Tcday's speaker was Ramsey County Sheriff's deputy Steve Yoachim.  Steve has been with the Sheriff's department for almost 30 years, serving in many departments.  One of his current responsibilities is leading the County's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).  This is a FEMA program which is designed to train citizens how to better prepare themselves and their families should their home or neighborhood be affected by a disaster.  During disasters, communities may not have immediate access to emergency services because of the size of the area affected, lost communications, or unusable roads. CERT trained citizens learn how to stay safe and help themselves, their family and neighborhood.  The course outline includes:  Disaster preparedness, Fire safety, Light search and rescue, Disaster psychology, Disaster medical operations, Terrorism, and Final exrcise and graduation.  The sessions are held on Wednesday evenings from September - November from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. for nine consecutive weeks.  Classes are limited to 25 students. Equipment and materials are provided at no charge, thanks to a generous donation from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Foundation.  The next available session will begin September 2024.  

 

Today's speaker was Lauren Hazenson, Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District which serves part or all of 12 cities in the NE Metro area, including Shoreview and Arden Hills.  Watershed Districts exist because water doesn't follow political boundaries.  These organizations work jointly with cities, counties and the state to deal with surface water quality, ecosystems, flood control and community education.  Though a cost-sharing approach they have helped fund over 30 projects in the past 10 years that have benefitted home owners, businesses and the community at large.  Some local examples are shoreline restoration projects at both Snail Lake and Lake Owasso, as well as a carp management program at Lake Owasso.  Water quality has actually improved in our state over time because there has been a growing awareness of the importance of protecting our water resources and more preventative actions have been taken.  Individuals can help support these efforts by taking actions like minimizing the amount of salt used on outside surfaces during the winter, taking on a water-friendly project such as a rain garden or adopting a near-by drain to monitor and clean.  

 

We also had a short presentation from Dr. Alfred Mwamba, the only audiologist in the country of Zambia.  Dr. Mwamba works with the Starkey Hearing Institute to improve access to treatment for hearing loss in sub-Saharan Africa countries.  Like Zambia, many surrounding countries currently have little to no access to hearing loss treatments.  Dr. Mwamba and two associates joined us thanks to a connection with new member Don Martin.  

We recognized "World Polio Day" today with a presentation about the importance of supporting our Rotary Foundation, which powers all the good work being done by Rotary clubs around the world.  We also had a presentation from Dylan McDonough from the Solid Ground organization.  Dennis Erno has led our club's strong upport for Solid Ground over the past several years.  Solid Ground is an award winning nonprofit organization based in White Bear Lake whose proven, holistic approach helps families build the strong foundations they need to emerge from homelessness into a brighter future.   They provide housing and supportive services to over 660 individuals each year through their eight supportive housing programs. 100% of the families served by Solid Ground live in Ramsey County and Washington County. While the majority of  families consist of single mothers with young children, they serve all family structures, including single fathers and two-parent families.