Month: September 2016

Meeting of 26 September

In lieu of our weekly meeting, we visited the E H Graham Centre field site to walk through Leslie Weston’s crop and weed plots.   Coolamon Rotarians making the tour were Don Dyce, John Bond, John Glassford (and partner Susan) and Paul Weston.  The plots were in fantastic shape because of the abundant winter rain and the fastidious groundskeeping by Leslie’s field staff.  We saw plots that demonstrated the impact of varieties of legumes, canola and wheat on weed growth.  This differences were quite striking and will provide useful information for growers looking to limit growth of weeds with reduced herbicide usage.  Approximately 30 visitors were on hand to view the plots and learn about alternative cultural practices that require lower inputs of herbicide.  After the tour, we retired to the NaLSH (National Life Sciences Hub) at the CSU campus, where we saw some of the laboratory facilities that Leslie uses in conducting her lab-based research and were treated to some fabulous cheese and sausage nibblies.  It was a nice evening and a rare opportunity to see a different sort of working place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At top, serious Rotarians John G, John B and Don D ponder the deeper meaning of life.  The middle pic above shows the range of visitors to the twilight tour, while Leslie (at bottom) explains what visitors are meant to see.

 

Don’t forget Gears and Beers!

Gears and Beers will be going off on Sunday, so all club members are reminded to show up at their designated posts on Sunday morning.  Bring your hi-vis vest if you’ve got one, and don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour on Sunday morning!

On the lighter side

The vision of youth

A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work.  As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, ‘I’m drawing God.’

The teacher paused and said, ‘But no one knows what God looks like.’

Without looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, ‘They will in a minute.’

The Puzzler

A man who lives on the tenth floor of an apartment building takes the lift down to the first floor every morning and goes to work. In the evening, when he returns, he goes to his floor directly if it is a rainy day or if there are other people in the lift. Otherwise, he goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to his apartment.  Can you explain why?

Answer to last week’s puzzler: The population will fill the dish at 12:44 because the population doubles every minute; at 12:43 the dish was half full, so it will be full one minute later.  The trick to this one is to disregard the past history of the dish and focus on the future!

 

Diary

Sunday, 2 October: Gears & Beers. Contact Don Dyce if you’re not sure where/when you’re meant to be posted.

Monday, 3 October: No meeting (public holiday).

Friday, 7 October: Trivia Night benefit for Owen & Narelle Hawthorn.  St. Michael’s School.  Watch for details.

Monday, 10 October: Regular meeting*.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.  Guest speaker: John Piltz (topic: the local drug problem).

Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.

Monday, 17 October: Regular meeting.  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: Visit from Butch Liebenberg and partner from Hout Bay Rotary, South Africa.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.

Monday, 7 November: AGM.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.

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.

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*Partners and Guests Night

Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157  BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.

Meeting of 19 September

The focus of this meeting was John Glassford’s presentation that will be made to clubs throughout the district as John prepares for his year as DG in 2018-19.  John presented some sobering statistics on the state of several endangered species, mainly white rhino, elephants and orangutans.  The number of white rhino and elephants continue to dwindle because of poachers who kill the animals solely for their horns or tusks, respectively.  The situation with orangutans was similarly grim, but primarily because of removal of habitat as oil palms plantations dominate the landscape.  On a brighter note, the number of mountain gorillas has increased in recent years, mainly because the locals have learned that they can make more money from tourists than from ashtrays made from gorilla feet.  RAGES, the Rotary Action Group for Endangered Species, co-founded by John, is attempting to increase awareness of the threat to endangered species and to help lessen the problem.

The rest of John’s presentation was taken up with a survey assessing members’ knowledge of Rotary District 9700 and their use of D9700 electronic resources.  The meeting concluded with a meat tray raffle, which was won by Helen Lewis.

[For more information on RAGES, have a look at the RAGES facebook page.]

