, fantastic opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children in the area. The challenge is to make effective use of it. January 22, 2008 - Dale introduced Becky Maddox of the Hastings Museum. She explained an upcoming museum project, “Experience the Museum – Dinosaurs Alive”. 1,500 royalty tickets are available and she needs help in distributing them to lower income families so that they can experience the museum. Help is also needed to host the families on the evening of the showing. The club decided to adopt the project. Pete McConnell of the Crossroads Center was also present to accept a check from the club to help purchase a new desktop PC.
January 17, 2008 - BOARD MEETING REPORT With the loss of a couple of members we need to add three new members to our roster to make up for this loss to achieve our Presidential Citation goal - more members are needed to meet our challenge. Keep thinking of good potential members that we can invite to our meetings. There will be an orientation meeting held in February for our newest members. President Elect Dean Hawthorne will be attending the upcoming PETS (President Elect Training Session) Conference held in Denver. The club will help with registration and out of pocket travel expense as presented to the board. In New Business, it was suggested that guidelines for donations be developed. It was felt that several projects have been brought up and approved without due consideration. This did not mean to imply that these past projects are without merit, but that a procedure needs to be in place to help both the board and the membership duly consider each project. It could also help the club in giving good reasons for denying a project. The guidelines could include such factors as requiring that it be placed before the board before the club membership. They also might include a budgeted amount for total local, district, and International giving, either on a percentage or dollar basis. The item was tabled for further discussion by both the board and membership January 15, 2008 - Peter introduced Craig Kautz who spoke on his first year as the superintendent of Hastings Public Schools. Craig has been a school administrator for 27 years and has been in Hastings since 1990. He stated that one of his main roles is that of being a “Vision Policeman”, making sure that the school system is moving towards its vision. The school system has moved away from a site driven curriculum to a common curriculum between all sites, enabling common assessments. He expressed appreciation and amazement at the staff regarding their generosity to the needy at Christmas. January 8, 2008 - Dean Hawthorne gave his own program, showing a DVD of the Brett Family of Branson MO, a show that he had seen and appreciated, expressing strong support of the US Veterans. As incoming president, he encouraged us to write down and submit changes we would like to see in the upcoming year. October 30, 2007 - Jeff Schneider, Hastings Middle School Principal, gave an update on progress of the new Middle School. October 23, 2007 - Chet Bennets introduced two directors from the Veterans Administration, Heather Bojanski and Joyce Heger, who discussed the services of the VA. Many returning servicemen are unaware of the multitude of services available from the VA. The centers are in Omaha, Lincoln, and Grand Island, with a new one being developed in Holdrege. PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) is a major problem, but many other health problems are prevalent. They emphasized that returning servicemen must enroll within 2 years of their return to get full benefits and encouraged us to let other people know of the services. October 16, 2007 - Dick Witt introduced Jimmie Malaga, the Rotary Foreign Exchange Student staying with the Witts. Jimmy told about his native country of southern Peru. Peru has many unique characteristics such as being the home of the Inca empire, having the highest navigable lake in the world and the 2nd largest lake in the world. (Side note—remember Jimmy when taking trips to Lincoln, Omaha, etc. He would love to join you!) October 9, 2007 - Clint Axford introduced Mary Miller, district manager of the Social Security Administration, whose office is in Grand Island. The main topic of the discussion regarded the changes in Medicare. She emphasized the importance of signing up for Medicare when eligible, which is 3 months before and/or after age 65. The Social Security program is not self funding from current income and its future is in danger unless some small changes are immediately made. October 2, 2007 - Kevin Wycoff, as Rotary Foundation Chairman, gave his own program on the foundation. Even though Rotary was founded in 1905, the foundation was not started until 1912 with a $20 donation. Kevin reminded us that because we are fortunate to be born in a rich country, we have an obligation to give to the needy. The foundation supports many worthwhile projects, with PolioPlus being one of the foremost, giving Rotary worldwide recognition. Currently we rank #3 in the district for per capita giving, giving an average of $4,000 per year.
