D-Y Field Hockey Closes Out Season with 0-1 Tournament Loss to Dartmouth

D-Y Field Hockey Loses Close Match In MIAA Prelims

South Yarmouth - Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School's varsity field hockey team ended their season today with a 0-1 loss to the visiting 18th seeded Dartmouth High School squad in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional tournament. The contest was evenly matched with both sides controlling the ball well.

15th seeded D-Y held a slight advantage through the 1st period with 5 penalty corners to Dartmouth's two. Seniors Jen Pimental and Mikala Talbolt were both strong on the front line for D-Y.  Dartmouth's defense was anchored by great play from juniors Katie Miller and Isabelle Cassell.

After the half, with the game knotted at zero, the Lady Indians of Dartmouth came out ready to play and began to pressure the D-Y defense. Shortly into the 2nd period, Dartmouth senior forward Hope LaBelle scooped up a loose ball in the D-Y circle and drove to the goal and shot one past the Dolphin's keeper Ashley Hallman. This would prove to be the winning goal as Dartmouth kept D-Y from scoring for the remainder of the period.

D-Y finishes up 7-6-6 for the season while Dartmouth's record goes to 6-6-5. Dartmouth advances to the 1st round of the tournament and will play  2nd seed Notre Dame Academy in Hingham @ 2:30pm on Friday.

With D-Y's exit, three Cape Cod teams remain in MIAA Division 1 South Sectionals. Sandwich(9) is away against Somerset(8) @ 2:30pm Friday. Barnstable(7) plays Duxbury(10) at home Thursday @ 2:30pm. Falmouth(4) takes on Hingham(13) @ 2:30 pm Thursday @ FHS. For updates check the MIAA official brackets:

http://miaa.statebrackets.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=486

 text and photos/Daniel W. Webb

Of Moon Beams & Crispy Caramel Popcorn

One of the things that has always seemed eery to me has been the moon.

This time of year the moon has always played an important roll whether in a harvest moon, or a Halloween moon, or even the outline of a dark new moon. So what is so eery about "the moon", what is it that gives me the willies, and what does this have to do with the Cape.

Over the years I have had the joy of walking the beach late at night, as the moon would rise seemingly out of the water at the edge of the world to take its position high in the sky and shine down on the Cape. I have watched as it would start as orange as it could be then as it climbs and changes its color to a bright blueish white. I have seen it shine like a beacon across the water and light up the vessels on the water traveling in the night. I have sat on the sand and watched as moon beams danced off of waves that gently roll up on the beach. I have stood up on the break walls high above the beach and looked up and down at beaches that looked like they were glowing as if it were the daytime.  And I have watched as families have gone done to enjoy a summer's night while couples walk hand in hand just looking for that quiet spot to be alone.   

I have stood there on the beach when it has been as black as night can get. When the moon is gone and only the stars twinkle about. I have peered out in the darkness looking for some point of reference to find my way through the night, so as not to stumble over jetties or trip on beach toys left behind by the previous days occupants. And as I stand there it gives me a greater appreciation for what the moon has to offer, the light that it can shed in the night, allowing us to see in ways that we would have missed the day before.

The last piece to my eery puzzle is that when I come home and look up into the sky, looking up to see that big beautiful circle of light, I realize that that moon has already been over Cape Cod. That same moon that shines over my home in Ohio first started its journey across this great land on the shores of Cape Cod. In one sense it is comforting but then again...it is to me...slightly eery.

Ok, we got another fall recipe, another courtesy of my wife via her mother from years ago. This is especially good this time of year and a wonderful treat for the whole family, from kids to adults.

Crispy Caramel Popcorn

• 1  cup sugar
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup dark corn syrup
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 4 qts popped corn
  

1. Stir together sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt & vanilla in 1 ½ quart saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil, let boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; pour over popcorn in large shallow baking pan. Stir till covered well.
3. Bake in 250°  (very slow) oven for 1 hour; stir every 15 minutes
4. Remove from oven & stir mixture occasionally to prevent it from sticking together while  cooking.
5. Store in tightly covered container.

Image of the moon courtesy of NASA.

