Byesville Rotary learns about Mid East Building Trades partnership with Habitat for Humanity

Pictured: Becky Bruner, Speaker Chair; Tom Cuzma, Mid East iBuilding Trades program instructor; Clayton Elliott, senior in Building Trades program; and Shana Fair, Byesville Rotary President.

Clayton Elliott, senior student in the Building Trades program, and Tom Cuzma, Mid East instructor, presented a summary of the Building Trades 2015-16 construction project built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The 26 by 42 foot house with three bedrooms and one bath is destined to become a home for a local family.

Cuzma explained Habitat provided the materials for the project and Mid East provided the work force. The partnership is a plus for everyone—Habitat gets a quality product and Mid East is able to purchase additional safety equipment with the monies they would have spent on building materials. This year Cuzma added a third tier and handrails to the scaffolding used by the students.

Cuzma pointed out that Habitat has a strict energy savings policy. The Building Trade students took special care with insulation especially at the insulation seams, around the windows and the holes in the walls for the plumbing and wiring. The exterior walls had to meet R25 and the ceiling R36 insulation requirements.

Elliott reported that Building Trades students must learn how to become team members as well as becoming competent in construction and business skills. The senior Building Trades students, who have mastered construction basics, help teach the juniors. Students learn how to use power tools as well as the good old-fashioned dependables like hammer and nails.

Elliott showed pictures of the building progress beginning with students building sample projects in the classroom. Students must show they understand the basics of wiring or drywall before they work on the building itself. Students then begin constructing the house by framing the exterior walls and roof and then progressing to plumbing, wiring, and installing the drywall. Elliott pointed out that students must meet or surpass the requirements for professional contractors—a state inspector will inspect and approve each step.

“The final test,” said Elliott, “is the approval of the family who be living in the house.” He stated students are encouraged to do their best by thinking of the house as a home they might live in.

Byesville Rotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting.

Byesville Rotary stays busy in December

Pictured: Members of the Byesville Rotary donate gifts for local kids--Nellie Bichard, Don Valentine, Larry Miller, Phyliss Jeffries, Oziel Jeffries, Debbie Mead, Becky Bruner, Tanya Hitchens, Rhonda Stemmer, Chuck Fair. 

Byesville Rotary members celebrated the beginning of the holiday season with a covered dish breakfast. Members also brought gifts for children in kindergarten through 5^th grades. The gifts will be donated to the Meadowbrook Interact Club which has taken responsibility for the Rolling Hills Angel Tree and to Mid East National Honor society which has volunteered to provide for children from the Salvation Army Angel Tree program.

The holiday meeting continued with social hour. As members enjoyed breakfast, names were drawn and club members received early Christmas gifts. Members Nellie Bichard, Becky Bruner and Tanya Hitchens were thanked for organizing the breakfast.

Byesville Rotary will be hosting the club’s annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 12, at the Stop Nine Senior Center. Club members will serve breakfast from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. The breakfast menu is pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice, and coffee. Tickets are $5.00. Breakfast for children 5 and under is free with the purchase of an adult breakfast. Pictures with Santa Claus are complementary with the purchase of a breakfast. Funds raised at the breakfast will be used by the Rotary to support local service projects.

Jim Vaughan, Breakfast with Santa committee chair, reported that he still needed several dozen candy canes for the children attending the breakfast. He added that Mrs. Claus and one of Santa’s elves will be attending the breakfast this year.

The following weekend on Saturday, December 19, club members will celebrate Christmas by distributing food baskets to families in the Rolling Hills School district who have registered with the club. On Friday, club members will meet to pack the food baskets. This effort will include collecting and canned goods donated by the students of Rolling Hills Schools. This is the 29^th year the club has provided food baskets to families who qualify.

Byesville Rotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting.

Rotary learns YMCA Family Center offers programs for all ages

Jim Cowan, Executive Director, and Brian Cowan, Program Director, at the Y spoke to the Byesville Rotary about programs available at the Y. Now called YMCA Family Center, the Y provides programs for children and adults of all ages. The YMCA Family Center is no longer just a gym. The organization has evolved into a place that focuses on family fun and helping people develop a healthy lifestyle

Membership at the Y is not limited to families living in Cambridge. Jim Cowan pointed out that about 30% of membership is people from Byesville, Pleasant City and Senecaville.

Cowan stated that their mission is to make Y accessible to everyone and to never turn anyone away because they are unable to pay membership fees. He explained that about 40% of members apply for scholarships to help defray the cost of membership. The Y is able to provide these scholarships because donations from members of the community support the scholarship program.

For older members of the community, the Y provides the Silver Sneakers program. This program is subsidized by Medicare. Currently, the Y has 478 members 65 and older. Many of these members take part in the Silver Sneakers program which is the nation’s leading exercise programs designed for older adults. The Silver Sneakers program blends physical activity and socially oriented activities that help older adults take greater control of their health.

Brian Cowen is responsible for a developing and teaching programs for a summer camp program offered to some of the youngest members of the Y—kids from K-through 5^th grade. Brian explained the camp programs are science and nature based and are designed to help kids learn by doing.

He stated that the Y now offers six weeks of camp. Each week focuses on a specific theme—Animal Camp, Lego Camp, Game Camp, Creative Minds Camp, and Water Camp. In 2015, Brian added a new theme week--"Mystery Camp." Using local historic events as a springboard and involving local community members who enjoy participating in Civil War reenactments, the campers worked together to uncover a civil war mystery at Spring Valley Campground. He said that, “…the camps are a great way to keep kids learning during the summer.”

Byesville Rotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting.

Mid East robotics team visits Byesville Rotary

Pictured: Mr. Stingel, Mid East instructor—computer support program; Justine Kirk, Caleb McElroy, Joey Burrell--Mid East students; and Becky Bruner, Speaker Chair.

Mr. Stingel, instructor, at the Mid East Career and Technology Center Buffalo Campus, accompanied by three students in the Computer Support Program introduced the Mid East robot to the Byesville Rotary.

Mid East students are preparing for a competition against students from other schools with a robotics program. The team--Justine Kirk, Caleb McElroy, Joey Burrell—began with a robotics kit. Once they finished constructing the basic robot, they began customizing their robot. Their goal is to build a robot that will meet the challenges of the competition. They will customize the robot by writing programs or apps—they use the term “coding” to refer to this process

The students have written code that directs the robot to move through a series of sequential moves on its own with no input from the human operator. For example, the robot knows how to move straight forward for 2 seconds and then stop. It can also do push-ups. More code needs written. The students need to “teach” their robot how to pick items off the floor by writing a code that will lower the robot arm very close to the floor and grasp the object needing picked up.

The students also exhibited some of the objects they have created using a 3-D printer. This activity also requires programming skills. Mid East students are learning today the skills that businesses will need in the near future.

Mid East has a hands-on approach to education. The Computer Support Program offers lots of opportunities for students to learn by doing. As we all know, cranky, misbehaving computers are frustrating to deal with. One focus of the Computer Support Program is teaching students how to provide customer service. This element of the training program at Mid East encourages students to apply their knowledge about installing, configuring, upgrading, troubleshooting and repairing microcomputer hardware and software in real-life situations. Computers needing servicing are welcome at Mid East.

Byesville Rotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting.