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Lead Poisoning Primary Prevention Program

Posted by Sue Jones on May 13, 2019

Dr. Lillian Ney, left introduced Lisa Schmidfrederick Miller who spoke on Lead Poisoning in Chautauqua County, and both were welcomed by President Katie.

Honorary member Lillian Ney introduced Lisa Schmidtfredrick Miller who spoke on Lead Poisoning and Prevention in our county.

The main goal of the Lead Poisoning Primary Prevention Program is to prevent young children from being exposed to lead hazards, thus preventing lead poisoning. The program activities are focused in neighborhoods that have been identified as "communities of concern" where children are at high risk for lead poisoning. Lead Primary performs lead based paint exterior assessments, provides lead education, and other interventions. Any lead hazards that are identified are required to be remediated by the property owner. Training and some resources exist to assist the property owner in making the repairs in a lead safe manner.

Lead poisoning is 100% preventable. There is no safe level of lead in the blood and unfortunately it occurs most frequently in small children who put everything in their mouth and often will chew on items that may contain lead paint. Most often the problem is lead particles in dust.

In small children, whose brains are just developing, lead poisoning causes loss of IQ, aggression, memory difficulties, attention deficits, lessened concentration, poor fine motor control, difficulty planning, lack of impulse control, poor cognitive flexibility and problem solving.

Lead poisoning can also cause physical problems such as digestion, muscle control, and cardiovascular issues. It is essential that children between 1 and 3 years old are tested and treated if found to have elevated levels.

Our housing stock in Jamestown and the County is old and under-cared for. Certain neighborhoods in this area are identified to receive a concentrated intervention. These neighborhoods are called “areas of high risk” and are identified by the Chautauqua County Director of Health based upon NYS guidelines in the NYS Health Manual. Forty one per cent of the housing stock in Jamestown are rental units and many landlords have more rental units than they can possibly handle. A landlord may slap paint over the lead base paint, but it will only decompose in 4 to 5 years.

Who can participate in the program?

Anyone (property owners, tenants, and landlords) living or owning property in the program area; 1,2, or more unit homes that were built before 1978 (this is 91% of the housing stock in the City of Jamestown); children living in the home under the age of six or who spend 6 hours a week or more in the home. Multi-family homes in the targeted high-risk areas are automatically a participant.

County Lead Poisoning Primary Prevention Program specialists are available to teach landlords and contractors “Removal, Remodeling and Painting” techniques as well as free training on how to conduct “Lead Safe Work Practices (LSWP)” when doing repairs or remodeling in the home AND… there are free materials and supplies for doing the work “lead safe” after taking the LSWP course.

Mrs. Miller indicated that the program needs community partners, letters of support from community organizations and of course…funding. Chautauqua County is a “HOT SPOT.”

Rotarian Dr. Brett Apthorpe, Superintendent of Jamestown Public Schools stated how he applauds the work Mrs. Miller is doing. He has 5000 students in school in the city and 75% of those children live in poverty. Lead poisoning is a REALITY and we need to be REACTIVE. This is not a political but an ethical problem.

100 Year Gala Sponsors

Thank you to all of the 100 Year Gala attendees and sponsors for supporting the Rotary Club of Jamestown!

Vince DeJoy and Billy Stevenson - Jamestown Local Development Corporation

Posted by Chris Anderson on Apr 29, 2019

Pictured (l to r) - Bill Stevenson, Vince DeJoy, Katie Geise and Kevin Sixbey

Vince DeJoy, Development Director for the City of Jamestown spoke to the club about the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC).

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation manages a fund for downtown programming. It was decided that the City needed a fund to bring some big-name entertainment to downtown Jamestown. The City of Jamestown applied for these funds from NYS and received a substantial amount. The fund will provide grants and loans to bring high level entertainment to the city of Jamestown. $600,000 will be available over 2 years. Two events have been approved already. Up to $50,000 in grants are available and up to $25,000 in loans are available as well.

Vince mentioned that the first event sold out very quickly! The JLDC partnered with the Comedy Center to bring in John Mulaney as a second headliner act to the main comedy festival act in August.

The second main event that is happening is the Music of Queen performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra! The event is also a fundraiser for the Jamestown High School Band and A'Cappella group to support their trip to Florida. To purchase tickets for this event, you can buy tickets at the Reg Lenna Box Office or purchase them online at www.reglenna.com.

Additionally, Vince said there are some other applications in to the fund but nothing is ready to be made public just yet. This fund is designed to bring people into the downtown area. It will help with revitalization efforts in the city and benefit downtown businesses. Many exciting events planned and will be announced soon!

