Cambridge Lions Inducts 99th Member

Gary Lyons inducted new member Rich Goodwin. “Helen Keller challenged the Lions in 1925 to become knights for sight,” Lyons said. “Since then this has been our main cause for Lions Clubs all over the world.”

Membership Chairman Lou Prine has championed the new member rally for Cambridge, the club answered with 21 new members for the 2008-2009 year.

Pictured right: VDG Tom Cahoon and Lion Rich Goodwin.

"We were challenged by our friend in the Wooster Noon Lions Club to be the first to reach 100 members.", annonced King Lion Terry Losego, "At this rate I am confident we will see 100 before Wooster!". Rich was inducted with the assistance of his sponsor Vice District Governer Tom Cahoon.

Lion McKim Extoles Virtues of School Board

“How many of you have served on a school board or considered running?” asked East Guernsey Board of Education president, Tim McKim, in speaking to the Cambridge Lions Club.

“I got involved with school issues when our district was in financial difficulty,” McKim said. “They were trying to get support for a levy. There was a lot of misinformation. I started attending meetings.”

(Pictured: left Tim McKim with King Lion Terry Losego)

“One board member was elected in 2005, but resigned shortly after starting her term,” McKim said. School boards are required by law to appoint someone to fill a vacancy no sooner than ten nor later than thirty days after the vacancy occurs.

“The (levy) committee thought that this would be a good opportunity to get someone on the board who had been an active member,” McKim said. “I went around the room and asked six individuals if they were interested in serving on the board. They all said no, so I sent my resume to (board president) Jeff Allen.”

“I had no real idea about what the board did; I didn’t even know where they met,” McKim said. “I got a call that I had been selected to serve, so I went to the meeting. I raised my right hand and swore that I would uphold the Constitution of the state of Ohio and provide for the educational needs of the students. All of a sudden I realized that they took this very seriously.”

I also received a manual about three inches thick that contained the board policies,” McKim said. “The manual is now available on-line at the East Guernsey web site.”

“The role of the school board is often misunderstood by the public. The board sets educational policies and goals. It does not manage day-to-day operations.”

“The board hires a superintendent and a treasurer. The superintendent is responsible for the daily operations, for making recommendations for hiring personnel, and for making sure the board’s policies are being followed.”
“There is a whole procedure for hiring teachers, coaches, and other personnel,” McKim said. “If a person has a complaint about personnel, they need to go through the proper channels. They need to go to the employee’s supervisor first if they have a complaint before it is brought to the school board.”

“We have to follow state laws and contracts with employee unions,” McKim said. “We have to vote with the best interests of the children in mind. You have to be able to ignore the pressures.”

“You sometimes have to make tough decisions. You listen to the impassioned pleas of students and parents. It’s tough to say that a student can’t graduate if they haven’t met all the requirements. But that’s the way life is. Sometimes it’s tough. It’s not fair to the other students who have met all the requirements to bend the rules for a few.”

“It’s also tough to make decisions with people watching you in public meetings. The only time we meet behind closed doors is when we have confidentiality issues or personnel decisions that we are required to make in executive session.”

“It’s easy to make decisions when the members vote five to zero,” McKim said. “It’s tougher when the board is split. I have been on both sides of some three to two votes. Once the board has decided, that’s the policy that we must support.”

“Serving on the school board is sometimes frustrating, but it can also be very rewarding. It’s sometimes scary knowing that every decision you make reflects on the school district. Another thing that is scary is the problem of school funding.”

Roberts Introduces New School Board Student Rep

“I love my school!” said Logan Kasinecz to the Cambridge Lions Club. “I’m not afraid to ask questions. I can attend (Cambridge school board) meetings and report to the kids. I expect to learn more about how it works.” Kasinecz and Chris Colby are the two student representatives on the school board for the 2009-2010 school year.

(Pictured left to right; Jeff Carroll, Logan Kasinecz, Rusty Roberts)

Last year’s student representative, Jeff Carroll spoke about his experiences. “(The school board members) were interested in what I had to say. It was a very open process; we had good dialogue. I can be very outspoken, but I tried to be politically correct and proper.”

Rusty Roberts, Cambridge school board vice president, gave a brief history of the student representative program. “The 2009-2010 school year marks the fourth year for the student representative position. Last year’s other representative, Jenna Griffith and next year’s representative, Chris Colby, were unable to attend today’s meeting because of other commitments.”

“The first student representatives were Mike Evancho and Mary Brislen in 2006-2007,” Roberts said. “The concept has become very popular state and nationwide. The program has been presented three times at the Ohio School Board Association’s conferences. It has been presented to many other school districts. I’m currently working with districts in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.”

“This summer the concept will be outlined at the twenty-third annual High Schools That Work National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and at the All-Ohio Career, Technical, and Adult Education Conference in Columbus, Ohio.”

