If you're always hungry for high-quality print news on local government, you need to know about "The Electric." Journalist and news entrepreneur Jenn Rowell will be our guest next week to tell us all about her online news publication. And ... thanks to the generous bad luck of Keith Duncan last week, the 50-50 pot now exceeds $436, with only 19 cards left in the deck! Join us at noon at the country club!
Also this week, the first trees our club provided to NeighborWorks will be planted in the yards of 8 owner-built homes, located at 37 39th Ave. NE. The planting will begin around 2 p.m. on Tuesday and finish on Wednesday morning. Drop by if you have some time!
Dictionary Update: How Do You Spell "Old"?
Sincere thanks to Kevin Clark, Beth Frazure, and Susan Wolff for being the first Rotarians to compete their dictionary delivery this year. At press time Carey Gray also reported that she had delivered dictionaries to Vaughn. Yay!
Kevin Clark brought back a funny story from this year's experience. He took his wife Paula along to help distribute the dictionaries to the third-graders in Browning. One little girl was having a heckuva time finding a particular word, and Paula patiently guided her through the process.
"You're so nice," the little girl told her. "You remind me of my great-grandmother."
Back in the car, Paula turned to Kevin and said, "Great-grandmother? Wow! That's it for me and the dictionary project!"
We sent out another 214 dictionaries last week and still have boxes and boxes to go. Make your appointments to deliver ASAP!
Coming Right Up ...
We're one month out on Harvest Howl - ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Bring your wine/liquor to Rotary this week for the silent auction
Devise the perfect silent auction item and let Susan Wolff know what you'll contribute.
Have you bought your tickets yet?
Contact Mike Wier (or reply to this newsletter and we'll let him know) and ask him how you can help.
Hundreds of yellow rubber ducks will race down the Holiday Inn Express water slide at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 while hundreds of community members gather to cheer their fowls on. The Duck Race project, initiated by President Todd Neighbor and headed up by board member Heidi Hockett, is a fund-raiser for Interact Rotary service projects. Each duck (ticket) can be purchased for $10. The fastest duck will earn its “owner” a cash prize of $1000; the second place winner will win $250. The remaining funds will go to Interact Rotary service projects and scholarships. Don’t miss this entertaining evening! Invite your friends, neighbors and race fans! Many other prizes and games will be available at the social, but the real winners are the kids and adults who benefit from Rotary service projects supported by the Derby! Tickets may be purchased from Heidi Hockett at Heidi.hockett2012@gmail.com, 868-3599, or during Harvest Howl.
Today's winning "bulletin bucks" winner is button number #147. See Todd Neighbor to claim your $25 cash card!
Last Week at Rotary
Last week Mary Moe briefed the club on the dicennial tradition of the 6-mill levy, which will be on the November ballot for the 8th time since 1948. The levy request is required by Montana's constitution. The proceeds provide baseline funding for the Montana University System - to the tune of roughly $20 million a year.
Mary talked about the unique and shared roles that Montana's colleges and universities bring to their local communities, the workforce, and the state. She emphasized that the likely result of a failed levy request will be an 18% hike in student tuition. Because 2/3 of Montana students already graduate with debit - on the average, $27,000 worth of debt - Mary believes that passing the levy is essential to keeping Montana's college's truly accessible to Montana students.
In an interactive exercise, Rotarians pulled "6-Mill Gripes" Mary had collected from various Facebook pages and then suggested answers to that complaint. Examples: "My gripe is no new taxes." Answer: "This is not a new tax." Gripe: "The commencement speaker at MSU infuriated me last year. They're not getting another dime of my money." Answer: "Don't make the kids pay for one man's remarks." Gripe: "There's too much duplication in the system. How many nursing programs do we need?" Answer: "More, apparently. In spite of readily available nursing programs throughout Montana, we continue to have a healthcare workforce shortage."
Thanks, Rotarians, for turning what could have been a dry recitation into a fun and lively discussion!
Milestones
Three of our most active Rotarians are celebrating birthdays this week. Join us in well-wishes for Jim Humphrey on Oct. 6, Joann Gogo on Oct. 7, and Heidi Hockett on Oct. 11.
Weekly Whimsy - Homecoming
You're as young as you feel ... and by the time, dear reader, you finish reading this weekly bulletin, I'll be feeling sore, bruised, and as old as Methuselah. But look at the height on that jump! Sneaker shadows on the pavement! Mouth fully agape, tongue in full curl, eyes riveted on - what? - well, something vitally important, you can be sure. Plenty of oomph in the old girl yet!
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