THE LAMORINDAN 10-16-09

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Gary Fulcher enlightened us with something or other that I did not hear. You will have to think for yourself this week. (I shall look into acquiring an ear trumpet. Can this be expensed?)

VISITING ROTARIANS

John Moulthrop - Concord-Clayton Valley Sunrise
Luis from Concord - I'm sure he has a surname, but somebody didn't say what it was.
Candy Pierce - Cordelia Sunrise, Past District Governor, golfer, and possessor of about three times more energy than any one person should have.

GUESTS OF OTHER PERSUASIONS

Norm Egger - Dave Waal's father-in-law
Ulrich Luscher - Joanne's kids' spouses' father-in-law
Gwen Reichert - Don's one and only
Geniffer Mountain - Meals on Wheels
Robbie Kunkel - 3rd-time visitor, if you catch my drift
Carolyn Kunkel - Robbie's daughter

BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES

If I can sort through the blarney, it appears that Pat Flaharty celebrated his birthday twice: once with the Edwards and the Arnolds, which barely counts; and then with Jeannie and her family, which sounds more like it. $40 for the double-dip, Pat.

Mike Edwards also had a birthday, which he claims he spent with fruits and oysters, neither of which survived the encounter. The dinner, however, was great, even with the $20 surcharge.

Gillett Johnson spent his 18th anniversary wondering how long it would take to get over whatever bug he had and how he was going to cough up the $20 fine figuratively or literally.

A MOMENT WITH AYMERIC

Our boy Aymeric did something or other in Suisun City, which sounds suspiciously like it had something to do with the Fazels, large horses, and Access Adventure, Michael Muir's ongoing project to get access-challenged folks out into purpose-designed wagons that take them into scenic and wild places they otherwise could not get to. (Mary Lou Fazel has become deeply involved in this organization in a quiet but very important way.) Aymeric put his Monday off from school to good advantage by "sleeping in." But all was not sweetness and light, as it appears that the Wares put him to work in their garden. Otherwise, business as usual at school and at home.

HOW TIME FLIES: IT'S ALREADY PUMPKIN CARVING TIME

Every year at Westival, Brad Davis bargains like a rug merchant to get left-over pumpkins, brings them to the Garden Park Apartments, and lets the kids there have at them. This year is no different. The difference this year is that the Garden Park folks have grown some of their own Jack-O-Lantern-worthy pumpkins to go with Brad's orange offerings.

So what's it to you? You need to be there - and bring kids - on Wednesday, October 28th, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. to take part in this great annual event. Brad is serious about bringing your kids -- they get down and dirty with the resident munchkins in a way that we can't match and is heartwarming to see. So if you did not sign up on the list, contact Brad. I promise, you will have a great time. It seems like a little thing, but it's little pieces of real-world normality like this that can make a huge difference in the lives of these folks.

MORE FROM "THE ABC's OF ROTARY"

Mark Roberts did the "ABC's of Rotary" honors this week, running a list of Rotary firsts (the locations of the first Rotary meeting, of the first Rotary meeting outside the US, of the first Rotary meeting in each of the continents, and the like). Since none of us knew any of the answers and because we are a bunch of inveterate smart-alecks, hilarity ensued.

I'm not sure Cliff Dochterman had this in mind when he wrote this worthy tome, but some things just take on a life of their own.

APPARENTLY, MARK ROBERTS DOES NOT BELIEVE IN SLEEP

In addition to being active in Lamorinda Sunrise, starting a new business, and being a member of just about every civic organization from here to the Caldicott Tunnel, the good Mr. Roberts is now the Grand Imperial Poobah of the Orinda Association. When asked how he finds time for all of these worthy activities, he nodded off in his oatmeal.

BE THERE OR BE FINED

As a former President himself, this reporter can strongly encourage all of you to save November 7 and be prepared to help out on a Ridge Trail work project. You see, this is a favored project of King John, and he has fining authority through next June and . . . . oh, you figure it out.

FUND RAISING IDEAS JUST KEEP A'COMIN'

From our Dynamic Duo of fund raising, Krysten Laine and Mark Roberts:

(1) Thanks for all the recipes -- we kicked the Noon Club's backside once again (this from Krysten)

(2) We need your thoughts about possibly dong a Holiday House Tour. Or how about a Spring Garden Tour? What'cha think? (From Mark)

(3) We are in the final throes of figuring out the Dinner & Auction and/or Car Show thing, with decisions to be made very soon. A proposed budget will be forthcoming for a car show, and then the Board will do something or other with the info, possibly even make a decision. (From Krysten)

THIS IS WHAT LETS ROTARY DO WHAT IT DOES

Past District Governor Candy Pierce came down from Cordelia today to make three Paul Harris Fellowship awards today. When a Member contributes an aggregate total of $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation, they receive a Paul Harris Award. Rotary is about so much more than money: Rotary and Rotarians are about making a positive difference in the world in literally thousands of big and little ways and making friends and having fun in the process. But we can't do it -- we can't wipe out polio, or bring clean water to places that have never had it, or hand out dictionaries to third graders, or much of anything else without money. So our Paul Harris contributions mean a great deal.

Our three recipients represent three different but related ways that Paul Harris Awards mark these contributions. The first award went to Krysten Laine, who received her Paul Harris faster than any other Lamorinda Sunrise member. Thank you, Krysten.

The second award went to Gwen Reichert, and it was her second Paul Harris Award. Wait a minute, you may be thinking, isn't Don the Member? Yes, he is. You can choose to have a Paul Harris Award go to a spouse, child, parent, friend, in memory of a loved one, pretty much whoever you want. Traditionally, the first one goes to the member, but this reporter is not aware of a rule that says that must be the case. If not, the Club's expert on all things Paul Harris, a.k.a. Cal Lee, will correct me, no doubt.

