• Special Presentation
  As part of the upcoming Centennial Celebration of Rotary International (and our own club's 90th birthday) in 2005, every club in the Rotary world was asked to come up with a special project to commemorate the occasion. Our club has chosen to be the primary sponsor of the Dino Lab at the new Museum of the Earth at the Paleontological Research Institution. This lab will be one of three hands-on labs at the new museum and we are proud to be able to be the prime sponsor. In recognition of our commitment to this project, Beverly Baker presented Warren Allmon, Director of PRI, with a check for $10,000. The museum will be celebrating its grand opening soon and we congratulate Warren and PRI for a tremendous effort and we look forward to seeing the new museum, especially on October 29 when our weekly meeting will take place there.

• Rotary Board Meeting
  The next Ithaca Rotary Club Board of Directors meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 16 at 5:00 p.m. in the conference room at the Chamber of Commerce building. Any interested members are encouraged to attend, especially those in need of an attendance boost as the meeting does count as a make-up.

• Holiday Inn Special Meeting
  PJ and Rotarians Barb Romano & Brian Wilbur met with the top management of the Holiday Inn (Stan Witko, General Mgr.; Rotarian Dalene Covert, Director of Sales; Beth LaFace, Banquet & Catering Mgr.) to continue discussions about improving our weekly meetings. We found them to be very open and willing to work with us to make our luncheons better. The major change will be an effort to work together to develop & implement menus that better address our members needs. This 'menu planning' effort will be coordinated by Barb Romano and begin showing up October 1st. Will there be dramatic changes -- no. Will the lunches address some of our members concerns about choices for vegetarians, dairy allergic, things other than beef, etc. -- yes. Please let Barb know your thoughts as we move forward.

• UN Day in New York City
  Our district is planning a group trip to United Nations Day in New York City on October 3 and 4. This will be an overnight trip and interested Rotarians should visit the district web site as soon as possible for details (www.district7170.org). Last year our district was honored at this event for our participation in the Wheelchair Project and we are looking for good attendance from our district for this year's event as well. Rotary's Polio Eradication Project works with and through the United Nations and is also an integral part of this day of celebration. Check it out!

• Rotarians in Action
  Congrats to Rotarians in Action - Rob MacKenzie who appeared on the cover of the latest issue of the Cayuga Medical Center newsletter and Bridgid Hubberman, director of the Family Reading Partnership, who recently appeared on WSKG television talking about the Partnership.
  

• PJ was very happy to announce that Guy Tabacchi has accepted the position of our Club Service Chair effective immediately! Guy was a member of the La Jolla (California) Rotary Club before joining our club in June '02 and has lots of ideas for improving things here! Thanks to Guy for stepping forward to "Lend a Hand." Please welcome Guy when you see him next!

• Paul Harris Presentation
  Janet Steiner, on behalf of the Rotary Foundation Committee, presented a two-stone Paul Harris pin to past-president Fred Gouldin. This pin recognizes Fred's continuing support of the Rotary Foundation and its mission to promote world peace and understanding. The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International promotes that mission through programs like Group Study Exchange, Ambassadorial Scholarships, Rotary Peace Scholarships, and the Matching Grants Program. Fred's continuing support of such programs is greatly appreciated by the Foundation and the millions of people who benefit each year from these programs and others. After receiving the pin, Fred shared with us the fact that his father was also a Paul Harris Fellow and that his continuing commitment to the Rotary Foundation always brings back fond memories of his father as well. Thank you, Fred, for your commitment and caring and congratulations!

• September Birthdays
  (Jim Showacre, presenting)
  
  9/12: George Kennedy
  9/14: Bettsie Park
  9/15: Laurie Linn
  9/19: Rob MacKenzie, Chris Sanchirico
  9/20: Michael Meador, Bob Miller
  9/22: Matthew Dearing
  9/23: Jane Spano
  9/24: Janet Steiner
  9/26: Jerry Feist.
  
  A very Happy Birthday to all!
  

• Ambassadors
  8/28: George Kennedy (Somewhere USA)
  9/5: Don Dickinson, Tim Ainslie, Neil Olver (Ithaca Sunrise)
  9/9: Gene Erickson (Ithaca-Cayuga)

• Visiting Rotarians
  Charlie Evans (Saddlebrooke, AZ)

"Toxics Targeting"

Walter Hang

Our guest speaker this week was Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting. Toxics Targeting is a mapping company that collects data, primarily from government sources, in order to provide detailed maps of underground soil contamination. The data is gathered on 17 different types of toxic sites and sold to clients around the country - from private citizens seeking information about their home sites to corporations seeking to buy new property to governments planning clean-up efforts.These maps are used in many ways, including determining the need for clean-up efforts at sites containing hazardous waste, determining the extent of underground contamination, and the types of contaminants likely to be present. Quite often, despite laws that make the most recent property owners responsible for any clean-up of toxic substances, there is a great deal of money available from state and federal government sources to help pay for these clean ups.

Walter has turned his expertise in gathering this data and in using the Freedom of Information Act to help his home community of Ithaca. His efforts have brought more than 30 million dollars in clean-up funds to the area and he expects that number to rise to 75 to 80 million dollars. Most recently, he was instrumental in convincing officials that the old Ithaca Gun site was in need of remediation and has been involved in the coal tar removal process now underway in downtown Ithaca. At the site of Flavin's Auto Repair on North Cayuga Street, over 6,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil has been removed and nearly 100,000 gallons of free-floating product was identified in the soil on the site. Our thanks to Walter for taking time to speak to us about such important issues and for sharing his enthusiasm for his work.

• Please view the calendar posted on the main page of this website for the most up-to-date information. [View Rotary Calendar]

Program Chair: Jeff True
Kettle Watch: Matt Braun
Greeter: Tony Pesco
Thought: Bob Miller
Introductions: John Bailey
Music: Bill Cowdery and Jack Burns
Photography: John Ziegler
Setup: Mike Billing
Editor: Dale Flinn
Website: Matthew Dearing

• Please address all correspondence to the club to:
  Ithaca Rotary Club P.O. Box 306
  Ithaca, N.Y. 14851
  Attn.: Scott Russell, Secretary
  
  
• For eNewsletter comments, questions or corrections, and subscription requests please contact the Editor at bigd@starflinn.com.