Byesville Rotary Learns about Services for Autistic Children

Pictured: Mary Ann Hooper, founder of PATH, Jenny Brandt, MRDD, Tanya Hitchens, Speaker Chair, Phyliss Jeffries, Byesville Rotary President-elect.

Read the March newsletter for next meeting.

New activities on the calendar:

• April 11, 8-11am--Breakfast and pictures with the Easter Bunny at the Stop Nine Senior Center.
• April 24, 7-9am, 8th Annual Health Screen in co-operation with Southeastern Med at Main Avenue United Methodist Church activity building.
• April 25, 7am--?, 1st chicken BBQ of the year.

Mary Ann Hooper, founder of PATH, a local support group for parents of autistic children, and Jenny Brandt from the MRDD discussed autism and the needs of autistic children with the Byesville Rotary. Autism is the best known of about 5 disorders that are clustered under the heading Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). These disorders include Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and the relatively rare Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Rett’s Syndrome.

Children and adults with autistic or Asperger behaviors have difficultly with socialization and developing relationships with others, problems with communication, and do not develop normal behavior and play skills on their own. Minor irritations of daily life that most people would be able to ignore--like perfumes or scratchy clothing labels--can become major challenges for an autistic child.

Autism usually shows up by age 3. Diagnosis and intervention has proven effective in helping a child suffering from autism or Asperger to develop effective coping and living skills. Beginning intervention as soon as possible is best.

Autism occurs in about 1 of every 150 children born. Boys are four times more likely to be autistic than girls. Services to help autistic children and their families are hard to find in this area. For more information and support, contact May Ann Hooper at 740-439-3768 or autismgc@yahoo.com.

In other business, the club is planning an Easter Bunny Breakfast on Saturday, April 11, 8:00-11:00am, at the Stop Nine Senior Center. The breakfast is $5.00. Kids under 5 eat free. The Easter Bunny has agreed to attend the breakfast and pose with children for pictures. The club is providing a photographer and the pictures for free.

The Byesville Rotary and Southeastern Med are working together to sponsor a Health Fair on Friday, April 24. On Saturday, April 25, the club will be holding their first chicken BBQ of the year. Look for club members selling chickens at the Byesville gazebo in Byesville.

The club’s next meeting will be March 31, 7:30am, at the Rolling Hills Schools Administration Building. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.

MR/DD Habilitation Center and Guernsey Industries Topics at Byesville Rotary

Pictured: Rotary President, Christina Morris, Karrie Laferre and Pat Reineccius—MR/DD staff, Tanya Hitchens, Speaker Chair for March

Reminder: Wear something green for the next meeting.

Readings for next meeting: The Rotary newsletter. Between the readings and the green, we will all probably be broke.

Pat Reineccius and Karrie Lafferre informed Byesville Rotary members how to obtain MR/DD services.

One type of service to both the community and to people with disabilities is provided by Guernsey Industries. Guernsey Industries works with local companies to custom tailor services to provide job opportunities for people with disabilities. Subcontracts with local business have provided for various packaging needs and the assembly of products such as screens for window frames, boxes/inserts for packing candles, and rake handles. Specialty items produced by Guernsey Industries include picnic tables, swings and benches.

Results of partnerships between local business and Guernsey Industries are two-fold. Local companies get a subcontract custom-tailored for their needs, and local people with disabilities get to develop work and life skills as well as become involved in community activities. Currently, about 125 people work at the sheltered workshop.

A second service provided by the MR/DD is the Habilitation Center. The staff at the Center works with adults with disabilities to develop individualized program that will encourage each person to experience a successful and fulfilling life.

Services provided at the Center include supervised Day Programming, training goals in social skills, communication, and hygiene, and daily activities such as gym and outdoor activities, group discussions of current affairs cultural diversity experiences, bell choir, and craft activities. Participants may also choose to have a hot lunch or work part of the day.

After hours activities can include field trips such as dinner and a movie or quarterly meetings to make seasonal crafts.

More information about these services is available at the Guernsey County Board of MR/DD, 740-439-4451.