As a quick aside for the newer LSR Members, Don Reichert, himself a Paul Harris Fellow many times over, has made numerous generous contributions to the Rotary Foundation, including offering a number of personal "matching grant" type donations, matching other Members' contributions so they could get closer to their Paul Harris awards. Many, many thanks, Don. Your efforts, donations and matching grants continue to reverberate around the world in ways we may never know but should never doubt.

The third award went to Joanne Luscher, who received her sixth -- yes, sixth! -- Paul Harris. Joanne, with the active support of Ulrich, has talked the talk and walked walk for Rotary and LSR in so many ways it is hard to know where to begin, so I won't. Suffice to say that her impact has been and continues to be huge.

Kudos and gracias to our three Paul Harris Award recipients. And many thanks to Candy Pierce for coming down to present these awards and for taking the time to see how a staid, formal, stodgy Club does things.

PROGRAM

Warren Rupf has been with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office for 44 years, rising through the ranks from Patrol Officer to Sheriff, the office he has held since 1992. Today, he shared some thoughts with us.

Much of the discussion focused on budgets. The main message: funding has been going down. This has been going on for seven years now, and it is not getting better. It has gotten to the point where virtually every outreach prevention program has been shut down. This is not what Sheriff Rupf has wanted, but it is what he has been dealt.

A quick review of the facts shows why. Every year for the past seven years, the budget has been less than what it takes to maintain the previous year's level of service. That means reductions in service, which translates into fewer people, since services cannot be provided without people to provide them.

Sheriff Rupf has tried to make the process of downsizing as transparent as possible, and he has tried to prioritize the Sheriff's Office's activities so that the core functions suffer as little as possible. Thus as funds have become more scarce, he has had to oversee: leaving 100 positions unfunded and unfilled; the layoff of 25 Deputy Sheriffs; reducing capital acquisitions; and deferring maintenance. He does not like doing this, but it has become essential if enforcement services, the Sheriff's Office's Priority #1, are to be maintained at acceptable levels.

He has also implemented the increased use of civilian employees to do as many Office tasks as possible. While some argue in favor of eliminating civilian positions, they cost the County less than do sworn Peace Officers, and thus having Peace Officers focus on the tasks that only they can perform and increasing the role of civilians in other tasks represents a cost savings to the Office, the County and, ultimately, us.

Sheriff Rupf had nothing but praise for his Deputies and other staff for the job they are doing in picking up the slack created by the reductions in funding. Sick leave has decreased, the average number of "work units" per person has increased, and liability, both internal (e.g., on-the-job injuries) and external (e.g., excessive force claims) has decreased.

As stated above, Sheriff Rupf has tried to be transparent about his department's responses to budget shortfalls. Not surprisingly, this has left him and the Office open to criticism. Agencies disposed to secrecy tend to avoid public criticism.

Sheriff Rupf also addressed the Jaycee Dugard situation. In 2006, a Deputy Sheriff responded to a call that the couple who now appear to have been her abductors and captors had children camped in the back yard. The Deputy talked to Phillip Garrido, who assured the officer that he would take care of the issue.

On August 28, 2009, Sheriff Rupf held a press conference in which he accepted responsibility and apologized for the lost opportunity to uncover Jaycee Dugard's whereabouts in 2006. He also reiterated that the Deputy would not be fired. Sheriff Rupf stated that this was a good, respected Deputy who will not be made the scapegoat. The situation has been reviewed with a view toward improving communication within the Sheriff's Office and with other agencies. For example, the Deputy did not know when he responded to the call that Garrido was a registered sex offender because the dispatcher did not have that information at hand to share. Changes are being implemented so that a responding Deputy will have more and more timely information in hand before responding to a call. The focus is on learning from this incident and making appropriate changes to minimize the risk of another such opportunity slipping away, not simply finding someone to blame without learning anything. Also, says Sheriff Rupf, it is not at all certain that the Deputy would have discovered Ms. Dugard even if he had been able to go into the back yard.

Sheriff Rupf told us that the only regret he has about making his apology -- which he did because he thought it was the right thing to do -- is that other agencies have not made any effort to examine or recognize their responsibility in this sad episode. For example, he asks, how is it that a sex offender with a 50 year sentence get out of prison after only 10 years?

Sheriff Rupf is not running for reelection, so we are not likely to see him at Lamorinda Sunrise again in his official capacity. But he made his last official visit to us an interesting, informative and thought-provoking one. Thank you, Sheriff Rupf, for coming to talk with us and for your 44 years of dedicated service to us citizens of Contra Costa County.

CALENDAR

Friday, October 23 - Weekly meeting at Postino 7:00 a.m. Fraud in Medicare?? - No Way. Steve Lack, U.S. Dept Health & Human Services with startling cases exposed.

Wednesday, October 28 - Pumpkin Carving, Garden Park Apartments, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Bring kids!

Friday, October 30 - Weekly meeting at Postino, 7:00 a.m., Hays and Ashley Englehart share the podium for truth telling.

Friday, October 30 - TGITLFOTM at the estate of Carole and George Chaffey. Y'all come now, you hear?

Friday, November 6 - Weekly meeting at Postino 7:00 a.m. Global Heating program.

Friday, November 13 - Weekly meeting at Postino 7:00 a.m. Mr. EBMUD, John Coleman

Friday, November 20 - Weekly meeting at Postino 7:00 a.m. John Chiang, State Controller

Thanksgiving weekend, November 28, DARK! Happy Holiday

Friday, December 4 - Weekly meeting at Postino 7:00 a.m., Ray Welles tells all, and then some.