"People are getting more near-sighted," she said, and blamed cell phones. She recommended restricting phone usage for children and having them spend more time outdoors, which will provide lifetime benefits for eye health.
"The technology has gotten amazing," she said, citing Ocular Coherence Tomography as a particularly useful tool. But it is optional for patients, because it is typically "not yet" covered by insurance.
In the past couple of weeks, members have participated in our club's semiannual trash pickup trash on Dunning Street, met with Ballston Spa Rotarians at a local restaurant, raised funds for AOET Uganda at the Glenville Rotary's Oktoberfest, sent school supplies to Lesotho, and continued our Bountiful Backpacks deliveries to Chango Elementary School in Malta.
Upcoming events include a fund-raising pancake breakfast which will probably be held on Oct. 29 at the Malta Ridge Fire House.
Brian Farrell, after ordering his usual protein-heavy breakfast,
He has worked as a musician and in construction, achieving success as drummer for the Irish band The Mighty Stef, touring with them all over Europe and the United States. After bandleader Stefan Murphy broke up the group, Brian moved to the United States in 2017.
He worked in building restoration and construction, with jobs including the Inn at Saratoga and the cancer unit at Glens Falls Hospital. He has his own small business for projects, The Irish Man, but has not cut all connection with music performance.
In other business, our sponsored Red Cross blood drive on Monday at the Malta Community Center brought in 42 units -- 32 whole blood and 10 power red. Rotarians in attendance there also were able to drive one donor who was feeling shaky to an appointment, and delivered surplus milk from the Malta food pantry to Shelters of Saratoga.
Paul, who is Malta town historian and a member of the Ballston Spa Rotary Club, spoke about the massive efforts, starting about 45 years ago by Rotary at the International level and including our District, to wipe out polio.
It is hoped that every Rotarian every year will contribute to this cause, and every club has a Rotary Foundation chair to help make it happen.
Paul also spoke in more personal terms, about seeing children in iron lungs when he was young, how his own brother had a purportedly "mild" case of the disease but was seriously affected in later life by post-polio syndrome, and about his friendship with his work colleague Louise Rourke, a polio survivor who swam Lake George in 2018 to raise funds to help Rotary eradicate the disease.
In other business, members discussed upcoming events they will be volunteering at and the public can support, including: a barbecue this afternoon (Friday) at Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa; a craft fair with an AOET Uganda booth at Congress Park in Saratoga Springs on Saturday; and a Malta Sunrise Rotary-sponsored Red Cross blood drive Monday afternoon at Malta Community Center (would-be donors please put ZIP code 12020 in link).
It's coming up this Saturday, September 9, from 10 to 3 at Shenantaha Creek Park off East Line Road. We'll be there with a cornhole game, and information about the Rotary, how you can be part of doing good in our community and around the world. Come on down, rain or shine.
