BROADVIEW HEIGHTS:

The food drive is the largest one-day event of its kind in the country. Area residents can participate by placing a bag of non-perishable food by their mailbox or dropping off a bag of non-perishable food at either Broadview Heights fire station (3591 Wallings Road or 9455 Broadview Road).

All of the food collected in Broadview Heights and Brecksville will be delivered to the South Hills Lend-A-Hand Program to help people in Broadview Heights, Brecksville, Seven Hills and Independence.

To volunteer, meet the Lions behind the Broadview Heights Post Office at 3 p.m. May 12. To make a tax deductible monetary donation, make checks payable to the South Hills Lend-A-Hand and mail to: South Hills Lend-A-Hand, PO Box 470972, Broadview Heights, OH, 44147.

For more information contact Ken Marshall at (440) 552-7713.

Ohio expects to triple the number of its oil and gas field inspectors, as horizontal drilling and fracking of shale formations intensifies and moves west across the state.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources wants to have 90 inspectors in the field by early next year, up from more than 30 today, spokeswoman Heidi Hetzel-Evans said.

State regulators are scrambling to keep up with Ohio’s latest energy push. They inspected 18 percent of the state’s 64,481 operating wells in 2011, leaving more than 50,000 wells unchecked.

“It’s almost a daunting task, but you gotta do the best you can,” said Gene Chini, district supervisor of the north region of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management.

Ohio has inspected a smaller share of its wells since 2009 than its neighbor in the shale boom, Pennsylvania. Ohio’s inspections also lagged those in three other big oil- and gas-producing states — Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma, though funding shortfalls in Oklahoma have cut inspection rates almost in half in recent years.

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By Kari Matsko’s reckoning, hundreds of thousands of Ohio oil and gas wells go without annual inspections. Matsko, director of the People’s Oil and Gas Collaborative, a Lake County grassroots group, said the state has more than 275,000 wells when adding in those that are plugged or abandoned.

Some of them pose contamination danger, she said, pointing to a finding by federal investigators that natural gas in two residential water wells in Medina could have migrated from an abandoned gas well.

“Wells require a lifetime of care and feeding,” said Matsko. “They never go away.”

But others contend the focus most keenly belongs on wells under construction. Meanwhile, many existing wells are scant producers.

“Keep in mind that many of the 64,000 wells are classified as marginal wells that may produce less than 10 barrels of oil a year,” said Rhonda Reda, executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, which does public outreach for the industry. “If you took those out of there, I think you would look at a very high rate of visits (inspections) for those that are producing significant volume.”

James Zehringer, ODNR director, said the agency has begun hiring and training additional inspectors to insure that shale wells are correctly built and inspected.

Natural gas and oil reserves in Ohio’s Utica shale formations have attracted a rush of major companies leasing rights to drill horizontal wells and then fracture, or “frack,” the rock to release the gas and oil. Sixteen horizontal wells have been drilled and completed; nine so far are in production.

Zehringer said money from permit fees for shale exploration and drilling will pay for new workers to help not only with inspections but also enforcement and administrative work.

“A strong regulatory staff at ODNR will enable inspectors to be present at every critical stage of well construction, insuring these sophisticated structures are built in a manner that protects both people and the ecosystem,” Zehringer said in a statement late Tuesday.

Chini, based in Uniontown in Summit County, said inspectors monitor new wells at critical points in their construction. They’re on site when the “conductor pipe” is installed in glacial drift or other loose surface material to keep gravelly layers from washing away and destabilizing the drilling rig.

They police installation of the “surface casing” that is cemented in place and protects groundwater. When available, they also monitor installation of the “production casing” that carries oil and gas out of the ground. And they monitor “frack jobs,” when water under intense pressure is forced into well bores to fracture the shale.

If there is a violation, they continue to visit a well until it’s corrected, Hetzel-Evans said.

Inspectors also check wells when they close and the well site is graded and reseeded.

The shale push has also turned a spotlight on some of Ohio’s old wells.

