Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg
2008 Annual Newsletter
PO Box 71
Blossburg, PA 16912
http://www.hillsiderodandgun.org
Dear Members of the Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg,
The Club has been doing quite well lately, and we’d like to update you on what’s going on. Please take some time and read down through our annual newsletter. There’s a lot in there this year, and generally, something for everyone. Take note of our youth initiatives going on at the Club. Over the last year, we’ve received a $2500 grant from Friends of the NRA and started supporting and growing youth activities within our Archery and Trap teams by purchasing youth equipment and having specialized events. Read on for more info.
Trap Team – The Trap Team finished the season in First Place for the Northern Tier Trap League! This is the first time since the mid ‘80s. Congratulations to all of our shooters. Good Job. Over the past year the Trap Team has been working to grow the number of shooters at each event with a strong focus on women and youth. The Trap Team purchased a new trap for the trap house after one of the old traps started to fail. The Trap Team split the cost of the new trap with the Club and 50/50 committee. The funds received from selling the old trap were also put towards the cost of the new trap. This new trap allows for shooting doubles which has allowed our members to sharpen up for ATA matches on practice nights. A new pattern board for shotguns only has been installed at the lower end of the Trap field, new scoring chairs, umbrellas, and painting of the trap houses were also completed this year thanks to the generous support of our members.
Archery Team – The Archery Team just finished their 3-D season and are gearing up for their winter indoor league. The indoor league will begin on Tuesday January 6th. League shooting times will be: Tuesdays and Thursdays – 6 PM, Saturdays – 1 PM and 4 PM, Sundays – 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM. New this year the archery league will be opening the Club on Saturdays from 11-1 for youth archers. Any young archer 18 years old or younger, with at least one parent as a member of the club will be welcome to join us Saturday mornings. Thanks to the Friends of the NRA grant, the archery team will be able to provide Genisis bows and arrows to any kid who does not have a bow of their own. Supervisors will be available to help inexperienced or new shooters and parents are encouraged to attend. Also new this year to the archery league is the first annual traditional league. So Sundays at 3PM have been reserved for our traditional archery league shoot. As always, our range is open to any club member who would like to shoot their bow. You do not have to join a league, you can shoot any time the club is open.
Trout Nursery: Ok, first the bad news: We received 10,000 new fingerlings in June and all were doing quite well. Members discovered all of the fish had died on September 14th. The cause has been investigated and it is believed that the fish were deliberately killed. We don’t have any suspects at this time, but if anyone has any information on this incident please contact a Board member immediately. The membership voted at the October meeting to purchase a new video security system for the Nursery to help prevent this from happening again. Now the good news: The Club was lucky enough to receive replacement fish this late in the year from area Nurseries. There shouldn’t be any disruption to our 2009 schedule. The 2008 stocking season went well with 10,000 fish being stocked. Thank you to everyone for your support to help make the Trout Nursery successful. It take countless volunteer hours to keep the fish fed, screens clean, and water flowing. The annual fishing derby and first grade trout nursery tour and Derby pond stocking were held again at the Liberty VFW. Although we did have a smaller turnout for the fishing derby, everyone had a very good time. The three Southern Tioga School District schools participated in the 1st Grade fish stocking with many of the kids looking forward to the event even at the beginning of last school year. The fish stocking allows the kids to see the fish up close and see what goes into stocking the fish in the area streams, creeks, and rivers.
4rd Annual Stanley Bombaski Memorial Sportsman’s Challenge - On July 26th, we held our fourth annual “Stanley Bombaski Memorial – Hillside Sportsman’s Challenge”. We had 18 teams this year and the winners were 3rd Place Ken Hughes and Jeff Swain 2nd Place Dave Burris and Eric McRoberts and 1st Place Stan Heinrich and Steve Pettitt. The sportsman’s challenge has a unique format randomly pairing an archery shooter with a trap shooter and each team member shoots on the rifle range. The trap shooter shoots 2 rounds of 25 birds on the trap range, the archery shooter shoots 2 rounds of 25 arrows from 20, 25 and 30 yards. Then both team members shoot 3 shots offhand at 100 yards on the rifle range. The scores are then added together for a team total. The sportsman’s challenge was originally developed to get our archery shooters, trap shooters and Club members out to meet, compete and enjoy a fun day of shooting. We have now opened this shoot to include non Club members to introduce our shooting facilities and shooters to anyone interested in joining our regularly scheduled shooting activities. Remember this shoot is open to everyone from expert to novice, member or non-member. We hope to see you next July. Check our website for the date and time.
6th Annual Lobster bake: The 6th annual Lobster bake was held on September 13th. This year’s event was well attended with a good increase in attendance over last year. Why do we put on this event? The Club, TCCCC Inc., and our members recognize that the Tioga River is a part of our community and extends beyond our borders into the surrounding communities. Through hard work and dedication we can help to clean up the river after decades of pollution caused by acid mine drainage. All the proceeds from this event go into CD’s to help fund the Upper Tioga River Watershed Reclamation Project for the Upper Tioga River Watershed. For more information on the Upper Tioga River Coalition and Reclamation Projects please visit: http://www.tcccc-ing.org/watershed.html.
6th Annual Children’s Miracle Network Shoot – $1295 was raised for Children’s Miracle Network at this year’s shoot! Thanks to all who participated. We had a great bunch of shooters, which made for a generous donation to the Children’s Miracle Network. Special thanks to the Morris Run American Legion, Co-Sponsor. Thanks to Wal-Mart, Steve Wagner, Dean Alloy, and Bill Vought for their support and donation of prizes. Thank your to all the shooters whose participation help make events like this possible.
