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The Beginning…

Rotary Club of Ojai

Reporter’s Notebook – March 20, 2026

In the beginning…

The bell rang out at 12:05 — and just like that we were back in the agreeable order of Rotary time. Past (and incoming) President Bret Bradigan welcomed us into that world of warmth and service above self.

Flag salute from Rod Owen.

 Then bi-lingual Patricia Gates, offering a 1870 Arthur Rimbaud poem in both French and English to inspire a reflective moment. Then we turned our attention to lunch, today a sturdy and satisfying chicken parmesan with ziti from Jayne Cruise.

Guest included Student of the Month Lucky Quies from Rock, Tree, Sky with mentor Peter Cable. Kay Bliss also hosted a guest who works with underserved women on empowerment projects.

Visiting Rotarian was Steve White, with a weather report from Bellingham, WA. “Three inches of rain and roads closed and rivers in flood stage,” he said, to compare with Ojai’s 95 degree weather to greet the first day of Spring.

Announcements

A note of concern hung over the early announcements. Sue Gilbreth, intending to attend despite chemo, suffered a complication and was taken to the ER by Bill Prather. The room tightened, then steadied — Rotary’s quieter function, the one that doesn’t make agendas.

From there, the meeting found its rhythm. Much applause for Amy and Bill Warlick and the Peace Committee for their Dignity Index program at Hotel El Roblar on Wednesday. It was a resounding success. Amy shouted out the many Rotarians who helped with the setup and organization.  Here's a picture of the event:

Upcoming Programs

Bruce Hanson previewed upcoming speakers:

• March 27 – Tania Parker, Ojai Valley Land Conservancy: Ojai native, Cal Poly–trained in forestry and natural resources, now Deputy Director of OVLC. She’ll speak on ReWild Ojai and provide an update on the 6,500-acre Rancho Cañada Larga project.
• April 3 – Nargis Zagran (via Zoom), Afghan Women’s Education Advocate: BBC 100 honoree and advisor to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance, Zagran will speak on women’s rights and education under Taliban pressure — a sobering, urgent perspective. 

Mock Interviews: 

Bob Eisler made the practical ask: 22 volunteers per day for mock interviews at the end of April. Last year’s 22 percent no-show rate was salvaged by good luck. This year, he suggested, let’s try planning.

Student of the Month: 

Lucky Quies of Rock Tree Sky Learning Center was introduced by Bill Hatch, with remarks from mentor Peter Cable—one of those Rotary interludes that reminds you why the club still matters.

Fining:

Then Bruce Hanson took up the gavel for fining, Rotary’s small theater of confession and coin. Patricia Gates reported on attending Grease with Sue and witnessing her near-celebrity status at Nordhoff. Tony Thacher obliged. Jerry Maryniuk described his close call with a falling oak — front-page news, gravity doing what gravity does. Bruce, sensing a theme, pivoted to sanitation trivia and extracted modest sums from the usual suspects - Catherine Lee, Kelley R., Dave Watson and Joe Cesena.

Program: The Work Beneath the Surface

Gary Liptak introduced the day’s speaker, Scott Meckstroth, with a pleasing small-world note: they had both lived in the same New Hampshire town, decades apart. Rotary specializes in those overlaps.

Meckstroth, General Manager of the Ojai Valley Sanitary District, occupies one of those roles that is invisible right up until it isn’t. A licensed civil engineer with more than 20 years in water and wastewater systems, he now oversees a $10 million operation serving roughly 7,000 connections across the valley. 

He walked us through the unromantic but essential mechanics of modern life: oxygenation, nutrient removal, ultraviolet disinfection. Nitrogen, in excess, can cause “blue baby syndrome.” Phosphorus and sulfur have their own mischief. And then there is FOG — fats, oils, and grease — though, Meckstroth noted, Ojai produces less than most places. We like to think that says something about us.

The district maintains about 100 miles of pipe, threaded along San Antonio Creek, the Ventura River, and the bike path. Tree roots, he explained, are opportunists. So are “flushable” wipes, which are neither. The district now relies on a $750,000 screening system in part to contend with them — an expensive lesson in modern habits.

About a third of the valley still relies on septic systems. Plans are in motion to extend service to areas like Casitas Springs and North Rice Road, using grants and targeted programs. It is slow, necessary work — the kind that improves a place without announcing itself.

At one point, Meckstroth invoked Dr. John Snow tracing London’s 1854 cholera outbreak to the Broad Street pump — a reminder that sanitation is not a luxury but a hinge of civilization. It was the closest thing to drama in a talk about wastewater, and it landed.

Tours of the facility, he added, are available. “Fascinating,” he said. “And free.” One believed him.

Closing Notes

Scott was presented with citrus from Friends Ranch, Rotary’s signature thank-you—local, useful, and just a little poetic.

Bradigan closed with the obvious truth: no one thinks about the sanitary district until something goes wrong. At which point, it is the only thing anyone thinks about.

The bell rang at 1:31. Back out into Ojai, where everything appears effortless, supported by systems that are anything but.

I

Jack Jacobs is resting after many long nights filing taxes for his fellow Ojai citizens.