 

Opening of Kindra Bike & Walking Track

The Kindra Bike & Walking Track was officially opened by Mayor John Seymour on Saturday, 17 September.  The track is an initiative of Coolamon Rotary, spearheaded by Ian Jennings and financially assisted by a district grant from D9700.  The track winds through woodland in the Kindra National Forest, and has been designed to have minimal impact on the native flora and fauna.  The Coolamon Shire has been supportive of the project and has contributed in-kind support that has helped make the dream a reality.  Attendees of the opening ceremony were welcomed by Aunty Gail Clark, and heard brief speeches by Ian Jennings, John Seymour, and club president Don Dyce.  A ribbon cutting ceremony was followed by a sausage sizzle hosted by Coolamon Rotary, ably assisted by Henk Hulsman, Dick Jennings, Daryl Breust, and Don Dyce.

 

On the lighter side

Outsmarted

A farmer was frustrated with people stealing watermelons from his melon patch, so he came up with a clever deterrent.  He simply placed a sign facing the road that read “One of these melons has been poisoned.” His ploy worked well until one day, when he saw that someone had added at the bottom of the sign “Now there are two.”

 

The Puzzler

A Petri dish has a healthy colony of bacteria. Once a minute, every bacterium divides into two. The colony started as a single cell at noon. At exactly 12:43 (43 minutes later) the Petri dish was half full.  At what time will the dish be full?

Answer to last week’s puzzler: Turn two of the switches on, and then turn one off after several minutes.  Then go up to the attic.  The lamp that is lit is obviously wired to the switch that you left on, and the lamp that is off and cool to the touch is wired to the switch that had been left off.  The lamp that is off but warm to the touch is wired to the switch that was turned on and then off before you left for the attic!

 

Diary

Saturday, 24 September: Moo Poo working bee.  Postponed because of excessive recent rain.

Sunday, 25 September: Visit from Griffith Avanti.  11:00 tour of Coolamon Cheese followed by visits to local attractions and 1:00 BBQ at Don Dyce/Sally Farmer residence (6 Loughnan Street, Coolamon).

Monday, 26 September: CSU Field Plot Twilight Tour (in lieu of weekly meeting).  Grahame Centre Field Site, cnr Wagga Road & Prices Road, 5-7 pm.

Sunday, 2 October: Gears & Beers. Stay tuned for details!

Monday, 3 October: No meeting (public holiday).

Friday, 7 October: Trivia Night benefit for Owen & Narelle Hawthorn.  St. Michael’s School.  Watch for details.

Monday, 10 October: Regular meeting*.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.  Guest speaker: John Piltz (topic: the local drug problem).

Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.

Monday, 17 October: Regular meeting.  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: Visit from Butch Liebenberg and partner from Hout Bay Rotary, South Africa.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.

Monday, 7 November: AGM.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.

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.

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*Partners and Guests Night

Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157  BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.

This is great news for us and you are all invited to attend the Zone 8 Institute in Darwin in 2017.

“It was good to catch up with Sam Owori RI President Nominee for 2018-2019 in Evanston today prior to the RI Board meeting. Sam will be coming to the Zone Institute in Darwin in 2017. I don’t think I have ever seen Sam not smiling!”

Sam is from the RC of Kampala  in Uganda.

RI Director Noel Trevaskis. (Bega Australia).

The Coolamon Community Chronicle is out second edition.  Get your copy it is free!

Congratulations to the Coolamon Central School Journalism Club who put this together.  Six of the eight are pictured on the front page.  The team is made up of, Sophia, Elise, Minnie-Lee, Hannah, Chloe, Brodie, Madison and Beth.

The CCC Committee is made up of Beth Batcheldor, Rtn. Myffy Collette, PP Grahame Miles, Rtn. Bernadette Milne and PP Paul Weston.

Just a reminder that our Kindra bike and walking trail opens on Saturday morning at 10.00 am.

We will begin with a welcome to country by Aunty Gail Clarke, a thank you to various donors and sponsors and the official cutting of the ribbon jointly by Rotary Club of Coolamon, President Don Dyce and Mayor of Coolamon Shire Council, Councillor John Seymour.