Landowners are asking inspectors to check wells that may have lapsed out of production. Property owners hope that happens because then they might be freed from old leases and able to negotiate new contracts that pay more per acre and have fatter production royalties.

“With the advent of this shale gas, the Utica play, we’re getting a lot of calls,” Chini said.

CHINA GROVE — If students at South and North Rowan high schools weren’t already seeing clearly, they will be soon.

Members of the Salisbury Lions Club used the vision van, a traveling clinic equipped with the tools needed to test eyesight, to check the visual acuity of more than 150 students at South on Thursday.

Today, the vision van will roll over to North, where Lions Club members will provide vision screenings for the school’s freshman class.

Bryan Hoover is site coordinator for the vision van, which travels throughout the state. He said the Lions Club’s motto of “We Serve” is reflected in clubs across the state providing vision screenings at about 150 sites each year.

“We are trying to serve the public by doing this,” he said.

Hoover said the vision van has conducted more than 100,000 screenings since it hit the road in 1999.

Although 90 percent of those screenings were done in a community setting, the remaining 10 percent have been at schools.

“Most kids, if they have had a visual impairment since they were born, they don’t realize that they should be seeing any better,” Hoover said. “They have a really hard time learning in school if they can’t see clearly, so our goal is to help find those kids and try to get them the assistance they need to see better.”

Kady Samples, a student at South, said Thursday’s screening gave her a bit of peace of mind.

“I haven’t been to the eye doctor in a while, so it’s good to know my eyes are OK,” she said. “It’s really nice of (the Lions Club) to do this for us.”

Michael Childress, a sophomore, said he’s always had good vision, but he didn’t mind double-checking Thursday.

“It’s pretty cool they are here helping out,” he said.

Wayne Kennerly, a Salisbury Lions Club member, laughed with students Thursday before conducting their vision screenings. He’s been helping with the screenings for years.

“It’s good because we can help catch those kids who can’t see well and help get glasses for them,” he said.

Lori Swaim, another Salisbury Lions Club member, said she enjoys doing the screenings.

“They can help us detect some problems that they might not know about, so I think it’s very important,” she said. “In fact, I think it’s one of the most important things that we do.”

Vicky Slusser, executive director of Communities in Schools of Rowan County, said she contacted the Salisbury Lions Club for help with the screenings after the site coordinators at South and North indicated a need to get their students’ eyes checked out.

She said the club picked up the $130-per-day fee to have the vision van at each school.

“I was put in touch with their president, and then from there it was kind of just a chain reaction,” Slusser said.

Students who need to see an optometrist but don’t have insurance or Medicaid will receive a voucher provided through a partnership between Communities in Schools and Sight for Students.

“That provides them with one vision screening plus a pair of glasses,” Slusser said.

Slusser said vision and dental screenings have been on the student needs list all year, and she wanted to make sure at least one of those were met before the semester ends.

“If they are not able to see to read, they are not able to do their school work, and that’s going to be vital when they start doing end of the year testing,” she said.

Slusser said she’s still hoping to get dental screenings done, but hasn’t found an avenue to make it happen. She said poor dental health could prevent students from coming to school because of pain from decay or embarrassment because of missing teeth.

“Summerville is known as ‘Flowertown in the Pines’ and has been named a Tree Town USA for 30 consecutive years. Recently, Dr. Tam, Lions Club International president, challenged Lions Club worldwide to plant one million trees to help turn around our environment, and I in turn have challenged our 34 clubs to plant a total of 250 trees,” said District Governor George Jenkins of Lions Club District 32B. “Partnering with ArborGen has been a true pleasure and we are thrilled to plant these 100 pine seedlings in Azalea Park in time for the annual Flowertown Festival which draws about 200,000 visitors each year. Since the Lions motto is ‘We Serve,’ volunteering within our community is very important to the Lions Club, so it’s great to work with another local organization in serving our community.”

