Heather Mason of the Clark County YWCA will deliver a presentation about the YWCA's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program".

The Clark County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Program is based on the belief that every child has a right to a safe, permanent, loving home. In our county, the CASA Program is administered by YWCA Clark County.

The CASA volunteer is committed to providing factual information about the situation of children who are involved in the Dependency Court system because they are victims of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. CASA volunteers are appointed by the court to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or stay in inappropriate group or foster homes.

The information and recommendations the CASA volunteer provide to the court assists the court in making crucial decisions about the child’s future. Volunteers stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence in their lives.

In a world seemingly full of conflict, finding common ground seems to be increasingly difficult, but the Rotary Club of Three Creeks' Dan Sockle shared some observations, thoughts and tips to consider while presenting "If Everyone is Screaming, Who's Listening" Thursday night at our regularly scheduled meeting.

Dan's presentation ran the full gamut of the issues in our world, including maps that showed how maps can tell us a great deal, especially so that we can connect cultures, religions and history with the terrain. One of the maps Dan shared highlighted drought regions with the primary hot spots being in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Dan pointed out that "world peace is a tough sell especially when conflict is more profitable and if it means tackling both politics and religion."

Finally, Dan delved in to what Rotary, and Rotarians, can do to make a difference.

"The underlying goal of mediation is to help disputing parties to achieve a constructive level of mutual understanding and respect," Dan said.

Some tips Dan provided for Rotarians to remember:

• Resist and challenge stereotyping
• Community dialogue, including interfaith and cultural outreach
• Outreach to those on the front lines
• "Idealism vs. Realism" - seek a balance
• Volunteer with a school district to assess key curricula/texts
• Participate in peer mediation

With many thanks to Garry Lucas for sharing this opportunity with us, the Rotary Club of Three Creeks has its first opportunity to participate in a Rotary International project.

At our meeting tonight, we "passed the hat" and asked everyone to contribute what they can to help the Rotary Club of Vancouver Metro Sunrise become a "Buffalo Buddy". From the 19 in attendance at our meeting, the Rotary Club of Three Creeks raised a total of $241. That's exciting. Thank you all for your contributions!

Located in Nepal, just outside of Kathmandu there is a a Eco-Home for orphaned children. This is a safe, healthy and productive place for children without parents who otherwise would be at extreme, even mortal risk. The Eco-Home children are provided a private school education and a loving, very happy home with health care and nutritious meals. These children are not subject to the risks of uncertain adoptions and are cared for to adulthood with prospect of a higher education. However a clean, sanitary , healthy milk supply has been identified as a ongoing problem. To help solve the problem Buffalo Joe (Joe Watson of Axis Point Developers) and Dooley Intermed are raising funds to build a protective shed and purchase two water buffalo.

Official word came from Rotary International today. The Rotary Club of Three Creeks Vancouver, Washington, USA (our official name) is the newest club in Rotary District 5100!

The charter was actually awarded, and our club admitted into membership of Rotary International on October 7, 2016, and follow up processing memberships and the formation of the new club proceeded until the announcement earlier today.

"We are truly blessed and excited to have found such a terrific group of members and received the tremendous support from District Governor Tom Markos, Past District Governor Barb Crozier, the District, RI and other Rotarians," said Club President Susanne Cox upon delivery of the good news.

We will recognize the great news at our next meeting, Thursday, Oct. 20. Our next steps will include efforts to begin planning a Charter Night celebration sometime in the first quarter of 2016.

Our October 20 meeting will be held at fellow Rotarian Dr. David Chan's Northwest Smile Designs (203 NE 179th St., Ridgefield, WA 98642), NOT at Round Table Salmon Creek as previously announced.

Dr. Chan has graciously offered his Teaching Center as a possible location for our club meetings, so we'll give it a try on October 20 when Dan Sockle presents "If Everyone is Screaming, Who's Listening?"

Our third-Thursday meeting will still begin at 5:30 p.m., as usual.

For more information about Dr. Chan's Teaching Center, click here.

With many thanks to Garry Lucas for sharing this opportunity with us, the Rotary Club of Three Creeks has its first opportunity to participate in a Rotary International project.

At our October 20 meeting, we will "pass the hat" and ask everyone to contribute what they can to help the Rotary Club of Vancouver Metro Sunrise become a "Buffalo Buddy".

Located in Nepal, just outside of Kathmandu there is a a Eco-Home for orphaned children. This is a safe, healthy and productive place for children without parents who otherwise would be at extreme, even mortal risk. The Eco-Home children are provided a private school education and a loving, very happy home with health care and nutritious meals. These children are not subject to the risks of uncertain adoptions and are cared for to adulthood with prospect of a higher education. However a clean, sanitary , healthy milk supply has been identified as a ongoing problem. To help solve the problem Buffalo Joe (Joe Watson of Axis Point Developers) and Dooley Intermed are raising funds to build a protective shed and purchase three water buffalo.

The Rotary Club of Vancouver Metro Sunrise will also "pass the hat" at its meeting, with a match of up to $125 from its club foundation, to help ensure that these children will have safe milk and water to drink every day. This is a great opportunity for our new club to participate with another area club and assist with international service.

Kelly Love and Shirley Gross are rock stars in the community, and their message as two who make a big difference at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center backed that up.

Last night, the dynamic duo of SW Washington health care support teams described not only how important Legacy Salmon Creek is to its community, but also how important our Rotary Club could be to them. The presentation was interesting and thought provoking.

And 22 people attended the meeting, one of the largest turnouts we've had for our new Rotary Club, which also proved the level of interest in learning more about what's happening at Legacy.

At the hospital, Legacy is setting record numbers but also is setting a pace for outstanding, state-of-the-art healthcare and surgical provision. Proof that the concern of a decade ago over the need for two hospitals in Clark County was way wrong. The medical side is also working to reduce the number of emergency room visits by providing Go Heath Urgent Care clinics in Battle Ground, Camas and Vancouver.

Legacy's Farmer's Market, RN bachelor's degree completion program, Neonatal ICU (NICU) patient and family reunions (400 people attended this year's event ), education programs and a new Healing Garden are among the programs that Gross is heading up for the hospital foundation.

It's quite impressive to see the great things happening at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, and it is exciting that the Rotary Club of Three Creeks has many opportunities to partner with them for volunteer activities.