Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg
2009 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 as well as the Club improvements that have been accomplished. Read on for more info.
Green Efforts: The Club began recycling all glass bottles, and cardboard earlier this year. The club has been recycling the aluminum cans for many years.
Trap Team: 2009 was a very busy year for the Hillside Trap Team. The team officers and members worked many hours to make the season a big success. Particular thanks are due to Jerry Owens and others who maintained and groomed the range throughout the season. Special thanks are also offered to Jim Guy, Trap President, who in addition to overseeing the week to week operation of the range, arranged for and delivered the birds and much of the ammunition for the year’s shooting. Also, much needed appreciation to Cindy Guy, Trap Treasurer, for the countless hours spent at the counter and behind the scenes during the weekly practices and especially on our special events. Lester Ott and Jill Jones donated a computer. Jim and Cindy Guy donated printers, a stereo, paper and ink for the trap house. Ray Stahl donated and installed new rain gutters on the trap house and plans for new trap house siding are in the works for next year. Dean Alloy built and helped to install a metal patterning board that doesn’t require changing paper between shots. Dave Burris built new gun racks to hang on the fence. However, a large thank you is also due to the individual members who volunteer to load the houses, keep score, and set up and take down the equipment and furniture for every event. Looking back, the success of the season was due in large part to the generosity and assistance of all the members. Thank you!
We participated in ten scheduled matches with the Northern Tier Trap league hosting two matches at Hillside in the process. We took an early lead in the scoring and continued to lead the league winning by a total of 61 birds. The winning team from the League competition traditionally hosts the shoot off to determine the Top Gun of the League as well as the best shooters in Classes A, B, C, D, Ladies and Junior classification. This year, 52 shooters competed for many prizes.
The Team also hosted three Amateur Trap Association (ATA) sanctioned shoots as a fund raiser and publicity program for the Club. At the end of the season we showed a net profit of $2,425 which will be used for future trap range improvements. But most importantly, we made many new friends in the surrounding area and have expanded our shooting opportunities with other clubs. Thank you to our ATA Delegate, Phil Boinski.
Don’t forget. Officer elections are scheduled for Wednesday January 20, 2010. Nomination Committee is Suzi Owens, Clayton Hoffman and Dave Burris. All of the offices will be open. If you wish to run for one of the positions or to nominate someone else, please contact one of the Nominating Committee.
Archery Team: The Archery Team just finished their 3-D season and is gearing up for their winter indoor league. The indoor league will begin on 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. 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 has 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: Due to the incident in 2008 a camera system has been installed at the Nursery. The 2009 stocking season went well with approximately 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: In July the Trap Team co-hosted with the Archery Team the Fourth Annual Stan Bombaski Memorial shoot. This was a great opportunity to get acquainted with other Hillside members and learn about another sport. The participants were divided into teams of two consisting of one archer and one trap shooter. The archery member of the team shot 50 arrows at distances from 20 to 60 yards. The trap shooter shot 50 rounds from the 16 yard line. Then everyone grabbed their deer rifles and headed to the rifle range to shoot three shots offhand at 100yards. The scores for these events were totaled to arrive at the team score.
.22 Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match - In October a 22 rimfire sporter rifle match was held. Seven people attended but all declared they had a great time and wanted to know when the next match will be held. Next year we will try to schedule two or three more matches. At least two of the members that dropped by the range that day have been “bitten by the bug” and as a result, have either purchased, or are in the process of purchasing, new rifles for next season. The Cowanesque Valley Club in Elkland has a very active 22 shooting program and they have offered suggestions for organizing our shoots as well as an invitation to participate in their league as individuals or as a Hillside Team. If any Hillside members are interested in 22 rimfire shooting see Dave Burris and share some ideas.
7th Annual Lobster bake: The 7th annual Lobster bake was held on September 12th. This year’s event was well attended making it another successful event. Thanks to all of those that support this event. Why do we put on this event? The Hillside, 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 be used as matching funds required for grants and future maintenance funds the Upper Tioga River Watershed Reclamation Project for the Upper Tioga River Watershed. For more information on the Upper Tioga River Watershed and Reclamation Projects please visit: http://www.tcccc-ing.org/watershed.html.
6th Annual Children’s Miracle Network Shoot – Mother Nature didn’t cooperate with us for the Children’s Miracle Network Benefit Shoot this year. A cold and rainy day kept many shooters from attending. Despite this we were able to donate $551 to the cause after expenses.
Hillside Jr. Marksmen - The two year program has grown to now form a Hillside Jr. Marksmen team and any member is invited to enroll their child in routine shooting practices including competition shoots. We held two events this year, June 6th and August 9th 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. This August we have submitted an 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. The Club is committed to the future of archery, trap, and riffle shooting as well as fishing and hunting. We plan to educate the youth in all our shooting sports. Watch the website after January 2010 for more details.
Watershed: The watershed was awarded a grant this year for restoration of the upper Fallbrook creek. The engineering was completed last year 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 patiently to receive the grant money awarded to begin construct of 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 held a Hunter Trapper Education Course this year. Thank you to all that helped. The Club would like to continue to host THE courses. 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. We are able to provide ample volunteers and the full use of our facilities to help assist with all aspects of the program. With your help we hope to be able to provide this program for years to come.
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 10 years. If you qualify for life membership, please let us know when you renew your membership. 2009 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. January 31, 2010 is the last day to renew your membership for 2010. A $5 late fee is applied after December 31st, as per our Bylaws. All memberships must be renewed by January 31, 2010. Those failing to do so must re-apply to regain membership status.
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. Must have a Youth License to Qualify.
2010 Lucky 37 Raffle – We have enclosed a Lucky 37 ticket which begins on April 4th 2010 and lasts for 10 weeks. The cost is $10.00 each. 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 2010 - The 2010 Game Dinner date has been set for February 20st , 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 2010. 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. January 31st, 2010 will be the last day to pay your dues, or you must re-apply.
The Club – The Club is still on track after another year. The Club signed a 5 year gas lease with Fortuna. The money from the lease was reinvested back into the Club. Some of the many projects that were worked on throughout the year were: New lighting over the bar and in the dining room, Removed the old vestibule, Replaced the bar televisions with flat screen televisions, and purchased a new shed for the club. To date we have re-invested to about $18k back into our facility. Projects are still being planned.
A very large project that occurred this year was installing a new hardwood floor in the club. Thank you to everyone that helped install: Clyde Mitsifer, Tim Fleming, Eric McRoberts, Jim Lamonski, Stan Heinrich, Ronda Heinrich, Jay Atkinson, Buster Wilson, Holly Lamonski, Danny Lamonski, Jessica Ponda, Theresa Lamonski, Buck Edler, Joe Mickey, Brian White, Scot Jones, Dave Burris, and John Lamonski. Also during this effort Cindy and Jim Guy refurbished the stove and replaced the mat underneath. Pictures are on the website.
The membership voted to make a few donations to support the community this year: sponsored the Liberty Little League in the 2009 Briar Hill Open; donated $200 to the Blossburg Swimming Association to help with the cost of replacing the Blossburg Swimming pool.
Board Updates – Your 2009 Officers will be: President – Jim Lamonski, Vice President – Tim Fleming, Treasurer – Holly Lamonski, Secretary – Rebecca Bryan. Executive Committee: 3-Year Term – Eric McRoberts, 2-Year Term – Jim Guy, 1-Year Terms: Nick Bryan, Cindy Guy, and Bobby Lee.
Sincerely,
Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg
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