“The program has nominated twice for the Magna Award from the American School Board Association,” Roberts said. “Maybe this year we will win it. This national award recognizes outstanding student achievement programs used in public education.”

“All of our kids that applied for the student representative positions are winners,” Roberts said. “They have to write a resume, get letters of recommendation, and go through an interview similar to a job interview.”

“We select two representatives. We have found that that works best. Our kids are involved in a lot of activities. If one can’t make a school board meeting the other one usually can.”

Kasinecz illustrated Robert’s point by telling of some of his activities. “I run cross country and track. I am in the band and choir and WHIZ kids. I play in the city band and sing in Cambridge Chordial Barbershop Chorus.”

“It scares some school board members to have kids there,” Roberts said. “Some think it is not a place for kids, but we are there because of the kids. They bring a lot of good ideas to the meetings.”

Club Inducts New Members Davis and Yurco

Past District Governer Bill Channell inducted new members Kevin Davis and Paul Yurco into the club. “You are joining a club founded by Melvin Jones in 1917,” Channell said. “He asked what would happen if, instead of meeting for business purposes, we met and did things for the betterment of the community and for doing things for other people.” Kevin and Paul were inducted with assitance from their sponsors Randolf White and Barry Ross. (Picutred left to right: Randolf White, Kevin Davis, Paul Yurco, Barry Ross).

Regis Woods Speaks About Ohio Schools

“People don’t understand Ohio’s school structure. The constitution is a big part of the educational structure,” said Regis Woods, retired superintendent of Cambridge City Schools to the Cambridge Lions Club. “The voters elect the legislators who make the laws governing school districts.”

The Constitution of the State of Ohio provides that the General Assembly shall make such provisions… as… will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that Ohio’s disproportional reliance on property taxes was unconstitutional. Subsequent efforts by the legislature led to additional rulings by the court that stated it was up to the legislature to correct the problems.

“Federal regulations also affect Ohio’s schools,” Woods said. “You may be most familiar with the No Child Left Behind law. It is well intended effort by Congress, but they don’t fund it adequately.”

“The Ohio Department of Education is responsible for implementing laws passed by the legislature,” Woods said. “They are required to have a funding plan.”

“The State Board of Education operates much as a local board, but they are responsible for the entire state.”

“We have three kinds of school districts in Ohio,” Woods said. “City school districts have to have a city of at least five thousand people within its boundaries. Local school districts have no city with that many people. A third type of district is the exempted village school district such as Barnesville and Caldwell.”

“The old county boards of education have been replaced by educational service centers,” Woods said. “People used to ask why we had a county superintendent and then local school superintendents. The law required that the centers have at least eight thousand people. These centers can provide specialized services that were difficult for local schools to implement.”

“City school districts do not have to participate in the service centers, but they often enter into agreements with them because it is more cost effective.”

“Students at career centers are enrolled in their individual districts, but attend classes at Mideast or at Zanesville. The career centers provide training that give students additional career opportunities.”

“Charter schools were created by the legislature mainly by Republican legislators who believed that it would increase competition in schools,” Woods said. “They are funded like other schools, but they don’t always have to play by the same rules. Some have been extremely successful, but a great many have not.”

In other club business Jim Caldwell reported that the truck and tractor pull at the county fairgrounds had been a great success.

Guests of the club included members of the Buckeye Trail and Cambridge high school track teams.

2009-2010 Officers Installed

Cambridge Lions and Lioness Clubs Install New Officers for 2009-2010 The Cambridge Lions and Lioness Clubs installed new officers for 2009-2010 at their annual banquet at Mr. Lee’s Restaurant. Lions District 13-G Governor-elect, Steve Thornton, conducted the installation ceremony. Outgoing Lioness president, Kris Tipton, presented the Lioness of the Year Award to Connie Minder and the President’s Appreciation Award to Denise Dearth. Outgoing Lions president, Terry Losego, presented the Lion of the Year Award to Ben Cahoon, this year’s variety show director and web-master of http://www.cambridgelions.com/. Losego presented President’s Appreciation Awards to Barry Ross, Dan Luskevich, Ralph Ray, Tim McKim, Tom Cahoon, Matt Dolan, and Bryant Ficken. “The Lioness Club members have donated many hours of service to the community,” said Tipton. “We donated more that two hundred coats and pairs of boots to children in need. We rang the bell for the Salvation Army. We participated in Magical Moments where kids pick out gifts for their parents.” “Life is filled with memories,” said Losego. “Serving as president has been one of the greatest memories of my life. My officers and all the club members continually supported me. It’s not what I did; it’s what you’ve done to make it possible for our club to continue serving this community.” “Because of your support we were able to continue providing eye care and eye glasses for those in need,” Losego said. “We were also able to provide funds to the local diabetes support group.” Lioness officers for 2009-2010 are Denise Dearth, president; Connie Minder, vice president; corresponding secretary, Charlene Fitzgerald; recording secretary, Carolyn Saft; Teresa Bistor, treasurer; Lioness tamer, Kay Bennett; tail twister, Kathy Doutt; and Peggy Creek, Colleen Wheatley and Gayle Prine, directors. Lions officers for 2009-2010 are Bryant Ficken, president; Ben Cahoon, 1st vice president; Matt Dolan, 2nd vice president; Roger Gotcher, 3rd vice president; Barry Ross, secretary; Dan Luskevich, treasurer; Ralph Ray, Lion tamer; Rick Casterline, tail twister; Mark Oliver, membership chairman; and Gary Lyons, Tim McKim, Dennis Dettra, and Bryce Simmons, directors. The next Lions fund raising event will be a truck and tractor pull at the county fairgrounds on Saturday, June 13. Funds raised by this event will be contributed to the local diabetes support group.

