Wallkill Lodge Fundraiser
Wallkill Lodge No. 627 is planning another event to raise money for the Sutherland family. As some of you are aware, Chris Sutherland, a Valley Central High School student, was burned in an accident late last year. On January 26th, from 4:30 until 7:30 (or so), Wallkill Lodge will be hosting a beef brisket dinner at the lodge which is located at 62 Main Street in Walden. The cost of the event is $10 for students, $15 for singles and $25 for couples. Please do your best to come out and help the Sutherland family who has really been hit hard.

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Child ID System Training
Our Brethren across the Hudson in the Dutchess District are holding a Child ID system training day on January 27th, 2007. This is open to any and all who wish to attend. The trainings will be held in the NEW Masonic Temple in Pleasant Valley, Shekomeko Lodge at 3 Quaker Lane,on the corner of North Avenue in Pleasant Valley. There will be three three-hour training sessions at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. Coffee and tea will be available.

A reservation is suggested but not required. Wives are most welcome as we need the ladies as well as the men. Most moms feel comfortable approaching another woman and getting info on the program. Even if you do not own a computer or have never used a computer, you can be taught the necessary skills to volunteer for this program.

For more information, please contact Linda Anderson.

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Masters and Wardens Meeting
The Masters and Wardens will meet at Jerusalem Temple Lodge on Monday February 12th at 7:00 p.m. Please note this is a return to our usual meeting location. The meeting will be held prior to the School of Instruction which will convene at 8:00 p.m. The trestleboard for the School will be the Entered Apprentice Degree. Please bring your Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts for this informative evening. We hope to see everyone there!

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A Special Third Degree
On Saturday February 17th, the Royal Arch Degree Team, also known as the Red Jackets, will confer the Master Mason Degree at Hudson River Lodge. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m. followed by the Degree, with a luncheon to follow. Among those preparing to be Raised at this degree are the sons of several Brothers of our District. We'd love to see a big turnout, and an RSVP to R:.W:. Bob Reynolds would be appreciated so that we can arrange for food. Please try to make it out for this special day.

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Port Jervis Lodge Roast Beef Dinner
Port Jervis Lodge will be having a Roast Beef Dinner on Saturday, February 17th, 2007 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The price is $10.00 per person, with children 11 (eleven) and under, $5.00. We hope to see you there!

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George Washington's Birthday Celebration
A Washington’s Birthday Celebration will be held at the De Wint House in Tappan on Sunday, February 18th, at 2:00 p.m. There will be a brunch at the ’76 House, open to all, at 11:30 a.m. with a cost about $25.00. The program back at the DeWint House, including a guest speaker, is free. We hope to see you there!

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Library Dinner Dance
The Chancellor Robert R Livingston Library of Grand Lodge will hold its annual Dinner Dance, honoring Past Grand Master Bruce Widger, will be held on Sunday, March 25th at Leonard's of Great Neck beginning at noon. There will be an open bar, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing with the proceeds benefiting the Library. Tickets are $80 per person. More information is available in the NY NETNEWS.

Next ORDMA Meeting
The next meeting of the Orange-Rockland District Masonic Association (ORDMA) will be held on Monday January 29th at the Pearl River Masonic Temple. Please note that this is not our regular meeting night, it's a fifth Monday. A light supper will be served at 6:30 p.m. followed by the meeting asnd program at 7:30 p.m. All Brothers of the District are invited and encouraged to attend!

ORDMA Dinner Dance
Mark your calendars! The annual ORDMA Dinner Dance will be held on Saturday March 17th at Anthony's Pier Nine in New Windsor. The evening, which will feature a full cocktail hour, dinner, live music, and dancing is only $55 per person. We are supplementing the price with journal ads to make it easier for people to attend, and hope you will encourage your Lodge and local businesses to support ORDMA's charitable projects by purchasing an ad. For more information on tickets or ads, please contact Wor. Bob Morlang or Bro. John Gebbia.

Download the ORDMA Dinner Dance Ad Form

ORDMA Calendars Now Available!
When we said 'mark your calendars' just now, did you have to stop to remember where yours is? Well, look no further, the 2006-2007 ORDMA Calendars are here! These handy pocket calendars contain all of our District's Lodge and Concordant Bodies meetings, important events, Lodge and District officers, and directions to our Lodges. The calendars cost $5 each and the proceeds go to support our District's community service and charitable efforts, including our new District child ID system. To obtain a calendar, contact any of ORDMA's officers. They make great stocking stuffers for your Brothers!

