Tuesday November 29, 2005

Calendar of Events

Last Week, 11/22: Tom Spina, “Child Pornography on the Internet”

This Week, 11/29: Keith Stewart,

“Insurance Industry’s Response After a Major Disaster”

Next Week, 12/6: Christmas Tree Lighting, Carols and Concert

Coming Up:

12/13: Rotary Dinner and Christmas Party

Invocation: Garry Morrow, Dan Stec or Bob Youmans

Rotary Minute: Mary Anderson

Greeter: Steve Caine

Suggestions for future programs may be given to Linda LeTendre

A Robert Frost poem that could have been written for a Rotarian that has continually gone the extra-mile to serve.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in the yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both the morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

Announcements and Presentations

Council Meadows thanked Bill Sewell and the club for providing tickets to the Apple Pie Fest. Pres. Rey explained the good done by the Rotary Foundation and reminded everyone that donations are voluntary. Our goal is $4,500 for the club and an average of $100/member. The easiest way to contribute is give your check made out to the “Rotary Foundation” to Treasurer Ken. It’s time to sign up for another great Christmas Party at the Glen Sanders on Dec 13. The cost this year is $42.50/person. Walter Grattidge suggested our club contribute to the upgrade of the Charlton Heights School playground, as we have done before. Community Service is looking into it. Bob Youmans reminded that donations for our annual holiday season giving to the school nurses are due no later than December 13. He has already given them $500 from the club treasury. Bob has finalized all the arrangements for Dec 6th tree lighting and concert. Get the word out. Attention: Bob needs a Santa Claus outfit. If he does not get one, he is threatening to buy one with his own funds – not good. Gini supplied us a tasty morsel during the Rotary Minute. She gave us a clever recipe made up of all the good virtues and feelings that make up Rotary, Rotarians and our cause.

Are We Doing Enough to Protect our Children?

Assistant US Attorney General for Northern New York, Tom Spina, gave us an informative and chilling presentation on child internet solicitation and pornography. There are now 77 million children on-line. The internet is now used for sexual solicitation, child pornography and materials, harassment/abuse, and identification theft. One in five children on the internet is solicited. Mr. Spina said in 1990 he was working two cases of this type per year. He is working 95 cases this year that involve 75-80 search warrants. Mr. Spina described several cases. The pedophiles most often seem to the outside world like normal people. However, they cleverly stalk vulnerable young girls, and in some cases boys, and lure them during contacts on the internet into meeting them. Mr. Spina stressed that parents and all members of the community need to get involved in helping deal with this growing, tragic and horrible threat. He gave us guidelines for parents and a “Parents Guide to Internet Safety.” It is clear that parents have to be aware of this threat, become more familiar with the internet, provide guidelines for their children and continually follow up to ensure their children are staying within the bounds the parents have established. You can get the facts presented in this presentation and more by clicking on the website for the National Center for Missing Children and Exploited Children at www.missingkids.com.