Bill Koch REALLY loves wine

Lawsuit Alleges $340,000 of Bordeaux Wine is Fake
California collector and New York auction house targeted in new lawsuit by billionaire collector from Osterville

The Jefferson Bottles
How could one collector find so much rare fine wine?
...After the auction, other serious collectors sought out Jefferson bottles. The publisher of Wine Spectator bought a bottle through Christie’s. A mysterious Middle Eastern businessman bought another. And in late 1988 an American tycoon named Bill Koch purchased four bottles. The son of Fred Koch, who founded Koch Industries, he lived in Dover, Massachusetts, and ran his own highly profitable energy company, the Oxbow Corporation. Koch purchased a 1787 Branne Mouton from the Chicago Wine Company in November, 1988. The next month, he bought a 1784 Branne Mouton, a 1784 Lafitte, and a 1787 Lafitte from Farr Vintners, a British retailer. Altogether, Koch spent half a million dollars on the bottles. He installed them in his capacious, climate-controlled wine cellar, and took them out occasionally over the next fifteen years to show them off to friends. Koch’s collection of art and antiques is valued at several hundred million dollars, and in 2005 the Boston Museum of Fine Arts prepared an exhibition of many of his possessions. Koch’s staff began tracking down the provenance of the four Jefferson bottles, and found that, apart from Broadbent’s authentication of the Forbes bottle, they had nothing on file. Seeking historical corroboration, they approached the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, at Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia...  New Yorker. 
Billionaire collector William Koch has made good on his threat to shake up the wine-auction world. The Florida energy executive, who is suing German wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock over the authenticity of four bottles of Bordeaux that may have belonged to Thomas Jefferson (see New Yorker story on right), filed a federal lawsuit Friday against Eric Greenberg, a wealthy California collector and Zachys Wine Auctions. Koch alleges that 11 bottles he bought at Zachys' single-cellar auction in October 2005 consigned by Greenberg are counterfeits. Moreover, he accuses Greenberg of knowing they were fakes and accuses Zachys of either knowing they were fakes or negligently passing them along.

Greenberg's attorney, Anthony Coles, denied the charges. "The allegations are absolutely false," said Coles. "Eric Greenberg would never knowingly offer wine that he knew to be counterfeit."  Koch additionally claims that eight bottles of Bordeaux he bought at a different Zachys auction in 2004, are also counterfeits. In all, he paid $340,000 for the 19 bottles he claims are fake.

"There are a number of comments that I would like to make but on advice of counsel I can not make them at this point," said Jeff Zacharia, president of Zachys Wine Auctions. "We have been in the wine auction business for seven years and have held over 40 auctions and sold more then 55,000 lots of fine wine. We have very strict policies about wines that we will offer for sale and would never sell wines that we know or believe to be counterfeit."  The new suit comes at a time when counterfeit wines are repeatedly popping up in headlines, threatening to undermine confidence in the auction and retail market. The FBI's art fraud squad sent subpoenas asking for information to Christie's, Zachys and Sotheby's in March on behalf of a federal grand jury investigating possible crimes. And producers, who once turned a blind eye, have begun researching anticounterfeiting technology. Château Pétrus owner Christian Moueix even told Wine Spectator that he regrets not moving quicker to make bottles more difficult to fake. He added that he had spoken with the FBI five times about fraud... Wine Specator. 

Forgotten Hero

FORGOTTEN HERO

 

Lt. Michael P. Murphy was born May 7, 1976.  He was killed in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005 during a shoot-out with Taliban fighters. 

 On Oct. 11, 2007, President Bush approved the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Murphy; his parents accepted it during an Oct. 22, 2007 ceremony at the White House.      

 This award -- the nation’s highest combat honor -- was the first given to a Navy SEAL since Vietnam.  Murphy’s name was also added to the wall at the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes; the Medal of Honor flag was presented to his parents, and additional ceremonies were held by his friends and neighbors.

 Murphy’s sacrifice is appreciated by the President, the Navy, his friends and neighbors and by many Americans.  But in these super-sophisticated times when American politicians squabble over the legal rights of killers captured on the battlefield, one does not expect acknowledgments, like movies, to momentarily appear that lionize the courage of this soldier as they once did the deeds of men like Alvin York (World War One) and Audie Murphy (World War Two). 

 My goodness, to do so in 2007 would be considered by speech engineers to be harmful, pro-war propaganda.

