Byesville Rotary plans spring service projects

Reading for next meeting: March Rotarian, "Friendly  competition," p. 23.

Reminder: Current and future officers should consider attending the April 13 District Assembly. There are training sessions scheduled for President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer as well as sessions aimed at the club PR, Membership, and Foundation chairs.

On April 26, the club in partnership with Southeastern Med will host its 12^th Annual Health Screening Event. The goal of Southeastern Med and Byesville Rotary is to provide low cost health screening the community members who are uninsured or underinsured and to improve the long term health of the community.

The cost for a Health Profile Screening package is $50. The package includes complete blood count (CBC), comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), lipid profile, and hemoglobin A1C.  Screenings for thyroid stimulating hormone and prostate specific antigen (PSA) will be offered for an addition cost of $15 for test.

No walk-ins will be accepted. Call in registration for appointments begins April 15, at 9:00am at 740-435-2900.

On Friday, April 5, the Meadow Brook Interact Club in partnership with the Byesville Rotary will hold a Purple Pinkie event from 11:30-1:00 in the high school cafeteria. Interact members are holding this event to raise money to support the elimination of polio worldwide There are are only 3 nations reporting polio cases. It is important to eliminate every case because air travel makes it easy for one infected person to spread the virus inadvertently to people in uninfected countries.

Everyone making a donation will have finger painted purple to show their support for this effort. Byesville Rotary club members donated $100 to help with the Interact Club meet their goal. Additionally, club members voted to send $200 to the Rotary International EndPolioNow fund.

The club provides 5 scholarships to graduating seniors from the Rolling Hills School District. Jim Bacos reported that applications are being read and interviews with scholarship finalists will be held soon.

The club finances these scholarships by hosting an annual golf scramble. The club will hold its 27^th golf scramble on May 5 at the Wildfire Golf course. Larry Miller, co-chair of the scramble committee, invites all area golfers who believe post secondary education help local seniors succeed to reserve this date and enjoy a morning of golfing. The club provides hot dogs and drinks at the turn and provides a catered lunch.

Byesville Rotary meets every Tuesday, 7:30 am, at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary is welcome to attend a meeting or call 740-685-3828, or 740-685-8294.

Byesville Rotary learns Guernsey County Developmental Disabilities provides services to many age groups

Pictured:1) GCDD staff members--Tanya Hitchens, Deb Gingerich, Joe Rosen, and Kelly Burkhart.

Pictured 2) GCDD staff members--Michael Jackson, Deb Gingerich, Tanya Hitchens, and Joe Ford.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny is this Saturday, March 23, 8:30-11:30am, at the Stop Nine Church of Christ Youth Center. If you can't volunteer to help--show up for a great breakfast.

Reading for March 26: March Rotarian, "Talking with Korea's 'mother of medicine', " p. 13 and "World roundup," p. 14-15.

Guernsey County Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) offers a range of services to people with disabilities of all ages. PLAY (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) is a new program being offered for autistic children. Kelly Burkhart stated that in 1950, 1 in 10,000 children were diagnosed as autistic. By 2012, the number increased to1 in 88.

  

Research indicates many autistic children respond well to early training on how to interact with other. Burkhart stated that the PLAY program combines two effective methods to help very young children learn: 1) babies learn well through play, and 2) parents are a child’s best play partners. Trained GCDD staff teach parents on how to play effectively and how to use everyday occurrences as learning opportunities for their children. She recommends that parents spend 25 hours a week playing with their autistic child. 

Joe Rosen, who is trained to work with children aged birth to three, explained he teaches parents how to develop behaviors that encourage autistic children to interact with world around them. Tips for parents of autistic children include parents setting rules that limit TV time and use of technology by the child. Rosen pointed out that the basic technique involves teaching parents how to enter the child’s world and engage with their child on his level. 

At a higher level of the age spectrum, GCDD offer the “Bridges to Transition” program aimed at young adults 14-22. Deb Gingerich explained that this program is designed to help young adults prepare for job interviews and for successfully keeping a permanent job
.  

Gingerich said that building an effective program is important because evidence indicates that once a person with disabilities enters a sheltered workshop, they rarely leave to get a permanent job in the community. The Bridges program works to insure that disabled clients become independent members of the community. 

Joe Ford is a Guernsey Industries vender. One of the first steps for a GCDD client to become an independent worker is to participate in a 4 week summer program. The client is assigned to a job coach who helps the client to develop good work habits. The goal is to have the client develop work skills needed to get and keep a job in the community. Ford’s role is to match GCDD clients with job in their area of interest
. 