September 25, 2007 - Steve Wolford gave his own inspiring program on the Rotary 4-Way Test. As a reminder to the older
members and to inform our newer members, the test is:
September 18, 2007 - Dick Witt introduced Scott Kleeb who is now an instructor at Hastings College. Scott became well known in the area when he ran for Congress in the 3rd District. Scott talked about his background which included many varied experiences all over the world. He emphansized that what goes on in the world affects each and every one of us - we need to learn more about other countries and broaden our understanding. He also emphasized the importance of the Rotary Exchange Student program. September 11, 2007 - Hillary Watter introduced Jodi Jacobi, director at the Regency Retirement Center. Jodi stated that there is a misconception that the Regency is for rich people - that is not necessarily true. It is an independent living facility for people over 60 where residents "buy" their units and pay a monthly fee. It is not an assisted living facility and there is no nursing staff. Its intent is to provide a transition from the responsibilities of living in one's own home to a place where more of the responsibilities are done for you. Such downsizing is always a difficult dicision for one to make. September 4, 2007 - No meeting due to Labor Day. August 2, 2007 - District Governor Bob Stetter from Valentine visited our club and spoke. He emphasized that new members are essential for Rotary to survive. He issued the challenge for each club to gain at least one new member for the year - more if possible. He reminded us that the Rotary International Convention will be in Los Angeles next summer. Attend if possible! Noteworthy News: We have paid $2,000 towards the van for the orphanage in Romania! August 21, 2007 - Mark Swanson introduced Mark Johnson, physical therapist from the Physical Therapy Sports Rehab clinic. Mark described several types of shoulder injuries. Mark stated that back shoulder muscles are important when doing exercises to help prevent future shoulder injuries. Shoulder surgeries have vastly improved, even in the past few years due to the advent of scoping. August 14, 2007 - Gregg Smith introduced Police Chief Larry Thoren who spoke on the Ron Gardner Meth Coalition Project. Meth is a drug that is "under cover". Even though meth labs are not as prevalent as they formerly were, meth is as big if not a bigger problem than earlier. We are all paying for meth, either directly or indirectly. The average meth user commits 63 crimes a year to support the addiction. The goal of the project is not to punish the user but to try to prevent the usage and also to treat those who are using the drug. August 7, 2007 - Don Gatzke, a visiting Rotarian from Kalispell Montana shared pictures of Kenya. He traveled there on a Rotary trip, using a matching grant to deliver pharmaceuticals and surplus medical supplies worth over $1 million to a clinic. He encouraged us to give freely to the Rotary Foundation, responsible other projects like this one. July 31, 2007 - Jerry Seiler introduced George Sullivan, Director of Information Technology Services at Mary Lanning Hospital. On October 22 the hospital will be utilizing a new data processing vendor in the process of converting to paperless record keeping. In order to do this, over 4 million documents will have to be scanned. The current phase will only benefit the hospital, but the next phase will incorporate the physician offices, with the ultimate goal being to tie the physician offices together for record sharing. July 24, 2007 - Doug introduced Chuck Ray, the project manager of the Houston base pipeline construction company that is building 111 miles of pipeline in this area as a part of a much larger project. This portion of the project has brought over 500 people to the Hastings area. He expressed appreciation of the cordial reception his crews and families have received in this area. July 17, 2007 - Ed's 90th birthday today! And he put most of us to shame by going to RYLA for the 17th time. Dale introduced Tamara Babcock, the City Development Services Director of Hastings who spoke mainly on "Imagine Hastings", a project to develop a new comprehensive plan for the city. The plan's goal is to visualize what Hastings will look like in 20 years. "Hastings WILL change - it is up to the citizens to determine the direction that it takes." Town meetings are being held to formulate this plan. July 10, 2007 - Doug Saathoff gave his own program, presenting a slide show on New Zealand which he toured as a member of the Nebraska Lead program, a program designed to help develop leadership of the younger members of Nebraska's agricultural industry. July 3, 2007 - This was a "surprise meeting" as the Garden did not expect us to meet on the day before the Fourth of July! The gavel was turned over to Laura by Bill and Bill received a plaque in appreciation of his service to the club. The members shared common interests for the meeting. "Rotary Shares" is the theme for this coming year. June 26, 2007 - Tim Redline introduced Randy Chick who talked about the latest developments in the Downtown Business Improvement District, including the renovation of the Ferrell building. June 19, 2007 - Kim Nikkel introduced former Sunrise Rotary member Ken Ellis who gave the program on diabetes. Ken has had the disease since the 60's and has been active in the local Diabetes Support group. Diabetes was a fatal disease until the 1920's when insulin was discovered. Much help is available for the disease today although it is still a serious disease. Ken emphasized that changes in life style are necessary and much is up to the attitude of the victim. June 12, 2007 - The program did not arrive. June 5, 2007 - Jerry Munsell introduced the executive director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Today's kids need a foundation, but in many cases a foundation is not available due to broken homes. This can create devastating after effects. The Hastings chapter was the first one in Nebraska, started by the Lions Club in 1957. 