December 18, 2004

Last Week’s Program...
Chief John Kazlauskas explained to his fellow Rotarians how the Owensboro Police Department has become one of the first local law enforcement agencies in Kentucky to target and arrest online sexual predators. In January 2004, the OPD initiated the Internet Child Exploitation Investigations Program. Through investigations conducted with the U.S. Attorney's office in Louisville and the FBI, the OPD has successfully identified several individuals attempting to use the Internet to commit sexual crimes against minors in our city. The department’s efforts, which involve an undercover operation, have led to the arrest of three men on federal sex crime charges. Chief Kazlauskas introduced the officers involved in the program and related some of their success stories.

According to the Chief, one of the drawbacks to implementing similar programs across the state is the lack of Kentucky enticement statutes. OPD will be working with local and state legislators to develop legislation that will allow prosecution of such sexual predators in state court.

Thank you, Chief, for a most informative program. 

Attendance: 85

Highest Attendance This Year: 103

Invocation, Pledge & 4-Way Test: Tim Bradshaw

Fellowship Report: Roger Coomes

Introduction of Guests: Sgt. Ed Miller, Detective Jim McCarty, Officers Courtney Yerrington and Brandon Sims, all guests of Chief John Kazlauskas; Nick Goetz, guest of Steve Gardner; Tracy Marksberry, guest of Bob Whitmer

Meeting Make-ups: Henry Zimmer, at the Daviess County club

Thought for the Week: "And she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." ~ Matthew 1:21

ROTARY ANNOUNCEMENTS...
• Attention all you back-up singers: Don’t forget to come early to the meeting this week. Alma Randolph will be rehearsing with you at 10:45 a.m. We’re all looking forward to Alma’s program and your debut!
• MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! On Wednesday, January 12, Owensboro Rotary is going on the road! That day, we’ll be holding our regular weekly meeting at the site of the new Rotary Indoor Playground on the second floor of the Owensboro Area Museum of Science and History. Lunch will be served and we’ll have a brief groundbreaking ceremony with remarks from District Governor Bob Boudreau and a few other “dignitaries.” Here’s your chance to see our project in progress, so please plan to attend. 
• Tim Bradshaw is still looking for a program chair for March. Please contact him if you’re willing to volunteer.
• Indoor Playground contributions and/or pledges may be mailed to Jeff Ebelhar, Owensboro Rotary Foundation treasurer, at the following address: 

Jeff Ebelhar
100 W. Third Street
P.O. Box 1824
Owensboro, KY 42302-1824

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO... 
Lucy Gip Neal - December 18 
Malcolm Bryant - December 25 

ROTARY REMINDERS 
• Don’t forget to make up your missed meetings at Daviess County Rotary, 7 a.m. on Tuesdays at Heavenly Ham Restaurant in Towne Square North. 
• Jody Wassmer is the program chair for December.
• Roger Coomes will be at the Fellowship Table during December. 
• If you have an email address and are not receiving the Impetus online, or you have changed your email address, please send an email to kim@mediaworksadvertising.com and you will be added to the Rotary email address list. 
• Log on to Rotary’s website at www.owensbororotary.org. You’ll find our current member directory, photos of new members, past copies of the Impetus, some interesting history, and more!

YOUR PRESIDENT SPEAKS: 
One of the things that makes Christmas so special is the music it brings. I can’t imagine celebrating the season without the familiar hymns and carols that have become tradition for most of us. The story behind one such carol lends it special significance.

We don’t generally think of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1892) as a hymn-writer, but during the darkest days of the Civil War he composed a poem that would later be set to music by John Baptiste Calkin, and in time take its place among the well-known carols of Christmas.

As the story goes, on Christmas Eve 1864, Longfellow sat in his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, listening in despair to the bells of a nearby church. He had recently received word that his son, a soldier in the Union Army, had been seriously wounded during battle. Three years earlier, his wife had died of burns sustained in a tragic accident.

As he grieved for his wife and war torn country, and worried about his son, Longfellow penned the following words: “And in despair I bowed my head / ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said, / ‘For hate is strong and mocks the song / Of peace on earth, good will to men.’” 

But he continued to listen and found a new sound in the bells: "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: / 'God is not dead; nor doth He sleep! / The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, / with peace on earth, good will to men!'" 

The poem, that would eventually become the lyrics of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” is a powerful affirmation of faith and hope. Its words ring true today as they did then. This holiday season and throughout the year, may we be constantly reminded of the hope that is Christmas: God with us. 

Have a wonderful Christmas! 

Pat 

THE FAMILY OF ROTARY 
• The club extends sympathy to Roger Coomes in the death of his brother Kenneth Coomes. 
• Congratulations to Tish Correa-Osborne, Executive Director of the Owensboro chapter of Girls’ Incorporated. For the 10th time in the last 13 years, the local chapter was named Southern Region Affiliate of the Year.

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBER!
Eric Sherrard is manager of the Hampton Inn. He also coaches the Kentucky Wesleyan College women’s tennis team. Eric and his wife, Catherine, have an 8-month old son, Robbie. 

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
December 29 – Jerry Birge, host of Around Owensboro 
January 5 – TBA
January 12 – Owensboro Rotary Indoor Playground Groundbreaking at the Owensboro Area Museum 

2004 - 2005
OWENSBORO ROTARY CLUB OFFICERS
President: Pat McFarling
Vice President: Bill Dexter
Past President: Jeff Ebelhar
Secretary: John Kurtz
Treasurer: Bob Nation
Directors: Tish Correa-Osborne, Todd Inman, Patty Drury, Tim Bradshaw, & Noel Maddox

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