Next Board Meeting:  June 27, 2001, 7:30p.m., Maurer Dive Shop
Next Regular Meeting:  July 5, 2001, 7:30p.m., Penn Gables, Ebensburg, PA

VP, Lance Marks, called the meeting to order.  It was noted that all the fundraiser tickets have been sold.  Receipts were given to the treasurer for shale at the quarry, $14.63 and flowers for Judy $26.50.  A duty list for the treasure dive was distributed for officers and board members to schedule time at the treasure dive.The prize list for the treasure dive was reviewed.  A safety kit was added to the prize list. The Board voted to send $50 to Jeff Bender to cover his welding costs for the new ladder at the quarry.  A thank-you will be sent with the check.  Denny Beecher will arrange for the pavilion at Raystown for September 16th.

Barb Wyland presented treasurer’s report.  Income $1706.00, expenses $2471.34, balance $2323.69.

OLD BUSINESS

Quarry releases need to be signed for 2001.  Anyone who has not signed one, please do so.

Liability Release packet was passed for those who have not signed this year.

FUNDRAISER – All tickets have been sold.  Thanks to all for your support of this project.
Winners:
Monday, May 28, #377, Joe Jenkins
Tuesday, May 29, #623, Arlene McCully
Wednesday, May 30, #088,  John Betting
Thursday, May 31, #311,  Perry Miller, sold by Michael Hiott
Friday, June 1, #986, Autumn Smith

DUES  - Club dues are due by the July meeting – July 5, 2001.
Single or first member $24
Second member  $16
Third and forth member  $8
**We will continue to pro-rate dues for those members joining mid year
YOU MUST HAVE PAID DUES IN ORDER TO REGISTER FOR THE TREASURE DIVE.

TREASURE DIVE REGISTRATION  $15  - must be in by July 12, 2001.

NEW LADDER – A thank-you card was passed for all to sign.  We will send this and a check for $50 to Jeff Bender for his work building the ladder, to help cover the costs of welding supplies, gas, etc.

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 8, 2001, Blue Hole Quarry, 6p.m., EOFND (every other Friday night dive)

June 16, 17, 2001, Dutch Springs, PA  Leaving Friday at 5p.m. from Donna Bender’s house.  Camping Friday and Saturday night.  Contact Donna (814 472-9796)

June 17, 2001, at 2p.m. – Dive In at the Blue Hole Quarry.
The Dive-Ins are open to all newly certified divers and club members.  Come out and spend an enjoyable afternoon diving and making new friends.  Bring your buddy or dive with a group.  Do a tour of the quarry, feed the fish and bring a picnic lunch and some lawn chairs.  Need equipment?  Maurer Dive Shop has a special package - $25 for the day.  Contact Bob or Rose to reserve your gear and tanks now.  Don’t wait till the last minute!  Divers will be meeting at the Donut Shop in Hollidaysburg and leaving for the quarry promptly at 1p.m.  See other dates below.

June 22, 2001, Blue Hole Quarry, 6p.m., EOFND (every other Friday night dive)

June 27, 2001, Board Meeting, Maurer’s Dive Shop, 7:30p.m.  All are welcome to attend.

June 24, 2001, Stress and Rescue with SSI Instructor, Harve Montgomery.  $60 + course manual.  Lunch is provided.  See Rose Maurer if interested. (344-6641)

July 5, 2001, Regular Monthly Meeting, Penn Gables, Ebensburg, 7:30p.m.

July 17, 2001,  - Quarry clean up night 6pm.
Bring your mowers and trimmers for clean-up night.  Rain date:  July 18, 2001
Call Lois (814 472-2144 daytime) or Donna (814 472-9796 evenings) if you have any questions.

July 20, 2001, Erection Party at the Quarry – Friday evening.  (by the way – that’s tent erection)

July 21, 2001, Pre-Treasure Dive Party “On the Rocks”.  Bring your camper or tent and spend a night “with your friends”.

July 22, 2001, Treasure Dive, Blue Hole Quarry.   Registration fee of $15 must be in by July 12, 2001.  Register in at noon, and dive from 1p.m. to 5p.m.  Bring a covered dish – the club provides hamburgers/hot dogs and buns.  Sign up for a duty and a food item.

August 11 & 12, 2001, Deep Diving, Bainbridge, with SSI Instructor, Harve Montgomery.  $60 + course manual.  Lunch is provided.  See Rose Maurer if interested. (344-6641)

August 18, 2001, Mt. Storm  More details will follow.

