The menu was Swedish meatballs, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, garlic bread and salad bar. There was a brownie for dessert. Matthew Owen showed up again so we had to let him be president and ring the bell. Nathan Nilsen led us in the flag salute. Tom McMurray Jr. gave the invocation, then ratted on Greg Pierson who was on a trip to see his new grandchild accompanied by his fiancé . There is a fine in his future. Jamie Carroll, president of Rotaract said that three of their members had just returned from a trip to Bangladesh. She reminded us that Rotaract was having a fundraiser dinner on March 11th at the Sequoia Conference Center. $25 gets you a ticket. Jerry Reece announced that the annual Rotary raffle dinner is coming up on February 17. The theme is “Mardi Gras for a Reason” and you should already have gotten your tickets in the mail. The main course is gumbo prepared by Mama Jennice. There will be specialty drinks, like the Big Easy Martini . A $4,000 cash prize is going to be hidden in the cupcakes so don’t forget to stick around for dessert and be careful what you swallow. Attendance is not mandatory, but buying the tickets is.
During the boast, roast and toast segment Pat Folkins bragged about taking a cruise with his family and that set him back 120 smackers. Bruce Rupp had (not literally) his 8th grandchild and his wife was going to England to see him. That reminded John Fullerton that he had a new granddaughter. In the “Young enough to have her own children “segment, it was mentioned that Rotarian Clark Swan was past her due date which was today. There’s still time, Clark! Sue Bosch admitted that she totaled her car. Finally Paul Nicklas shared that he caught footage of a butane fueled drug explosion on his drone camera. It remains to be seen why he was using his drone to cruise the neighborhood-unless of course the explosion was at his house. If you live in Arcata pull down your shades.
Our presenter was Connie Lorenzo from the Department of Health and Human Services. She is heading up Humboldt’s 2nd Chance program, (H2CP) which is a pilot initiative to get individuals under formal probation back to work with skills readiness training and subsidized wages during on-the-job training. Humboldt aims to serve up to 75 probationary job seekers during this one year program. Probationary participants are screened an then attend a 2 week readiness training course and a minimum of six weeks of vocational training. Work placements include 50% wage reimbursements to employers for up to six months as an incentive to hire. Services to the employer include access to ready-to-work job seekers motivated to perform. You interview and select as you would any other job seeker. There is the previously mentioned 50% reimbursement of wages for the first six months, and tax credits through the state’s Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program. She said they are no different than any other employee you might hire, except “they got caught”. With that hearty recommendation, we close yet another chapter in the Book of Burl.
Authored by Hank Ingham
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