Rotary Log for March 22, 2018
One of our speakers, Maria Altschiller, graciously agreed to lead the national anthem. She was amazing. We should have all stopped singing as soon as she opened her mouth!
Sometimes our club seems pretty big. At our table we had the good fortune to meet relatively new member, Matt Randall. He is a business consultant who lives in Rollinsford. I'm glad he joined us old guys.
Congratulations to Richard Lyons and Leonard Seagren who received their Paul Harris fellow pin +6! That’s a great honor. Further, it is an honor for us to be in the same club with such committed Rotarians. Thank you, Richard and Leonard.
President Ben encouraged us to think about contributing to the Rotary Annual Fund. Our goal this year is $19,000. We are about $11,000 short. In case you did not know, fifty percent of the Annual Fund comes back to our District after three years. Therefore, the fund helps Rotary worldwide and also helps our own local club. You can contribute weekly, monthly, or however you choose. You can also make ACH deductions from your checking account.
Please consider donating. Ben pointed out that our club's total all-time giving has now reached $776,000! Congratulations, Rotarians.
There were a lot of announcements today: Leonard announced that the tall ships will be arriving on July 25...Neil tells us that April 5 is Joke Day, so let’s come up with a few new ones! The District Assembly is April 7 at York Community College. That’s when and where are you can learn the nuts and bolts of Rotary.
No big surprise, but Walter's table won the $48 raffle.
Our program today was about "Marcy's Law for New Hampshire." Did you know what that is? Neither did I. Learning about new things is one of Rotary’s fun benefits.
Marcy’s Law came about as a result of a rather unbelievable circumstance. Many years ago, a young lady was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Her mother was not notified that he was being released from jail on bail. Shortly thereafter, she ran into him in a convenience store. Her shock was overwhelming.
In another instance, a sexual assailant requested to be removed from the sex offender list. None of his victims were notified. Criminals make plea deals every day without victim input. These agreements are not right. There is no justice for the victims – no protections for them under our constitution.
That's why the Marcy's Law sponsors have moved for an amendment to our constitution. The new legislation would give victims the right to be notified when an offender is released on bail or parole. Victims would also have the right to be notified about court proceedings and to be present in court. Further, they would have the right to be heard at a plea and to have proceedings be free from unreasonable delay. Finally, victims would have the right to reasonable protection from the accused.
Thirty-five states have victim’s rights. Ironically, the same day of our program, the New Hampshire Senate approved moving the constitutional amendment forward. Now it goes to the House. Stay tuned…
Respectfully submitted, Jon Flagg
Photos by Sara Treacy
