Coolamon Rotary Bulletin #1920-33

Meetings of May 4th and May 11th

President Daryl welcomed about 13 members & guests to our online club meetings using the digital  ZOOM technology.                           

Present:    President Daryl Breust, Paul Weston, Leslie Weston, John Glassford, Henk Hulsman, Grahame Miles, Ian Jennings, Anne Rzeszkowski, John Nulty, Howard Atkinson, Neil Munro, Alex Thompson and Chez Post, Albert Suidgeest, John Bond & Garth Perkin (on phone) & special guest Tracy Ochieng in Kenya.

Apologies:  Myffy Collette, Dick Jennings, Ian Jennings, John Bond and Neil Munro.

 

May 4 meeting

President Daryl asked members present for any news.

  • Albert informed us of some tragic news about his niece having an accident and passing away from a brain hemorrhage. Daryl expressed sincere sympathy to his family on behalf of our club.
  • Daryl gave a report from the Wollundry Club bulletin which indicated it was highly unlikely the Gears & Beers event will go ahead this year owing to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. [Editor’s note: This decision has been reversed and Gears and Beers is planned to proceed but with social-distancing modifications.]
  • Daryl also discussed the telephone book planning, including the flyer form put together by Grahame and some suggested fine-tuning that is felt should be done to it. At this stage it is planned it be posted out in September taking into consideration the state of affairs at present.
  • Anne advised members that Coolamon Central School has a very good candidate in Year 11 for the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). Anne will follow up with the school.
  • John Bond advised members he is quite advanced in researching the possibility of a grant to help in the publication of the Coolamon Community Chronicle. Well done, John.

Our next meeting will be on Monday May 11 at 7.30 pm, and we have been asked to bring our pets along for a little levity.  Leslie & Paul will be guest speakers, talking on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our next club assembly will b e conducted via ZOOM on Monday, May 18.  The next board meeting is on Wednesday, May 20.

 

May 11 meeting

Please send your apologies for a ZOOM meeting to the secretary or call John G on 0498 190 880;  please do not send them via Messenger as these are often forgotten and not recorded.

Next meeting on Monday May 18th is our fourth CLUB ASSEMBLY for this Rotary year. We would appreciate a good turnout of members as there are several major decisions that have been made by the board since we last held a club assembly.

Grahame informed the meeting that the bulletin will be compiled every two weeks from now on until we meet in person again which looks like a long way off right now.

Tracy had to leave after an hour to attend her afternoon lecture and we look forward to having her join us again in the near future.

Myffy has contacted most advertisers in the Coolamon Community Chronicle advising them that there will be no issues for May and June and that their adverts would carry over into later issues.

We decided not to meet in person for the next board meeting on May 20 but to stay with Zoom.

The pet of the night went to Howard for his hand-raised chook! Other pets were present including 4-5 dogs, all of which were well behaved.

Some of us were somewhat disappointed not more of our members tuned in on Monday night as it was one of the best presentations we have had in recent months.  Thank you, Paul and Leslie Weston, for the effort and the excellent information on the COVID-19 virus.

Some of the interesting facts included:

  • Paul spoke on physiology of the pandemic in that it was highly likely to have originated from an animal. This is most likely a bat to another animal which then mutated to humans. Much like SIDS turned into HIV/AIDS.  
  • COVID-19 attacks the lungs in the main and it is the overreaction of our immune system that creates the storm that leads to respiratory failure particular in ageing people whose immune system creates fewer and fewer anti-bodies. This is when ventilators are required to force oxygen into the lungs.
  • There are now two strains of COVID-19; the L and S strains of which the L strain is more virulent.

Leslie then spoke on the treatment therapy for COVID-19:

  • There are several stages or symptoms of COVID-19 from the carriers who have the virus from being asymptomatic if a patient is a carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms to fully blown pneumonia with organ failure.
  • The mortality rate of COVID-19 is around 4% of positive cases, but higher in some countries right now. For those that are critically ill beforehand, the mortality rate is closer to 60%.
  • Their daughter Nicole, who lives in New York, has recovered from COVID-19. She experienced sore throat, coughing and intense pain in the lungs like someone was sitting on her chest. The symptoms after ca. 3 weeks.
  • Leslie went on to outline some treatments using chemicals until a vaccine is developed.  She outlined how difficult it is to develop a vaccine and it may even be the case that we never get such a vaccine e.g. AIDS. It will then be a case of living with the virus and treatment with anti-viral drugs.
  • Leslie left us with some positive news in that there are some promising antiviral and anti-bacterial drugs that are proving to have positive results.