Michael Jackson works to get employers to give GCDD clients an opportunity to interview for a job. He stated the first step a client must take is to identify what kind of work he or she would like. The second step is to teach the client what he or she needs to learn to reach their goal. This step is challenging because GCDD staff wants to help clients grow and not become discouraged.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.

Teens against suicide speak to Byesville Rotary

Pictured: Sheryl Weber, Suicide Prevention Coalition of Youth advisor; Rebekah Calkins, Kallysta Johnson, Jimmy Allen III, Kylie Sampson, Aaron Ruby, and Becky Brunner, Suicide Prevention Coalition of Youth advisor.

Reading for next meeting:

• January Rotarian, "Starting Fresh," p. 9.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny committee is being formed. contack co-shairs Phyllis Jeffries or Jum Vaughan to join.

 

 

Sheryl Weber, Cambridge teacher and coach at Cambridge High explained to Byesville Rotarians that she became involved in teen suicide prevention because of her daughter who lost her fight with depression last year. As a result, she decided to do something to fight teen suicide.

One of the challenges to fighting suicide is that is often an invisible and unrecognized problem that few people like to talk about. Many people do not know that someone is lost to suicide every 15 minutes. The number of suicides in Guernsey County is high and makes the county one of the top twenty in the state.

 Because teens are more likely to talk to other teens than to adults, Weber decided to enlist the help of the students at her school. She began with a group of 3 students from Cambridge High School and established the Suicide Prevention Coalition for Youth. Today, there are 10 teens at Cambridge involved and groups have been established at other local schools.

 The students each have personal reasons for becoming involved and are willing to participate in training that will enable them to become advocates for troubled students. They are committed to taking the time to listen to other teens and to direct students to people who are trained to help young people considering suicide. 

Kallysta Johnson explained that she became involved because she lost her grandmother to suicide. She is looking forward to training and will be visiting English classes to speak about the problem of teen suicide. Jimmy Allen was inspired to extend the Suicide Prevention Coalition group to Mid East. He recruited 5 other students. He got involved because he knew several people who committed suicide and believes getting students involved and building awareness about the problem is an important first step to reduce the number of suicides in Guernsey County. 

Rebekah Calkins is one of the original 3 students who joined Suicide Prevention Coalition.  She wants to work to reduce some of the causes of suicide such as depression, bullying, and drug use. Aaron Ruby, also one of the original 3 members, is involved in pairing younger classmates with seniors. He joined because he believes that some of the causes of suicide such as bullying and depression are preventable especially if they are identified early.

 

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.

Byesville Rotarians learn how to improve lives through nutrition

Pictured: Tracey Vlahos, Nutrition Consultant, and Chuck Fair, Speaker Host.

Tracey Vlados, Nutrition consultant for Advanced Spinal Care and Rehabilitation, shared tips on living well and having the energy to do everything a person needs to do. She explained that people need to their bodies correctly. She shared several tips that she believes will increase a person’s energy, focus, and mental ability.

First, she recommended that each person get enough sleep—between 7-8 hours a night. Among the side effects caused by lack of sleep are increased cravings for sugar. Sugar cravings are caused by a reduction in a hormone that is synthesized by the body during sleep. Vlados suggested that a person can gradually increase the amount of sleep a they get by adding 10-15 minutes to their sleep schedule each night for one week. The next week, add a second 10-15 minutes. Individuals should keep adding minutes each week until they reach 7 hours a night.

Vlahos’ second tip is to stay hydrated. She suggested that people start their day with a glass of water before they drink their first coffee. Coffee dehydrates the body and helps create energy ups and downs during the day. She pointed out that drinking water helps even out the ups and downs. She said that warm water will be absorbed by the body faster than cold.

Her last tip was to avoid sugar and hydrogenated oils. She pointed out that not all calories are equal—calories from sugar are not as good for people as calories from protein and from good fats such as olive oil or avocados. She explained that calories from sugar help raise blood sugar and encourage the body to produce insulin. Vlados summed up by saying that a diet of good fats, good fiber, proteins, and grains will insure that a person has enough energy to meet the requirements of today’s lifestyles.

During the business meeting, club members voted to donate $200 to the Living Word and $100 to the Meadow Brook Marching Band toward the purchase of new uniforms. Club members were asked to support the Multi Service Club food drive taking place March 16, 10:00am-6:00pm, at Reisbecks and WalMart by volunteering for a work shift at one of the locations.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343

Byesville Rotary learns Meadow Brook band members set and meet high standards

 Pictured: Meadow Brook band members—Samantha Roe, Darren McCaughn, Samantha Perkins, Alyssa Harding, and Band Director, Steve Box.

