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Lisa Gonzalez, MPH, DeKalb County Health Department's Public Health Administrator, shared the latest update on the county's response to Covid-19, as well as reflecting on the challenges and triumphs of the past year.
Sycamore Rotary Pancake Breakfast is coming soon (October 30)! Let's get out there and sell some tickets to raise some scholarship funds for Sycamore High School students!
News/Updates
A Covid-19 Update and More
DeKalb County Public Health Administrator Lisa Gonzalez gave an update on Covid-19 issues along with an overview of other Health Department services at this week’s meeting.  Gonzalez said her department moved into “high gear” with the outbreak of the pandemic in March of last year.  She said what normally is about 800 disease investigations a year became 12,253 cases of Covid as of October 8th of this year.  So far there are 133 deaths in the county due to Covid and the current vaccination rate is over 48% with more than 50,000 people vaccinated.  She said the current positivity rate is 2.5% showing a downward trend from last month.
 
Gonzalez spoke in detail about vaccination trends and the latest immunization guidance.  When explaining the statistics, she noted that vaccination rates can be affected by the student population at Northern Illinois University if students used their home address for the vaccine documentation but were counted as DeKalb County residents for the last census.  Gonzalez said the same is true for residents owning homes out of state where those addresses were used when people got their shots while vacationing.  She said there are currently only two long-term care facilities in the county reporting Covid cases and those are with staff members, not residents.  Despite an uptick in student cases when schools resumed in-person classes, Gonzalez said these cases do not seem linked to classroom settings where masks are required but rather to outside school activities.  Gonzalez praised the success of their mass vaccination clinics (mainly held at Northern Illinois University) for helping early on with reaching large numbers of people quickly.  The Pfizer booster shot is now available for those having their second shot six months ago or more.  These third doses are available for people with certain immune compromising conditions. 
 
Even with the pandemic, Gonzalez explained that there are multiple other services administered by the Health Department for public safety.  Multiple clinical services and referrals are handled through the Health Department.  They also do health protection services.  These include food safety licenses and inspections, water and sewage permits, solid waste and recycling, tattoo and tanning business inspections, and animal control.  They are also the county’s official registrar for birth and death certificates. 
 
Gonzalez said specific details and information are available on their website at www.health.dekalbcounty.org or by calling the department at (815) 758-6673.
And Next Week's Speaker is...
 
Zachary Hansen
Northern Illinois Regional Program Director
National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP)
2021 Sycamore Rotary Pancake Breakfast is October 30!
For almost 78 years, the Sycamore Rotary Club has held its annual Pancake Breakfast as a major fundraiser benefitting others, primarily for local youth. One key beneficiary is local scholarships. Last year, in spite of the Covid complications, the Sycamore Club was able to increase its scholarship awards to $10,000 for worthy Sycamore High School students. 
 
During the most recent years, this fun event has become a Pumpkin Fest tradition held in coordination with the many other fun activities of Pumpkin Fest weekend.
 
Join with us for delicious pancakes, sausage and beverage for only an $8.00 donation per person with children under 5 eating for free. Tickets can be purchased from any Sycamore Rotarian or at the door of the breakfast. This year's breakfast will be held on Saturday, October 30 at the St. Mary's Catholic Church PAC, 322 Waterman St., Sycamore from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
Rotary Reader Assignment (Final Week)
11:10 AM - 11:25 AM (Please arrive at 11:00 AM to pick out your books.)
 
South Prairie Elementary School, 820 Borden Avenue, Sycamore
 
Tuesday, April 26 - Julie Sgarlata (education director)
IMPORTANT: Monthly Committee Assignments
MAY - Steve Wilder (chair), Larry Berke, Jeff Frank, Heidi Wright
 
JUNE - Paulette Renault (chair)
Food Pantry Donations Requested
Donations are currently being requested for the Sycamore Food Pantry. Bring a bottle of laundry detergent...or $10 for Julie Sgarlata to purchase one. Money is easier to handle.
 
Personal hygiene items (bar soap, shampoo, etc.) are also being sought.
Local Sites (Within 5 Miles) to Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Hy-Vee Inc. #1642
2700 DeKalb Ave, Sycamore, IL 60178
 
CVS Pharmacy, Inc. #17575
2555 Sycamore Rd, DeKalb, IL 60115
 
Walmart Inc #10-0786
2300 Sycamore Rd, DeKalb, IL 60115
 
OSCO Drug #3272
1322 Sycamore Rd, DeKalb, IL 60115
 
Walgreens Co. #5603
1340 Dekalb Ave, Sycamore, IL 60178
 
Meijer #313
541 Puri Pkwy, Sycamore, IL 60178
 
Walgreens Co. #4042
100 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115
 
CVS Pharmacy, Inc. #02375
1022 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115
 
DeKalb County Health Department
1525 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115
 
OSCO Drug #3381
220 W Peace Rd, Sycamore, IL 60178
Candidate Search: Rotary District 6420 Governor for 2024-25
Dear Rotary Club Presidents, Club Secretaries, and All District 6420 Rotarians,  
 
It is time for our clubs to consider nominating a Rotarian to serve as Governor for Rotary District 6420 for the 2024-25 Rotary year.  
 