It would be nice to have a good number of Rotarians there to support the event. Our Catering caravan will be there providing a free sausage sizzle for the public. I will send the roster out as soon as it is finalised. Please find a photo attached of the new entrance sign. Ricky Hard has done a fabulous job with it.

We’ll have the food van on site to serve sausage sandwiches and drinks to attendees, so those that are rostered on (Daryl, Dave, Henk and John B) are reminded to show up at 9:30 to fire up the barbie.

Meeting of 12 September

This week’s meeting was a regular one with some special guests.  We had a visit from District 9700 DG Michael Milston and his partner, Ann Dib.  Also gracing our club with his presence on the night was Caleb Smith, leader of the Salvation Army in Temora.  We presented Caleb with a cheque for $1800, which was raised during the Red Shield Appeal in Ganmain and Coolamon in May of this year.

DG Michael gave an stimulating talk on his vision for the coming year, and encouraged the audience to give serious thought to the question “What is Rotary?”  Three of our newer members, Myffy Collette, Wayne Lewis and Dave McKinley, had been asked in advance to prepare a response to the question, and it was very interesting to hear their three very different responses.  Ann followed Micheal at the podium and gave an interesting and fact-filled presentation on the status of the efforts of Rotarians and partner groups to eradicate polio from the planet.  It was exciting to see that the number of locations and new cases has continued to dwindle, with Nigeria and Pakistan the only countries that have not yet eradicated polio.  We really ARE getting close to the goal of eradication, and it was timely that we were able to announce that the board had voted to donate $2,000 to Polio Plus at our last board meeting.

 

 

 

 

The presentations were followed by our weekly raffle (which was won by Ted) and fellowship that lingered into the evening.  It was a memorable event and a great way to get to know the new DG and his lovely partner.

Bingo jackpot finally goes off!

A modest crowd of 21 dedicated bingo players (and a few guest players) were on hand  Thursday of last week  to try their had at bingo.  Most had their eyes on the jackpot prize, which had risen to $180, an all-time high for our club bingo.  The jackpot was won by a visiting player from Melbourne, who was in town to assist her mother with a recent health problem. Working on the night were Rod Jarrett, Don Dyce and Paul Weston. The jackpot will reset next month, but feel free to play at the next bingo  (on 13 October) or any second Thursday (except during January).

Bike Track Opening this Saturday

At 10:00 am this Saturday, the Kindra Bike and Walking Track will officially open.  Local dignitaries will be on hand to welcome biking and walking aficionados and the general public  to the track, which is a project of the Rotary Club of Coolamon.  The club appreciates the financial assistance of District 9700, which provided a matching grant to make the project possible.  We’ll have the food van on site to serve sausage sandwiches and drinks to attendees, so those that are rostered on (Daryl, Dave, Henk and John B) are reminded to show up at 9:30 to fire up the barbie.

 

Coolamon Cheese Ready for Prime Time!

Also opening on Saturday is the cheese factory.  They’ll be open from 10:00 – 5:00, so wander over after taking in a snag or two at the bike track.  From all reports, the factory and eatery is something to behold, and will likely be a key attraction for tourists to the area.

 

On the lighter side

You’d better watch out…
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples.  The nun made a note and posted  on the apple tray:

‘Take only ONE. God is watching.’

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, ‘Take all you want. God is watching the apples.’

The Puzzler
There are three switches downstairs. Each corresponds to one of the three light bulbs in the attic. You can turn the switches on and off and leave them in any position.
How would you identify which switch corresponds to which light bulb if you are only allowed one trip to the attic?

Answer to last week’s puzzler: The name of the  fourth child was Mary, of course!

 

Diary

Saturday, 17 September: Kindra Forest Multipurpose Trail Opening. 10 am.

Saturday, 17 September: Coolamon Cheese Factory Grand Opening.

Monday, 19 September: Regular meeting.  Coolamon Sport and Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.  Speaker: John Glassford on his plans for his year as DG (2018-2019).

Monday, 26 September: CSU Field Plot Twilight Tour (in lieu of weekly meeting).  Grahame Centre Field Site, cnr Wagga Road & Prices Road, 5-7 pm.