 

Steve Box, Meadow Brook High School band director, said that the Meadow Brook band has a tradition of excellence for over 30 years. The band members represent the community at local and school events as well as by participating in band shows and competitions. 

Excellence of the band is reflected in the number of trophies they have earned. The band has qualified for the Ohio State Marching Band finals for 26 years in a row and has performed at the finals 31 times out of the last 33 years. The band is able to compete consistently at this high level because of the support of the Band Booster and the community. 

Passion and commitment of the band members is the most important ingredient of the band’s success. Four of the current band members, Samantha Roe, Darren McCaughn, Samantha Perkins, Alyssa Harding, shared their experiences participating All shared their love of music and stated that the band had helped them grow in self confidence, their ability to deal with challenges successfully, and develop team working skills. Each liked being challenged to do their very best. Each liked being challenged to do their very best.

Currently, the challenge the band faces is to raise funds to pay for new band uniforms. The cost of replacing the old uniforms is $35,000. In April, a new fund raiser—a daily raffle-- will be launched. Daily winners will be offered the choice of a $100 gift card to Wal-Mart, Reisbecks, or ITunes. Mr. Box believes that they will be able to raise funds needed for the uniforms fairly quickly.

 

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.

Byesville Rotary learns how teens can help teens--suicide prevention efforts at local schools

Pictured: Jean Stevens, Chief Probation Officer Juvenile Probation; Cherri Tolliver, Human Resource Coordinator; and Becky Brunner, Media Specialist/Librarian.

Becky Brunner, Jean Stevens, and Cherri Tolliver are involved with a new program in Guernsey County aimed at reducing teen suicide. Suicide is an invisible problem. The challenge is to reach out to teenagers because teens prefer to interact with their peers rather than share their thoughts and problems with an adult. 

Stevens reported that in the United States suicide is a serious, but underreported problem. She added that across all age groups—adult and teen—someone is lost to suicide every 15 minutes. The suicide rate in Guernsey County is high and makes the county one of the top twenty in the state. 

The goal of this suicide prevention program is to establish a core group of teens in each high school. The teen volunteers will serve as advocates for troubled teens. Other students will know that they have someone their own age to talk to. 

The teen volunteers will receive training and will take the lead in planning suicide prevention activities. Currently, there are 38 students in four school buildings involved in the planning. Brunner, Stevens, and Tolliver are serving as advisors. 

Each school will choose its own suicide prevention activities which are intended to open up communication between teen volunteers and teens who are depressed. Activities can include weekly announcements about the facts of suicide, presenting a 1 act play about suicide, inspirational speakers, presentation of the “S Talk” video or the “Darkness into Light” program. 

Plans for an expo in May located at the county fairgrounds are in process. In order for the expo to occur, the planning committee must solve some logistic problems that include busing 2000 students to the expo and feeding them once they arrive. Planning for the expo is in process. Invitations are being sent to county social agencies, businesses and potential employers located in the county, to law enforcement agencies, and to service clubs.

 

Byesville Rotary meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.

Byesville Rotary distributes over 300 Xmas food baskets

Pictured: Interact and Byesville club members filling food boxes.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Don't forget Santa will be here for breakfast at the Senior Center on Saturday, 8:00am--11:30.

Byesville Rotary members celebrated the holiday season by giving back to their community. On Saturday, club member distributed over 300 food baskets to families in the Rolling Hills School District.

 

The food basket community service project is one of the club’s largest annual projects. Club members began raising funds for this project several months ago. Part of the funds raised by their chicken BBQ’s support the food baskets. Fundraising also includes bell ringing and soliciting local individuals, organization, and businesses for donations. The club also received a grant from Rotary District 6690.

 

Food baskets included both non-perishable and perishable foods. The Meadow Brook Interact club, sponsored by Byesville Rotary, helped fill the baskets by sponsoring a canned food drive at all the schools in the Rolling Hills School District. Club members and Interact members spend the day preceding the food basket distribution sorting cans and filling baskets with non-perishable food items.

 

Early on the morning of food basket distribution day, club members accepted deliveries of perishable food items including turkeys, milk, oleo, eggs, and produce. As families arrived to collect their baskets, perishable items were added to the food baskets. Friends and family members, Interact students, as well as several members of the Byesville VFW and members of the Phi Chapter of the Alpha Pi Sigma sorority joined Byesville Rotarians to share the Christmas spirit and help load baskets into cars.

 

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.