Next Meeting - Sept 5, 2017, Tuesday 11ish, at Festival Foods (not at all as usual). If it seems like a long time since we last met, that's because it has been a long time. And as we only had one regular meeting in August, it is essential that all the Lions gather tomorrow, in order to render judgement on a proposed meeting spot. It is assumed that you have been a member long enough to remember what your fellow Lions look like, although in this age of beards, someone may have disappeared behind a new one in the interval. And some of our newer members (yes, we do have newer members) have not seen all of our longer-term members, beard or no. Come and see.

This will be a business meeting, and there will be business to discuss. We'll probably get a wrap-up on the Bus Stuffing, we may talk about a rescheduled Bags Tournament, perhaps in November, and if either or both of the Lions BURMESTER are there we will get some tidbits from Zone, Region or District meetings. If not, Pres. KEVIN GOKE will probably have a list of “coming events” for Clubs in our district. You can often pick up a pancake breakfast, a steak fry or raffle tickets from other clubs in the area.

At our last meeting, Pres. KEVIN kept things moving by clanging the bell to start the meeting before the lunch arrived. He started by thanking LINDA BERGEN for managing the Summer Social, which went well. Stuff The Bus was in process, with the donation sort coming up. It was noted that Channel 15 gave the event, and Lions, good coverage, and Hy-Vee got cash donations for us with their “Round Up!” process, encouraging customers to donate the loose change they would normally receive to charity, Lions Club “Stuff The Bus” in this instance.

JIM SCHUTZ reported that the Eye Bank was having problems, caused in part by an out-of-state for-profit eye bank operating in Milwaukee and soliciting donations statewide. There are lawsuits and counter-suits going on. Not the sort of PR we need, but maybe the old axiom of “don't care what you call me if you spell my name right” will apply here. Hopefully there will be public attention to the cause of organ donation, and we can maintain our place in the system. Pres. KEVIN reported that the Bags Tournament, cancelled because of a lack of pre-registered teams, is aiming at another try in November.

DALE BURMESTER brought news from the District Cabinet that a Diabetes project is in the works. Lions International has elevated Diabetes Awareness to Major Project status, to go with our other Vision Projects, because diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of blindness which in many cases is preventable.

CRAIG BUTLER introduced our speaker, Steve Theisen, from the Wis. Dept. of Transportation, and he brought us up to date on the Verona Road and I-39 South construction projects. You can't have been unaware of the upheaval around the Beltline-Verona Rd. intersection, but that part is completed, and now for the next three years (!) the emphasis shifts to the road between that intersection and Verona. The road will be widened, the intersections redone, the frontage roads improved, and the intersection with County Hwy. PD (McKee Road) rebuilt. The work will be done in stages, ending, hopefully, in Fall of 2020. This year the frontage roads and Fitchrona got most of the attention and next year both ends of the Verona Road segment, plus the north side frontage road and the Raymond Rd. intersection will get most of the attention. The following two years will see major widening of Verona Rd. plus bridges and intersections with PD and Raymond Rd. Enormously complicated and expensive, but as of now the Verona Rd. is a fixture on every radio traffic broadcast, and all this will move a lot more traffic. He also spoke briefly about the widening of I39 from here to Janesville and south to Beloit and the Illinois State Line. That too will finish in 2020. Can't come too quickly, as you know if you've driven that way recently.