Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
April 4, 2016
President Jay
Bahner asked Nathan Nilsen to lead us in the pledge. Then he called up Carlton Nielsen to give the
invocation. Then he opened a tin of
lutefisk and said his name was Jan Bahnerson.
Luckily, he realized there was no reason to go all Nordic on us and
settled down.
Next week
is “Fine me if I’m not wearing a Rotary Pin” week. It’s also $10 if you have a birthday in April
and are not sitting at the head table.
Neil
Carnam’s fundraiser for Nepal is on the 16th and there are still
tickets available.
The North
Coast Junior Giants needed $700 so Jay pitched in $100 and Craig Hansen,
Carlton Nielson, John McBeth, Christian Hill and Hank Pierson also stepped up
to the plate.
The
Rotaract Fundraiser, Black Sea Bash, has been rescheduled. It’s now on the 16th, the same day
as Neil Carnam’s Fundraiser.
Matthew
Owen sent a picture from Hawaii showing him making up a meeting on a
Catamaran. That will cost him.
Our
presenter was Attorney Kevin Robinson.
He’s a department head in the Public Defender’s Office. He said that the “right to have an attorney
present and if you can not afford one, one will be provided” was a relatively
recent thing. The idea was first
advanced by Clara Foltz in 1893 but not acted on until the 1930’s and then,
only for capital cases and for the feeble minded. The
law in its present form was enabled in 1963. It does not apply to civil cases, or to
misdemeanors. The poor are still not
represented in cases that involve fines like unpaid child support and overdue
parking tickets. He said that the main
increase in incarcerated people was the fault of Prosecutors who tend to treat
offences more seriously in order to scare the perp into a plea bargain. He is retiring this year.
Attendance
was sparse so if you’re reading this, come next week but be sure to wear your
Rotary Pin!
Submitted
by Hank Ingham
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