17 November Program

Jim Gray
Update on
Dottie Gray Ambulance Fund

Welcome Jim. Jim has a Bachelor of Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Retired from Pan American Airlines, Jim was also a pilot with the United States Marine Corps Pilot. He and wife Ginny live in Oriental. Jim enjoys boating.

The Dottie Gray Ambulance Fund…A History
On Mother's Day in 1999, the Gray and Morgan families gathered at Hopetown, the Abaco islands, for the marriage of
Mathew Morgan to Judith Lee Gray.
For three days, every morning at breakfast, a white dove had
perched outside the cottage screen
porch. Everyone joked that it was a
wedding dove. Then tragedy struck. Dottie Gray had a stroke and her heart stopped. The nearest medical facility was 30 minutes away by boat. Efforts to resuscitate Dottie failed. The boat ride to an emergency facility was too long and Dottie died.

The family agreed that Dottie would have wanted the wedding to go on. Following the ceremony at the Methodist church in Hopetown, a small sailboat with a memorial plaque was released in the sea behind the Church. The white dove was never seen again, though a white marble dove now marks Dottie's grave in Oriental. After Dottie's death her family and friends decided to do something about the medical response situation in their own community. The Dottie Gray
Ambulance Fund was established
with the North Carolina Community
Foundation. The purpose of the fund
is to improve the emergency first
response time and facilitate an ambulance in Oriental NC. (Excerpted from The North Carolina Community Foundation News, Winter 2004)

To the Ends of the Earth…
Rotarians meet Taliban supporter of Afghan polio immunization drive
On the eve of Afghanistan's 19-21 October National Immunization Days, Stephen Brown, past governor of District 5340 (California, USA), had an extraordinary opportunity to witness the country’s drive to end polio in action.
Brown and Fary Moini, a fellow member of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, were in Afghanistan to help develop Rotary humanitarian and educational projects. They were invited by Dr. Ajmal Pardis, chair of the country’s National PolioPlus Committee and a member of the Rotary Club of Jalalabad, to attend a 15 October meeting of Islamic leaders, or mullahs, in Jalalabad.
The meeting emphasized the importance of the polio eradication initiative and linked immunization against the disease to the duties of parents to protect their children, as explained in the Quran.
"The most interesting speech, to us, was from a powerful Taliban mullah, Imam Abdul Wakil, who talked very passionately about the importance of this effort," Brown reported in his online journal. "He was clearly very well spoken, and everyone was on the edge of their seats listening to him. There were about 40 mullahs present, about 30 elders, about 10 students from the Taliban madras [Islamic] school, and local and national media." (Read more about this astounding visit on RI’s website.)

Nothing like biting into a delicious crispy apple on these crisp autumn days. Here are some pointers for apple lovers. (Deb’s favorites are Jonagold, Fuji, and Gala.)

-Go for Firm and Shiny. When buying apples, choose those without any bruises or soft, mushy spots. They should be firm for their specific variety (a McIntosh will not be as firm as a Granny Smith). Look for fruit with shiny skin—dull skin hints at a lack of crispness and flavor.
-Refrigerate Apples. Apples quickly lose their crispness at room temperature. To keep apples in the fridge, place them in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper. Do not store bruised or cut apples since that will make the other stored apples spoil. To keep apples for an extended period of time, wrap each one in newspaper (don't use paper with colored ink) and then store in a dark, cool place like the cellar or the garage.
-Prevent Browning. If you're slicing apples and don't want the exposed pieces to turn brown, dunk the slices in a bowl of three parts water to one part lemon juice.
-Mix Sweet and Tart. When baking a pie, use a mix of sweet and tart apples to ensure a balanced flavor.

Labels: Afghan Polio Immunization Drive, Dottie Gray Ambulance Fund

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