May 30 Meeting Notes

  

May 30 Meeting Notes

The meeting was called to order at 7 am by President Robin DeRock.

National Hole in My Bucket Day

Guests:

• Becky Cummins - Chapel of the Valley

Announcements

Wenatchee Pride Day (6/23)

• Volunteers Needed
• Tent at the event - check email for details

Goathead Warriors (6/17)

• Julie Banken (new member and Joel's better half) will lead the Event
• Volunteers needed
• Julie shared the following about goatheads
• They take about 3 weeks to grow
• They can create between 200 and 5,000 seeds per year
• They can live up to 5 years

Changeover Dinner - June 13th - 5:30pm - $28 per person added to your bill

• Spouses and families welcome
• Bar-B-Que Grill from Sweetwoods
• Please RSVP to make sure the right amount of food can be ready

Rotary Park

• Scott Simonson - Columbia Hydroseed
• They have donated the hydroseed that he sprayed around the Peace Plaza
• The original quote was for $350
• He donated because he said that Rotary does such a great job in Wenatchee

Pinnacle Prep Books

• Books were taken to Pinnacle Prep for review
• Wyatt (the student that presented to our club) was on hand. He was the one with the idea to grow their library partnership with our club. He approved of our selection and other students were also very excited

Pearl (Exchange Student to Belgium)

• Her father drowned recently in the Wenatchee River
• The club raised $500 passing the hat so the board matched the $500
• $1000 was given to Pearl to help with her travel costs to attend her dad's funeral

Concession Stand Earnings - Robin 

• May - Earned $422
• April - Earned $980
• Earning around $28 per hour worked
• This is an excellent fund raising activity - more volunteers needed

Leavenworth Annual Conference - Jim Adamson

• Environment Project with Chelan - Community Compost Project
• All exchange students attended
• They are going to a camp next week
• Fran will be going home on July 20th

4th of July Fundraiser/Volunteer Event

• Direct Traffic/Parking
• Pie Eating Contest
• Clean up the day after

Brags and Confessions

Jim Adamson

• 11-year-old granddaughter sports event
• She won her event
• June 7th - Working on recycling school food waste

Jennifer Moraski

• 3 Properties Rented
• Leavenworth Property Rented

Milt Herman

• Not a big fan of the Inn at Virginia Mason
• Celebrated his 62nd Wedding Anniversary
• His honeymoon was at a lake in Northern Minnesota

Brags and Confessions

Jim Adamson

• 11-year-old granddaughter sports event
• She won her event
• June 7th - Working on recycling school food waste

Jennifer Moraski

• 3 Properties Rented
• Leavenworth Property Rented

Milt Herman

• Not a big fan of the Inn at Virginia Mason
• Celebrated his 62nd Wedding Anniversary
• His honeymoon was at a lake in Northern Minnesota

Program - Mike Morrison - Chelan County Sheriff

During a 17-year career, Mike Morrison has served in several capacities, police officer, deputy sheriff, special response team, search and rescue, high angle rope rescue team, swift water rescue, field training officer, school resource officer, and emergency vehicle operations instructor.

In addition to these specialties, Mike has served on numerous agency committees, been the recipient of two Life Saving Awards and completed the West Point Model Police Leadership program. This experience brings Mike an unparalleled depth and breadth of understanding.

Mike was born in Olympia. His family were all in law enforcement. 

Mike found his calling for law enforcement partially as a result of being suspended from school. During his suspension, he went on a ride along with his mother. She told him to expect a fairly quiet day with a lot of paperwork. Instead, they were called to a bank robbery and a domestic call. He knew he wanted to go into law enforcement after his experience that day.

He went to school at Central Washington University for his law degree. He was a track and field athlete in college. After graduating, he coached track and field. His three children attend Wenatchee schools.

After graduation he started his career in Okanogan County. During his first 17 years on law enforcement, he has lost two friends (officers) on the job. One of the officers was accidently shot by a fellow officer during a call.

He believes in the phrase, "No Greater Friend, No Greater Foe" when it comes to his approach as an officer. Officers are not your buddy. They will be friendly until they have to address someone breaking the law. Then they will uphold the law using appropriate tactics. Making friends in those moments is not the priority.

Mike was responsible for uncovering the massage parlor in Wenatchee recently. They are looking for the guilty parties, but they seem to be in 
China at the moment.

The Sheriff's Department is made up of 85 total staff members. The number of officers is 57 (down from 68 due to budget cuts). The budget cuts totaled $211,000. 8 to 10 sheriffs are on duty per shift each day.

The Sheriff's Department is the highest level of law enforcement in the county. The Wenatchee Police Department is permitted to operate in the city of Wenatchee. The Sheriff's Department is also allowed to operate all over Washington State when required.

Washington State is 51st in the nation when it comes to officers per capita. (Includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia).

Fentanyl is becoming a real problem in Wenatchee. 72% of jailed individuals have Fentanyl in their system. This requires a minimum of stay of 3 to 10 days to make sure they survive the drug. Medical staff is required to monitor the cells to prevent deaths from a reaction to Fentanyl. 

The increase in crime in our area is mostly due to increased drug usage, including Fentanyl. Our area has been attracting more drug users and people that need community services, increasing our challenge. The current demand is $6mm and the budget is $3mm.

There are three crimes that make up the majority of local crime:

• Property crimes (theft tied to drug use)
• Domestic calls
• Traffic stops
• A separate unit conducts traffic stops
• $15k to $20k/month
• 80% of stops result in warnings

Search and Rescue efforts require unique skills. Mike is personally qualified, as are numerous other officers. The Colchuck avalanche is the most recent recovery effort.

Most of the time rescue teams have to hike and/or repel into areas to rescue lost or injured people. Occasionally helicopters assist in the drop off or pick up. However, some locations in our area are above 8,000 feet. Helicopters don't do well at those altitudes.

• Sheriff Department Helicopters (2) - $600 per day
• Blackhawk Helicopters - $3,500 per day

Mike has been in the role for 6 months. He is looking forward to implementing changes to improve the departments support for the community.

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The raffle was $639. Only 6 marbles in the bag. Bill Ostheimer did not draw the winning marble. The pot keeps growing.

Next programs

• 6/6 - Willard Fields - History of Chelan PUD
• 6/13 - Changeover BBQ at Pybus

Rotary Anniversaries

• Kelly Walker - 5/26/2023 - 3 years
• Glenn King - 5/20/2023 - 1 year
• Robin DeRock - 05/17/23 - 16 years