Gallia County Sheriff Joe Browning and Rotary President Shirley Doss.
Program Chair, Melissa Kimmel, invited Gallia County Sheriff Joe Browning to speak to our Rotary club today. Sheriff Joe spoke to members about the changing operations of running the county jail, especially one that was built in the ‘50’s. Joe explained it is challenging to cope with the average daily number of 46 inmates. Local jails house more misdemeanor offenders than felons and there are specific rules regarding housing of prisoners. Inmate medical cost is the largest single expense for the department.
Our sheriff spoke briefly about the new Work Release Center. The Gallia County Work Release Center is an alternative to jail for individuals who have been convicted of minor criminal offenses.
All residents ‘pay-to-stay’ and are responsible for their own transportation to and from their employment, as well as, to any court dates and medical appointments. Residents are also responsible for their own medical expenses. Drug and Alcohol testing is completed for each resident. Sheriff’s Correctional Staff, as well as, Court probation officers will monitor the residents assigned to serve a sentence at this facility.
Thank you, Sheriff Joe and Melissa, for the interesting program today!
We had an excellent attendance today and President Shirley Doss welcomed everyone to the meeting. It was great to see Marlin Rose today!
Christmas Dinner—President Shirley reminded everyone that next week, Dec. 12th, we will NOT HAVE A MORNING MEETING!!! Members and guests will enjoy its annual Christmas Dinner and Ornament Exchange at the Quality Inn (former Holiday Inn) at 6 pm. It will be a relaxed evening of fellowship and we will be ordering from the menu and members will be responsible for their charges.
Fellowship—Gordon Amsbary led fellowship for the meeting starting with a bit of Wal-Mart trivia, sports trivia, and historical trivia. There were no birthdays today.
Happy Buck$—We did have a number of Happy Bucks today. Melissa Kimmel stressed the needs that exist for our local cat and dog shelters. She distributed a list of items that members can donate. Jodie McCalla bought a buck on her new opportunity with BTS Software Solutions (unleashbts.com), which will be opening a facility in Gallipolis in January. Jim Morrison bought a buck for spending Thanksgiving with his daughter and grandchildren in the Bahamas. Finally, Kurt Dailey, bought a buck in honor of Emily, who is recovering from some recent surgery. Get well soon, Emily!
‘Split-Da-Pot’—Shana Booher ran our STP this morning and sold a bunch of tickets to run our small pot up to $9.00 this morning! Good job! Shana asked Sheriff Joe to draw our winner today which was . . . Kevin Dennis! Kevin said this makes two in a row, as he won last week as well! Kevin drew ultra-carefully for the Queen for the large pot of $127.00, only to pull the Four of Spades. Our Foundation Fine was assessed against anyone who has not yet donated to the Gallia Animal Shelter. Kevin also donated back the small pot to the club! Thanks, Kevin!
Final Balloting—Jim Morrison distributed the final ballots to members today to vote for the slate of officers and our new VP/President-Elect for 2012-2013. Members had to choose five of the remaining eligible members to serve. Jim and Deb Rhodes tabulated the numbers. Congratulations to Paul Koch, Debbie Saunders, Shana Booher, Kevin Dennis, and Lee Saltzgaber who will serve our club next Rotary year.
Here’s our schedule through the end of the year:
Dec 13 Christmas Dinner, 6 pm, Quality Inn
Dec 20 No meeting—Merry Christmas!
Dec 27 No meeting—Happy New Year!