200 kids are currently served in Hastings. Big Brothers/Big Sisters co-operate well with Team Mates. May 29, 2007 - No meeting due to Memorial Day. May 22, 2007 - Jackie Miller arranged for a program on identity theft. "Someone out there wants to be you!" It was emphasized to be aware of mail offers, preferably shredding them, but at least tear them up. Get free credit reports and close unused accounts. Keep your social security number private and be aware of phony phone calls and internet messages asking for confidential information. May 15, 2007 - Due to illness of both Ed and his wife, no program was held today, with him being chairman. Our club helped plant two Ohio buckeye trees at the city parks on Arbor Day. May 8, 2007 - Michael Krings introduced Judy Creek, the director of the SASA center who spoke regarding it. Michael has been involved in this group and has a goal of increasing public awareness of it. May 1, 2007 - Student recognition day was held, honoring students from Adams Central and Hastings High School. The couselors expressed appreciation to the club for doing this type of recognition, honoring students who have overcome hardships. The meeting was followed by a tree planting at St. Michaels School. April 24, 2007 - Dean Hawthorne welcomed Bruce Bohlen who showed pictures of his trip to Africa, spending 18 days in the bush country, mostly in Zambia. He stated that he took over 3,000 pictures! All of the ones he showed were excellent. April 17, 2007 - Nate introduced Dr. Ron Seymore, the Adams county extension educator who talked about the care of our lawns and gardens. He emphasized that knowledge is important even if the work is hired so that one can tell if the work is done properly. April 10, 2007 - Becky Maddox, director of the Hastings Musium, explained the strategic plan that was formed in February of 2006 by a consulting firm, with the goal to become an accredited museum. Accordingly, improvements must be made to the HVAC, ADA facilities, and to current collections. Although the existing dioramas are exceptionally well done, there is a movement towards more "hands on" experiences. Major funding is needed. April 3, 2007 - Brad Cabrera, the new assistant superintendent of Hastings Public Schools and the financial guru of the school system, spoke about the challenges facing him. State law limits the rate of the growth of school expenses, but 81% of the expenses are related to staff. Staff expenses grow about 5% per year, but the revenue only grows about 2 to 3.4% per year. Good progress is being made on the new Middle School, with a targeted completion date of December, 2007. March 27, 2007 - Joe Patterson, the city administrator for seven years, gave a "State of the City" address. Of major current importance was the pending passage of the Recreational Liability Act which would exempt government entities from recreational base law suits. Also the recent paying off of the Aqua Court, the city 1/2% sales tax is expiring. The mayor has asked for community input regarding whether to continue the sales tax and, if so, how it should be spent. March 20, 2007 - The speaker did not show, but Tom Bostwick winged it as program chairman, discussing how to prepare for the upcoming tornado season. He emphasized the importance of keeping an emergency kit in the basement, which should include a Crescent wrench to turn off the gas, if needed. It is important, too, for businesses to have a disaster plan, with data backup. March 13, 2007 - Job Shadow Day! Dixie Zoucha, the coordinator for the South Heartland District Health Department spoke on Action for Healthy Kids, a grant funded program looking at school environments and developing healthy life styles. We in the district have the lowest consumption of fruits and vegetables per day in the state and the state is one of the lowest in the nation! March 6, 2007 - I had to be absent and thus have no notes. Chuck Bauer was in charge. February 27, 2007 - Kevin Wycoff introduced Dr. Ramez Haubash, a nephrologist (kidney doctor) who spoke about his home country of Jordan and coming to Hastings. He has opened a dialysis unit in MLMH and also has units in Superior and Grand Island. He stated that he likes the people of Hastings very much! February 20, 2007 - Dan Herold, one of the members of the Hastings Radiology Associates, gave the program on Cardiac CTA, a new method used for four months in Hastings for detection of some heart related problems. It is less invasive and can detect some problems not otherwise detected. Not many communities in Nebraska have this procedure. February 13, 2007 - Dick Witt introduced Jackie Queen, a court reporter from Juniata, who talked about her career. With technological advances, she now uses a laptop with the recorder, with the judge also having a laptop. It is a three year program in most schools for training. Court reporters are also used for telecaptioning on live TV and in classes for students with disabilities. She can transcribe 265 words per minute. She is a state employee, with each judge having his own court reporter. February 6, 2007 - Dr. Dan Herold was to give the program, but due to technological failure, it had to be postponed to a later date. January 30, 2007 - Kathy Thaut gave a very informative program on the history of our local club, receiving its charter in November of 1993 with 30 members. Eleven of the original members still remain. A lot of reminiscing took place! January 16, 2007 - Lisa Reese Parish, community director of the Girl Scouts in this area, discusses the importance of the Girl Scouts of America. 