The Lions Club is the global leader in humanitarian services, with more than 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 clubs in 206 countries and geographical areas around the world. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired and made a strong commitment to community service and serving youth throughout the world.

“The Lions Club is one of the most well respected organizations in the world, serving and volunteering in hospitals and senior centers, in regions battered by natural disaster, in schools and eyeglass recycling centers, working hands on to make our communities and world a better place,” said Nancy M. Hood, director of public affairs and sustainability of 2011 Broadbank Court Ridgeville, South Carolina 29472 www.arborgen.com ArborGen.

“We were thrilled to team up with The Lions Club by donating these seedlings to ensure there will always be greenery in the ‘Flower Town in the Pines’.” Starting in 1972, the town of Summerville has hosted the annual Flowertown Festival. It is held the first weekend of April in the Summerville Azalea Park, this year it will be occur from March 30-April 1, 2012.

This nationally acclaimed festival is South Carolina’s largest Arts & Crafts festival and has been named one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. This family-oriented 3-day event is a fundraising event for the Summerville Family YMCA and is held each spring set against the backdrop of blooming azaleas in Azalea Park. In 1925, Summerville’s Chamber of Commerce adopted the slogan “Flower Town in the Pines” because of the abundance of azaleas in the town.

Pine trees are one of the most valuable and versatile commercial trees because they are a source of wood, fiber and energy and they are grown across a wide range of soil types and geographies. The Southeastern United States is the largest market for planted trees in the United States and pine is the most widely planted species for commercial applications. The Pine species most commonly used for commercial purposes in the Southeastern United States are Loblolly Pine (pinus taeda), Slash Pine (pinus elliottii) and Longleaf Pine (pinus palustris).

At the March 28 meeting of the Uniontown Lions Club the special guest speaker was Cleveland Indians Charities  Coordinator, Nate Janoso. Janoso has been with the tribe in a full-time capacity since 2003 and had several positions for the organization. In his current role Janoso, works the Cleveland Indians Charities and Alumni relations for the club.

The Cleveland Indians Charities works with Cleveland city Youth and the Girls and Boys Clubs in the area helping to to provide baseball and other sports opportunities for the the area children.

Janoso highlighted the alumni relations effort that is ongoing during the season and brings in fan favorites for weekend meet and greets and autograph signings. Next Nate gave us a preview of what the team projects from the upcoming season.

Janoso also highlighted the stadium events for the upcoming events including fireworks, giveaways and dollar hot dogs. The presentation concluded with a couple of raffle drawings for signed photos of past players.

Please note that the following comments should be attributed to Sports Network and not to the Cleveland Indians or Nate Janoso:

There wasn’t a better story through the first four months of the season than the Cleveland Indians. But the story didn’t end well as hoped for the Tribe as injuries mounted during the later part of the season.

Cleveland stormed out of the gate and into first place in the AL Central by opening with a 14-2 record at home and a 30-15 record through May 23.

It wasn’t just that they were winning, it was the way they were winning. Mixed throughout the season were 36 comeback wins and 18 victories in the last at- bat. The Indians enjoyed 12 walk-off wins, including seven that came courtesy of walk-off home runs. That marked the most walk-off blasts in one season for the Indians since the team had nine such shots in the 1995 campaign.

Injuries, though, started to take their toll and the team struggled mightily in the second half, before ending the year 80-82, up 11 wins from 2010, but still a whopping 15 games back of American League Central Division champion Detroit.

The club used the disabled list 22 times and only had Hafner, Choo, Cabrera and Grady Sizemore — Cleveland’s four most established hitters — in the same lineup for 17 games. In all, Tribe players lost 826 days due to time spent on the DL.

Injuries have already reared their ugly head this year, as Sizemore (of course), is out until June following back surgery, while closer Chris Perez might not be ready at the start of the season because of an oblique injury suffered early in spring training.

