Louisville Rotary Meetings 2020

1st Quarter

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

January 8, 2020

President Bob Hallier opened the noon luncheon meeting at Paradise Church with 16 members and four guests present. The prayer was given, the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the Four-Way Test were recited which completed the meeting opening formalities. There was no song as Songmeister Sigler was AWOL.

Happy Dollars

* Barbara gave a pitch for Girl Scout cookies. Profits, she said, were to help LE students who need gym shoes but couldn't afford them. She also wanted to share her excitement at obtaining a new home-bound student (from the Perry District) to tutor.

* City Manager Larry Collins was excited to announce that former Rotarian Andy Turowski has a new job title Assistant City Manager. Andy will continue to head the Louisville Police Department, but will now also be in charge of all safety forces, among other duties.

* Jim Edwards confessed his attempt to ice skate on the new city rink got him about 8 feet on the ice before his ankles or other parts of his body failed him. He blamed faulty ice skates. Of course, they don't make skates like they used to. Keep those memories of former ice skating adventures alive in your dreams, Jim!

Club Business

Bill Wood pleaded for help finding a new home for exchange student Jeremy. Both parents in his current home work and there is no other child in the home which leaves Jeremy home alone for long periods of time.

Larry Collins reported that between 60 & 75 persons have ice skated on the city's rink so far, but the warmer weather has not helped the city launch skating opportunities.

President Bob announced President-Elect Jared would be attending the a March PETS conference for incoming presidents. Also, there will be a slate of officer candidates and Board of Directors openings for 2020-2021 that club members may consider during the February business meeting. Members may nominate candidates, too.

According to President Bob, there were five members who responded to the Rotary International annual drive.

Barb D. & President Bob presented an Income/Expense statement for this year's Warm Coats project. With an opening budget of $3,000, the final cost was $3,89.93 or leaving a deficit of $895.93. Greg Anderson donated gloves for each coat at a cost of $1,121. His support needs to be acknowledged.

A total of 150 winter coats, gloves and stocking hats were given. It should also be acknowledged the extra time and effort given by Barbara DeJacimo for organization, and several trips to Walmart, Old Navy and Marc's. She will not admit to the hours involved, but it was many. In conclusion, we owe a host of thanks to Greg, Barb, and Bob Hallier for making this project a shining example of Service Above Self.

A Brief Program

Steve Robinson, representing HOT, Homeless Outreach Team, for Stark County homeless people, spoke briefly and promises to return for a program. Robinson's group utilizes four traditional houses with the goal of purchasing a fifth, to provide homeless persons a warm night's rest. That includes a cot, pillow, blankets in a room with others. There is no meal provided. This program is designed for those who cannot get into a conventional shelter.

Sally Samblanet, Director of the Community Cupboard, spoke about her program. The Community Cupboard has been in operation for 18 years and last year served an average of 235 families a month. The Cupboard is based in Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church which also provides space for a summer vegetable garden. No one is ever turned away, she stressed. Samblanet thanked the donations of the Midlake Company for providing trucking food from the Akron/Canton Food Bank and for donating non-food supplies such as paper items. The Community Cupboard offers food distribution twice each month. Their program has a website for their activities.

Our club gives a $1,000 grant for their use and has done so since our grant program was begun.

Upcoming Events

January 15 - Demond Germany, the owner-manager of Scratch Steakhouse.

January 22 - Rotary meeting, program TBA

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

pix of Sally Samblanet and President Bob

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

January 15, 2020

Oh Bla Dee, Oh Bla Dah Life goes on . . . those lyrics of the 1968 Beatles song of the same refrain, was the day's sing along led by Songmeister Mark Sigler for this week's meeting held in Paradise Church's Fellowship Hall. With President Bob Hallier at the leadership helm, the Rotarians bowed their heads as Louisville Mayor Pat Fallot gave the opening prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by the Rotary 4-Way Test. Twenty-four persons including five guests attended the meeting.

An educational note: The song was written in reggae style based on the London stage performances by a Nigerian singer, and is credited as a Lennon-McCartney effort although Lennon hated the song and there was disagreement among the Fab Four about using it. The song was panned by the music media, once cited as one of the top 50 worst songs ever. But someone, unknown now, said the song was fun music for a fun song about fun.

