DEER

DEER
Whitetails chapter banquet
The Mill Creek Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited will hold its annual banquet Friday at the Saxon Club, Meridian Road. Social hour will be at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.
Tickets will be cold in advance at $40 each and $25 for spouse and juniors 15 and younger. There is a Monday deadline for tickets.
Call (330) 757-9020, (866) 988-3337 or (800) 274-5471. Tickets can be ordered online at www.whitetailsunlimited.com and then click on events, banquets and your state.
There will be an auction, door prizes, limited edition wildlife and outdoor art and collectibles.
Farm associationsets exhibition
The North American Deer Farmers Association will host its annual conference and exhibition March 16-19 at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center in Aurora, Ohio.
The event will feature educational seminars on agriculture, veterinary topics, gourmet cooking and related topics.
For information, call (920) 734-0934 or log on to www.nadefa.org.
BOATING
Free inspection
Let a free boat inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary clear up the confusing boat regulations puzzle.
If you don't understand all the new local, state and federal recreational boating regulations, call your local Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla. You can request a free vessel courtesy check from a local Auxiliary courtesy inspector will gladly answer all your questions, and check out all your safety equipment at the same time.
For information and a courtesy Vessel Safety Check, please call the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla at: Carl Shock, (330) 637-1516 or John Vargo (330) 792-5174.
Safety course set
The Mosquito Lake Power Squadron will offer a free boating safety course from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Tuesday nights through March 22 in the lower level meeting room at the First Place Bank in Cortland.
There is a $20 textbook fee that can be shared by families.
The course is designed for new boaters as well as experienced boaters and their families. It also meets all requirements for mandatory boater education.
For information, call Jim Orsine at (330) 652-3859 or Jim Winger at (330) 856-5969.
CLUBS
Dog club plans trial
The Berlin Bird Dog Club will hold a walking hunters trial starting at 9 a.m. April 3 at the Berlin dog training area.
Awards will be awarded in several categories and there is a $35 entry fee for all stakes.
For information contact Lance Keel, (330) 733-6751, evenings only. Reservations close at 8 p.m. April 1.
PENNSYLVANIA
Game commissionrecruits trainee class
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is beginning to recruit applicants for its 27th class of Wildlife Conservation Officer trainees.
Applications will be accepted through April 1, or until 900 applications are received, whichever occurs first. Applications are available from the Civil Service Commission; the Game Commission Personnel Office at 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, Pa., 17110-9797; or any of the six Game Commission region offices.
OHIO
New license plates
A tree will grow in Harrison County for every Smokey Bear license plate sold in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry. The Smokey Bear specialty plate is now on sale.
"In honor of Ohio's role as the first state to offer a license plate specifically aimed at wildfire prevention and education, a special 'Smokey's Grove' has been set aside at Harrison State Forest in eastern Ohio," said John Dorka, chief of the Division of Forestry. "This is our way of saying 'thank you' to those who purchase the Smokey Bear license plate supporting Ohio's forests."
The grove, once strip-mined for coal, is currently a 53-acre grassland. As part of the Smokey Bear license plate program, fifth-grade students from Harrison County schools plant red oak seedlings provided by the Marietta State Tree Nursery.
Smokey Bear has been the national symbol for wildfire prevention since 1944. Each Smokey plate sold in Ohio costs $25 above the price of a nonspecialty plate, with $15 of that amount going to the ODNR Division of Forestry for wildlife prevention and education programs in Ohio.
Smokey Bear specialty plates can be purchased through local deputy registrar offices, on the Internet at OPLATES.COM, or by calling toll free (888) PLATES3 (752-8373).
Maple syrup festival
Join a celebration of Ohio's rich agricultural history during the annual Maple Syrup Family Festival at Malabar Farm State Park today and Sunday and March 12-13. The festival features maple sugaring demonstrations, tours of the sugar camp and horse-drawn wagon rides. This free event, from noon to 4 p.m. each weekend, includes demonstrations of sugaring techniques .