Hopefully that is not a sign of things to come for the rest of the team.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2012 edition of the Cleveland Indians, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2011 FINISH (80-82) – Second Place (AL Central)

KEY OFFSEASON ADDITIONS: Derek Lowe (RHP), Casey Kotchman (1B), Jose Lopez (INF), Kevin Slowey (RHP), Dan Wheeler (RHP), Aaron Cunningham (OF)

KEY OFFSEASON SUBTRACTIONS: Austin Kearns (OF), Jensen Lewis (RHP), Mitch Talbot (RHP), Luis Valbuena (INF)

PROJECTED LINEUP: Michael Brantley (CF); Asdrubal Cabrera (SS); Shin-Soo CHoo (RF); Carlos Santana (C); Travis Hafner (DH); Casey Kotchman (1B); Shelley Duncan (LF); Jason Kipnis (2B); Jack Hannahan (3B)

PROJECTED ROTATION: Justin Masterson (RHP); Ubaldo Jimenez (RHP); Derek Lowe (RHP); Josh Tomlin (RHP); Jeanmar Gomez (RHP)

PROJECTED CLOSER: Chris Perez (RHP)

MANAGER: Manny Acta

CAN UBALDO JIMENEZ GET BACK TO WHERE HE WAS IN 2010?

How serious were the Cleveland Indians last season? Well they went out and acquired the best starter on the market at the trade deadline, plucking flamethrowing right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez from the Colorado Rockies for a pair of blue chip prospects in a blockbuster deal.

After an amazing 2010 season in Colorado, Jimenez struggled in the first half of 2011 and never really got on track. His time in Cleveland was nothing special, either, as he went just 4-4 with a 5.10 ERA in 11 starts, a far cry from the 19 wins and 2.88 ERA he flashed the previous season.

How concerned were the Tribe with the way Jimenez finished? Well they sent a trainer to the Dominican Republic for the entire offseason to work with him.

The Indians were one of the feel-good stories last season and have a ton of young talent in their lineup. If they are really going to make some noise in the AL Central, though, Jimenez needs to be close to the pitcher he was two years ago in Colorado.

Cleveland did unload some of the burden from Jimenez’s shoulders this winter with the acquisition of innings-eater Derek Lowe. Though, he and the right- hander formerly known as Fausto Carmona combined to lose 32 games last season.

Jimenez’s struggles, though, have continued this spring. However, he insists that he is healthy. The Indians better hope so if they have any shot at all of unseating the Detroit Tigers.

CAN SHIN-SOO CHOO STAY ON THE FIELD?

It’s almost amazing that the Indians were able to accomplish so much with Shin-Soo Choo sidelined for the majority of the season with an assortment of ailments.

The Korean right-fielder, who is a free agent at season’s end, is healthy, though, now and is looking to pick up right where he left off in 2010 when he hit .300 and set career highs with 22 home runs and 90 RBI.

Last year, though, was a different story. It all started with a DUI, then Choo suffered a broken thumb and a left oblique injury. In all he only appeared in 85 games last season and hit just .259 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. He had hit .300 with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in each of the previous two years.

Choo entered camp this year in the best shape of his life and 20 pounds lighter after a four-week basic training program with the South Korean army.

All Korean men are obligated to serve in the military for two years before they turn 30 years old. Choo became exempt by helping South Korea capture the gold medal in the Asian Games two winters ago.

IS ASDRUBAL CABRERA FOR REAL?

Everyone in Cleveland knew Asdrubal Cabrera was as good with the glove as anyone in baseball. What they didn’t know was just how good he was with the stick.

Cabrera broke out offensively last season, as he established career marks in homers (25), RBI (92), runs scored (87), hits (165), total bases (278) and slugging percentage (.460).

His 25 homers set a new franchise record for a shortstop, and his 92 RBI were the most by an Indians shortstop since Lou Boudreau collected 106 during the 1948 campaign. Among AL shortstops this past season, Cabrera ranked first in RBI and hits, and was second in homers, runs and doubles.

