Written by Patrick Hart

 

 

 

Diana Taylor opened the meeting with a pledge and a prayer.

 

 

Kevin Stevens our assistant district governor joined us for breakfast this week.

 

BRAGS:

 

Steve Risley bragged about remembering the meeting this morning, providing hope that he is not totally senile yet.

 

Richard Mittelman bragged about the thirty shirts and blankets his wife made for needy children they encountered on their African trip.

 

Robert Zamor bragged that he was going to Africa to see his son, who is giving a health care presentation there.

 

Patricia Bleck had a double brag.  She made a presentation to NICASA, and her daughter has become engaged.

 

Tucker Olson expressed his excitement about Seb becoming a citizen.

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

Our winter fundraiser will be held on March 1, 2019.

 

Next week on December 5, we will hold our Holiday Party at the Post Time Sports Bar and Grill in Green Oaks.  There will be no morning meeting that day.

 

We will be ringing bells for the Salvation Army on December 8.  Please see the email our president sent out informing you of your two hour shift.

 

Elliott Pinsel will be bringing a truck to our December 12 meeting to pick up gifts for his holiday ornament program.

 

Tom Miller is holding his Feed My Starving Children packing event at the Pet Factory this weekend on November 30 thru December 2. 

Jeff Harger is still collecting donations for Christmas baskets to be given out by the food pantry this year.

 

Scott Hezner announced that Teri Dreher had a knee replacement and is doing great.

 

 

 

Rick Mittelman tested our knowledge at selecting when to take a hit in Blackjack.  As far as I have heard none of our members were inspired to quit their day jobs to become professional gamblers.

 

 

Our speakers this week were Fred Kliora and Bill Kinville from the Lake County Sheriff’s office, who spoke about our correctional system.

   

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. There are over 1,000,000 people in prisons in our country.  This includes 613 inmates in the Lake County Jail as of the morning of the program, 90% of whom are awaiting trial.  With the cost of maintaining a prisoner approximately $100,000.00 a year this is a very expensive practice on our part.

 

Drugs are the biggest cause of imprisonment when you include people in jail for theft that was inspired by the need for drugs.  After years of decline heroin is making a comeback as a popular recreational drug, which is not good, since heroin has a high death rate, and a single use can lead to addiction. It is cheaper than cocaine though.  Another cause of the large prison populations is the recent closing of so many mental health treatment facilities which has led many individuals who should be receiving shelter in these facilities to end up in jail.

 

Our speakers also mentioned that the Lake Country Jail employs direct supervision of inmates.  The direct supervision approach eliminates some of the bars and other barriers that more traditional prisons employ and requires greater interaction between the guards and the inmates.  It enables the guards to more closely monitor the inmates’ behavior and has brought improvements in safety and security.

 

 

Diana Taylor demonstrated her boldness today by choosing to go for the big money.  With $144.00 in the progressive pot and 50 cards left she drew the Ace of Hearts sending her home empty handed, which raises the question of which quality we value more highly in a Rotary President: boldness or common sense.

 

Tim Dempsey won the weekly prize of $39.00.

 

 

Next week there will be no morning meeting.  Our holiday party will be held on Wednesday December 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Post Time Sports Bar and Grill in Green Oaks.

 

 

“One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.”    John Steinbeck