Oak Bay Rotary Bulletin

Oak Bay Rotary Bulletin April 10, 2012

Reported by Will Carter

President Joan opened the meeting at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre Sports

Lounge.

Jacqueline Mealing spoke to us about her recent trip to Guatemala where she

helped establish a women's centre in San Lucas Toliman, Lake Atitlan. Exciting projects

were installing energy efficient stoves and teaching courses in dental

hygiene and nutrition.

John Edgell, wearing a spiffy blue Rotary shirt that he picked up for $25,

told us about projects he attended in Mexico - new metal roofs to replace

the shoddy tin roofs, a water and sewage system, and secure storage.

So far, 138 tickets have been sold to the Tuscan Dinner on Saturday April 28

at the Monterey Centre.  See Lori for your tickets.  Joan Firkins is passing

around the sign up sheet for volunteers for the dinner.

Celebrations Master Dallas Chappel fined Vicky Pitt for looking too good,

anyone with shoes showing bare toes, David Maxwell for driving down Oak Bay

Avenue with his top down this early in Spring.  And she should have fined

Joan Firkins for starting her happy dollar speech by saying, "Here is $5

because Ron Cooley isn't here ....."  Before she could finish, the hooting

had started, and the real message was alas, lost.  Oh yes, John Edgell

naturally won the 50/50 draw.

Speaker: Darlene George

Mary Canty introduced guest speaker Darlene George, Site Manager for NAV

Canada at the Victoria control tower.  NAV Canada also operates air

controlllers in all BC communities including the harbours at Victoria and

Vancouver.

NAV Canada operates the control towers without any government funds.  Their

revenue comes from airlines and private pilots who use the airports, and

from overflights of the control tower areas.

At Victoria airport, planes are directed into one of 3 zones to disperse

ground level noise.  Victoria operating hours are 6 am to midnight, and

outside of those hours, Kamloops handles Victoria traffic.

In earlier days, controllers relied upon pilots to keep them informed of

location and elevation, but today, satellites are used to monitor Atlantic

crossings with the result that aircraft on that route may now be spaced

apart by 10 km rather than the earlier spacing of 80 km.  This of course

speeds up the traffic.

Ms. George was presented with our Rotary coffee mug upon which is the four

way test of the things that Rotarians think, say, and do.