Byesville Rotary’s next meeting will be March 17 at 7:30am, at the Rolling Hills Schools Administration Building. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.
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Reminder for March 10th meeting

Donations for the Wright-Patterson's Fisher House (the on-base version of the Ronald McDonald House for military families) are needed by the March 10th meeting. Recommended donations include:

Paper and plastic products

• Kleenex/Puffs--small boxes
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper
• Paper/plastic plates and bowels
• Plastic or styrofoam cups
• Plastic bast (sandwich, quart, gallon sizes)
• Four gallon trash bags
• Trash/garbage bags

Personal items:

• Disposable razors
• Bar soap
• Band Aids--regular and latex free
• Travel sizes of -- shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, toothpaste, mouthwash, shaving cream
• Small bottles of hand sanitizer

Misc:

• Individually packaged food items (cookies, pretzels, chip, crackers,, etc.)
• Cases of individual bottles of water
• Coffee creamer, sugar, sweetener
• Laundry detergent
• Phone cards
• Stamps
• Boxes of note cards and thank you cards
• Current DVD's and children's DVD's
• Crossword puzzle books
• Soduku puzzle books
• Bond paper for printers

Byesville Rotary Interact Club Inducts New Members

Readings for next meeting: Rotarian, Feb 2009--"The Moveable Feast," p. 57-59, and "An Education in Illiteracy," p. 63-64.

Top picture: Interact members receiving Distinguished Service Citations.
Bottom picture: Newly inducted members of the Meadowbrook Interact Club.

The Meadowbrook Interact Club sponsored by the Byesville Rotary inducted 22 new members on Tuesday. New members are Mara Cain, Kelly Delancey, Brittney Doty, Ali Feyko, Mekenzi Gray, Sarah Hull, Matt Kennedy, Nathan Kennedy, Brennan Lehotay, Taylor Lehotay, Shayla Mallett, Kelsi Moore, Andrew Nichols, Greg Riggs, Kirstin Roe, Steven Rose, Maeve Scott, Levi Snyder, T’Neill Treherne, Teiah Watson, Jared Williams, and Nick Yakubik.

Meadowbrook students interested in joining Interact should contact Pres. Jaclyn Woodby, V. Pres. Carlo Rodiquez, or Ryan White, Meadowbrook Counselor.

Interact Clubs are Rotary’s international service clubs for young people ages 14-18. These clubs are a good opportunity for students to get involved in community service and to get acquainted with local business and community leaders.

Each club is responsible for at least two service projects per year. This year the Meadowbrook Interact Club service projects were---

Ryan White, Interact Director, also awarded Distinguished Service Citations to club members for their enthusiasm, willingness to work on club projects and dependability. Citations were awarded to Kody Gann, Jamie Hopps, Laura Janosko, Emily Jirles, Katherine Jirles, Matt Kennedy, Margarita Loy, Candace Neff, Greg Riggs, Carlos Rodriguez, Lindsay Roe, Britinai Smith, Leighanna Stone, T’Neill Treherne, Breann Voytko, Julie Williams, and Jaclyn Woodby.

The next meeting of the Byesville Rotary will be March 3, at the Rolling Hills Schools Administration Building. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.

Byesville Rotary Learns about Southeastern Med’s Sports Medicine and Rehab Services

Next meeting will be at the Rilling Hills High School Library. The program will be induction of new Interact members.
No reading assignment.

At this week's meeting, Joe Ogle, physical therapist from Southeastern Med’s Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Services, described the variety of services available at the facility. Joe stated that his goal as a physical therapist is rehabilitation. “I hope not to see my patients again,” he said.

One of his special interests is industrial medicine. He visits local industries and works to “Stop the Bleeding” which means he works to prevent injuries to workers that can cost both the business and the worker money and time lost from the job.

The rehab facility offers services to all age groups. Therapists help children with developmental delays and work with young athletes to enhance performance. Athletic training services are provided to Cambridge, Meadowbrook and John Glen. The facility also offers the PEP--Performance Enhancement Program which is designed to help local athletes improve performance through the use of plyometrics and agility training.