August 19, 2001, Navigation/Night/Limited Vis with SSI Instructor, Harve Montgomery.  $60 + course manual.  Lunch is provided.  See Rose Maurer if interested. (344-6641)

August 23, 24, 25, 26, 2001, Niagara River, Denny Beecher (814 472-5776) great shore diving, 20-25’ visibility, 2 tank boat dive on Lake Erie on Friday.  $55 for the charter boat.  Two drift dives on Saturday and drift diving Sunday.  5-6 hours travel.  $35 deposit by May 30th.
Camping is $35 per night for campsites, $45/$55 for cabins.

August 26, 2001, at 2p.m. – Dive In at the Blue Hole Quarry.
The Dive-Ins are open to all newly certified divers and club members.  Come out and spend an enjoyable afternoon diving and making new friends.  Bring your buddy or dive with a group.  Do a tour of the quarry, feed the fish and bring a picnic lunch and some lawn chairs.

September 1 – 9, 2001, Nova Scotia Dive Trip.  Sylvia MacKinnon (814 237-3261 or SylviaM@psu.edu)  4-5 days of diving.  Approximate cost:  $700 for transportation, diving, food and lodging.

September 9, 2001, Stress & Rescue with SSI Instructor, Harve Montgomery.  $60 + course manual.  Lunch is provided.  See Rose Maurer if interested. (344-6641)

October 13, 2001, 2p.m. – Dive In at the Blue Hole Quarry
The Dive-Ins are open to all newly certified divers and club members.  Come out and spend an enjoyable afternoon diving and making new friends.  Bring your buddy or dive with a group.  Do a tour of the quarry, feed the fish and bring a picnic lunch and some lawn chairs

October 28, 2001, Stress and Rescue with SSI Instructor, Harve Montgomery.  $60 + course manual.  Lunch is provided.  See Rose Maurer if interested. (344-6641)

Dec. 2-9, 2001 – Cozumel.  Approximately $1200 for 7days/air/meals/5day 2-tank boat dives.
(7) nights, (5) days of two-tank boat diving plus unlimited day or night shore diving.  All meals are included.  Cost:  $705 per person (double occupancy) with our 10% discount. To qualify for the 10% discount, $100 deposit must be paid by May 9, 2001.  Flight from Pittsburgh International from $628 to $650 per person.  Passport or birth certificate with raised seal and photo id are required.  Call Dee Montgomery for more details 814 944-8521.

NEW BUSINESS

Bud Colyer took the floor and spoke regarding the September 28, 29th family weekend at Warrior’s Mark, PA.  He invited the Laurel Divers to come to his camp over this weekend and enjoy the outdoors.  Bring horses, 4-wheelers, etc.  A pig roast will be made available for a nominal cost.  Facilities are available for showers and plenty of room for camping.  We will pass a sign-up sheet to see how many are interested and plan from there.

CPR/First Aid course - Dan Turcovsky will offer.  6-hour course, $30, details to follow.

Officer elections – ballots were distributed and a vote was taken.  Ron Peterson, Sandy Beecher and Jim Hostetler presided over the count.  New officers for  2001-2002 are as follows:
President  - Donna Bender
Vice President - Brad McVicker
Secretary – Lois Keegan
Treasurer - Nelda Donley

Bob Maurer took the floor to announce a new Dive-Con in our midst – Ron Peterson.  Congratulations Ron!
Bob also thanked everyone for the cards and gifts sent during his hospitalization.  Some BOB MAUER TRIVIA you may not have been aware of:  Bob has been diving for over 30 years.  He has been an instructor for SSI for 20 years and has been operating the dive shop for over 18 years.  I think I speak for all of us when I say, “Thanks Bob!”  You and Rose have been taking care of the Laurel Divers for years now – we appreciate all the care and attention you give us and our diving needs.  We are also extremely happy your surgery went so well and that you are looking great!  We love ya man!

TRIP REPORTS

D&R Divers Make-A-Wish Treasure Dive, May 19, 2001, Brad McVicker reported a fun day at a well-organized event.  Approximately 9 Laurel Divers attended.  Brad’s son, Matt was the winner of the Peter Hughes live-aboard trip to Papua, New Guinea.  Congratulations Matt!  D&R Divers reported a total of $15,252.12 was raised for Make-A-Wish at this year’s treasure dive.

Memorial Day Dive, May 28, 2001.  Bert Sharbaugh reported approximately 12 divers.  As usual, a good time for all.
 

Moorhead City, North Carolina trip, hosted by Jim and Sandy Smith.  Dan Turcovsky reported warm weather and warm water – what a great combination!  Two days of boat diving on the Diver Down with Captain Bobby Cox.    Approximately 14 Laurel Divers enjoyed the great diving and were treated to large numbers of Sand Tiger sharks, lots of fish life, and great wrecks including the Caribsea, the Atlas Tanker and the Amagansant  It was also a historic meeting of our two long-distance members:  Jim Carozza from Boston and Matt Johnson from St. Paul.