For those who find themselves humming the tune, here are the lyrics for the first stanza:

Desmond has a barrow in the market place

Molly is the singer in the band.

Desmond says to Molly

Girl I like your face.

And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand.

Ob Bla Dee, Oh Bla Dah Life goes on

Secretary's note: Thank you Mark for adding a spark to our meetings. Despite some groans at group singing, most if not all of us appreciate your theatrics. Keep it up!

Happy Dollars

* Glenn Heiller proudly announced that his high school back home in Minnesota finished the football season with a 11-2 record and was ranked in the top 10 schools.

* Ron Derry proudly announced the Historical Society's previous night's program on the history of the Palace Theatre was attended by 70 persons.

* Barb DeJacimo reminded members of the upcoming community forum regarding the school's levy. The meeting is at the middle school, 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 21. Wear your Rotary shirts as a show of community support.

* Special guest Desmond Germany said he was Glad to be here!

Club Business

* Bill Wood, in desperation, asked for member help finding a home for Jeremy our exchange student.

* President Bob read a number of thank-you notes from those local groups that received a Community Grant. Included were:

^ Louisville Board of Education, $500 for Teen Car & $500 for Girls with Pearls.

^ Louisville Nimishillen Historical Society, $500 for painting front of building

^ Louisville Elementary School, $500 for Girls on the Run

^ Paradise Church KidWatch, $500 for Jammin in Your Jammies

^ Louisville High School, $500 Speech & Debate program

^ A shelter box $1,000

^ Louisville Community Cupboard, Sally Samblanet, $1,000

The Program

As a newcomer to Louisville, Demond Germany opened a new restaurant called Scratch and has already gained a reputation for good food at reasonable prices. The name comes from his making many of his dishes from scratch. Dee, his nickname, was invited to address the Rotary Club meeting.

Dee grew-up in Cleveland Heights and has two brothers and two sisters. His mother is a single parent and he got his interest from his mother and grandmother who he says were great cooks. His listeners practically drooled with Dee's story about the family Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.

While in high school he got a part-time job as a dishwasher in an Italian restaurant in Cleveland's Little Italy. As time went on, cooks would call in sick and the boss would have Desmond work the prep line. I learned to love the cooking, he said.

He went to a culinary school in Pittsburg and had a restaurant in Cleveland, but lost his lease, so he went looking for a new location. He found the Louisville site on-line, sent his friend Jennifer to check it out, and four months ago he opened downtown. The community has been great, he said. And the feedback has been encouraging.

One aspect of his hosting is to come from the kitchen and meet his customers. That is important to me, he said. If you are a first time customer, the waitress will place a blue napkin by your plate, that allows Dee to give you special attention.

My soups are made fresh everyday, he continued. But he received his best compliment from City Manager Larry Collins who said He makes the best ribs around, he said. And he has good vodka.

Besides his restaurant, he does off-site cooking. Scratch is open for lunch and supper and last Sunday was his first Sunday brunch.

Oh Bla Dee, Oh Bla Dah Life goes on Demond.

Upcoming Events

Jan. 22, Trillian Vaughn, Girl Scouts Grant Project at Wildwood Park

Jan. 29, Casey Ellington, Louisville Chamber Updates and Grant Award for downtown event

Feb. 12, Stephen Robinson, Homeless Outreach Team

Feb. 19, Tiffany Rogers, iCare with Louisville City Schools

Feb. 26, Louisville City Schools

March 11, Open

March 18, John Johnson, Mt Everest Climb

March 25, RYLA Students

April 8, Jennifer Slack, Louisville Elementary Grant Award

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

January 22, 2020

With a meal of spaghetti & meatballs, 18 Rotarians and five guests met in the Fellowship Hall of Paradise Church for their 4th Wednesday of the month regular meeting. President Bob Hallier was at the podium, gave the prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited as well as the Rotary Four-Way Test. Unfortunately, our Songmeister was off doing other things so there was no song. Guests included President Bob's youngest daughter, Molly Sautter, Dumond Cleveland and his friend Jennifer, Meghan McKimm and the program presenter Trillian Vaughn.

Club Business

* President Bob mentioned that the District Conference set for May 16 is looking for sponsors. Information can be found on our club's website.

