Justice of The Peace - An Overview

Judge Russ Ridgway, JP Court Precinct 5, Place 1, was our guest speaker this week. He gave us a very concise overview of the operations of a JP Court.

Judge Russ Ridgway was unanimously appointed by Commissioners Court to serve as the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 5, Place 1 on June 3, 2003. He was elected by a very significant majority of voters in November 2004 and re-elected in 2008 to serve an additional 4-year term.

Basically the JP Courts handle some criminal cases (traffic citations, truancy, etc), small claims cases (under $10,000) and a slew of various civil cases ranging from eviction to identity theft and beyond.

Judge Ridgway's court is in the top five courts in all of Texas for the number of cases handled, and Pct 5 is the largest precinct in all of Texas in area. Judge Ridgway has a staff of about 30, and in his opinion his staff is the best of any Texas JP court.

You can find out more about this JP Court here.

Guests, Visitors and Other Good News

We had a truly international meeting this week with visitors from three foreign countries...spanning the globe!

Although a U.S. resident now, Luba Nesterova was born and raised in Russia. Our visitor Favour Adedayo, like our president, is originally from Nigeria. And, Pol Bossayt and Monique Lambrelmt joined us after a trip from Belgium

Luba was a member of a Rotaract Club in Saratov, Russia. Favour was a member of the Rotary Club of Sholomu, Nigeria. Pol is a member of The Rotary Club of Harelbek, Belgium.

Belgium	Nigeria	Russia

Delores Delsing reported on the District Membership Assembly held last Saturday. We had four members there (Ken Marsh, Jon King, Bill Landers and Delores) and she said it was a meaningful sharing of information. Remember...this year especially...ROTARY IS IN YOUR HANDS!

District Governor Ed Charlesworth asked Delores Delsing to serve as the Chair of the District Literacy Committee; ad she has accepted. Way to go Delores!

Club Social, August 29th

Jeff Novy announced the next Club Social will be Saturday, August 29th. All those wishing to indulge a sweet tooth will gather at 4:30 PM at Kegg's Candy Chocolate Factory & Retail Store located at 8168-A Westpark Drive, Houston, Texas 77063. We will have a tour of the factory to see how they make all that terrible tasting stuff. If you think you might wish to buy some candy it is suggested you bring an ice chest complete with ice...since Houston's weather is not a friendly one for candy.

Following the factory tour and shopping spree, we will adjourn to Pier 61 on Murphy road for a dutch-treat evening of fine seafood and camaraderie. Those who could not make the candy factory tour may join the dinner group. We should arrive at Pier 61 between 6 and 6:30 PM. Jeff will have an area reserved for our group.

Sign-up sheet will be passed around at our next meeting on August 18th...please plan to be there!

Coming Up At Rotary