 But despite the prevailing attitudes, a small amount of space is deservedly devoted here to the man who symbolizes those who defend every day our right to act -- as we often do -- like see-no-evil spoiled brats.

 Who was Michael Murphy?  What kind of a guy was he and what did he do to earn such a high honor?

 He was born in Smithtown, N.Y. and grew up on Long Island.  He graduated from the local high school in 1994.  Penn State University was next.  There, he was a gifted athlete and student; in 1998 he graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and psychology.

 A career as a hardnosed leader of a SEAL team was not apparent when Murphy was accepted by several law schools.  Then, abruptly, he changed course.

 Somewhere within this student there must have been a hankering for a more active life, because he next appeared at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point attending SEAL mentoring sessions. 

 From that day forward his course was steady.  He wanted to become a SEAL -- a member of one of America’s most elite fighting units.

 Progress followed rapidly: Navy Officer Candidate School (2000); commissioned an ensign (2000); underwater demolition training (2001); jump and delivery vehicle schools and acceptance as a full fledged SEAL (2002).        

 A series of assignments followed: Qatar, Djibouti and, finally, Afghanistan.

 On June 28, 2005, Murphy headed a four-man SEAL unit that was tasked to find a prominent enemy commander.  The unit was dropped into Taliban-infested territory.  Three goat herders spotted them and reported their presence to Taliban fighters.

 Soon Murphy and his men were under heavy fire.  Their cover was poor, but it was sufficiently dense to make a call for help impossible.  With one exception: If a man stepped away from the cover and made a call, it would get through.    But such an action would also fully expose the caller to the gunfire of the enemy.

 Murphy knew this.  Nevertheless, he stepped into the open and made the call; bullets ripped into his body; he crawled back to cover.  But it was too late for him.  His wounds were many and fatal.  Two others also died before Murphy’s call for help brought a rescue team.

 The first rescue team was blown out of the air; the second one rescued the fourth member of the unit, Marcus Luttrell, and the bodies of his fallen comrades, Matthew Axelson, Danny Dietz and Murphy. 

 John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 Requiescat in pace.

Korean sailor airlifted

Coast Guard airlifts ill crewmember from South Korean Naval vessel

A Coast Guard helicopter crew airlifted a crewmember experiencing abdominal pain from a South Korean Naval vessel about 200 miles east of Cape Cod Tuesday night.

The master of the South Korean vessel, Hwacheon, called Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., around 3 p.m., requesting assistance for the 50-year-old man who had been experiencing pain for the past three days.

The Coast Guard directed the Hwacheon, which was about 450 miles east of New York City and out of range for a helicopter hoist, to altar course and head toward Cape Cod.

Once the vessel was within range, a Jayhawk helicopter crew was launched around 8:30 p.m., and a Falcon jet crew launched around 9 p.m.   A video clip from the previous press release is available HERE.

The Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the man around 10 p.m. and transported him to the Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, around midnight, where Hyannis Fire Department took him to Cape Cod Hospital.

"The District One Coast Guard team was proud to serve the crew and naval cadets aboard the South Korean Navy Ship, Hwacheon, and help out a fellow mariner in distress," said Lt. Aurora Fleming, a First Coast Guard District Command Center duty officer.

The crewmember was reported to be in stable condition. 

Ben Franklin stamp ceremony planned for Nov. 14 in Hyannis

Plaudet for Politician, Pedagogue, Publisher & Postmaster

Postmasters on Cape Cod will observe the release of a new stamp series of stamps honoring Ben Franklin as statesman, educator, publisher and postmaster with a special presentation honoring local counterparts to Franklin's personae - Congressman Bill Delahunt, Cape Cod Community President Kathleen Schatzberg, Cape Cod Times Publisher Peter Meyer and retired Boston Postmaster William Dunn.

The four honorees will receive plaques commemorating the new stamps in a ceremony on Wednesday Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Barnstable Senior Center, 825 Falmouth Road (Route 28), Hyannis.

Admission is free but seating is limited; call the senior center at 508-862-4750 to reserve a spot.

Is it MRSA or not? Fire levels building in Brewster; More suspicious fires in Provincetown; P'town, West Barnstable, Yarmouth crashes; stabbing suspect captured

Blaze levels building in Brewster
BREWSTER - A fast moving fire gutted a building at the Brewster Sand & Gravel property off Freeman's Way Wednesday night.

