Waneta Sunshine Rotary

A failure is like fertilizer; it stinks to be sure, but it makes things grow faster in the future
Denis Waitley

Biologically speaking, if something bites you it’s more likely to be female.
Desmond Morris

link to the Golden Rotary community bingo

The meeting was held on zoom with 5 members present and guest Diana Gonzalez.

Music: Don’t worry, be happy. Down by the riverside

• Business:
• Saturday June 5th is the day set to plant trees. Karen is coming from Victoria. We need at least 6 people. bring shovels, gloves, water and wear sturdy shoes. We will plant in the morning (time to be decided), have lunch and then have a tour of Fort Shephard. Invite friends and former Rotarians.
• Juris talked to Carol who is still not able to make meetings. We have currently $6,500 in the current account and about $8,000 in the bingo account. A more accurate report will be available soon. We agreed in principal to donate $5,000 to the Fruitvale Community Garden. We need clarification of their charitable status.
• District conference awards evening is Thursday June 10th. It is free but registration needed.
• Program Juris introduced past member Diana Gonzalez to tell us about her work in Victim Services with the Salmo RCMP.
• A person who is seen as a victim of crime is eligible for services. Funds for the program come from the Civil Forfeiture Office (proceeds of crime). If there is physical or emotional harm, property damage or loss, injury or death you are eligible. The family member of a deceased person can get services or a witness to an incident. The incident must take place in BC, although the client need not be resident to get services. There is no statute of limitations.
• Services provided include crisis intervention, guidance, court preparation, help with victim impact statements, explaining the criminal justice system, support for domestic violence, ensuring access to a safe house and safety of children, notification of next of kin.
• Issues can take many years to resolve. (she has a motor vehicle incident from 2016 that is only just going to court.) The police are not responsible for charging a person with a criminal offence. They submit  the evidence of the investigation in  a report called “Report to Crown Counsel”  to the Crown counsel’s office.  Crown Counsel reviews the investigation report  and  conduct a charge assessment in relation to the offences under Criminal Code and lay the appropriate charges.

• It is expensive for an individual to prosecute a crime. In a prosecution lawyers represent the state and not an individual. If an individual is found guilty the victim is allowed to know the correction centre they are going to (Provincial if it is less than a 2 year sentence and federal for over 2 years) and know when they are released.
• Diana answered questions about how our prison system compares to Scandinavian systems where fewer people are incarcerated. She enjoys her work and feels she is providing a service rather than working at a job.
• Future meetings
• Saturday June 5th Tree planting- time to be decided.
• Thursday June 10th district Conference awards night.
• Happy and sad bucks (not) collected. Meeting adjourned at 8.15am