X-FACTOR: ROBERTO HERNADEZ HEREDIA: Who? Well that is the man formerly known as Fausto Carmona. Heredia, who is three years older (31) than previously thought, was arrested in January for using a false identity to secure a U.S. visa and since he is not yet in the country, will most certainly not be with the team when the Tribe breaks camp. Of course Carmona, or Heredia, won 19 games back in 2007, but since then he has combined to win just 33 times in four years. Heredia has showed flashes of brilliance at times, but overall was too inconsistent. Hopefully Heredia has more wins in his right arm than Carmona did.

OUTLOOK

The Indians have the talent to be a factor in the AL Central. They will need another solid season from their starters, especially Jimenez, and their key offensive players must stay healthy and perform at a high level. It’s almost impossible to count on Grady Sizemore anymore, but if Choo and Travis Hafner spend more time on the disabled list than on the active roster, this team is going to have a tough time winning. Even with the addition of another wild card the postseason may be a tough task, one that would probably require another double-digit leap in victories.

There wasn’t a better story through the first four months of the season than the Cleveland Indians. But the story didn’t end well.

Cleveland stormed out of the gate and into first place in the AL Central by opening with a 14-2 record at home and a 30-15 record through May 23.

It wasn’t just that they were winning, it was the way they were winning. Mixed throughout the season were 36 comeback wins and 18 victories in the last at- bat. The Indians enjoyed 12 walk-off wins, including seven that came courtesy of walk-off home runs. That marked the most walk-off blasts in one season for the Indians since the team had nine such shots in the 1995 campaign.

Injuries, though, started to take their toll and the team struggled mightily in the second half, before ending the year 80-82, up 11 wins from 2010, but still a whopping 15 games back of American League Central Division champion Detroit.

The club used the disabled list 22 times and only had Hafner, Choo, Cabrera and Grady Sizemore — Cleveland’s four most established hitters — in the same lineup for 17 games. In all, Tribe players lost 826 days due to time spent on the DL.

Injuries have already reared their ugly head this year, as Sizemore (of course), is out until June following back surgery, while closer Chris Perez might not be ready at the start of the season because of an oblique injury suffered early in spring training.

Hopefully that is not a sign of things to come for the rest of the team.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2012 edition of the Cleveland Indians, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2011 FINISH (80-82) – Second Place (AL Central)

KEY OFFSEASON ADDITIONS: Derek Lowe (RHP), Casey Kotchman (1B), Jose Lopez (INF), Kevin Slowey (RHP), Dan Wheeler (RHP), Aaron Cunningham (OF)

KEY OFFSEASON SUBTRACTIONS: Austin Kearns (OF), Jensen Lewis (RHP), Mitch Talbot (RHP), Luis Valbuena (INF)

PROJECTED LINEUP: Michael Brantley (CF); Asdrubal Cabrera (SS); Shin-Soo CHoo (RF); Carlos Santana (C); Travis Hafner (DH); Casey Kotchman (1B); Shelley Duncan (LF); Jason Kipnis (2B); Jack Hannahan (3B)

PROJECTED ROTATION: Justin Masterson (RHP); Ubaldo Jimenez (RHP); Derek Lowe (RHP); Josh Tomlin (RHP); Jeanmar Gomez (RHP)

PROJECTED CLOSER: Chris Perez (RHP)

MANAGER: Manny Acta

CAN UBALDO JIMENEZ GET BACK TO WHERE HE WAS IN 2010?

How serious were the Cleveland Indians last season? Well they went out and acquired the best starter on the market at the trade deadline, plucking flamethrowing right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez from the Colorado Rockies for a pair of blue chip prospects in a blockbuster deal.

After an amazing 2010 season in Colorado, Jimenez struggled in the first half of 2011 and never really got on track. His time in Cleveland was nothing special, either, as he went just 4-4 with a 5.10 ERA in 11 starts, a far cry from the 19 wins and 2.88 ERA he flashed the previous season.