40% of the female population in the United States has participated in Girl Scouts, but 67% of the female business leaders have participated. Camp Cosmopolitan, south of Grand Island, has starteda capital campaign to renovate some very old facilities. Missing - November/December November 7, 2006 - Kim Nikkel introduced Tony Hobson, the coach of Hastings College Women's Basketball, who spoke on the prospects of the upcoming season. The team is young, losing two of last season's top players, but he has four freshmen in the top ten players. A good Junior player from Japan will become eligible in January. He is already signing players for next year. October 31, 2006 - Jerry Munsell introduced Donna Dill, a former teacher of Jerry's at Longfellow, who is currently the President of the League of Women Voters. The league is trying to do a better job of getting people to vote. Very few people are registered to vote, and even fewer of those registered do vote. The purpose of the league is to educate the public, but the league is not partisan. October 24, 2006 - The district governor was to appear, but did not show due to some difficulties. Three new Paul Harris presentations were awarded to Chuck Bauer, Dick Witt and Steve Wolford. Ed Loutzenheiser was recognized for having eight Paul Harris presentations. October 17, 2006 - Ed Loutzenheiser introduced George Anderson who gave the club an update on Motorsport Park Hastings, the newly built race track. The response to the race track has been tremendous. The Formula Ford group says that the race track may be one of the best in the nation and wants a long term contract. Part of what makes the race track tremendous is the community support of the endeavor. Bookings for 2007 and 2008 are already taking place. It takes 50 to 75 employees to run a race, but only two full time employees maintain the track. The distance around the track is approximately the same distance around Lake Hastings. The record time around it is 90 seconds. The track took an investment of $4 million. October 10, 2006 - Michael Krings introduced Lori Schiefelbein who recently started at the Chamber as the Community Involvment Coordinator, involving Leadership Hastings and the Public Access Channel. The Public Access Channel is channel 12 on cable TV. Leadership Hastings was started in 1986 as a way to acquaint members with the community problems. Monthly meetings are held to foster this concept. Each class chooses a community betterment project to undertake. The tuition is $375 and the class size is limited to 21 members. The project is a great way for networking within the community. October 3, 2006 - Peter Hedstrom, as program chair, gave his own program on Phoenix Casting and Machinery. The company is an aluminum and brass foundry. Induction ovens are used to melt the aluminum, similar to a giant microwave oven, being energy efficient. Parts are made and sent across the world. Various unusual parts were shown to the members. September 26, 2006 - Dean Hawthorne introduced Paul Spence, executive director of Crossroads. Paul thanked us for donating in kind labor of $1,000.00 towards the Crossroads. The recently relocated center now encompasses 8,500 square feet and has 75 beds. The new location has given Crossroads a new beginning, the residents of the Crossroads go through a 4 phase program, which if completed has a success rate of 66%. The program is ranked as one of the top 10 in the United States and is featured in World magazine. September 19, 2006 - Nate Gengenbach introduced Ryan Weeks, a farmer in the Juniata area. As past president of the Adams County Farm Bureau, Ryan's goal is to help Adams County become friendly to livestock production, a state designation. This designation helps attract ethanol production and provides guidance to livestock producers. Ryan showed a video that emphasizes the importance of livestock production in Nebraska, ranging from grain production to the transportation of livestock. One out of four jobs in Nebraska deal with agriculture in some sort of way. September 12, 2006 - Hastings Fire Chief Kent Gilbert spoke on firefighting as it relates to new car technology. Although today's cars are much better than older ones, various technologies make fighting an auto fire much more dangerous. This also has implications for observers, as people are intrigued by fires and are attracted to them. Undeployed airbags can explode with violent force. Hidden hydraulic cylinders are poptentially explosive. And capacitors in stereo systems can hold large amounts of electricity, making them potentially dangerous even after batteris are disconnected. Fire fighters now use PC's on their trucks to help keep track of potential hazards in vehicle fires. September 5, 2006 - No meeting due to Labor Day holiday. August 29, 2006 - Tom Choquette and Tim Redline chaired Rotary Information Day, giving the club a quiz. Some pertinent facts are: Rotary International was founded in 1905 in Chicago; Our club has 100% participation in the Rotary Foundation; Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) camp for boys and girls has been held for 15 years at the state 4-H camp at Halsey; Peter Hedstrom has served as camp director for 10 years; and Rotary has both short term and long term foreign exchange programs for youth. August 22, 2006 - Steve Illingworth, Nebraska District Judge and Drug Court Judge, talked about the innovative Drug Court. This is a separate