Sunday, 2 October: Gears & Beers. Stay tuned for details!

Monday, 3 October: No meeting (public holiday).

Monday, 10 October: Regular meeting*.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.  Guest speaker: John Piltz (topic: the local drug problem).

Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.

Monday, 17 October: Regular meeting.  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, 7 November: AGM.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. 6:30 for 7 pm.

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.

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*Partners and Guests Night

Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157  BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.

Meeting of 5 September

This week’s meeting was a club assembly.  Not much exciting to report, but it was a productive meeting nonetheless.  A fair bit of time was spent discussing upcoming events:

Saturday, 10 September – Moo Poo Working Bee (Ted Hutcheon’s residence, 8 am)
Because of the rain last weekend, help will be required this weekend to bag more Moo Poo.  Ring Wayne or Ted to confirm.

Saturday, 10 September – Youth Footy & Netball Awards Night (Sport & Rec Club)
The club will be cooking and serving food to the participants and their parents from 4:30  Rostered on from 4:30-6:30 are Paul, Don, Steve, Dick, Ted, Garth, Neil; and from 6:30-8:30 are John G, Daryl, Alex, Wayne, and Ted.

Monday, 12 September – Regular meeting (Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm)
The DG will be visiting on the night, so all members are encouraged to attend if possible.  As usual, apologies to Ian J by Friday.

Wednesday, 14 September – Board meeting (Don Dyce/Sally Farmer residence, 7 pm)

Saturday, 17 September – Opening of the Kindra Forest Bike & Walking Track (10 am)

Saturday, 17 September – Grand opening of the Coolamon Cheese Factory

An entertaining fine session was led by Ted, and the evening closed with a  raffle, which was won by Mark Reardon.

Don’t forget to vote in the shire election this Saturday!

CORRECTION: There will be no voting held on Saturday as there are exactly nine candidates for the nine vacancies on the council. Sorry for the misinformation!

 

On the lighter side

Newfangled maths

Teacher: “Johnny, If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Seven.”

Teacher: “No, listen carefully… If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Seven.”

Teacher: “Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Six.”

Teacher: “Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Seven!”

Teacher: “Johnny, where in the heck do you get seven from?!”

Johnny: “Because I’ve already got a freaking cat!”

 

The Puzzler

Mary’s mum has four children.
The first child is called April.
The second May.
The third June.
What do you think she named the fourth child?

Answer to last week’s puzzler: Regardless of the outcome of previous tosses of a coin, the chance of getting a head on any toss of an unbiased coin is 50%.

 

Diary

Thursday, 8 September: Bingo. Allawah Lodge, 6:45 for 7 pm. Roster: Paul Weston (Capt), Ivan Furner, Ted Hutcheon, Garth Perkin.

Saturday, 10 September: Youth Sports Awards Night. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 5:00-8:00 pm (club members will be manning the BBQ).

Monday, 12 September: Regular meeting and visit by DG Michael Millston. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.

Wednesday, 14 September: Board meeting.  Don Dyce & Sally Farmer residence. 7 pm.

Saturday, 17 September: Kindra Forest Multipurpose Trail Opening. 10 am.

Saturday, 17 September: Coolamon Cheese Factory Grand Opening.

Monday, 26 September: CSU Field Plot Twilight Tour (in lieu of weekly meeting).  Grahame Centre Field Site, cnr Wagga Road & Prices Road, 5-7 pm.

Sunday, 2 October: Gears & Beers. Stay tuned for details!

Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.

Saturday, 22 October: Hospital Fete. Details to come.

Saturday, 26 November: Street Raffle.

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*Partners and Guests Night

Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157  BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.