To summarise both the talks given by Paul and Leslie the bottom line is to:

  • Respect and practice social distancing.
  • Wash hands with suitable alcohol-based sanitisers. 
  • Wear a N95 mask in public if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Get tested for COVID-19 if you get any symptoms, however mild (sore throat or cough combined with fever).

Daryl thanked Leslie and Paul for an excellent talk & presentation.

Meeting closed at 8.40.

 

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to last puzzler: 1) To be or not to be. 2) Cool as a cucumber.

This week’s puzzler: Can you decipher the following rebus puzzles?

 

 

DIARY

NB: All face-to-face Rotary events have been cancelled until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Board meetings will be held as previously scheduled but will be virtual meetings (conducted via Zoom).  Regular meetings will be held via Zoom on a trial basis starting on 30 March.

Monday, May 25th – Regular meeting. Zoom, 7:30-8:30 pm.

June 6-10th – RI Convention, Honolulu.

*Monday, June 29th – Coolamon Rotary Changeover. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.  ZOOM?

* denotes partner & guest night

 

REMINDERS

Please get your working with children check completed and give the number and expiry date to the secretary ASAP. Failure to do so may mean you are not covered insurance wise when you volunteer at events.

 

ROTARY CLUB OF COOLAMON Inc. 2019-20

Chartered March 3rd, 1971; Sponsoring Club Narrandera Rotary Club
 
President: Daryl Breust 0409 551 140
President-Elect: Howard Atkinson
Secretary: John Glassford
Treasurer: Henk Hulsman 6927 3486
Rotary Foundation Director: Neil Munro
Membership Director: Paul Weston
Service Projects Director: Howard Atkinson
Youth Director: Anne Rzeszkowski
Club Admin Director:  Dave McKinley
Club Services Director: Albert Suidgeest
Public Image Director: Grahame Miles
Immediate Past President: Daryl Breust 0409 551 140
Sergeant @ Arms: Albert Suidgeest
Bulletin Editors: Grahame Miles and Paul Weston
Webmaster: John Glassford
 

May is Rotary Youth Service Month

Coolamon Rotary Bulletin #1920-32

Meeting of April 6th

[There was no meeting on April 13th because of the public holiday.]

President Daryl welcomed approximately 14 members & guest Chez Post to our online club meetings held via ZOOM web conferencing software over the past two weeks. Most members wanting to join in the meetings have been able to, even if only by phone, but most have been able to join with video hookup.  Any members wishing to join in but are having difficulty doing so should contact Paul or John G to get technical issues sorted.

 

April 20

  • Daryl reported on the ZOOM meeting he & John G participated in with the Rotary Club of East Nassau in Bahamas on April 18, where Daryl presented a cheque for $2500 towards relief from the effects of hurricane Dorian last year.  We have since received an email from their President, Barry Rassin, thanking & greatly appreciating our club for the generous donation to their relief efforts.
  • Despite some technical problems, those present viewed a video presentation by Bill Gates, recorded in 2015 as a TED talk, on the next big pandemic, which eerily foreshadowed what is happening in the world today with the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.  Those who missed the meeting or would like to view the presentation again can do so by clicking on this link: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready?language=en.
  • There was some discussion on donations to the local hospital and Allawah Lodge. A follow-up meeting was scheduled for the following Wednesday with Grahame, Dave, Neil and Ian.