Hillside Jr. Marksmen - This year we started a youth program and adopted the name of “Hillside Jr. Marksmen”. Response from the Friends of the NRA grant application filed in August of 2007 provided us with grant funding of $2500.00. This grant allowed us to purchase shotguns, bow kits and 22 caliber rifles. On August 9th children ages 5 to 17 gathered at our club and received training in shooting trap, archery and rifle range shooting. Each child received a Trap & Field pin, certificate in their name, clay target, and their target from the rifle range. Twenty-six children enjoyed a great day as families joined in the fun and concluded with lunch for all. This August we have submitted a second application with the Friends of the NRA for more equipment. Over the course of the upcoming Trap and Archery seasons, you will see a larger focus on getting our youth involved with special events and practices for the under 18 crowd. Check the Winter Archery schedule for special youth practice times on the weekends.
Watershed: With the grant money received last year, all of the engineering has been completed for the Upper Tioga River Watershed, Fallbrook area, including the large outfall of DB-099 and some Acid Mine Drainage (A.M.D.) areas of Fallbrook creek. We are currently waiting to see if we receive the grant funding necessary to construct the treatment facilities. These treatment facilities, once constructed, should allow for good water all the way to the Club. Just like previous years it seems we take one step forward and two steps back. One of our Fallbrook Creek efforts was to construct limestone pods to treat the tannic acid problem. Due to further research by a DEP biologist, it was determined that the limestone pods may adversely affect other local ecosystems, namely, the bogs. Thanks so much to all those that support this effort. If you are interested in becoming part of the Watershed Committee please contact Jim Lamonski.
Hunter Trapper Education - The Club is looking for volunteers to become certified Hunter Trapper Education Instructors. If you’re interested in becoming a certified HTE instructor, contact a board member and we’ll get you in contact with the right people at the game commission. If you’re already certified, we’re very interested in hosting HTE courses at the Club. We are able to provide ample volunteers and the full use of our facilities to help assist with all aspects of the program.
Important Membership Updates - Life memberships are available for free if you have met the following criteria: you must be 65 years of age by January 1st of the coming year and you must have been a member of the club for at least 5 years. If you qualify for life membership, please let us know when you renew your membership. 2008 membership cards are available now. If you’re unable to make it to the club, mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a check for $15 to the address at the top of the newsletter and we’ll get it right out to you. The Game Dinner is the last day to renew your membership for 2008. A $5 late fee is applied after December 31st, as per our Bylaws.
Big Buck Contest - If you get a BIG BUCK be sure to take it to Cooper’s in Mansfield to be measured for the Hillside’s BIG BUCK Contest. All scoring will be done using the Boone and Crockett scoring method. Prizes are $100 for 1st place, $50 for 2nd place, and $25 for 3rd place. Youth Big Buck Contest - If you get a BIG BUCK be sure to take it to Cooper’s in Mansfield to be measured for the Hillside’s BIG BUCK Contest. All scoring will be done using the Boone and Crockett scoring method. Prizes are – Coopers Sporting Goods Gift Certificates -- $30 for 1st place, $20 for 2nd place, and $10 for 3rd place. 15 Years and younger.
2009 Lucky 37 Raffle – We have enclosed a Lucky 37 ticket which begins on April 5th 2009 and lasts for 10 weeks. The cost is $10.00 each. This raffle was even more successful last year than 2007. By purchasing your ticket, you help the Club raise funds for Corn, the Trout Nursery, Trap, Archery, the Rifle Range, and Club maintenance and upgrades. We hope you can help support the Club and Club improvements we will need to make in the future by purchasing a raffle ticket and returning the money and stub to:
Hillside Rod & Gun Club
PO Box 71
Blossburg, PA 16912
If you are unable to purchase the ticket, please return it to the club, or mail it to the above address. We so much need our members’ support to continue the programs we have in place, and maintain our beautiful facility.
Game Dinner 2009 - The 2009 Game Dinner date has been set for February 21st from 12 PM to 8 PM. We received very positive feedback on this year’s Game Dinner. All game meat was donated and cooked by volunteers throughout the week. Thanks to everyone that makes this possible. We’ll be repeating this same setup for 2009. Remember to take any donations of game meat to the Kitchen on Saturdays or Sundays and as we get closer the Game Dinner, we’ll put out a call for volunteers to lend a hand with cooking. The Club will be open to members only and the cost will be $20 at the door. The fee includes donated game meat, chance on the raffle, snacks, and draft beer. The Game Dinner is the last day to pay your 2009 dues.
The Club – The Club is still on track after another year. This year we’ve helped the Trap Team purchase a new Trap, purchased a new ticket machine, painted the inside of the Club House, and installed new curtains and blinds in the Club house. The membership voted to make a few donations to support the community this year: donation of $100 to Boys Panther Basketball team for the purchase of team jackets; sponsored a Hillside Little League Team for North Penn Little League - $250; voted to donate $200 per year for the next 5 years to help with the cost of replacing the Blossburg Swimming pool.
Board Updates – Your 2008 Officers will be: President – Jim Lamonski, Vice President – Tim Fleming, Treasurer – Holly Lamonski, Secretary – Misty Jo Osborn. Executive Committee: 3-Year Term – Clyde Mitstifer, 2-Year Term – Jim Guy, 1-Year Terms: Eric McRoberts, Bobby Lee, and Cindy Guy.
Sincerely,
Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg