Winner of the Holmes Trophy for the best attendance by a Club at the 2006 District Conference
www.rotaryoceangrove.blogspot.com
Volume 25 No 9
Notice for the Meeting at the Ocean Grove Hotel, Tuesday 5th September 6.30 for 7.00.
Speaker Brian Hamilton Subject ‘Sounds Amazing’ Chairman John Wynn
Assistant Cashier & Thanker Trevor McArdle Greeter & Assistant Sergeant Bill Steains
Birthdays & Anniversaries 8th Martin & Anne Geerings
11th Charles & Lois Dawborn
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Notice for the Meeting at the Ocean Grove Hotel, Tuesday 12th September 6.30 for 7.00.
Speaker Colin Brown & associates Subject Financial Life Plan Chairman Geoff Chandler
Assistant Cashier & Thanker Helen Trigg Greeter & Assistant Sergeant James Turnbull
Birthday 12th Fred Andrews
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Rotary support boosts international fight against polio
After Egypt and Niger were removed from the list of polio-endemic countries in February, the poliovirus is now indigenous only to Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Despite this victory, the fight against polio has not abated. During the first half of 2006, the immunization activities intensified in polio-endemic countries and countries experiencing imported cases of the disease.
At the same time, the Rotary Foundation supported efforts to halt polio’s spread in countries like Bangladesh, which reported a new case of the disease on 8th March. The virus that struck the country, which has been polio-free since 2000, originated from India. In April, the Foundation responded with a US$150,000 grant to support emergency National Immunization Days in Bangladesh.
“The eradication of indigenous polio has been largely due to Rotary involvement,” says Iftekharul Alam, Polio-Plus coordinator in District 3280 [Bangladesh]. According to Alam, Bangladesh’s close to 4000 Rotarians successfully fought polio in the past, and they’re ready to fight it again. “We feel confident that this will be contained, and we will again have our polio-free status,” he says. “We are very ,very confident that this one case of polio will not tarnish our record.”
Rotary’s commitment to polio eradication also has extended to Immunization campaigns in non-Rotary countries where imported cases of polio surfaced last year, including Somalia and Yemen.
Visits from Rotarians encourage volunteers in these countries, according to Sohaib Elbadawi, chair of the Sudan Polio-Plus Committee, who represented Rotary at a November polio eradication meeting in Sana,Yemen.
“Although Yemen has no Rotary club, my talk with Government officials and professionals gave me much hope.” Says Elbadawi. “I am Confident that Yemen will soon stop the transmission and spread of polio.”
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The last of those non-bible stories from kids
Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the work of a hundred men.
Louis Pasteur discovered a cure for rabbits but I don’t know why.
Karl Marx was one of the Marx Brothers. The other three were in the movies. Karl made speeches and started revolutions. Someone in the family had to have a job, I guess.
100 years ago this month
2/9/1906 Alaska: Roald Amundsen reaches Nome, completing the North-West Passage around Canada.
3/9/1906 Mildura: Claiming less drunkenness than other Victorian towns, applies for exemption from the Licensing Bill.
8/9/1906 UK: Robert Turner announces the invention of the automatic carriage return on typewriters.
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Around the Rotary World
New school in Afghanistan
Rotarians from Eight German clubs in the Lake Constance [Bodensee] region are enabling 1,000 Afghan children to get an education. Club members collected $80,000AUD to construct a new school called the Rotary Bodensee Friedensschule [peace school]. The building is located in the former Al Qaeda stronghold of Tora Bora. With their own donation of $15,000, the Rotarians are covering operating costs and teacher salaries for the 2006 school year.
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There are no mountains in the Maldives
1190 islands, none of them over 2 metres high, perpetual, humid summer, 20 metres of rain annually, that’s where guest speaker Richard Barras spent 5 months as an exchange teacher, just after the 2004 tsunami.
That tidal wave of water traveled 3000 kms from Indonesia to arrive at about 9.05 AM to devastate this group of coral atolls inhabited by just on 250,000 people. Richard was an excellent speaker ably supported by a very well prepared power-point presentation, and he has promised to return.
News in brief
• The neighborhood Centre benefited from the efforts of 12 of our members earlier today when a garden was created out of a patch of bare dirt. We are good at that sort of thing
• The Canadian Exchange inward will take place between 10th and 18th February 2007. Potential hosts are requested to attend a briefing after rotary next Tuesday, 5th September.
• We have a list of 50 prospective new members. A successful intake of even 10% would be a coup of considerable dimensions.
• Our Pres. Richard and Trevor McArdle attended RC Queenscliff last Thursday. They are alive and well.
Was it ‘the fast rail’ or just a time trial?
Four Foxes, [including two ‘grandies’] traveled by train from Geelong to Southern Cross [very impressive] station last Sunday morning. Six carriages of the V’locity system were on the run and every few seats sported the brochure announcement that the new timetable started the next day, Monday 28th August. Just two of umpteen trains on the new schedule per day, but what a ripper of a journey!! 56 minutes and stopping at only two stations! Wow and wow again. If only we could have delayed our trip for 24 hours!!!
Well, we left Geelong at 11.36 am on that Sunday- only 6 minutes late, stopped at all stations, and got to Southern Cross at 12.30 pm, an elapsed time of 54 minutes. Is that a new record, unheralded?
The French could do it in about one third the time.
The fastest train in the world is the TGV- 350kph.
End bit
The young bride sought advice from the priest in the confessional.
“Father, is it all right to have intercourse before receiving communion?”
“Certainly, my dear. Provided you don’t block the aisle.” Ed. ‘I wonder how that will go in the Blogspot?’
