Rotary Club of Marana
 
                                                                            
   With a turn of the calendar, our first October meeting began with a series of important announcements:
  • Tour de Cookie 2020 date conflicts with another ride. Dan reported that he heard from folks who have already promoted to the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association (GABA) a ride on the same day (March 7, 2020) we were planning for the Tour de Cookie. They’ve asked us to move Tour de Cookie and will let us promote our ride at their ride. Given that it’s already on the GABA calendar, members discussed that we need move the date to either Feb. 29, 2020 or March 14, 2020. The group is leaning toward March 14.
  • Carl Maes volunteered to chair the committee for the Tour de Cookie booth. Thank you, Carl!
  • Our service project for October will be Saturday, October 26 at Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse. Mark your calendar, and plan on helping from 8 a.m. to noon.
   "Happy bucks" ranged from coaching a youth soccer team (David) to servicing a telescope on top of a volcano (Peter, of course), from selling a “good” Jeep (Randy) to morning temperatures in the low 60s (Harold), and all points in between.
   Lynne made a “funny” joke* about lawyers, and because the Club secretary is a lawyer, it shall not be repeated here … in the law, we call that exercising “judicial discretion”.
   Our guest speaker was Trevor Edwards, the Community Recruitment Program Coordinator for Pima County’s Community Justice Boards. “Restorative justice” is the philosophical underpinning of the program. The purpose is to focus on at-risk youth who have been arrested for non-violent infractions and divert them a 90-day, non-punitive program that focuses on the impact of their actions and creates individualized plans to help them gain strategies and skills to make better decisions for their future.
   About a 100 community volunteers serve on Community Justice Boards. A total of 19 boards operate with their neighborhoods across Pima County, Trevor said. In fact, Trevor noted that Vail, located east of Tucson, was starting its new Community Justice Board on October 24. Each board uses a team approach to develop a set of consequences for each youth. Consequence plans may include letters of apology, community service, empowerment groups, educational programs, or creative- and career-based projects. Volunteer projects include working with Ben’s Bells, mural artists, and the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam. Victims are heard from as well through Victim Impact Statements.
   Children, aged 8 to 17, who are first or second non-violent offenders are eligible. The top offenses are possession of marijuana and property damage. The program boasts a 94% completion rate, with only a 5% recidivism rate. Parent report a 98% satisfaction rate with the program.
   Trevor’s informative talk gave no time for questions, but he left us with lots of literature and an understanding of how restorative justice works in the real world. Thanks, Trevor!
 
Submitted by Laura Clymer, secretary
* Question: What do you call 25 lawyers skydiving? Answer: Skeet.