The building was fully involved when firefighters from Harwich and Brewster arrived around 9:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported. The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire.

(Photo by Jake O'Callaghan)...
Occupant of this property was having dispute with owners
This property was in the news last week when reporter Jeff Blanchard wrote about the problem the current occupant of the property was having with his landlord. Read that interesting possible link to what happened last night in the item here.

Fire marshal's office investigating latest P'town blazes

     ^{Firefighters on the scene of another blaze in P'town.  At right a firefighter checks for fire extension.}
PROVINCETOWN - Fire damaged a historical home in Provincetown's east end Wednesday evening. Firefighters rushed to 473 Commercial Street known as the Admiral Macmillan house to find a room on the second floor on fire.

A quick aggressive attack saved the structure from ruin but there is significant damage.

The state fire marshal's office is investigating if the fire is related to the series of fires plaguing the town. (See related story below)

About 9:15 p.m. firefighters were on the move again to 10A Bradford Street where flames were lapping up the side of a cottage dangerously close to a larger house.

Another aggressive attack quickly doused the flames. (Story and photos by Tim Caldwell).

Editors note: As the situation in Provincetown appears, unfortunately, to be escalating I want to make one point clear. Cape Wide News is working very closely with local authorities to INFORM not alarm the public. An informed and vigilant public may be the town's best chance of catching this perpetrator before someone gets hurt or worse-TC.

Correction: Staph infection in Sandwich is not MRSA
SANDWICH - Cape Wide News has learned a male student at a Sandwich school has come down with a staph infection. However, Interim Principal Jeffrey Dees at the Oak Ridge School here on Quaker Meetinghouse Road told WQRC News it was not the MRSA "superbug" that has been making national news lately. A reverse 911 was done to get information out to parents. (Photo from school website). See today's Editorial about MRSA here...
Local daily newspaper has it differently

The Cape Cod Times is now reporting;  ...The confusion came in when Oak Ridge interim principal Jeffrey Dees sent a separate broadcast message to parents of students at his school. “I sent out a message that there isn’t MRSA throughout the building and that got misconstrued and that was my fault.”

Another suspicious fire reported in Provincetown

     ^{Another apparently suspicious fire broke out at the Murchison Estate in Provincetown.}
PROVINCETOWN - Officials have labeled a fire early Wednesday afternoon suspicious. Around 1:30 p.m. a fire was spotted at the sprawling Murchison Estate in the extreme West End. The fire appeared to be on the outside of a door of the small building below the historic mansion.

Provincetown Police Chief Warren Tobias has asked Cape Wide News to broadcast the following description of a person of interest seen in the area just before the fire started.

He is described as a white male, 5-foot-10-inches tall with gray hair covered by a white baseball cap. He has a medium build and was last seen wearing a white short sleeve t-shirt, a light blue fleece vest and jeans as he headed on foot east on Commercial Street. Anyone with information or observing suspicious activity is urged to contact Provincetown Police at (508) 487-1212 or in an emergency, 911. The estate seen in photo at right (click to enlarge) was owned by the late Powell Murchison and had recently been sold. The property had come under scrunity recently when some vegetation was allegedly illegally cleared from a protective barrier. (Story and photos by Tim Caldwell). More coverage from our partners at the Provincetown Banner here.

One injured in Yarmouth crash

     ^{A car and pickup collided injuring one person in Yarmouth}
YARMOUTH - Shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, a Cadillac coupe and a Toyota pickup collided at the intersection of West Yarmouth Road and Buck Island Road.

The male occupant of the pickup truck was transported to CCH with injuries that were not life threatening.

The intersection does have working traffic lights. The crash is under investigation by Yarmouth Police.

(Story and photos by R. Copley). 