* Rotarian and Louisville Board of Education member Barb DeJacimo shared news of Tuesday's school levy meeting. About 150 persons attended the meeting while another 150 or so watched the meeting on-line. Interested residents can see a power point presentation on leslevy.com or go on FaceBook at LepsLevy.com.

* Jim Edwards announced the flag routes have been tweeted and some routes may be changed a little. Also, the flags have been repaired and are ready. Last year we had 1,154 locations for our flags.

The Program

LHS senior Trillian Vaughn shared with the members her vision of getting playground equipment for Wildwood Park. This idea of hers is coming together as a project for the Girl Scout Gold program, the highest such award for the Girl Scouts program. Our club has awarded her a $500 grant for the project. Trillian had prepared a power point presentation; unfortunately, her ChromeBook computer could not be tied into the church's TV, so she had to present her material without a prompt, which she did very well in her 20-minute presentation. Trillian was prompted to do the project after finding nothing for young children to do at Wildwood Park while their parents watched ballgames on the ball diamonds there. After investigation, she found a gymnastic set designed for children with a cost of about $5,500. She obtained permission from the city to complete this project with a pledge of cooperation to clear the site for the equipment. A Boy Scout troop pledged to help install it. Several businesses have pledged money. So the project is a go.

Thanks, Trillian, the community appreciates your work.

Upcoming Events

Jan. 29 - Louisville Chamber of Commerce update & grand award for downtown event.

Feb. 4 - Rotary Board meeting, Uptown Joe's at noon.

Feb. 5 - Business meeting, bring your Purple Bags.

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

January 29, 2020

With a surprising 10 guests joining 20 Rotarians, the Paradise Church kitchen staff had to hurry and set two additional tables for the luncheon meeting. President Bob Hallier welcomed the guests, Paradise Pastor David Anderson gave the prayer, the Pledge was recited followed by the Rotary 4-Way Test. Songmeister Mark Sigler, so true to his musical tastes, led the appreciative audience in singing, of course, one of the Beetles old songs Drive My Car. Older members may not remember the lyrics, but the catchy refrain is still around. Beep, beep . . . beep, beep . . . yeah! Mark has been playing his role for so long he is beginning to sound like Paul McCartney, but needs to put some work in his Sir Paul look alike.

Happy Dollars

* Barb DeJacimo gave a pitch for Girl Scout cookies reminding members that the proceeds go for purchasing shoes for LES children. Also, Barb gave a second pitch for the March 7 fundraiser for the Louisville School Levy Campaign. Tabbed Dueling Pianos Keys to Success, the dinner will be at Courtney's Banquet Center in Alliance, beginning at 5:30 Saturday March 7th. For just $50 a person for a fine dinner, entertainment by the Cleveland Keys Dueling Pianos, a silent auction, beverages and comanderie.

* Tammie Kuemerie urged members to submit a vote for The Alsatian in the category for the Best of the Best contest sponsored by The Repository.

Club Business

* President Bob reminded members of the Purple Bag project to bring in donations next week for our business meeting.

* President Bob introduced Rod Dimmerling, a Rotarian from the Minerva Club. Rod told the story of a barn fire that destroyed an Amish farmer's barn. But the fire fighters went into the burning barn and brought out most of the farmer's livestock including his horses. The local Amish community wants to show their appreciation, so they are organizing, along with the Rotary Club, an appreciation dinner for all fire fighters, police and first responders. Rod is asking for sponsors for ads in a program and invited members to come for the dinner. There is a $25 per person charge for non-emergency workers and the proceeds go to the various emergency agencies for equipment. Dimmering expects 1,000 persons to attend. Louisville Rotarians wished the Minerva compatriots good luck and said their dinner is a fine example of Service Above Self. Your secretary has forms for the ads.

Justin finished the accounting for this years Rotary Pancake Breakfast. We had a great year with gross sales of $2,975 (including advertisements from the placemats) and our total expenses were $699 for a net profit of $2,276. For comparison, In 2018 we grossed $1,844 and netted $1,411.

While writing these minutes, an email arrived from Greg Anderson. I believe it needs to be in our minutes.