West Point Lodge Master Mason Degree	Saturday January 20, 2006	contact
DDGM Visit to Cornerstone Lodge New Date!	Wednesday January 24, 2006	contact
Wallkill Lodge Beef Brisket Fundraiser	Friday January 26, 2006	contact
Jerusalem Temple Lodge Master Mason Degree	Saturday January 27, 2006	contact
Child ID Training	Saturday January 27, 2006	contact
ORDMA Meeting	Monday January 29, 2006	contact
Masters and Wardens Planning Meeting (Mountainville)	Monday February 12th at 7:00 pm	contact
District School of Instruction (Mountainville)	Monday February 12th at 8:00 pm	contact
Cornerstone Lodge Fellowcraft Degree	Wednesday February 14th, 2007	contact
Hudson River Red Jacket Master Mason Degree	Saturday February 17th, 2007	contact
Port Jervis Lodge Roast Beef Dinner	Saturday February 17, 2007*	contact
George Washington's Birthday Celebration at Tappan	Sunday February 18th, 2007	contact
Cornerstone Lodge Fellowcraft Degree (#2!)	Wednesday February 28th, 2007	contact
Jerusalem Temple Lodge Entered Apprentice Degree	Saturday March 10, 2007	contact
ORDMA Dinner Dance	Saturday March 17th, 2007	contact
Livingston Library Dinner Dance	Sunday March 25th, 2007	contact
Grand Lecturer's Convention	Tuesday April 10th, 2007	contact
Cornerstone Lodge Master Mason Degree	Wednesday April 11th, 2007	contact
Jerusalem Temple Lodge Fellowcraft Degree	Saturday April 14, 2007	contact
Hoffman Lodge 150th Rededication	Saturday April 21st, 2007	contact
Cornerstone Lodge Master Mason Degree (#2!)	Wednesday April 25th, 2007	contact
Cornerstone Lodge Rededication	Saturday October 14th, 2007	contact
* Denotes a dinner will precede or follow the meeting or event. Please check with the contact for details.

The Orange-Rockland School of Masonic Instruction will convene on the second Monday of each month, at locations around the District. Instruction will rotate on a monthly basis between Ritual, Grand Lodge educational programs, and seminars on topics like Leadership and Communication.

Our next School will be held on Monday February 12th at Jerusalem Temple Lodge at 8:00 p.m. The trestleboard for the School will be the Entered Apprentice Degree. Please bring your Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts for this informative evening .A brief Masters and Wardens meeting will precede the School at 7:00 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact the DDGM. We'll see you there!

MMRL Scientists Discover New Genes Responsible
for Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Scientists at the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory (MMRL) in Utica, NY have uncovered a new genetic basis for abnormal rhythms of the heart responsible for sudden cardiac arrest.

The landmark discovery is reported in the current issue of Circulation, the leading Cardiology journal published by the American Heart Association (AHA). Dr. Charles Antzelevitch and a team of investigators and collaborators from Canada, Germany, France and Italy describe a new clinical entity characterized by distinctive changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) in three families with a history of sudden cardiac death. Affected family members were all found to have mutations in the genes that encode the cardiac calcium channels. These channels permit the flow of calcium ion in and out of cells in the heart. The defective genes called CACNA1C and CACNB2b were found to generate a smaller than normal electrical current and thus to be responsible for creating an electrical imbalance that results in potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms, known as cardiac arrhythmias.

Although the heart is a mechanical pump, each and every beat is initiated by electrical activity that originates in the upper part of the heart called the sinus node and is transmitted in a very orderly fashion through the remainder of the heart. The electrical current is due to the movement of ions such as sodium, potassium and calcium across the cell membrane. Defects in the function of the channels that permit these various ions to move in and out of the cardiac cell leads to an electrical imbalance that can disrupt the normal distribution of the electrical charge throughout the heart, resulting in abnormal rhythms. Some arrhythmias are benign, such as premature beats, and others are deadly, including ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. The ECG, which records the electrical activity of the heart from electrodes placed on the body surface, can be used to detect these rhythm disturbances. The ECG is normally comprised of a P wave, reflecting the activation of the upper chambers of the heart (atria), a QRS wave denoting the activation of the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) and a T wave, which is inscribed as a result of the repolarization associated with relaxation of the heart. The interval between the QRS and T waves (QT interval) normally ranges between 360 and 460 milliseconds and the ST segment of the normal ECG is isoelectric (neither elevated or depressed).