The club then heard from Billy Stevenson – Mr. JHS Band! Bill talked about the band’s previous trips to Florida and how the process works. The journey is a 24-hour straight drive to Florida. Bill mentioned that he has never had any trouble with any of the students. Bill talked about how polite and well-behaved these kids are.

160 kids will march in the parades at the Disney Parks in Florida. In Bill’s own words, “It is a great opportunity for these kids and an honor to be able to take them on a trip.” Thank you, Bill, for all you do!

Janet Wahlberg – Author - Genealogy

Posted by Chris Anderson on Apr 15, 2019

Pictured (l to r): Sharon Hamilton, Janet Wahlberg, Katie Geise

Janet grew up in a military family and traveled quite extensively. She spent 35 years as a nurse at Warren General Hospital in Pennsylvania. Janet has been very active in Falconer Rotary and the Fenton History Center!

Janet admitted she has a lifelong obsession with Genealogy. She explained Genealogy as the search of the stories of your family history. This also includes the unique story of your distant ancestors.

Janet herself become interested in family history while in Junior high school. Very interesting to her. Maternal grandparent were immigrants. One from England and from Scotland. Her family itself was obsessed with history. It was only natural for her to catch the bug as well!

Janet’s tasks to find family history:

Gather what you know and what you think you know (who, what, where, when)
Interview family members and neighbors
Interview cousins
Write all of this down so there is a record
Write your own personal story down (todays items are tomorrows history)
Gather your documents (birth, marriage, death, immigration records)
Gather letters, cards and postcards
Gather many photos
Spend time with other family members looking at those photos
Ask everyone to bring their boxes of photos to a family reunion and take digital photos.
Take time to identify the photos you are taking today. Make sure you label them

Once you have gathered the above, you are ready to investigate your family history. Start with yourself and move backwards listing surname, forname, middle name, birth date, birth place, marriage date, marriage place, death date, death place, etc. Do this all nice and neat in a notebook or on your computer.

If possible, locate the missing info before continuing to move backwards in your family history. You are going to find you need lots of help. The Prendergast Library and the Hall House at the Fenton History Center can assist with getting you started in Genealogy. There are a lot of resources available in Chautauqua County and Jamestown in particular. Prendergast Library is free. Hall House is $10 per day or $40 for an entire year. There are also local libraries and churches and a few historical societies. Not everything is on the internet!!!! Although there are great places to do research online.

Ancestory.com is a good web site to use. Many ways to maximize your dollar with a 14 day free trial! Really dedicate an hour or two every single day to try and do the research in that two week window. Can use Ancestory.com at the Prendergast for free and for a fee at the Hall House at Fenton.

Janet mentioned that stories of people are very interesting. She had a lot of family members who were veterans. Some from the War of 1812 and others. Janet also shared some wonderful stories with us about her family from historical perspectives. She found her family had many connections to New England and the Boston area.

Road trips are also part of the Genealogy experience. Janet travels to Salt Lake City every year for a couple weeks. And, has traveled to other areas as well to do some of her Genealogy research.

There are so many different ways to find information. On the way, Janet has met many interesting folks. Janet left the club with a “Give it a Try!!!”

Janet Northrup

We had the privilege to be a part of a fascinating interview of author Janet Northrup today. Janet was raised in Jamestown where she attended family events at the Consistory, now the Robert H. Jackson Center. Her father and grandfather were Masons. Janet taught English Language Arts in Fairport, NY. She wrote the book Founding Women: Inspiration and Impact on Chautauqua and the Nation for the Chautauqua Women's Club.

Janet sat across from Greg Peterson, who led the interview (which was also recorded). In attendance were several of the RHJ Center's docents, who lead tours around the facility. They were there to glean from some of great information Janet was about to provide.

To begin, we learned that Greg and Janet lived in the same neighborhood of Jamestown.

As the interview progressed, we first learned that the Jackson Center has had 5 owners since it was built back in 1859. The architects were Warren and Wetmore. According to Wikipedia, Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City which was a partnership between Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles Delevan Wetmore (June 10, 1866[1] – May 8, 1941), that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and was known for the designing of large hotels.

Among Warren and Wetmore's accomplishments are Grand Central Terminal and several other train terminals here in the U.S. and abroad.

