Near Normal Grotto

January 1997 Near Normal News

MINUTES OF THE MEETING

November 22, 1996

Called to order at 7:12pm by President John Marquart.

Present: John Marquart, Julie Angel, Brian Braye, Tonja Frazer, D.C. Young, Jim Jacobs.

OFFICER REPORTS: The minutes of the previous two meetings were approved as published in the NEWS. The Treasurer's report was delivered by Julie Angel
and approved. She noted that membership dues for the year are now payable.

OLD BUSINESS: The status of the ISU Outdoor Program is still shaky.

NEW BUSINESS: Jo Shaper of Meramec Valley Grotto is compiling updates for NSS websites. Send her our site info. NEWS editors Jim Jacobs and Brian Braye
note that they need help with articles and with reproduction and distribution of the newsletter. Tonja volunteered to help with distribution. The suggestion was made
that we publish the member's list more often. Call for nominations from the floor for grotto officers. As there were none, the proposed slate was re-elected
unanimously. Brian Braye showed off the caving LED light that he built.

TRIP REPORTS: Julie Angel went with Dr. Sam Panno to the Waterloo area on a water sample collecting trip. She also met Kris Ehrens, the Karst Educator with
the Health Department.

PLANNED TRIPS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: The spring meeting of the Ill. Speleological Survey will be March 16 at the Illinois State Museum Research and
Collections Center, Springfield, IL at 10:00am. Officers will be elected at that meeting. Phil Moss found a fossil ground sloth rib in Fogelpole. Plans are being
formulated for a spring Fogelpole cleanup. We have an invitation for a possible "behind the scenes" field trip to Brookfield Zoo by Jim Rowell sometime this spring.
Kevin Rasmus and Tonja did a presentation on caves at the Washington School (Bloomington) on November 19th. John Marquart gave his traveling presentation at
stops in Kentucky and Indiana. The February issue of the NSS NEWS is the conservation issue. John M. will submit the BlackBall Mine story. Norm Rogers should
submit a story on the NSS field camp at Mammoth. Deadline, December 20.