General News                                                                                                                   

The annual Aebleskiver Breakfast has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday, March 19^th. Please be sure to save this date on your calendar.

Shirley Schmidt reported that the Washington County Food Pantry provided food goods for 517 families last year.  It is estimated that this touched 1635 individuals and provided 34,335 meals.  A special thank you to all Rotarians who have helped in this effort throughout the past year.

Reminder: attendance should be at least 60%, if you can't make a meeting you can do a make-up on the web at the following address:  http://www.rotaryeclub7890.org/makeup.htm

Notes from the January 17th Meeting - Program Chair - Dave Bohling

Kathy White, a Blair High School counselor, was the program guest for the day.  Prior to coming to Blair, Kathy served as a drug and alcohol counselor at Immanuel Hospital in Omaha.  Kathy shared the results of the survey administered in October 2003 to Blair Public School students in the 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th grades.  The survey was recently given to students currently in those same grades to provide trends analysis.  The results of the 2005 survey will be available within the next 30 days.

Kathy complimented the local newspaper for printing the results of the survey.  Although the results are disconcerting the public needs to know.  Kathy provided a PowerPoint presentation with graphs showing the Blair results of the survey in comparison to the students taking the survey in Nebraska and a seven state region.  Other comparative data was presented showing survey results for Blair students who completed the survey in 1985, 1995 and 2003.  A few noteworthy results from the 2003 survey are as follows (survey topic is underlined):

• Use of alcohol within the last 30 days - 6th and 8th graders were below respondents in the state and seven state region, while the 10th and 12th graders were 10 to 11% above the comparative average at 48% and 58% respectively; of concern in this area is the report that parents are hosting parties for underage drinkers of alcohol and take car keys with the justification that consumption of alcohol is not wrong as long as the students don't drink and drive 
• Binge drinking (more than 5 drinks in one setting) within the last 30 days - results were similar as those for "use of alcohol in the past 30 days" with 10th and 12th graders above the comparative averages however the 10th grade respondents were 3% above the averages at 23.4% with the 12th graders response of 44.62% being 7% to 12% above comparative averages
• Results for cigarette use in the last 30 days show 6th, 8th and 10th graders were below the averages while 12th grade respondents were 15% above the state and seven state respondents
• Marijuana use in the last 30 days - again 6th and 8th graders were below the averages but the 10th and 12th graders at 19% and 31% respectively were higher than the comparative data; interestingly the 12th grade results were twice as high as other 12th graders in the state
• Meth use in the last 30 days - 6th and 8th graders reported that they did not use meth, 10th graders at 1.42% were similar to the comparative respondents, however the Blair 12th graders at 6.25% were substantially higher than respondents in Nebraska (1.66%) and the seven state region (2.4%)

The Blair Public School District has incorporated a number of programs to address alcohol, tobacco and drug use among students.  Programs include:

• K-12 Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Curriculum
• Student Assistance Program K-12
• Safe Homes Program K-12
• Student Resource Officer K-12
• Policies that discourage drug and alcohol use
• Standards of Student Conduct
• Guidance/Classroom activities
• Anger/Conflict Management: Grades 6-8
• TeamMates 6-8
• Pride Omaha Membership

Kathy is anxious to receive the 2005 survey results so comparative information can be analyzed. If you would like additional information on the survey please contact Kathy at 426-4941.  

Rotary Question of the Week

When and where was the first Rotary Club organized in Nebraska?

Rotary Fact of the Week (from  the RI or District Website)

Rotary came to Nebraska in 1910 when the president of the St. Louis Rotary Club visited Lincoln to do business with F. C. "Dad" Phillips, owner of a plumbing company, and suggested to him that a club be organized in Lincoln. On August 18, 1910 the Lincoln Rotary Club # 14 was chartered as the first club in Nebraska with F. C. Phillips as its first president. It was the 14th Rotary club to be organized in the world and was sponsored by the St. Louis Rotary Club. There were thirteen charter members - each representing a different business or profession.

The membership of Lincoln Rotary Club # 14, and especially member Charles N. Cadwallader who served as the Club President during the 1932-33 year and as a District Governor during the 1937-38 year, promoted the growth of Rotary in Nebraska. Lincoln Rotary Club # 14 was responsible for establishing most of the early clubs in Nebraska, and a total of 18 clubs - namely Downtown Omaha Club # 37, Kearney, York, Beatrice, Fremont, Hastings, Norfolk, Aurora, Falls City, Alliance, Chadron, Scottsbluff, Crete, Ashland, Humboldt, Lincoln East, Lincoln South, and Lincoln Sunrise. Most of these clubs were the sponsoring clubs of the other Rotary clubs in Nebraska. Today there are 76 Rotary clubs, represented by four Rotary Districts, in Nebraska. These clubs have a total membership of almost 4,000. The two clubs with the most members are the Omaha Downtown Club # 37, chartered on August 11, 1911, with almost 350 members and the Lincoln Rotary Club # 14 with over 300 members.

Thought of the Week

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." Edith Wharton

January Birthdays
None