Club Treasurer Justin finished the accounting for this years Rotary Pancake Breakfast. We had a great year with gross sales of $2,975 (including advertisements from the placemats) and our total expenses were $699 for a net profit of $2,276. For comparison, In 2018 we grossed $1,844 and netted $1,411. Thanks to everyone who supported the program and again to Tammy Kuemerie for getting St. Joseph's Senior Living sponsorship of the food items. Cheers - Greg

The Program

Casey Ellington, the new Executive Director of the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce, presented the program. Casey, on the job for five months, is full of bubbling energy, began her job last September, just in time for Scarecrows on Parade and Light Up Louisville. The Chamber now represents some 60-plus members and plans affairs for the city. Another of her duties is to provide information to interested businesses / industry and to work with city officials in bringing in new businesses and industry to our community. Casey also works with the schools, the Louisville Library and the Historical Society. Among her many activities include:

* Attending a job fair at RG Drage

* Organizing a Shop Small Day usually following the Black Friday shopping day

* Scarecrows on Parade

* Light up Louisville

* Fireworks for the Fourth of July

* Opening football game pre-game tailgating

* Organizing car shows

(There's more this notetaker missed)

Currently, Casey's lining up available food trucks for future events.

The Chamber has a website that can be accessed at www.louisvilleohchanber.org.

and Casey can be reached at 330-875-7371 or by her email address director@louisvilleohchamber.org.

Upcoming Events

Feb. 4 - Rotary Board meeting, noon, Uptown Joe's

Feb. 5 - Business meeting, Don't forget your Purple Bags

Feb. 12 - Homeless Outreach Team - Stephen Robinson

Feb. 19 - I Care about Schools -Tiffany Rogers

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

February 5, 2020

With Paradise Church Pastor David Anderson opening the business meeting with a prayer, President Bob Hallier led the 18 members in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four-Way Test. Songmeister Mark Sigler was excited about the February 3 date, a date he says lives in infinity for rock music lovers. Of course, Mark is referring to the small airplane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper plus the airplane's pilot on February 3, 1959. About 12 years later, the rock artist Don McLean performed a song at a rockfest at Clear Lake, Iowa. McLean coined the phrase "The day music died." The song, titled American Pie, is still played on radio stations usually the stations that feature the oldies but goodies format.

Younger members may not remember those words:

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Singin' this'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die

Members sang these lyrics to conclude the introductory part of the meeting.

There were three items of significance on the day's agenda.

I. Four new members were inducted into the club. New members include: Jennifer Galletti, Demond Germany, Brock Hutchenson and Meghann Mckimm. Greg Anderson gave the induction ceremony a touch of class while stressing the Rotary Moto Service Above Self. Following the presentation of Rotary lapel pins, Anderson concluded by saying "Welcome to the world's largest and finest service club." Rotary has over one million members worldwide.

II. Denny Valentine presented a large world map containing stick pins for all the foreign exchange students we have sponsored for the last 26 years. There are 47 clubs in our district, but only 12 have sponsored exchange students this year. The cost of each club is about $2,500 a year. Of course, we all know that we have sponsored two students this year. After 911, the rules are much stricter about foreign students coming to the U.S.

Secretary's note: Special thanks for Denny and Bill Wood for their work. The map is a professional job.

III. Members passed the slate of officers for the 2021-2022 year. Glenn Heiller will take the club's reins.

IV. President Bob discussed finding a community project that fits the requirements for a District Grant.

ATTENTION! AN IDEA FOR A CLUB SOCIAL

In this week's Ticket Magazine that comes with Thursday's Repository, there is an ad on page 5 for an upcoming musical event at Canton's Palace Theatre. The program is a tribute band featuring the music of the Beatles. So, how about our Songmeister organizing a family group setting for us? The program is Thursday, March 5 at 7:30. The cost is $31 a person with balcony seating. We will have to move on this next week if we want seating as a group. This could be in place of the weekly meeting.

How about this Mark?

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Denny created this illustrative map of where our past and present Foreign Exchange students came from.

Meghann, Brock, Jennifer and Demond, All new members of Louisville Rotary

This bonus picture is from Denny, of all the '19-'20 inbound FX students.To 12 dofferent Rotary Clubs.

