Police chief to address Ukrainian Club

         The Executive Board of the Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida, headed by Daria Tomashosky of North Port, held its first “post-vacation” meeting last Monday at St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Religious and Cultural Center — the “Oseredok,” to plan meetings and other activities of the club for the next several months.

          After routine reports by Secretary Doris Horbachevsky, Treasurer Nancy Wosny and Correspondence Secretary Halya Lisnyczyj, a more extensive report was presented by Scholarship Committee Chair Professor Victor Lisnyczyj, who underscored very successful last year’s program and mentioned continuous contacts with the scholarship recipients.

          President Daria reported that the packages of winter clothing for Ukrainian military personnel engaged in the Anti-Terrorist Operation against Russian and Russian-supported terrorists on the eastern border of Ukraine were delivered in Sumy, where they are being safeguarded, pending distribution to the appropriate military units. She also hopes for more information about the “didusi” (grandfathers), single old men in Ukraine, which the club is supporting with small but continuous stipends.

          After a lively discussion, it was decided to hold the traditional club’s Christmas Party on Saturday, Dec. 5, to attend and support the annual headquarters of the U.S. Central Command International Coalition Night at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa on Dec. 10; and to sponsor the art exhibit of Ola Rondiak sometime in the first part of March 2016.

          The first “post-vacation” membership meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the “Oseredok,” with guest speaker North Port City Police Chief Kevin Vespia.

          The club meetings are open to all, as is membership in the club. Nonmembers and potential members are welcome to attend all meetings and all other club activities.
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          Monday, Sept. 28, is the worldwide “Global Day Free Savchenko,” to demand freedom for the Ukrainian Air Force pilot Lt. Nadia Savchenko, who is being held illegally in prison in Russia.

          Lt. Savchenko, who is a member of “Verkhovna Rada” (Ukrainian parliament), and of European parliament, was kidnapped by terrorists after her plane was shot down, and illegally forcefully transported to Russia over one year ago. Russian authorities do not recognize her diplomatic immunity, and are charging her in the complicity of the killing of two Russian journalists and illegally crossing the border into Russia. Both accusations have no merit, because she had nothing to do with the death of the journalists (her defense lawyers have proof, but the Russian authorities do not want to see it), and she was forcefully transported to Russia by the Russian-supported terrorists.
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          Yom Kippur, also known as Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, is the last chance Jews have to wipe their slates clean of the debris of the previous year and be inscribed in the book of life. It is being observed by our Jewish friends and neighbors today.

          My wife Katrusia and I would like to greet our friends and neighbors here and in the Greater New York City area with “G’mar hatimah tova.”

          It appears appropriate now to share the news that at the recent Publishers’ Forum, Sept. 10, in L’viv, Ukraine, the first modern Yiddish-Ukrainian Dictionary was presented. It contains 30,000 words and phrases.

Atanas Kobryn covers the Ukrainian community for the North Port Sun. He can be emailed at atanask@aol.com.
 

Our Neighbors — The Ukrainians

By Atanas Kobryn