With World Polio Day just recognized on October 25, it is news worthy to report that Sam Purohit, a member of our Rotary Club, has been busy with a one man project of his own collecting aluminum cans. Recognizing the number of aluminum cans that are discarded in the trash, Sam took it upon himself to set up a collection point at his business since last year. He donates the funds raised from the sale of those aluminum cans to our Rotary Club to the End Polio Now campaign. Sam will be presenting funds received from the sale of aluminum cans at an upcoming Rotary Club meeting.
Sam encourages all of us to motivate others to do the small things to help motivate others to generate awareness of the public of the great work to End Polio Now. Sam is motivated himself after participating in India at immunizations of the Polio vaccine as a member of a Rotary Club there. This was when India had half the number of polio cases in the world (2009). Since January 2011, the number of polio infections in India has been reduced to zero...a huge triumph!
We are celebrating Jack Atherton's 60 years as a member of our Rotary Club on Tuesday, November 22 with a special lunch and a celebration. Plan to be there to help us celebrate Jack's Rotary anniversary!
Tim North has organized our Dictionary Project for several years. We distribute about 400 dictionaries to all of the third graders enrolled in the Emporia schools. This year the students at the Interact Club at Emporia Middle School will be assisting us on November 14th by placing labels on all of the dictionaries. Everyone is invited to join the fun at 3:30 at EMS. Our club is providing pizza for everyone.
On November 15th, all of the Emporia principals are coming to our Rotary meeting. We will distribute the dictionaries that afternoon to all of the students from 1:00 to 3:00. Make plans to join the activities at the Emporia Middle School or after our meeting as we distribute the dictionaries at each of the Emporia schools. It is a fun and worthwhile project, and we get to visit with the Interact Club students as well as the third graders who are receiving the dictionaries.
Teresa Maley is coordinating the events leading up to the dictionary distribution, and Dave Emig provides the labels for the dictionaries. We are counting on the help of several club members to assist with the dictionary distribution.
The Honorable W. Lee Fowler, Judge in the 5th Judicial Court in Lyon County, presented lots of fun facts for our club members to consider.
Sentences for different crimes are set by the Kansas Legislature in order to ensure more consistency across the state for sentencing of crimes.
Kansas ranks in the bottom third for adult incarceration rates per 100,000 U.S. residents. Kansas rate is 322 per 100,000, while Louisiana is the highest at 816 per 100,000.
The United States has an incarceration rate of 710 inmates per 100,000 residents, which is in stark contrast to the average of 115 per 100,000 for other nations. The next nation closest to the United States is Chile with 266 per 100,000.
With the recession of 2008-2009, our prison population started climbing due to fewer opportunities to work and cuts in social programs such as mental health.
Rehab treatments tend to be cut when funding is cut, creating stress on prison populations.
Meth is a much greater problem than marijuana.
Lyon County has 4 times the number of meth cases than the average for the rest of Kansas.
Thanks to Paul Dean for arranging Judge Lee Fowler to be our program guest.
Susan Rathke and Nancy Horst presented to our club meeting a summary of the All Veterans Tribute activities in the Emporia area during the week of Veterans Day. Emporia was the first community in the United States to celebrate Veterans Day back in 1953. Then in 1954 the rest of our country began celebrating that holiday. Now it is a week of activities throughout our community. In our schools, there are essay contests and poster contests, letters and post cards written to veterans. There is the Quilts of Valor, in which custom quilts are made and distributed to local veterans (the quilts are displayed in the Emporia Public Library this week). There is the Tablets of Honor being sold at the All Veterans Memorial, as well as other veterans and memorial displays there. The All Veterans Art Display is at the Emporia Arts Center. On Sunday is Freedom Fest, which includes a 5K run/walk, organized 16-mile and 40-mile gravel bike rides, and the 5K run & 40-mile gravel bike Spur. For more information on these and many others, go to the All Veterans Tribute website.
Join us for our second Rotary Club Social! It will be Wednesday, November 16 at Radius Brewing Company, 610 Merchant. It is a very relaxed, informal event, so come and enjoy the company of other Rotary Club members. It is a good way of getting to know other club members in an informal setting.
As you enter Radius, everyone will gather at the back room on the porch.
$675 was donated by our Rotary Club to Corky's Cupboard at Emporia State University. These funds were raised from our Happy Bucks collected July through September. Thanks for everyone's participation with our Happy Bucks contributions!
Happy Bucks contributions for October, November and December go to the Boy Scouts.
A work day is being planned at Camp EE, the girl scout camp northwest of Emporia. Watch for announcements as for the day and time. Our Rotary Club is teaming up with the Kiwanis and Lions clubs to get the camp spruced up. Work includes work on the kitchen, painting the cabins, mudding the ceiling, installing new ceiling fans, repairing the gazebo, tree trimming and miscellaneous other things. Our club is focusing on painting the two cabins inside and out for starters, while other the other clubs are focusing on other parts of the overall project. Barbara Wry is organizing the work details.
Tuesday, January 3 - We have arranged to meet at the Salvation Army for a catered lunch. We will get an opportunity to experience the area that we updated last spring. It should be a fun time!
Eight Rotarians socialized at Mulready's Pub in a fun, informal get-together. Those who participated included Teresa Maley, Jim Kessler, John Korsak, Tom Mais, Marshall Miller, Greg Seibel, Stuart Symmonds and Jim Wayman. Our Rotary Club is planning to continue these informal outings monthly on different days of the week through our current Rotary year. Come join us if you can!
.JPG)
.jpg)
fferent crimes are set by the Kansas Legislature in order to ensure more consistency across the state for sentencing of crimes. 
Susan Rathke and Nancy Horst presented to our club meeting a summary 
of the All Veterans Tribute activities in the Emporia area during the week of Veterans Day. Emporia was the first community in the United States to celebrate Veterans Day back in 1953. Then in 1954 the rest of our country began celebrating that holiday. Now it is a week of activities throughout our community. 