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

February 12, 2020

President Bob Hallier opened the meeting with the usual Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, then the Four-Way Test and he asked for a volunteer to say the prayer. Stephen Robinson, present to give today's program, answered the call and gave a nice prayer. Songmeister Sigler was not present so no singing today. Perhaps the no singing mood fit the overcast, cloudy, cold day. Nineteen members attended.

Happy Dollars

* Denny Valentine reported that the club was out of name tags. He asked if any of the members had one at home and could that person bring it next week? President Bob told him to order a new batch.

* Bill Wood pitched a dollar in the pot and said he was kinda glad to be home after nearly a month in sunny Arizona. Members were glad to see him.

Club Business

* Prez Bob brought up the idea for a community project that the club could propose that would allow us to file for a District Grant. Al Gress suggested helping the young Girl Scout with her project at Wildwood Park. Ann Davis said she would like something that would give the middle school aged kids to do over the summer vacation. Bob said the Board would discuss these two ideas.

* President Halliers gave an update of the Purple Bag project. More bags will become available soon.

* Last week in this space I discussed the possibility of a club family social. That idea is a concert at the Palace Theatre featuring a Beatles tribute concert. My idea was apparently dead on arrival as it was not mentioned by a single soul. Good thing Mark wasn't here.

The Program

Stephen Robinson, the Director of The Total Living Center in Canton, shared his work for the day's program. Robinson, who was the owner of a business that recycled the minerals harvested from old computers, sold his business and retired, at least for a short while. Shoulder surgery was the impetuous for the career change, but he began volunteering at the Living Center. The Living Center is a Christian-based ministry founded by Rev. Don Bartow. Rev. Bartow is now 92 and he approached Stephen to help in the administration of the ministry.

Robinson's message focused on the homeless in Stark County. He told stories of heartbreak and pain, yet all had a message for need and hope. "There are 300-plus churches in Stark County," he said. "but no one could provide over-night sleeping arrangements for the homeless. No one should die because there is no shelter for him."

Stephen purchased a small building, it could fit about six cars, and created a last ditch overnight shelter with just a bed, pillow, blanket for each person who then could share a bathroom with a shower. Last night, we had seven guests. Did we know, he recounted, "that Stark County receives three and a half million dollars a year in government money?"

The number one problem for homelessness is mental illness, he said. alcohol and drugs are also major problems and often the problems overlap.

He also talked about one of their programs called Heart for Homeless, a shelter to help the homeless to rise out of poverty with a work program. The Heart for Homeless is in a building located on Harrison Avenue in Canton.

As time ran out, with much more to be said, Stephen gave each person a piggy bank box and asked for each person to deposit his loose change in the box. He will pick up the boxes the week after Easter 10 weeks from now, and the funds will be used for the homeless.

He left us with a message from the Book of Matthew " . . . truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

There is a Homeless Hotline for Stark County. 330-754-4687 and on-line address homelessoutreachteam.com. .

Upcoming events

Feb. 19 - Louisville Schools program called I Care by Tiffany Rogers

Feb. 26 - Louisville City Schools - spokesperson talks about the future

Mar. 3 - Board meeting at Uptown Joe's - noon

Mar. 4 - Business meeting

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

February 19, 2020

President Bob Hallier opened the meeting with 23 people in attendance that included 16 Rotarians and 7 guests. The opening prayer was given by Pastor David Anderson, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited as was the Rotary Four-Way Test. Songmeister Mark Sigler was not present so there was no song. Guests included Joanie Aljancic and Linda Parrish from Louisville plus Tiffany Rogers, Sara Corona and Rhonda McQuilkin from the three Louisville School buildings. In addition, Minerva Mayor Tim Tarbet and his wife, both Rotarians in Minerva, were guests at the meeting.

Happy Dollars

* Glenn Heiller heaped praise on the LHS wrestling team for their outstanding season ending with the Division II State wrestling championship.

* President Hallier said he had additional Purple Bags for those who need them.

* Al Gress asked about his great idea for a family social, all attending a musical tribute to The Beatles at the Palace Theatre. However, his idea floundered from a lack of interest.

