April 19, 2005
Calendar of Events
Last Week: David Sampson OSI Sprawl Study
This Week: Group Study Exchange
Coming Up: April 26 Inter Club Dinner at the Woodlin Club
April 26 BOD & Chairs @ 5PM
Give suggestions for future programs to Rey Whetten or Linda LeTendre
Other Events Coming Up:
April 30 Charlton Road Cleaning Project
May 13-15 District 7190 Conference at Sturbridge, MA
Invocation: Garry Morrow, Dan Stec or Bob Youmans
Minute for Rotary: Carl Thurnau Greetings to Our Visitors from BrazilWe are pleased to extend a hearty welcome to the members of the Group
Study Exchange Program from Brazil: Edson MioraYajima, Dayene Patricia Gatto,
Elilane Provate Querioz Martins, and Giovanna L. Marques Fontes. Group Study
Exchange (GSE ) provides a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity
for young business and professional men and women in the early stages of their
careers. The program is designed to develop professional and leadership skills to
better prepare young adults to address the needs of their communities and
workplace. For the second phase of GSE, District 7190 will recruit a similar team
from the Albany area to reciprocate by visiting Brazil in the Spring of 2006.
Our visitors arrived at the Albany International Airport on Saturday. They
spent Sunday with their host families and were at Schenectady County Community
College yesterday where they considered such topics as SCCC’s education mission
and resources, early childhood development, and the Montessori School. This
morning they visited GE’s Global Research and Development Center and the
Schenectady County Business Incubator Center, and in the afternoon they learned
about Schenectady city government from visits to the police department and a
meeting with the Mayor. Among sites for professional shadowing experiences
which members of the group will visit later in the week are the BH-BL High
School and the Charlton School. The group will move to Cobleskill this coming
Saturday to continue their exchange experience.
Study Finds Capital Region Unprepared for Growth
David Sampson, an environmental attorney and research scholar at the
Center for Policy Research at the University of Albany, reported at last week’s
meeting on a recent study conducted by the Open Space Institute and the Policy Research Center on the impact of sprawl in the Capital Region. The study, entitled
Open Space for Tomorrow, found that most local governments in the region do not
have the necessary tools or resources to handle sprawl. The one-year study
surveyed 79 local governments in the four-county region and 37% responded,
a statistically valid sample.
The study found that just 16% of communities have planners who can
handle long-range planning. Over 40 communities lack either a comprehensive
plan or zoning. Only 17% of communities identified specific open space areas they
believe are important to protect, and 21% identified important open space areas that have been lost to development since 1980. Overall, the study results indicate that, because of insufficient resources, communities are too busy reacting to proposed development to adequately plan for future growth. Mr. Sampson noted, “There is no such thing as good or bad growth, but planned growth is critically important.”
The Open Space Institute contends, “Growth in the Capital Region is not the problem. However, growth that is unplanned will result in suburban sprawl and the replacement of natural areas with residential subdivisions and big-box development”. Mr. Sampson stressed that “communities don’t have to accept the lowest common denominator” in development planning. Communities can require development that fits the standards of the community. Mr. Sampson works with communities that make such demands. The complete study can be obtained from the Open Space Institute website at www.osiny.org
! Help Wanted ! Volunteers Needed ! On the Job Training
Like to write? Always dreamed of being a reporter? Here’s your chance! The Rotateller is ready to increase staff size. Your publisher and editor would like to share the fun (and also avoid gaps caused by their occasional absences). With three or four additional staff writers, the assignment would be as little as once a month, covering speakers’ remarks, news briefs, ect. Here’s hyour chance to become part of the Elite Rotateller News Team! Interested? Let Gini, Dick, or Steve know if you can help out. We need you!
Thank you to Co-Chairs Val and Mary and to the many Rotarians who helped with the well attended Chili Supper held in the High School cafeteria on Friday, April 15. President Steve noted that publicity for the event was outstanding with feature articles in both the Gazette and Spotlight. Proceeds will go to the Town in Bloom project.
The annual inter club meeting of area service clubs is set for Tuesday, April 26,
at the Woodlin Club. Our regular meeting at the Old Homestead will also be held that evening. Members are free to attend either meeting. Dinner at the joint club meeting will be $23 per person. President Steve expressed the hope that our club would be well-represented at the inter club meeting.
Charlton Road Clean-up Planned
Mark Gasparovic announced that the next road cleaning activity in cooperation with the Town of Charlton was scheduled for Saturday morning, April 30.
Rotary Foundation Update
President Steve announced that 17 Rotarians had contributed $3,161 to The Rotary Foundation after Doc Garrison “found” a $100 bill on his way to the meeting, giving it to the Foundation, and Sandra Kominoski donated $1 because she did not like the uneven number, making a new total of $3,161.
WEBSITES:
BHBL Rotary: www.bhblrotary.org District 7190: www.capitalregionrotary.org
District 7190: www.capitalregionrotary.org