This last Tuesday, Rotarians had an opportunity to take a  virtual tour of the Hanford Site in Washington State. Dana Cowley, Communication Specialist, summarized the history and mission of the nuclear plant since WWII. It started as a nuclear munitions supplier and now has a sole mission of clean-up. Dana described the various efforts in scrubbing water and waste so that radioactive chemicals could be safely stored. At one site, pictured above, containment of cobalt glows blue in a pool of water. Although one can take the catwalk and look directly into the ominous glow, Rotarians found the virtual tour just dandy.  Hanford has an interesting and detailed virtual tour on their website at the link.

https://vtours.hanford.gov/#page=105B_2019-07-18_lat-46.63084_lon-119.64758

La Grande Rotary and Grande Ronde Retirement Residence hosted Special Olympians to a summer-ending picnic. This year’s event was held at the Rotary Pavilion at Pioneer Park.  Grande Ronde Retirement Residence supplied the dogs, burgers and grill while Rotarians brought the cooks, sides, and prizes. The prizes delighted the Special Olympians who were lucky enough at Bingo to take home something fun.  Pictured above is Heidi Bigler-Cole calling the numbers and Zee Koza doing the accounting.

La Grande Rotary listened to Eric Valentine’s tale of peril, his rescue, and recovery this last Tuesday. It is a remarkable set of events where the right people were in the right place to help Eric get the help he needed after falling in Hell’s Canyon. He calls the Boy Scouts who found him and provided first aid and comfort as well as getting the authorities involved as his “angels.” If any lesson can be learned from this cautionary tale it is that one should never hike alone!