The Jackson Center mansion was also the first permanent residence in Jamestown as it was built with brick. The first owner was Alonzo Kent, who came to Jamestown from Vermont with no money and just a few meager possessions. Over time, he gathered wealth, and actually donated $10,000 to the Methodist Church to buy property along Chautauqua Lake where Chautauqua Institution now sits. Alonzo and his wife Mercy had 5 children, 3 of which who reached adulthood, but later moved away from Jamestown.

Janet told a story of a visit made in the 1870's by Ulysses S. Grant who was traveling through the region. When Alonzo Kent was asked to host lunch with Grant, he initially declined because he felt his home wasn't good enough to host the President. Since then, the mansion and center have hosted several dignitaries.

The second owner of the mansion was Alba Kent and Rose Hall Wetmore Kent. Alba also built the Kent House Hotel in Lakewood, and bred Black Angus cattle (one of the first people to do so in the U.S.). The Kent House burned down, and the location where it stood is now where the Yacht Club stands.

Rose had amassed a fortune because her first husband, C.C. Wetmore, left her all his money. Born in Busti, Rose's family owned huge amounts of land in Chautauqua County. Rose was also a member of the Christian Scientist Church, and reportedly had a tunnel built between the mansion and the church across the street so she come and go as she pleased.

Rose's son also lived in NYC and would often bring famous friends of his home to preform at theaters in Jamestown.

During this portion of the interview, Janet also mentioned that were we meet each Monday was originally where the horse stables were for the mansion. When the Jamestown Consistory bought the building in 1920 (for $20,000), they transformed the space into what it is today. It is believed that Lucille Ball performed on the Consistory stage a time or two.

Janet recalled coming to the Consistory as a child and learning to play billiards in the 2nd floor billiards room. She was also amazed that when her and her friends were brought to meetings, they were left to roam the building as they pleased.

The Jamestown Consistory Rose Croix Chapter owned the building from 1920 to 2001. After sitting empty for nearly 2 years, the Robert H. Jackson Center purchased the facility, and has been there ever since.

We all marveled at the tales told by Janet, and many of us were eager to buy a copy of her book A House Preserving History For 150 Years The Robert H. Jackson Center.

In honor of her attendance and presentation, a donation was made to the End Polio Now Campaign, which Janet was very happy to learn.

Betsy Rowe-Baehr – Justice for All

Posted by Chris Anderson on Apr 01, 2019

Photo caption (l to r): President Katie Geise, Betsy Rowe-Baehr, JHS Students - Cayla Overbeck, Emily Crasti, and William Karr, and Amy Rohler.

Betsy spoke to the club about an English elective class, called Justice for All at Jamestown High School. This is a class she created at Jamestown Public Schools to offer students an opportunity to learn about social injustices. Her main message to her students is about getting out of the classroom, exploring society and making a difference.

Justice for All exists to create a safe, supportive and informative space for high school students. Some have referred to this class as the “empathy” class. Promotes social advocacy and action among high school students.

Justice for All is about building relationships, having fun, connecting, interacting, making community partnerships, developing empathy and understanding, and joining a movement!

A class to talk about social issues and injustices in our community and in our world as a whole. This class changes students outlooks on the world after they take the class. Allows students to be more accepting of people who may not be like them. There are certain issues in society that still exist – racism, police brutality, poverty, etc.

As part of her presentation on Justice for All, Betsy relayed a story about Elizabeth Eckford – whose was part of the Little Rock 9 in the Civil Rights Era who defied school integration standards. Grace Lorch, a teacher, shielded her and protected Elizabeth. The Lorch family was mobbed for taking the risk of helping Elizabeth and eventually had to move to Canada.

For years, teens have been instruments in making history and pushing for change. This kind of passion, courage and risk-taking spirit is on the move once again. There is a movement among students and teens now to make a big change in our society.

Myths about Justice for All

Staying the same is an option
Waiting for it to get better will bring change
Only people with privilege have a voice
Becoming an ally of human rights is difficult

Truths about Justice for All

Getting students into the real world
Supports how reading, writing and have a place in the justice journey
Encourage connections and create more empathetic people in society

Goals of Justice for All

To explore identities
Celebrate diversity
Promote social change

What does Justice for All need:

More participants
More diverse books and resources
More community, national and international participants
JHS Club Status/Diversity
Nationally data-based diversity training for district employees
Justice Journey Path to graduation

It’s a leader’s job to turn up the heat, so to speak, just enough to feel uncomfortable. Betsy strives to push her students but also allows them to find a healthy balance. She feels passionately about this class and one can certainly glean that from her enthusiasm and dedication to her students.