Another crash on Route 132 by the Burger King

     ^{Two cars collided by the BK entrance on Rt. 132. In foreground an EMT checks one of the drivers.}
WEST BARNSTABLE -  Barnstable Police are investigating a two car crash at the notorious spot at Route 132 and the Route 6 westbound off ramp by the Burger King entrance. A silver Volkswagen sustained heavy front-end damage in a collision with a yellow Mazda sedan which received passenger-side damage. The woman from the silver car was taken to CCH by Centerville ambulance which responded mutual aid rescue because West Barnstable's ambulance was assisting Barnstable Fire at another crash. The woman in the yellow car declined to go to the hospital. The scene was tied up for one hour. This area has been the scene of many crashes , minor and serious, and even the manager of the BK and regular patrons agreed today that something has to by done here before some fatal occurs. (Story and photos by Frank Paparo).

Provincetown crash sends one to CCH

     ^{Two vehicles collided at the Route 6/Conwell Street interchange sending one person to CCH.}
PROVINCETOWN - One person was taken to Cape Cod Hospital after a two vehicle crash in Provincetown. Shortly after noon a Ford Ranger pickup and a Toyota Corolla collided. The pickup truck, with AMTEC on the door,  is reportedly a contractor working for Comcast.

Provincetown Police are investigating eyewitness reports that one vehicle ran a red light leading to the crash. The car driver was taken to CCH with injuries that were not life threatening. (Story and photos by Tim Caldwell).

Also on CWN: Yarmouth stabbing suspect captured (click).

Truro Police honor one of their own

      ^{(Left-right) Sgt. David Costa, Ofc. Danziger; Sgt. David Perry, Sgt. David Silvia, Sgt. Kyle Takakjian.}
TRURO - Truro Police gathered to honor one of their own Wednesday. Officer Craig Danziger, an 11-year veteran of the department, was cited for sustained superior performance of duty. Ofc. Danziger has volunteered countless hours to further narcotic investigations and traffic enforcement programs. The department noted Ofc. Danziger's professionalism, unselfish dedication and commitment which allows him to serve as a role model earning the respect of officers both senior and junior in rank. At right Ofc. Danziger with his wife Colleen. (Story and photos by Tim Caldwell).

Insurance industry needs colonoscopy

They met, they saw, they shafted
GIGO messes up the Cape's insurance rates

They met, they saw, they are still shafting us.  I'm talking about the annual meeting in Boston this week of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.  They saw and heard the protests from coastal homeowners, organized by Paula Aschettino and the activist group Citizens for Homeowners Insurance Reform.  And no matter what rationalization the insurance industry makes for it, the plain-spoken truth is that we are still getting shafted.

Their interpretations of their highly touted computer projections, especially for targeted coastal areas like Cape Cod can be anything they want them to be.  In fact, I've heard the "Cape Cod" computer forecasts were really based on coastal Florida forecasts.  But it doesn't matter.  They could base them on the arid climate on Mars and still tweak them to predict a devastating hurricane in Hyannis.

When I worked for Computer Sciences Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, we used the term "GIGO."  Garbage In, Garbage Out.  I could take any figures and make them mean anything I wanted.  Want to canonize Mahmoud Ahmed-i-whatzzizname of Iran?   I got the figures right here in my pocket!

Previous to squeezing the homeowner bloodless with meaningless computer models, insurance companies used a simple system.  If payouts for the year increased by 7 percent, for example, they raised premiums for the next year 7 percent (and maybe a little extra) to cover it.  They didn't go broke, we remained insured, and everyone was happy.  And if payouts decreased, they even lowered premiums.  (My own premium was lowered four lousy bucks between 2001 and 2002, although it is up a net of 98 percent since I moved here nine years ago.)

The past was the best predictor and criterion for future payouts and premiums, not a bunch of guys sitting around a computer saying, "Hey, what if we do this?  Then the insurance companies will give us fantastic bonuses if can help them justify that outrageous, unjustifiable rate increase!"

Oh, yeah, and now the reinsurance industry is thrown into the mix to further confuse and shift blame.  What do the insurance companies care how much the reinsurance companies charge them?  They just pass it on to us.  They are birds of a feather.

"Massachusetts needs an enema"

The insurance companies have jumped upon computer projections as a way of stiffing their customers, using Hurricane Katrina and other high-damage years as an excuse.  But their figures don't support their whining.  Despite Katrina and other big storms in 2005, industry profits hit a record $40 billion-plus.  Combined with the luck of no major storms this year, profits may exceed $60 billion.

There are massive payouts, alright, payouts for the insurers, but not the insured.  Those whom the insurance companies are really insuring are their stockholders and their grossly overpaid executives.

