Meeting of 10 October
This week’s regular meeting featured a talk by guest speaker John Piltz on the drug problem in Coolamon and what’s being done about it. John is a Coolamon resident and has been president of the youth footy program in town for many years, and is one of the founding members of the Coolamon Community Drug Action Team (CDAT). CDATs have been organised in numerous towns throughout the state to battle the problem of drug abuse. Coolamon CDAT was established several years ago in response to emerging problems with drug abuse among younger members of the community. As John explained, the members of Coolamon CDAT are not experts on drug abuse, but facilitate the dissemination of information on the problem and look for solutions to the problem. They receive an annual modest contribution from the state government to fund their programs, which they leverage to get more “bang from their buck.” They have a number of interesting programs planned for the coming year, and it certainly seems like a group that Rotary needs to support. Neil thanked John for his presentation and the excellent work that CDAT is doing in the community and presented him with a kangaroo-hide change pouch in appreciation.
The evening concluded with a thanks to the journalism club and their advisor, Beth Batcheldor, for their great job on the newspaper, a quick game of heads and tails (which was won by John G) and an entertaining fine session led by Sargent-at-Arms Ted. Pictured below are Myffy and Bernie (at left and third from left) with journalism club members Maddie, Beth (advisor), Minnie and Sophia. The aspiring journalists were curious to see how a Rotary meeting was run, so it was great to welcome them to our meeting.
Trivia night benefit for Owen Hawthorn and family
Nearly 400 residents of the shire packed into St Michael’s hall on Friday night to participate in a trivia night fundraiser for Owen Hawthorn and his family following the loss of his wife, Narelle, to terminal illness. The event had been planned while Narelle was still alive, but sadly, she passed away early last week. Community members showed support by participating in a trivia competition which saw both Coolamon Rotary tables in the thick of it, but in the end, the table led by Wayne Lewis won the competition. A silent auction went on through the evening, and a live auction followed the trivia, which had offerings from the mundane to the remarkable. Coolamonites were extremely generous on the night, with tens of thousands of dollars raised for the cause. It was heartwarming to see the heartfelt support and generosity of residents of the shire toward a local family in need, and it was great to see our club play a part in it.
On the lighter side
Definition of European Heaven: German engineering, French cuisine and British humour.
Definition of European Hell: French engineering, German humour and British “cuisine”.
The Puzzler
Here’s one you may have seen, but we need an easy one after last week’s puzzler which left many readers baffled. Which way is the bus below travelling? 96% of first-graders in Australia got it right!
Answer to last week’s puzzler: The three teenagers with Chris are his sisters!
Diary
Saturday, 15 October: Moo Poo working bee (rain or shine!). Ted’s place, 8:00 am.
Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.
Monday, 17 October: Regular meeting. Guest speaker: Mel Mayer. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.
Wednesday, 19 October: Board meeting. Dyce/Farmer residence. 7 pm.
Saturday, 22 October: Hospital Fete. Details to come.
Monday, 24 October: Regular meeting* and visit from Butch Liebenberg and partner from Hout Bay Rotary, South Africa. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.
Monday, 31 October: Club assembly. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.
Monday, 7 November: AGM. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.
Wednesday, 10 November: Bingo. Neil (Captain), Daryl, John N, Leslie.
Saturday, 26 November: Street Raffle.
25-26 Feb, 2017: Presidents-Elect Training (Paul Weston), Young.
17-19 March, 2017: District 9700 Conference, Orange.
30 April, 2017: District 9700 Assembly (All Directors), Young.
10-14 June, 2017: Rotary International Convention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
*Partners and Guests Night
Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157 BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.