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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2017)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 30, 2017 5A ONE PROJECT AT A TIME Rotarians work to build a better world through local, international service projects By Jolene Guzman Make a difference The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — You see Dallas Rotarians hard at work dur- ing Summerfest’s Breakfast in the Park and Tom Newton Car Show every year. But did you know the club is active in student ex- changes hosting foreign stu- dents in Dallas and sending Dallas students overseas? Or that club members handed out more than 300 diction- aries to fourth-graders in 2017? Also, the club honors out- standing Dallas students monthly and granted schol- arships to three graduating seniors during the last school year. Rich Wolcott, the club’s Community Service Com- mittee chairman, said the club is adding a few more projects to its plate. “Our goal is to become more involved in communi- ty service events, not that we haven’t been in the past,” he said. “We want to expand the global (projects).” Recently, club members helped renovate the kitchen in Dallas City Park in time to use it for Breakfast in the Park, but also for other events. Rotary District 5100 (to which the Dallas Club be- longs) provided a $1,500 grant for equipment, and the Dallas Rotary club matched that amount and added in volunteer work re- painting the kitchen. “We spent a whole day, with about seven people,” Wolcott said. “We had so many that everyone got in everybody’s way. We painted the ceiling, the walls.” He said in addition to Ro- tary, 60 to 70 different groups use the kitchen dur- ing the year for reunions, wedding receptions and other events. “It’s just so much nicer and cleaner,” Wolcott said. “We were thinking, too, like everybody else is thinking, of the eclipse. We knew that What: Dallas Rotary Club. When: Tuesday, noon. Where: Dallas Civic Center. Of note: The M-I Rotary Club also is accepting new members. The club meets at noon on Thurs- days at First Baptist Church, 1505 Monmouth St., Independence. Dallas Rotary Club /for Itemizer-Observer Bob Timmerman, left, and Todd Brumfield prepare pancake batter for Breakfast in the Park in the park’s kitchen. the kitchen is going to be used more this summer by the public.” The city of Dallas installed the new equipment and put in its own money for new lighting. Not just focused on Dallas City Park, Rotary members spend time at the city’s dog park, Central Bark, putting down bark, and the club “adopted” a section of the Rickreall Creek Trail to help maintain. Also, the club is helping pay for installing the long- awaited pickleball courts across the street from the Dallas Aquatic Center. Wolcott said the club is taking more action outside of Dallas. In partnership with Ro- tary Club of Salem, Dallas Rotary helped support a project to provide safe drinking water and sanita- tion to four villages in Haiti. The project improved living conditions for 25,000 people in the hard-hit nation. “If any country needs help, that country needs help,” Wolcott said. “You can imagine what their water, and especially what their sanitation is like right now.” Dallas Rotar ians are working with Rotary Club of Keizer on a project in Thai- land to reduce hazards asso- ciated with burning rice fields by building shredders to encourage composting the debris. A club in Lampang, Thai- land, developed the “Rotary Shredder” to shred crop residue into small pieces and add microbes to convert Call us. The Itemizer-Observer can help you expand your market share and make your business more profitable. Call us at 503-623-2373 and make an appointment with our Advertising Consultants, Heidi, Rachel or Karen. ADVERTISING THAT WORKS. the material into fertilizer. The fertilizer is added to the soil before the next crop is planted. Bob Ottaway, a Dallas Ro- tarian and member of the Rotary Foundation Club, went to Thailand to help work on the project. “It’s been a pretty active year for Rotary,” Wolcott said. “I’ve been a member for 14 years and every club has their up and down years.” This would count as an “up” year, and Wolcott would like to see that con- tinue. The club is recruiting more members, and would like to have more women, and people 30 and younger join the club, he said. Anyone interested in visit- ing the club can contact Susan Morrill at 503-623- 3119, or any club member. Help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend. Please join us for a 13 week seminar and support group that meets weekly to help you face the challenges of grief. Each session focuses on a specific topic and offers a DVD presentation and small group discussion time. A personal workbook is included for taking notes on the presented material and On Your Own sections. $35 registration includes workbook. Scholarships available. First session, “Is This Normal?” begins Tuesday, Sept. 12 • 6:30 pm Weekday Bible Building , 1156 SE Holman Ave. For more information or to register please call Kate or visit our website. 503-917-1625 www.crossandcrownministries.org DALLAS FIREMED PARAMEDIC AMBULANCE MEMBERSHIP Open Enrollment Sept. to Oct. 31 $65 per household within city limits $75 per household outside city limits Support Your Local Ambulance DIAL 9 1 1 FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES 24 HOURS A DAY, YEAR-AROUND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE MEMBERSHIP For enrollment assistance call: CITY OF DALLAS 1-800-238-9398 Enroll and pay online www.emspatient.com/dallasfiremed Offered to the communities of Dallas, Falls City, Rickreall, and surrounding areas