The Executive Director of the High-Speed Rail Alliance, Rick Harnish, urged Rotarians to help “Reconstruct America” through high-speed rail during Wednesday’s meeting. His talk explained what is needed to accomplish the high-speed passenger rail infrastructure and examples of what it looks like in other countries. Harnish also included an update on significant high-speed rail projects in the U.S. He said it will build stronger communities, lower carbon emissions, and help reduce government transportation spending.
Harnish said there are three types of track used for high-speed rail. These are shared use lines (used for both passenger and freight trains), regional lines (passenger-focused rail but with speed limited by stops or construction), and full high-speed lines (designed for the fastest passenger service possible). He said when speeds get to be faster than 90 miles per hour a separate track is needed and when speeds exceed 126 miles an hour the line needs to be electrified. The fastest train in the U.S. is the Acela which services the Washington, D.C., Boston, New York corridor at speeds of 90 to 160 miles per hour. In France one route has trains speeding at 205 miles per hour. Illinois has a shared track route from Chicago to St. Louis under development. Ultimately, plans call for eight trains a day at speeds of 90 miles per hour. Currently, there are five trains a day with the trip taking roughly five hours and 30 minutes (for an average speed of 55 miles per hour).
Harnish shared updates on projects in Florida, California, and the northwestern U.S./Canada. The private development company Brightline is constructing rail links from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando. The network was scheduled for full opening in 2022 but has suffered Covid-19 delays. This same company is doing a connection in California and Nevada from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Federal and State transportation dollars are being used to upgrade rail speeds in the Northwest corridor from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia. A study for this development showed highway construction would be twice the cost of rail improvements to move the same number of people and that rail would reduce travel times in half.
Harnish urged support for a fully integrated development plan for high-speed rail that links major airports, like O’Hare in Chicago. More information is on their website at https://www.hsrail.org.
Please email michaelfdevito@myinsuranceguy.com by May 19th with the name of the person you believe should receive the title of Rotarian Of The Year for our 2020-2021 Rotary Year.
The May Student of the Month is Sycamore High School Senior Erin Templin. Templin was recognized for her academic and volunteer activities including the Honor Society, Youth Engaged in Philanthropy, Feed My Starving Children, and Salvation Army Food Pantry. Templin is an accomplished violinist, is a member of the school orchestra, and has participated in multiple state level competitions. She plans to continue her schooling at either Drake University or the University of Iowa next year majoring in pharmacy and music. Erin is the daughter of Kristal and Dan Templin. She is donating her check from Rotary to the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Posted by Anne Stein, Rotary International on May 04, 2021
Rotary has a remarkable record when it comes to health initiatives. We’ve helped bring polio to the brink of eradication, and clubs have carried out myriad projects focused on preventing disease and supporting maternal and child health. Now the global pandemic has brought attention to another aspect of health that is often overlooked: mental health. In many places, depression, anxiety, and suicide are seen as things to be ashamed of and kept quiet. But Rotary members are recognizing the gaps in understanding and resources and are stepping up to help.
“A year ago, we had 50 members of the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives,” says Bonnie Black, a member of the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh, New York, and the chair of the action group. “We’ve tripled our membership during the pandemic, and I believe it’s due to the heightened awareness of mental health and wellness.”
More than 264 million people worldwide are affected by depression, according to the World Health Organization, and although many mental health conditions can be effectively treated at relatively low cost, many people who need treatment do not receive it.
Felix-Kingsley Obialo, a member of the Rotary Club of Ibadan Idi-Ishin, Nigeria, manages the local arm of a project called Wellness in a Box, which his club has worked on in partnership with the Rotary Club of Wellesley, Massachusetts. “Mental health is an area that has been neglected by many people for too long because of the stigma associated with it,” says Obialo. “The involvement of Rotary clubs will gradually reduce the stigma, and more and more people will begin to be comfortable around the issue.”
Refugees and migrants receive free access to mental health services in Germany
When Pia Skarabis-Querfeld saw refugees pouring into Germany to escape war and other atrocities in 2014, the Berlin-based doctor felt compelled to help. Skarabis-Querfeld, a member of the Rotary Club of Kleinmachnow, eventually launched a nonprofit called Medizin Hilft (Medicine Helps). With support from a Rotary Foundation global grant and clubs around the globe, the nearly all-volunteer organization donates thousands of hours of medical care to refugees and migrants each year.
But doctors in the group quickly noticed that in addition to needing care for physical ailments, about half of their patients had symptoms of psychological problems or psychiatric disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. In 2020, the Rotary Club of Morehead City-Lookout, North Carolina, worked with Medizin Hilft to secure another global grant that allows the organization to offer free mental health services.
Under the guidance of Ulla Michels-Vermeulen, a psychologist who is also a member of the Kleinmachnow club, psychologists, psychiatrists, translators, and social workers help people like Fatma, a Syrian nurse who once treated bomb attack victims. When the situation became too dangerous in Syria, she left home. But fleeing was traumatic, explains Michels-Vermeulen.
It costs society a lot if we ignore these mental health problems. And it’s a human right to get support if you are ill.
While crossing the Mediterranean, Fatma watched several passengers drown before another vessel came to the rescue of their drifting boat. She spent time in a refugee camp, where people slept in tents, there were no doctors, and there was not enough to eat. She was sexually assaulted several times on the journey.
“Fatma has been accepted to stay [in Germany] and is going to school to learn German, but she is still getting counseling. She is suffering from nightmares, sleeplessness, concentration problems, and flashbacks,” Michels-Vermeulen says. “It costs society a lot if we ignore these mental health problems. And it’s a human right to get support if you are ill.”
Social media campaign strives to break the stigma of mental health
After Darren Hands invited speakers to talk about mental health at a District 1175 (England) conference a few years ago, he and other local Rotarians were inspired to do more. “It was very powerful, and afterwards we thought, ‘What can we as Rotarians do when it comes to mental health? We’re people of action but not mental health professionals. But surely there’s some-thing we can do to help,’” says Hands, president of the Rotary Club of Plympton.
They came up with a social media campaign called “Don’t Bottle It Up,” which encourages people affected by depression, anxiety, or other issues to reach out for help...
May 5, 1862 – Mexican troops under General Ignacio Zaragoza, outnumbered three to one, defeat the invading forces of Napoleon III in the battle of Pueblo which forever after is celebrated as a national holiday; Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May).
May 6, 1937 – The German airship Hindenburg bursts into flames and crashes while mooring at Lakehurst, New Jersey killing 36 of the 97 passengers and crew and effectively ending commercial airship travel.
May 8, 1945 – German Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel signs the unconditional surrender of all German fighting forces ending World War II in Europe.
May 5, 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American in Space. His Freedom 7 spacecraft travelled in space for 15 minutes and 28 seconds. In a subsequent flight in 1971 he would become the fifth person to walk on the moon.