The qualifications to become Governor include being a member in good standing of a club in good standing, serving at  least one full term as a club president, and being available in person to meet with the Nominating Committee on the  date set by that committee. That interview date is tentatively set for Saturday, December 4, 2021.  
 
The successful candidate will join the Governor Line, serving as the District Governor Nominee Designate in the second  half of the 2021-22 Rotary year, District Governor Nominee in 2022-23, District Governor Elect in 2023-24, and District  Governor in 2024-25.  
 
There is an expectation that a Past District Governor will continue to serve the District in some leadership position for at  least two years following the Governor year. A high-quality Governor training program is provided by Zone, Region, and  Rotary International personnel.  
 
A prospective candidate should contact me or any past Governor with any questions.  
 
Each club is eligible to nominate one candidate, and the club must sign off on their full support for their candidate.  Official nomination forms are available by contacting me. Also, the nomination forms need to be returned to me by the deadline for nominations which is Monday, November 15, 2021. Candidates will be contacted to set up interviews  following the deadline.  
 
PLEASE MAKE THIS INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO ALL YOUR MEMBERS.  
 
Feel free to contact me with any questions, or for more information.  
 
Sincerely,  
David Bills, Governor  
Rotary District 6420  
Cell: 309-912-0789  
Famous Birthdays This Week
October 11, 1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt is born in New York City.  She marries her fifth cousin, Franklin, and famously carries out the duties of First Lady when he becomes President in 1933.  Following Franklin’s death in office, Eleanor remains active in political and social causes, including serving as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations and being affectionately called “First Lady of the World.”
 
October 14, 1890 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, who becomes 34th President of the United States and serves as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, is born in Denison, Texas. 
 
October 15, 1924 – Corporate folk hero and automobile executive Lee Iacocca is born in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
 
October 16, 1758 – American teacher and compiler of the first American dictionary of the English language, Noah Webster, is born in West Hartford, Connecticut.
This Week in History
October 12, 1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to successfully navigate across the Atlantic by ship landing in the Bahamas.
 
October 12, 1960 – During a debate over colonialism in the United Nations, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev takes off his shoe and pounds his desk repeatedly.
 
October 13, 1884 – Greenwich was established as the universal time from which standard times throughout the world are calculated.
 
October 14, 1947 – U. S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier flying in a rocket-powered research aircraft.
OCTOBER COMMITTEE
 
Paul Stromborg (chair)
Jim Stoddard
Paul Callighan
Birthdays & Club Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Mitchell Doty
May 3
 
Michael Villalta
May 4
 
Paul Michel
May 9
 
Jonelle Bailey
May 11
 
Rob Mondi
May 17
 
Brandon Diviak
May 22
 
Kathleen Smith
May 23
 
Tim Neubert
May 30
 
Join Date
Joyce Klein
May 1, 2019
3 years
 
Paulette Renault
May 1, 2011
11 years
 
Steven Kuhn
May 7, 1997
25 years
 
Patrick Shafer
May 8, 2013
9 years
 
Paul Barnaby
May 15, 1996
26 years
 
Sally Bruch
May 20, 2009
13 years
 
Upcoming Events
Sycamore Rotary Club: R. Janisch, EarlyAct
May 11, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Oak Crest Satellite Club Meeting
Oak Crest Retirement Center
May 12, 2022
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Sycamore Rotary Club: R. Rianni, DKC Airport
May 18, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Sycamore Rotary Club: H. Wright, Suter Company
May 25, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Oak Crest Satellite Club Meeting
Oak Crest Community Center
May 26, 2022 11:45 AM
 
Sycamore Rotary Club: Speaker TBD
Jun 01, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Sycamore Rotary Club: Speaker TBD
Jun 08, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Sycamore Rotary Club: Speaker TBD
Jun 08, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Oak Crest Satellite Club Meeting
Oak Crest Retirement Center
Jun 09, 2022
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Sycamore Rotary Club: Speaker TBD
Jun 15, 2022
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Oak Crest Satellite Club Meeting
Oak Crest Community Center
Jun 23, 2022 11:45 AM
 
View entire list
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To provide feedback or contribute content for this newsletter, please contact Tim Neubert at timneubert@sbcglobal.net.