Saturday, Oct. 12. 1991
Holiday Inn at Blue Ash
1-275 at U.S. 42
10 am, business meeting, program, optional luncheon(see note
below)
Meeting free, but reserve your place by phoning Porter Henry,
221-5106.
THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
This videotape, part of the Arthur C. Clarke series on "Strange Powers," discusses poltergeist occurrences, including reports on the investigations of two European incidents. Any local experiences with poltergeists?
Saturday, Nov. 9 (Meeting place to be announced)
Dr. Joseph P. Gastright
President, Ohio Valley Skeptics
will speak on
THE FIRST "NEW AGE":
Paranormal beliefs in Cincinnati, 1840-1880
NOTE on meeting place: the Sept. 10 meeting will be followed by an optional luncheon. AJI who wish to attend without staying for the luncheon are welcome; those who wish to have lunch, please phone reservation to Porter Henry, 221-5106, and send check for $15, made out to Ohio Valley Skeptics, to our treasurer, Richard Shepherd.
We get the meeting room free if a group of us eat there: otherwise the charge for the room is $30 to $90, depending on size. The $15 includes a preselected $8.95 meal plus tax and tip, and a small contribution toward the $50 set-up charge if fewer than 20 have lunch.
A major topic on the business agenda will be the selection of a free meeting place with optional, convenient luncheon facilities. Any suggestions?
A new organization called the "Ohio Valley Skeptics" was incubated at a meeting held Saturday morning, Sept. 20, at the Blue Ash Holiday Inn.
Fourteen charter members were present; their names and phone numbers appear elsewhere. Twenty-seven others were unable to attend but expressed interest in joining.
The group's purpose is to encourage critical thinking in all areas of life, and specifically with regard to the investigation of local reports of paranormal events.
It will work with the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claim of the Paranormal, and will exchange newsletters with other chapters of that organization.
Its initial activities will be to hold monthly membership meetings and publish a news bulletin. Later it hopes to sponsor public lectures, provide a panel of resource specialists the media can contact, and investigate local paranormal claims.
It was decided that the group would meet at 10 am on the second Saturday of each month, followed by an optional luncheon.
The following pro tem officers were selected to hold office until the annual meeting in April:
| President: | Dr. Joseph Gastright |
| Vice-President: | open |
| Secretary (temp): | Porter Henry |
| Treasurer: | Richard Shepherd |
| Newsletter Editor: | V. D. Jergens |
| Program Chair: | open |
| Membership Chair: | open |
Annual dues were set at $10 for regular members, $5 for fulltime students, including a subscription to the newsletter.
It is hoped that early in 1991 the group will be sufficiently organized to sponsor a public lecture, probably by Robert Baker, a frequent lecturer at CSICOP seminars, who might speak on "Stalking the Paranormal in Kentucky."
Those present at the initial meeting were Dr. Carle A. Bunde, Kenneth DeWeese, Dr. Joseph Gastright, W. H. Giles, Porter Henry, Carolyn R. Hunt, V. H. Jergens, Richard H. McGrath, Dan Nagle, Helen E. (Holly) Norton, Mary Pacinda, Charles P. Rodway, Claudia Sawyer, and Richard Shepherd.
Who among your friends and acquaintances might be interested in joining Ohio Valley Skeptics?
Write or phone their names and addresses to Dinny Jergens, our newsletter editor, who will maintain our mailing lists. She'll send them invitations to join.
Thanks to Bill Giles for sending us the names and addresses of six potential members.
Statement Of Purpose
The Ohio Valley Skeptics encourage critical thinking in all walks of life. Like the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, Ohio Valley Skeptics attempt to encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and to disseminate factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community and to the public. To carry out these objectives the OVS:
- Maintains a network of people interested in critically examining claims of the paranormal.
- Encourages research by objective and impartial inquiry in areas where it is needed.
- Convenes conferences and meetings.
- Publishes a monthly newsletter that examines claims of the paranormal.
- Does not reject claims on a prior grounds, but rather examines them objectively and carefully.
The Ohio Valley Skeptics is a nonprofit scientific and educa-tional organization. It supports the work of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and its affiliated local organizations.
Copyright 1992-2005, The Association for Rational Thought