The facility offers programs to treat dizziness, to reduce lymphedema, and provides programs to help diabetics patients improve their nutrition and develop and individualized exercise programs. For discharged PT patients, the facility offers the PLUS Program which helps former patients continue with their exercise programs and remain healthy.

In other business, Byesville Rotary members were informed that the deadline for donations to the Wright-Patterson Fisher House is March 11. The Fisher House is an on-base version of the Ronald McDonald Houses which provides housing for military families while a family member is hospitalization at a military hospital. For more information about this program and Fisher House needs, call Oziel Jeffries, 740-638-2290.

Applications for Byesville Rotary Scholarships are now available to students at Rolling Hills High School and the Mid-East Career and Tech Center Buffalo Campus.

The club’s next meeting will be at February 24 at 7:30 a.m. at the Rolling Hills High School Library. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.

Pictured: Christina Morris, Byesville Rotary President, Joe Ogle, guest speaker, Randy Launder, Speaker Chair.

Woody Biggs Visits Byesville Rotary

Reading for Tuesday, Feb. 17--Rotary District Newsletter.

Woody Biggs from the Stop Nine Church of Christ described the activities of the “Golden Sixties” group that meets weekly at the Stop Nine Senior Activity Center in Byesville. He told the Byesville Club that Fanny Davis was inspired to found the Byesville Golden Sixties group after she visited a similar group in Canton. In 1973, Fanny and 30 other people started meeting on a weekly basis. Since then, attendance has grown to over 100 people per week. The group is one of the nation’s first faith-based senior ministries. It is used as a model and Woody Biggs gets calls from all around the country by others wanting to establish their own groups.

Woody Biggs stated that the purpose of the group is, “Fun, Food and Fellowship.” He explained that while the Golden Sixties program is faith based, it is a community rather than a church program. All community members are welcome. The majority of the funding is provided by free will donations from the attendees. The Stop Nine Church of Christ provides the meeting place as well as some additional funding as necessary.
Meetings are held Thursdays, 10:00am-12N, at the Stop Nine Senior Activity Center. Meetings typically include 30 minutes of singing, 30 minutes of Bible study, 30 minutes of entertainment, and lunch. The entertainment varies and has included speakers, bands, and “Golden Seniors Got Talent” spots provided by members of the Golden Sixties. There is also a monthly Anniversary and Birthday Celebration, an occasional field trip, a Bible trivia question, and drawings for prizes.

The members of the Golden Sixties have been having so much fun that the people come from four counties just to participate. Transportation can be provided in the local area. For more information about the group, call 740-685-2591.

All the Golden Sixties activities sounded like lots of fun to members of the Byesville Rotary. Many decide that this may be just the thing for their mothers and fathers to hear about.

During a short business meeting, the Byesville Rotary decided to collect donations of supplies for the Wright-Patterson Ronald McDonald House. The club’s next meeting will be February 17, 7:30am, at the Rolling Hills Schools Administration Building. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.

Pictured: Randy Launder, February Speaker Chair, Evangelist Woody Biggs, Byesville Rotary President, Christina Morris.

Byesville Rotary February Business Meeting

Calendar updates:
The Interact Induction is rescheduled for Tuesday, February 24, in the Rolling Hills High School Library.
The Board meeting will be Wednesday, February 25, 12N at the Whistle Stop.

Reading assignment for February 10:
Read the following articles in the Rotarian:President's Message, The March of the Pod People.

The Byesville Rotary met 7:00 am Tuesday at the Rolling Hills Schools Administration Building. The members were joined by two guests from Cambridge Rotary—Patty and Glen Arnold.

Chris Morris announced that the club has met 400% of its goal for membership. She thanked Tom Perkins and Randy Launder for serving as Speaker Chairs for January and February.

The club calendar was updated. The Rolling Hills Interact Club induction of new members—cancelled because of snow--will now be held at the Rolling Hills High School on February 24.

Scheduled speakers for February are Woody Biggs from the Stop Nine Church of Christ “Golden Sixties” group and Joe Ogle from Southeastern Med’s Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The Byesville Rotary is working on a joint project with the Cambridge Rotary. Final paperwork for this project is due to Rotary International by February 12.

The next meeting will be February 10. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.