OTHER BUSINESS

Donna Bender introduced Pay & Randy Wood, certified June 3, 2001, with Harve Montgomery and Bert Sharbaugh; and Greg Lilly, certified November 4, 1999, at UPJ, all of whom submitted new member applications at this meeting.

Just a reminder to call the dive shop and get your reservations in early for equipment.  It’s going to be a busy summer!

Door Prize – Dive Log – Susie Feighner
Daybook - $169, Harve Montgomery, not present

Meeting was adjourned.  Swap meet is open.
 
FOR SALE:

Underwater Camera Package:  Nikonos III 35mm lens, oceanic 2000 strobe, ikelite viewfinder, sekonic light meter, ikelite handle.  Jim Hostetler 814 472-5456

Medium BC $25; Medium female shorty $10; Medium-small wetsuit $10. JoeG123@yahoo.com
 
 

Men’s 2 piece 7mm farmer john wet suit, size medium, $50 or best offer; XL soft weight belt, black $10 OBO; Magnetic slate $5.  Contact Donna Bender 814 472-9796.

50-watt dive light, 2 sets of batteries with extras.  $285  Bill Kimmick 814 288-3888

(2) Dacor Pacer 900 regulators, each has a double instrument console (air pressure & depth gauge to 150 feet), each regulator has a hose that connects to the BC.  One regulator has an octopus, two storage bags;
(4) 80 cu. Ft. aluminum tanks, each with a boot and valve protector;
(2) Dacor BC-SL BC’s, blue, size large and size medium;
Large zippered gear bag;
US Diver’s bag with misc. spare parts.
Package price for all above:  $1475
Call Gary Runyon 814 696-7820

Sea Suit ¼” wet suit, matching gloves, hood, jacket, farmer john, royal blue, size Large, worn twice, $150 or BO
Ocean Pro dive light $15
Arbalete rubber powered spear gun, model DDS, 3 barbs, 28” shaft $35
Dacor 12 gauge 3” magnum bang stick, stainless steel head, never used $95
Dacor deluxe plastic pack for single tank, never used $35
Contact Gary Runyon 814 696-7820

I DON’T KNOW NOTHING!

On June 2, 2001, Ron Peterson and Kim McKee each took their 200th dive on the Caribsea, off the coast of North Carolina.  Congratulations to both!
Heather Hooper recently received her Master Diver Card.  Heather will be a junior at Altoona Area High School this fall.  Heather is planning on pursuing a marine biology career after college.

Let me know of any events or diving milestones you have made.  Birthdays, anniversaries, 100th dive?   Call me, we’ll talk.  Lois@TechniqueSystems.com or 814 472-0774.
 

DEAR SHERWOOD:
This column is devoted to your dive etiquette questions.  Forward any questions or comments to Sherwood, c/o Laurel Divers/Lois Keegan, 204 Plank Road, Ebensburg, PA 15931, or email at Sherwood@LaurelDivers.com

Dear Sherwood:  I read this in an old Manual for Divers and thought you may enjoy:
Signed, Likes to Read
An excerpt from the Handbook for Seaman Gunners, Manual for Divers, Prepared at the Naval Torpedo Station, Washington, 1905.

Chapter I.
Requirements for Divers
Before men are detailed for diving, they should be examined as to their fitness by a medical doctor.  As this is sometimes impracticable the following list of requirements and of physical defects which should cause the rejection of men having them is given for the benefit of those who may be called upon to select candidates for this employment.  Divers are—
1. To be cool-headed, calm, and of a phlegmatic temperament.
2. To be in good health, have a strong constitution, and the action of the lungs to be normal.
3. Not to be short-necked, full-bodied, or with a tendency to nosebleed.
4. Not to have bloodshot eyes, or a high color on the cheeks, caused by the interlacement of numerous small but distinct blood vessels.
5. Not to be very pale, nor have lips more blue than red, nor be subject to cold hands or feet.
6. Not to perspire freely.
7. Not to be affected with cough, asthma, or catarrh.
8. Not to be subject to headaches or dizziness, or affected with deafness.
9. Not to be hard drinkers, nor have suffered frequently or severely from venereal disease, or have had sunstroke or rheumatism.
10. Not to have been subject to palpitation of the heart or fainting spells.
11. Not at any time to have spat or coughed up blood.
Men who have long trunks with well developed chests and loins generally make good divers.

Dear Reader:
Thanks for sharing.
Your beary best dive buddy,
Sherwood