Copy of September 2, 2020 Newtarian (May 31, 2022)

NEWTON ROTARY CLUB

MINUTES OF MAY 25, 2022

IN THE BEGINNING….

Our regular Wednesday meeting was opened exactly at 12:21 PM with President Laura Camp presiding. A prayer was offered by Jim Taylor, followed by a patriotic song led by Steve Wescott. Today we had 19 of our members present, with 1 visitor. Greetings were extended to our members and visitor by Carolyn Ottenbreit.

Guests today included: Marge McCabe, of Newton.

OF NOTE ABOUT ROTARY PINS

President Laura once again reminded the club members if they could please donate their old Rotary pins back to the club in order to save money. As noted previously, pins are getting to be a slightly pricey item and this would save the treasury from having to enrich a corporation instead of donating money to a local charity. Laura said that she had already received a large number of pins back from several members. Just remember to bring in your pins you are no longer using.

HAPPY DOLLARS

A happy dollar was given by President Laura, for everyone joining us on this beautiful day.

John Cuozzo pitched in $3 for each of the three schools that we give scholarships to.

Gerry Hanifan threw a dollar in the pot for those individuals working through the scouting program to help people living in our community.

Bud Luthman handed in a dollar with a question about what he read in the Newtarian – the George Kaiser gave a dollar last week because Frank Eberhart was not here? Numerous jokes and one-liners followed. And Frank not here to defend his position.

Carolyn Ottenbreit gave a $5 bill for the pot – her son Matthew came in 6^th in the 1,500 meter run in the New England championship. Also, for her God-son, Peter, who just graduated Phi Beta Cappa from Princeton (no small endeavor there!!)

The last contribution was from Bud Luthman - $ 10. Bud made a very personal and impassioned plea about the insanity of the gun violence in our country. On Tuesday of this week – 19 fourth graders and their two teachers in the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas were murdered by a crazed 18-year-old high school dropout, using 2 AK 47 automatic rifles, and enough ammunition to go into a serious firefight with. Bud opened his comments by asking us if any of us had ever handled one round for such a rifle? He then asked if we had ever had such a bullet hit the helicopter you were in while in flight? He drove home the point that we as civilians do not need to have such firepower in our hands. We do not need such guns for hunting. It is certainly not something that you walk around with in downtown Newton or Branchville or Swartswood. Bud urged everyone to just stop and think logically about what sort of evil that is extending throughout our great country, and to work together and figure out a way of stopping this type of carnage.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEWSLETTER - President Laura noted that she still needs a few people to take minutes for the newsletter. Specifically, she needs an editor for June 22 and 29. Come on - this really is not hard to do. Who knows, it may enable you to add yet another marketable skill to your resume.

ROTARY QUILT – Denise said that she and Alice went to the George Inn in McAfee for a meeting of the Vernon Rotary, only to find out that the Vernon Rotary rarely, if ever, gets together anymore. Apparently, the last report about the club was that they were getting only 3 members to attend. So, not to waste an opportunity, our two ladies stayed and had dinner there.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM - Barbara Miller gave a 5 dollar bill to the club coffers because all of the interviews were complete. She listed those members of our club who went to each of the 3 schools and conducted the actual interviews. The scholarships will be awarded to the winners at our June 1^st meeting.

UPDATED MEMBERSHIP BOOK – Kathy Shankman said that this week will be the wrap-up of photographs for the updated membership book. Additionally, she still needs some of the biographies from people. So, if you still have not turned in your bio, or are not sure or do not remember if you did turn it in – call Kathy at (973) 862 – 6126.

GARDEN PARTY – Marge spoke about the sign-up sheet on the front table that indicates if you will be attending and if you will be bring either a side dish or a main dish. The club will be providing the dessert and drinks.

The Garden Party will be held on Saturday, June 25, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, at the Denise Current farm in Stillwater. The theme for the party this year will be WORLD PEACE. Everyone is encouraged to bring food that represents their own particular ethnic background. Todd Lattig has the tickets, which are $20 each. If you don’t have a chance to attend a club meeting in by next week, the tickets are going to be mailed to you.

