7-12-2012 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha

The July 12, 2012 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha opened with a prayer, pledge and song.

Guests included Justin Clark, Virginia Ramsey and granddaughter Avery, Lilly Oberlender, Aaron Elyachar, Tanner Tibbetts and Josh Epperson.

Prayer concerns include Bill and Janice McVey.

The club has received a thank you note for its $250 donation to the Summer Food & Fun program.

Rotarian of the Day was Bret Burns. He introduced Gene Christian, director of the state office of juvenile affairs, as guest speaker.

Christian, a former Grady County district attorney, has been head of juvenile affairs since 2006. The standalone agency is charged with juvenile corrections in the state.

The agency has 600 employees and an annual budget of $110 million.

There are less than 200 medium secure beds and 222 non-secure beds around the state for juvenile offenders.

Gene said youths can only be locked down for three-hours at a time, based upon old federal ruling.

The agency provides programming for youth to succeed, including medical, education, and counseling.

It takes about $250 a day to house a youthful offender because there has to be one staff member per 10 juveniles.

Biggest problem in the juvenile system is mental health issues, Christian said. 

The meeting adjourned after recitation of the Rotary 4-Way Test.