CLUBS

CLUBS
WTU banquet Thursday
The Beaver Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited will hold a banquet Thursday at Salem Little Quaker Hall.
There will be a dinner, auctions and raffles; proceeds fund youth programs in Columbiana County.
Tickets are $25. Call Denny (866) 988-3337 for information.
Gun raffle planned
The Trumbull County Federation of Outdoor Clubs will host a 60-gun raffle May 7 at the Yankee Lake Ballroom.
Tickets are $20 and include beer and pop, lunch and a chance at 60-plus guns. Participants need not be present to win. For tickets call (866) 988-3337.
Essay contest open
The Mahoning Valley Federation of Sportsmans Clubs will award one $500 scholarship to the winner of an essay contest on "Why Hunting is a Valuable and Wholesome American Tradition."
The essay will be scored on historical accuracy (25 points), grammar and spelling (25 points) and strength in support of subject (50 points). Winners will be named Aug. 17.
Entrants must be U.S. citizens, residents of Mahoning County between 16 and 25 and eligible to attend college in the fall. Entrants must also submit name, address, phone number, date of birth and a clear copy of their state ID card or driver's license. Deadline is July 10.
One entry per person is allowed and each must be 450 to 500 words long and typewritten in English. Submit entries to: MCFSC 2005 Scholarship, c/o Atty. James A. Denney, 1631 South State St., Girard, Ohio, 44420.
HUNTING
Ohio turkey season results
Hunters harvested 2,824 bearded wild turkeys on the opening day of Ohio's spring turkey hunting season.
Top counties for wild turkeys killed were Meigs -111, Ashtabula - 98, Coshocton - 96, Jackson - 94, Clermont - 92, Guernsey - 91, Jefferson - 90, Knox - 81, Tuscarawas - 80, and Harrison - 78.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife estimates that more than 90,000 people will hunt turkeys during the four-week season. Daily hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise until noon.
A special youth-only wild turkey hunt for hunters 17 and younger was held April 16 and 17 on public hunting areas.
One shot turkey event
The Grand River Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation with co-sponsors Grand River Chapter of the NWTF and the Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce will host the Ohio One Shot Turkey Hunt in Ashtabula County Thursday through April 30.
Hunting will be on Friday and Saturday in accordance with Ohio's Spring wild turkey season which allows hunters to take up to two bearded turkeys. Tagging of birds for successful hunters will be at the Ashtabula County fairgrounds from 8am-2pm Friday and Saturday.
The Ohio One-Shot Turkey Hunt is limited to the first 100 people to register by Thursday. For information on how to register, contact Rick Cooley at (440) 293-5283.
FISHING
Creel clerks plan survey
Angler surveys will once again resume on Ohio's inland lakes for the summer. Creel clerks will be surveying anglers at 10 lakes in Northeast Ohio and 33 lakes around Ohio on weekends and holidays now through July 17.
"The surveys are an important tool in the management of Ohio's lakes because they not only provide data on the fish harvest, catch rates [how long it takes to catch fish], and fishing pressure on a lake, but also the attitudes and opinions of anglers," said Andy Burt, fishery biologist with the ODNR Division of Wildlife in Akron.
The survey takes about five minutes. Angler surveys for 2005 will be conducted at: Atwood Lake, Berlin Lake, Dale Walborn Reservoir, Deer Creek Reservoir, Highlandtown Lake, Lake Milton, Portage Lakes- East Reservoir and Turkeyfoot Lake, Springfield Lake and Tappan Lake.
BOATING
U.S. Coast Guardauxiliary awarded
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary District 9 Eastern Region recently held its Spring Conference in Perrysburg, Ohio.
The awards were based on the previous year. Division 5, Ashtabula, took top division honors in the 9th Region.
The rear commodore plaque went to the top flotilla in the region, Flotilla 5-1, Youngstown. Meritorious achievement medals in Division 5 went to Nick Virgilio and Robert Lemon, both of Erie, Pa.The auxiliarist of the year went to Shirley J. Baker, Hubbard, a member of Flotilla 5-1.