The Program

Rogers, who works at the middle and high schools; Corona handles North NImishillen School; and McQuilkin is on the staff of the elementary building presented the school's iCARE program. iCARE was the 2019 recipient of $500 Rotary grant. iCARE is comprised of teachers, administrators, family support specialists and members from community agencies. As a team, they work together to provide resources that students and families need but cannot afford. iCARE helps kids by connecting families to resources for basic needs, by referring students and families to mental health services and by monitoring students, progress. Students and families are referred to iCARE team leaders by school personnel. Included in services are:

Clothing needs

Food assistance

Hygiene

Mental health services

Housing information

Medical needs

Information and referral to community agencies

Offering support and mentoring to students.

One of community resources used is the CARE Community Boutique at the Beacon of Hope Church, The Community Cupboard, and the Salvation Army Food Giveaway. The popular backpack giveaway is an ongoing project. Another help is the Back to School Parental Resource Guide. With iCARE assistance with a program called the Gift of Gump over 200 students get food on weekends. The Leopards in Lace program provides slightly used prom dresses and over 50 girls took advantage of free dresses for last year's prom. The Legacy project brings adult volunteers to the school once a week to share lunch with an elementary child. Over 52 families were helped at Christmas through iCARE. This month the group published their first news sheet called CARE NEWS.

iCARE is funded by a joint effort between The United Way and the Louisville School District. The Louisville Schools have an enrollment of about 1,300 students with 34% that qualify for free or reduced price lunches.

Coming Events

Feb. 26 - Louisville Schools presentation

Mar. 3 - Rotary Board meeting at noon for lunch at Uptown Joe's

Mar. 4 - Business meeting

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

February 26, 2020

President Bob Hallier opened the meeting with 19 persons in attendance that included five guests. School Board member Rick Crislip attended to give support for Board Member Barb DeJacimo, the day's speaker. Jeremy Jeremias and Gabby Urrea, our exchange students attended, as did LHS seniors Robert Duncan and Avery Wengerter.

Paradise Pastor David Anderson gave the Ash Wednesday prayer, the group pledged the flag and recited the Rotary Four-Way Test. Much to the disappointment of the members, there was no Rotary song due to Songmeister Sigler's absence.

Happy Dollars

* Al Gress, speaking for Jim Edwards in absentia, announced that Jim's beautiful granddaughter, Zoie Haney, was honored as the LHS Winter Homecoming Queen.

Club Business

* President Bob replenished the club's supply of Purple Bags and without further adieu introduced the program speaker, even though she did not need an introduction.

The Program

Rotarian and first year board member Barb DeJacimo pitch-hit for School Superintendent Michele Schaffer. The day's topic was Issue 18, the school's 6.9 mill 5-year operating levy that will be voted on March 17th. The issue will provide $2.81 million in emergency funding for the schools. "I wish I could make it (the millage) smaller," she began, speaking not only as a board member, but as a homeowner, a mother and a former teacher. I know many of you are retired and live on a fixed income. But this is not for new programs," she continued, "this is to protect and maintain the current level of programs and services." She reported that the Louisville Schools operate on the second lowest revenue of the Stark County schools. "Louisville has lost $800,000 from the state's foundation program over the past years" she said. "Louisville receives less than $3,000 per student below the state average. Ninety-six percent of Ohio schools receive more money per student than Louisville does."

The Board Member told the story of what happened when the Grove City Schools lost an operating levy over a 10-year period. There home values dropped, people moved away, the crime rate increased and the number of youth pregnancies went up.

Avery and Robert spoke about the impact of school cuts as they spoke from a student's viewpoint. Among the problems cuts will create for students is the lack of extra curricular programs that are an important part of college application process. "Cutting academic classes will hurt, but eliminating sports program sand clubs will also hurt."

Among the cuts for next year would be:

Eliminate 12 teachers, one a half tutors, one administrator, all middle school athletics, reducing busing to state minimums (no high school bussing, elementary and middle school bussing only from two miles), pay-to-play, no field trips, elementary and middle school buildings closed evenings and weekends.

Following the presentation, a proposal was made for the Rotary Club to support and publicly endorse the levy. The motion was seconded and passed with an unanimous vote of the membership.