Week of 29 August

This week we decided to have an alternative meeting in lieu of our regular weekly meeting because it was the fifth Monday of the month.  Although it’s not the usual time of year for lawn bowls, we bowled and dined on pizza at the Sport and Rec Club.  A fair few members had other commitments, but we had ten bowlers (7 members plus 3 guests) game enough to brave the winter chill, which was quite tolerable because of the cloud cover and still air.  The team of Daryl Breust and Kevin Farrell defeated Henk Hulsman and Helen Lewis, while the team of Don Dyce, John Bond and Paul Weston bested Alex Thompson, Marion Farrell and Wayne Lewis.  Non-stop pizza helped fuel the bowlers, but the form of some may have been hampered by the excess food intake.  John Bond won the extra raffle ticket by virtue of solving last week’s puzzler, but that wasn’t enough for him to win the meat tray, which was won by our fearless leader, Don.

 

Moo Poo Working Bee, Take 2

Another working bee is scheduled for this Saturday, 3 September to continue bagging the miracle garden supplement known as Moo Poo.  We’ll be meeting at 8:00 at Ted’s place and will be working under cover, so we’re on come rain or shine.  Be there or be square!

IMPORTANT REVISION: THE WORKING BEE HAS BEEN POSTPONED BECAUSE OF RAIN, WHICH WILL MAKE IT LIKELY THAT VEHICLES WILL BECOME BOGGED GETTING INTO AND OUT OF THE STORAGE AREA. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

FU

 

Coolamon Community Chronicle, Issue 2

The September issue of the CCC is off the press and available at local shops around the shire.  This issue is special in that it was entirely put together by students at the Coolamon Central School.  Pick up a copy and have a squiz!

 

Bingo Jackpot at an All-Time High!

September’s bingo (next Thursday, 8 September) might be a good time to whip out your bingo marker and make your way to Allawah Lodge.  The jackpot will be $180, the highest it’s ever been, and it likely to go off on the night.  So, turn off the telly, get off yer bums, and make your way to Rotary bingo at 6:45 for 7:00 pm (and bring a plate of goodies, please!).  The members rostered on for the night (Paul, Ivan, Steve and Garth) are reminded to show up ready to work.

 

On the lighter side

Magic father
Jake: What does your father do for a living?
Matt: He’s a magician. He performs tricks, like sawing people in half.
Jake: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Matt: Yep, four half-sisters and a half-brother.

Don’t look now!
An armed hooded robber bursts into Westpac and forces the tellers to load a sack full of cash. On his way out the door with the loot one brave customer grabs the hood and pulls it off revealing the robber’s face.

The robber shoots the man without hesitation.

He then looks around the bank to see if anyone else has seen him. One of the tellers is looking straight at him and the robber walks over and calmly shoots him dead.
Everyone by now is very scared and looking down at the floor.

“Did anyone else see my face?” screams the robber.

There is a few moments of silence then one elderly woman, looking down, tentatively raises her hand and says, “I think my husband here may have caught a glimpse.”

The Puzzler

This week’s puzzler is short and sweet: Suppose you flip an unbiased coin four times and get four heads in a row.  What are the odds that you’ll get heads on the fifth toss?

Answer to last week’s puzzler: Bill had 7 apples and John had 5. You can work this out by trial and error, or by solving simultaneous equations!

 

Diary

Monday, 5 September: Club assembly.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm start.

Thursday, 8 September: Bingo. Allawah Lodge, 6:45 for 7 pm. Roster: Paul Weston (Capt), Ivan Furner, Steve Exton, Garth Perkin.

Saturday, 10 September: Youth Sports Awards Night. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 5:00-8:00 pm (club members will be manning the BBQ).

Monday, 12 September: Regular meeting and visit by DG Michael Millston. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.

Wednesday, 14 September: Board meeting.  Don Dyce & Sally Farmer residence. 7 pm.

Saturday, 17 September: Kindra Forest Multipurpose Trail Opening.

Saturday, 17 September: Coolamon Cheese Factory Grand Opening.

Monday, 26 September: CSU Field Plot Twilight Tour (in lieu of weekly meeting).  Stay tuned for details.

Sunday, 2 October: Gears & Beers. Stay tuned for details!

Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.

Saturday, 22 October: Hospital Fete. Details to come.

Saturday, 26 November: Street Raffle.

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*Partners and Guests Night

Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157  BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.