court designed as an alternative to sending offenders to prison, which costs the taxpayers a large amount of money. Offenders must undergo frequent drug testing during a strict probation period. If they are successful, the case is dismissed; if they fail, they are immediately jailed. Meth is the drug most often involved and is also the hardest drug to get off of. Drug court has been successful beyond expectations adn has strong support from law enforcement agencies. August 15, 2006 - Tom Bostwick introduced Leanne Myer, Volunteer Disaster Coordinator for the Red Cross for the four county area. Leanne described her experiences helping with the relief efforts working in the distribution of supplies during the Katrina relief effort. Katrina was equivalent to a tornado the size of Great Britain. She was pleased to report that Katrina donations from this 4 county area exceeded $58,000, but because of these donations, local donations have drastically fallen and more are needed. August 8, 2006 - Ardis Bohlke, the Director of Resource Development at Good Samaritan Village, discussed the newly built daycare center calle The Ark. The old facility was 80 years old and the fire marshal said it was time for replacement. The new facility cost $800,000 but is fully paid for. An endowment fund is in the process of being established to help maintain the facility. The center is licensed for 138 children who stay during the hours ranging from 5:45 AM to 6:00 PM. There are only six children per employee. The center provides a non-denominational school environment for the children. Good Samaritan Village itself is the size of Doniphan and is the largest retrirement center in Nebraska. August 1, 2006 - Chuck Bauer introduced Jeff DeWispelare, the CEO of the Hastings YMCA. Jeff spoke about the merger with Champions, being a bigger project than anticipated. With 2,724 memberships and 200,000 visits, it may be one of the most used YMCA's in the country. It is undergoing a major capital campaign to raise funds for various purposes. July 25, 2006 - Jerry Seiler gave his own program due to the presenter having had a recent heart attack. (Rotary programs really are not that stressful!) Jerry described a new service available at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital that greatly reduces the amount of radiation therapy needed for some types of breast cancer. Instead of 6 weeks of therapy, this can be reduced to 5 days if the pathologic conditions are appropriate. July 11 & 18, 2006 - I was on vacation, thus no notes were available. July 4, 2006 - No meeting due to the holiday. June 27, 2006 - Sue Ellermeier of the South Central Behavioral Services talked about the Foster Care Program. Foster parents are needed - they come from all walks of life and all ages are used. It takes a huge commitment, but the rewards can be great. The Behavioral Services work hard to try to help the parents reform so that the children can go back to them. June 20, 2006 - Sandra Dittmer of the Adams County Visitors Bureau discussed her responsibilities. Among other duties, she recruits and organizes events ranging from conventions to family reunions. She will work with groups, no matter the size. She introduced the term Backyard Tourism, stating there is a lot to see in Nebraska, right in our own backyard. We need to start promoting Nebraska to Nebraskans. June 13, 2006 - Randy Kotwitz promoted the upcoming KoolAid Days. Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the state, with numerous small communities holding small festivals across the state. The festival is being greatly expanded this year, with his goal that it eventually becomes the second largest festival in the state. Randy hopes to accomplish this by having so many events that people cannot possibly attend them all in one year, thus people will be forced to come year after year, becoming a family tradition. The budget for this year was tripled. June 6, 2006 - Tamara Schluetter, event organizer and chairman of the Cottonwood Festival, promoted the upcoming event. Greater risks are being taken this year by having bigger name entertainment. Consequently single day tickets are considerably higher, but passes are still reasonably priced compared to typical gate prices for similar entertainment. May 30, 2006 - No meeting due to Memorial Day. May 23, 2006 - Shawn Jaeger, former club member, but now living in Kearney, spoke on protecting children online. It is very common for children to get into areas of the Internet that parents are not aware. It is very easy for personal information to be divulged and gotten into the wrong hands. Prevention tools are available that should be utilized. May 16, 2006 - Sandy Himmelburg, Manager of the Adams County Fair Grounds, spoke how the fair grounds benefit the youth of the area. Activities include the State High School Rodeo, meeting site for the Rural Ranchers 4-H club, Therapeutic Riding Club for handicapped, as well as the typical county fair. The Adams County 4-H program is the 3rd largest in the state. The Ag Society gives students who have perfect school attendance for the year a free one day pass for carnival rides, costing the Society $4-5,000. May 9, 2006 - Student Honor Day - Two students from St. Cecilia and Hastings High School were honored for having overcome obstacles in their lives and making a difference at their schools. April 25, 2006 - Job Shadow Day; Tim Singley, plant manager of Thermo King talked about the growth of the local plant, having grown 40% this past year. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary in Hastings this year. Their $20 million payroll is an asset to this community.
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