Posted by Nick Aroutzidis on Nov 18, 2017
 
November 23, 2017: Tom Jenkins, “Ramp Ceremony for Fallen Soldiers”, John Woollatt will introduce and Harry Brightwell will thank our speaker.

Head Table:  Our President Linda Bathe, invites, John Woollatt, Mimi Price, Steve Rae, Pat Redshaw, Andrea Reichert, Lutzen Riedstra and Pat Riehl, to join her at the head table.
 
This Week:  John Fisher introduced to Jim Sidwell, a Stratford native who recently retired from the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association and was previously employed by the Stratford PUC -Festival Hydro.
 
Jim Sidwell was our guest speaker this week on Health and Safety primarily electrical.
 
Jim’s presentation “Safety in the Workplace and at Home,” focused on electrical safety and awareness. It drew on his experience as power line technician (lineman) and an instructor on the topic of high voltage for non-electrical workers, and his certification to ensure compliance under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario.
 
 
The Act, administered by the Ministry of Labour, has been in place in 1978 and arose in response to incidents of injury or death in the workplace.  Regulations have been modified overtime in response to new incidents.  Electrical Utility Safety Rules set out compliance criteria and require employers and supervisors to advise workers, in writing, of any defect or potential or actual danger before work commences.  The employer must also ensure that equipment, material and protective devices are provided in good condition and that procedures are being carried out as prescribed. In Canada, each year, about 100 workers are killed in the workplace. The five top killers are:
  • occupationally related diseases
  • falls
  • struck by vehicle
  • electrical shock or burns
  • struck by swinging or falling object
 
From 2001-2010 there were 83 electrical fatalities in Ontario: 57 (68%) on the job; only 26 (25%) involved high voltage.  Contrary to popular belief, lower voltage electricity is extremely dangerous, since lower voltage equals higher amperage and amperage (current) is the killer.  Electrical current is always looking for an easy path to the ground.  Humans at 70% water are excellent conductors of electricity (resistance  ~3000 ohms). Using Ohm’s law  (I= V/R,  current = voltage/resistance), 8000 volts of electricity transmit a lethal current of 2.66 amps through the body.
 
In the workplace, many electrical ‘accidents’ occur because the worker is distracted or has tunnel vision, being so focussed on the work at hand that they fail to see the potential danger.  Jim used several examples to illustrate electrical mishaps: the truck operator who failed to recognize that his crane touched overhead wires and was electrocuted when he opened the truck door; the homeowner in a flooded basement who did not understand that the furnace motor had charged the water and was injured when he ‘completed the circuit’ by touching a metal drain pipe. Injury can come from burns on contact, the ‘flash’ that occurs when the circuit is completed, involuntary muscle contractions and internal damage to vital organs.  The main factors contributing to severity include the path the current takes to ground, the amount of current and the duration of contact.  Effects on the body increase with increasing current from a tingle at 2 milliamps (.002 amps) to death at 500 milliamps.   Ten milliamps is painful; 20 causes muscle contractions, burns and blisters; 70 affects respiration; 100 induces ventricular fibrillation (need defibrillator), 200 stops the heart (CPR may revive).  Many who survive a severe shock have last effects from burns or internal damage.
 
Downed electrical wires, concrete poles with broken insulators, or vehicles and equipment that have touched electrical wires are all potential sources of electricity in the environment.  Electricity radiates from such sources in a decreasing gradient for ten to fifteen feet from the source. What do you do if you are inadvertently in such a ‘charged’ situation?  If on foot, move away as quickly as possible (do not stop to ingvideo!) – jump, shuffle or hop – to minimize contact with the ground.  If in a vehicle, stay inside until the power line technician says it is safe to exit. Do not attempt to rescue someone inside a trapped vehicle.  EMS personnel know to wait until the power is off and/or ground protection is applied to wires.
 
 Guy Bellehumeur thanked Jim for his presentation, which was interesting and entertaining despite the serious nature of the topic.
 
Scribe: Pat Shewen
 
Guests:  Today we welcomed: Lloyd Sidwell, Bob Malcolmson, Stratford, Wendy Wilkinson, Stratford, Colin Brisbois and the following members of the St. Michael School Interact Club  - Joe Yundt and Rachel Klaver.
 
Draw: The draw prize today was a Gift Card by Alex Smith and was won by our President Linda Bathe.
 
Rotary Announcements:
 
  • “From Robert Ritz - I would like to thank Craig Pearce for donating to Movember after listening to my Donation Buck request to the Club during Sergeant at Arms. This is my way to take action to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. If any other member would like to support me in this cause go to https://mobro.co/robertritz to donate. Men’s health thanks you!”
  • Kevin Silver thanked all the volunteers that worked at the Craft Show this past weekend and all the members and their friends and family that came out to support the show.  He also thanked the committee for their tremendous team work.  Attendance was down about 10% likely due to Saturday being Remembrance Day but the vendors were happy with the volume of sales. He will update the club with figures as they are finalized.
  • Gerry Thuss sales have gone well with the first week of Catch the Ace tickets.  It was good to have the tickets for sale at the Craft Show.  The first draw will be held this Saturday at the Festival Marketplace Mall at 3:00 pm and we all hope the Ace of Spades is not drawn.
 
Presidents Announcements:
 
  • First I would like to share a posting in in the Anne Hathaway Public School news letter:
  • We would like to celebrate an exciting achievement by an AHPS Grade 6 student. Beatrice Marks tied for 3rd place in the Rotary Club of Stratford’s inaugural  SHORT STORY CONTEST. Beatrice competed against students up to 19 years of age. She received her award for her short story, The Mouse. The contest was part of the 2017 Stratford Writers Festival.
  • Next is a reminder of the upcoming Hospice Fundraiser, A Christmas Carol on Dec. 1 at the Festival Theatre.  If you are considering attending please get your tickets soon.  We have just opened up the balcony since there has been such a good response.
  • November is Foundation Month:  I will read part of a message from RI President Ian Riseley:
  • Last Rotary year, our Foundation received US$304 million in total contributions: that included $140 million to the Annual Fund, $28 million to the Endowment Fund, and $108 million to PolioPlus. All of those gifts are now hard at work, Doing Good in the World: supporting Rotary’s work today and strengthening our organization for tomorrow. The Foundation approved 494 district grants and 1,260 global grants, with a total of $111 million in funding.
  • We haven’t spoken much of the Four Way Test this year.
  • I thought we would do something a bit different and take the 4 way test one point at a time;
  • Here is a Paul Harris quote, “Rotarians are much more favourably disposed towards actions than they are towards words” I think that is very true of our club but words can be powerful if we stop to really think about them.
  • When we recite the 4 way test I think it can lose some impact, so each week I will ask you to consider one point at a time. The first point is “Is it the Truth?”  Truth these days is a bit of a moving target with ‘fake news’ and conflicting ‘facts’ presented in traditional news sources. We can do our part by being as truthful as possible in our interactions with family, friends and business contacts.
  • This week I will ask you to think about this first point, “IS IT THE TRUTH?” as you go about your daily business.
 
Make-ups: Kevin Silver November 7, at the FCRC
 
 
November’s Attendance Committee: Clark Mitchell (I/C), Jim Young, Marcia Matsui, Lutzen Riedstra, Dave Skinner, Philip Schroeder, Gerry Thuss, Sue Wakelin, Doug Wilson.
 
December’s Attendance Committee: Guy Bellehumeur (I/C), Clare McCallum, Ollie Henry, Paul Roulston, Basil Hurst, John Kechnie, Mike Neilson, Fritz Steigmeier, Brent Shackleton.
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