Owego Rotary Club Rotateller

We demonstrated our flexibility by having John Spencer introduce Shawn Yetter at the beginning of the meeting. The program was first so Shawn could leave for another appointment. The presentation was excellent, but the recorder did not eat, listen, and write well and there was a computer problem. All that aside, Shawn did have hand-outs and there were some salient points to consider.

Only a couple of states make counties responsible for Medicaid. The biggest problem with this is that the states pass the laws but do not have all of the financial consequences!

There has been an 65% decrease in those on public assistance since the welfare reform act of 1996 under President Clinton. Tioga County is providing funds for 65 individuals now compared with 400 – 500 in the past.

Shawn is enthusiastic about preventative care. We need to fund and support programs where people are which means going into the homes. We also need to be in schools more. NY spends more on Medicaid than CA and TX do combined!

Financial stressors are one of the largest causes of abuse and neglect. One figure which I missed was how many calls there are a year for abuse in the county. Medicaid is the largest tax requirement at the local level. Coordination between the department heads and the legislators has been a challenge since we no longer have a county manager.

65,000 people are moved each year through public transportation. He feels that it could be more, even though it is difficult to get people to use public transportation in a rural area, if the county contributed to the system. One of the problems is the employed poor. With the buses only running 5 days a week, many of the jobs require weekend hours and Tioga County poor cannot get to them.

It is a reality that some people can never get off assistance. There is a five year limit for Federal contributions. After that it is picked up solely by the state and county.

Orv questioned their PR challenge. Shawn said that he likes to get out into the community like this, but too much PR can backfire with the press. He is visible and involved in a number of community activities.

Al Sunderwirth asked about cooperation from businesses and Shawn replied that it was excellent concerning employment.

VISITORS AND GUESTS:

Suzanne was very sick with strep but recovered for the weekend and still did a great deal

Mrinalini is very busy. Her play is this weekend and I am sorry that I will be away at the meeting and cannot attend. She has a 91% average!

Vivek reported that Interact is looking for ways to raise money to assist in increasing HIV awareness in Africa and they are collecting those gently used sneakers. (They may be gently used when Laura wears them. Not when I wear them.)

FINES:

MUSIC:

Carole was at the piano this week with a very nice selection and we sang, “The More We Get Together” which will be Matt’s theme song next year.

Matt reported that Orv and Laura and Carolyn made excellent presentations at the President-Elect training this past weekend.

Orv will be our district’s representative at Water Day on March 22 in Philadelphia. We have contributed to a well in Africa. (Just to show you how I hope things have changed, when I worked for US Steel in Fairless Hills, when we tore down equipment and steam cleaned motors, we dumped all of the _____ in the Delaware River – to flow down to Philadelphia.)

50/50 Orv

Highlights- March 15, 2007 Owego Rotary Board Meeting

February attendance -72%; 100% attendance - 18; total - 57 members at end of February.

The process to update club bylaws, through efforts of Karla Johnson as committee chair, continues.

The French GSE (Group Study Exchange) team will be in Owego. Owego Rotary will entertain these five adults from France on Friday, April 13th. John Spencer will coordinate their activities.

Next meeting 7:30 AM April 19, 2007 at 7:30 AM at the Treadway. All are welcome.

Richard will be participating in the AIDS walk tomorrow and is looking for sponsors.

The "Ascent of Man" by Jacob Bronowski is over 30 years old. Since it is one of my favorites, Linda gave me a set of the original PBS series. I think that you will be touched by the following excerpt as I am.

It is said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That is false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people. And that was not done by gas. It was done by arrogance. It was done by dogma. It was done by ignorance. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave. This is what men do when they aspire to the knowledge of gods.

Science is a very human form of knowledge. We are always at the brink of the known, we always feel forward for what is to be hoped. Every judgment in science stands on the edge of error, and is personal. Science is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible. In the end the words were said by Oliver Cromwell: 'I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken'.

I owe it as a scientist to my friend Leo Szilard, I owe it as a human being to the many members of my family who died at Auschwitz, to stand here by the pond as a survivor and a witness. We have to cure ourselves of the itch for absolute knowledge and power. We have to close the distance between the push-button order and the human act. We have to touch people

George and April Sweeney have opened Tioga Trails for dinner and we wish them success.

Rotateller Rotary Club of Owego, NY
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Gary Williams, Editor

Rotary Club of Owego, NY

VISITORS AND GUESTS:

FINES:

MUSIC:

50/50 Orv

Highlights- March 15, 2007 Owego Rotary Board Meeting