The new clinical entity is a combination of two distinct sudden death syndromes known as the Brugada and Short QT syndromes. The Brugada syndrome is characterized by an elevation of the ST segment in the ECG and the short QT syndrome distinguished by a briefer than normal QT interval (less than or equal to 360 milliseconds). These syndromes have previously been shown to be due to defects in genes that control the flow of sodium and potassium ions across the membrane of the cardiac cell. Antzelevitch, who serves as Executive Director and Director of Research of the MMRL, and his colleagues at the MMRL were the first to identify the KCNH2 gene responsible for the Short QT syndrome and together with colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine were the first to describe the SCN5A gene responsible for the Brugada syndrome. Each syndrome is capable of independently producing sudden cardiac arrest. The new clinical entity, by combining the two malfunctioning electrical features, presents a situation of double jeopardy.

Antzelevitch, the leading investigator in the new study, recently presented preliminary results of the research at the late-breaking abstract session at the annual scientific sessions of the AHA. Dr. Guido Pollevick, acting head of the Molecular Genetics program at the MMRL, presented a poster at the AHA meeting regarding additional aspects of this new clinical entity.

According to Antzelevitch "our ability to link calcium channel loss of function mutations to sudden cardiac death opens exciting new avenues for better diagnosis and treatment of inherited sudden death syndromes that affect young adults, children and infants." Scientists at the MMRL, in collaboration with colleagues in Italy, were the first to identify the genetic defect responsible for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, linking SIDS to a malignant cardiac arrhythmia.

Dr. Jonathan Cordeiro, a research scientist involved with assessing the effects of the mutated genes on electrical function, thought that “in time many more mutations will be found to affect ion channels within the heart leading to sudden cardiac arrest.”

Antzelevitch agreed, indicating that "we are at the tip of the iceberg and have a great deal to learn before we can routinely use genetic screening to identify children and adults at risk for sudden cardiac arrest."

"The impressive progress that we have made in this field of medicine in recent years is encouraging and with appropriate commitment of resources, we can look forward to dramatic advances in the months and years ahead", he added

Founded in 1958 by the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of New York, the MMRL is an internationally renowned medical research and educational institute dedicated to studies of the electrical activity of the heart and the mechanisms responsible for abnormal rhythms of the heart. In recent years, the MMRL has also become a central hub for genetic screening of inherited arrhythmic diseases in the United States. MMRL scientists have uncovered the mechanisms responsible for many forms of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias as well as the mechanisms by which some drugs act to precipitate arrhythmias. In recent years, they have delineated the genetic basis for several inherited sudden cardiac death syndromes. Prominent among their most recent achievements is the identification of a novel strategy for the pharmacologic treatment of atrial fibrillation, one of the greatest unmet medical needs facing our society.

Restoration Help Wanted
Cornerstone Lodge would like to announce to the District that the restoration of McGarrah's Stagecoach Tavern is underway. We are looking for volunteers to assist in the historic preservation of our building which houses the oldest surviving Masonic lodge room in New York State and the third oldest in the nation. Freemasons who donate two weekends of labor or a cash donation of the equivalent to the project will have their names permanently inscribed on a commemorative stone as contributors. The official dedication of our Museum and Historic site will be October 14, 2007 when the M:.W:. Neal I Bidnick, Grand Master of Masons, will perform the opening ceremonies. This will be a few days shy of the 190th Anniversary of the first Masonic meeting in the building. We expect many visitors from the local historic community to attend. Brothers, please mark this date on your calendars. There will be much food and celebration.

Master Mason Degree Assistance Needed
Jerusalem Temple Lodge requires assistance with a Master Mason Degree on Saturday January 27th. Speaking and non-speaking roles are available. The degree will begin at 9:00 a.m. with breakfast preceding it at 8:00 a.m. If you can assist, please contact R:.W:. Joe Leo.

Master Mason Degree Assistance Needed
West Point Lodge requires assistance with a Master Mason Degree on Saturday January 20th. Speaking and non-speaking roles are available. The degree will begin at 1:00 p.m. with lunch preceding it at noon. If you can assist, please contact the Lodge.