Upcoming Events

Mar. 3 - Board meeting, noon Uptown Joe's

Mar. 4 - Business meeting

Mar. 11 - Louisville Library presentation

Mar. 18 - Mt. Everest climb by John Johnson

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

March 4, 2020

Club President Bob Hallier opened the meeting following Paradise Pastor David Anderson's prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary Four-Way Test were recited. There was no song. Ten persons attended the first of the month business meeting.

Happy Dollars

* Bill Wood wished to announce to the world that he and Vivian had voted and

voted yes for all three tax issues on the Stark County ballot.

* Jen Anderson announced the YMCA is. forming a 10-team kickball league and is looking for hungry athletes to participate. For more information, click on the Y's website.

Club Business

1. President Hallier discussed the District 6650 Rotary Conference set for May 16 beginning at 9:30 capped by a dinner ending at 8:30 in the Kent State Stark Event Center. The keynote speech is titled "Empowering Women in Rotary."

2. The Small Grant Project. The question is: Do we use Rotary grant money to pay for the RYLA program or help with the Girl Scout Wildwood Park project. It could be we do both; paying for the RYLA from general funds and the Wildwood Park project with grant money. Barb DeJacimo will check on the progress of the Park project and what is needed to complete it.

3. President Bob announced that Glenn Heiller was moving his residence from Nimishillen Township to Plain Township within the next month. Glenn is the President-elect for the years 2021-2022 and how would his new location affect his office? The group responded with a resounding "we will welcome you" and a desire to keep him. "We do not have residency requirements,�"said David Yeagley. Glenn said he would be pleased to lead our club.

4. The scheduled July Farmer's Market is set for the first Saturday, which is the Fourth. Do we want to keep the market on this holiday? No. It was suggested the changed date be the next Saturday July 11. David Yeagley will convey our decision to Cynthia Kerchner.

5. Our annual installation banquet at Skyland Pines will have District Governor Dan Morgan doing the installation and give the keynote speech. A typed program will be printed.

6. Bill Wood made a motion the club endorse and support the Library levy which was passed unanimously by the membership. Next was a motion to also support and endorse the StarkParks levy. Both levies are renewals meaning NO new taxes. The park levy motion was also passed by a unanimous vote.

7. President Bob spent a few minutes telling about a conference at Stark State College, where he used to work, and spoke to the change ongoing at the university level. According to Bob, more and more students are taking on-line courses in preference to on-campus, in-classroom lessons.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:58.

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

Louisville Rotary Club

Meeting Minutes

March 11, 2020

Due to an illness issue, I did not attend this meeting, but President Bob graciously sent detailed notes from which this report was written.

President Bob opened the meeting held in the Fellowship Hall of Paradise United Church of Christ. With 17 members present, the prayer was given, the Pledge of Allegiance was said along with the Rotary Four-Way Test. There was no song, again, and there were no Happy Dollars.

The Program

Louisville Library Director Brock Hutchinson discussed the library's Issue 14, not a tax increase that would cost the homeowner of a property valued at $100,000 about $24.36 per year.

Hutchinson passed out copies of the library's goals & objectives along with their Strategic Plan. He emphasized that the library has decided not to build on the downtown Green Space as he reviewed the Strategic Plan.

"Our recent survey showed we need to do a better job of communication," he said. "We are improving our efforts to keep people informed. We use FaceBook, mailers, the Herald, social media and, of course, by face-to-face contact."

"Hutchinson also said he was out in the community talking about the library. "We are looking for ways to bring value to the community," he said.

The question was asked: "How is the library used these days?" "Good question,", he responded. "Job seekers, resume writing, small business development plus the availability of traditional books, ebooks and other media." Preschool children, K-12 students, adults and seniors all use the library." Students from Louisville Elementary come over every morning and the staff goes to North Nim School weekly.

The current library located at 700 Lincoln Street needs a facelift of fresh paint and a general fixing-up, according to the Director. "We are installing a new drive up drop-in return box," he said.

The Library, founded in 1935 has been at the Lincoln Street location since 1969. The library runs with a budget of less than one million dollars each year with one-third coming from the local tax levy. The rest of the funding comes from Columbus.

Please support Issue 14, the Louisville Library's operating levy is a renewal and means no additional taxes and this levy is not for a new building.

Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary

March 18th, No Meeting - Corona Virus

March 25th, No Meeting - Corona Virus