Honorable Fred Daily Entertains Lions

Fred Dailey served as Director of Ohio’s Department of Agriculture for sixteen years starting in 1991, making him the longest serving director in the department’s history. Dailey regaled the members of the Cambridge Lions Club with his stories of life on the farm and his experiences with his cattle. He then brought a tear to the eye of more than one member of the club with his poignant telling of his return from the Vietnam War.

(Picutured: left Fred Daily with Lion Lou Prine)

“Some legislators in Columbus think the world ends at the Franklin County line,” Dailey said. “But I have gone to all of the county fairs. I have done everything there is to do at the county fairs, except dance with the Amazon lady. I have even done a bungee jump. By the end of the summer, I did get a little bit tired of food on a stick.”

Daily had previously served as director of agriculture in Indiana and as executive vice president of the Ohio Beef Council and executive secretary of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association. “Here in Guernsey County you are just outside the corn belt, but you have great forage areas that are good for raising cattle.”

“When I was about nine years old we moved out onto a farm,” Dailey said. “We heated the house with coal and wood slabs. In the winter when the fire would die down at night the water in the gold fish bowl would freeze. We didn’t have an indoor toilet, but we did have a privy outside.”

“I’m writing a book about my experiences called Ridin’ the Eastern Plain. I tell about how I got my start in the cattle business. I went to a cattle auction one day and bought a day-old Guernsey calf. I imagined I was going to be a cattle baron. I went home and told my dad and we went back to pick up the calf. We had to put it in the trunk of the car.”

“I hand fed it and watched it grow,” Dailey said. “When it came time to take it to the auction, we didn’t have a truck like the other farmers. My dad took the back seat out of our old Ford. He pushed and I pulled and we got that cow in the car.”

“The first thing that happened was that the calf’s horns tore up the headliner. The second thing was that the cow had just eaten some fresh grass and you might say it was a little loose.”

“Now there were several ways my dad could have driven to get to the auction, but he had to drive right through the middle of town,” Dailey said. “This was about the time I was getting interested in girls, and sure enough, right there on the town square was the girl I was really interested in. I tell you, I couldn’t have slid any farther down in the front seat of that Ford.”

Dailey served as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division in the Vietnam War in the Central Highlands. “When it was time to come home we knew it would be different from the war. We were headed to Tacoma. We were cognizant of the adjustment we would have to make.”

“”When they took away our M16’s I remember how empty it felt,” Dailey said. “We always had to sleep with out rifles. We had to be ready to fight at a moments notice.”

“We were also aware of the adjustments we would have to make when we saw the stewardesses on the plane. They had an honest smile that said, ‘Welcome home,’ and they had white teeth instead of teeth stained by betel nuts. They received many marriage proposals, but they gently turned them all down.”

“On that plane with me was Roberto Gonzales,” Dailey said. “You could always count on Roberto to back you up on the battlefield and in the bars. He had a big scar on his cheek from a shrapnel wound. I told him he could have a plastic surgeon fix it so it wouldn’t stand out so much. He said he wasn’t going to do anything to it because he had earned that scar.”

“Also on that plane was a guy we called Gunslinger. Gunslinger was a lot like General Patton. He was one of those soldiers who made Rambo look like a wimp.”

“We had been awake for thirty-six hours. We were afraid to go to sleep, afraid that it might all be a dream. When the pilot announced that we could see the lights of Tacoma we all let out a cheer that lasted a long time. It was so loud that the captain came back to savor the moment.”

“Then the noise subsided and it got very quiet. All you could hear was the drone of the engines. We were all absorbed in our thoughts. There was a reverence for our fallen comrades. It was so quiet that it was eerie.”

“Then a lone soldier in the back of the plane started singing, ‘Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.’ Then another soldier joined in, and then another, until the whole plane was singing.”

“By the time we finished even Gunslinger had a tear in his eye. We started making jokes about how we had gotten some dust in our eye, or making some other excuse since grown men didn’t cry.”

“We were happy to be home,” Dailey said. “We went away as boys. Some of us were farm boys, some were African Americans, some were Puerto Ricans, some were city boys, but we came back as men. We were proud to be American soldiers.”