President McKenzie welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the new year and called attention to mineral theme for the month - white minerals. Examples brought in included ulexite (aka TV stone), thompsonite and analcite (analcime). Entertainment following the business meeting was to be the video 'Walking with the Dinosaurs' (a BBC production).

Terry Collett moved to approve the minutes of the December meeting as they appeared in the Rockhound's Bark with the correction in the spelling of Martin Eirisch's name. Clarence Huard seconded the motion - carried.

There was a short discussion on next month's auction of specimens donated by Doug Wilson's company MinCity. There will be a minimum bid of Doug's cost and any additional monies taken in will go to the Society's coffers. Other sources for publicising the auction to attract non-members were suggested such as the 'Coffee News', 'Community Bulletin Board' and 'What's Going On'. Alternate suggestions should be passed on to Ken McKenzie or Brenda Roscoe to be utilised.

Terry Collett gave a brief synopsis of upcoming field trips for the year. His suggestions included: Boylston & Moosepoint for rock crystal and specular hematite, East Kemptville tin mine for serious collectors of microminerals, Blackrock to Harbourville for zeolites, and Amethyst Cove by boat.

The Amethyst Cove trip would cost about $30.00 per person assuming that 20 people participate. Transportation to the site would be by a large fishing boat and from there a Zodiac would taxi people up and down the shore. Terry stressed the importance of field trip safety and passed out a handout for people to review. All individuals need to be responsible for their own actions and safety.

Our liability insurance through the GMFC was discussed. Gordon Stewart discovered last year that we are not officially incorporated as a Society. If we were then individuals should not be able to be held liable as any actions would be against the Mineral & Gem Society. Incorporation would cost an initial $35.00 and an annual fee of $25.00. It would require a five member board of directors (which don't necessarily have to be society members) which would meet once a year to make sure the society is fulfilling it's mandate. Gordon Stewart suggested that before we make our application we seek legal advise about whether incorporating would also protect the board members from legal action.

New Business:

The Nova Scotia Mineral & Gem Society now has an official Web Site. It is still a work in progress but shaping up really well. To view log on to http://accesswave.ca/~nsmgs/.

Brenda Roscoe reported on the deadlines for Museumnews. Unfortunately they are very far in advance of the publication date. The deadline for all our upcoming events has passed and we do not have anything planned far enough ahead for the next one as yet. Imelda suggested that we advertise our new Web Page address in Museumnews and various other media sources.

Unfortunately the museum still has no other meeting night available. Only one club meets more than once a month and those days are Monday and Sunday. If they were at all interested in trading a night it would probably be the Sunday. Brenda Boutilier assured us if another night does become available we will have first refusal.

Correspondence included several newsletters and information on the Manitoba Show from the GMFC. These items were tabled for members to peruse. The GMFC also requested some sort of display of Nova Scotian minerals to be sent to the national show in Manitoba. As none of the members were interested in sending their specimens to Manitoba without accompanying them a photo display or video was discussed. The deadline to ship the display is the end of May. Ken McKenzie received an E-mail from a gentleman in Vancouver who will be in our region in the near future and was interested in accompanying us on any field trips we might have planned. Ken will respond. Also a letter was received from someone looking for information on radioactive rocks around the Yarmouth area. Brenda Roscoe will respond to the request.

Andrew Brock requested that anyone who currently has any of the Society's books out return them to the February meeting so he can consolidate the library. Once this task is done a complete list of our reference material will be published.

Terry Collett moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:42pm. The motion was seconded by Imelda O'Toole.

Respectfully Submitted
Brenda Roscoe
Secretary

The dinosaur was a 1.8 metre (6 ft) long meat-eating creature. It weighed about 35 kg (80 lbs) or about the size of a German shepherd dog. The most interesting feature of this new creature are its unique teeth and jaws which are unlike any other dinosaur's. In fact, it is so bizarre that when it was first found, the discovers were unsure it was even dinosaur. However further research revealed that it was indeed a dinosaur.

The first tooth of the lower jaw projects outward, almost horizontally, rather than up. Teeth further into the mouth point at increasingly vertical angles. Some modern day shrews have a similar dental arrangement and typically the front teeth are used for grasping and piercing, while the back teeth are for tearing and slicing.