TRC "Safer" Program

Pictured L-R; Terri Johnson and Katie Geise

Katie Geise had the honor of introducing today's speaker; Terri Johnson. Terri oversees The Resource Center's SAFER Program, and also co-chairs the Toys for Tots campaign locally.

Thanks to a grant from the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI) and management by the United Way, a task force was originally formed to begin the process of creating the SAFER Program. Requests for Proposals were sent out with many of them focused on education.

According to release on the Resource Center's website, SAFER is intended to support people living in ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households to maintain successful employment. The main goals are to assist employees and connect them to the services they need; this, in turn, will help increase retention and the overall success of the businesses involved.

The SAFER program focuses on two key drivers; support for employees and support for employers.

Again according to the Resource Center website, another primary goal of SAFER is to educate business owners about the challenges experienced by their employees living in poverty.

Terri said that the support for employees includes education on key issues, effective interventions to engage the workforce, and Emergency Assistance Funds to assist in allowing employees to be able to continue to come to work.

So what's in it for the business? Terri said it's free! It also provides additional training for employees on how to assist their work force, assist in understanding their turnover and costs, and develop a plan for retention. There is a lot of support for employees including housing, childcare, transportation, help with legal concerns, and more.

Seven businesses have signed up so far, and 45 people are being assisted. The businesses that currently are participating in SAFER are Artone, Fancher Chair, Heritage Ministries, I-86 Truck Repair, Lake View Cemetery Association, Lutheran Jamestown, and UPMC Chautauqua. Through the SAFER program The Resource Center also is collaborating with other organizations that received ESPRI grants, including the Mental Health Association and the YWCA of Jamestown.

Employment facilitation includes staff on site at least weekly for employer and employee support, on-call support, monthly trainings, Emergency Assistance Funding, success coaches who complete and assessment and develops a plan for each person and establishes goals. They also help employees navigate the system.

In conclusion, Terri is hoping to offer the SAFER program past the end of the grant period. We thanked Terri for a great presentation and wished her the best.

The Lawson Center

Posted by Joel Keefer

Pictured L-R; Cheri Krull, Amy Rohler, Craig Butler, Joni Blackman

We welcomed Craig Butler from the Lawson Center to our meeting today. Craig has spoken to our group before, and wanted to give an update on what's been going on at their facility in Bemus Point. Craig was introduced by Amy Rohler, who mentioned that Craig moved to the area after retiring in 2007. Craig is also an avid rower.

Craig is very proud of the Lawson Center, which was created in 2010 to celebrate boating on Chautauqua Lake and the Lawson Family.

The mission of the Lawson Center is to preserve the boating history and the physical presence of the Lawson family on Chautauqua Lake. To educate and enrich people's lives through this reflection of the past, and to reach out to children and adults of all ages by providing historic and educational boating exhibits and photographs, hand on displays, and classes with workshops teaching the traditions and skills of the past with respect to wooden boat-building. In addition the Lawson Center will provide a community focal point for events and showcase the area's rich boating history

According to the Lawson Center website, in November 1918, 32-year-old David S. Lawson purchased a Nineteenth-century house, garage, and boat house at 73 Lakeside Drive at Bemus Point. Naming his enterprise The Lawson Boat and Engine Co, Inc., he serviced and stored automobiles at the street level and boats at the lake level.

In 1930, Lawson formed L-S Aero Marine with Ralph Sheldon, Jr. as principal shareholders. In 1947, the garage on Lakeside Drive was razed and the-brick-and concrete-block-showroom was built (bricks made by Chautauqua Brick Co.). Retails sales grew.

Fast forward to 1971 when Dave Jr. and his sister Jean took over the operation of the business. Jean ran the Bemus Point store until 2000 and died in 2001.

In February 2010, Dave, Jr. agreed to donate the property to a group of businessmen. In October 2010, ownership of this historic structure passed to the Lawson Boating Heritage Center on Chautauqua Lake, Inc.

Also according to their website, the Lawson Boating Heritage Center on Chautauqua Lake is an IRS Section (501)(c)(3), not-for-profit, organization formed of Officers and Trustees whose passion is preserving, displaying, and presenting as much of Chautauqua boating history as possible: both its artifacts and it’s singular milieu.

Craig said the Lawson Center is primarily a boating museum, but is also a hospitality venue for receptions, meetings and reunions. They have hosted many wonderful events since officially opening in May of 2012. Over $600,000 in renovations were made on the facility, and it is a beautiful structure.

Currently, between 300-400 members sustain the Lawson Center with donations and volunteering. The facility is financially stable and viable.

We thanked Craig for a great presentation!