April 27

  • The main topic of discussion was the upcoming Coolamon Rotary 2021 local telephone cirectory. An interim committee was formed, consisting of chairman Daryl, John B, Ian, Anne, Albert and Paul, with other members most welcome to join.  It was proposed that a flyer be sent to all postal addresses in the shire (and perhaps beyond) asking residents for their details to be listed in the book. Grahame offered to start the ball rolling by designing a draft copy of a possible flyer for members to peruse at our next meeting. A substantial effort will be required to chase up advertisers since the directory is distributed free of charge to shire residents, so 2-3 members with marketing skills or business contact will be needed to carry out this critical task.
  • The Coolamon Community Chronicle was also discussed, as Myffy has reported she can no longer commit to continuing with the great job she has done over the past four years.  As a result, there is an urgent need to find replacement members for doing the work required to produce the CCC. If suitable replacements can’t be found, it was suggested that it might be necessary to pay someone with the appropriate skills.   John Bond mentioned there are government grants available to help newspaper publishers through the coronavirus pandemic and offered to follow-up on this and report back to our next meeting.
  • Daryl thanked all those who offered to volunteer with the above jobs.
  • Ian mentioned the need to have signs acknowledging our financial support on the two picnic benches on the bike track between Coolamon and Ganmain. Ian will follow up on this.
  • Grahame informed the club that a productive meeting with Dave, Neil and Ian was held last Wednesday to discuss various options of donating to the hospital and/or the hospital auxiliary and Allawah Lodge.  After quite a bit of discussion it was decided to donate monies to the hospital directly and that we go ahead with the original motion of donating $2K to the hospital and Allawah Lodge. Grahame will compose a letter to the recipients. Expanding the Bingo committee was also discussed; to that end, Dave McK will join Neil and Grahame on the committee.
  • Anne advised members that Coolamon Central School has a very good candidate in Year 11 for the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). Anne will follow up with the school when a suitable time presents itself.
  • ANZAC Day remembrance activities were discussed, with members reporting what they did to commemorate the special day.
  • Suitable guest speakers for our ZOOM meetings will be researched by a few members.
  • Our next ZOOM meeting is Monday, May 4 & ZOOM Club Assembly on May 18.  Our club changeover, scheduled for June 29, will likely take place via ZOOM (with a follow-up event in person once the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted).

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to last puzzler: 36.

This week’s puzzler: Can you decipher the following rebus puzzles?

 

DIARY

NB: All face-to-face Rotary events have been cancelled until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Board meetings will be held as previously scheduled but will be virtual meetings (conducted via Zoom).  Regular meetings will be held via Zoom on a trial basis starting on 30 March.

Monday, May 4th – Zoom meeting.  7:30-8:30 pm.   Coolamon Rotarians Paul and Leslie Weston will talk about the COVID-19 pandemic.  See meeting invitation in SMS or email message sent to members for login details (login details are the same as the previous ZOOM meetings).

Sunday, April 19th – DisTec20 (District 9700 technology workshop),  Young.

Saturday, April 25th (ANZAC Day) – Catering for Trotting Club, Coolamon Showgrounds.

Saturday & Sunday, May 16th & 17th – District Assembly, Young. Income board members expected to attend.

Monday, May 18th – Club Assembly.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Wednesday, May 20th – Board meeting. Zoom, 7:30-8:30 pm.

June 6-10th – RI Convention, Honolulu.

Wednesday, June 17th – Board meeting. Zoom, 7:30-8:30 pm.

*Monday, June 29th – Coolamon Rotary Changeover. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.  ZOOM?

* denotes partner & guest night

 

REMINDERS

Please get your working with children check completed and give the number and expiry date to the secretary ASAP. Failure to do so may mean you are not covered insurance wise when you volunteer at events.

 

ROTARY CLUB OF COOLAMON Inc. 2019-20

Chartered March 3rd, 1971; Sponsoring Club Narrandera Rotary Club
 
President: Daryl Breust 0409 551 140
President-Elect: Howard Atkinson
Secretary: John Glassford
Treasurer: Henk Hulsman 6927 3486
Rotary Foundation Director: Neil Munro
Membership Director: Paul Weston
Service Projects Director: Howard Atkinson
Youth Director: Anne Rzeszkowski
Club Admin Director:  Dave McKinley
Club Services Director: Albert Suidgeest
Public Image Director: Grahame Miles
Immediate Past President: Daryl Breust 0409 551 140
Sergeant @ Arms: Albert Suidgeest
Bulletin Editors: Grahame Miles and Paul Weston
Webmaster: John Glassford
 

April is Rotary Maternal and Child Health Month Month