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 90th birthday
and his 40th 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 1st.
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
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