How concerned were the Tribe with the way Jimenez finished? Well they sent a trainer to the Dominican Republic for the entire offseason to work with him.

The Indians were one of the feel-good stories last season and have a ton of young talent in their lineup. If they are really going to make some noise in the AL Central, though, Jimenez needs to be close to the pitcher he was two years ago in Colorado.

Cleveland did unload some of the burden from Jimenez’s shoulders this winter with the acquisition of innings-eater Derek Lowe. Though, he and the right- hander formerly known as Fausto Carmona combined to lose 32 games last season.

Jimenez’s struggles, though, have continued this spring. However, he insists that he is healthy. The Indians better hope so if they have any shot at all of unseating the Detroit Tigers.

CAN SHIN-SOO CHOO STAY ON THE FIELD?

It’s almost amazing that the Indians were able to accomplish so much with Shin-Soo Choo sidelined for the majority of the season with an assortment of ailments.

The Korean right-fielder, who is a free agent at season’s end, is healthy, though, now and is looking to pick up right where he left off in 2010 when he hit .300 and set career highs with 22 home runs and 90 RBI.

Last year, though, was a different story. It all started with a DUI, then Choo suffered a broken thumb and a left oblique injury. In all he only appeared in 85 games last season and hit just .259 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. He had hit .300 with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in each of the previous two years.

Choo entered camp this year in the best shape of his life and 20 pounds lighter after a four-week basic training program with the South Korean army.

All Korean men are obligated to serve in the military for two years before they turn 30 years old. Choo became exempt by helping South Korea capture the gold medal in the Asian Games two winters ago.

IS ASDRUBAL CABRERA FOR REAL?

Everyone in Cleveland knew Asdrubal Cabrera was as good with the glove as anyone in baseball. What they didn’t know was just how good he was with the stick.

Cabrera broke out offensively last season, as he established career marks in homers (25), RBI (92), runs scored (87), hits (165), total bases (278) and slugging percentage (.460).

His 25 homers set a new franchise record for a shortstop, and his 92 RBI were the most by an Indians shortstop since Lou Boudreau collected 106 during the 1948 campaign. Among AL shortstops this past season, Cabrera ranked first in RBI and hits, and was second in homers, runs and doubles.

X-FACTOR: ROBERTO HERNADEZ HEREDIA: Who? Well that is the man formerly known as Fausto Carmona. Heredia, who is three years older (31) than previously thought, was arrested in January for using a false identity to secure a U.S. visa and since he is not yet in the country, will most certainly not be with the team when the Tribe breaks camp. Of course Carmona, or Heredia, won 19 games back in 2007, but since then he has combined to win just 33 times in four years. Heredia has showed flashes of brilliance at times, but overall was too inconsistent. Hopefully Heredia has more wins in his right arm than Carmona did.

OUTLOOK

The Indians have the talent to be a factor in the AL Central. They will need another solid season from their starters, especially Jimenez, and their key offensive players must stay healthy and perform at a high level. It’s almost impossible to count on Grady Sizemore anymore, but if Choo and Travis Hafner spend more time on the disabled list than on the active roster, this team is going to have a tough time winning. Even with the addition of another wild card the postseason may be a tough task, one that would probably require another double-digit leap in victories.

W.Va. Gov. Jay Rockefeller (holding shovel) and Secretary of State A. James Manchin plant a tree with the Downtown Huntington Lions Club outside what is now Big Sandy Superstore Arena, circa 1977. The local Lions Club is celebrating its 90th anniversary.

HUNTINGTON — It was safe to say that not one charter member was present this week as the Downtown Huntington Lions Club celebrated its 90th anniversary.

However, it also was safe to say that club member Linden Chiles, 88, held the closest position to a charter member of all of the club’s current members.

“I joined the club in 1952,” Chiles said. “My father-in-law was one of the original members of the club in Huntington, and I was enthusiastic to join the club.”

During the past 60 years, Chiles said he has seen the club go from a club of 50 members, up to more than 100 members, who met at the Prichard Hotel, before settling to about a 30-member group that meets at the Pullman Plaza Hotel the first and third Thursday of each month.

