President Rick dinged us to order and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Garry offered the prayer.
Club News: Judy announced that January 19 would be the date of the
annual post holiday dinner at Monte’s Riverside Inn. She passed around a
sign-up sheet to confirm who would be attending and what entrée was
desired. (The club pays for the member dinner!) The January 13th meeting
will be the last chance to sign up as reservations will be due a day or two
later. The socializing will commence at 5:30 (or before if you are really
social) with dinner at 6 PM. It is always appropriate to bring that white
elephant gift for the gift exchange. It is a wonderful time to re-gift and the
exchange is a lot of fun. Please plan on attending! Jane is working with
Ottawa Noon on the “Chamber Before Hours” that our clubs will co-host at
ORH on February 21, Meeting Room #1, from 7:30-8:30. This is a new
program for the Chamber to get more Chamber members involved. Tom
G. will host a fund-raiser at JJ’s Wednesday evening from 5-7:00 and he
invited everyone to stop by. Bucks were added to our treasury by Rick—
photo in paper and Keith—thanks to club and members for their incredible
support for his Guatemala trip. Rick and Eldon also noted the grant money
from Rotary had arrived and the check for Campfire will be forwarded.
Mike M. claimed the BIP ($23)! We enjoyed some trivia centering on
famous dates. In some other important club news, the Executive Board
approved the slate of club officers for the 2012-2013 year and presented
that slate to the members for their approval. Bruce Brown will serve as
President with Helio Ruvalcaba serving as the Vice President. Sue
Borgarding will continue as Secretary and PDG Eldon Leemhuis will
continue as Treasurer. At this point in the meeting Nancy Leemhuis
introduced her guests, Ottawa Mayor Bob Eschbach and Reed Wilson,
Ottawa’s Director of Economic Development. The topic of the day was an
update on the development of the LaSalle County Transportation Project.
The transportation picture in LaSalle County,
Ottawa, and the surrounding region consists
of private agencies (hospitals, nursing
homes, etc.) having busses for their clients’
needs. The goal of government, specifically
the Illinois DOT, is to develop and coordinate
a regional transportation system
with regular, dedicated bus routes. Initially it
would also allow for pre-arranged call rides for those with special
needs. Initial studies have been done showing there is a significant need and while the
focus will be service for seniors and the disabled, the service will be available for all.
There will be a need for agencies to administer the system and also one to handle the
dispatching functions. The North Central Area Transportation Project (NCATP) has
anticipated funding with 80% coming from grants with the remainder from fare boxes
and other sources of income (advertising?) There can be special routes planned for
special events (example: bringing Streatorites to Ottawa for River Fest) as well as routes
to the VA clinic in Peru and routes for those going to IVCC here in Ottawa or in Oglesby.
The target date for movement on this project is this coming summer. It was pointed out
that rail service across LaSalle County is still in the works, but the more immediate
availability will come from a system of energy efficient and comfortable busses.
