Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka

November 9, 2015

The menu was fried chicken, spaghetti, and mixed vegetables. 

Jay Bahner rang the bell, and it was another day in Rotaryville. “Some people claim there’s a woman to blame, but I know it’s my own damn fault’. Jimmy Buffet.  Jay asked all the military veterans in the club to stand up and lead us in the pledge. Then Captain Bruce Rupp gave the invocation, thanking all the veterans for securing the freedom of generations.  Next week the District Governor will be our speaker, so no early leavers. 

Dennis Hunter was recognized for the 49’ers win last Sunday.  He and Jay have a bet, but in order for Jay to win, the Niners have to win five of the next 7 games.  Pretty unlikely. 

Tom Schallert got to spin the imaginary Rotary Wheel.  It’s his mother’s 90^th birthday and his 40^th anniversary.  He also won a chair at a recent Rotary event.  John Fullerton donated the chair.  When Tom sat in it the arm broke off. No refunds, said Jay. 

Pat Folkins encouraged everyone to give $100 to the foundation in November as a tribute to Jim Howard, who will be 100 on December 1^st. 

Drawing: J. Warren Hockaday won $10, Rick Littlefield won the coin, and Tom Schallert failed to win the pot. 

Our Speaker was Bill Damiano, head of the Humboldt Probation Department.  He told us that the idea of probation came from John Augustus.  In 1841 he was attending a sentencing hearing for a young miscreant and was so moved by his plight that he offered the man a chance to rehabilitate himself, gave him a job and a place to stay and offered to teach him a trade.  

Damiano manages the juvenile detention system.  Now they use actuarial tools to assess whether the juvenile is at risk to re-offend.  They also supervise 225 adult felons.  The State used to handle all felony probation, but because of AB109 they now take the lesser offenders while the state gets the murders and sex offenders. 

Humboldt County has the only Regional Juvenile Drug treatment center.  He says crime stats are going down in spite of what appears to be a large homeless population. 70 percent of offenders have substance abuse and mental problems.  The most reliable indicator of future felonious behavior is anti-social behavior and beliefs.  Those people think differently than us.

Submitted by Hank Ingham

Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka

November 2, 2015

The menu:  Roast beef Swiss chicken mashed potatoes and a brownie for dessert. 

President Jay Bahner convened the meeting.  Dale Warmuth led us in the pledge to the flag.  Greg Pierson gave the invocation.  Jay noted that Jim Howard is feeling better now. 

The club observed a moment of silence for Steve Brodhag, a fellow Rotarian who passed away recently . 

Rick Littlefield and his wife went to Yosemite for a rotary Conference and then took 30 family members on a cruise to celebrate their 40^th anniversary. He chose to contribute $310 to Paul Harris.  

Jim Howard’s 100^th birthday is coming up on Tuesday December 1^st, so the club meeting has been moved to that date.  He’ll get a key to the city and other awards. 

Pat Folkins reminded us that this is foundation month, and the annual Foundation Dinner will be held on November 14^th.  If you buy raffle tickets Bill Gates Foundation will match each dollar with two more dollars. 

J. Warren Hockaday was recognized for an addition to his family. His wife just returned from Africa with a 6 year old girl they adopted from an orphanage in Ghana.  Her name is “Faith.”  The adoption process was arduous but the result made it all worthwhile.

No one won the raffle money. 

Our speaker was the selfsame J. Warren Hockaday.  He talked about the contributions the TV station had made to the community and the importance of local news stories in keeping the viewers informed about local events.   

Hank Ingham then made a brief appearance showing a power point presentation filled with rare photos concerning the history of KIEM-TV3, which signed on the air in October of 1953.  Some of them were real. 

Jay then continued talking about the young people just out of school who make the station their first job, and go on to other markets as soon as they can put a resume tape together.  In spite of the frequent turn over in news, KIEM still has a core group of people who have been with the station for 30 years or more. He finished with five minutes to spare. 

Submitted by Hank Ingham