“It always felt like we were working with what we had no matter how many people were there,” Chiles said. “I’ve always thought we do good work with limited people and limited income.”

Chiles is one of many club members and local leaders who will be at the Pullman Plaza Hotel this Saturday — not for a meeting, but for a celebration of 90 years of service and camaraderie.

Earlier this week, Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe issued a proclamation in honor of the anniversary, and he is expected to be one of many people to attend the event.

The Huntington Downtown Lions Club was formed during a meeting of 89 local businessmen in 1922, just five years after the club was founded by a Chicago business leader.

The charter for the Huntington Club was issued on March 11, 1922, making it the fourth club to be chartered in the state, following Charleston, Parkersburg and Wheeling.

Since then, the group has taken to the streets to help with everything from establishing a playground in West Huntington in 1927 and assisting in the relief effort following the 1937 flood to the current co-sponsorship of the Huntington Red Cross Bloodmobile and relief efforts in Wayne County following severe storms that struck the area earlier this month.

Of course, even with all of those efforts, the Lions Club is most noted for its efforts in providing vision care for community members of all ages, said Tom Altizer, treasurer of the Huntington club.

“I think with a lot of clubs, you don’t know what it is they do unless you’re involved in them or you use that service,” Altizer said. “With the Lions Club, we do eye screenings and provide glasses all over the place, and I think those activities are what people notice the most even though we are involved in everything from maintaining athletic fields to helping people recover following a tragedy.”

The Huntington Lions club has purchased more than 13,000 pairs of glasses for un-insured and under-insured residents of Huntington in addition to collecting more than 300,000 pairs of glasses to be recycled and redistributed throughout the world via Lions International.

With all of that work, it might seem like club members could get tired of one another, but Chiles said those experiences only serve to bring them closer together.

“I enjoy it. I enjoy the camaraderie of the members. I’ve gotten to be personal friends with them over the years, and what keeps us together is that we all enjoy what we do,” Chiles said. “We do a lot of good work in the community and nationwide, and the whole reason anyone joins the club is to give back to the community. The friendship just comes in with that.”

That friendship is something Altizer said he hopes can be carried on well into the future.

“We all would like it to continue and grow. I hope the club is able to stay deeply involved in the community like it is,” Altizer said. “I stay in it because I enjoy it, and it provides a service to the community. I hope more people can find that enjoyment through the club.”

In a combined pledge, the Hunterville, Marton and Bulls Lions Clubs have raised $50,000 for a room at the new Ronald McDonald House being built opposite Wellington Hospital.

Hunterville Lions Club president Bernie Hughes said the three clubs in the Rangitikei region decided two years ago to make the pledge and raise $50,000.

“It is a very special cause, and we really wanted to get stuck in,” he said

The three clubs hope the name of the new room will be the Rangitikei Room.

Each club had held a major event to raise the money.

In early March, the Hunterville club held a 4WD rally across all the big sheep stations along the Napier-Taupo Rd.

“It was unbelievably successful. We completely sold out and could have easily sold dozens more tickets. Every station manager and farmer signed up … we were so well supported, it was just amazing,” Mr Hughes said.

The new, bigger, Ronald McDonald House will be able to house 34 families whereas the old house could only take 12 families.

The new house has cost the Ronald McDonald Trust more than $15 million and the call went out from the Wellington Trust for donations and pledges more than two years ago.

Ronald McDonald House is a “home-away-from-home” for families of children receiving medical treatment in Wellington.

The idea is that children respond better to treatment when their families are close.

The trust wanted to build a bigger house so it could accommodate a growing number of families and ensure it never had to turn anyone away.

They bought the land next to the existing house, just a short walk from Wellington Hospital.

The Ronald McDonald House Wellington Trust had pushed the green light for the project to start before they had secured the full funding, because they knew having the building under way was the best way to show they were serious about the new house.