There IS a Massachusetts Division of Insurance.  What do they do?  Beats me.  But I do know our tax dollars are paying their salaries.  This state needs a massive cleaning up, from top to bottom.  As one forgotten wag said, "Massachusetts needs an enema."  Start with the insurance industry. At least a colonoscopy.  We need to see what's there.         

Host family on Ellsbury; Vietnam vets to be honored in Falmouth; Free CO alarms

Upper Cape News, October 31, 2007

   ^{Sandwich Marina. cctoday photo.}

Headlines from the Enterprise:
Falmouth selectmen look for ways to work with CPC on town needs
- Community Preservation Act of 2005 still a powerful tool to town officials
Falmouth Hospital Auxiliary reaches goal of raising $500,000
- Two years ahead of schedule auxiliary completes its pledge
Falmouth ZBA to ask selectmen to approve legal help
- Members of ZBA Appeals agreed to approach selectmen about retaining lawyer to review upcoming projects
FHS students told of lessons learned from handicaps
- Falmouth residents spoke to 11th graders about living with disabilities
Group spells out reasons to change Falmouth ZBA
- Working group looking into whether Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals should have five voting members rather than three
Mashpee man held in connection with fatal accident on Route 151
- Bail has been set at $50,000 for 23 year old who allegedly caused a July accident that killed two people
Marshfield man dies in accident on Seacoast Shores Boulevard
- Police are still investigating weekend crash that killed a man and left his sister in intensive care
Falmouth veterans services to honor those who served in Vietnam
- Roughly 60 Vietnam vets, some of whom are dead to be honored this year
"Spoon River" revisited at Grange Hall Benefit
- Benefit performances scheduled November 2nd and 3rd
Applications available for parade
- Applications for the 44th Annual Falmouth Christmas Parade now available

Read these and other stories in the Enterprise here. 

_____________________________

Headlines from the Falmouth Bulletin:
A mother knows:
- Host mom was early witness to Ellsbury's greatness
Car accident claims second life
- Sarah Duggan, 18, of Plymouth has died from injuries sustained in an October 27th crash in Falmouth
University of Delaware's Garvine chosen for WHOI's Ketchum Award
- Garvine will be 14th recipient of the Bostwick H. Ketchum Award
Murray, Coan to join FFRD to distribute free CO alarms
- Free carbon monoxide alarms to be distributed Thursday the 1st
Predictions for another fall classic: Town Meeting
- Predictions on this year's articles

Read these and other headlines in the Falmouth Bulletin here. 

_____________________________

Headlines from the Sandwich Broadsider:
A grand old Grange
- Fundraiser November 2 & 3
Historic district committee adds new faces: Election November  27
- Committee will have a new look following upcoming election
Tax title auction set for December 6
- A 34 acre parcel at the end of Atkins Road among pieces of land the town has decided to sell to get the land back on tax rolls
Jarvis Street Extension residents request street name change
- Folks request name change to Sunrise Lane
Helfrich reappointed to Sandwich Cultural Council
- Selectmen voted unanimously to reappoint Helfrich to council
Water Quality Advisory considers Popponesset Bay project
- Committee met to consider funding a large-scale project to reduce Nitrogen levels in bay

Read these and other stories in the Sandwich Broadsider here. 

Lower Cape Cod Republican Women's luncheon on Friday

Alice Morrison, World War II veteran and former president of the Massachusetts Federation of Republican Women, is the guest speaker at the next monthly luncheon of the Lower Cape Cod Women's Republican Club, to be held Friday Nov. 2 at 11:30 a.m. at the Yarmouth House restaurant on Route 28 in Yarmouth.

Club members will also hear from Bill DeSilva of Cape Cod Cares for the Troops about the group's efforts to boost the morale of American troops abroad by sending them care packages with toiletries, books and reminders of home.  Laura Gardner, the children's librarian at the Sturgis Library in West Barnstable about the library's participation in literacy programs initiated by former and current first ladies Barbara and Laura Bush.

Served for lunch will be a choice of baked schrod, chicken caesar salad or turkey; the cost is $15. Please RSVP no later than today (Oct. 31) by contacting club member Deirdre Leyden at 508-760-1978.