The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise

Volume VII, Issue 22 — December 12, 2007

Club President 2007-2008: Lori Breyer

Editor: Dick Johnson

editor@arcatasunrise.org

Artist John Wesa is in the Business Spotlight this week. Actually, John had his annual Open Studio last weekend, and I hope you were there.

John says that he is a "screen printer, which means that I don't use electricity".  He describes his art as a Third World occupation.

He said that he would have three "trivial" questions. One is, what does the word "archival" mean? The second is, what does the "fraction" on a print mean? The third is a mystery to me. Either I missed it or John left it out. Check with him for the answer!

For more about John, his art, and his life, visit his website by clicking on the print to your right.

John Wesa

Fine Art Prints

Notes From Our Last Meeting

Jessica Bono is our Exchange Student from Milan, Italy, and she had another new experience last week - an unexpected day off from Arcata High School! There was a power outage last Thursday, and since John Wesa doesn't teach there, they closed up shop. President Lori asked, "So, what did you do?" Jessica's reply: "Nothing." Lori also noted that Jessica will soon be moving to her next host family - Janice and Craig Newman. "Then to the Breyers ... hopefully," Lori said, referring to the continuing saga of the Breyer Home Remodel Event of 2007 ... and 2008 ... and ...

Romi Hitchcock Tinseth reminded us that it's not too late to sponsor a child at Project Amigo for the coming year. You can make the contribution in the name of a loved one, or just because it makes you feel good. Contact Romi for more information.

George Cavinta gave an update on the Arcata Invitational Basketball Tournament last Friday. Things were going well, and the Coaches' Party was discussed. AHS Athletic Director "Coach Robbie" Robertson will be at our meeting this Friday to provide a recap.

Special Daze

Michael Boreing's birthday was November 22nd, and he began the festivities a day early. (t was his 60th, after all.) He went to the Melting Pot in Portland for some Thai food and fondue. The next day "everyone celebrated my birthday" (it coincided with Thanksgiving). The rest of the weekend, Michael received congratulations from family new and old (see the November 14th Spirit for an explanation of the "new" family.)

Mark Bruce said that he had "a quiet birthday". He's only been up here a year and a half, and both of his parents were ill. His mother was able to call to wish him a Happy Birthday. Basically, Mark said, "When you get to be my age, you don't celebrate birthdays, you survive them."

The 30th of November was a good day for Mark Burtchett. He had recently gone on a trip, and he was honored at a party with most of his kids, he was a fairly new grandfather, and ... wait, there's something else ... shhh - it'll come to me ...

Hal Fitzpatrick's birthday was December 2nd, as it has been as far back as he can remember. "Did your wife treat you well?" asked President Lori. "I can't remember," Hal replied. "It wasn't anything out of the ordinary." "So," Lori continued, "are you 39 again?" "Yeah," came Hal's answer. "This is the 2nd anniversary!"

Hey, I'm still working on it ...

Susan Jansson hit the Double Nickels on November 2nd. She rented a flat in San Francisco for two weeks to live it up, but she received some bad news - good news. Her daughter had borrowed her car to go to Sacramento, was involved in a crash, which totaled Susan's car. But ... her daughter was not injured. Now Susan is driving "an old truck with windows that don't roll up".

Oh, yeah ... Mark Burtchett also turned 50! 

Remember our slogan? "The Sunrise Spirit: News worth waiting for ... but not that long!"

Bruce LeBel was on a plane to Geneva when his birthday alarm went off. He did receive a card, which read in part, "Congratulations - in dog years, you'd be dead!"

Paul Picciotta said that his November 25th birthday was great. He enjoyed good wine and good food at dinner out with his girlfriend. And he dodged President Lori's questions about commitment.

Donnie Rosebrook got together with a bunch of friends at the Plaza Grill for his November 20th birthday. "everybody got me exercise clothes," he said. "I don't know what's going on there."

Coach Jason at the Fine of Scrimmage

Our Finemaster last Friday was Coach Jason White. As you can clearly see from the diagram of the play, Jason managed to raise a great deal of money.

Jason first turned to Ann Hulsebus, noting that she is "really good at golf", because she beat Baywood pro Jim Hosley. Ann said, "That's because I have a nice big handicap".

Bryan Plumley was next, with Jason wielding a copy of a newspaper article about the recent hospital party, "Egyptian Fantasy". Most of the guests were in costume, but Bryan was in coat and tie. In his defense, Bryan was running late and his King Tut garb was still at the cleaners.

Allie Maher was named Athlete of the Week for her Cross Country skills. This led to a blind-side block for her father, Jim Maher, who was thrown for a loss.

No penalty was called when Donnie Rosebrook was asked, "Is your wife a little upset with you?" Donnie's one-word reply: "Always." But in this case, it was Donnie who was upset about a new addition to the family. "She wanted a dog," he said," I didn't. I lost, she won." Now the Rosebrooks have a Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix, called either a Chi-Pom or a Pomchi.

There was a turnover on the play. Bob Johnson acknowledged that he has sold Arcata Color Center, and is moving on. Bob told us, "I've been selling paint for 29 years - it's time to make a change." He will help the new owner with the transition, and he will work with his wife Susan to expand her business, The Shady Lady.

As the period ended, three handoffs were made, as Dan Collen, Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, and Michael Boreing received Rotary mouse pads, to celebrate their "Bold and Blue" fine-safe status.

Lt. Commander Clint Schlegel of the Coast Guard on Serving the North Coast

Our Guest Speaker last Friday was Lieutenant Commander Clint Schlegel of the U.S. Coast Guard Group Humboldt Bay. He is the Air Operations Officer for the unit, which calls itself the "Keepers of the Lost Coast".

The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and Lt. Cmdr. Schlegel's group is responsible for patrolling 250 nautical miles of rugged, remote coastline, stretching from the Oregon/California border to the Mendocino/Sonoma County line. They are charged with enforcing federal and state laws and protecting personnel and property.

On the North Coast, the Coast Guard is best known for their rescues of boaters, surfers, and swimmers in our cold, treacherous coastal waters. But Clint noted that their duties sometimes require them to venture inland. One of the videos he showed us was the rescue of a man who had driven his vehicle into the Smith River. He was perched atop his partially submerged truck awaiting rescue. The steep slopes up from the river made flying a helicopter in difficult, but the man was saved. The Group's Command Center located at Arcata/Eureka Airport is staffed 24 hours a day to direct Coast Guard boats and aircraft to respond to any maritime emergency in the region.

For more information, check out the Group's website at http://www.uscg.mil/d11/grpHumboldtBay/default.asp.