Spoke Newsletter – 05/05/2016

Our own JEFF FRAZIER, JIM NOLIN and JEFF MARTINEZ will tell us all about the second annual “Touch A Truck”. This trio of speakers will tell us where the idea for Touch-A-Truck “ came from and how this year they will double the array of work and recreational vehicles up close and personal in a safe and controlled environment. Looking for family Fun? These three will tell you where to find it.

Our own JEFF FRAZIER, JIM NOLIN and JEFF MARTINEZ will tell us all about the second annual “Touch A Truck”. This trio of speakers will tell us where the idea for Touch-A-Truck “ came from and how this year  they  will  double  the  array  of  work  and  recreational  vehicles  up close  and  personal  in  a  safe  and  controlled  environment.  Looking  for family Fun? These three will tell you where to find it.LAST WEEK Professor Jack  Osborn discussed  Europe  and  the  connections  and effects that the US and Europe have on each other. For example, Europe with a population of 508 million has a per capita gross national product of $35,500,  while the US  with a smaller population of 320 million has a per capita gross national product of $55,000. Twin incomes in the USA are higher than Europe and there is greater efficiency. The European Union is a confederation of European countries that cooperate together on many issues. However, the countries have the flexibility to agree to follow the EU policy or not depending on the countries internal policies.While many of the EU countries cooperate on agriculture policies, France tends  to  dominate  agriculture  and  tilt  it  towards  favorable  advantages for  them.  Likewise  Germany  tends  to  dominate  the  industrial  policies of  Europe  making  them  favorable  to  itself.  In  1999  Europe  originated a Monetary Union resulting with the introduction of the Euro currency which has major financial repercussions for those nations that joined.However  Denmark  and  the  United  Kingdom  chose  not  to  join.  The European  Central  Bank  has  a  current  debt  of  3.3  trillion  dollars,  in large  part  due  to  the  “pigs”,  the  southern  European  coastal  countries of  Spain,  Portugal,  Greece  and  Italy  which  constantly  struggle  with their  economies.  NATO  continues  to  be  a  military  alliance  involving both Europe as well as the United States. However, several of the EU countries do not pay in their fair share while the US carries many of the NATO expenses.

Our  speaker  next  week  will  be  the  Hon.Cynthia  Ann  Ludvigsen.  She lives  in  San  Bernardino  and  is  a  judge  with  the  State  of  California Superior  Court  for  the  County  of  San  Bernardino.  Previously,  she practiced  law  in  San  Bernardino  for  20  years  focused  mainly  on  land use and eminent domain and litigation. She received her undergraduate degree  in  Journalism  and  American  Studies  from  Syracuse  University in  1974  and  her  law  degree  from  The  George  Washington  University in 1978.

COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY AT THE SMILEY LIBRARY

After a fine early morning rain, the stalwarts of the Rotary Club of Redlands  trudged  out  in  the  mud  to  plant  up the  Smiley  Library.Under the able supervision of PAT MEYER and DON MCCUE, ED MALESKY and RON HELBRON tried  to  dig  through  the  concrete slab foundation of the library to no avail. Some supervision? ROGER STAFFORD,   MARK   HEIDEMAN,   RON   JEFFRIES,   ALLAN GRIESEMER,  JIM    BELOTE,  PRES  NATHAN  himself,  TOM CUTLER,  JIM  NOLIN,  BOB  HEINZE,  DOUG  MCADAM    AND JERRY MIHLD furiously planted. However,  witnesses on the scene reported  that    JANET GREENFIELD  AND  SHIRLEY  HARRY put the  men  to  shame! A.  J.  BEECHKO claimed  the  soil  was  too  tough for his tender hands, so he went home to collect a drill to soften up the dirt. Because there was such a good turnout of Rotary members, Pres.NATHAN has excused all who worked from fines for the next 30 days