Newsletter - Archive  Feb 17, 2010

print this page

Rotary Club Business and Member News

February 17, 2010

Opening:

Pledge     President Rich

Prayer      Ron (prayer from Rotaract Club of U. of Guyana)

Song        President Rich

Visiting Rotarians and Guests:

Guests     Eight members of the Rotaract Club of UNH

                    Katrina Blum, Co-President

                    Liz Rathbun, Co-President

                    Emily Croft

                    Courtney DaSilva

                    Carissa Whiton

                    Helen Marshall

                    Molly Driscoll

                    Michelle Drogue

Announcements:

Pres. Rich    We'll be participating with local schools in Read Across America next month.

                     The World Peace and Understanding Dinner is coming up - date will be announced as soon as he knows.

                     GSE Team this year is from India.  They'll probably be in our area about the time of the District Conference which is May 14-16 in Portsmouth.

                     The Rotary International Convention is in Montreal from June 20 - 23.

Madiha         She joined with the Cairo club in presenting the Abo El-Reesh Pediatric Hospital with the equipment we purchased with the help of the Matching Grant.  She has pictures which we'll put up on the site soon.

John R         The Club Forum on March 3rd will focus on fundraising.  Our next fundraiser will be a raffle for a $1000 shopping spree at the Durham Market Place.  Tickets will be available in two to three weeks.  July 4th fireworks planning is underway, and volunteers will be needed to help make the event successful.

Happy Bucks:

Allison        Good to see so many women at the meeting.

Henry         Welcome to the Rotaract Club members.

Ron            Thanks to all the members who sponsored a Rotaract Club

                   member's breakfast this morning.

Chip           Trip to see mother (she's 93!)

Ric             Congratulations to Madiha on leading another successful

                   international project.

John B       Good to see so many Rotaracters with us.

Jud            Great Olympics, eh?

Bill D          Another rough week at Vail

Pres Rich   Bode Miller is back!

Program:

Dr. Ted Kirkpatrick, Assoc Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Co-Director of JusticeWorks.

The five most pressing criminal justice issues in NH and across the country:

1.  Deinstitutionalization of the mental health population has been problematic.  A community-based mental health system never developed as anticipated.  The afflicted now end up in jail, and their treatment is very disruptive and expensive on top of the usual cost of incarceration.

2.  Export of the rule of law abroad is sometimes a tricky process.  There is often cultural resistance, and the effort can be perceived as heavy-handed.

3.  The age of majority is a problem.  The brain is not fully developed until about 25 years of age.  Given that, with NH's age set at 17, there are doubts about the good sense and fairness of judgements of culpability.

4.  Justice information sharing, while improving access, raises concerns for management of the process in balancing privacy interests and public safety.

5.  The homicide rate in the U.S. has dropped 50% in the last 30 years.  Yet the fear of crime has never been higher.  This paradox needs to be addressed by the nation because fear of crime is a national security issue.  Also, the extent to which we insulate our children from a world adults perceive to be fearful is problematic.

Megabucks:

Bob McD's ticket was pulled but he couldn't find the Three of Clubs.  The $45 pot carries over to next week.

Upcoming Programs:

Feb 24     Nathan Duclos, Durham Ambulance Corps

Mar 3       Club Forum

Mar 10     Chris Sterndale, Cross Roads House for the Homeless

Mar 17     George Maglaras, Chairman, Strafford County Commissioners

Your Scribe: Ron