NEW NEWTON ROTARY APRONS - Laura showed us the new Newton Rotary aprons that we bought to replace the old aprons that are truly showing their years of active service.

NEW NEWTON ROTARY SHIRTS - Alice once again showed us the new Newton Rotary shirts that we have available. The primary difference between the old shirts and the new ones is that they now include 1923 – 2023, for our 100^th anniversary. The shirts are available now and cost $30. It would be great to be able to wear them to the upcoming Garden Party. She noted that we have sizes to fit everyone. Please see Alice for your shirt.

FLOWERS FOR THE FOOD BOOTH – Buz suggested that we install a bed of perennial flowers at our food booth. The plants should be installed soon so that they have a chance to become hearty and stable by the time of the fair. It was suggested that Buz coordinate this in the next few weeks.

LETTER FROM NORMA CAPPOLA – Laura noted that she had received a letter from Norma, who is living in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Norma, who is still a full member of the club apparently enjoys the newsletter and sent along a check for $15, to be used to buy 50/50 tickets. If she wins, that will be a long drive just to see if she can pick the ace of spades.

Speaker on May 25^th –Denise Current

Today our speaker was our very own Denise Current, owner, operator and sometimes bus driver for Stocker Bus Company based in Swartswood.

Denise Current provided the club with a rather detailed account of how she ended up becoming the owner, operator and sometimes driver for the Stocker Bus Company and the ins and outs of running such a commercial concern.

Denise opened her presentation by saying that she never thought she would be talking to the club about running a bus company. She spoke about her personal background and how she came to be involved with the bus company, and ultimately becoming the owner. She grew up in Swartswood and her father started the bus company. As she grew up, she worked around the company office handling numerous responsibilities. In 1988, her father suffered a stroke, which was when Denise stepped into the management of the company.

She said that there are at least ten different state and federal laws that address the issue of school buses. She also noted that her company, like other bus companies, are having a problem with hiring staff.

In order to become a qualified bus driver, an individual must first get a permit, followed by applying for the appropriate driver’s license. Once you have the license, you have to go for an annual physical. These three initial steps would cost an individual approximately $450. Some of the very large school bus companies cover these costs for their potential drivers. Denise does not.

In terms of the license, the state requires that a driver know all of the parts of the bus, from the exhaust pipe, emergency rear door and flashers to the different components under the hood (this last part would completely throw me over the cliff).

Then there is the issue of random drug and alcohol testing.

Denise also spoke about the difficulty with identifying bus stops in relation to where the students live. A bus stop can be as far as 2 miles from a home of an 8^th grader and lower and up to two and a half miles for high school age students. Parents are responsible for making sure their child is at the designated bus stop in time.

Another issue Denise has to deal with – bidding and contracts. She said that schools have to get 3 quotes from bus companies and the Board of Education is mandated to accept the lowest bid. There is also a requirement that each be accompanied by a “bid bond”, which is in the amount of 5 percent of the total of your sealed bid amount. The successful bidder also has to submit a surety bond when the contract is executed. This type of bond helps to prevent the financial difficulties that could arise if a contractor defaults.

Denise told us that a basic school bus today costs around $116,000. Buses are limited to 15 years of service before they are required to be retired from service to moving school children around.

FINAL NOTE 50/50

John Cuozzo was the winner this week and garnered a whopping $5 for his efforts. John pulled a card – which turned out to be the 2 of clubs. The main pot now continues its slow growth, again. CONGRATS TO JOHN FOR HIS WIN.

NEXT WEEK’S SPEAKER

The speaker for next week’s program (June 1^st) will be the presentation of the scholarships to students from Newton High School, Kittatinny Regional High School, and Sussex County Technical High School. The following week, we will have Nathaniel Hontz, son of Mark Hontz, make a presentation of his thesis, which deals with a very interesting aspect of our county’s history.

ADJOURNMENT

With no other business to come before the club, the meeting was formally adjourned by President Laura at 1:21 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Wayne T. McCabe

Past President (’88 – ’89)